Fumble-bumble
Story time:
Being awakened by your dad banging on your room door to wake you up for a flight will never be a good start to the day.
I had to rush out of the house, pronto. I had a 6.10am flight to catch and had to be out of the house by 4am because it takes approximately an hour to get to the airport from my house - I live in the Timbuktu that is Setapak. Dad already said I'm walking on thin ice having arrived at 5am but I still went ahead and got myself a cuppa and a croissant. I even sat at the coffee shop a little longer to people-watch while I waited for the gate to open.
Time passed and it was already 6am when I found it odd that the gate was not opening and so when I checked my boarding pass again, I realize I'd been waiting at the wrong gate all along. When what I initially saw to be L2 was actually L12 - and when I ran all the way to L12, I was already too late. There were two other ladies with me who missed the same flight. I was glad to not be the only nutter.
As there was no way they'd open up the gate and let us on-board, the only thing that was left for us to do was do the walk of shame all the way back to the service counter at the main hall; we had to go against traffic through the immigration clearance as well as the security check. And when we reached the Service Counter, I was told I had to pay RM500 to reschedule my flight - and anything less was still in the range I wasn't willing to fork out (RM200-RM300). So I took matters into my own hands - went on the Traveloka app, and booked myself another flight at 11am, but the one detail I overlooked was that I booked it for the next day, Friday. *face-palmed myself so hard*
I was not about to go home and explain myself to my Dad, only to be reprimanded about my carelessness and trouble him to send me to the airport the next day again. No.
So, I took the Aerobus that shuttles from KLIA 2 - KL Sentral and had arrived in an hour. I then made my way to First Coach -which is a bus company that travels to Singapore on a daily basis - and was lucky enough to have arrived at 9.30am sharp because I was just in time to purchase a ticket on the spot and hop onto the bus.
I was seated right behind the co-driver, enjoying the spaciousness of my very single seat as I listened to music to keep me company and allowed myself to drift off to Dreamland after one heck of a morning. After a 6 hour bus ride with 2 pit-stops made and 2 Singapore policy checks in-between, I had arrived in Singapore at 3.30pm.
I sat next to this elderly couple on the bus and throughout the 6 hour journey, they displayed nothing but love and affection for each other. Despite minding my own business, I was in too close proximity to not witness their occasional bickering, tantrums, and grunts but also their exchange of "You sure you don't want this extra bite? It's really good!" or "Wait for me, I don't want you to go down alone." The uncle followed this aunty everywhere, carrying her bag and when they were settled down, they even looked happy in silence. I love watching old people - they make me believe that things can last a lifetime, no matter how long they've been together.
The corridors I walked in and out of during my stay over the weekend - Aunty Chi's cozy, humble home was mine for a few days. I'm always hesitant when it comes to staying with relatives but because she is someone whom has watched me grow up over the years and is my late grandpa's oldest sister, I took up the offer of staying with her.
During my last day in Singapore, Aunty Chi asked me to follow her to a nearby sundry shop. I obliged, and took her hand as we walked around the block to get her groceries. I was her only hope to getting her groceries as she was partially blind and going out alone was not an option. Her son who stays with her was away for the weekend, and if I wasn't there these few days, she would've been all alone. At that age, being alone is not something to rejoice about. Especially when you're incapable of going about your usual routine due to your poor sight.
Even with Nanny, I've come to realize that with age, they crave more attention - not in the superficial kind of way but in the way that doesn't let them feel so alone or unprioritized.
Apart from RSVP-ing to two events that fell on the same day, I still wonder if it was the main factor I decided to go to Singapore again, having gone the weekend before. But then when I layed out my itinerary, I had things planned for me every other day.
During the day time, I had the F45 Training I had signed up for - 2 weeks free trial when I could only go for 3 days.
F45 Training is mainly focused on a team-training which combines elements of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), Circuit Training, and Functional Training. All I wanted to do during my few days in Singapore was to work up a sweat, different from what I usually do back home. So I made full use of it - going for back-to-back sessions despite being tired as hell. And after 2 sessions in a day, I was dead-beat.
The main events took place on Friday evening - Kronenbourg Beer Event & Survive The Living Dead: Zombie Obstacle Course, at the same time. So this is where I had to choose. As tempting as the Beer Event sounded, I had to side with the Zombie Obstacle Course because I had gotten friends involved and bailing at the last minute would be a really crappy thing to do.
We made our way to Mountbatten MRT and took a 10 mins walk that lead us to a school compound. There were arrows to guide us to the main location but the walk itself could not have been more eerie. We kept anticipating for something to jump out of nowhere and scare the hell out of us. But thankfully, it was all in our imagination.
Upon signing up, we were given shirts and goodie bags that had 'life lines' attached to them - something we needed to protect from the zombies at all cost. Everywhere in the school compound, there were The Living Dead characters walking around, and if you weren't careful, they'd snatch your 'lives'. And you would then have to earn them back by either carrying out tasks or just posting up silly pictures of yourself at the event.
Despite getting VIP passes, we had to queue up for what felt like hours. As stoked as we were to play every game and go through every obstacle, our patience was running thin. In the end, all we did was play Archery Tag and once the game was over, we sat at the lounge to have coffee and nibble on cookies.
We were done for the night.
The next morning, I had the whole day to myself and I decided to head to Orchard Road - I let Google Maps guide me throughout the 8 mins walk to the Ang Mo Kio MRT station and then followed by the 7 stops on the Red Line that brought me to Orchard MRT. Easy-peasy.
The last time I found myself at Orchard road was a few years ago when my family and I visited Singapore solely for family-visiting purposes. Too much has changed since then. Or maybe it just seems that way now that I have grown up.
Still, walking around on my own gave me a certain thrill.
I walked into shops that intrigued me and I didn't need to rush out because my dad said, 'Let's go' as he always does when he tags along. I stumbled upon cafes I could see myself sipping on coffee and just sitting at to write and people-watch. I even took the liberty of treating myself to a healthy meal - like the huge salmon and beetroot wrap I had from Simple Wraps. - and get my dose of fresh juice since it's so accessible here than compared to KL.
After all that walking around, I was in search of somewhere I could sit and write. I didn't want to end up at a generic Starbucks or Coffee Bean but after having asked for directions, there didn't seem to be anywhere else I could go. There were just no other cafes in the whole of Orchard unless I walked a good distance further.
That's how I ended up at Plain Vanilla. A cafe located at the corner of a retail shop and although aesthetic and all-white everything, it didn't have wifi for me to stay. So I bought my Green Tea Latte to go and I ended up at home.
Dinner at Eighteen Chefs was an eye-opening one; not only for their affordable, wholesome food but also because of the whole establishment itself. This restaurant kick-started it's business by an ex-convict who had a vision to provide jobs and opportunities for other ex-convicts troubled youths whom would have a tough reintegrating back into society after serving their time.
I would have loved to meet the man behind this business, but I think I'll save that for another trip to Singapore, the next time around. That night, I enjoyed my Tom Yam Seafood Fettuccine while Hema stuck to her safe option: Fish & Chips. Not only did the food taste good but their generosity when it came to the self-help condiments/sauces deserved an A+.
The night I managed to grab a hold of my cousin, Hema and take her away from her busy schedule, we go out for dinner (at Eighteen Chefs) and she then takes me from one part of Singapore to another, Little India.
The city is always alive in this part of town but because Deepavali has come to past, the roads are now busy with honking vehicles and street lights without the booming music and throngs of people. At least not at the time of day I went.
Brunching with Sue Lyn always means good-healthy food at places which are Instagram-worthy. She took me to Sarnies , located at Teluk Ayer. Despite the crowd, we were real troopers when it came to waiting for a table because brunch here was that good. We were given the choice to pimp our own breakfast and I chose all my favourites: avocado, spinach, baby greens and the rarest of all choices was, bacon. But it was a good choice, nonetheless.
After brunch at Sarnies, she took me for a good walk around the block and led me to a hidden pathway that brought us to Free The Robot. We were in the mood for frozen yogurt or a good serving of ice-cream that wasn't the likes of Ben & Jerry's or Llao Llao so at Free The Robot, we got ourselves a scoop of pistachio and coconut ice-cream each
To be honest, we were just finding ways to prolong our catch-up sessions because I have no idea when would be the next time we'd see each other.
A few hours later, after a 30 mins Grabcar ride with a driver who gave me insight on his parenting skills and fear of dying anywhere else in the world other than home, I arrived at the Changi Airport. I made sure to not miss my flight again, with 3 hours to kill. So I parked myself at a Starbucks, sipped on my tall Hojicha Latte and enjoyed my last few hours of solitude before I headed back to the hustle and bustle that awaited me back home.
Perhaps I'd be more prepared the next time I take a solo trip instead of fumbling through life the way I always do. But hey, nothing well-thought of or prepared ever goes according to plan anyway.
Love, K xx