Singaporian Update
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
It’s the end of day 2 here in Singapore, and I’m already bursting at the seams!
It’s Wednesday night here, at the end of a rainy sticky day. It was POURING cats and dogs. Or maybe it was raining rambutan and durian. That sounds more like it. So far, it’s been interesting seeing my aunties, uncles and cousins again. I haven’t seen some of them for over 20 years. Wow. That’s a long time. I expect to see more relatives soon.
The first day was beautiful - blue skies and summer hot weather with a bit of humidity. The most beautiful thing about it was going to the hocker centers and getting local food. YUM! I love the food here! And it’s beginning to show on my belly. Oh boy. For that first lunch we got everything under the sum. My dad and I ate until our stomachs hurt. And boy did we sweat! Nothing like hot soup with lots of chilli on a hot day! My dad had a downpour from his forehead! It took us a good bit of time to get cooled off. I think my uncle and aunties were really amused by our intolerance for the assault of 3 types of heat at once - weather, temperature hot food, and spice!
We wandered many malls and ended up at my cousin Lynn and her husband Ron’s place. I got to meet my nephew and niece for the first time in person! Wow! How weird is that? Sometimes we get so used to just seeing photographs that we kind of forget that we haven’t actually interacted with him or her. The funniest part was that the first born, Mark, is still getting used to the arrival of his new sister. So while there’s already some sibling rivalry going on, one should not fear for Eve. She apparently can take care of herself. At some point, Mark made a move that looked like he was about to pester her, and she lunged for him but missed. Instead she ended up fiercely gnawing away at the carpet. I think Mark got lucky that he didn’t lose a finger in that battle!
Today, the torrential rain kept us inside the mega-malls all day. Except the part where I asked to go to a shop that sold goods made by local designers. Little did I know that it was way up a hill in the heart of Chinatown and with no cover from the rain. And us with no umbrellas. Oh boy. So by the time we got there, the entire party of 5 was drenched and more than a little miserable. Talk about pressure to buy something! lol I definitely got 2 of something just for good measure - had to make it feel like it was worth the uphill watery trek!
We also went to the performing arts center - a large building with a spikey exterior so that it reminds you of a durian fruit. I wonder if that was the inspiration. I kept taking photographs of the interior, and kept getting stopped by Kumar, the security guard. I’d take pictures of something and he’d come over and say, “You can’t take pictures of that thing because blah blah blah. But you can take pictures of the exterior,” and he’d point to the thing in question. So I would go there and take pictures of what he had pointed to. Then he would come up to me again and say, “You can’t take pictures of that...” and start all over again. This happened 3 times. By that time, I told him, “You know, you could just say that I can’t take pictures of *anything.* I would have understood that.” He blamed our miscommunication on the fact that he was Indian. Fascinating. So just the mere fact that he’s Indian and we are not lend itself to broken communication? Go figure! Who knew it worked that way? Oh well, at least he was very nice about it every time he told me to stop.
And now we’re back and Lynn and Ron’s place. And once again, I am packed to the gils with food. I’m seriously going to return home weighing 5 kg more! At dinner, Ron was mentioning that there is a species of frog that will gorge itself when the bugs are out in force, so much so that it’ll actually BURST from overeating. I mean, physically explode. Ugh. That’s sort of how I feel at the moment. I really need to walk some more. Uuurg. Why is food here so good?!?
Tomorrow, I’m off to Indonesia. Well, a small resort island of Indonesia. Hopefully it won’t be raining this hard then! Wish us luck! Pray for good weather! And that’s it for now! This is Kat signing off--over and out!
I love Singaporean food! Only been there once, but I know how that frog feels ;)
Posted by on 12/05 at 03:35 PMKumar!! Did you get to at least ask him where White Castles is?! It’s almost like Vince Vaughn in the movie Swingers teasing the poor Indian delivery boy who brought them Chinese food. Sigh. . . at least you didn’t get caned for taking pictures! Stay safe and dry!
Posted by on 12/05 at 11:01 PMpoor kermit, haha. at least they can eat him afterwards! have fun in indonesia, the words “resort island” always sounds like fun, hehe.
Posted by will is on 12/12 at 11:28 PM“resort island in Indonesia” reminds me of Bridget Jones getting arrested in Thailand for drug smuggling in the second book. Beware smarmy, smoothie men!
I’m glad you got to meet your family and nourish yourself. Whaddya buy after you soaked them?
Posted by on 12/13 at 05:45 PM