📍 Hi there. I'm Rachel and joining me is Paula and together we host
truly expat podcast,
the ultimate podcast for expats in Singapore. We're your quick guide to navigating this vibrant city, offering travel tips, relocation insights, and the best spots to dine and unwind. Tune in for engaging interviews with experts and local expats.
Plus, lively panel discussions. Ready to uncover the expat experience in Singapore? If that's what you need, you're in the right place.
Welcome to today's podcast episode. Join us as we dive into the magical world of deepavali. Featuring an enlightening interview with panelist.
Ex-pat. Urmila, but first a lively catch up with Paula. On charity, mama Mia, and a few other things.
Singapore,
is a melting pot of three cultures, which makes it an exciting place to live, and a great place to learn about the three major cultures
Singapore celebrates each culture, which makes it a very exciting place to live and allows the opportunity to discover and appreciate, each event.
Before we get into today's episode, let's catch up on what we have been up to since the last episode.
And what is that? Paula, you've been everywhere,
Ah. So I flew over to watch the World Cup, like the Rugby World Cup, uh, to watch a team that didn't make it but, so let's just not chat about that. Uh,
I know. I'm feeling kind of. A bit funny about that whole thing as well. Being a Kiwi and you being Australian, it's, yeah, it's a bit painful at the moment.
Absolutely. I think, um, at least you made it to the final. in saying that, my first time in Paris, and I loved it. I absolutely loved it. So I'll be going back there soon.
I'm pretty sure the City of Lights, um, and love,
I celebrated an anniversary and we had lunch in the Eiffel Tower, which was pretty special. And so yeah, I spent a week there catching up with friends, which is pretty cool in Marseille. And now I'm here in Sydney.
Mm, and which anniversary was it?
It is number 2
6 26.
Wow.
Yeah, so I've officially been married longer, like more than half my life now. That's scary.
That's quite an achievement. Well done. A lot of, a lot of couples don't get to that, so
I am really, really impressed. That's awesome.
Yeah.
something to be proud about.
Then I flew out to Sydney and celebrated the big five. Oh, as you know. Yeah, and I celebrated that by abseiling down a cliff that scared the life outta me. For those who were scared of heights, they can totally understand where I'm coming from, but I was absolutely petrified. But I did it. I did it and um, I did it for a good cause. I was, went on a TV program ca, uh, called Adventure All Stars, which films a week of adventure that we dunno where we are going. And we were lucky enough to go to Northern Tasmania in, uh, Launceston area, uh, which was quite special.
Tell me how , the whole program works. So I know that you did a whole lot of fundraising for your charity, which, I'll let you explain it better than me. So how does it work?
So basically how it works is that you raise 10,000 and above for a charity of your court, like your A charity of your choice. I chose Mindful oz, which is a, it's a charity that, that helps prevent suicide in those underprivileged, adolescents. So they do a lot of educational work in primary schools and in secondary schools in Australia.
Wow. That is incredible. That must have been really, were you excited or were you just like apprehensive? What are they gonna do?
I think from a, a control freak like myself that loves scheduling, it was hard, it was hard to relinquish all that over to someone and don't know what you're doing on, you know, and For most of the part it was quite exciting 'cause we went to, you know, a distillery and we, we did like zip lining and some really cool, cool activities. But I think when I landed, like not landed, when I got there and the big cliff was there and all the equipment that you need for ABS sailing, that's when I kind of freaked that, that I didn't like.
Yeah, I can imagine for somebody with Vertigo, it would've been very daunting. I know my mom really suffers from Vertigo, and we really take the Mickey out of it.
Oh, aren't you a aren't you sweet?
Yeah, complete bratt is what my mom me. Um, yeah, you never really grow up when it comes to family members, be honest.
So Rach. What have you been up to? I haven't seen you for ages, so tell me what have you been up to?
Well, recently I went to Mama Mia. Well, me and Mats went to Mama Mia and um, he's Swedish. So, uh, I was excited to go with him because as you know, mama m is all about Abba. Uh, well the music is about Abba and then they've cleverly put it into, uh, a musical and it was so fun and so exciting. Um, and I think.
The best way to explain it is if you've had a bad day and you end up at Mama Mia, the bad day just gets much better and all your troubles, um, just disappear. Um, because ever is just such classic music. It just is one of those things that can really turn your mood around and it was just really fun. Um, so that's playing at the moment in, uh, in Singapore.
At Marina Bay Sands?
Yes. Yeah, exactly at the Sands Theater. Um, so it's definitely worth checking out , Sunday the 5th of November, .
, so it finishes soon,
So you better hurry up. Better grab those tickets. I think you can Actually, I think there's an article on our website that actually you can click in and buy tickets from there.
yeah. Absolutely. So check that out.
So, Rach, have you moved yet?
Yes, before we were living in the center of town and now we've moved to, another area, which is on the east coast of Singapore, and it's quite a sought after area. It's like, it's very hipsterish. It's very . Uh, traditionally Singapore and the way the housing is, which , has a lot of heritage here.
So it's, so, it hasn't made the move to all the high rise and everything. Everything's very low rise. Um, and it's a beautiful area. I recommend a hundred percent. If you have not been to Joo Chiat, you are missing out. It's just a really fabulous area, but it. Is a tiny bit out of the way. So while if you're a traveler like me, um, getting to the airport, it's only 15 minutes away.
So it just makes life a lot easier that way. Um, but getting into town can be a bit dicey. Over the weekend we had to go into town for a couple of things, uh, to meet some good friends, uh, and. We thought half an hour would cut it and it was actually 45 minutes. We needed to be like safe and on time or a little bit early.
Uh, so traffic, it plays a big game into living out here.
You have all the peranakan style restaurants, and you have all the old shop houses and stuff like that in that area though, don't you?
Yeah, the food here is incredible. Um, I would say that it is so interesting. There's just so many different options and there are a bit more low key, so. Definitely when you're in the city, you've got all of the Western options. You have some here as well, but it's a bit more glitzy, I would say, in town. And here it's still really good food, but it's a bit more rustic, let's call it.
Uh, so yeah, authentic. There's another word, uh, but definitely not, uh, scrimping on quality. It's really lovely. And what I was gonna say was that the MRT is open up and. , in July next year.
So it'll be a lot more accessible. So there'll be a direct line to, uh, marina Bay.
Nice.
It'll, it'll be a lot easier when that happens, I think. And the traffic might calm down a little bit as well, because there are different options. But yeah, so that's the only thing, uh, about it. But so far we love the apartment. We love living here. Um, it's just the it's a bit, takes a bit of adjusting
how is the move itself Stressful. I hate moving,
like
I don't like moving either. Um, we keep saying to us, I was like, it doesn't matter. We are going to just stay in the same place, whatever happens. Um, but as you know, like there was a huge rental increase in Singapore due to covid and like a lot of expats coming from different countries, uh, that totally pushed the price up.
And a lot of. A lot of people were faced with, uh, between 50, sometimes a hundred percent, uh, increase on their, on their apartments. I mean, we were lucky it was 25%, but we were like, why do we wanna pay more? It's already quite expensive here. So we we decided to make the move and we found a lovely apartment that was quite modern and
Had similar spaces, a little bit smaller, um, but it was in such a lovely area, so it was really hard to turn down. But the actual moving itself, oh, it's within a country and especially a country that you don't know, there are a lot of things that you have to remember to do.
You know, forwarding mail changing address. You have to do it with . With, um, the local authorities. Um, just make sure that you register with them within 28 days that you can get a fine for not doing that. So that was really important. Obviously checking, changing electricity, um, the broadband internet that was.
That was, while that was super easy and the TV you still had to schedule those times in and, you know, coordinating all those moving parts is always,
it was a, a logistical nightmare.
We're gonna have a little chat about an upcoming , cultural festival, which is exciting. Uh, and it also gives us, um, a public holiday. What, what's your experience with Deepavali here or, or in the other places that you've lived? Paula?
So the first time I've ever heard of it actually was in Seoul when Urmila sent me a little gift of sweets and I was like, what is this for? And she's, she was, then she kind of explained to me what the whole story was. And then the next time I kind of, uh, had a little bit of an experience with it was. Here, although we celebrated it in in Malaysia, I'd never really celebrated it with people that, uh, it was their culture. So just before Covid, we were invited to my husband's company's Diwali celebration and we had The whole company actually went to a restaurant and had like a, a meal just and dressed up in traditional clothing. And then we went up to, they had hired the, uh, penthouse of a really lovely hotel here and we played cards and drank pretty much until like two o'clock in the morning and, and danced. It was, it was actually a really cool experience.
Wow. That sounds so fun.
, whenever I was working in the office and when I lived in London, um, there was always a few Indian ladies who would bring in sweets for everybody.
And I have to say that they are the most yummy sweetss generally that kind of coconut base. And they're, they can be very sweet, but I've got a very sweet tooth. So, uh, I just love them. They were mind blowing. So, um, it'll be lovely to know. If anybody's listening to this, if you have your favorite place, um, that sells Indian sweets and where can I get them from?
and where do you celebrate your deepavali in Singapore?
I guess that leads me to another question. Do you know of any expats that celebrate it, that don't, uh, are not invited to anyone's home, and do you know how they could kind of get involved?
I.
Yeah, there's quite a few things that are, uh, that are . Available to celebrate it. Um, at the moment you can go down to Serangoon Road and Racecourse Road and there are the Deepavali lights that illuminate little India. And you can experience that from 7:00 PM till midnight. You can go down during the day, but it's obviously more beautiful when they're lit up.
And apparently it's quite magical right down there. Uh, I've been down there, but only during the day. Uh uh. The last couple of years. And then there's just this beautiful fragrance of all the lovely temple flowers that they, um, prepare for, you know, uh, worship, uh, during this time.
They have a big bus tour which will take you around and let you know about the different, um, celebrations going on. And I think that the last one is on the 10th of November.
Um, and I'll just link it in the show notes so that you can get on and it's quite reasonably priced. Um, also the Indian Heritage Center, they offer an open house. To celebrate and understand the offerings of Deepavali so you can get, you can understand more about what goes on and that if you really want to learn more.
And then there's a food bazaar. , which is on from now until the 11th of November. So you can, uh, find those snacks, and, uh, yeah, we'll link all of these in the show notes.
And obviously, I don't know if you know, but you, all year round, you can go to most Hindu temples, they allow you to come in and, um, and have a look around, but especially during Deepavali, I think it'll be, have a special atmosphere, um, there. They're very welcoming and they're always wanting to, uh, share knowledge of their culture with you.
The only thing I'd like to mention is that I went down to, Little India last year. It was so busy. Can I just say if you wanna Just, just might be mindful that the crowds are huge.
So tell me more about what you experienced last year.
So last year there was lots and lots and lots of people. There was lots of lights. There was, I don't, to be honest, uh, just, I mean, it's just, you soak up the atmosphere. So we went out and had dinner. I. Down there and just kind of walked around. We just walked around the streets and everyone was just walking around.
I dunno where everyone was walking to, but we just followed a line and just kept walking around the streets. 'cause I mean, little India itself is not that big,
so And I always like one of those banana leaf restaurants. However, have you ever tried Fusion Indian?
No.
There's a really, really good restaurant. Um, the owner of Burnt Ends, I don't know if you've heard of that before, but, uh, he owns a fusion restaurant down there called Meat Smith. It's actually amazing, but it's not traditional at all. It's very fusion ish, if that makes any sense at all.
That sounds great. What do you mean by banana leaf
restaurants?
So banana, you, it's every, all the food is served on our banana leaf
Oh, okay.
and then you use your hands to eat and they, I think they're actually, there's a couple of restaurants even called Banana Leaf. It's like a chain. my husband used to work in Little India and so we used to go to banana leaf restaurants there all the time. So we always used have lunch dates, having like, 'cause it's cheap, it's easy, it's quick and it's very, very tasty.
Um, I have to say that one of my favorite restaurants that I've been to here is a vegetarian, one in little india, and it's called Kamala Villas, they serve. It's a lovely little restaurant, um, and quite reasonable. Um, and they serve a dosa, which is like a fermented lentil pancake. And then they have all these like little masalas on the side and they have, um, the raita, uh, and yeah, it's so, so good. and also. Khansama I've been to, which blew my mind. I never knew that. Indian food could be just so fresh and fabulous.
Um, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people have been to some wonderful, uh, re restaurants like that, but that was my first time to go there and just be so wowed by the, by the food and, and what they had, which was . Not your traditional sort of Western, um, Indian that you get, uh, back home. So yeah, I was pleasantly surprised and had a great, great, um, meal there.
Thanks again, Rachel, for being a very good co-host and holding down the fort for me while I was away.
You are never allowed to leave again. . I'm only kidding. Um, yeah, no, no. It's always a pleasure to catch up with you, Paula. Um, Youi lead Such an exciting life
And we've got, uh, a panelist who's gonna tell her history of it. maybe you would like to introduce her, Paula, because you're very good friends with her,
So I've known Urmila for quite some time. We were friends in Seoul when we both lived in South Korea,
We are Seoul sisters. Uh, I have a Facebook group called Seoul Sisters , a big shout out to all those girls, but Urmilla's been a friend of mine for a long time, so she has been to Dubai a couple of times. She's been to Indonesia, she's now living in Singapore, so she's quite the seasonal expat. And so, yeah, she's got quite a good knowledge, because she's Indian, she's from Kerala, and her panel interview or explanation was amazing. I unfortunately wasn't there, but Rach did a great job of hosting and very interesting to hear what she had to say.
Yeah, so we are going to, um, skedaddle over there and listen to that. We also had two other panelists who were talking about their cultural festivals. Um, so you'll hear them piping up in the background. And that is, uh, Farah, who is an expat from Hong Kong. Uh, she's. British, but with, uh, Chinese, Vietnamese, uh, roots.
Um, and she was an ex-pat in Hong Kong for several years. Opened up a business there, um, a Banhmi cafe, uh, in downtown Hong Kong. And now she's living here in Singapore.
Yati was probably of first people I met in Hong Kong about Oh wow. About 16 years ago. Our sons were good friends and she's Malay Singaporean.
So let's move on and, and meet Urmila.
So, Umila tell us about, uh, Deepavali and what is the significance of it?
So essentially I would say Diwali is the victory of good over evil. Um, traditionally it was celebrated when. King Rama, uh, returned from exile after 14 years and the, the, the country or the town or whatever just sort of lit up, was lit up with lights to bring him back home and that was the big celebration.
And. As time has passed, I think, uh, I don't know how many people actually follow that. Um, but there's the other side to it where, um, there are lots of people who actually worship, um, the goddess of wealth at that time to bring in good luck for the new year. Essentially, that's what Diwali is all about. Um, but now, of course, in this day, I think there's a lot more partying and celebrating alongside.
what the story was originally.
Wow. It sounds really interesting. And, and what sort of parties can we expect from a Deepavali celebration?
Well, usually it's just a gathering of friends and, um, lots of maybe music and, um, good food and just. Catching up, essentially, um, in the run up to Diwali, I do know that, um, I think playing cards is considered sort of auspicious and, um, different people have different takes on it, so I'm not too sure which is the absolute right thing because we don't really follow this down in the south where I'm from, south of India, um, but they believe that I think if you win, it's auspicious, but having said that, let me tell you, I've never won cards at any of the Diwali do's.
So I'm choosing not to go with that. But anyway, so yeah, it's basically just gathering of friends to celebrate, to enjoy this festive season. People dress up well, there's good food. Um, yeah, it's just coming together, I would
say.
And, um, how long have you been in Singapore and have you celebrated it here?
And, um, and, and how do other countries celebrate it?
This will be my first Diwali in Singapore. Last year I moved in around this time, so I didn't really get to celebrate it big. Um, so this will be my first year here. Um, we... As, uh, Malayalees, which is from the state of Kerala down in south of India, we don't do too much for us.
It's more of an auspicious day where we would probably go to the temple and worship. But now over time, I think all of India has, it's just become one big celebration and party. And so, yes, on the day of Diwali, I definitely put out lights to just welcome the goddess home. So the goddess of wealth, essentially, and, um.
Um, so I, I personally don't do too much, but I do know that in the north of India we do have a special puja that they perform on the day of Diwali. Um, well, in the previous countries that I've lived in, which has been, um, Korea and Indonesia and in the UAE, um, It was just a private sort of celebration, nothing big.
Maybe the Indian Association had a party, or maybe people just called their friends and celebrated it that way. I think in Singapore, it's done on a different scale because I think you have a large population of Indians here. So if you go into Little India, you can see that the decorations are already going up.
Um, I don't think they've lit it up as yet, but, uh, it's beautiful in the evening with all these banners right down Serangoon Road. And I have to tell you, um, the Tamilians who are based in Singapore largely as a population, they celebrate it a little different from the way it is up north. It's a little more, um, simpler.
It's, I think, how do I put it? It's a little more Ritualistic than parties. Um, and yeah, so here I think there's a dedicated and we have Diwali as a holiday while we're in Singapore. So that's good. Uh, a long weekend coming up. Um, beyond that, I would say I see more of a celebration here only because it is officially recognized for those, uh, for you.
The Indians were based here. The Tamils, essentially, yeah. Does that answer your question?
Yes, that's very, very thorough. Thank you very much. And, um, what will you be doing this year for Deepavali?
This year, uh, I'm lucky to have my daughter home, so it's nice. It gives me a good sense of at least having Part of my family here with me.
We will be putting out lights, uh, sweets play a big role. We send sweets across to our friends and oftentimes or anything associated with light. So usually a gift that is sent across to your friends would involve, would include, I should say, sweets and maybe a candle or a lamp or something, but nowadays it's open.
People even send like a little crystal vase or whatever. So for me, I think it would just be sweets to close friends and neighbors, um, putting out lights and hopefully I'm going to be invited to a couple of parties. So that'll be good because I can get to dress up and have a good time with near India.
Yes.
And, uh, what do you wear, um, to a Deepavali celebration?
So, okay, so as, um, as a woman, essentially, yeah, very basically, the Indian clothes would be either a sari, um, which is a in case somebody hasn't seen somebody wearing a saree as yet. It's a very long piece of cloth, about six meters, which is draped with pleats, and you have it flowing over one shoulder.
And the other, um, uh, what do I say? The other outfit that is popular amongst women is a salwar kameez. which the pants vary in shapes and sizes now with fashions and trends having caught up. So these would be in, I would say at the time of Diwali, it would be a little more worked, a little more heavy and, um, um, heavy with embroidery or gold thread or zari as they call it.
Um, and men tend to wear maybe a kurta and a pyjama or pants. And, um, yeah. What's a kurta? A kurta is, um, it's, it's like a shirt that's, that would be longer than a shirt. would normally be, um, probably up to your knees or maybe even shorter. That's the thing now with fashion and trends, you got to wait and see, uh, what's coming out for the season and what the colors are.
And, uh, well, I should probably mention this since, um, your, your, your viewers would probably like to know in the run up to Diwali, there are a lot of. Exhibitions that are held in the city and people bring in designers or upcoming designers to come in and It's, it's quite a rush in there. I mean, people love to pick up their outfits for the season, especially those who have quite an active social life.
And there's a lot of, uh, gatherings they attend. So I think they like to build up their wardrobe. I like to go to just see what's going on and whether I can just manage one outfit for myself. That'll be good. Yeah. So, yeah, I hope this is helpful.
Fantastic. Yes. And, uh, what's the difference between Deepavali and Diwali?
It's the same. I think, um, down south it was called Deepavali and up north it was Diwali. It's essentially the same festival. It's different spellings. Tomatoes, tomatoes.
Okay, that's good to know. And it's good to know that I pronounced her wrong as well.
Oh, no, no, you're right. You can say either pronunciation,
so
that's perfectly fine.
Okay. All right. Thank you so much, Urmila That is really, really interesting. Very thorough about that. Um, I had no idea that they came in and they had all those fashion, um, people coming around and, and having fashion shows. Do they have fashion shows? Like where you walk down the catwalk? Not
that I'm aware of.
Uh, these are just...
I think it's people who are based here who sort of organize this and bring these designers in just so that those who live here have access to whatever the latest trends are back in India and, you know, the latest styles, I would say. Um, so each year, I mean, those who go regularly, I'm sure I'm going to be there every year, just to see what's going on, if nothing else.
Um, so I don't know if they have fashion shows over here for this purpose, but I do know that they have these exhibitions.
Oh, excellent. All right. is there anything you want to add?
A big thing at Diwali. It's a lot of cleaning. People actually get their houses painted, maybe change drapes or get their sofas reupholstered, maybe new furniture, whatever it is.
So yes, that is there. And I just totally missed that bit out. So have I forgotten anything Yathi, since you've been in Singapore longer? I
guess with the, um, the, the, the decoration and the set up in, uh, in, uh, Little India with all the lightings and, and what's the offerings over there. Um, in Singapore, I think, I think leading up to Deepavali, Singapore Expo would have some sort of, um, you know, like putting up.
Stuff to buy, you know, like for decorations, tablecloth and stuff like that. And I think, because normally for, for, for the Malay, yeah, we have performances as well. So that's when, you know, they're probably going to have this, uh, fashion parade of their,
um. Yeah. So there you go, Rachel. Their fashion, you know,
the up and coming, new fashion, new design and what have you.
Um, so yeah, it's probably worth looking at the calendar. If, uh, that sort of event will be organized again, um, normally it's in the Singapore Expo. So I'm not particularly sure on the exact date, but you probably could look
it up. Oh, okay. Thanks for that heads up. Okay. That's a good thing. I didn't know that.
Yeah, that's really good. Thank you so much. Um, that's very interesting.
📍 Just thank you again for coming today because for us we really want people who've been here for a while to give their opinion on stuff, we want here and this panel is real life opinions.
So I'm really grateful for your time and coming in. Cause I know that we're all quite busy, even if we are, we'd like volunteering and working and stuff. So thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts.
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