Today was the First day we would visit a company. At 8am we left the hostel to visit Heinen & Hopman in Singapore. Heinen & Hopman is a company that produces HVAC systems for ships. The company in Singapore is mainly a factory where they make the installations and install them in the ships. We were welcomed by Arthur Klay and he gave a presentation about the company. In Singapore there are working 37 people from Singapore in the company, but even 155 foreigners. Interesting to know is that the company can employ foreigners but in the ratio of one to five. Most of the people that are working for the company don’t work in the factory, but on the shipyards. After the presentation we got a tour around the factory and the office. The lunch was also provided by Heinen & Hopman and after the lunch the group was split up. 16 people went to Geylang Serai and 4 to the Tiger Brewery. To get to our destination we got a lift from Heinen & Hopman. The company had a small pick up truck that was totally decorated.

The four students that were going to the Tiger Brewery were brought also with the pick up from Heinen & Hopman. They were guided through the brewery where most of the Singaporean beer were brewed, for example Heineken, Guinness, Archor and Tiger. After the tour where whole the brewery process was explained they could taste some of the best beers in the pub.

The district Geylang was large and we didn’t find the part Geylang Serai. We did find (and tried) durians. This is some typical fruit from Asia/Singapore which is also known as smelly fruit. The fruit indeed does smell and has a fruity flavor mixed with unions. After walking around Geylang and seeing some old buildings from this district, the rest of the afternoon was free.

A part of the group went to the Arabic part of Singapore. Singapore consists of districts with different cultures. There is the Arabic part, Geylang is the Malay part and there is also for example Little India and Chinatown.

In the evening there was a light show at the Marina Bay Sands with water, lasers and projections. After the show it was scheduled to go to the top of Marina Bay Sands. The skypark was already closed, but the Skybar was still open. At the skybar there was a beautiful view of the skyline of Singapore. After drinking some very expensive cocktails it was time to go home and end the day.

‘I come and I forget.
I see and I remember.
I do and I understand.’ – Confusius

Sigrid & Lisan