埃及铁塔内的苹果

I had a sudden inspiration in the middle of the night and quickly woke up to pen down the below.

想起那时，美丽的小岛上
那突如其来，细细的雨水
无忌惮的打在封闭许久的城墙上
白茫茫中，却正好出现七彩的天空
引雨，引城，陶醉其中

晨阳虽姗姗来迟，却与诚恳的宇宙相约在车站
一路到机场，谈谈，嬉戏，笑笑

跑道在前，幼小的心灵幻想着把红苹果送到埃及
无聊的书本一扔，正是小推车成为白色雨天的娱乐

风徐徐的吹，江滔滔不绝的流
十五十六三十一
雨嘀嗒嘀嗒的照下，城静静的依然树立着。

加十，二十，三四五十
雨会继续下
永不退色的城墙会继续淋着雨
而那长年累月呆在埃及铁塔内的苹果，则会永远鲜红。

in memory of rae

I landed back in Sydney after a 2.5 week trip home on Monday evening, 3rd Jan 2011. The first SMS I received brought extremely bad news about the sudden deterioration of Rae's condition; she's been battling stage 3c ovarian cancer since she first got diagnosed with it in June 2004. It sure brought back memories of a previous phone call that brought depressing news of a beloved friend's fatal accident when I returned from a business trip to South Africa.

In the few hours that followed, my Tudi kept me updated on her situation via Whatsapp (the application that to me, makes getting an iPhone most worth the $1000 as it keeps me connected to all my loved ones all the time everywhere). Rae eventually passed away at home surrounded by her family and close friends that evening at around 8.50pm Singapore time.

I started this blog entry the day after Rae's passing but I never got around to completing and publishing it until now. Just like how it took many years for me to accept the reality of my Dad's passing, I didn't want to believe that the same Rae I spoke to on the phone just the night before - she who was so chirpy on the phone and convinced me and Tudi that her condition had improved by heaps since we last visited her the week before - will never nag at me to take care of myself or to constantly remind me to blog blog blog so she could know what I was up to ever again.



It was under very strange circumstances that I got to know Rae back in 2005. We got to know about each other's existence through a group of mutual gamer and blogger friends. Because of her illness, she wasn't sure if she would be accepted so she tried to hide behind a made-up cyber identity that she created when she interacted with me. Tudi and I saw through her facade through her blog entries - we knew the level of maturity shown in what she wrote could not have been written by a 20 year old - and were disgusted by her pretence and lies. I still remember the skepticism we had before we agreed to our first face to face meeting initiated by Rae. I am very thankful for that meeting which changed everything we thought of Rae and brought an additional member to my limited circle of trusted friends.

Because of her age and life experience, Rae was more of a mother figure to me than a mere friend. In fact, the care and concern she'd shown me over the years way surpassed what I experienced from my own Mum (not that my Mum doesn't care for me, but that she rarely ever shows it).

Knowing how I always get very bad menstrual cramps, Rae bought me a hot water pack for easing the pain when she saw me off in 2006 as I embarked on a lonely journey to Sydney for a new job. After reading my complaints on how I couldn't find a single decent bolster in Sydney, which affected my sleep, she and Tudi spent a bomb to air freight me one so that I wouldn't have sleepless nights anymore. She also gave me this gadget to replicate those perfectly boiled soft runny eggs from Ya Kun that I love so much such that I may get to have this comfort food away from home.



To lessen my homesickness especially during special occasions, Rae collaborated with BH who was in Sydney on an internship programme to organise a surprise party for the first birthday I spent abroad away from all my family and friends. She made sure BH got the flattering nickname she knew me by - "Chioest", meaning the prettiest - on the cake. Subsequent birthdays were never lacking in presents such as these from her too.



I in turn surprised Rae and Tudi, thanks to my accomplice BH, when I suddenly showed up in Singapore for a 'farewell' lunch she was supposed to have for BH. This is the first ever photo we took together and I had to mosaic Rae's face back then when blogging it due to her wanting to keep her identity a secret to her other younger gaming friends.



We then spent a lovely day just eating our way around, as were what we always did whenever I went home.



Rae loved to eat, just like me. We both loved the same food such as the Dim Sum at Carlton Hotel, frogs legs porridge from Geylang, the daily soups from Soup Restaurant, the economical fried noodles and bee hoon I got for her from Simei etc etc. Up until her condition got so bad she had to stay in bed, we used to feast and pig out by eating at several places a day. As the years went past, we stopped doing that and switched to having homecooked meals at her place instead so she didn't have to tire herself out with all the travelling. In her last days, very fortunately I was back in Singapore the two weeks prior to her passing, Tudi and I got her some Nasi Lemak that she'd been hankering after. I am glad we got to satisfy one of her last cravings on earth.







Rae particularly loved the prawn noodle soup and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (佛跳墙) - my Uncle's specialties - ever since she tried them for the first time in 2008 when she came over to my place for Chinese New Year lo hei with BH.



We even got down to playing a few rounds of mahjong after the lo hei. It was one of the most memorable CNYs I had.



Rae's condition started to go downhill from late 2009 onwards. My heart went out to her whenever I read about the pain and suffering she went through as documented in her journal. I made a little framed card with the best photo of us 3 spending yet another girly session at Rae's house (below) and mailed it to her with all my prayers for her, hoping it will cheer her up and spur her on a little more. It never got to her thanks to either Australian Post or Singpost and I let it stop at that, never once thought of giving it another go at making another card.



Such a short entry to sum up the many years of friendship and already so many regrets to add to the ever growing list: I promised to learn to cook that prawn noodle soup that Rae loved so much but I never got down to doing it; I never tried harder to send my regards to her either by phone, email or mail; I knew Rae loved reading my blog so much she would click into my site a few times a day to check for updates and yet I couldn't put in that extra effort to blog more frequently; I did not insist on seeing her one last time before leaving Singapore when my visit was cancelled due to a miscommunication with her son when in my heart I knew it would probably be the last time I would ever see her and she did indeed leave us shortly after.

I do not know how many more of such farewells I can take. As I combat my homesickness and grief at Rae's departure this recent month, I can't help but wonder what it is I am here in Sydney for, so far away from everyone I love. Personal freedom? Money? Career? Life experience? Are these worth the time lost in spending with the elderly grandparents who raised me, my Mum and Bro who I have not felt so close to until now, and all the friends who love me like Rae did?

Although it has taken me more than a month, I owe it to Rae to finish writing this. I know she's looking down at me from somewhere and waiting eagerly to read my final masterpiece on her. I hope I can do better at updating my blog from now on so that she doesn't have to get disappointed again if she visits when she gets bored in heaven, and all my friends too will know of what's going on in my life and not get worried unnecessarily again.

year in review - 2010

In contrast to its preceding year, 2010 held more highs than lows for me in many areas. In fact, I pretty much got all that I asked for in my year in review - 2009 entry and more. Some highlights worth mentioning as I round up the year on a positive note are:

I was welcomed into Club 30 with an entire month of celebrations.

On the work front, I experienced the longest period of extreme stress I have ever known followed by an immense sense of achievement as I finally received some appreciation and also got my duly deserved recognition.

Largely thanks to opportunities provided by work and a small part thanks to a boost in my purchasing power, I got to travel to many places new and old both within Australia and around the globe: Byron Bay, Wagga Wagga, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Turkey, Germany, and Dubai.

Somehow, I managed to find time amidst the busy work schedule to finally pursue my interest in learning a new instrument and new language after years of procrastination.

An unexpected encounter brought along a stream of sweet surprises and extravagant date nights.

Finally, in the whole month of December, I got to spend a heartwarming Christmas and count down to 2011 surrounded by everyone I love and who love me.

I had a blessed 2010. I couldn't ask for anything more. Let's hope this has not resulted in an impossible benchmark of expectations for the coming year.

year in review - 2009

I had my fair share of ups and downs this year. On this last day of 2009, I thought I'd take a walk down memory lane to freeze the year's gains and losses, happiness and sadness, into one blog entry before charging into 2010 with newfound energy and fresh hopes for a better year.

A '+' denotes a positive event/emotion while a '-' represents a negative event/emotion.


January
+ I found a sister in Sunshine23.

+ I rediscovered Sydney and Australia in general with a fresh pair of eyes and saw how beautiful this country and her people are.

+ My relationship with Mum got better.

+ I found meaning in upholding the traditional practice of paying my respects to Dad instead of just going through the motion of lighting joss sticks and burning offerings.

+ Bro for the first time, opened up and shared with me his love life, his career plans, his finances, his observations and opinions on the various incidents and events surrounding us, his worries, and most importantly on something that's been bothering me for a long while because I never knew where he stood in this taboo topic and never dared ask - his feelings and thoughts on Dad's passing and how he coped through the years.


February
- I ate my way around Singapore and gained 5 kg in 2 weeks. (!!!)

+ Thanks to the amazing social networking site Facebook, I found my long lost Secondary 3 & 4 form Teacher.

+ I made my first trip back to the island (Pulau Ubin) I grew up on after having permanently 'migrated' to 'mainland Singapore' since the early 1990s.

- I was painfully reminded of my ex boyfriend after watching the movie 海角七号.

- I got severely homesick after coming back to Sydney from Singapore.


March
- In need of some distraction from the downward spiral into depression, I buried myself in work.

+ I finally bought a car and that greatly enhanced the quality of life here in Sydney.


April
+ Went for the Sydney Royal Easter Show for the first time and enjoyed myself greatly.

+ I started plurking, which brought me closer to the animews.

+ I signed up for a gym membership in an attempt to live a healthier lifestyle.

+ Participated in several social gatherings so as to widen my otherwise non existent social circle.


May
- Nothing much. I felt empty.


June
- Felt empty for most part of the month.

+ Bought myself a digital SLR as a birthday present in advance to cheer myself up.


July
+ I got a promotion and pay increment.

+ Went on lots of photowalks with my new camera and polished up my phototaking skills a bit.

- Went into recluse.

- Cried non stop for days on end. Stopped eating and lost 5 kg in 2 weeks.

- My health took a massive hit.

- I was depressed.


August
- Went through the first part of the month in a zombified state. The first realisation that I lost someone I held dear hit me.

+ Took off to Singapore to regain my sanity and rediscovered my self esteem.


September
+ Project Chio was born with the objectives: eat healthier, sleep better, get outdoors more, generally love myself more.

- A severe dust storm engulfed Sydney which affected my lungs badly.


October
- Organised a road trip to Canberra which was disastrous to the point I didn't even want to think about it when it ended. (To Likklegirl: sorry, I didn't blog it as promised as it would have brought back unwanted bad memories)

- Took another weekend off to recuperate in Melbourne which turned out to be a nightmare too. It was so bad I ended up crying more than before.

- I terminated the gym membership.

+ Three of my photos were selected for inclusion in the Schmap Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra guides.


November
+ I fell in love with the Diana F+ kit. I have not purchased it (yet) as I don't have time to devote to her at the moment. I have been reading up on and checking out lomography since.

+ Attended my first black tie event in Australia in which a work paper I wrote and submitted got my nominated company a joint winner placing for the Best New Business Award at the Wagga Wagga Golden Crow Awards.

+ A photo I took and named 'Leaving Home' was featured on the Flickr blog on several days and hit my personal all time high in terms of hits and interest garnered according to the stats.

+ I signed up for guitar lessons.

+ I discovered Muse and rediscovered Nirvana.

- I gave up on a work assignment.


December
+ I re-emerged into the human society by attending parties and functions in an attempt to re-build a life outside of work.

+ I splurged on gifts for myself as a priority over getting gifts for others, which was a first for me. And it felt good.


In summary, I scored well in friendships, family love, materialistic comforts, pursuing personal interests and career but failed terribly at romance, personal well-being and health. So then, farewell 2009. I hope 2010 brings me someone who loves me for me, better state of mind and good health.

pablo's (is my) elixir

I found the above depiction of my nick sketched on my coffee cup when I got my usual daily dose of caffeine this morning by courtesy of JJ, co-owner of Pablo's Elixir, the cafe round the corner of my place, as part of his efforts to boost the sick monkey up for a long day of work ahead. This same day, I popped in with an extraordinary request for some dinner takeaway an hour after they've closed for the day because I was feeling too sick to cook anything or to wander anywhere further away than a minute's walk from home to get food. JJ's business partner Tres promptly threw on his apron and whipped up a more than generous serving of my favourite pasta with extra vegetables (he reckoned the often sick monkey needs more vitamins) while JJ added a complimentary orange to the pack. How sweet of them!

I've casually mentioned this cosy little cafe in passing in several blog entries previously while on other topics but never really did a proper introduction of this lifesaver of mine. The simple acts of kindness I received today totally deserve in return a full blog entry dedicated to the fantastic JJ-and-Tres team at Pablo's.

After my little anecdote above, I guess there's no need for me to elaborate further on their exceptional service level. I also wouldn't say they serve excellent coffee as I've definitely had better ones in many places, but do try their Honey Buzz if you like sweet coffee such as vanilla latte or caramel latte.

As for the food, here's a little collage of some of my better taken photos on a few of my dining occasions there:



Top left: raisin toast with strawberries and yoghurt on the side - simple but yums. If you're after something savoury for breakie, try the mini bacon and egg muffin with Pablo's signature chilli mayo sauce - I liked it so much right from the first bite that I had it every morning for a straight few weeks.

Middle left: my favourite pasta! (I think I have reiterated this too many times now) - penne in a spicy Mexicana sauce with lots of jalapenos, slices of tender chicken breast fillet, some rocket, bits of sundried tomatoes and sprinkles of shaved parmesan cheese. Boscaiola is next on the to-eat list for pasta.

Bottom left: Pancakes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, lots of fresh fruit goodies (blueberries, strawberries, bananas and sultanas) and maple syrup. It took me at least three visits before I got to satisfy my craving for some piping hot pancakes - they were sold out! In those instances, I had the french toast with yoghurt and berry compote which was equally yums too!

Right: Burger with a generous slice of brie cheese and chips and salad on the side. I am not a great fan of burgers so I didn't order this. The Housemate had the burger and gave a thumbs up.

Other must-try dishes:

Thai beef salad - I recently brought a friend to Pablo's for lunch and he absolutely loved it.

Soup of the day - Tres comes up with new soupy concoctions daily for winter and I've tried most of them: pumpkin, pumpkin with sweet potato, ham and pea, chicken, cauliflower, broccoli, roast chicken broth, potato, and I love all of them. If you can't decide what to have, just order the soup and I guarantee you'll like it.

While you're there, you may want to flip through the Book of Answers. The Housemate and I have had some interesting responses to our ???s. Or, you can look for the giant specs for some silly camwhoring like we did below.



Location:
Pablo's Elixir
Shop 4, 662 Botany Road, Alexandria NSW 2015
Open Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm and Saturday 7am (or 8am?) - 2pm
Telephone: 9669 2008

Bon Appétit!

she was there for me, like how i was there for him

I had a long dream on Sunday morning just before I woke. My Dad was trying to tell me something very very very important in the dream. But I couldn't remember what it was at all after I woke. It bothered me for a while as I vaguely remembered that he was trying to warn me of something bad that was about to happen.

Later in the afternoon that same day, I got a long distance call from my Bro. He had encountered some difficulty and needed $XXXX cash urgently.

But I had a problem. He needed the money latest by the next day which was Monday. No matter how, telegraphic transfer or SG local bank transfer, I couldn't get the money to him by his deadline. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that Monday was a public holiday here in OZ and a telegraphic transfer from my OZ bank account here will take at least 24 hours (business days only) to reach the designated account in SG. The quickest way was for someone in SG to personally draw the cash from his/her account via the ATM and hand it to my Bro, while I pay him/her via electronic transfer which will only reach his/her account on Wednesday earliest. My Fav Tudi helped solve my problem eventually.

Thinking back, my Dad could have been trying to tell me in my dream that someone in the family needed help. That's my guardian angel attempting to forewarn me so I could prepare the necessary in advance.

When Bro called for help, I didn't ask him to explain why he needed money so urgently. There was no need to ask. No matter what the reason was, I would still have forked out the money to help him. I did not even query him on the repayment because I trust that he would repay me to the best of his ability. That's kinship.

I was embarrassed to have to ask Tudi for help, especially when it involved money, and not a small amount too. So I tried to explain to her as best as I could on why I needed it so urgently. But there wasn't any need to explain anything. Tudi would have helped me regardless of why I needed the money, without even one second of hesitation. That's true friendship.

Remembering back to something I said during a recent lunchtime chat with a few colleagues on friendship: you will know who your true friends (and family) are when you run into difficulties and need support. I am blessed to be reminded once again of the wonderful people I have around me who will always be there to hold me when I fall. I am no longer alone like I used to always think I was.

a horror after work story

There have been a lot of vehicle crimes (theft, smashed windows, vandalism) along the stretch of road my office building is located these few weeks. A female colleague even had her car broken into once and the whole car (same car) stolen just a few weeks later. The record was finding eight cars with their windows smashed overnight when I got to work one morning. A colleague has posted some pics of the smashed cars here.

When our safety department contacted the police and expressed our concerns on the spate of incidents, the Mascot Police Sergeant acknowledged that they have a youth problem in our building's surrounding streets who like to walk about and cause damage. They have targeted those youths and most are now before the courts but some are currently out on bail. As a precaution, I saved the local police station number on my phone in case I need it.

With the end of daylight savings last weekend, the sky now gets totally dark by about 6pm or earlier. Due to my project deadlines, I have been working rather late nights lately. Not wanting to put myself into any potentially dangerous situation, I try to minimise having to walk long distances in the dark to get to my car to go home after work.

Last night, knowing that I couldn't have possibly left work while there was still daylight, I followed a male colleague when he left work at 6pm to shift my car from the on-street parking to my building's secure parking area. I then parked my car in the brightly lit area under the surveillance of the security cameras at the spot nearest to the building exit door.

Things got a bit interesting when I left the building at close to 9pm. The moment I turned onto the main road, I noticed a black Honda Civic hatchback coming up very close right behind me. I decided to go get some Thai takeaway for dinner and made a last minute right turn into a rather dark neighbourhood - shortcut to loop back to the Thai restaurant in Mascot. The Civic followed and took a right turn too. I made a subsequent left turn and he followed too. I was thinking perhaps he lived in the neighbourhood and we just happened to be taking the same route, but I continued to observe that car. I made a second and a third left turn and the bloody Civic was still right behind. I was starting to get a bit worried - is that car following me?

I managed to park my car by the road just two shops away from the Thai takeaway place and saw the Civic go past me. Great, I thought, so he wasn't following me. I got out of the car, locked it, and walked towards the eatery. To my horror, the Civic stopped right in front as I was walking, he actually started reversing his car all the way to park right in front of mine. It was quicker for me to dash into the eatery than to walk back to my car then so I walked briskly in and greeted the few kind ladies who own the place and who have gotten to know me now due to my frequent lunches there.

I ordered my food and sat down in direct sight of the ladies. That Civic driver walked into the eatery too! Imagine the horror! Was he going to rob me and the kind ladies who run the eatery as well? And kill us afterwards? There wasn't going to be any help from anyone if something really happened, because, if you know how Australian suburbs are like, all the adjacent shops were closed at that time and the entire street was dark. There wasn't much traffic on the roads at that hour either so it didn't help that we were situated right along a main and usually busy road.

That man went to order takeaway at the counter after which he proceeded to stand at the entrance right in front of where I was seated, totally blocking the escape route. I took out my camera and tried to take photos of that guy and his car without letting him see what I was doing. I also put the Police contact number on the fast dial on my phone if I needed to call for help. I then brought the containers of pepper and chilli flakes to right within my reach and removed the lids for emergency defence action if needed. I thought I needed some sharp objects too and held my multiple house and car keys in one hand, ready to poke the jagged ends into his eyes or something. Thinking back now, I think I was quite prepared for an attack and may not have lost the fight if something did happen. *grins ^^v*

After a long agonising while, the guy got his takeaway and left the eatery. I opted to eat in instead of takeaway then as I didn't want to walk back to the car in the dark yet in case he was waiting for me in some hidden corner. At least it was brightly lit and I had company in the eatery. I watched the road to ensure I saw that Civic drive away. I stayed in the eatery for about 15minutes before I left. I looked around to ensure there wasn't any sign of that guy or that car anywhere before stepping out of the brightly lit shop into the dark corridor to get to my car. I also got one of the kind ladies there to keep an eye on me and watch me get into my car before pulling down the shop shutters (I was their last customer). I reached my car safely, got in, locked all the doors on the inside, sped home and into the secure basment car park before heaving a sigh of relief.

Was it paranoia on my part? Have I been reading up too much on all the bikey crimes going on now? What are the chances of you bumping into another car on the road that has only two cars including yours, heading to the same shop via a rather unknown shortcut way through a quiet neighbourhood at 9pm in a Sydney suburb? Well, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Many of us never realise how much we are taking the generally low crime rate environment in SG for granted until we are put in such situations. I miss not having to worry about getting mugged while walking alone at night back in SG.

from singapore and sth africa to australia

Let me tell you a story that spans across many continents and nationalities. It's about how two complete strangers living in opposite sides of the globe became friends. Some year and a half ago, Singaporean Asian Chick (SAC) working in Sydney, Australia got a random phone call from a South African with British origins Lady (SAwBoL) who happened to be holidaying in Brisbane, Australia with her family. It was her first trip to Australia and was also the first time she realised just how stressful her family's life was living in crime rampant South Africa. Having experienced near death incidents involving her loved ones, SAwBoL made up her mind to get her family out of that once-beautiful-but-have-since-turned-scary place they have always called home.

SAwBoL found out that Australia's largest independent regional airline was experiencing a pilot shortage crisis and was aggressively recruiting pilots, including overseas pilots who met the stringent requirements. SAwBoL called up this airline on behalf of her husband to enquire about a pilot position. And that phone call was directed to SAC who happened to be tasked with heading the overseas pilot recruitment project for this same airline at that time. Unfortunately, SAwBoL's hubby was not destined to attend the interview which was to take place in Melbourne.

Months later, SAC was coordinating another round of pilot interviews and chanced upon SAwBoL's husband's details. Thus, an interview was set and he flew from round the other side of the globe to Australia. Things happened very quickly from then and SAC managed to get the whole of SAwBoL's family the necessary visa for employment in Australia (not before fighting some very ridiculous and totally unnecessary battles with those immigration fools).

SAC being SAwBoL's caretaker in her first days in Australia and their sharing of similar experiences of being thousands of miles away from home in a foreign land sparked the formation of a friendship and saw the two females bonding together. Eventually SAwBoL also secured a job within the organisation and became colleagues with SAC in the same department.

And so it was that the girls in my ex-department organised a pre-birthday celebration at work for Steph aka SAwBoL on Friday. Here's my little gift and card for Steph.



Which I hid behind a huge intercompany mail as suggested by clever Izzy hoping to surprise Steph. She was pleasantly surprised although we had to prompt her quite a bit to check out her very urgent company mail before going for the birthday lunch with the others.



Here's her second surprise for the day - flowers and a huge balloon awaited her at a pre-booked table for lunch at Waterworks Hotel in Botany.



I couldn't resist taking a pic with the flowers - sunflowers are my favourite!



Here's Steph's third surprise where the whole of level 3 gathered for a cake-cutting session. There were a couple of small boo-boos in the day (we have not planned such sessions for a few months now and are getting rusty) that kinda spoilt the surprises a bit but all-in-all, it was a happy day for Steph.



And here's a pic of SAC and SAwBoL wearing the same tops (in different colours) they bought for $9.95 each just the day before.

pulau ubin

My housemate Becky happened to mention one day while we were at home in Sydney that a friend of hers (let's call her N) is doing research on the conservation of Pulau Ubin. Since I was born and bred on the island, Becky thought it a good idea for N to interview me. We were then introduced to each other on email a few weeks ago when I was having a short break in SG. After a few rounds of emails, we discovered to our pleasant surprise that N's parents and grandparents know my grandparents. They were neighbours who lived just 10min walk away and my Grandpa's elder brother even sold his house to N's grandparents many decades ago.

And so, we arranged a trip to Pulau Ubin for memory's sake. We arrived at the revamped, modern looking Changi Jetty early in the morning at 8+. I don't like the new outlook of the jetty. The look and feel of the bumboats and the jetty are a total mismatch.



I was very happy to see that the boats used to ferry passengers across to Pulau Ubin are still the same. I always thought they were going to be replaced by modern ferries like those used for transporting passengers to Sentosa Island and that many of the old bumboat uncles would be made redundant. My grandpa used to own one of these boats too ferrying people between the old Changi Jetty and Pulau Ubin. He has retired now and his boat was scrapped years ago.



The information kiosk is the first landmark you'll see after disembarking from the bumboat at Pulau Ubin Jetty. There seems to be more and more of these brick buildings sprouting up everywhere on the island. I miss seeing those traditional old wooden houses with zinc roofs around.



See the green bottle hanging on the wall next to the 2008 calendar in the first photo below? It's actually a syrup drink in animal shaped bottles and was one of my favourite drinks when I was little. I would always go for the purple-coloured one in the elephant-shaped bottle. Photo on the right shows the empty village square on the island. Sad to see it semi-desserted as it used to buzz with life everyday.



Here's a random semi-abandoned wooden about-to-totally-fall-apart bridge that had seen better days.



Here's looking through the backdoor of an old house that still exists on the island. I wonder how the occupants feel about the diminishing island community due to the government's plan to take over ownership of the whole island for development. Even the once famous 大伯公 temple is longer there.



At least the opera stage is still standing. It has been around in the centre of the village square since before I was born. I used to watch Chinese opera here when I was a kid. I am glad they didn't demolish it as it has great significance to the people of Ubin.



Here's how it looks when it's all done up for a performance. This photo is taken from the Pulau Ubin Stories blog started by N to document the news, development, stories old and new and anything related to Pulau Ubin. There was a Ubin Hungry Ghost Festival Wayang held here in August 2008.



Thanks to N's friend from Nparks, I managed to find my way to the plot of land my old house used to sit. There is nothing left there now. The land is overgrown with trees and is just another forest now. However, I recognise this abandoned well you see in the below pic. It was where we did our laundry outside the bathroom. The durian, mango and jackfruit trees still standing among the wilderness helped with the identification of the exact location where I once lived. It was a sad moment for me to see for myself that the old house has indeed been completely torn down.



I have a lot to say about the way the government handled the whole buy-over-land-from-villagers-for-development-but-changed-its-mind-after-chasing-villagers-off-the-island-cos-of-many-factors-and-hence-island-left-empty-for-supposedly-conservation-purposes fiasco. Thousands were uprooted and homes were destroyed, and for what? I don't buy all the bullshit about conservation because that was something that came about much later. There would have been no special requirement for conservation efforts if the islanders were left to lead their simple ways of life. We used to see many more exotic species of animal and plant wildlife way before the special Chek Jawa Wetlands project came about. People exclaim with delight now when they see a wild fowl or a wild boar on the island and attribute this to the environmentalists' efforts. But hey, do you know we used to see these wild things running everywhere way before the government stepped in to claim the island for whatever it was they wanted to do? What is the point of spending millions destroying something hoping to build something better only to regret and then spend more millions trying to restore it but find that some things can never go back to what they once were? Well, to be fair, maybe I didn't get the big picture. But then, who has been informed of the big picture and if there was any to begin with? I look forward to being enlightened. I was and still am greatly saddened to see the islanders' lives and heritage being manipulated as if they were merely another statistic.

combing hair can be so much fun

Here's Monkey Cousin offering to comb my hair for me. She had so much fun doing it!



And here's Grandma laughing at us silly girls. My heart feels all warm and fuzzy just looking at the pics.

my SG itinerary centres around food (part 3 - final)

Read part 1 here and part 2 here. My final week of gluttony in Singapore as below.

This humble-looking Lau Di Fang stall at Kitchener Road is my all-time favourite place for some scissor-cut curry rice. I did not take any photos of the food because as all who've been there will know, all the curries, gravies and dishes slapped messily on top of one another in a plate don't make a very appetising picture. There are people who request for the dishes and curries to be served on separate plates or bowls so that they may look more palatable. But trust me, having all of them veges and meat and gravy and all in a clump of gooey mess brings out the full flavour of the meal. For me, I always have the cabbage dish, curry chicken wings, braised pork belly and egg with rice and lots of curry and whatever other gravies they serve, all on one plate please. Try it if you haven't. It's good. You just have to disregard the not too clean-looking surrounding.



One hot weekday noon, I met up with an ex colleague for lunch. It's funny how we never met for meals when we were working together in Sydney but got together in SG in my short visit back home. As colleagues, I would say we were merely acquaintances who never bothered to interact much except for the occasional obligatory small talk only when necessary. Corresponding with each other through Facebook after she'd left the company followed by spending a full day together just eating, shopping and chatting in familiar SG actually sparked the bloom of a friendship. We accidentally discovered the bargain set lunches offered at Azabu Sabo in Central at Clarke Quay and settled there for lunch. For $7.80, you could choose from a list of options a bowl of noodles (udon or ramen) and a bowl of rice, a drink for an additional $1 and a dessert for an additional $2 - that's just one of the many combination options to choose from.



The two of us shared two set meals that included a spicy tantan ramen, a salmon and roe rice, an omelette curry rice, two salads, a miso soup, iced lemon tea, coffee and ice cream for about $25. I liked the ramen most and found the salmon rice dish very interesting.



Here you see us doing the obligatory pose with the food. My face looks a bit swollen from all the eating over the past few weeks.



Our coffee and ice cream. This place serves a huge variety of ice cream desserts!



Did you know the first and only laksa steamboat place in SG opposite Vivo City belongs to my Uncle's wife's sister? I didn't and only just found out the week before I left SG. Of course I had to go try the food there. So I brought the angels there for dinner. Here you see one angel covering the other angel who was having a bad brow day.







We had the laksa and clear soup combination.



It's ala carte steamboat, not buffet style. We ordered all the different kinds of balls they have - fishballs, mushroom balls, sotong balls, meat balls and more, a lot of quails' eggs, some chicken, some veges, and a lot more. We over ordered and had to call my Bro for emergency help to finish up the leftovers. Total bill was about $49, split up to about $16++ per person. Not as expensive as I initially thought. Thanks Angels for the treat.



I went to the CBD for lunch with my Aunt one day. She treated me to a simple meal of roast duck, mixed vege and tofu and fried rice at Cha Kuan. It's located in a building opposite Hong Leong building (Sorry I don't know the name of the building). We had a good chat that day. My heart totally went out to her when she confided in me the problems she's facing both at home and at work. I feel really bad that I can't be around her to give her support.



Met up with the gals from my JC class one evening, thanks to Strawberry for organising it. I was told to pick a restaurant from the row of shophouses along Purvis Street and I chose this one because of the brightly coloured walls.



It's called First Thai at 23 Purvis Street.



I liked the interior a lot too.



Here's a group shot of the pretty girls. All of them turned up in chic business attire after work and I felt quite underdressed in my denim skirt and Mama's polo tee.



We had the olive rice (this was so good we ordered a second plate), thai fish cakes, tom yum soup, chicken wings, papaya salad, minced pork with chilli and basil (the chilli padi almost killed me), red ruby and mango with glutinous rice for dessert (which was disappointing both in presentation and in taste). Overall, the atmosphere and food were alright but the service was atrocious. More then twice, the service staff tried to shoo us away when we were not done with catching up. Conscious that there may be a queue waiting for a table, we did check but there was none. So we couldn't understand why they were so eager to get rid of us. I have never been made to feel so unwelcome at any eating establishments before. I never want to go back to this place again.



My second last dinner was at the Soup Restaurant in Paragon with Tudi and Rae. They serve very good double boiled soups. I passed on the herbal soups and chose to try the soup of the day that came in the set dinner we ordered - corn soup with pork ribs and carrots (very very very sweet!).



The set dinner also included their signature dish - the samsui chicken. I thought I would be able to have all the chicken skins to myself as both Tudi and Rae don't normally take the skin. But Rae gobbled up the skins greedily! Made me happy for nothing, tsk tsk. Anyways, I have always enjoyed the food at Soup Restaurant because they serve very simple dishes like those Mama would cook at home - they give you the very homey feeling. A big thank you to Tudi who picked up the tab for this meal.



Tudi, Rae and I proceeded to Bakerzin in Paragon for dessert immediately after dinner. We had the Chocolate Amer, Cookies and Cream Cheesecake (OMG YOU HAVE GOT TO TRY THIS. IT'S PURE HEAVEN), a Creme Brulee, hot chocolate shooter with vanilla ice cream and a rum and raisin ice cream.



Very sinful. Thanks to Rae (or was it Tudi? I was too distracted by the cakes to remember but I know for sure I didn't pay) for the heavenly desserts.



You know what? We didn't stop at Bakerzin. We took a train to Bishan, then a cab to Thomson to The Roti Prata House for round 3! That was for Vin who used to hound Tudi and I for supper at his favourite haunt. This time I treated the ladies to a plain prata, a plaster prata and teh alia. The pratas were quite disappointing, either the standards have dropped drastically or we were too full from the first two rounds to appreciate anything else. But I'm sure their briyani still taste as good as I saw many other tables of customers having that - yes they are quite known for their briyani! In case you are wondering, no there wasn't a round 4. We reached puking point and left the Roti Prata House.



My last dinner was at Springleaf Taiwanese Porridge Restaurant in Thomson. I had a bowl of porridge with sweet potatoes, some cold tofu with pork floss, cockles, omelette and preserved veges. I was told this place served better food than Oasis. As I hadn't eaten in Oasis in a long time, I can't really make a fair comparison. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the raw cockles the most (I rarely eat cockles!).



Sadly, this marks the end of my three-week food itinerary in Singapore. Weight check: I gained 2 kgs in that whole period of feasting. Not too bad at all. I was thinking more of a 5 kg gain. It's now time for some serious dieting and an intensive weight loss program in Sydney!