Finally Back Home
The 2 weeks has been useful for the recharge. My batteries were running empty, and it was great to get out of the country to splurge and indulge myself. I consider myself fortunate to be able to travel to different countries and see the world. Nothing beats the insight gained from getting out of Singapore.
My first stop was Japan, having visited there 5 years ago. Having visited the country before took nothing away from this trip. It was awesome, and there's so many things in Japan that makes it so loveable. Nice food, nice people, nice weather, nice shopping, nice cities, everything nice.
However, Japan is a terribly expensive place to visit. I don't think I can go there every year unless I eat grass when I return. I hope that my next visit to Japan would be Hokkaido - the idea of just going there to relax and binge appeals to me perfectly.
In contrast, I don't think that I liked Korea that much. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Korea better had I gone there before Japan. But Korea really pales in comparison to Japan. My last visit was 10 years ago, and things haven't really changed that much, from looking at the photos and what I can remember. In terms of infrastructure and all that, I think Singapore has leapfrogged Korea over the last 10 years.
I didn't enjoy the food as well - spicy food still doesn't do much for me and I have to take it every single meal. It was only on my very last day there that I acquired an appreciation for kimchi. Maybe it was because I realised that I won't be going back there in the near future, so I ate quite a bit of kimchi during my last meal in Korea.
There's something about Korean culture which annoys me, and despite being a much more patient person than I was 2 or 3 years ago, I still don't appreciate being shouted or screamed at. It's their culture, I can't change it, I can only dislike it. When I visited the supermarket there, it was like several shouting matches being held concurrently. And Singapore efficiency, despite what Singaporeans complain about, far outstrips Korean efficiency, and this Korea trip really made me appreciate Singapore much much more.
During these 2 visits, I got the feeling that Japan and Korea were not that expensive anymore. Perhaps it's the rising cost of living in Singapore, perhaps it's the fact that I'm a working adult now and can afford one or two things which I couldn't previously, or perhaps it's based on my observation that things haven't changed in these two countries that much over the last 5-10 years. They've made the leap earlier and it's Singapore's turn now.
I was so elated to be back home in Singapore after 2 weeks. I really can't explain why, but there's just something magical about home that makes it different. I kinda miss being with inpatient Singaporeans, I miss the usual complaints from the typical Singapore and I miss my food here, especially my chicken rice and wanton mee. I also miss my BC classes, can't wait to get my ass back to the studio to work on those stiff muscles.
I caught up on some of the news I've missed while I was out of the country. It amuses me each time I read the Straits Times Forum to see the things Singaporeans complain about. It's just freaking hilarious and uniquely Singapore.
I got back last night and slept very late. I was so tired this morning that I took a cab to work even though I didn't need to. I was quite unlucky that I got in at 7:01am and was levied a 35% peak hour surcharge. I could have avoided that had I got in 2 mins earlier. My taxi fare came up to $18.60 instead of the usual ~$14 that I'm used to. Guess the taxi ride is back to being a 'luxury good'.
I am of the opinion that taxi fares in Singapore were too cheap and people were just taking cabs like nobody's business. However, the increase this time is kinda steep, and is probably going to affect my lifestyle. I better cut my taxi rides otherwise I will have to eat grass more. Not sure if it was the holiday season, but there were 6 or 7 taxis circling my area as compared to the zero taxis each morning. The ride was smooth, I reached office in less than 20 mins. That must be record breaking.
Back to my normal routine soon, hopefully I can recover the momentum which I've lost for over a year now. And I still have a NZ trip to look forward to in February, in the spanking new T3 as well. 2hr Christmas BC tmr! =)
My first stop was Japan, having visited there 5 years ago. Having visited the country before took nothing away from this trip. It was awesome, and there's so many things in Japan that makes it so loveable. Nice food, nice people, nice weather, nice shopping, nice cities, everything nice.
However, Japan is a terribly expensive place to visit. I don't think I can go there every year unless I eat grass when I return. I hope that my next visit to Japan would be Hokkaido - the idea of just going there to relax and binge appeals to me perfectly.
In contrast, I don't think that I liked Korea that much. Perhaps I would have enjoyed Korea better had I gone there before Japan. But Korea really pales in comparison to Japan. My last visit was 10 years ago, and things haven't really changed that much, from looking at the photos and what I can remember. In terms of infrastructure and all that, I think Singapore has leapfrogged Korea over the last 10 years.
I didn't enjoy the food as well - spicy food still doesn't do much for me and I have to take it every single meal. It was only on my very last day there that I acquired an appreciation for kimchi. Maybe it was because I realised that I won't be going back there in the near future, so I ate quite a bit of kimchi during my last meal in Korea.
There's something about Korean culture which annoys me, and despite being a much more patient person than I was 2 or 3 years ago, I still don't appreciate being shouted or screamed at. It's their culture, I can't change it, I can only dislike it. When I visited the supermarket there, it was like several shouting matches being held concurrently. And Singapore efficiency, despite what Singaporeans complain about, far outstrips Korean efficiency, and this Korea trip really made me appreciate Singapore much much more.
During these 2 visits, I got the feeling that Japan and Korea were not that expensive anymore. Perhaps it's the rising cost of living in Singapore, perhaps it's the fact that I'm a working adult now and can afford one or two things which I couldn't previously, or perhaps it's based on my observation that things haven't changed in these two countries that much over the last 5-10 years. They've made the leap earlier and it's Singapore's turn now.
I was so elated to be back home in Singapore after 2 weeks. I really can't explain why, but there's just something magical about home that makes it different. I kinda miss being with inpatient Singaporeans, I miss the usual complaints from the typical Singapore and I miss my food here, especially my chicken rice and wanton mee. I also miss my BC classes, can't wait to get my ass back to the studio to work on those stiff muscles.
I caught up on some of the news I've missed while I was out of the country. It amuses me each time I read the Straits Times Forum to see the things Singaporeans complain about. It's just freaking hilarious and uniquely Singapore.
I got back last night and slept very late. I was so tired this morning that I took a cab to work even though I didn't need to. I was quite unlucky that I got in at 7:01am and was levied a 35% peak hour surcharge. I could have avoided that had I got in 2 mins earlier. My taxi fare came up to $18.60 instead of the usual ~$14 that I'm used to. Guess the taxi ride is back to being a 'luxury good'.
I am of the opinion that taxi fares in Singapore were too cheap and people were just taking cabs like nobody's business. However, the increase this time is kinda steep, and is probably going to affect my lifestyle. I better cut my taxi rides otherwise I will have to eat grass more. Not sure if it was the holiday season, but there were 6 or 7 taxis circling my area as compared to the zero taxis each morning. The ride was smooth, I reached office in less than 20 mins. That must be record breaking.
Back to my normal routine soon, hopefully I can recover the momentum which I've lost for over a year now. And I still have a NZ trip to look forward to in February, in the spanking new T3 as well. 2hr Christmas BC tmr! =)