May 16, 2005
The Sri Lankan Crab
(Day 88) Dr Fwa is a busy man, often travelling out of town (ie out of country) on business. Even on a saturday, after returning home after a week in Korea (I think), he had to go into work for a few hours.
"I'll treat you to dinner tonight. I'll pick you up at Ang Mo Kio at around 5:00pm," he told me over the phone in the morning. That was fine with me. Even though Singapore doesn't have much in the way of attractions, it's a very easy to waste time here.
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Posted by markyiin at 10:59 AM | Comments (11)
May 15, 2005
After 20 years...
(Day 87) It's an inevitable part of growing up. People move, interests diverge, friends become acquaintances, then strangers.
Tao and I were buddies back when we lived in Indiana. Our dads were both working on PhD's, and when Tao's dad finished, their family moved to Singapore. We were about five years old at the time. Even if email and instant messaging existed back then, we weren't literate enough to use it. Being so young and living on opposite sides of the world, there was almost no chance we would stay in touch. He faded from my memory like an old photograph. I couldn't tell you anything about him. Except that such a person existed, somewhere.
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Posted by markyiin at 11:36 PM | Comments (5)
Singapore's sights
(Day 86) I think I'm getting a bit spoiled. After seeing Borobudur and Prambanan, I really had no desire to visit the many small temples scattered throughout Singapore. The natural beauty of Fiji and New Zealand's coastline made the artificial beaches of Sentosa Island unappealing. And I always prefer watching wildlife in their natural habitat, so I couldn't be bothered with the Night Safari. I'm getting harder and harder to please...
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Posted by markyiin at 05:03 AM | Comments (5)
May 14, 2005
The making of a secret agent
(Day 85) I was still undecided about whether or not to buy anything. Do I need anything? Probably not. Could I use something? Probably. Would it kill my budget? Probably not. Could the money be used for better purposes? Probably. I couldn't decide.
I read that the Funan IT mall was also a great place for shopping. The MRT took me to city hall, and from there, it was only two blocks away. I'm sorry if my rambling about electronics isn't the most interesting of topics, but to me, it's fascinating stuff. The prices at Funan IT were better than at Sim Lim, but still no killer deals. There would have to be a significant discount for me to pull the trigger.
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Posted by markyiin at 02:58 AM | Comments (8)
May 12, 2005
Shopping in Singapore
(Day 84) Singapore actually scares me a bit. I mean, we've all heard the stories about the nanny state. No gum chewing. No littering. No spitting. I have a tendency to spit whenever something unpleasant is in my mouth. That would be one of the many bad habits I'd have to curb. A caning might be an interesting experience, but it's one I'd rather not go through.
By the time I woke up, Auntie had already gone to work. I bummed around a bit before getting my act together and dragging my butt out the door. From my MRT stop, Ang Mo Kio, it was only about a 15 minute ride to the action. I got off at Orchard Rd, known for it's plethora of shopping malls. From here, I started walking, with no destination in mind. I just wanted to get a feel of the city.
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Posted by markyiin at 12:38 AM | Comments (8)
May 10, 2005
Final thoughts on Indonesia and arriving in Singapore
(Day 83) I didn't sleep very well. I spent most of the night trying to keep the mosquitos off. I covered myself with insect repellent, but when i woke up the next morning, I still had a couple new itchy bumps. Mosquitos are supposed to become more of a problem as I head up into Malaysia and Thailand. I'm going to have to come up with an effective protection strategy...
Many people had warned me about what to expect before coming to Indonesia. Beware of racism. Don't let on that I'm American. It's true, the country has had some internal conflicts in recent years. During my one and a half week excursion through Bali and Java though, I've felt fairly safe. I've presented myself as Korean, Chinese, Singaporean, and even Canadian on a few occasions, not because I feared American backlash, but because I didn't want to advertise deep pockets. But several times when I've admitted to being from America, the response has been positive.
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Posted by markyiin at 11:40 PM | Comments (3)