Singapore Snippet

We have been in Singapore for two weeks now. The first week was nice and balmy with occasional showers but the second has been way too hot. It makes me want to stay indoors (in air-conditioned comfort) rather than go out but the missus wants to go to Compass Point (a shopping centre) in Sengkang for some purchases and then on to Farrer Park. Why Farrer Park? Because we have not been there before.
Yesterday we took the bus to Punggol for the first time. We missed the stop and so had to walk an extra one hundred meters to Punggol Central. Well, there was not much there; just a bus terminal, a coffee stall and the Mass Rapid Transport (MRT)/Light Rapid Transport (LRT) station.
This reminds me of the time we took the MRT to Marina Bay. Outside the station was a bus stop by the side of a small road which divides a small field planted with lots of small trees and the place was deserted. There was no bay to be seen. To the amusement of the station staff, we then took the same train back to the city.

That’s what happens sometimes when you decide to wander around on your own. But I love to wander! I like to stumble across something nice. There was this time when the missus wanted to buy the “mui choy” (a type of preserved vegetable) that she had spied on sale in a stall in a coffee shop in the Bugis area the previous day when we passed by on our way for some “Cut Rice”. So we had to search the whole area for the coffee shop again and, yes, we found it and it was worth the effort. The bona fide Hakka mui choy from China was crunchy and the aroma was heavenly. Definitely the best I have ever taken!
We also discovered a couple of streets selling Indian items (the area is pretty close to Little India and we might have stumbled upon it), a blue mosque and a new way to the famous Chinese temple in the area. You can say we are quite familiar with the area now.

There are still a lot of places to explore. We have been to all the tourist areas like Sentosa Island, Orchard Road, Vivo City, Suntec City, Marina Square, Raffles City, etc. In my opinion, Singapore has some of the best shopping malls in the region and one can literally shop until one drops. Transport is efficient and convenient with the MRT and abundant buses and taxis.
But it is the lesser-known places that attract me. Places like Hougang, Toa Payoh, Tampines, Katong, etc. I like to roam the narrow streets and back alleys and it is safe to do so in Singapore. I like to “discover” a small park, a temple, a flea market, etc.

By the way, at night, the mamak stalls in Simpang Bedok serve the best teh tarik (pulled tea) and yummy roti prata.

Thunderstorm

Ominous clouds in downcast sky
Lightning flashes, thunderclaps
Reverberate, as rain clouds cry
Falling rain, round us, wraps

Rattling harsh, the window pane
Fighting to get within
The howling wind, amid the rain
Raises one raucous din

Endless raindrops splash and splatter
Drenching the drowning street
Spraying mists of real fine water
On bare and covered feet

Sodden flowers, nodding their heads
Trees, with their wide boughs bent
Soaking all, as the cloudburst spreads
Violent, without relent

Raging torrents, down mountainside
Rumbling, wild and free
Swollen rivers and sea collide
In choppy estuary

Tomorrow

Sometimes life’s a joy, happy and gay
Sometimes life sucks, an utter dismay
Whatever it may be
Tomorrow you’ll be free
For you cannot take along today