28th Jan(Saturday) : CNY eve. I knocked off only at 230pm. It was not a very busy morning, considering that many patients must have taken home leave to spend the lunar new year at home with loved ones. I went down to Chinatown to do some last minute shopping for the trip to KL. Got some marshmallows and some sweets and chocs for the house. There was a huge crowd gathered at this entire row of tables where the workers were selling the sweets and chocs at only $2 a packet. U take a plastic bag and then fill it up to the brim. Originally going at $8 a packet, the sellers were shouting and selling their merchandise really cheap since it was the CNY eve already. They shouted that their boss is making a loss but he would rather collect cash rather than keep the goods. They are useless after the season. Some slogans sounded rather funny to me. And u can really see the ugly side of Singaporeans portrayed. Some would grab one handful in one hand and balance the filled-to-the-brim bag in the other hand. The sellers warned them not to do that for they would stop and embarrass them. U see, they can see everyone as they are perched squatting on the tables. Sigh. The 'kiasuism' (?) of Singaporeans, or the plain greed of Mankind.
The main roads for the Lunar New Year show in the evening was already blocked off at 3pm. There were the trucks from MediaCorp and crew members cordoning off the area to traffic.
I got home at almost 5pm. It was a weird feeling to be back home so early on a Saturday. Perhaps I still did not have the festive mood. Helped with some household chores and Dad came back after driving his cab for an hour or more. We had the steamboat dinner at 7pm. It was a good and proper one, with no squabbling. I have not expect much from this dinner this year, since reunion dinners hold no meaning for me ever since the incident in 2000. Even before that, quarrels are common on the eve of CNY and on the 1st day of CNY. My family is just not the typical kind of family. That should explain the bad luck that befalls on my family. Dad would always say that we are so unlucky to be quarelling on the last day of the year and even quarrels are unpreventable on the very 1st day of the new year, which is supposed to be very auspicious in the Chinese calendar.
Oh well, guess Mum changed and tried to control that mouth of hers this year. We had a very peaceful and proper dinner which lasted an entire dinner! Till 8pm! And it's 3 of us, seated around the table, eating and chatting away PEACEFULLY. Note: Peacefully. Yeah. Haven't had that in many years. There were years when I would even cry to myself after the lousy dinner. Why must my family be so different from others?
A totally refreshing one and I appreciated the whole affair. Dad went out to continue driving his cabbie and I cleared some stuff, watched TV, prepared some things for the house-visiting the next day.
Mmm... A good dinner, a peaceful 'chu xi ye', a kind of different feeling that follows after so many years of noisy CNY eves, all symbolizing a good year ahead? I certainly hope so. :)
29th January (Sunday): The usual house visiting, except we added in a few more places to go to on this 1st day, since we are not visiting on the 2nd and 3rd day. Went to Da-jiu place 1st, then followed by Grandma?s place in Bishan. Next stop was Da-Yi's place in Bugis and finally Er-gu's place cuz Ah-ma is there. Come to think of it, it's only 4 places. But it took the whole day! We only reached home at close to 6pm, as there is no car and we took public transport. Gone were the days when Dad would ferry us around in his car. We used to be able to get the taxi from the uncle on the 2nd day of CNY, but this is the 1st day, so we gotta move around ourselves. Not too bad, the weather was still bearable with lotsa wind. But my right shoe's sole dropped out after coming out of Bishan MRT! Have not wore that for more than a year? Perhaps 2? Luckily, Xiao-shu has glue. A neat piece of work done by Dad.
I went running after we got back home. I had to run, for I would be going to KL the next few days. It was peaceful and quiet, running to 'GH', clocking 1hour 17min. Got home at close to 8pm, and I showered and got down to dinner. Packed for the trip the next day. I was tired. It always happens to me, the day before a trip. I would feel lazy and hate to do the packing. INERTIA. I hate to get out of my comfort zone at that moment. I guess it got to boil down to the preparation done for the trip and all the excitement can really drains u. This time round, it was not so much of the preparation but the fatigue that comes from working and not getting enough sleep for the past few nights. After a nap from 10-11, I got down to packing. Another night of insufficient snooze.
30th January(Monday): I got up earlier than my alarm clock! Most probably due to the excitement contained within? Bio clock already fine tuned itself. Hah! Breakfast, followed by shower and Mum washed up the last of the clothes we wore for the night and off we went to Bt Panjang with the cab. Dad did not sleep the entire night as he continued driving and the cab was downstairs at the car park. We drove to BP to pick up the uncle and then drove to Golden Mile Complex, where we would be boarding our bus and thereafter Uncle would take over the cab.
The 18-seater luxury bus. Wah. Cost me $93 for 3 2-way tickets. Bleah. Expensive. The bus took off at 9.40am, after a delay of 10minutes for Dad and I went to the toilet. :p There was no stop for lunch along the way. However, it was fast. We arrived at KL at 2.15pm.
3pm: Checked into Grand Continental Hotel. It's old and not too spacious a room. 3-star hotel. What to do? Only cost me RM489(S$215). There's a queen-sized bed and a super single bed, with breakfast for 3 on the 3 mornings that we stayed there! It's a great bargain! I'm not fussy! Neither are my parents!
We took the monorail to Times Square after that. Gee. I read it somewhere before that the monorail lines are operated by different companies and if u need to switch line, u have to buy another ticket! Yikes! Let's say, if u have to take the MRT from Orchard to Buona Vista and u have to change at City Hall, u have to buy another ticket on the East-West line which is operated by another company. Argh. In this way, it is so not cost-effective!!! We spent RM3.60 for the 1st line, and then another RM3.60 for the transfer, when it could have cost us only around RM5 to get to Times Square by taxi. Geez... it would take less time as well. But well, at least I have taken the LRT and monorail in KL!
There was a mini theme park inside Times Square. A roller coaster even! Just watching the turns of the track simply twists my stomach. *Bleah* Cannot imagine myself riding it. It was noisy though. There was also a Cineplex in the mall. We wanted to catch 'Fearless', Jet Li's last action movie, but there were only front row seats left. Hece, we decided to shop instead.
I got a new pair of sandal, Mum a new bag, Dad got 2 shirts. I also bought 3 books from Borders where the books were on sale whereby I paid only for the price of 2 books. We had Baskin Robbins ice cream (YUMMY!) and then only left the mall at close to 10. We crossed the road and ate Indian food at an eatery across the road. There were naans, roti prata, chappati and tandoori chicken, all washed down with a mug of teh tarik. Sedap.
31st January (Tuesday): It's a pleasure waking up anytime u want on a holiday. Such is the advantage of a free & easy trip. We had a sumptuous breakfast and then went out for a sightseeing tour, at least for me, it was.
Took the monorail to Benteng and then I followed the itinery that my guidebook suggested. I took an opposite route and lost my way. We asked for directions and realized I had read the map upside down! In a way, I did not feel very comfortable bringing my parents along with me on this walking tour. Maybe I was streesed subconsciously. What a HUGE mistake to read the map upside down! Arghh! Got to Masjid Jamek (Jamek Mosque) which is the city's oldest mosque and I have to 'cover up' in order to get in for a look. My parents were standing suspiciously outside and my mum shook her head fervently, saying she did not want to enter. Ok. I should have guess it. Neither did my dad although he did not have to put on anything. I wore the long flowing robe and used a scarf to cover my hair. Off I went in to explore its surroundings while Mum and Dad went off to somewhere for a drink. I was supposed to meet them 40mins later.
I merely took 20minutes and I had to find them in order not to waste time. They were at the Burger King nearby. They bought a drink. Mmm... We just had a buffet breakfast u know?! We continued on and the 2 of them were always lagging behind me! Mmm... I was thinking of just separating form them and we meeting up at a later time at a shopping mall.
So that was the agreement. I would meet my parents at Lot 10's MacDonald at around 6-630pm. I had a great time wandering around myself that. I wandered to the Padang, the Bangunan Sultan Abdul Samad which was a former colony administrative centre. There was the Royal Selangor Club, Dataran Merdeka(Independence Square) and the National History Museum which was just beside the Padang.
Next stop was the General Post Office (it's a huge building) which acted as a landmark to search for an underground pass to get across the busy streets in order to reach the National Mosque, which is the biggest mosque in KL, able to accommodate 10,000 people at a time in its prayer hall.
The highlight of the day must be the Bangunan KTM Berhad, aka Railway Administration Building and its sister building, the Stesen Keretapi KL(KL Railway Station). Both buildings were of Moghul-style, designed by A B Hubbock, who had spent time in India before. It was a pleasure to find such architectural marvels in the heart of hustle-bustle KL.
I wanted to get to Pasar Seni, but lost my way and ended up at Chinatown instead. I had been here in 2002 before, the 1st time I went to KL with my parents. That was in the night, and I have not walked the streets of Chinatown in the daytime before. Spent sometime exploring the place. I realized how much I have changed ever since the very 1st few times I went abroad in 2001, or 2002. Night markets and fake branded stuff used to fascinate me, from Chinatown in KL to Patpong or Pattaya in Thailand. Nowadays, I still like walking around the night markets, but not so much for the imitation goods. It's more for the atmosphere and simply knowing what they sell, observing the people by the roadside stalls, and perhaps tasting some streetside food are the highlights to me now.
I managed to find my way to Pasar Seni (Central Market) which is a renovated air-conditioned marketplace where artists ply their work and sell their wares. A huge framed photo that is being lit up by some special neon lights caught my eyes. It was a place in Saudi Arabia. Not the kabaa in Mecca though as there was not black box in the centre. However, there was a huge mass of people in the picture and they seem to be swirling around this huge court. Funny thing is, I do not remember this as the kabaa because there is no black box! But how do u explain the swirling of masses of human bodies then? I remember asking the owner where is this and she told me it's Mecca. I was wondering if it?s Medina in Saudi Arabia, as that is the 2nd or 3rd holiest site in Islam. That photo was captivating anyway, and I have always been fascinated by the kind of dedication and faith that a devotee can give of himself to his religion. Especially of Muslims who have to make a sacred pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his lifetime. And the entire aerial view of the kabaa must be one that is astounding and breathless. If only I have the chance to view it from an aerial view in real life. I'm sure it would be one of those unforgettable moments in life.
Anyway, I ended up taking the LRT to the KL Sentral Station which is the main railway station in KL now, where the inter-state trains would pass through. I was awe-struck by the glitzy building as it was certainly big and I thought I had entered the airport upon entering it! It reminded me very much of the railway station in Tehran. Caught me off-guard as well. I had to change to the monorail and get to the Sungei Wang area where all the major shopping malls are located.
Alas! There is no MacDonald's in Lot 10! I wandered outside the mall and fortunately, Mum spotted me from across the road where she and Dad were sitting by a sidewalk café. We gathered and I wanted to shop in Sungei Wang for a while before going down to Chinatown for dinner.
To cut it short, dinner sucks and we did not finish the food. :p It was oily and expensive. Trashy food. My stomach was churning from the excessive oil after the meal.
1st Feb (Wednesday): It was a day spent shopping. What a typical Singaporean way of spending a day. :p We took a cab to Mid Valley Megamall after breakfast, bought tickets for 'Fearless' at 2.30pm and then shopped. I found it such a waste of time as I did not manage to get anything that I wanted to get. I cannot understand why people would window-shop. I used to do that in the secondary school days when u have so much time to spare and not much money. But nowadays, there?s so much more to do! Aiye. Window-shopping is a waste of time, of energy and your youth.
There's a good meaning to the movie 'Fearless', but I did not enjoy the movie as much as I did when I watched the old films made by Jet Li. He was my idol since young and I love those 'Huang Fei Hung' movies made by him. Perhaps this movie was too violent, and perhaps I have not watched a Chinese action movie for a long, long time... My taste in movies has become very high over the years. Still, it was good catching a movie with my 2 oldies. :-p
More shopping. Took a cab down to KLCC next. Highlight of the day: Petronas Twin Towers. They simply blew my mind away. I love huge towering buildings whereby they are simply awe-inspiring. What a remarkable human architectural feat. It was drizzling when we exited Mid Valley. KLCC was a high-classed mall. I enjoyed the front views of the building from the garden with a dancing fountain. Pretty.
We sojourned back to the hotel at 8pm. Mum was determined to eat seafood at the restaurant just beside our hotel where the taxi driver recommended. We had crabs, soup, veggies, and fish. The food was good, in large portions with generous amounts of garnishings and ingredients(especially in the soup!) and cheap! Cost us only RM93!!!
2nd Feb (Thursday): Dad and I made our way back to the hotel. I showered and we made our way to Pasar Rakyat. I realized a one way ticket from KL to Singapore cost only RM56 for the luxury 18-seater and only RM35 for a 26-seater!!! Why do I have the feeling that I have been grossly cheated here? *Cries* Time always seem to fly when u are holidaying. It was time to pack up! Dad and I went down to Sungei Wang to do some last minute shopping. I wanted to try my luck to see what else I could buy. To my pleasant surprise, I managed to get a pair of cargo pants at only RM10!!! I could not try it though, but as I was wearing Bermudas, I simply pulled it on. And 2 tees that cost only RM14. All right, at least I did get some clothing in KL after all. The pants was perfect for backpacking. :-p
Ate a plate of mee goreng for lunch. Again, too much oil for my stomach was churning after the meal again. All the way till we got back to Singapore.
I watched 'Forrest Gump' on the bus. My very 1st time watching it, after hearing so much about it. Very good show indeed. If only everyone need not fret about life like Forrest and yet still have things turning out well for them. Perhaps sometimes, innocence is really bliss.
I watched only half the movie of 'Matrix'. Another show that I have heard so much about, but not watched it. Interesting. I did not catch everything about the movie but it proved to me that it does has a philosophical side to it after all. Remember a friend telling me before. I would love to watch the entire series if time permits.
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That more or less sums up my KL trip. Throughout the trip, I must say there is certainly bonding with my parents although squabblings were quite often. I have also said to them many times that I would never travel with them again. Yeah. Prhaps I would have to bring other friends along and their parents also, so that they would not focus on me only. And definitely no more free & easy with them. I hate packaged tours. Maybe we could go for trips to Taman Negara or Cameron Highlands where there would not be much waling to do in the 1st place. :p
