Oh god, it feels great to be back in Singapore!
As (some of you) know, I've been to Vietnam from the 14th to the 18th of this month.
It's been real fun, kinda tiring, somewhat repetitive (THE FOOD! OMG!) but overall, definitely an experience to remember.
First Day - 14th
At the Vietnam airport:
Our tour guides:
Mostly we visited museums today.
(The person inside is fake. But he sure gave us a huge scare at first sight.)
We also ate at a noodle shop, Pho 2000.
We also watched a water puppet show, something which the Vietnamese are very proud of:
Everyone was either
1) Hyper
2) Suffering from headaches
or 3) Sleepy and irritated (me)
Thank God we got back to the hotel early. The dinner that night was absolute TOSH. Which translates to SHIT. We ate at the hotel restaurant, and it was air-conditioned. When we first went in, we all screwed up our faces. Guess why?
PEOPLE SMOKED INSIDE THE BLOODY RESTAURANT.
Most of the girls were complaining about the smell. I had to breathe through my shirt, and eventually got used to the disgusting smell. If I get lung cancer when I'm older, I'm gonna sue that restaurant.
Anyway. The food. We had rice, fish, pork, vegetables...typical Asian cuisine, actually. Except that the rice was kinda cold, the pork was far too chewy, the tea tasted like plain water, and as for the fish, when I tried to take a piece, a whole chunk of bones came with it. =_=
The room was one of the perks, though. There were two beds - a double and a single. I was rooming with Elfira and Jessica, and we all agreed to sleep together on the double bed, since it was quite big, and we're all fairly small.
Had a long chatting session with Elfira and Jessica, from about 10.45 to midnight, mostly about guys, then went to sleep.
Day 2 - 15th
Woke up at 6 a.m. (Vietnam time). Had breakfast, consisting of two plates of fried rice and four small buns (the plates are very small, so please don't think that I'm greedy. =_=)
Visited another museum, of which most of the things there were considered propaganda, because they were involving Ho Chi Minh (the man), and he strongly believed in communism, not democracy.
Then, we visited a Handicapped Handicrafts centre, where the people who make the ornaments that are sold are usually handicapped.
Quite nice, aren't they? I wanted to buy some coasters, but in the end I changed my mind.
Went to a restaurant, and we had to cross the road. The traffic on the streets are NUTS. There must be billions of motorcycles, because everytime we tried to cross, a whole cluster of motorbikes would have to stop and wait for us.
At the restaurant, we ate rice, fish, pork, vegetables and more pork. I was bored, so I played with some toothpicks:
Ah. I really missed you. ><
After that, we went to Nyugen High School (something like that). And WOW. When we stepped in, it was UBER-FREAKY.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON WAS STARING AT US.
I swear, we must've looked like aliens or something, 'cause they seemed like they've never seen another human being before. And they're not very different from us Singaporeans back in our school - there were the pai kias, the bimbos, the nerds...that kind of thing.
This uber-cutie caught my attention when he was speaking to us. Damn, he's really cute.
(PUHLEASE EXCUSE MY UGLINESS. I don't know what's up with my fringe. Ugh.)
We took an awful lot of photos together with the students, then we left.
For dinner:
We went on board a ship. Guess what was the food?
Rice, fish, pork, vegetables, meat, blah blah blah.
Moonlight.
There was this female performer who danced with fire. She wore a fancy bra top and mini-skirt and swallowed flames, ran them on her arms and body, and didn't get burned. Many of the guys stepped forward for a closer view. Figures.
Had yet another close-bonding discussion with Elfira and Jessica that night after we all bathed, then hit the sack at about 11.45 p.m.
Day 3 - 16th
We went on a 2-hour drive to Mekong Delta, which means I got to enjoy my music for at least 4 hours. ^^ so I was in a reasonably good mood.
Most people slept on the bus. I didn't.
Boat ride to one of the islands.
At the Mekong Delta, we went to a coconut-sweet kiln. There were lots of scary-looking potions around containing snakes and scorpions, sometimes both, in jars containing tonic water/whisky/some kind of alcoholic drink.
Went on a horse-carriage ride to a small part of the village. We went to this place and tried out some fruits and honey. The honey bottle attracted LOTS OF BEES. Yuck. The fruits were okay, but very sticky.
Then! Horror-time came...
For one of the men let out TWO PYTHONS, ALIVE, and asked us to pose for pictures WITH THEM!
I posed with Khai Yee , and she was holding the HEAD. Bloody brave of her. I was holding the tail, and it kept coiling around my arm. ><
Went back after a sampan trip, which was quite fun.
We drank some (very, very bitter) coffee at a coffee shop. Then went to dinner at a place called La Taverne. Classy.
The photo's not very good, but can you see the sculpture of the dog with a bone? Isn't it adorable? There are loads of other ones - alligators, swans, a mouse, etc.
Meal: rice, fish, chicken, pork, vegetables, soup. Sound familiar?
Went back to the hotel, bonding session again, slept.
Went to Orange Agent centre. It was really sad, I had to gear myself up emotionally before entering. The children there were handicapped, either emotionally or physically. We stood there and handed out biscuits to the kids. A young girl took my hand and we ran to the road where our tour bus was parked at. She was about to step on the sharp pebbles, but I pulled her back. I ran back to get my shoes, put them on, and carried her to see the bus. When I got back, I was called up to go usptairs and see the infants/children who couldn't walk or move on their own.
An adorable young boy looked at me. His smile nearly broke my heart. I walked through all the rooms, trying hard to keep a smile on my face.
I don't understand the use of biological weapons. Can't they see the effects they've left behind, a trail of poor small innocent children, who were born this way just for the bloody sake of gaining a chance to win in the war. This Orange Agent centre experience also showed me just how lucky I am, how we all are, to be born in Singapore, a small, but strong and secure nation.
Afterwards. We went to a museum about the war between the Americans and Vietnamese. Wow. The weapons that the Vietnamese constructed were VICIOUS.
We also crawled through underground tunnels. I think quite a lot of people were claustrophobic. I wasn't, but it wasn't a pleasant experience. There was one part where it was pitch black. I kept bumping my head into the walls and had to feel the path for myself.
Then, we went to Ben Thanh market.
I wanna cry when I recount this part.
Frankly, this place is a bloody tourist trap. Me, Elfira and Jessica made the huge mistake of walking into the clothing sections FIRST. We were conned out of a lot of money. It was only then when I was buying other things, and met up with other people, than I realized that I was cheated. Sigh.
I will post up my purchases at a later date.
I learnt to put on bo-liao, annoyed faces and to say a very blunt "No" to overly-persistent shopkeepers. The women at the clothing stores were scary. Truly scary.
Dinner: rice, fish, chicken, pork, soup.
Bonding session at the hotel with Jessica and Elfira. We all lamented about how quickly time flew, for it was our last night already.
Final Day - 18th
We went to Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park. I was really sleepy and nearly nodded off at the briefing. ><
Had lunch at the same restaurant as on Day 2, the 15th. I see no need in repeating the menu. =_= Basically, practically everything contained pork.
I swore to myself, I'm gonna eat nothing but Western food when I got back to SG.
On the plane, got a tad airsick. Slept for a bit. Woke up, ate some airplane food, touched down.
Checked both phones. Was very, very happy to receive so many messages and missed calls from so many people. ^^
Had dinner at Swensens, at the airport, then went home.
All in all, a great trip. I loved it. I only wish I could have wisened up a little and bought some bargains at the Ben Thanh market, instead of getting fleeced by the bloody shopkeeper.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Memories. Pain. Regret.
Rick & Me.
Z: "Shh. Listen. That's the sound of my heart breaking."
He's jealous of Zack. I should've known. He's afraid I'd get hurt. I don't blame him. I can understand how he feels. But I moved on only because I believed I was a burden to him. I don't wanna make him feel bad just because I'm regretting the huge mistake I made about two months ago. But do I still have feelings for him? Do I feel happy or sad that he's missing me? I want him to move on, be happy, even if it's without me. He likes her, doesn't he?
But Zack. He's such a sweetheart, but he was a huge player. True, it was two years ago, but who knows? He doesn't look like the type, but...looks can be really deceiving, I suppose. But I can remember his touch, his smile, his face - part of me believes he really, truly likes me. Yet another part - perhaps logic - interferes, reminding me that a leopard doesn't change its spots. Does he really like me for who I am, even though we haven't even known each other for a week? Or am I just an easy convenience for him?
I wish logic wasn't overruled by emotions. Whenever I think of those two guys, I really don't know whether to be happy or sad. I really don't. I need remedies. Something to help me forget. I need to rule out my thoughts and put aside my emotions for now.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Le-yi introduced this comic strip series to me:
http://www.explosm.net/
It's a daily series, and some of them are really funny. Here are some of my favorites:
That's it.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Today I went to JJC for a self-confidence/leadership building workshop. On the bus there, I took 198. There was this Indian guy, 19 or 20 years old. He came down from the top deck, was about to get off, then he saw me and and went to sit down.
BESIDE ME.
All around us were empty seats. I was thinking: "Shit, what does he want? My number?" I was listening to music on my headphones so I tried not to look in his direction. It was FREAKING CREEPY.
And when the bus turned and we all leaned to one side, I kept feeling his elbow in my waist. GOD, IT WAS SCARY! He sat all the way to Jurong Point beside me and I felt very nervous. I kept shooting glances at other passengers.
When at Jurong Point, we all got off, and an old lady asked me in Mandarin, "Is he your friend?"
I shook my head.
She tsked, and said "Then you must be careful."
When I walked towards my bus, to my horror, I realized he was just RIGHT BEHIND ME!
I quickly ran for the bus and got on. Omg, it was freaky. Nothing like that has happened to me before. o_O Thank GOD he didn't follow me.
So okay, on to brighter things...
THE WORKSHOP!
It really was fun. There was an absailing/flying fox session, domino-building session, yoga session and a final briefing after dinner. Beside Jurong Sec, there was also some JJC students and guys from HCI.
At first I was nervous, 'cause there were so many guys. But I eventually relaxed, during the flying fox session, where I stood standing on the ledge for like, five minutes, before I finally jumped off. It wasn't that bad after all, but my legs were really wobbly afterwards. The HCI guys were great, they kept trying to reassure me that it wasn't very scary.
So. There were quite a lot of new people I'd met: Nicholas, Zack, Melvin, Bryan, Diyanah (our group's leader, but I'm not really sure how to spell her name) and some of the other guys, of whose names I have forgotten.
This is Zack. He's a real sweetheart, really nice and friendly. I really like him. :p
Our group leader, Diyanah!
These two went AWOL during our domino-building session. =_= On the left is Bryan, on the right is Melvin.
I absolutely CANNOT remember his name, so I call him TRAITOR. He left our group during our domino session and went to ANOTHER GROUP. WOW!
SU! Gorgeous, as always. :D
Hafeezzah. SO CUTE!
The next part is at the briefing/vision/role play session.
Zack, Traitor and Diyanah (picture above). Omg. I really really really like Zack!!!
Check out the guy in the middle, with the soles of his shoes facing the camera. HOT RIGHT? I think he's mixed - Chinese-Malay. But he's reallllllllllly good looking.
I still prefer Zack. :D
And what he said to me afterwards when we were going out of the canteen will stay with me for the rest of the weekend. :)
Okay, that's enough ramblings. Toodies!
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Recommended by Brenda, my adorable look-alike (or so everyone says).
1. Do you eat alot of fast food- Yeah, maybe that's why me skin is so awful. =_=
2. Have you kissed anyone in 2008?- Yes, several people. ;) But only three on the lips. =X
3. Were you happy when you woke up today?- Not particularly.
4. What did you last get upset about?- About me being, well, me.
5.Do you eat candy on a daily basis?- HELL YES!
6. What did you say in your 5th sent message?- I can't remember, and I can't be bothered to look it up. =_=
7. Who was the last person you ate with?- My family!
8. Who was the last person you took a picture of?- MYSELF!
9. When ordering sushi, what do you get?- Eew. I hate sushi. =_=
10. Who was the last person you sat next to?- My sister, on the couch, when we played the Wii.
11. What were you doing at 10 am?- Using me laptop.
12. Have you changed alot since summer?- We don't have summer here. =_=
13. What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?- I don't spill drinks on myself.
14. Where is the place you want to be right now?- Out, preferably at a cool party, with friends, or staying over at a chalet/someone else's house (good friend, obviously).
15. When was the last time you cried- When I watched a movie, about a week ago.
16. What's your favourite song at the moment?- That's a tough one. I'd have to say..."The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script and "Dear God" by Avenged Sevenfold.
17. What were you doing at 11 last night?- Watching Animania.
18. Who's near you?- My family?
19. What were you doing at 5 am in the morning?- Sleeping. =_=
20.What's bothering you right now?- The fact that I'm ugly, stupid, fat, shallow and heartsick. LOL.
21. Who was the last person to talk to you on the phone?- Cheryl, my cousin!
22. Whose house did you go to last?- Derrick's. O_o
23. Who honestly knows everything about you?- Nobody. Seriously. Nobody at all.
24. Who broken your heart?- I'd really rather not say.
25. Honestly, do you love someone very much?- Yes. Family. Relatives. Pals. :D
26. Who was the last person to tell you that they love you?- My mum. LOL.
27. Are you friends with the last person you kissed?- Yep. :D
28. Are there any parts of your body that hurts?- WTF? Not...really?
29. In the supermarket, the first thing that gets your attention is?- A cute guy. HAHA!
30. How cool do you think you are?- Not at all. =_=
31. Drugs are?- HARMFUL TO THE BODY! BAN DRUGS!
32. Which one do you hate the most?- What do you mean, which ONE? Which one WHO/WHAT/WHERE?
33. Who was the first person to text/email you today?- J.L. Oh god. Sigh.
34. What was the first thing you did this morning?- Check my clock and roll back to sleep. LOL.
35. Who was your last missed call on your cellphone?- My sister.
36. What's the last mistake you made?- Buying Guitar Hero III when I should've waited for Guitar Hero World Tour. ARGH!
37. What are you listening to right now?- "Welcome to the Jungle" - Guns & Roses
38. Who was the last person of the opposite sex you had a conversation with?- My dad?
39. Who was the last person to call you - Hang on, didn't this question appear before? Well. My cousin, Cheryl.
40. Is there anything you want to say to someone special?- Yes. I love him. ;) No, I'm not a bloody twit. I just really wanna say it. You know who you are.
Sabotage 5 people !
:D-Amanda-Darrel-Joan (Shit, I don't know any more people.)