Singapore Trip… Part 2..

October 28, 2007 at 5:38 pm · Filed under memories, musings, travel

Strange situation i’m writing this in.. Will come to that later on.. I had planned on writing the part two of my singapore trip a lot earlier.. But as usual, i dint sit down to write..

Anyone who cares enough to read this boring blog might know that i was planning to go to Malaysia.. To get my Visa extension and to see the new country.. But guess what, only the former happened.. We went to the nearest Malaysian city of Johor Bahru.. Its like, we cross a bridge n we’re in another country.. As simple as that.. But, believe me, there’s nothing to see there.. At Johor Bahru..

We went to a Beach Resort called the Danga Bay.. Even the people working in the nearby shops didnt know english.. (njan vann Malay aayathondu rakshappettu).. The only things that place is good for is shopping and eating out.. Food is so cheap that people from Singapore near the border go there to eat.. We absolutely owned the Pizza Hut at the Kotaraya Plaza that night..
After that long eating session, we walked toward the malaysian immigrations and checked out of the country.. At that moment, i was wondering which country i was in!! Cos i had checked out of Malaysia and didnt get into Singapore..

With that thought, i boarded a bus to the Singapore Check Point n from there, they refused to let me in.. N i was like Wat the?! The little girl sittin at the counter gave me ghastly glance and asked me why i wanted to stay thirty more days in Singapore.. I was supposed to leave singapore before oct 10th at that time, but i said i wanted to spend Hari Raya (Eid) with my brother n family in Singapore.. Then this cute lookin girl asked me to sit in the seat next to her n wait.. Obviously, I didnt mind..

I was sittin there like a VVIP when suddenly a heavy built officer in uniform came near me n said ‘this way!’.. I did not have any idea wat was happening, but soon i was in a room filled with lots of seemingly grumpy old officers.. But in that same room, my bro, sis n ehan were sitting.. N then one of those officers went thru my passport and called me to ask the same thing that silly girl had asked me few minutes before.. I told him the exact answer i had told the girl, only this time, i pointed at my bro n family while saying it.. Must’ve been the smile on Ehan’s face, he gave me an extension straight away.. That too for a month.. Hihi..

After reaching back to Singapore that night, i could hardly feel my hands n feet.. Hihi.. (Over aakkaling ~ Exaggeration).. Slept long that night n the most part of the next day.. On monday i went to the Indian Airlines office to change my return ticket date to the 17th..

Deepak Benny has been in Singapore for quite some days now.. I’ve not been able to meet him cos of all these n nombu.. He joined the Worley Parsons office in Somerset.. Decided to meet him after Eid.. Eid was pretty ordinary.. With no usual friends n things like that.. But the Foodings were extra ordinary.. Spent the evening at the east coast park with lots of malayali families.. I was watchin people skating there, most of the time.. Met a small girl who had sung with ‘kavi’ at singapore.. For those who doesnt know, The last years Idea Star Singer Kavi was my classmate!!

Toward the end of the trip, i had ran out of things to do!! So it was either shopping at mustafa or sitting online.. Bought a lot of stuff.. Including an ipod classic.. But in between all this, i’d not yet seen the famous Singapore Zoo and the Jurong Bird Park.. So the day i finally met Benny.. We decided to go to the zoo..

But i forgot to take the cam that day.. So had to take snaps using my good old mobile.. The zoo at Singapore is the best i’ve seen.. So far that is.. Because in all the zoo’s that i’ve visited till now, the animals never looked happy.. But this place is different.. Most of the animals r not caged.. N those that are, dont seem to mind.. Hehe..

The white tiger was the best thing we saw in there.. A big chunk of muscle and sheer power.. The best way to explore the zoo is to get the free zoo map which has all the details n the feeding times of different animals.. N go to those animals when they are being fed.. Only then do you get to see the animals doing wat they do best..

The whole day in the zoo was very tiring n after that, benny went to his hotel at Clarke Quay.. N i went to mustafa for a final shopping session.. We got back that day n i planned to go to the Bird Park the next day morning..

I’ve seen only very few mornings in Singapore.. Most of my days there started just before noon.. So it was after noon by the time me n bro got to the Jurong Bird Park.. N i loved it from my very first sight.. So many colorful n rare birds moving freely in there..

But my joy was short lived as it began raining heavily.. N we sat there in the balcony of a closed restaurant watchin a group of Flamingos below us.. We lost about 2hrs due to that bloody rain.. So we had to rush through the park to finish seeing every section..

There was a show in the Pools Amphitheatre with two parrots showing off their talking and singing talents.. One of the birds even sang songs in the 4 national laguages of Singapore.. But they had to cut short the show because of the heavy rains..

Then we walked into an Australian Coffee Shop without knowing the great surprise that was in store inside.. A big enclosed area filled with hundreds of extremely colorful birds called the Loris.. They were flying around coming near the visitors and making hell of a lot of noise.. N boy did i love feeding them?!! One of them even jumped onto my shoulder.. I fell in love with the park.. Hihi..

I’ve been spending loads of time finding music n other stuff on the net.. Most of the days at home i’d sit hours on end on Youtube searchin and listening to random songs.. Found a great malayalam ghazal ‘Neeyum Nilavum’ by Shahabaas and fell in love with the song.. Its a great song to check out for hindustani lovers..

N finally the next day, the 16th of october was to be the last day of my Singapore trip.. Was just sittin at home n packing all the stuff most of the time.. Its been more than 45 days here.. N i’ve experienced almost all feelings during this trip.. There have been times i’ve felt ecstatic, desperate, content, numb and also very lonely.. But when it comes down to it, i loved the whole trip.. As the sun sets now, on yet another journey, all i can think of, is my home, n the feeling of home..

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Singapore Trip… Part 1..

October 5, 2007 at 6:33 pm · Filed under memories, specials, travel

i blog less often these days, been wanting to write for really long now.. so finally i’m sitting down today to blog again.. i’ve noticed countless things in life happening all of a sudden.. My second big trip is just one of those things.. And for me, it actually is very BIG.. i’m going abroad for the first time, to Singapore.. To visit the place and also to stay with my brother and family for a few days or maybe more..

after a few weeks of running away from the joining date and the sudden change in life after college, i hope it’ll be a welcome break.. before maybe, going into the fast life lead by most friends working in big companies now.. i always use the word ‘maybe’ when i’m talking about life ahead.. cos there’s still a lot of uncertainty about that.. hehe..

so i started from home on the morning of the 30th of august.. from calicut, i reached chennai at 10 o’clock.. the newly wed film star Narein and his wife were in the same flight.. nan mind aakkiyilla, but eventually talked to them from the chennai airport.. boarded the singapore flight from chennai n landed here at about 8.30 in the night.. my nephew ehan had come to pick me up.. said goodbye to a few fellow passengers and went home.. ehan had grown up a bit more n was very lively..

i had lots of doubts about what it’d feel like in some other country.. on a first note, it felt just like home – mainly because the climate at Singapore is very similar to that of kerala.. but when u start going out and visiting places, the feeling changes a lot, just cos the whole setup here is so advanced and sophisticated here.. believe me, this is an absolutely filthy rich country.. till u get used to it, ur mind keeps asking – “choodu vellathil kulikkamo??” [to those of u who understand wat i mean.. ]

singapore is so small that its smaller than calicut.. its just 45 kilometres from one end to the other.. bah!! for a regular guy like me, everything here is a new experience.. all the buses and trains are AC metro trains called MRTs are there connecting important places of singapore.. three routes in all – red line, blue line n the green line.. interlinked at many places and after a few days of travelling, i realized how easy it is to get around Singapore.. so i was out exploring the place the very next day.. went to a nearby park called Bishan Park.. a biiiiiiiig park – some 130 acres!! nice quiet place right in the centre of the busy traffic.. i ended up vaaya nokkaling the many young people who had come to skate..

Merlion is a statue with the head of a lionand the body of a fish and is the icon of Singapore Tourism.. the Merlion near the fullerton hotel is one of the attractions.. but when i went there, i found out what a waste it was.. hihi.. its just a statue spitting water into the singapore river.. the night skyline on the other side of the singapore river looked exotic..

there is this building among them on the other side of the singapore river called the Esplanade.. it looks just like a biig CHAKKA!! jack fruit that is.. haha.. its some theatre sort of thing where arts performances n stuff occur.. also on the other side of the Fullerton Hotel, there are a few statues.. one of them with a few kids trying to jump to the river.. it looks absolutely fantastic.. the place is one of the busiest in Singapore with tourists flock in all the time..

another great place i liked very much is the East Coast Park.. its a very long park parallel to the calm sea.. people go there to ride bicycles along the beach or skate there.. its fun watching small kids skate wish i could skate too.. gotta learn.. hihi.. stayed in the ECP late that day.. food has never been a problem here.. sis in law is an expert cook and i’m eating away to glory.. there is a veg restaurant in the East Coast Park called the Komala Vilas.. de kidakkunnu nan pinnem flat..

took a break the next day.. and after that my cousin from Malaysia arrived.. he finished his MBA there n was gonna go back home the next week.. so he came to see few places.. i was his guide at first and i took him to few places that i had been to few days before.. after seeing the Merlion again.. we went to Sentosa, a small island just off the southern part of Singapore, connected to it by a biig bridge.. the Sentosa has so many attractions and shows inside it.. We went straight to the UnderWater World.. its a whole new world out there.. i’ve always been fascinated by fishes.. n inside it there is a big tunnel with sharks and other massive fishes swimming all around just above us..

We walked outside to the nearby beach.. its called the SILOSO beach.. wanted to stay there a bit longer.. but my cousin had to leave.. so we rushed in for the Dolphin Lagoon show.. i absolutely love dolphins!! they showed few dolphins doing acrobatics.. for a moment, i wanted to be the dolphin instructor there.. we couldnt stay longer.. n rushed back home.. hoping to go to sentosa once more..

the next few days were spent at home mostly.. and with shopping.. cos sis had to study for an exam.. only a few more places left to visit here.. so i’m taking it slow.. doing a bit of web designing.. and looking after ehan.. and a lot of time online.. bits and pieces of shopping going on in between too.. went to Mustafa Center – one of the largest shopping centres in Singapore.. if its something buyable that u are looking for, u’re sure to find it there.. Ramzan started in between.. so again, the going out reduced for except small walks and small shopping trips.. fasting going on strong.. also music.. i was thinking wat all to buy.. ororo aagrahangal!!

so after a few weeks of lazing around, we decided to go to East Coast Park one day to break fast and sit there in the beach.. it was great fun.. sat there on the beach in the breeze till it was night.. and i went to check out a skate shop in the park and ended up buying one!! right now i’ve no idea wat i’m gonna do with it.. gotta learn skating now.. hehe..

and once again it was time to go to Sentosa once more.. and this time, we went for the show called ‘Songs of the Sea’.. believe me, it was by far the best water, laser and what not show i’ve ever seen in my life!! i mean it had everything.. pyrotechnics, water jets, lasers, special computer imaging, fire bursts, captivating music and stunning flame bursts.. some 25 minutes of excitment.. after the show we went to the Siloso beach once again n sat there some time..

as of now, i’ve got an extension of visa till oct 10th.. and am planning to come bak on 9th.. but if i get extension once more, i’ll come only after eid.. around 20th most probably.. i’m going to malaysia tomorrow.. so thought this’d be the best time to blog about the previous days.. i’ve missed a lot of things.. which will come in the coming posts.. i’ve been listening to a lot of music lately and i’ve become a big fan of Yanni and Karunesh.. Yanni’s Nostalgia brings back the memories.. i dont wanna move on…. i dont wanna go to that busy life… hmmm..

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