This past weekend I went to Singapore to say farewell to my friend Devrim, an AIESECer working for DHL. He finished his traineeship, extended his contract, and was now offered an amazing opportunity to work in Shanghai with an incredible position in Risk Management for DHL.
He threw a huge going-away-party, held at his colleague's Crib (also a DHL employee and the son of Lufthansa's GM). I say 'Crib' because it was this awesome home with a huge sunroom that over looked the large pool. The DJ turntables were in the foyer of the back door and a pond with random plants and lily pads was located behind it. A bridge above the pond connected two rooms. . .
AND...It's just the family's 'Summer' house.
Too bad I didn't take a picture of this dream home.
--------Pre-party: rewind---------
I woke up early Saturday morning, 6:45am to be exact. My bus to Singapore was set for 7:30am, and conveniently left from Bangsar.
I traveled with Vishen, Kristina and her Estonian friends that were vacationing in KL.
Hehe=). . .So last time I went to Singapore, I traveled with 7 Kenyans, this time I was traveling with 5 Estonians and 1 Malaysian.
When we arrived in beautiful, clean, and refreshing - Singapore, we spent a few hours getting lost in the city, and then decided to overlook the river while eating Chinese seafood at '
Boat Quay'.
It was surprisingly cool that day - the sun hid behind the clouds and the water sprinkled on our skin as we walked through Singapore's City Center.
Afterwards, we took a boat ride along the river as we listened to a pre-recorded, American-accented narrator talk about the different buildings situated near the waterfront. I started to doze off as the boat rocked back and forth along the river. Not to mention my stomach was full of prawns and braised tofu.
I needed a pick-me-up badly, so we stopped by a great coffee house called '
TCC' - The Coffee Connoisseur. They had an elaborate menu of caffeinated drinks, delicious desserts and Asian infused 'Western Dishes'.
Mmmmm. . .I thoroughly enjoyed waking up to my Oreo-Mocha Frapaccino.
------Party-------
DHL employees and trainees, AIESECers, Estonians and friends gathered at the amazing house as we celebrated Digs' new adventure to Shanghai.
All night long I drank
Apple Juice with Aloe Vera bits (one of my local favorites in SE Asia). I told others that they could mix it with any liquor to create a local libation. Sure enough, 2 cartons of my Peel Fresh Juice was gone within the first 30 minutes. (Better than the typical Apple-tini you get in the States!)
------After Party Makan------
After the party, comes the late night grubbin'.
We went to a local 24hour Singaporean food court, planning to just get a small bite to eat. Pilli and I ended up sharing an order of Dumplings (a.k.a Potstickers in the US), Sweet & Sour Chicken with steamed rice, veggies and soup.
It was a quite an international table - 1 Dutch, 1 Malaysian, 1 Kenyan, 1 Australian, 1 Argentine, and me, an American. We were all AIESEC Alum enjoying each other's company as we talked about our experiences in AIESEC and how much we've grown and changed since. Somehow the conversation went off on a tangent and we were talking about ASIA's obsession of having
white skin and
double eyelids.
Don't ask me why, I'm happy with my brown skin and Filipino eyelids. . .
------Sunday at the Singapore Zoo-------
I spent my Sunny Sunday at the Zoo with Cheong and his family.
The Singapore Zoo has adopted a model of the`open zoo' concept.
Their animals are kept in large, spacious, landscaped enclosures, separated from all the visitors by dry or wet ditches. The ditches are concealed with vegetation or dropped below the line of vision. There home looked very much like a natural surrounding instead of the traditions cages that one thinks of when you say "Zoo".
The only animals that were in enclosed areas were the leopards and jaguars - since both can climb very well. Instead they were housed in beautifully landscaped glass-fronted enclosures. We were able to go into the glass viewing rooms to see these big cats up close and personal.
Singapore Zoo is rated one of the top zoo's in the world. Haha...It even won the RESTROOM ASSOCIATION -HAPPY TOILET AWARD - a 5 Star award for cleanliness, functionality and creativity.
*pics of Zoo coming soon*
------MIA in Singapore-------
After a day at the Zoo, it was time to say goodbye to Singapore. . .
Cheong dropped me off near the bus station on Beach Road. I had plenty of time before my bus was set to leave, so I decided to just walk around the nearby mall.
It was still early when I arrived at "The Golden Mile", where all the busses sit and wait before departing. I looked for Vishen, Kristina and the Baltic crew -all very easy to spot in an Asian country.
Hmmmm. . . I don't see them.
I'll just go to the bus then. I put down my bag to search for my ticket.
Oh no! Can't find it!?! What now? I pick up my handphone and begin calling them.
"Thanks for using M-1. Beep, beep, beep." Click. The line is cut.
I try again. . . same thing happens. My phone is not dialing out. Time is running out and I have no idea what bus to take.
I'm sure they'll call me. I think to myself.
I realize almost all the busses are empty. Maybe I'll see them get on the bus. I walked back and forth along Beach Road, looking at every bus I pass by. Still no sign.
Although Singapore is safe and impeccably clean, the area around this bus station was not. My guess is that most people traveling on these busses are Malaysians and other tourists. Avoiding the sketchy walk up the driveway where all the travel agents are selling bus tickets, I stay near the parked busses pacing up and down the street.
Realizing that the bus probably left, I decide to just walk up to one of the travel agents and get a new bus ticket.
I have to get back to KL tonight! Fortunately a bus was leaving in 2 minutes, so I paid for a new ticket and quickly boarded.
There were only 3 other people on the huge bus. Sitting down in my seat while breathing a sigh of relief, I knew I was still going to arrive into KL with enough time to get a full night rest. But I was worrying what everyone on the other bus thought.
20 minutes later, after crossing the border into Malaysia, I found out.
Vishen and Kristina sent out a mass SMS asking if anyone knew what had happeend to me, and if so to contact them immediately. They found out from Cheong that I was dropped off early but since I never showed up to meet them, thought something bad might have happened.
"Adelle is missing."
They were worried that I was stuck in Singapore with no phone or money. Vishen even helped to delay the bus, hoping I'd show up any minute.
SMS's started to pour in and my phone was working again for both incoming and outgoing calls.
So sorry for worrying everyone. I had a phone that did not work in Singapore and I was without a ticket or info on which bus to go on. Never-the-less, I was safe and only 20 minutes behind the bus I was supose to be on.
I'm such a '
trouble maker'.
The next morning at work, I mentioned all the details of why I was MIA in Singapore. I found out that they were walking in the sketchy area near the travel agents, hoping to run into me.
