Of immunisations and fake crocs

Been preparing hard for the trip. First up was reading on all the required and recommended immunisation jabs for travellers to Cambodia and Vietnam. I ended up only taking typhoid because of the superb health care system in place for Singaporean students. YAY. So I went down to TPY polyclinic on tuesday to get my typhoid jab and also my malaria pills. It turns out that the pills they gave me were Melfoquine and its not very effective in western Cambodia and the Siem Reap area/ Angkor Wat area because the parasites are resistant to the medication. And taking the pills means that I will not be able to dive, which is a real bummer since that's one of the things I'm looking forward to! So, should I 1) take melfoquine and don't dive, 2) change the pills to doxycycline which is a DAILY dosage/30 plus pills so that I can dive, but risk having extreme sunburn as one of the side effects or 3)not take any malaria medication, pile on insect repellent and pray for the best? That way, I can dive and won't get sunburn! Oh sighs.

So I followed Jo down to TPY polyclinic today for her to get HER typhoid jab. It was damn funny and a Kodak moment when the nurse told her that "it's advisable not to get pregnant within 3 months of receiving the typhoid jab." I quite literally burst out laughing in the consultation room.

Once we were done with the polyclinic, it was around 4, so we proceeded to the coffeeshop opposite the polyclinic for me to grab my lunch since I was famished till no end. There wasn't anything to eat so I ended up with rice and vegetable. Ordered 2 meats and 2 vegs and it was only 3.50!!! Can anyone say cheeeeeeeeap? And it was delicious to boot too. Yay, I is love cheeeeeeeeeap and gooooooooood food. :) We then proceeded back to TPY central to hunt for appropriate footwear for our trip. I was looking at Crocs, but Jo pointed out that we can get the fake ones. And me being the cheapo and kiam siap Singaporean, readily agreed. So we were hunting for fake Crocs and we chanced upon this shop that was selling them for 6.90. 12 if you buy two pairs. We then went on to try out the different pairs, sizes and colours for literally half an hour or more. All this while, the chinese shop assistant was wearing the ugliest most frumpy looking facial expression. I'm quite sure some fresh flowers would have wilted under her intense scowl. After choosing like for ages, I decided upon a RAD *cue ris low* pair which was super comfy, albeit the colour wasn't as pleasant as the yellow while Jo chose the yellow one. Satisfied with our purchases, we decided to part ways and head back home.

Monday was spent trekking from Harbourfront to Mt Faber Park and beyond, all the way to Kent Ridge Park. Dawn, Joanna and I met on the train before heading to Harbourfront together and meeting the rest at Seah Im Food Centre for breakfast. Had Wanton Mee which wasn't fantastic and chatted with Jiayun and Hoon. It turns out that Hoon is almost confirmed in the RSAF as a C3, or controller in laymans' terms. I'm super impressed and have new found respect for her. Hopefully things go well for her, and we might see each other in BMT! Woots.

With our stomachs full, we started on the long ascent up to Mt Faber, through Marang trail which was the same trail I took before. I must say it was a pleasant walk and it did bring back some fond memories from before. Haha. Its a nice place to just chillax and lepak and to chat, not to mention pak tor. The overall feel is very idyllic, tranquil and peaceful. Not to mention beautiful and quiet. We passed by some houses when we were on the Forest Walk. If I remember correctly the road name was Preston Road. It doesn't have Google streetview so I can't show you how beautiful the place is, but it's a very quiet street, with lots of nature, greenary and plants. Very my kinda place, and I've added it to the dream house list which comprises of my grandparents' shophouse, a place in Seletar or the one at Preston Road. I definitely should start on making more dough if I'm to accomplish any of those dreams. Heh.

Dawn wanted to give up halfway through and I think she looked like she was dying. Maybe it was the unbearable humidity and heat. Or maybe it was just the distance. But I could tell she was so glad for it to be over. Haha. When we reached Kent Ridge, we bade the rest goodbye as I accompanied Dawn home together with YA, Alicia, Joanna and MY. We took a bus to Holland Drive where we quenched our insatiable thirst and hunger at Hans cafe before parting ways and heading back. Jo and I took 147 all the way back and we were saying we should try falling asleep before the old people start boarding. That was, we can retain our seats without being criticised for magically falling asleep when old people appear. But of course, we being civic minded youths with good upbringing, willingly gave up our seats to the elderly. Hahaha..

That's the summary of my past few days. Nothing extraordinary, but very well spent I would say. I'm starting to feel the after-effects of the rejection letter. Its not like I'm emo or anything. I never harboured high hopes in the first place because I knew my eyesight was quite borderline. But still, sending in the application did give me a little hope booster, not to mention the call from the RSAF. But alas, things were not meant to be. It's okay, there's nothing I can't take anyway. Bring it on, we'll see what the Ministry has in plan for me then. As for this dream, I shall shelve it and fulfill it someday, maybe as a commercial pilot.

Out. :)