The time has flies here and the fourth and second last week started today. This means that Slush Singapore is already next week!
It has been a crazy rollercoaster and the speed is only getting higher, while we approach Slush. Some differences to note about the working culture here in Asia is the long work days. Our days at the office have been anything between 9-12 hours and 9-18 is the “office hours” we have been told. Also when approaching an event of this size every project worker knows there is a last crunch to push through and we’re just in this crunch to help the core team. This means to push your boundaries when it comes to knowledge, skills and time. How convenient Slush Singapores theme this year is to push boundaries.
Other cultural differences have been the work and freetime floating in to each other. We often feel that here you are expected to be available at all times and work is done almost around the clock. Maybe the active working hours aren’t that much higher than in Finland in the end but in Finland it’s more common to separate work and spare time clearly. Sometimes we miss Finnish punctuality, but at the same time we notice that the end result might be the same here but the way there is just a bit different and not as structured as home.
We have tried to do as much as sightseeing as possible during our few free days and sometimes during the evenings if we manage to leave the office in time. Luckily our offices have nice views and offer a comfortable surrounding to spend our long days. This also explains why we haven’t had time to blog as much as we have wanted, little time to process everything.
To wrap up with some sightseeing: last Thursday night we spent at the famous Marina Sands Bay hotel’s rooftop bar and enjoyed the amazing view over the city while sipping a expensive drink (something to note also; alcohol is even more expensive here than in Finland). Marina Sands Bay is known for it’s infinity pool overlooking the city, too bad that’s only for hotel guests.
More sightseeing and insights are put into words this very moment so stay tuned. We are waiting to share more of our highlights here in Singapore; while it is a once in a lifetime experience.