HIGHER STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS

EXILED FROM PARADISE

(WMP playing Voices by Dario G… we sailed over seven seas, searching for that missing key, unlock a new world harmony… climb the highest mountain range, then we took the longest train, looking for our perfect refrain…)

Everything is almost like a routine for me now so I’m not that active in posting anymore. Nothing really significant has happened unlike my first few days of my stay here. Last Sunday I went to church but wasn’t able to make it to mass. Last mass at St. Joseph Church is set at 5:30pm. Blame it on me; I never thought it was already 6:30pm when I left, well, the sun shines here up to almost 7:30pm. So I just prayed outside the church.

Monday I got my hands on some ingredients for Nilagang Baboy, only thing is I didn’t find any fish sauce so I had to make do with the local salt. Good thing it still tasted good. I and John ate and feasted on it. And I would feast on it in the coming days. Andame ng kalahating kilo hehehe! I’m planning to cook Sinigang this coming Sunday; I just hope that I find some Kangkong and Tamarind Soup base at West Mall or BPP. I was told that I can buy all the ingredients for Pinoy dishes at LP but I don’t think that it’s a good idea to travel that far just to buy fish sauce or any ingredients for my cooking. Unless I’m going to buy a new cellphone again or if I get a sign from heaven that “singkit” is gonna be there.

(WMP playing Breathe by Michelle Branch…if I just breathe, let it fill the space in between, I’ll know everything is all right…breathe, every little piece of me, you’ll see, everything is alright, if I just breathe…)

Tuesday we went to East Coast Park. Picture yourself in Eastwood City but with an added attraction—a beach. Imagine Manila Bay minus the thrash, well then it wouldn’t be Manila Bay if you remove the trash anyway. And do not ever misunderstand me that I like Singapore better than my own country; I’m just kind of like ‘sour-graping’ why we do not have a country like this. There is still no place like home. I’ll be getting political here so I think I’ll just save my whining for another post. East Coast was good. Travel time is longer than what it takes going to Orchard. There’s a rollerblade park. Tangina kasi eh! Kung di lang ako sumemplang dati sa roller-skates; I would have tried rollerblades back home till I’m X-games calibre.

Wednesday is D-Day. My cousin agreed to subscribe to M1 Mobile broadband. She would have to do it for me. I don’t have the necessary papers which are required for approval. Another favor I’ll be forever grateful. We ate at this place called Pastamania. And I got to taste the best Lasagna I’ve ever had. Almost after eating we received a call that the laptop’s ready. At last! An internet connection at home! No more trips to McDonalds. No more draining batteries. It was like I can walk again!

(WMP playing Kingdom of Pretty by Bonnie Bailey… every day is our first time for something new, as compelling as you are to me I am to you, curiosity has me peeking to your kingdom of pretty…a formless flow, a magical symphony consumed by the fragrant possibilities; curiosity has got me peeking to through your kingdom of pretty…)

Let me assess myself for what I’ve learned this past week.

1.      50SGD is different from 50PHP, always remember that, especially when you’re drunk and riding the cab back to your place.

2.      Learn to cover your mouth with an always available hanky when you cough, especially the smoker’s kind of cough and especially when you can’t take the smell of what they call “anaps” that’s sitting beside you (Polo Black pales in comparison!)

3.      To be right you have to keep left in everything, unless you’re in a hurry in using the escalators. Singapore is an RHD country and everything else follows suit.

4.      Do try those food houses that abound everywhere. It’s like our carinderias but here they are much more sanitary and much more appealing to eat in.

5.      As much as possible bring your own 2X2 pictures from the Philippines with your hard copy to boot. 20SGD is just way too expensive for a CD copy and four pieces of 2X2 pictures. Also bring with you as many resumes as you can.

6.      If you’re bringing your own cellphone, make sure to have it “open-lined” before you go here. You don’t want to have to transact with another one of those “singkits”

7.      A 100SGD Absolut is better than four 6-packs.

8.      Again, always remember 50SGD is different from 50PHP lalo na pag lasing ka na hehe!

(WMP repeats Voices… Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Yey-E-Yeh, Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Yeh…There are hidden rhythms in the sun, in the sun, I hear voices in the sky, in the sky)

A lot of my friends are asking me why I chose to leave. Aside from the fact that I want to be independent and my version of self-rehabilitation for my vices back at home, I really have no idea. I guess I really won’t have the answer for that anytime soon. No one forced me to leave; I didn’t even force myself to. It’s just that when I woke up that Wednesday morning it all dawned upon me that I’m leaving. It never really hit me until, well it hit me. It’s been a week since then and by now I should be showing a sign of home-sickness but it’s not showing, yet. I’m not sure, maybe in a month or two I’ll be like desperate to go back home again. It’s not that I don’t miss my loved-ones back home, it’s just that I have to learn on my own. Paraphrasing a Filipino hero, if not now, when? If not us, who? I’m beginning to like it here and after that one week which I told everyone that I’ll familiarize myself to this place which is now done. I have to pursue my other plans. Though there is still so much more that I don’t know of. I’ll just learn to familiarize that as I go on. For the mean time I have to sustain myself here.

My blogs might become dormant again unless I find something that I would really want to share with you. It may not be as life-changing as a cure for cancer or some political scandal that could topple governments. I’ll post something that really interests me or made me ponder on life and what is in store for me, even if it’s as simple as a bird I saw while waiting for a bus. For now, I park my pen err close my laptop. The hunt for the job begins.

I would like to reiterate what I told everyone just when I was about to board the plane last week. Also, just in case you’re thinking that I titled this chapter of Singapura Diaries wrong, well it’s not. I really exiled myself from paradise. I may have grown to like this place a lot. But this is just a phase or an encounter. I’ll be back home again because just like what Di Caprio said near the ending of The Beach, “I still believe in paradise but now I know it’s not some place you can look for because it’s not where you go, it’s how you feel for a moment in your life and if you find that moment, it lasts forever.”

I left those “moments” back at my country, my home—the Philippines.

SUPERSIZE ME

Wah! Another McDonald’s breakfast! I noticed that McDonalds here at Bukit Batok MRT is somewhat the hub of teenagers.  Well, that’s bad news for me because almost half of the teenage patrons are also availing of their Wi-Fi and that translates to an almost dial-up connection. Arrgh! Mobik Wi-Fi isn’t redirecting me to its login page. Almost half of my battery is gone and I still can’t fucking connect. I told the manager of my predicament. I’m getting impatient and regretful that I paid a 7SGD meal just because of the free Wi-Fi and here I am with no Wi-Fi. Bad morning or maybe it’s because of this lousy hangover having downed almost 12 Heinekens last night. The manager isn’t helpful and doesn’t even have the necessary knowledge about modems and Wi-Fi, well, that is from my point of view. So in the most tranquil manner I told her that since i’m not being redirected and everyone else seems to be connected besides me, what she could do is reset the connection by restarting the router because sometimes when there’s too much traffic in the network, connection errors like what I’m having happens. She complied and tadah! I’m connected. Being grateful, I ordered another large fries.

I always make it to a point that this laptop drains its battery so as to maximize my limited battery capacity plus to get the worth of any McDonalds meal that is supersizing me as I Wi-Fi away. Drained! Next stop is the “singkit” at Unlucky Plaza. It was past 3:00pm when I arrived at Orchard. I hurriedly made my way to “singkit’s” stall. Unsurprisingly, he still was nowhere to be found. He had three colleagues there so I asked them where I could find the guy who sold me my massively overpriced cellphone. Maybe they knew that I was overpriced by their sorry excuse for a colleague so they came in his defence. I told them what I know and they reasoned out another very sorry and lame excuse for a reason. Now my temper has almost reached its breaching point and I wasn’t paying any attention to any excuse that is coming out of their mouths, well, as if, I understand what they are saying anyway, another sorry excuse for speaking in English, well fluent English is a gift by my book, what i’m hearing from those guys is more of like shrieking from the stupid idiot taxi driver I almost had a brush the other day.

As I was sizing all three of them, (Diyos ko e, kayang-kaya pare! Sama pa nila iba nila tropa! Panish! ) I remembered the story Coy told me last night about two guys who slugged it out somewhere here in Singapore. Every punch you make costs 1000SGD. In a ‘core 2 duo’ like calculation, I need 6000SGD to give those three assholes two smacks in the face each before I bring them down but I can’t be too sure so I have to allot at least a kick or two to the groin, just to be sure that they don’t get up. But I have no idea how much a kick costs. Add the fact that I remembered that I’m in Singapore and not in some stall in Quiapo plus what everyone advised me that I can’t be a tough guy here. I’ll always be on the losing end even if my calculations are correct. I’ll never ever forget that moment when I just turned my back on them, made the sign of the cross, tried to contain the shiver vibrating from both my fists because of an unreleased anger and backed-out from a fight I know i’m right and gonna end up kicking my opponent asses, these are the times when I miss the Philippines. If I was back at home all it would take is me and my loaded gun and like Bob Marley, I’ll sing “everything is gonna be alright…”

FIGHT CLUB

To douse cold water on a very heated encounter I again treated myself to Barrio Fiesta. This time I told the cashier “ate, pwede yun Nilaga panay taba?” she replied as if in shock “sigurado ka?” I said yes. I also ordered Dinuguan. PAMBIHIRA! NAKATATLONG PLATO AKO NG KANIN! Hehehe! Solb! I then went back home I was a little dazed after downing all those “taba.” But the train ride seemed to take my dizziness away so I decided to stroll around West Mall which is right beside Bukit Batok MRT. I then slept when I got home. At around a little before 6:00pm, I received a call from my cousin. We were going to a get together with her Filipino friends later that night at some condominium near the city.

I forgot the name of the place but we arrived there a little past the hour of eight. I was introduced to everyone and I saw some who I met last night at DXO. We were by the pool and we ate. The spaghetti was delicious and so was the shrimps and fried chicken. I noticed everyone owns a PSP, i’m guessing that it’s the trend here. Guess what? They’re playing Tekken. Now I hope I remember King’s six-throws. I have got to get myself one of those PSPs.

After the PSP fight was the alcohol-match. First in line was Jack Daniels which we all finished in record-time then Absolut Vodka. But with no more soda in sight, everyone was not in hurry to drink. Good thing someone brought Calamansi juice. They mixed vodka with it and it tasted great! Now the problem is there’s still a bottle of Jose Cuervo next in line. Well, everyone decided that we should save that for next time and that we all should go to this club named Momo which a Filipino partly owns and that said club is closing for three weeks to renovate and it’s the last night we can go there. Almost everyone agreed to go home, get-dressed and just meet there. We, however, waited for my cousin’s friends to get-dressed and to while our time away, we played PS3’s Tekken 5. Wow! I’m also getting my hands on one of those PS3s and try remembering King’s six-throws.

Momo was packed. And we were ushered to a table near the where the billiards are. The tunes were a lot like DXO’s. Free drinks flowed freely. Like those ‘jugs’ that MOS serves. I heard from John yesterday that at Momo, it’s a mix of Vodka and soda. I never got to taste it being tipsy or maybe drunk from Jacks and Absolut earlier. I just helped myself to some Heinekens and watch our companions beat the hell out of those other nationalities in every game of 8-ball. Pinoy rules! Hahaha! My cousin’s friends were very accommodating and I felt easy to be with them. I had a grand time watching the billiards game which as I said earlier was dominated by us Pinoys. At around 4:00am we called it a night. Just when we were about to step out, the exit was blocked and we were told that there’s a fight outside. May gulo! Amp! We couldn’t get out just yet. A couple of minutes passed and the exit was finally opened. The fight is finished and the police are swarming. I got home before 6:00am. I had the grandest time here when we were inside Momo just moments before the fight.

BARRIO FIESTA – A TASTE OF HOME

Now it’s imperative that I buy a cellphone here with a kababayan sim to communicate. Che and Coy was more than willing enough to accompany me. I’ll be forever thankful to them they made my stay here seem like I never left home. Coy is one cool guy and very friendly at that. He reminds me of my friends back home, so easy to get along with. I actually find him and my cousin a perfect match. First time we had dinner at Bukit Panjang Plaza I was even asking Che if I get to hear wedding bells soon.

We took a cab to a place called Orchard. We went straight to Lucky Plaza. We found one but I forgot the model no. for 100+SGD. We then proceeded to the upper floors and I found myself in a place called Barrio Fiesta. This is not the Barrio Fiesta that you see at the Philippines. It’s one stall pretty much like what you see at the food courts. But don’t let looks deceive you. I ordered Papaitan and Dinuguan. Ang galing! Meron pala pinoy cooking dito! Nice! I can’t express to you in English how the food tastes so to all those who knows how I talk, I’ll describe it in Tagalog so you’ll have an idea how it tastes, here goes: ANAK NG PUTA! ANG SARAP! THE BEST YUNG PAPAITAN AT DINUGUAN! GRABE!

After that sumptuous dinner we headed back home by train. They taught me how to transfer trains; which route is the fastest; and what bus to ride so I don’t have to waste all my money on taxis. Che even gave me an EZ Link card which is like credit card which you ‘tap’ on terminals of buses and trains. Hell! You could even use it to buy at McDonalds. You just have to load credits on it and you don’t even have to bring cash when travelling around Singapore. We arrived home in less than an hour. I arranged my contacts and texted everyone my cellphone number; blogged and blogged until my eyes grew weary and sleepy.

UNLUCKY PLAZA

My order for the day is to go online and familiarize myself with the trains and explore Orchard. As soon as I awoke I got ready and took the bus to Bukit Batok. I found McDonalds; ordered food and “Wi-fied.” In the back of my mind I was thinking, I need to find a new place where there is free Wi-Fi access. If I keep up with this McDonalds diet I might end up supersizing myself. There is one thing I noticed about McDonalds here. Back at home when you order fries they automatically give you ketchup to go with it. Here they automatically give you chilli garlic in sachets. And boy it’s spicy! And delicious! Also I found out that they have the small, medium and large sizes for the fries. The large one is double the size of the large size back home. The medium is the size of the large. I haven’t ordered the small size so I can’t compare it to anything.

After draining this laptop’s battery I took the train to Orchard. I took the long route so I could enjoy the scenery and man was it long! It was fine though because I enjoyed the sights. I arrived at Orchard station and I immediately went to Barrio Fiesta. I told you that they serve delicious Filipino food and now this is proof. I wouldn’t be eating twice there if it wasn’t delicious or they have free Wi-Fi access. In this case, the reason is the former. This time I ordered Nilagang Baka and Caldereta. By the way it only costs 5SGD for a meal consisting of two viands, one drink of your choice and unlimited rice. It’s a steal if you compute it compared with the cost of living here plus its Filipino cuisine, I wouldn’t mind paying for more as long as it tastes of home. The Nilaga tasted good but it would have been better if there is more “sinuso.” Just in case you’re wondering what “sinuso” is, its cow fat but not the fat that solidifies at roof of your mouth when the soup gets cold. Hmm… How do I explain this, think of it as super tender fat that melts in your mouth and explodes of rich flavour. You can actually take three to five spoonfuls of rice with a small piece of “sinuso.” That’s how flavourful it is. The Caldereta was great though my Caldereta is best, yabang ko ampotah, hehehe, indulge me na lang.

Burp! I was having a hard time using my cellphone so I planned of trading it for another. Off I went to where we bought it last night. The shop where we bought it is managed by Singaporeans or Chinese I guess; well for me they all look alike. I liked the Nokia 6101 because of its size. After haggling from the original price of 220SGD plus trade of my 100+SGD cellphone, I managed to buy it just by adding 170SGD. Again it’s a steal if you compare it with the Phillipine index of cellphones. I continued with my order for the day which is to explore Orchard. I found myself mall-hopping. There was Tangs, Isetan, Paragon and many more which I can’t remember the names of all of them. I especially liked Paragon and I would have liked it even more if there was a Camper Boutique. I also found out that there are more Filipinos in Lucky Plaza (LP) than in any other malls around Orchard. Maybe one reason is that more stalls at LP are managed by Filipinos.

Last night I was warned that there are many tourists who have complained of being fooled and duped in LP mostly by those “singkits.” I didn’t actually take it seriously having lived in the Philippines where I’m used to and experienced with tomfoolery and hoodwinks. Well, I should have heeded the warning. As I was about to go back to the train station I decided to make one last round of Lucky Plaza. I was informed that I have friends who work here so maybe I could bump into one. Unluckily, I bumped into no one. Luckily, out of nothing I asked one stall that sells cellphones how much they are selling a brand new Nokia 6101. The guy said 180SGD. I asked if that’s all I pay. He said yes and it includes everything. I turned my back on him and angrily made my way to the stall where I traded my cellphone. As I was turning my back he said “OK, 160SGD.” Furious, I looked for the “singkit” who I sold me my cellphone. Unluckily, he was nowhere to be found.

MINISTRY OF SOUND – THIS IS IT! (NEVAH BETAH)

I was on Bus 173 which is the bus that passes by Century Mansions and planning how I would plaster that “singkit’s” eyes so that he won’t be able to blink while I bound his arms and legs and pour McDonalds’ chilli garlic sauce into his nostrils and eyes until he gives me my money’s worth when Che texted me that we’re going to the Ministry of Sound Bar (MOS) later that night. YES! Kandi Bar by Hed Kandi is the talk of the town back at home but I was informed that MOS is way more famous.

We decided to meet at McDonalds Bukit Batok and took the train to Clark Quay. After we got out of the subway I was awed by what I saw. River Point is beautiful! The architecture of the buildings around was just stunning. I saw the “reverse bungee.”  That’s one tourist attraction here that I’m not trying, not in this lifetime or the next being afraid of heights and all. We were greeted by a long line at MOS. I immediately had my picture taken with MOS logo hovering at the background. We fell in line and were lucky enough to have arrived early so the 25SGD entrance fee still does not apply. It’s a lot like Embassy back at home but bigger and there was this giant mirror ball at the centre of the dance floor which goes up or down. The crowd was a mix of nationalities but mostly of “singkits” driving Ferraris, SLKs or any dream car you might be dreaming of.  Tiger Beer which by the way is Singapore’s SMB costs a little over 10SGD. It tastes good though. And there’s this drink that’s famous here, I don’t remember what it’s called kind of like “jug.” It costs 41-47SGD at MOS. I was told that it’s a mix of whisky and cola poured over ice and served in pitchers with straws. I tried it and it tasted like whisky! Duh! Hehehe what do you expect.

After MOS we were going to meet Che’s friends over at DXO (formerly known as Embassy) We made a quick stop over at Kandi Bar which is more of like a lounge bar for chillin’ and C Clinic where the chairs look like hospital beds with matching dextrose stands and the waitresses are in nurse get-ups. We took a cab to Esplanade and I saw what they say is “durian” whatever building. It was awesome! We then walked a little to where DXO is. Inside DXO, you’ll find that it’s a lot like Club Industry back home. At first the usual club music and as the night deepens they shift to music more of mainstream. Imagine Decades or Pier 1. I get to meet Che’s friends and had a great time downing bottles of 14SGD a pop Heinekens. But when I get back home I’m making the “waterfall.” If you have no idea, well, then, it’s a surprise. Though my cousin already has an idea of what it is. Speaking of ideas, I have no idea what time we went home. I was smashed to the highest heavens.

WI-FI MORNING

It was around 9:00am when I woke up. Honestly, I thought I was just dreaming that I’m here. Though I had a great time since I landed here there is really nothing more depressing than a sober morning in a new country. It took me a quick trip to 7-11 for iced coffee and tuna sandwich to overcome that unhappy morning rise. So I then went on my usual morning rituals like praying and thanking God for a safe trip while having coffee but this time in front of the TV, I usually say my prayers on our front yard waiting for the day’s paper while having hot coffee, well, what the heck a little change in my morning rituals won’t really change anything being in a new country after all.

As we were discussing last night, my new found friends told me that instead of going to Starbucks or McDonalds for free Wi-Fi access, I should just try first if I can detect and connect to any unsecured networks here at home. I did just that and what do you know? Well, they’ve all learned how to secure their networks, that is the wireless networks whose reception are good, all the other that are of low strength signals, well, they’re still unsecure but being poor in reception, they couldn’t serve my purpose anyway.

I prepared myself for my first solo bus trip here. I went to the bus stop and waited there and then came the bus. I was very friendly to everyone and as the bus moved towards our destination, I found myself enjoying the sights and smiling. I’m beginning to get that feeling I usually, well—feel when I was exploring a new found beach or an unfamiliar mountain range when I was back at home and being adventurous. Hmm… I think I’m going to enjoy exploring Singapore.

Starbucks wasn’t hard to locate. I ordered a venti of my favourite espresso frap, whoa! almost 8SGD with whipped cream (almost 250PHP) it wouldn’t have mattered had their Wi-Fi is free turns out no matter I try to ‘get around’ their secure networks, I can’t, well I would have really tried, since every programmer knows that ‘brute force’ to any secure network is the key to victory but there’s this one employee who I think knows I’m ‘brute forcing’ their network. In all disappointment I left my half-done espresso frap and proceeded to McDonalds. At last I’m finally online. My e-mail is packed, my BB’s and forums are full of unanswered posts and I as much as possible would want to YM anyone who appears online in my list.

BABEL

I had no idea it was already noon had this laptop didn’t drained on me. Instead of catching lunch I decided to shop for groceries and things important for my survival err slight comfort and living in my new house. Now this is hilarious, for me, if you saw me: near the entrance of Fairprice Supermarket I saw a line of grocery carts like those at Shopwise back home, they were all chained together and there was what looked like a key hanging on the first cart for grabs. I approached it slowly and tried to use it but like bullet-speed I realized I was wrong so I immediately entered the store, hoping no one noticed and in the back of my mind I was convinced that those cart are for member-shoppers, kind of like their privilege. But then I thought I might be the only non-member shopping there because everyone had their own carts even the those who looked more of like tourists than me, and in one inquiring peek at their carts I saw an inserted dollar coin. Alas! Now I know! I immediately got my own cart! (Lesson: learn to ask)

Now I have a full cart and made my way to the taxi stand and when I say a full cart, I mean FULL! Luckily there’s a cab waiting, I pointed my cart and he immediately opened the trunk after loading everything I returned the cart, well surprises of surprises, my inserted one dollar was returned to me hehehe! Inosenteng inosente ako dito potah!

Now this is the part where you’ll either pity me or laugh at me, anything will do, learning experience kumbaga hehehe: I closed the door and put on my seatbelts, the cab made its way to the main road. I immediately asked the driver if he understands English. He made a slight nod which I thought was yes so I told him the address then he suddenly shrieked and made noises like that of a menopausal monkey. I showed him the listed address and he shrieked even more but this time he sounded like gorilla in heat with no other gorilla in sight, he gestured like a drunk and hysterical retard. I was no circus trainer so I just motioned him to stop and I’ll just take another cab, good thing he understood and with all the power I could muster I controlled the urge to punch him until there was a gaping hole in that face of his. (woosah) I told myself I’d be famous here but not ala Flor Contemplacion’s fame. Better if I get featured in Forbes magazine (wheh! You wish Don! hehehe)

Another cab came along which was way better driven by that previous stupid idiot. And I finally got home. I cleaned my room and toilet but that episode did remind me what my father told me before I left the Philippines. He said the language barrier was one wall I’ll have a hard time passing thru. He’s right. All along I thought this was like America and I could very well communicate in English. I thought there was truth that ‘SingLish’ was Singapore’s language, I thought wrong again. I now have to ‘barok’ my English because when I talk in straight fluent English with the locals all I get were jaws dropped and eyes telepathically telling me “what the hell are you saying? There is no tower of Babel here fool!” (to be continued…)

I’M ON MY WAY

As I sat by the window, I saw the buildings and houses getting smaller; next was the islands until my vision of my country literally morphed to that of a bird. There were butterflies constantly fluttering in my stomach to say the least. Now I know how my family felt when they left for the United States. Here I am, bound to a destination, three hours away while my family endures 12-14 hours of skies. The only difference is when they land they have almost all of my paternal side of the family with them. Where I’m going, I have but one of my maternal side of the family waiting for me.

Have you ever known how it feels like when you’re going to another country and not knowing when you’re coming back? It feels like hell! Hell! Worst than hell! I thought of every one I’m leaving behind and I began to really think of going back once we land. It was sunny skies all the way with some turbulence that some passengers really mind which for me was nothing compared to the sadness that had suddenly wrapped all over me. And this is coming from someone who had always loved adventures; exploring the unknown; experimenting with what mix feels and hits good. I guess the very quote that I tell everyone has boomeranged on me–"there’s always a first time.”

The majestic view above the clouds and the movie starring Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz (I forgot the title) has both lost their value to entertain me. The feeling is far worse than the greatest “crashing” I’ve gone through in my entire life. Sad, it was all that all the way—sad.

CHANGI AIRPORT

It was 6:15 pm when we landed. I contemplated of my plan to go back and decided that I should give it a shot to try it here. If I lasted three hours of sadness along the way maybe I could last a day and if I last a day maybe I could last a week and so on.

You have got to love Changi Airport. But don’t just take my word for it. Try to experience it yourself by vacationing here and not like what I planned to do here. The custom officials and airport police are way more polite than what we have back at the Philippines especially the immigration officers. I even declared the cigarettes I have because of how kind the immigration officers are. Too bad I had to pay 30SGD for duties. Turns out the cigarettes I’ve brought with me plus the 30SGD I paid for is cheaper compared to 11SGD a pack sold locally.

I finally got out of the airport after I paid duties for my smokes. Che, my cousin fetched me and we rode the cab, we passed thru the expressway all the way to “West Singapore.” She complained about the traffic because of the rush hour. I said “what traffic?” dang! If this is rush hour in Singapore then I wouldn’t mind driving a cab! After a couple of minutes, we met Koy, her boyfriend at Century Mansions where he introduced me to my new housemates.

SINGAPORE BIG BROTHER

I got introduced to Jayson and was shown my room. It was bigger than I expected of a master’s bedroom. Good thing also is I have my own T&B. I left my luggage which just by looking at would put an impression that it was 10 kilos excess of the allowed weight. (That’s 5KPHP I’m talking about) After that Che, Koy and I rode the bus to BPP. My first bus ride in Singapore though someone guided me, inside my head I said, I’ll do this tomorrow on my own. I’ll try to explore Singapore ala The Beach which starred Leonardo Di Caprio.

We ate at the food court of BPP I forgot what I Che ordered me but it was delicious and also it was my first to eat that…err whatever it is called. Bottom line, it was delicious and so was the carrot cake which according to Che contains no carrots at all. After dining we went to Che’s house where she lent me pillows and beddings (Amp! Talk about preparing, I even put the beddings on the top of my list when I was packing at home. Yet still I forgot, damn parties! Koy and I then took the cab back to Century where and he introduced me to my other housemate—John.

I asked them if they want to bend elbows and they said yes. So off we went to 7-11, syet! Walang San Mig Light, so I settled for Heineken. Wow! 20SGD for a six-pack, you do the math. Potah! Ang mahal ng bisyo dito! I bought two six-packs and some Sprite for the Absolut Raspberry. Overall I had a fun night, drinking with new friends. Thank God they all have IT-related jobs; I had no effort blending in. It was around 1:00 am when we decided to call it a day. My first 40 winks in Singapore… (To be continued)