These Precious Moments We Have So Few

I blame Syakir. I can't get 2 songs out of my head; Pop Goes My Heart and Way Back Into Love from Music and Lyrics. I do find it very odd though that he listens to a whole lot of female artists...

So much for having a well-rested long weekend; it was downright crazy from start to end. I can't fathom how quickly the days passed by and it's back to school tomorrow. The horror. The horror!

Friday was the National Day celebrations in school which was THE WORST event I have ever attended. Things started going wrong right from the moment the bell rang to signal the start of the school day. Albeit the frustration and exhaustion, I have to admit that I was pleased the event was close to a disaster. Evil, I know but it was that ass who was the IC for the event. Off the top of my head, let me share with you some of the downfalls:

• the staggered timing for the main jigsaw activity did not run according to schedule, leaving the boys restless and bored in the classrooms
• when my class did eventually get to the hall to piece together the puzzle, our pieces were mismatched and we had much difficulty forming the puzzle
• upon completion, the boys were expected to carry the completed puzzle down to the parade square. My boys are Primary 1 boys and the puzzle is as large as 12 students' desks put together
• obviously the brains behind this project did not foresee a problem of carrying a large flimsy structure down 3 flights of stairs (with 2 corners to turn) because my boys had to break up the puzzle back into its pieces in order to be able to carry it down the flights of stairs onto the parade square
• because of the above, my class had to assemble the puzzle AGAIN. And by class, I do mean me inclusive
• sing-along in the scorching hot sun. For at least an hour. The hall was empty...
• we had no clue what the emcee was saying coz the sound system was dreadful. Non-existent would be a better adjective.
• our day ended at 11 because they gave the boys a 30 min recess. Not all the stalls were open. We could have ended earlier but NOOOOO... the boys had to be given recess...

Successful event, my ass. A bunch of the colleagues and I were discussing about the pre-hullabaloo for this event and that how the actual event was such a let down as compared to the hype he was creating. We can't wait for the feedback form to be given to us.

We had musical rehearsals next :( but thankfully Syabil and Syakir were awesome enough to wait for me (I ended at 2) and I really needed a break. I was fed and entertained. What more can I ask for? I love Them Boys for being so tolerant and for treating me like a princess (rare but there are those moments).

I headed home to pack my stuff as I was going to do an over-nighter at Amara's with the bride. Saturday morning was the wedding which consisted of me looting the groom and best man, the tea ceremony and the church wedding. I bummed at home for some time before heading down to Marriott Hotel to have dinner with my Aunt who just flew in from down under.

I spent the whole of my Sunday watching Saw 1 to 5 and for that I completely blame Faqih. Sometime near the evening, my mum decided she wanted to crash Marriott Hotel again. Plans were made to have our National Day celebrations there (Yes, we ALL said the pledge at 8:22pm). We could see a third of the fireworks from the hotel room. We pigged out, joked, watched the end to a horror movie before falling sound asleep at 11pm. Yea, age is so catching up on me.

We woke up early on Monday morning (4am for everyone else and 5:30am for me) and headed across the border. It was a mad-ass road trip to JB & Kota Tinggi. It was literally non-stop eating and shopping for us. I managed to snooze a couple of times too. I did try to convince everyone that Mango is really Rambutan and I'm pretty certain I managed to get some of them confused... not convinced, just confused. We reached home at half past 6 after having dinner near Labrador Park. Here I am now, typing this out and still not believing how quickly the days went by and wishing desperately that the work week passes by just as quickly so that I can enjoy the weekend again!

7-Eleven Game

I can't believe I forgot to mention this! Thanks Shu Yu, for your post!

I read in Lonely Planet that Taipei has numerous 7-Elevens spread across it. I mean, seriously, how many CAN you have? Boy were we in for a shock when we made our way to our hotel. In every street, there were at least 2! Some were situated right opposite each other. A rough estimate would be one 7-Eleven at every 300m. Even when we went up a mountain, there was one there! Our guide (one of our many) told us that Taipei has around 7000 7-Elevens. Yea.

I came up with a game, which I believe will take Taipei by storm. Play this, if you're travelling with friends. For every 7-Eleven you spot, smack your friend. It's that simple. Of course there are rules, like no premature slapping (you get smacked 3 times as punishment). Oh and it's a purely transportation game. Meaning, you can only play this game when you're on a bus, train, car, taxi etc.

MY GAME WILL TAKE TAIPEI BY STORM!!!

Taipei Spree

The pictures are on Facebook but below are my killings...

So the Journey Ends

I'm at the airport at this very moment. It's been an enjoyable 6 days here in Taipei. The pictures that I took will explain to you what I mean. But as much as the pictures can speak (my attempt at paraphrasing the a picture speaks a thousand words phrase), I can only rely on my memory to cherish the moments. My memory. Like that's ever reliable.

Greetings from Taipei

Yes, I brought my lappie with me and darling Leng managed to get me a cable. Note to self: It ain't wireless everywhere you go.

I'm enjoying myself over here albeit many reasons not to.

1. Almost impossible finding veg / Halal food
2. Majority do not speak English - quite a number do and are very approachable and very helpful :)
3. Signs and what-nots are in Chinese - I can identify the characters for fish and cow... but that's NOT ALWAYS helpful

I say it's good company and travel planning left to someone responsible!

The part of Taipei that we are in is right smack in the city so we've done and plan on doing some major shopping. We have been to some tourist attractions (nature, memorial etc) of course, but this isn't a cultural immersion trip but more of a return-home-with-a-hole-in-your-pocket trip. I have to say this trip is a good break. I'm so glad to be on this trip with Leng and her family. It'd be pretty dull to be going with a bunch of strangers.

Some observations about this place...

• Left side drivers - it's odd sitting on the right side of the bus, looking out of the window and seeing a driver (vehicle outside) next to you. Even odder, sitting on the left side of the bus, looking out and NOT seeing a driver (vehicle outside) next to you
• Train stations use coin tokens (like that in poker) and the trains have these sirens blasting to warn you that the train doors are closing
• EVERYONE obeys the rules here:

1. You cannot find dustbins on the streets at like every 50m or so BECAUSE you are expected to dispose of your trash at home. So you hang on to your trash till then. The streets are immaculate.
2. People here follow the rules of traffic and are very patient drivers. No honking heard since I stepped foot onto this land.
3. On escalators, you stand on the left and overtake on the right. Same case on the roads, or even when walking on the streets. It's an unspoken rule and no one seems to disobey them except for the tourists, of course.
4. Recycling is a huge thing here. Recycling bins are more abundant than trash bins and the locals do take their recycling seriously. They leave their homes with a bunch of bags, all sorted and wait for the melodic garbage truck to carry the bags away. Even when we ate at BK (I had fish), the patrons stood at the bins and sorted their trash. Everyone returned their trays; there was no sign or even staff wandering around cleaning tables.

• This is scooter land. A sizeable number here travels via scooter. I even saw a working woman in black pumps on a scooter.
• Not forgetting, the locals are very friendly, approachable, polite and obliging. They will come up to you if they notice that you are in trouble; no hesitation. If you ask them a question, they will politely answer you as best as they can. The customer service here is truly a gem.

What can I say, I like being a tourist here! I feel welcome and safe.

Snippets from Malacca

The last time I visited Malacca, I fell ill and I swear I might have just blocked it out. I have close to zero recollection about that trip! My memory is fuzzy and all I can recall are still images and fading voices. It's like something out of a Stephen King novel.

Good thing is I had a much better time there this time around. Albeit not much shopping was done and I wasn't all too satisfied with the food, the company was spectacular. I only have a couple of shots on my camera, I'll link you to Chia Lin's albums at the end.

Up at Bukit Cina, there was an open wet market where people were buying vegetables, meats and apparel off the floor! And by floor I mean gravel! This was the scene in Singapore like 30, 40 years back.

Here are the rest of the shots that I took... click and as promised, Leng's albums; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.