Vacation...Bintan Island...!!!

'WHAT!!!... are you freaking insane !!!'

A screams at me over the long distance international call...I had just informed her of my intention to go to Bintan Island, Indonesia, my first solo vacation in all my years of existance. I am excluding the Birmingham, Mangalore and Kerala trips here as I had people waiting for me in each of these places and it was only the travelling that was solo.

 'The place is reeling from the effects of the latest tsunami with the added tension of a volcano that might erupt anytime and you are telling me you are planning to go there via FERRY, have you completely lost it?'.

Holding the phone a few inches away from my ear, I tried reasoning that I am going to Bintan and not the tsunami hit area. But A is beyond caring, 'Why do you have to be so masochistic ?, Can't you think of any other ways to torture yourself and others around you ?'

'But A, it is just a vacation, I have not enrolled myself at a concentration camp of any sort you know, my colleague lives in Bintan Island, she is planning to go so I am tagging alone, OK, granted that I will be on my own once there, I think it is about time I started taking some risks...'

Also come to think of it, this travelling by ferry bit is kind of funny, it keeps reminding me of a film I saw years ago, about two conmen who run a travel cum employment agency who promise people that they will take them to Dubai. The travellers are taken aboard a ferry and after a few hours they are told that they have arrived in Dubai and asked to alight. It is only after the ferry has left that they realise they have been duped and are actually at Madh Island on the other side of Mumbai. I dare not say this to A, she would just punch me through the phone if it were possible.

To be honest I would not dream of going on such a trip if I were in India, but so far this trip has been full of surprises so I am hoping that I will be pleasantly surprised by the good time that I have in Bintan !!!

More on the trip once I am back...

Makan Oh Lydia ??

Can't make any sense lah, no problem lah, read on lah!!

As I inch towards completing my third week in Singapore, I look back at the time that I spent in this magical tropical island nation. This country and its people have such a tolerant attitude and they have accepted me as one of their own. It just feels like yesterday that I landed here full of apprehensions about the new land and culture. The other fear that was plaguing me was the fact that Singapore is 2.5 hours ahead of India and to get to office at nine in the morning I would have to get up at 4 am India time, which is something I have never done in my entire life, if you possibly exclude the time as a newborn I might have woken up every two hours for feeding (the operative word here being might, as knowing myself as I do I strongly suspect I did not!!!) I had these nightmares I would be sent home in disgrace for never reaching office on time! Having said that I think I have done quite OK these couple of weeks and will miss Singapore on my return to India.

The thing that I will miss most is the quaint language known as Singlish. Which is spoken in a sing song manner and I am sure is a literal translation of sentences in their native tongue into English. Quite similar to the literal translations of Hindi into English, "Why you rotating outside the girls hostel" a literal translation of "Ladkiyo ke hostel ke bahar kyon chakkar kaat rahe the" :))

You OK lah ?

Please lah, Dont like that lah!!!

Aeiyo, I don know, but I find for you lah ?

I pass it already lah?

Also Can Lah!!!

Can Can Lah!!!

These ones you can still understand, but the one that had me scratching my head was "You Makan Oh lydia". We have this lady in office who helps keep the office clean and tidy, everyone calls her Auntie. She has been very friendly since day one and I quite like her smiling face, she reminds me of a happy sunflower. I was in the washroom when she asked me "You Makan Oh lydia" and I was left staring at her for a few secs,  and I like a dumb idiot told her "Haan main theek hoon", I realised what I had done and answered in English at which she "OK lah" followed by a burst of Chinese amid great laughter!!! I walked back to me desk and asked my colleagues what "You Makan Oh  lydia" meant, they were at sea and said it meant nothing! After a while one of girls burst into laughter and said Auntie asked "Whether you had food...YOU MAKAN ALREADY!!!" Apparently most of the Indians in Singapore know Malay and MAKAN in Malay mean food, as in you ate already!!!

New Girl in City...Week 2

I have officially lived in Singapore for two weeks and this period has been an eye opener of sorts, I have stumbled upon facts about myself and have been been left wiser for the experience. Some of the things that I have done and discovered so far are:

1) I suddenly realised that I do not like to experiment when it comes to food, I tried to convince myself to try some local foods, but so far I have been unsuccessful, living solely on fruits, sandwiches and some some limited Indian style foods that are available. I find this weird as in Mumbai I am always game to try new food, be it off the street or in restaurants. Today I had tears of joy in my eyes when I located a McDonalds near the hotel that I am put up at...need I say more...

2) My sense of direction is not as bad as I think it is ... I just get intimidated by crowds.  Give me peace, quiet and leave me to my own devices and I can do wonders.

3) I hate having to eat out all by myself, though I must clarify that I have no problem with eating alone per se, its just the thought of having to go to a restaurant alone that really puts me off. I would have loved it if I were put up in service apartment :(

4) Just completed reading 'The Curse of the Singles Table' by Suzzane Schlosberg and realised that I am not alone. I could identify with the emotions and feelings that she went through on crossing the dreaded line from single to...still single.

5) The daily soaps on Chinese Television are similar to the ones back home, I am not sure of the level of regressiveness but I am guessig it will not be very much off the Indian Television mark.

6) I  have come to realise that Life is something that happens to you when you are busy making other plans. You just have to stop trying too hard and lighten up.

7) People everywhere are just the same, if you approach them with warmth and an open mind they will welcome you in their midst. Everyone needs a little love and understanding!!

Durians are not allowed !!!

Hello All,

I have been away from blogging for a while... not that anyone is complaining :( ... just for your information I was working hard to complete all my pending work in Mumbai so that I could come away on secondment to Singapore!!!

I arrived in Singapore on Sunday, so I have effectively been here for less than three days and in this period I have managed to get lost twice, got sandwiched between the elevator doors, ate some bird (which I strongly suspect was definitely not chicken as touted by the vendor) and almost sent a geriatric to the hospital. Also I find mystefying signs that durians are not allowed in hotels!!! Now that I have your complete attention, let me regale you with my story...

Day 0
First story featuring the geriatric...I arrived at the taxi stand a little after seven in the morning, post a enthralling five a half hour flight in a cramped economy class seat with a little girl about one who decided that my life (and her parents of course) was definitely smooth sailing and decided to rock the boat. The minute her parents sat down she began wailing and I was like "Please God, Why me". Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against kids, I love them, so far as they are all cuddles, kisses and cooing, I am their pigeon, the minute they decide to take on a more rudra avataar, I run for the hills. So, I asked for some cotton wool and resigned myself to listen to the different types of raagas that the tot was practising. After an hour or so I guess they managed to sedate her with a tranquiliser gun and she went off to sleep, but sleep evaded me, have you every tried to get some sleep while travelling on a plane, shifting this way and that trying to find the perfect position for economy class seating nirvana. I still have not achieved it!!! Five and half hours later (more like panch janam) we arrived at Singapore and I sleep walked my way to the taxi stand a little after seven thirty in the morning. I slung my handbag on my back after loading my suitcase in the boot of the taxi and barely missed this old man standing behind me to collect the trolley. God, I was so scared, I was like whoops, I have just been let loose in this country for five seconds and people have to run for cover !!!

Day 1
After resting for a while I decided to venture out to buy a prepaid SIM so, I can make sasta calls to India (Cheap, Cheap, I hear you guys say :)) and a travel card for MRT. That was when I got a bit ahead of myself and decided to check how to get to office via MRT and also partly to get a feel of how it is. I travelled upto Raffles Place(this is the station closest to the my office, btw my train station is called Dhobi Ghaut), and then got horribly lost, I walked in the opposite direction and landed up at a station close to Dhobi Ghaut on another line, did not have the heart to walk back so took a train back to the hotel. I made up my mind to take a taxi the next day and then return in the evening by train so I can get my bearings right.

Day 2
I reached office a little before eight and got sandwiched between the elevator door, some doofus pressed the close button before I could get it. Then he was so embarassed, he tried to lighten up the atmosphere by saying "I am usually a zombie till about ten... and thats at night :p". So I said "Its OK" though for a moment I thought "bas Sen ... tera antt aagaya..."

Before I forget, another one I just have to tell you, I went to the loo and and my bum must have just left the toilet seat and it auto flushed... I remembered an old office joke about employees being asked to take only a 30 second loo break, if the employees takes longer to finish, the toilet would auto flush, the paper would roll back, the door would open and a picture would be taken of the employee and put out on the notice board as a defaulter... For a sec...I thought it really does happen here in Singapore :))

Day 3
Today I left office around seven, grabbed a quick dinner and decided to hit the sack early, but fate decided that I have not had enough excitement in my life. I took the MRT to Dhobi Ghaut and as usual took the wrong exit and landed inside the Shopping Mall(one of these days my lack of sense of direction is going to get me into great trouble) and spent the next twenty odd minutes of my life looking for an exit to get out of the Mall... I went to each of the levels looking for an exit that would take me outside the mall but I kept coming back to the same place, after a point I was nearly close to losing it and suddenly I had a brain wave, I popped into a nearby shop, it happened to be a cake shop, bought a slice of Chocolate Rice Cake, paid S$1.50 (a small price for freedom) and casually asked the attendant directions to the nearest exit ... and freedom. I meekly followed the directions and it is thanks to the S$1.50 Chocolate Rice Cake that I sit here typing... as a free woman !!!

Before I sign off for today here is the reason why Durians are not allowed, courtesy wikipedia:
'The durian (pronounced /ˈdʊəriən/)[2] is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio and the Malvaceae family[1][3] (although some taxonomists place Durio in a distinct family, Durionaceae[1]). Widely known and revered in southeast Asia as the "king of fruits", the durian is distinctive for its large size, unique odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk. The fruit can grow as large as 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 15 centimetres (6 in) in diameter, and it typically weighs one to three kilograms (2 to 7 lb). Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.The edible flesh emits a distinctive odour, strong and penetrating even when the husk is intact. Some people regard the durian as fragrant; others find the aroma overpowering and offensive. The smell evokes reactions from deep appreciation to intense disgust and has been described variously as almonds, rotten onions, turpentine and gym socks. The odour has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in southeast Asia'.