ESSEC Diaries: Discovering Singapore's Gems with Patsachon Niyomthai

Pat, a graduate student at ESSEC Business School in Singapore, shares her experiences exploring the city. She loves Singapore for its convenience and safety, and enjoys exploring places like Gardens by the Bay and Marina Barrage. She also recommends visiting cultural sites like temples in Little India. Pat suggests lesser-known places such as the Botanic Gardens and Star Vista. She advises using Google Maps for navigation and suggests downloading apps like Singapore Rewards or Singapore Explore for free activities. Pat appreciates the diverse and inclusive culture in Singapore, which has shaped her both professionally and personally. She mentions the importance of understanding cultural nuances when interacting with colleagues from different backgrounds. Her advice for future ESSEC students is to join social media groups and WhatsApp chats to connect with fellow students and make the most of their time in Singapore. Hello and welcome to ESSEC Diaries, Student Journeys in Singapore. I'm your host, Jules Cubito, and on today's episode, we'll be talking about exploring Singapore with ESSEC. Joining us today is Pat, who'll be sharing her experiences. Pat, thanks so much for coming on today's episode. My name is Pastor Sean Leong Di, you can call me Pat. I am Thai and I'm currently like just graduating from the MMD, which is the digital management and luxury chat in the ESSEC Business School. Wonderful, and maybe you can share a little bit about how has your experience been exploring Singapore so far? Yeah, I would say that I moved to Singapore last year in August when I decided to pursue my master's degree here. So from moving from Bangkok to Singapore actually is not much change, but I would say that I love Singapore like very much because like it's really convenient, very safe. Like I explore so many places like the food and many activities that I can do during my weekend and also with my friends. Yeah, so right now I'm in love with Singapore. That's great to hear and I agree. It's very convenient and very safe, which is wonderful. Now, you mentioned you do a lot of exploring. What are some of the must-see or must-visit places in Singapore? Yeah, I would say first of all is NBS area, the Garden by the Bay. It's really beautiful and the other places that I would recommend people to go, it's the Marina Barrage. It's like another part that you can go. You can have a small picnic. You can do like a morning run or like the evening run and the view is beautiful. You can see the NBS. You can see the Garden by the Bay from the other side, which is I think it's a good place that you can explore. For those who are not familiar, NBS stands for Marina Bay Sands, which is the iconic hotel here in Singapore. Are there any cultural places? Because I know Singapore is rich in culture and history. Yeah, I would say there was one temple that's located around the Little India, which is I think if you went there or if you visit there, you will see like a really beautiful and it's really crafted full of the historical and you can see like a lot of like a religious place that people go and pray. So I think it's a good place for you to visit. Yeah. Yeah, Singapore is a melting pot. So we have temples and mosques from all kinds of religion. So yes, definitely worth checking out some of these areas. Now, you mentioned NBS and Marina Barrage, which are well-known places. Are there any lesser-known places that you recommend that you found through your travels? Another place is that it's a good place to go is the Botanic Garden, which is located at the Botanic Garden MRT, which is located in the Circle Line. I think it's really convenient to travel there as compared to Marina Barrage, which is like a really big park. You can also see there's like always a flower show, which is really beautiful. And also you can see like many people are having a picnic and also like some live music there, which I think is a good place for people to explore not only the local but also the travellers as well. It's a great place, like you said, to relax and whine. It's not too far from town. So it's pretty convenient. There's an MRT or a train station very close to that. Yes. Now, I'm curious, most of the students, because the ESSEC campus here in Singapore is located near One North, are there any spots near One North that maybe you or some of your fellow students like to hang out or explore? Yeah, I would say usually like for me personally, if I'm not going for lunch at the canteen, I will choose to go to the One North area, which is like the exit B. There's like a huge like food court there, which is located at the basement floor. But also they have another hawker centre, which is if you walk a bit further, you will find like a plenty of, I would say it's like international food. It's not only like the local food, but you can also find some Taiwanese, also like some Thai restaurant there, which is I think not many people, even like the ESSEC student, they don't really know about that place. But I knew this place because I connected with alumni and I discovered this place and then I brought my friend there and they all love the food there. So I think it's a good place to explore. Yeah. Yes, I think people, every time I ask the question, always goes back to the food near the hawker centre. So for those of you who are not familiar with hawker centres, it's essentially our food courts, I guess you could call it. They have them indoors and outdoors. Yes, correct. And I think the other places that is quite interesting, it's like the Star Vista, which is located in the Borna Vista MRT, which is, it's a walking distance from our school. So there is like a huge park there. And also I think it's a good place for people to explore about the food as well. And also they have some places for you to sit and chill. So I think it's a good place too. Yeah. So it sounds like the ESSEC camp is very conveniently located, walking distance, but then a lot of different food and places to hang out, which is great to hear. Yeah. So I'm curious, you mentioned taking the train to MRT stations. What are some tips for people who want to get around and explore Singapore? Singapore is super convenient. Subway, transport, either like bus or MRT can lead you to anywhere. I think the most useful advice, I would say you can download like a Google Map. Actually, if you have the Google Map, it's more than enough to explore the whole Singapore. I think the Google Map is quite accurate in terms of the travel time. So if you want to go to one place to the other place, you can see on the Google Map which is the farthest way for you. Sometimes they will recommend to like take bus and MRT or maybe only MRT. It's really convenient. Yeah. And it's really like you can use like your credit card or your debit card to pay. You don't need to carry the cash with you. Only like tap on the credit card. It's fine. Yes, very good point. Definitely recommend downloading Google Maps to find yourself around Singapore. And also, like you said, you can tap and go here in Singapore with your card or let people do it via their phone. So it's very easy. You don't need to carry cash. Yeah, and also add on to that, I would recommend some of you maybe you can download. It's called the app called Singapore Rewards or Singapore Explore. Sometimes they will do have the activities from the Singapore government that they offer the travelers or the student for free. You can enjoy one session for free, but I think you have to check on the calendar when it's the available period. I used to go there for the perfume workshop that offer from the website, which is I think it's a really, really interesting experiences. Yeah, I would recommend people to do that. I learned something new today as well. So I'm curious that because you've been exploring Singapore, what has been your most memorable experience so far? I would say not just only a place, but the people here is really nice. They are really helpful. And also like for me, I think once you step into Singapore, it's not feels like you're a traveler because Singapore is like from the stars, like from the moment that you land into Singapore, everything was so convenient until you don't feel like you are not home. So I think that's how I feel about Singapore. That's an interesting observation because it's so convenient. Yeah, and like even like for the cultural diversity, I feel like this is something that I learned that many people come from, like different backgrounds and we don't really feel like, you know, it's not like we are excluded. Everyone was so diverse and everyone was so inclusivity, really like equal. Yeah. So for me, it's really interesting. Yeah, it is a very inclusive culture, which I love as well. Now, I'm curious, you mentioned the difference in terms of cultures. How has this experience shaped you either professionally or personally so far? Yeah, which are not only from like school and also like from outside because right now I'm currently like working as an intern in Sephora, which I get to expose and also get to know like a lot of people from different backgrounds. I think I learned a lot of culture, which is like for my friend, like some people I don't really know about their culture. And then after I get to know them, I know that, oh, this is like something new I've learned from them. And I think it's a really thing for you to consider about like the cultural differences, which is I think like for me, I feel like it can apply into the real world situation where when I have to talk to some of my colleagues, I know how I should act or I know how I should talk to them in a proper way. Yeah, that's what I learned. Are there any examples of interesting cultural nuances that you've noticed either, like you said, traveling or working in Singapore? The thing most I can learn is that Asian, they are not super straightforward as compared to Caucasian or European. So sometimes if you have to give a feedback to either your colleagues or like your friend from your classmates, maybe you have to really deliberately think about your words that you use. But for Caucasian friends, they are super straightforward. You can just say anything and they don't have any feeling that, Oh, are you trying to offend me? Which is I think I learned from that. Yeah, so you can just tell me straightforward. I don't have anything against you. Yeah, very interesting cultural insight that you picked up. So I'm curious because many of the people who are watching and listening to this episode will be the future ESSEC students. So what advice would you give to them to really get the most when they're exploring Singapore? I would say first of all, once you decided to join ESSEC, there will be like a Facebook group that the prospective students join. And I think it's really important for you to join a WhatsApp group where usually people will have a preschool, like pre-uni semester meeting, which is for me, I decided to go there. And for you to know your classmate before the school starts, I think it's like a good start for you to build some relationship, to learn about your colleagues, your friend or your classmate. I think it's a good thing for you to maybe learn about that. And also exploring Singapore, it's really convenient and also very easy. I think before the school starts, you can start to explore a bit, maybe like starting from the area that you decided to stay. Yeah. Yeah, I'm curious. You mentioned the Facebook groups and the WhatsApp group. How do people find them and eventually get access to those? Yeah, usually I think we have a pre-departure session from school, which will be conducting before the school starts, maybe like one month. It will be like, I think it's conducting like multiple times. So I encourage everyone to join the session so you will know like the insights because it's not only the talk from our alumni students, but also the school faculty, which you will know about all the accommodation fighting, like the place that you should stay, you shouldn't stay, or what you should do before you come to Singapore and like after to help you prepare your journey in Singapore to be like as smooth as you can. Yeah. Sounds like a very helpful session. So definitely, yeah, you have to join that one. Pat, thank you so much for sharing your insights and experiences. I found it very enlightening. So I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. And for everyone watching and listening to today's episode, feel free to share this with anyone who might find it helpful. So thank you guys so much and we'll see you on the next episode of ESSEC Diaries.