Anyways, so I got on the taxi & asked the driver whether he knew where Corus Hotel near KLCC (the twin tower) was, n he just nodded very enthusiastically. As the car started to roll forward, I noticed that he didn’t turn on the meter, so I asked, “no meter?” n of course, why do I bother asking, “oh sorry, it’s broken. No meter”. I’m thinking to myself, kinda difficult to jump off the taxi AND I can’t afford to be late for the bus, so the only other way to get out of this was to bargain n hope to god he’s not a greedy man. It’s kinda funny cos when I asked him how much to get to Corus Hotel, he ended up flipping the question back at me. Obviously, I had no idea! So I just randomly said, RM10. then u see him go, “hmm no no, mam’, RM12?” so of course I got frustrated cos if ur asking ME to name the price, don’t be trying to negotiate cos u lost the chance when I asked u!! arg…n it also didn’t help that he didn’t REALLY know where Corus Hotel was (hai…why did i THINK he knew?) so, crossing my fingers, I pulled out my phone n tried to use Googlemap to find the damn place cos MY TAXI DRIVER didn’t know where! Hm…n of course, for those that know, U-Mobile- my carrier in Malaysia- is the most unreliable network ever, but somehow always pulls thru when I need it most (sounds kinda like an ex-bf of mine lol) but yes, by george, it worked! All along while I’m giving him directions, the driver kept leaning over n trying to see the map. Yes, I know it’s amazing but I’d feel soooooooooooo much better if u kept ur eye on the road. For heaven sakes, I got a bus to catch here!
Finally, we reached n not wanting to stay on his car for another moment, I offered to WALK across the bridge from the other side of the road. YAY! I made it to the bus! (it’s an accomplishment already- for those that know me, I don’t travel alone cos, for one, I’m horrible with directions, and two, as organized as I am, I always manage to mess up bookings). So, the second test came when I went to check-in for my bus ride to Singapore…n yes, it’s all good!! Yay yay yay! Being quite used to the Malaysian sense of time, 8am really means 8-ish…so I walked around n waited to board the bus with the rest of the group.
Once on board- I must say- not too shabby at all. Big seats n individual screens…and a meal! Apart from the tuna sandwich, the rest were really desserts (my favourite!), chocolate brownies, short bread cookies n a chocolate-dipped mini long john. HMM~~ just what I needed. They did hv some pretty cool mini clips- under the titles “inspirational’ and “impossible”. LOL~ I’ll hv to find the links to these videos cos they were really quite crazy! But if ur that eager, u can look up “ballgirl- baseball- Fresno vs. TAC” n “girl cheerlead-tossed thru bball hoop”. Even the Taiwanese magician “liu qian” is on there! Lol so yes, after a grueling 5hr ride, we finally reached Malaysian borders where, once again, I prove that female immigration officers like to pick on me. First, she laughed at my passport, then asked if it was really me, and then asked where I’m going. Hm…I can understand the first two questions, but the last one? SERIOUSLY? I’m at the border between Malaysia n Singapore. If I’m leaving Malaysia, I would kinda have to be going to Singapore, right? Unless some imaginary piece of land stands between the two, which I dunno about, somehow exists…then I guess I AM going to Singapore. But yes, I made it through the dreadful customs n hopped back onto the bus continuing ahead to the Singapore customs/immigration. That’s when I remembered I forgot to finish the last apple in my bag! Hm...kinda hard to swallow an apple before I reach the front of the line n that’d really attract unwanted attention…so I just played it cool. I gotta say, sometimes it does pay to be a girl cos just a simple smile can get u out of nearly anything as long as it doesn’t involve endangering other ppl’s lives. Then I realized, it’s not a crime to bring over an apple. Geez, so much for freaking out like crazy…so there u hv it: if ur crossing the Malaysia/Singapore border, it is OKAY to have fruits, or at least an apple anyways. (yes, it might seem quite trivial but- even though I’m pretty sure many of us do try our luck- we can’t actually legally bring in fruits/vegetables or anything fresh into Canada…so hence my reaction). Then I was OFFICIALLY in Singapore!!! I say that cos the last time I was here, I didn’t leave the airport, so that didn’t count…or I don’t think it counts anyways. But yes, I can finally say I’m in Singapore.
The bus stopped at Harborfront- which was basically a collection of buildings: office towers, malls, n transportation bay. Honestly though, there weren’t any clear signs of where to go, but heading in the same direction as the majority usually takes u to some place important…key word being “usually”, so don’t take that advice to heart. Only use it when u’ve got tons of time to waste wondering around n getting lost. I guess the whole point of traveling is to get used to the feeling of losing control n just going with the flow of things. Letting the events take u along…but of course, sticking to a tentative plan’s not a bad idea either. Having previously researched ways to get to YMCA- yes, after our stay in Taipei’s, it’s got my vote for choice of stay- I knew there’s some sort of public transit that can take me within walking distance. Lol, believing it was a bus of some sort the WHOLE time, it was quite an “eureka” moment when I found out it was the MRT. I do have to say, it has a very easy-to-understand MRT system with simple lines n suitable locations for a station (u know how sometimes, they have a station in the middle of no where- or at least no where important- when what they really should have done was built it where the crowd actually goes. Typical but easily avoidable inconvenience. Anyways, Singapore MRT has an okay from me. If I can say that- knowing how I absolutely dislike taking public transit- then u can count on it being a trusted traveling tool. It’s clean, not too crowded, clearly labeled, n best of all…convenient.
Now, whether it is a tourist-friendly place outside of the public transit system, I’ll hv to leave that for the next few days to decide. First, I do have to admit that I hv a horrible sense of directions, so maybe even with a map, I could hv been lost. Of course, that can’t be discussed cos I couldn’t even get my hands on a map! Well, I do know there’s a visitor’s center where we can get all the information we need, but I kinda need a map to get to the visitor center…so that doesn’t actually work out very well. u’d think the public transit system would hv visitor’s centers eh? Better luck next time! That reminds me, I should probably get a re-loadable transit card tomorrow not cos of the hassle of hving to buy a fare every time, but cos they give u a card that u’d hv to return to get ur deposit back…every time. so to skip all that trouble, u might as well pay the RM5 non-refundable fee for the re-loadable transit card. Just a tip if ur planning to be a heavy-user of the MRT/LRT.
Being so ridiculously lost, I decided to pull the foreigner card n ask a local. I remember so vividly standing at the corner of a major intersection n walking towards me from two directions were a 28-29yr old suited man n a small asian chick with headphones. The usual assumption is that when someone has their headphones on, they don’t want to be bothered. So I looked to stop the suited man for directions, n what do u know…before I could stop him, he bolted to cross the street. So I was stuck with the girl since there were no other pedestrians in sight. To my surprise, she was actually quite eager to help me n very possibly also a foreigner as I could tell she was Japanese. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt cos she sounded sooooooooooo sure. Boy was I wrong. I may not be good with directions, but I can follow them…if given correctly. I cut through the mall, up the elevators, passed the parkade, n all of a sudden, I was lost. U’d think they’d at least have signs if ur NEAR. Finally, a dinky sign with a bunch of nearby locations stuck on the parking lot ceiling. Good thing I’m a well-trained “spot-the difference” player, or else I wouldn’t be too keen on details. More following, then TA-DA! Y-M-C-A. that’s right baby, I’m finally here! After a good…hour walking around with my i-don’t-know-why-its-so-heavy backpack…I finally found the place! N u would NOT believe where it was…it was RIGHT beside the mall that the girl pointed me to cut through…actually, she was directing me to YWCA, not YMCA. O-M-G. one stupid letter n I literally walked an extra 45mins under the hotass 3pm-sun.
but no worries, after all that had been said and done, I’m where I’m supposed to be. Nothing else matters except…OMG I hv to carry all this crap when I go touring for the next few days?!?! *holy mother of pearls* see, I’ve booked myself into a ladies dorm that holds up to 4 girls in each room. Knowing I’d possibly be rooming with strangers, I may not be able to leave my stuff in the room while I’m out. So whatever it weighs now, will be what I’ll be lugging around. Shizzle…n i REALLY packed essentials only. =.=” but to my surprise as I entered the room after checking in, it was filled with stuff. Luggage, clothes, bikinis, n undies…lol it’s like no one bothered to clean up in here. But it was actually a good news for me cos this meant ppl do leave things in the dorm rooms. Nothing valuable, of course, but clothes n toiletries. That’s just about the most fantabulous news ever until my next surprise!
After I sorta settled down, putting my stuff in my little cubby…I wanted to see if I could fix my blog site so I can do an official post later tonight. Except, there was no wifi in the damn room!!! Well, to be fair, there is, but almost U-Mobile –like. Definitely not what I need right now, but things happen n u just gotta deal with it. So I started writing n recapping the morning while messaging my friend who happened to be available this afternoon! I can’t say I’m SUPER close with this friend, but pretty good. We do chat once in a while but I’ve actually only seem him in person prob…once? But u know, I like to make friends. Though, I couldn’t believe it worked out so well that he just so happened to have time while I’m in Singapore cos he’s either training, working or traveling, n by luck, he was actually in town! Lol, I waited around, half starving having digested that junk-food breakfast served on the bus…FINALLY, he was here! Excited excited excited to meet a friend on my solo tour! Having prepared to be alone for the next 4 days, he was definitely a happy surprise.
In his very handsome white dress top n beige pants, he greeted me with a semi-hug. I can tell he’s a person who cannot live without aircon…totally burning in the heat. we agreed to feed my annoying tummy first with a snack while we wait for dinner time. Secret recipe was calling our names n I sat down for a quick bite while he drank his much-needed iced latte to cool down. One of the best things to do in life is to catch up with a friend…it did feel like picking up an old book again, continuing where I dropped off. after what felt like only a couple of hours- actually almost 3ish hours of chitchatting- we left to grab dinner. I was actually waiting till day 3 to visit marina bay, but to my surprise, he was taking me there for some goody Chinese food (yes, I chose Chinese cos I haven’t had Chinese-chinese food in a while- mixed rice doesn’t count). As we drove by, u could see the famous boat-shaped top of the hotel n of course the beautiful lights of Singapore. For some reason, I’ve always liked nite lights…maybe it’s a relation to me missing xmas lights, but yah…they’re just so captivating. Good thing traffic wasn’t too bad, but parking, oh my, was headache. I felt bad that he was going through all this trouble just to show me around n take me to dinner…which I’ll definitely make it up to him when he comes over to my turf. That’s a promise.
Circling forever, we finally found a spot n the funniest thing, he actually asked me to keep track of where we parked the car. LOL, I can definitely do that, but remembering how to get back here…hm, could be a challenge. So I took a pic of the parking area just in case n we headed in. u could tell the mall was pretty new, according to my friend, only about 2 yrs old. Very modern, good traffic flow of ppl…and it was connected to the marina bay casino. See, I duno who or how they come to these decisions, but hving an open-concept center where all floors could see the first, they’ve designated the first floor to be the smoking floor. That doesn’t really do much of a prevention as the smoke would rise to the second n third…ugh so much for being considerate of those non-smoking ppl. Regardless, it was quite a grand casino. No wonder one of my really close friends likes to come to this gamble hall in particular. Anyways, we cut pass the casino n headed for the mall…walking inside felt like walking along the central library in downtown Vancouver…it’s hard to describe that feeling but it makes u feel quite “puny” in all this hugeness. An odd case where restaurants have a waitlist on Thursdays around 8:30pm, we luckily hung around the jap rez, flipping through their menu being very indecisive people, long enough for them to have an opening at the sushi bar. Lol while listening to the Chinese girls flirtatiously talking to the sushi chefs, we had our dinner with a few short talks. Honestly, I’m not too sure why he says he’s quiet around girls, cos if I’m counting right, we had spent the last 5-6hrs just talking. Well, it happens. Most guys just treat me like a bud, which is also a good thing so we can just hangout n chillax. Maybe I would hv been a better guy- HAHA, but too bad we’ll never find out. Anyways, he was itching to “get some fresh air”, so we stepped outside to see the nite view of the Singapore river that was conveniently close to where we had dinner. The crowds don’t lie; it was definitely a place to just sit n enjoy the view. If I weren’t so full, I’d go for cup of iced milk tea…ah. Perfect. Actually, he’s right. It is the perfect place to go on a date. I’ve officially confirmed that for his future date plans lol.
Being the gentleman that he is, he dropped me back at the hotel n as it was situated right next to a populated street, we didn’t really hv a proper goodnight/goodbye. So I’m definitely hoping to see him before I leave cos I didn’t get a chance to take a pic either! What was I thinking to forget to take pics…silly me! I’m forgetting to do tourisy things! Lol it’s actually quite funny cos we ended up doing some exploring for my Singaporean friend too cos he doesn’t spend too much time around these areas…”there’s an LV here?!?” yes…like the ONLY single-standing building right next to the gigantic mall =.=” I guess it happens to all of us sometimes. When I show my friends around Vancouver, I learn something new, or at least I see something different every time. It makes me appreciate just how amazing Vancouver is…dang it, I’m homesick. Well, that’s why it’s called home, so u can always go back.
After a long day, I was ready for a good sleep. If I weren’t such a clean-freak, I would have just passed out n showered the next day. But nah, it’s bothers me too much that I literally would not be able to get into my bed if I don’t shower. So I did. Being the last one to check into this dorm of 4 girls, most of the washroom space was taken, but it’s all good. Gaimongous compared to the other girls, I could use the slightly unreachable window ledge. That’s where my army of toiletries shall rest for the remainder of this trip. A nice hot shower was just what I needed. Time to pass out!!! But wait, the bed sheets weren’t done up. Apparently, ur suppose to do ur own bed sheets…? So I sulked but got to it slowly…tucking it neatly under the mattress in all corners. But being at the bottom bunk, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do…THEN my English roomie finally spoke. “u don’t need to make it too neat. They change it every day.” No wonderrrrrrr~~ the room looked like THAT when I first came in. well u heard the woman. Toss, flatten, jump in n SLEEP! Tomorrow’s a new day with a full schedule…china town, little India, n night safari…maybe even Clarke quay (where all the pubs are)…MAYBE! But for now…
From Singapore, Jessy out.