Methinks Singapore should move South. Or North. Just somewhere cooler.

Just got back from Perth this morning. The weather was great, compared to the humidity of Singapore (perhaps affected by the impending eruption of the volcano I've been hearing about). But turning into my neighbourhood, it was hard not to get excited seeing all the banners PAP and Worker's Party have put up in anticipation of 6 May. Will try to get some pictures of the scene around here, and post the pictures soon.

Anyway. I wish I could blog more often, because I really miss getting regular comments (what's the link between the two? If I blog only intermittently, people'll stop coming to as often, and thus leave less comments). And partly 'cause it's boring to see the same thing for too long at the top of the page. But I really can't help it; if it's not the time I don't have, then it's the fear that I may be committing a breach of contract. Specifically -

but I realise that I shouldn't elaborate. Suffice to say, The Company has added an entire section devoted to blogs.

Photos, anyone?

I found this flyer lying on the field located just outside my hotel. [Grandmother story alert:] Googling on it revealed that ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps; the day is a commemoration of the armed forces who sacrificed their lives in the first World War. The significance of their participation in the war lies in the fact that back in 1914, Aussie was a new country eager to establish itself in the world. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were lost in the war. (More info here.)

On the other side of the field lies a lake, named the Swan Lake. I wonder if the ballet has ever been staged there... Hmn. Saw quite a few birds. And many many feathers.

Quite the photo-whore, this seagull gamely posed for a few pictures for me.

Conversely, this sea-bird (I don't know what it's called) which was sunning its wings shifted away uneasily when I got too near.

No swans in sight, however.

Fake Kitties by a shop window. The Asian population living in Perth seems to be quite substantial, if these gift shops are anything to go by. The salespersons I've seen so far are all of Chinese descent, I believe. (Edit: In fact there were a lot of Asian eateries all over. Even one of the guys working at Subway was Asian. I guess Perth isn't one of those places where rasicm is pervasive.)

The requisite vanity shot - which isn't that nice, actually, but I don't really know what other photo to upload hah. On another note, check out this link (in which a dubious character named Hard Gay pays an unannounced visit to the Yahoo! offices), that I got from my soci blog. Hilarious.

Hence concludes a rather boring post. Time for bed!

Edit: I really ought to add more sights of Perth to make this entry more relevant. Actually, the only place I went to was Hay Street, which is a little shopping district, so that's all that you have to content yourself with, dear reader.

Two very different places of worship, one juxtaposed over the other.

The famous Roc Candy of Aussie. Not that I'd heard of it until now.

Elder Paik and his novel (or is it traditional?) method of asking for alms.

There were in fact quite a few buskers on Hay Street, like musicians, spray-paint artists, and mime artists, one of whom mesmerised me so much with his slick moves choreographed to the likes of Justin Timberlake's Rock Your Body that I did not take any more pictures.

The Bed Usurper

(hee.)

The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind

Ah, it's so good to be home. Nothing beats being back with your loved ones, being back in your room (no matter that it's so messy getting in an out of it is practically an exercise in navigational travel).

That's what I was thinking to myself early yesterday morning, as the coach my colleagues and I were on drove over the Tsing Ma Bridge (which bears a striking and, I suspect, deliberate resemblance to the Golden Gate Bridge). It was perfect, watching the ships below us pass by, the post-dawn morning revealing the fauna on the hillsides, the dog and his master walking up the then-deserted road leading up to Disneyland, my trainee buddy nodding off next to me. Absolutely ordinary, plebeian, routine even, but the beauty of it was: I was there.

Better still, I was going home, home to The Boyfriend (who hopefully would be waiting for me at the airport) and everything that I so love. And having nothing to do, I decided to go through the things in my standard-issue handbag, just to make sure everything was there.

The first thing I pulled out was my passport - funny, my bag feels a lil empty... maybe because I left the wretched hairspray in my cabin bag. Hmn, wait a sec.

Oh.

No.

The moment I grasped the reality of it (ie getting past the oh-no-this-can't-be-happening-to-me phase, which thankfully took all of 2 seconds, because time was of the essence), I grabbed the wrist of my buddy, waking her with a start. And, point-blank:

"We left our passports in the safe."

I looked as the horror of realisation sank in onto her face. Consequences were dire if we didn't get those back. We wouldn't be able to board the flight, we'd be stranded, when we finally get our sorry selves back to Singapore we'd be called back to the office where there'd be certain death waiting for us in the form of Office Investigations with the Management. Oh god.

Quickly, we informed our supervisor (and praise be to everything that is good and pure on this earth, because we got a nice one), called the hotel - which was a stroke of luck in itself, because my buddy, whom I shared the room with, hadn't surrenderred the card key which came with the hotel's number because she had been busy settliing a bill - and got the hotel staff to rush the passports down to us, who were by then about 20-30 minutes away.

The price (literally) we had to pay? A freaking HKD$500 (or roughly S$100). Them opportunistic Hongkongers. But it was worth it, because what mattered is that we made it in time, despite the embarrassment of having to trouble the counter staff to escort us to the aircraft, where an off-duty captain stood waiting for us at the door. Most of all - there would be no office enquiry. Alibaba thankyoumama.

And that's not the only stupid mistake I made. On the way up, I chose only to bring a garment bag, besides my check-in luggage (for all the shopping I was to do there) , only to be told, sternly, that hand luggage was mandatory, and that I could be written in for the lapse. Once again, I was lucky to get a kind supervisor who decided close off the proverbial eye and let me off - once. And, as penance, blew S$100 buying a new cabin bag.

Well then, that's that. Enough drama for the day. Pictures, people! More exciting are the HK ones, mainly because we had more time there, and also because in Auckland (so yes, that's where the tower stands) shops close at 6pm and we were pretty much in the outskirts anyway, so I was told. But because I am idiocyncratic, I will present the pictures in chronological order - with regards to which city I visited first, not the date/time that the pictures were taken. Thank you.

A King-sized bed, all to myself!

I wonder if this'll sell well in Asia.

A very sago-ey warm sago dessert. Nothing like those we have in Sing!

One of the beautiful buildings in Auckland. This one was particularly well-lit. Many older buildings were sandwiched between more modern, nondescript ones, making an interesting juxtaposition. I wonder how much more kooky and wonderful it would be like in Barcelona, hmn.

For some weird reason, the words on the side of the building say, on the top and bottom respectively, "Crashing from 125km/h is like falling from here" and "Crashing from 90km/h is like falling from here". Maybe its got something to do with the elevators.

Outside a bank. The girl on my left is my training buddy. Sorry guys, she's taken.

What happens when you need to pee and the only loo for 20 miles around is closed and locked up for the night.

I know I look really wrapped up, but in reality it wasn't that cold. I just didn't know how low the temperatures would really get at night, and so brought the only winter jacket I had along with me. A thick jacket would've sufficed, actually. Still, it was fun walking around like that for the first time in my life, even if it elicited sarcastic comments like "It's freezing, huh?" from the locals we passed by.

And while I over-estimated how cold it would be in Auckland, I under-estimated how cold it would get in Hongkong. The newspapers said 26-29 degrees Centigrade. 26-29! That's like Singapore, I thought. But when I got there, boy. Brrrrrr. My holey cardigan was no match for the wind. Which was a good excuse - erhem, I mean, reason, for me to buy some winter wear at the Esprit Factory Outlet there. Among the many things I got:

The drink du jour in HK: Honey lemon. Way better than the mediocre (now, I know) fare sold at the local S-11.

Picture 1 (on the left) - Left: Wan Ton Noodles (too salty for my taste); Right: Tomato-beef hand-made noodles (very nice)
Picture 2 - Background: Tofu with braised egg; Left: Bamboo shoots (not sure how it was prepared); Right: some kind of dumpling with curry sauce. Nice.

Yummy roasted chicken hanging on the display rack, albeit a lil skinny? Take a closer look. Those are pigeons! The Boyfriend tells me they are a common sight in HK.

Night

Day

Ah... "Hong Kong! Kowloon Hong Kong, I love Hong Kong..."

I'll be back one day. Armed with more cash, I promise. Uh-huh.

Jules' Clues

For those of you who were guessing where I'd disappeared to, here's a hint:

And this provides a nudge regarding where I'm headed next:

By the by, this indirectly answers the question posed on my last entry - the answer is, of course, Changi Airport.

More pictures when I return! For now, I need to figure out what to pack.

Notice of Absence

For the next week or so, you won't hear from me.

If you know which public toilet in Singapore stocks up on one of these things (a godsend):

Then you will know why.



Answers when I return!