Written while on the plane from Singapore back to Perth (Part I)
Another plane trip - which calls for another LJ update! ;) We're going through some rough turbulence at the moment so typing is kinda interesting...
So this time, I'm flying back from Singapore to Perth. And what a whirlwind trip in Singapore it was! Only two and a half days, and an awful lot of catching up to do in that time! But I managed to get it pretty much all done.
My flight from Tokyo got into Singapore on Wednesday evening, and the wave of hot humidity hit me as soon as I got off the plane - how I love that smell :) It reminds me of everything that is good about Singapore :) Caught a cab to my grandma's house (we all call her Mamani), and she was delighted to see me :) Her house looks really good too - they've renovated the place so there's now four bedrooms, so I had my own guest room with ensuite bathroom and aircon, it was great!
Waited around for my cousin Sutlej to get home, eventually discovered he was asleep upstairs :P We all sat down and Mamani made us a great dinner, then I freshened up, jumped in a taxi and went down to Orchard to meet devinjay who had been patiently waiting at Borders for me. We wandered down to the Coffee Bean nearby, I ordered a Sunrise, he got an Ultimate, and then we sat and talked until at least 1 in the morning - it was really good to just chat randomly with him, face to face :) Went home eventually, but then couldn't sleep until about 3am.
By fortuitious chance, it turned out that Thursday was Diwali/Deepavali - which is a well-known Indian festival (colloquially known as the Indian festival of lights) - and also a public holiday in Singapore :) So my trip was timed really well :) I woke up at 8ish in the morning, had breakfast, sat with my family while they entertained guests, and then followed Mamani and my uncle out shopping for the family dinner that night. First stop was the Geylang wet markets, where we got prawns and fish, and I stuck out like a sore thumb :p Then up to Hougang for some more standard grocery shopping at NTUC FairPrice (and I got lime juice! *glee*)
(Although while it was funny to stick out so much, being a lone white guy in a traditional market in suburbia, I was loving being above average height again :p)
Came home and spent some time with the family, and then went out to meet Anthony and Jo (friends of mine, Anthony used to work at iiNet but they both live in Singapore now). At their suggestion, we met at the Esplanade (pronounced "Esplanan-aid") for Max Brenners. Now while I've been privileged enough to enjoy Max Brenners drinking chocolate at Oriel in Subiaco. getting to actually experience the whole menu was fantastic. And all our drinks were ridiculously yummy, and I had a great time catching up with both of them :)
I got home by 6:30, and the rest of the family who are in Singapore currently (two uncles, an aunt and a cousin) showed up about an hour later, and we sat down and had a great dinner. I actually have one more cousin in Singapore, but she was recently voted Miss World Singapore, and was in China competing for the world title - she's a lucky girl! And a very pretty one, of course :)
After dinner we shared a bottle of wine, played with sparklers (as one does on Diwali) and watched a DVD of this year's Indian film awards in Edinborough - the costumes and dancing were amazing, and the award ceremonies were very heartfelt - it's interesting contrasting it to the Academy Awards, it makes them feel fake in comparison :) Eventually the family left, but I was still feeling pretty awake so I jumped in a bus, met my friend Steve at the train station, and we headed to Bugis - found a little Middle Eastern cafe on Arab St where I had bagalawa and hibiscus tea, and Steve had some nice lamb thing. We walked around a bit and he showed me this really nice "Gotham City" style building nearby, it was SO beautiful :) And we sat in Tai Keng Gardens and talked for a bit too - eventually I got tired, and so we parted ways and I went home to sleep.
(I'll post the second half of my trip later - I don't want to make these entries TOO crazily big!)
So this time, I'm flying back from Singapore to Perth. And what a whirlwind trip in Singapore it was! Only two and a half days, and an awful lot of catching up to do in that time! But I managed to get it pretty much all done.
My flight from Tokyo got into Singapore on Wednesday evening, and the wave of hot humidity hit me as soon as I got off the plane - how I love that smell :) It reminds me of everything that is good about Singapore :) Caught a cab to my grandma's house (we all call her Mamani), and she was delighted to see me :) Her house looks really good too - they've renovated the place so there's now four bedrooms, so I had my own guest room with ensuite bathroom and aircon, it was great!
Waited around for my cousin Sutlej to get home, eventually discovered he was asleep upstairs :P We all sat down and Mamani made us a great dinner, then I freshened up, jumped in a taxi and went down to Orchard to meet devinjay who had been patiently waiting at Borders for me. We wandered down to the Coffee Bean nearby, I ordered a Sunrise, he got an Ultimate, and then we sat and talked until at least 1 in the morning - it was really good to just chat randomly with him, face to face :) Went home eventually, but then couldn't sleep until about 3am.
By fortuitious chance, it turned out that Thursday was Diwali/Deepavali - which is a well-known Indian festival (colloquially known as the Indian festival of lights) - and also a public holiday in Singapore :) So my trip was timed really well :) I woke up at 8ish in the morning, had breakfast, sat with my family while they entertained guests, and then followed Mamani and my uncle out shopping for the family dinner that night. First stop was the Geylang wet markets, where we got prawns and fish, and I stuck out like a sore thumb :p Then up to Hougang for some more standard grocery shopping at NTUC FairPrice (and I got lime juice! *glee*)
(Although while it was funny to stick out so much, being a lone white guy in a traditional market in suburbia, I was loving being above average height again :p)
Came home and spent some time with the family, and then went out to meet Anthony and Jo (friends of mine, Anthony used to work at iiNet but they both live in Singapore now). At their suggestion, we met at the Esplanade (pronounced "Esplanan-aid") for Max Brenners. Now while I've been privileged enough to enjoy Max Brenners drinking chocolate at Oriel in Subiaco. getting to actually experience the whole menu was fantastic. And all our drinks were ridiculously yummy, and I had a great time catching up with both of them :)
I got home by 6:30, and the rest of the family who are in Singapore currently (two uncles, an aunt and a cousin) showed up about an hour later, and we sat down and had a great dinner. I actually have one more cousin in Singapore, but she was recently voted Miss World Singapore, and was in China competing for the world title - she's a lucky girl! And a very pretty one, of course :)
After dinner we shared a bottle of wine, played with sparklers (as one does on Diwali) and watched a DVD of this year's Indian film awards in Edinborough - the costumes and dancing were amazing, and the award ceremonies were very heartfelt - it's interesting contrasting it to the Academy Awards, it makes them feel fake in comparison :) Eventually the family left, but I was still feeling pretty awake so I jumped in a bus, met my friend Steve at the train station, and we headed to Bugis - found a little Middle Eastern cafe on Arab St where I had bagalawa and hibiscus tea, and Steve had some nice lamb thing. We walked around a bit and he showed me this really nice "Gotham City" style building nearby, it was SO beautiful :) And we sat in Tai Keng Gardens and talked for a bit too - eventually I got tired, and so we parted ways and I went home to sleep.
(I'll post the second half of my trip later - I don't want to make these entries TOO crazily big!)