Harry Forster, National University of Singapore A brief overview of the trips I took and if I think they’re worth the buck… Indonesia Bali  Lombok (a more undeveloped Bali, yet it offers a lot of the same opportunities) Overall highlights: Amazing food – a vegans dream, cheap cheap… make sure you try the Nasi Goreng & Mei Goreng! Activities, activities and more activities: white water rafting, scuba diving (manta rays, shipwrecks), sunrise hikes and of course surfing all year around – are just some of the things you could get up to! If you like dancing into the night, Bali is home to Asia’s best beach parties … Oldmans & Sandbar…

Harry Forster, National University of Singapore Last week I received my final grades from the National University of Singapore, officially marking the end of my time as an international exchange student. For me, these grades do not only indicate the academic progress that I’ve made, but they also remind me of the personal development I’ve made over the past year.  To demonstrate this, I’m going to reflect upon some of the objectives I set out before undertaking my exchange: Experience new culture: I was fortunate enough to be linked with a local Singaporean family for the entirety of my exchange. This benefited me immensely, allowing me to gain an invaluable insight…

Harry Forster, National University of Singapore Firstly, my scuba novice journey started right at the beginning of first semester, where I found a fellow exchange student who was also down to take the plunge… After a bit of scrolling, we came across a Singaporean dive shop that offers an integrated package: including the Open Water certification and a fully funded dive trip to Malaysia – only for £400 (Roughly the same price as what the certification costs alone in other places such as Europe)! So if you’re another newbie who’s up for starting scuba, Southeast Asia is one of the cheapest & best regions to try it – I really…

By Harry Forster, National University of Singapore In this article, I’m going to let you in on my ‘top tips’ for speeding up the unavoidable Singaporean student admin 1. Sorting Out Your Student Pass All exchange students require a ‘student pass’ visa that grants them their stay in Singapore – even though it’s not a permanent visa, that notion doesn’t make it any easier to apply for one… Completing this is probably the MOST important thing you’ll do in your time in Singapore! It’s required for almost everything from purchasing a sim contract to authorising your studies in NUS… First things first, you have a lot of things to sort out…

By Harry Forster, National University of Singapore I touchdown in Singapore sleep deprived and baggage-less after taking 2 connections, 3 planes and visiting 4 airports all within the space of 20 hours… not the most ideal way to be starting your year abroad! After a lengthy queue at immigration and a long exchange with the lost luggage services, I slowly start to question Changi airport’s reputation for being the best airport in the world… Then, as I start making my way out of the airport I get a glimpse of what I thought might be the famous Jewel Changi… then I realised I’ve come to the right place! All in…