Why One Degree North?

In the beginning we came up with a long list of names for our blog.  Over a glass of wine on New Year’s Eve with two of our favorite people, the name One Degree North rose to the top. We figured it was better suited than “Slumming in Singapore,” “Excuse me have you seen my wine?,” “I miss home,” “Hot, humid and sweaty- Amy and Raegen’s blog.” The only disappointment was that we couldn't use '1° North' as the little degree symbol couldn't be used as part of the website url.

Why One Degree North? Many people don’t realize that Singapore is only about 90 miles north of the equator (i.e. a little over one degree of latitude north of the equator, 1°17 N to be exact.) this is why it’s basically a jungle environment. (For a more details Singapore geography lesson, see two tickets to paradise)

Map courtesy of Maps of the World

It rains almost every day in Singapore and the island has lush vegetation and insects just like any other tropical environment. Singapore is an anomaly as it has a metropolitan area (i.e. no jungle) but so much of the island is still jungle with big lizards, monkeys, snakes, etc. The government does a good job of maintaining the large parks and nature reserves where the wildlife lives. 

Map courtesy of Our little urban eden

Urban jungle

In the urban jungle....Is this the most ridiculous sign you've ever seen? 

Dengue fever is a big problem throughout Southeast Asia with all of the mosquitoes (aka mozzies.) The government takes this very seriously.  Nearly every public place posts signs to reduce dengue. They don't allow standing water (without small fish that eat the mosquito eggs) and buildings are set up with fogging systems to keep mosquitoes away. We won’t go into the debate over on the health effects of fogging vs. getting dengue but the good news is we’re not going to live here forever, especially considering bugs love to bite Amy!

Some of you has asked when is the best time to visit Singapore? Well it’s always hot and humid here.  Raegen recently read a book that stated there are two seasons in Singapore- the wet season and the wetter season.  Locals claim that it is warmer or cooler or drier but it's consistently hot and humid and some parts of the year you get more rain.  The temperature is routinely 75-88 degrees Fahrenheit with a record low of 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

Thanks Wikipedia

The sunrise and sunset times don’t vary either.  We consistently see 12 hours of sunlight (give or take a few minutes) each day.  The joys of living almost on the equator!

Sunrise from the patio of our new house #nofilter (stay tuned for that blog post!)

So you now know the story behind 'One Degree North.'  Singapore is little over one degree north in latitude, it is hot and humid with some rain, the daylight is consistent and mosquitoes are bad in the jungle.  What’s not to love?  Come on over and check it out for yourself!

Until then,

Amy & Raegen