MA 1.01

There …. Sitting at the Changi Airport… lounge thousand thoughts on my mind.. Have I always been that -> talking to myself?? or is it the impatience or excitement.. whatever.. at that exact moment I was simply thinking abt my stay… will I cover all the places? umm how is this place..? Hey wat is it like if u have to venture out on ur own? What can I shop? grrrrrr enough is enough now shut up and wait for them to arrive… I called them to check and yup they were there.. and would be meeting me any minute.. done… !! Nope that isn’t impatience that was jus me being super excited :)… !!!!!


The doting parents and sweet lil Akshatha (I like callilng her putti) cho cuteeeeeee….. one beautiful family… there they were… MY BIL had to hurry to office.. so sis, putti and me zoomed in a taxi… I actually was worried abt toddlers normally being agitated and unable to cope with new faces…etc., but then here was the beautiful princess happily sitting in my lap and cooing at the interiors of the car and trying to pull the car door open…!! My sis already gave me an induction.. abt the sweet lil one… and her naughty ways… With the case deposited carefully and the lil one playing around… we both sat over to have what is called as a quickie catching up … really… it was the same… we talked that way in our childhood too for hours and hours… and it still is the same… I guess It’s the same with every one may be becoz u have an entire childhood and family and so many other things – all in common…

After hogging some food i settled down and kept staring at the view below since their apartment stood on the 11th floor in the lush green Bedok Reservoir View Road. I was actually enjoying the sight of the neat roads … beautiful trees on both sides… a huge parking lot and so much more.. the Traveller in me wide awake … waiting for the opportunity to run out doors… Thought will hold on until I get a tour… :) After settling down and freshing up and other things… we headed to the Tampines Mall – and I felt like a toddler myself trying to learn too many things at the same time.. My sis had already given me the lessons of the pedestrian crossing, currency, dos and donts.. and so on. After a quick browsing at the apple store and a cup of some amazing ice cream.. we started in to the mall and I told them I will finish a round and meet them at the sub way.

From Bossini to Giordano to HANG TEN millions of brands, restaurants, etc etc., Sure a bangalorean will defi enjoy a tour like this :) I walked around until my legs gave away and sat down with them for a quick moment and we headed home.. Initially I must admit that for the first two days I still had that faint sad feeling…. May be bcoz I was missing home… dad… but ssooon I told myself .. listen, this is vacation!! u always will go back… so jus relax and enjoy ok !!

The next couple of days went with visiting more malls, A certain really huge 24/7 Mustafa mall; Sentosa Island and a great deal of public transport usage (bus and the neat and comfortable Metro) BTW I took a small walk in the reservoir park with my sis and was taken aback with the serene beauty of the nature, and ppl of all ages jogging and walking as if their life depended on that!!! We walked until we could and returned home for we had more places to visit… but then I made a mental note that I had to come back to this park once again….

The visits involved munching away some hot idlis and spicy chutneys at the oh so famous murugan’s idli… and so many others… But the best was the Sentosa Island… there is something called as a LUGE which is a sliding thing which u can sit in wearing a helmet and slide on the slopy land. YUHOOOOOOO aint that fun…?? I did it and enjoyed it thoroughly… super cool !! But the best part also was the cable car that we went in to the Sentosa island.. I simply enjoyed that amazing… really my god u sit inside that thing and there… on top of everything and u look down to find abundant huge mighty buildings.. water… water everywhere… and so on… ohhh breathtaking.. is wat I felt… The Sentosa also offers u a merlion Walk and view.. apparently there is a small story abt why and how the name Singapore came and that was shown as a short animated video … the view from the Merlion head was simply superb… I kept clicking and clicking and clicking.. pictures.. and finally ended up trying to click my self with a self timer… and the young American couple offered to help and here.. that was a nice pic … I liked it :) eheheh

The dolphin and an underwater world show… was awesome and enjoyed every bit of it… and I kept clicking away pics … there are creatures from the underwater world … on either side.. and there is an escalator kind of a thing in between and u simply need to stand on it and it takes u thru the biggggggg round……… and u get the view of ohhh thousands and thousands of different variety of sea turtles, fish, amoeba, algae, scorpions, crabs, frogs, snakes…in all possible colours, shapes sizes..… oh mind blowing.. wat an Idea !! simply amazing…

We roamed and roamed and I got in to some tiger … sky viewing… and that and this… almost everything… ohh by 6.30 pm I was so tired… and they told me it has to be dark so that I would get a view of the beauty with all the lights on our way back in the cable car.. and all and so we got a glimpse of the newly opened casino… after looking at those roulette tables in the movies.. I got to see that in real… we had a quick tour of the place.. and one of the things.. reminded me of a scene from the movie – “what happens in vegas” and I saw a real Lamborghini parked in the front.. dunno y though :) may be they would give it to some one who won consecutively :) and we came back in the Cable car and enjoyed every bit of the journey back… amazing.. superb.. cool… awesome.. I kept blabbering.. and they patiently took it.. heeheh I would have given a head ache… to them with my on going exclamations… ahahahah

There is a place called Clark Quay - where we enjoyed a motor boat riding in the night.. oh simply amazing…. In between the calm water and either sides of it u find malls and the spread of the restaurants and the corporate hub which looked more like a zillion diamonds shining… with the lights ON in the night….. WOWOOOOOOOOO… Got a glimpse of something called china town… which is a wide spread of market where u find, almost anything and everything, from a Cuban restaurant and Chinese temple to a wide variety of stones in al possible shades … and so on ….. I happily browsed thru…

The weekend did end and I told them … I would wana do a bit of a sightseeing on my own too… and made a list of places I can go to. I decided take that much awaited walk in the park and click some pics and test my photography skills… :)

I took it in at the Reservoir park :)

The week would start and so would my expedition.. Exciting isn’t it… a different country,… strangers all around… a bag full of my things stuffed… no hurry to reach anywhere… no worries of recruitment.. no agitation of traffic or to reach office right on time.. nobody to judge me… wow this is wat they call vacation isn’t it .. I dunno!! But for me this is called as vacation… and it was really really nice……:)

MA : 1.0

MA : 1.0


To do to not do!! Umm I don’t think it’s a great idea come on…. Have I gone mad of course I don’t wana do this now… oh no no I guess lemme do it… HUFF!! This exactly was the kind of the thing that went on in my mind…. When I first thought about my vacation to Singapore….

With my decision made I told dad that I couldn’t really make up my mind to go leaving him behind… since he dint have a passport at all.. Of course dad gave me a quick ten min talk and I SAID YESS!! Am gonna do it!! Now that the decision was made I had to bring myself to accept the fact that I was gonna travel alone to my MI trip no.1 which I did quickly :)

The details of ticket booking and money exchange and travel bag – oh come on dad wouldn’t let me do a thing… he took care of my travel to the last minute detail!!! The loving caring dad!! No wonder daughter’s are always partial towards their dads :) taking care of ticket booking is one thing and ensuring to buy a number locking stuff for my samsonite is another thing of caring altogether… not sure abt anyone else but ask me and I could say I am so lucky to have a caring dad like this… The packing as usual was done in the nth moment LOL of course am known for that all thru … :) and ohh!! The DAY arrived!!

WHOOPSIE DAISY!! I was travelling to Singapore... Sure loads of ppl do!!! But then for me the first international travel made me nervous, excited, proud, and happy all at the same time… Next thing I know dad dropped me at the airport and I entered the lounge …. I turn back oops only travelers are allowed.. :) :) Oh come on!!! GROANNNNNNNNN not happening…. The daddy’s girl was suddenly left all alone to worry about the stupid check in and blah blah to be done on her own.. as confused as I was I turned to look at the glass door and found dad nervously standing and peeping at me and waving me to go towards the counter and show my tickets to the personnel there… that moment I understood that dad wasn’t worried abt being alone for the longest period and for the first time without me but he was worried abt sending me all alone!! The look on his face was nothing less than a father who was throwing his kid and catching her mid in the air suddenly by mistake could not catch her and was bewildered and worried to the core of the soul!!!

I immediately called him to say it was alright and I was fine… and pleaded him not to worry…. And cleared my misty eyes!! Of course a travel alone for four and a half hours was manageable… but how the hell was I supposed to be fine and not miss dad!!! But then the next one hour kept me busy with the baggage check in, security check, immigration blah blah… I was not very but actually a lil nervous wen I stood in the queue for the immigration… sure there were so many travelers who were moving in to different booth for the same as me… but there was a mild agitation inside…. And there… came my turn and I gave my confident smile and a helloo and handed the officer my papers and passport and he started stifling my papers and checking it into the system in front of him for what looked like to me as a million hours {it actually took two mins :)} and after putting the much needed stamp on to my passport … he said – “ First time travel :) all the best , enjoy” - to which I gave a nod and a thx to him and walked out of the booth with a sigh of relief and smile on my face.. of course I waited in the lounge for ten mins and finished my quick call to dad to which he only said call me before u switch off :)

The obedient one that I am :) boarded the flight settled down to my window seat and happily called dad to say tata…. And stared out of the window to see if I can find a taxi and my dad somewhere in sight.. Now this might look stupid and funny but then isn’t it that wat one would do while battling so many emotions at the same time??? I finished switching off my phone and finally turned my attention to my fellow passenger.. Just in case… the cautious one that I am…. I found an aunty in the side seat and to my relief the centre seat was empty :) GEE I was definitely relieved… The sitting next to someone with that a close area… is something I have always hated … or rather I am simply not comfortable about … dunno y though….

Since there was nothing much for me to do once I was locked inside the silk air – Aircraft… I started turning my keen eye to the aunty in the green simple saree… Simple the saree was but not she … definitely… the Louis Vuitton bag and the black cashmere shawl kind of a thing she draped herself with was definitely beautiful… oh I would call it as elegant… And then we exchanged wat is called a fellow passenger smile and eyed each other and ahh!! There came the approval smile from both of us being satisfied with the fellow traveler… and I settled down with the seat belt… now some more time to read the TODAY – newspaper of Singapore given to me and my fellow passenger - the elegant aunty :) and there suddenly I realized that the aunty wore a beautiful design of diamonds as bangles , a beautiful super cool pair of earring and a ring… the glitter of the diamonds wow this was a super cool aunty surely… who said anything about one can’t look elegant in their 50’s !! of course I have seen the heavy makeup and un necessary modern touch that people try to force on themselves… Now … I really was awed / impressed by the way this cute aunty dressed… hmm ohhh in the meanwhile… here comes my vegetarian dinner… :) :) despite eating chapathi at home.. Here I was munching off the meal without a minute’s hesitation… it was decent not great!! Now this conclusion about the meal I came to only after I completed hogging… :)during it the only thing I thought about was the options and which to eat first…

Ten minutes after the meal I tucked myself into the warm blanket and eyed the sky hoping if I would get to gaze at the moon and the soft cotton like white clouds… oh no!! :( I was in for disappointment.. instead I found a dark sky and heavily lashing rain… :) I tried to keep my eyes open but just could not do it anymore and drifted off to wat is called as the peacefulness of sleep where there was no excitement and anticipation of the trip or the sadness of missing dad… there was calm and quiet..

I woke up wen the sun light started touching my eyes slowly seeping thru the tiny windows of the air craft… and kept shuffling myself to adjust my eyes to the soft light of breaking dawn… and kept staring down to see what lay in the surprise package and started thinking wat it would be like wen I step in to the Singapore soil… yuppie… here I was !!!! Destination reached… It felt great… setting my foot out of the air craft (after the weird thank you have a nice time – from the air hostesses) I felt as though I were someone like a Neil Armstrong and was the first one to set my foot on the Singapore soil - this was the exact thought and I almost laughed out while thinking… ROFL…. One could feel like calling me a fool to have thought this way… but then my thoughts were mine isn’t it … funny or stupid --- that was the feeling I felt..

I got company of another girl who was a loner like me and I helped her by showing the way to the escalator that took us towards the baggage counter and in turn borrowed her pen to fill the required form :) and together we made it to the exit :) and said bye… and there I sat in the lounge of the Changi Airport… changing my airtel sim into the matrix one and waiting for sis and family to arrive…

:) :) for further details… keep watching this space eheeh :)