Fukuoka | 福冈 III (Final page)
After 2 days of meetings and the half-day tour to the magnificent Kumamoto Castle, my official duty drew to a close. As we said our goodbyes and exchanged contacts, everyone, with the exception of myself, took the next flight out. By afternoon of the next day, I was the only one of the pack remaining.
As I checked out the hotel to another on my own, I couldn't help feel a little downcast. It wasn't that I forged some deeply-rooted friendships with the few of them. Rather, it was because I had genuinely enjoyed the meeting, their company, and the experience. It made me sad everyone had left, and that I'm alone again.
Fortunately, I recovered quickly from melancholy and went about on my own as planned.
I suffered 3 scares in this trip. First, I misplaced my iPhone charger. That was easy to fix since Daiso was within a stone's throw. Then, I mistakenly thought I misplaced my passport. It left me crazy frantic momentarily, as possible courses of action immediately crowd into my head. Then I remembered I had placed it in another pouch. Wtf!
Finally, I lost my wallet in the mall (I dunno what the hell got into me this trip!). I had bought a few small items at the Tenjin underground mall and it must have slipped off my hands. It was while having coffee that I got the rude shock of it missing. I tried asking the last shop I patronized, and sought help from the information counter. None had good news. It was a horrible feeling. Resigned, I decided to change some money, since I only had some loose coins in my jeans pocket. Fortunately my SG wallet was with me. When I related my loss to the staff at the bank counter, she very kindly offered to help me contact Visa International since I had to also report loss of my 2 credit cards. She even gave me 10Yen to make the call at the phone booth. It was 5pm by then and I was still on the line with Visa Int'l when she dropped by to check on me. Bowing and waving my gratitude to her, I gestured that I was ok. She smiled and went on her way. A minute later, my call was done and I stepped back into the mall. To my surprise, she hadn't left and was instead talking to the staff at the information counter. She caught me and excitedly waved for me to join her.
Turned out someone had recovered a lost wallet and surrendered it to the security office! The receptionist asked for my description of the wallet and it matched that of theirs! Barely containing my excitement, I almost broke into a run to the security office. My god-sent of a benefactor accompanied me. After some verification, it was confirmed that the returned wallet was mine! Everything was intact, even the cash! I could not have been more grateful! Walking my fairy godmother to the subway station, I thanked her profusely. She told me she was in fact coming over to visit her friend in Singapore in Jan/Feb. Writing my number for her, I invited her to contact me when she arrives and that I'd be at her full service. She laughed appreciatively. Such a beautiful, warm, and kind soul she was! It was my fortune to have ran into her.
So now I have all this leftover Yen with me. What better way to use it than to plan for another trip up? :)
The Tenjin (天神) underground mall.
The lovely security office.
My lost & found wallet <3
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