A) no emotion (obviously numbing my anxiousness about leaving)
B) extreme homesickness (for himself, for my family, for herself, the dogs, Amsterdam...you name it, I was homesick for it.)
C) disappointment (that I didn't get the job I interviewed for.)
D) excitement (fuck the job, I'm going traveling for 6 months!)
C) over enthusiasm (I'm going to travel the world!)
D) homesickness again.
E) rage (on hearing the detailed feedback as to why I didn't get the job).
F) excitement and determination. (fuck the job, I'm going traveling for 6 months!)
Anyway, now I've calmed down a bit I'm beginning to relax and look at the job at hand. I've already had an amazing week here in Asia and I've still got 23 more of these to come. Anything is possible at this stage and I'm really up for the challenge. Easy peasy so long as I don't poison myself with mosquito repellent.
But despite the above I've loved every second here. Singapore was nice, a strange place in my opinion but somewhere worth seeing. It's got a very modern vibe that somehow lacks a bit of character. We didn't overexert ourselves here now, trying to get ourselves acclimatized, it can be a struggle to get around when your face is continuously and profusely perspiring. Anyhow.
What we did in Singapore:
- eat from 'hawker centers'
- get my fortune told by a man at bugis centre, (I'm going to live a long, long life but I must remain indoors from 10-11.30 pm every day for the rest of the year as this is my danger time.)
- sit all day in the botanical garden, watching the world go by where I could sweat in peace.
- have a look at the f1 track and talk to people who's budget for the weekend was three times more than my entire budget for 6 months, sickening.
- get the shakes on the skywalk in the supertree garden. Hard to say if I faced my fear of heights here or succumbed to it. Could have went either way really.
What has been the nicest so far was the little town of Malacca about halfway between KL and Singapore. It's a bit grimey but has fantastic history and great locals. Better to go there during the weekend though as it was a bit dead mid-week. Whatever you are into I suppose.
Some things to do in Malacca:
- take the boat tour. I wouldn't bother with the monorail.
- go to the baba nyonya museum, but don't buy your tickets from the 'nice guy' in the antique shop as he'll actually sell you tickets to the 'lesser' jewellery museum and not tell you...fecker.
- take the Eco bike tour through the plantations to see palm trees and rubber trees. It's probably a bit expensive for malaysia at 100rm pax but worth doing all the same.
- eat in the Capitol satay restaurant.
- go for a beer in the atmospheric shantaram 'bar'.
One story I do have to share however, and something that will stay with me forever is the disco rickshaw covered in Christmas lights. Don't judge. Me and Lorna, happy as Larry, just enjoying the ride, having a little head bop. Coming around the top of temple street our driver slowed down. We spotted a bird on the pavement and we figured he was going to help it. Wrong. Laughing like a maniac, he cornered the bird, grabbed it, found a plastic bag, put the bird in the bag and tied it to the rickshaw. WTF. We were speechless. I can't describe the feeling of riding through a city in a glittering disco rickshaw in complete silence with a dying, fluttering bird tied to the side of your seat. The most we learned was that our driver friend was going to make soup. No, we didn't know what to say either.
Leaving the bird to the side, we are setting our sights on ko phi phi for some beach time. Queue that old All Saints song...
