Singapore 2008 - Inconsiderate Fellow Passenger, Clarke Quay
As I've mentioned before, I took the bus to and from Singapore on my last trip. Before the highlight of the trip, I managed to get myself lost in Novena Square. I didn't know how that happened, but yes, I lost my family while walking to the bus. I couldn't call them and I could only sms them, which I mispelled Burger King due to the dictionary function and I was running out of battery. It was early in the morning so many shops weren't open yet. Finally they managed to contact me before my handphone died off and I found them. My mom thought that it was hilarious how Steffi the adventurer who goes exploring Singapore could get lost in a MALL.
And then, in the bus, I sat next to the window so the luggage rack was right above my head. I was daydreaming and didn't realized that we had reached the immigration dept of Singapore. I got up abruptly when my dad called out to me - and smack my head really hard against the luggage rack - and ended up keeling over on the chair while holding my head, sans anime style. That was the first time I saw stars. That day just wasn't my day.
And now, the highlight:
I have never met anyone as annoying as this lady who was sitting in front of my sister (who's on my left). It started off when we left Novena Square. I love watching the scenery outside the bus, but suddenly this lady (the snobbish
tai tai type) approached me and requested that I pull the curtains as the sun was too bright. What are you? Vampire?! Ok, fine, I just looked at her and pull the curtains shut. After a while, I decided to nap, but nooooooooo, someone was being too noisy. If she wants to talk to her friend, she could do so quietly, but instead, she was complaining loudly. I don't know what she has to complain about, but she has A LOT of complaining to do to her friend. If it's not this, it's that.
I hate being disturbed when:
1) I want to sleep (I'm sure most of you too)
2) I'm watching anime
3) I'm reading manga/book
4) I'm daydreaming
She even went to the bus driver to complain/ask about stuff a few times, eg. "Why are we stopping at this rest stop and not that rest stop?" or "That rest stop has so many flies!" and God knows what else.
The last straw was when we alighted the bus after a rest stop, she actually came over to my sister's and my side and stared blatantly at our footspace without even acknowledging us. On top of that she looked as if she was checking whether we had foot disease which could possible spread to the front where she sits.
Steffi, when on tour/trip, normally lacks of sleep. Steffi who lacks of sleep also lacks patience and adopts a don't care attitude...Steffi is also irritable especially when confined in small spaces such as a bus. So Steffi decided to take her revenge. >=D
Steffi noticed that Annoying Lady is, besides annoying, also very vain (always smoothing down her short hair and applying cosmetics) and is afraid of cold (she shut off her air vents). So after lunch, at another rest stop when we alighted the bus, we (sister and I
lah)noticed that she wasn't in the bus yet. >=D OPPORTUNITY TIME! I told my sister to sit at that Annoying Lady's place while I directed both our air-con blowers to her (it was pretty cold in the bus, so we didn't need them). At full blast of course :D I don't know if the other passengers saw, but they sure didn't say anything if they did.
Finally, the bus left the rest stop. And the fun begins. Annoying Lady does not know why her hair kept on swaying about like the
lalang at our roadside, or Autumn in My Heart, which ever you prefer, but she kept on flattening down her hair. Every few minutes. :D With a smirk on my face, I settled down to sleep but this time I was disturbed by my sister. It was funny to see her laughing silently, shoulders shaking, face all red and fist stuffed to her mouth to prevent herself from laughing out loud everytime the Annoying Lady's hair swayed. Mom probably realized what I did but didn't say anything
at first. Dad on the other hand, needed my sister to explain to him what was going on :D He, of course, didn't like that Annoying Lady too.
Mom: Ok lah, push the blower back to yourself, later she scold you.
Me(stubborn): Then I'll scold her back. Politely.
Mom: Haih.
I wasn't kidding when I said I'll scold her back. Remember, Steffi who lacks of sleep also lacks rational thinking. I mean, geez, if she was so fussy, why doesn't she hire a limousine or take the aeroplane? Sheesh.
OK, so here are some pictures of Clarke Quay, a reward for listening to my rants :D
Labels: Numbnut Explores the World, Ranting and Raving Numbnut
Singapore 2008 - Toy Museum
Firstly, I'll like to apologize if this blog doesn't make sense. That is because while I'm writing this, my brain has ceased functioning. So, on with the story. It was a Monday, when all my Singapore relatives were working. We (Dad, Mom, Sis and I) decided to go exploring ourselves on that day. After surfing the Internet, I found a website (can't remember the link)which had a listing of places to visit/see. I
thought this place sounded interesting. With only the address noted down, we went hunting for it. In Singapore, it should be easy to search for your destination. However...
We took the MRT to Raffles City. The description on the internet said that it was "opposite Raffles Hotel". Exiting Raffles City, I could see many hotels. Tall, tall hotels. However, none of them were Raffles Hotel. We asked someone nearby for direction and realized we were going the opposite direction -_-
Finally, we found Raffles Hotel:
-_-||| No wonder we couldn't find it. We looked too high up in the sky.
Bengang.So our destination was "opposite Raffles Hotel". After walking a while...
Steffi: WTH?! Just how big is Raffles Hotel?!!! ALL of these are opposite Raffles Hotel!
And then, we found a guiding light! A star of hope!
So we walked happily...until we reached the other end of the road with the same sign, pointing back to where we came from.
Steffi: ...
Sis: ...
Mom & Dad: ...
Steffi: This means...we have walked past it. Did you see that place just now?
The rest: Nope...
Steffi: I guess we'll have to open our eyes wider...
*walk walk walk*
Steffi: THERE! *points to a narrow modern looking shophouse*
Sis: ...HAR?!
Mom: That is the Toy Museum? Are you sure?
Steffi: And we were looking for something big and museum-ish like the Raffles Hotel -_- Ah, geez.
Dad: It's privately owned mah.
Yup, we went to the Mint Museum of Toys which showcases toys from a few countries and over 100 years. Admission charges are:
Adult: $10.00
Child 2-12 years old: $5.00
Child below 2: Free
Senior citizens 60 years and above: $5.00
Family promotion
-Minimum 4 persons, 2 adults & 2 children: $24.00
-Minimum 4 persons, 3 adults & 1 child: $28.00
The Museum is divided into 5 floors, each floor one category. So these are what we saw on the first floor:
Tinplate monkeys! Looks like Abu from Aladdin. Or was it the other way round? Abu looks like them. LOL!
Remote controlled peacock! It was used in a movie made in Australia a long time ago...I think. Got to look up on that. Can you imagine this? Movie productions were already so high tech back then.
The First Floor was filled with classics. Mom was happy to see toys she recognized and probably played with before. Toys last time were made out of tougher stuff! They can last longer compared to our new plasticly toys.
These cars and trains are probably tougher than our...which could break into two parts in an accident. Ahem. You know lah. If you don't know, then nevermind. :P
Daruma! It's the red one in the middle. I remember seeing this in the manga Doraemon! Ah, geez! I want one in spite of his grouchy face.
This group was famous during Beatles era, I don't know anything about them at all, so do visit
here.
"Hey, Mom! Can you get me this car?"
Beatles. I don't think I need to say anything about them.
If there's Felix the Cat there's Bonzo the Dog! Ok, that's rather unfair. Bonzo came first. Bonzo was created in the 1920s whereas Felix, 1930s. I've watched Felix's cartoon before...but I can't remember much about Bonzo. In fact I'm not sure whether I've even seen anything "Bonzo". But somehow it feels like I have somehow seen before...ARGH.
Golliwogs! I knew of the existence of golliwogs through Enid Blyton's books. I've always hoped to see one, but I guess golliwogs aren't popular in Malaysia. My friend said he had one before but he was afraid of it, so he kept it hidden! So glad to see it here. However the story behind/issue with golliwog, like the teruterubozu isn't as nice eh?
China dolls! LOL! There were many similar dolls like this on this floor in various shapes, sizes and costumes. And they didn't look dolly. They looked real. Which...is not good. >.< Especially at night. Thank god the dolls were small.
Barbie, Ken and Midge. Wait. I didn't know there was a Midge! They weren't so pretty back then eh? But at least they didn't encourage kids to become anorexic and bulimic!
They had so many characters back then. I only know Ken and Barbie. I wonder if the old Barbie was as expensive as the Barbies now?
KYAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! Mr Bear! Mr Brown Bear! I've seen him in Enid Blyton's book too! >.< I want!
Anyone wanna "ride" Popeye? *smirks* How about you, Darke? He's a rare one. One of the two in the world or something like that. In its hey days it was probably very popular with kids. Can see that the paint came off a bit at the seat part (his back).
You wouldn't believe this! an entire floor of tinplate robots and space related toys such as spaceships! It boggles the mind, really. You can actually purchase a "copy" from the ground floor. It's a pity they don't have an entire floor on Gundam though. WAIT! Maybe the Gundams were in his warehouse, not on display?! ARGH!
"Dan Dare" comics and merchandises. Created in the 1950s to a 1990s settings(with spaceship, aliens and all!), it is still...ALIVE!!! Amazing. I know nothing about Dan Dare -_- So, hop on over to
here to check it out. I still like my Gundams and FMPs better.
So! In conclusion, although it's a rather small museum for the price paid, and the toys changes every now and then (rotation) I still had a fun time. I just wish I could see the owner's entire collection. Apparently, what I saw was only 10% of the owner's collection! He sure is a patient and adventurous person.
Note: There are more toys than shown in my post. My camera's battery was dying off so I only took those which I like.
Mint Museum of Toys is located at 26 Seah Street, Singapore 188382. It's opened from 9.30 am to 10.30 pm daily.
Tel: (65) 6339 0660
Labels: Numbnut Explores the World
First Trip to Singapore for the Year 2008
Yes...I know I haven't been updating. Busy. :P
Ok, so my first trip overseas for the year was supposed to be to Cambodia, but that plan was aborted :( Instead, I went to Singapore to celebrate my sister's 21st birthday with our Singapore relatives. Usually, I go to Singapore by train, but the travel time seems to be getting longer and longer :S
So this time, I went by bus -
First Coach bus. On the way to Singapore, we only made one stop and that was at the Pagoh rest stop. It's huge, it's new and it's beautiful...plus the toilets were airy, spacious and most importantly, clean. Even the landscaping was nice!
We used the Second Link to get to Singapore, instead of the Causeway. There were hardly any motor vehicles using the Second Link! Our immigration/customs centre at the Second Link was super huge, but almost empty. I think it's alright to pay a bit more to use the Second Link than to get stuck in the jam and getting frustrated using the Causeway.
On the bridge to Singapore, I tried snapping pictures of the sea (just what is so fascinating, I don't know :P) and noticed something funny:
Unless you are suicidal, I don't think you'll go against that "No Entry" sign.
We (my dad and I) arrived there at approximately 12.30pm, after a 5 hours journey. It was a fast one. The bus stopped at Novena Square, where my mom and sister were waiting for us. We left our luggages at the First Coach office in Novena Square and then proceeded to
Pepper Lunch for our lunch.
Dad's lunch. Beef and eggs with rice - price: can't remember.
My lunch. Beef and cheese rice - SGD10++
My sister's. Beef steak set - SGD14++
After that, we went to Orchard Road to do some shopping. We returned to Novena station and went over to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH), which is just opposite Novena Square, because we were following our uncle back home (uncle's a senior pathologist there). I've always been fascinated by TTSH. It looks nothing like a hospital, more like a shopping centre actually.
They even have a grand (or is it a baby grand?) piano there. There's another antique piano in their mini museum.
I like the decor. Feels so fantasy like.
This ornament reminds me of the anime, Card Captor Sakura.
The various cafes, shops, eateries, bakeries, etc...
Outdoor garden. there are beautiful wooden chairs (you know, those kind with plants growing over and around it) nearby for you to sit.
So after walking around, my uncle took us to his office to have a look. As I entered...
Steffi: Kow foo, this isn't an office. This is a greenhouse!
This reminds me of the "Mugen Arc" in Sailormoon where the building was taken over by...plants. Something like that.
The "nursery" -_-|||
TBC...
Labels: Food-Snacks-Beverages, Numbnut Explores the World
China Part 10: Hangzhou's Speciality
Just a short post on China trip...
Hangzhou is famous for it's tea leaves, Loong Jing (Dragon Well). Apparently, the tea leaves have been given to V.I.P.'s such as Queen Elizabeth as a gift, so naturally, a trip to the tea plantation is a must. Hangzhou people, according to my tour guide are "lazy" people (she's from Hangzhou herself!). They are quite laid back. As long as they can live comfortably, they are satisfied with that. I think they are quite lucky too, because even their tea trees require very little care. They can be left alone and yet still grow well. Apparently, this is due to the soil and air at Hangzhou. As they don't grow very tall, the owners don't even have to trim them regularly. Most of the workers (actually, from what I can see, ALL)are women. These women have REALLY red cheeks due to the wind chill factor. They'll be hired to pluck the tea leaves while I see men sitting at the many tea houses along the road to the main research centre drinking tea. They can do this the entire day, according to my guide. I wish I could do that and earn money at the same time too. Good quality Loong Jing tea leaves are VERY pricey, and yet, there are many people buying it. My mom is a living proof :P
It is said that Loong Jing tea leaves have many health benefits although I think it is not scientifically proven
yet. One good thing (or not?) about Loong Jing is that it has no caffeine, so you can drink it right before going to bed and still sleep like a baby.
I can't remember the name of the research centre, it's right at the end of the road on top of a hill. Here's the plaque with the name on it:
And the tea plantation and the many tourist buses:
Loong Jing tea leaves are very special...so special that it must be roasted with HANDS. This is so that the person roasting it can feel the temperature...it shouldn't be too hot. Those "roasters" surely must have iron hands after doing that for a long time...
Here's the "wok":
Loong Jing tea leaves are also used to cook with freshwater prawns, a supposedly famous dish in Hangzhou. We didn't get to eat any, so I assumed that the reason was the price of the dish. Loong Jing tea leaves can be bought here too, but for the same grade, the price here is MUCH more expensive than what we paid for in China.
Ok, time for a mug of Loong Jing...Tata!
Labels: Numbnut Explores the World
China Part 9: Shopping at Hangzhou City
Eastern Chinese shop here:
Malaysians shop here:
Eastern Chinese, especially Shanghainese, love branded items. And I mean REALLY branded items. They probably wouldn't mind starving as long as they can get their hands on a Gucci Handbag or Chanel shoes (Chanel sell shoes ah? :P I'm sorry for being so...ignorant) or uh...*peers at picture* Louis Vuitton watch. There's an entire block full of shops selling all these top market branded goods. Apparently, the price of these goods are three times of Malaysian's price. No point buying branded goods in China. Cheaper to buy here in Malaysia.
Most of the above mentioned shops were located at Hangzhou Tower. I went in there and almost suffocated. It's so stuffy!
So what did mom and I do? We people watched. Uh, city watched. Well, we just walked around outside and enjoyed the cool air. Took pictures from an overhead bridge while mom bargained with the tangerine seller. Ate tangerines. Watched a small girl kite-flying with her grandpa. Took pictures of all the beautiful flowers. Sat down at the bus stop, watched motor vehicles passing by. Not to forget, saw a
lady carrying an armchair walking by. I wonder if that is how they normally transport their furnitures around.
Hangzhou city. These pictures were taken during non-peak hours. Come rush hour, we had problem
crossing the motored bicycle lane. I was clutching my mom's arm tightly, waiting for a chance to dash across the lane.
Mom: Ok, once there's a slight pause in the heavy traffic, we must run across.
Steffi: Ok.
Steffi: ...
Steffi: (after five minutes)...
Steffi: You know...we could stand here all day...
Mom: Ah, good, good! The locals are crossing! We follow them!
Steffi: Alright!
And so, Steffi and her mommy crossed the road using the locals as protection.
Steffi: AAAAAaah! FASTER! FASTER!
Mom: Aiyeeee!!
Steffi: QUICK, QUICK!
*reaches the other side*
Steffi & Mom: Phew!
It was JUST A MOTORED BICYCLE LANE! Good lord, that was stressful...
Hangzhou flowers. These were the more cheerful looking ones. I'm afraid China's still lacking behind in landscaping their cities, but I saw them making more effort in beautifying their country (at least the places I went to), which is good. It's a pity that with the Malaysian weather, we get more greens than colours.
We didn't buy anything. Well, except for the tangerines. The street peddlers there were fierce. They slap each other around for business. Don't know why some of my tour group members actually bought from them. We were already warned not to buy from them because:
1) The change you get might be fake money
2) They might run off with your change should the police suddenly appeared
3) Their products are of low quality anyway...
True enough, one of our tour group members had fake money with him/her after that. How do you identify fake money in China? Put it close to your ear and uh...flap it about. If it makes a "knocking" sound, that means it's not fake. If it doesn't make any sound...Congratulations. You've hit the jackpot.
Labels: Numbnut Explores the World
China Part 8: The Butterfly Lovers
If you want to be famous, along with your darling/boy-boy/bloke/man/what-not, it's very easy. Just take a look at Romeo & Juliet and Titanic and apply it to yourselves. Practice the "you jump I jump" or "you die I also die" concept lor. Eh? You don't like to copy the Westerners? No problem...then use Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai as an example lah. Easy...(eh, joking only ah...please don't say "Steffi said so").
"The tragic lovers, Liang Shan Bo and Zhu Ying Tai can also be thought of as Romeo and Juliet of the East," said the tour guide. Hmmm...yeah, that's true. Both men were from poor family background and the girls, from rich families. Both couples' romances weren't approved by the girls' families. The difference is that Romeo and Juliet's death was more complicated and it was a plot gone all wrong. Aiyoh, the names are so long. Liang Shan Bo shall be known as "LSB" and Zhu Ying Tai as "ZYT" from hereon.
Based on the movie of "The Lovers" starring Nicky Wu (LSB) and Charlie Yeung (ZYT), in LSB and ZYT's case, the guy died because he fell sick and was heartbroken, since ZYT was going to marry another rich bloke. Oh, and according to
Wikipedia, LSB died a county magistrate, so at he had a title to his name, compared to Romeo
Kesian(pity) his mother. After he died, Zhu Ying Tai's marriage procession was going to pass by his grave. Suddenly, things got more dramatic and surreal here. No matter how they tried to continue their journey after that, Mother Nature won't allow. The whirlwind just wouldn't let them move forward. So what happened next? Mother Nature then send her lightning to hit LSB's grave and it cracked opened like how Ali Baba's cave did when he shouted,"OPEN SESAME!".
Since ZYT's boy-boy was inviting her in to sleep with him eternally, how could she resist? She jumped in also lah. Then the the grave closed and two butterflies flew out...Uh, of course, we assume the butterflies to be them. Bad choice actually. Butterflies have very short life-span. Should have chosen to be turtles instead. :D
How did they meet each other? By going to the same school. Actually, in my opinion, this story/legend is like the Taiwanese hit drama, a manga-adaptation,
Hana Kimi ancient China style. Fortunately, Hana Kimi(manga storyline) has a happy ending. In the olden days, girls were not allowed to go to school, so if they want to go to school, they have to disguise themselves as boys. That was what ZYT did. Heck, just like the main couple in Hana Kimi, they, LSB and ZYT even slept together (SLEPT ONLY) at school (remember that I'm referring to the Hong Kong movie). But unlike Hana Kimi, LSB is one big blur-case. He never found out that she was a girl until after graduation.
OK! For more info, refer to
here and
here.
Oooh, so everyone is playing tug-of-war over the origin of legend, eh? Well, I went to the school where they supposedly studied at *puts on smug expression*. It's called
WanSong Academy Park and it's located at Hangzhou. Even Emperor Qian Long visited this academy! Pity I didn't take picture of horizontal inscription board written by Emperor Qian Long for the academy.
The arch, again, I can't read, but I'm assuming that whatever that is written there is the academy's name.
This was where I met my first bunch of Chinese soldiers. There were truckloads full of them (no kidding!) taking pictures there!
One gang of them...Don't know where are the rest.
So of course, Steffi JUST couldn't resist...asking them (with her mom's help of course) to take picture with her because she's a sucker for military/police HK dramas, especially those featuring the formidable China soldiers/police.
The first one we asked was rather reluctant. In fact I wondered whether we made a mistake asking them. Then, the second one was quite enthusiastic and I believe, was the poser of the group. He was quite happy to fulfill my request and urge his other friends to take too. Many thanks to him & his friends!
Matrix mom with "LSB" and "ZYT".
I started going cam-crazy with flowers here...
The academy grounds.
I love this spot. Want to know why? Not only is it picturesque, this is also where
another female tourist from another tour group fell into the pond.>:D Poor lady...and it was a cold, cold day too.
China tour guide (CTG) to mom...
CTG: *while giggling* Did you know, just now, another tourist from another group fell into the pond while taking picture!
Mom: *shocked* HA?! Really ah? Aiyoh, it's so cold!
CTG: I know I shouldn't be laughing, it's not good to laugh.
Mom: Haha, yeah...
CTG: ...
CTG: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Mom: -_-|||
Don't you just love her? >:D
I find this flower very unique. The flowers were growing out from the main stem!
Mom with the young crown prince being taught how to write by the teacher. I hope that's not the stick he uses to punish the young prince...
Then, on the way back, I spotted a sign - "somebody-famous-but-I-don't-know-who tomb". We shall call him Scholar X. So, I told my mom,"Let's go there." When she saw the looooooooong stairway leading to Scholar X's tomb which we couldn't see from where we stood, she, of course said no. She pointed to this little stone garden ornament on the ground a few steps away and said,"I think it's that one lah..." I told her,"I don't think so, he's supposed to be this great person, don't tell me his tomb is, uh...that small?" Remember the legend of the Condor Heroes, the BIG tomb in the story? I think it should be something like that, right?"
So I went up the stairs. Up and up and up until I reached this landing. Looked to the left...hmmm, nothing. Look to the right...and Steffi froze. IT WAS HUGE! Like the one in the Condor Heroes! And, and, there were many flower wreaths and hell money around! Steffi...HAULED BUTT. Couldn't have run down faster than that time. She related her experience to her mom and the M'sian tour guide (MTG).
MTG: Oh, because it was Cheng Beng* festival a few days ago...so those things are still there...
"For those of you who don't know, Cheng Beng festival is:
One major event in the Chinese calendar, observed by Chinese communities all over the world is All Souls Day, also known as Cheng Beng or Qing Ming, which falls on April 5 every year except on leap years when it falls on April 4.
During this period, the Chinese community will visit graves of deceased family members and ancestors to pay their respects. It can be done 10 days before and after the actual date of Cheng Beng. Graves are weeded and cleaned, joss-paper is burnt, and offerings are made." Ref:
http://www.tourismpenang.gov.my/page.cfm?name=ft02bSee...it's always good to listen to momma...
TOILET BREAK! Alright, so how's the condition of the loo there? I simply have no idea how it looks like. That was because I could smell it before even seeing the entrance and being young (and foolish) I decided not to go. I can hold my bladder, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiight...I dashed to the toilet at the next stop the moment the bus halted.
Labels: Numbnut Explores the World, The Loo
