Tour guide, if just for a day.

Just back from a day out with Mikko and his girlfriend. I haven't gotten her name, despite chatting with her from Vietnam all the way to Clarke Quay, here in Singapore. But I guess it doesn't really matter as long as the conversation flows and one is having a good time. I must say that I had a bloody good time today. I guess one of the reasons why I offered to bring them around Singapore was because I'm very proud of my country, very proud to be Singaporean and I want to bring.... a personal touch into 'just another mundane holiday to another city-state'. It's true that perhaps my decision was influenced a great deal by the warm hospitality I received while I was on the road in Cambodia and Vietnam, albeit a very short trip, it had a profound impact on me. How at the end of the day, it really is the inter-personal, human contact that brings people from all walks of life together. Like I said before, you don't need to speak the same language to understand each other. Sometimes all you need is just a smile.

I'm glad Lucy came along, even though it might have been partly because she wanted to see if the dude really was as handsome as Joanna made him out to be. But it was a great experience with two of my bestest friends, even if the weather killed us all.

We met the Finnish couple at Clarke Quay at 3pm. They ahd been to Sentosa earlier in the morning, but as I had expected, the place was a tad too expensive for their budgets. My only regret is that I didn't go along because I wouldn't have minded paying for them. Plus, this episode has made me realise how little I know/have seen of my country. Haha, I even had to do some research on the attractions to go to and what to do, ironic much eh? So Lucy and Joanna went back home first to bath and prepare before we met at 1.30 at Clarke Quay for lunch. We had been playing MJ the night before and OMG, it was a horrible night, but you win some lose some. I've understood that philosophy ever since I started gambling with money, so it's no big deal. BUT I WILL WIN MY MOOLA BACK. RAWR! The crazy woman Joanna cycled here the night before, thus she had to cycle back in the sweltering afternoon heat. And to add insult to injury, her tires were punctured, by what I do not know. She actually thought I sabotaged her bicycle. -.-'''

So we met at Clarke Quay for lunch at Manhattan Fish Market. Shared a seafood platter with Lucy and we were soooooooooooo filled! Joanna didn't even finish her Fish & Chips. Thereafter, we proceeded to the riverfront to slack and wait for Mikko to arrive. When they did, we realised that they hadn't had lunch yet, so we went down to the Central Market, trying to look for some authentic local food. The girl didn't want to eat any meat so the only thing on the menu was Chee Cheong Fun, and Mikko gamely ordered Laksa. Respect. He finished the whole bowl, and even drank all the soup. If I were to do that...... I think I'll look like I ran 42km or something. According to him the Laksa was awesome food, interesting, considering it wasn't even super authentic Laksa like the one from Katong. So with our tummy's filled, we decided to walk down the river, towards Fullerton. That would bring us past all the major historical/cultural landmarks in the area, like Raffles' landing spot, The old Parliament building, Victoria Concert Hall, Asian Civilisations Museum, Supreme Court and City Hall and the War memorial. It was an itinerary that I stole from the internet, but it was a very interesting walk, nonetheless. Got to see many things that I haven't seen in a long long time, and it felt just like the Learning Journeys excursions we used to have, just that this time round, I was the guide for the day. Did, most of the talking, trying to explain what little I knew about our colonial past, and if they looked bored, they never showed it. I wanted to show them the ACM and the Peranakan museum but they said they ahd the whole day tomorrow so they'd probably do that plus the Singapore Flyer, so we gave it a miss. Pity since I was looking forward to the museums!

We walked one full round, all the way back to St Andrew's Cathedral before we decided to bring Mikko to Chinatown to try some Ba Kwa. Lucy was like craving for that really badly. We initially wanted to take the train, since they were more comfortable with it, but Mikko wanted to be a bit more adventurous and try the buses so we hopped on 124 and alighted at Chinatown. There, we walked to Temple St, upon Lucy's suggestion and ended up eating at Mei Heong Yuen, which was the same place Jiahao, Joanna, Grace and I ate the other time when she was still in Singapore. We ordered 4 Yang Zhi Gan Lus, our staple, which turned out to be not bad, except the ice made it kinda diluted towards the end. Mikko and his girlfriend ordered some Mango and Strawberry shaved ice dessert. It made me glad to know that they were enjoying the new culinary experience, for they had remarked that it was their first time eating desserts in this style, with shaved ice and all. All the desserts they had eaten so far were almost always chocolaty or creamy. Halfway through our desserts, it started to pour really, really heavily. And since we weren't in much of a hurry, we just sat at the shop, chatting and waiting for the rain to subside. It turns out that Mikko is 27 nd his girlfriend is 26. An I still thought that he was like 23/24. Hahaha... It's cool that they're able to travel so widely even while they're still studying. Hopefully I'll be able to do that as well, in the near future.

When the rain lightened, we made out way back to Chinatown mrt. Mikko wanted to head to the Night Safari, upon my suggestion, but I think the rain was a bit off-putting. So they decided to head to Orchard Road instead to do some shopping (yay, boosts our economy). Jo and I followed them while we accidentally left Lucy behind. SORRY!!! I thought that you'd be following us as well. =/ We intended to go to the Night Safari with Mikko, if I were able to get the car but alas, that wasn't the case. Which is just as well because it is STILL pouring and I don't think it'd be a very pleasant experience.

Mikko is leaving tomorrow for KL, and we'll be meeting him for dinner at Geylang before he leaves. Gonna get them to try some durian!! He asked if it was the smelly fruit. HAHAHA super cute. Till then, I'll post some pictures if I remember to take them tomorrow. Totally forgot about it today, hahaha.

Gonna game. Out. :)