Ellipsis [...]

I’ve had many firsts recently. So much has happened in the last two weeks alone. It kind of made up for those monotonous times when nothing much seemed to be happening in my life.

First lone flight overseas.
First visit to Hong Kong.
First time travelling around a foreign country on my own. Can I just point out the discovery of my solo travel skills here? I’d taken the bus, taxi & MTR in HK by myself without getting lost somehow.
First lone stay in a hotel. It was awfully lonely. I’m too used to the bustle of a large family. Mama worried about me having to make my way back to my room at nights; I worried that I’d go crazy staying alone in an enclosed place by the time the week ended.
First dinner at an expensive restaurant by myself. It wasn’t too bad, but good food’s better when you’re sharing it. Good food’s also better when you know you’re not the one paying for it. Haha!
First lone late night shopping trip. If I had to pick just one thing I like about Hong Kong, it’d have to be the streets. They’re so charming, always bustling, and easy to navigate. I’m normally such a lazy arse when it comes to walking, but over there I just wanted to walk & walk & walk everywhere. Even when it was 2 a.m. & our hotel was a kilometre away.
First time I went out in the wee hours with a guy & my parents not minding. Only because the guy in question was my boss. Haha!
First time wearing heels to work every day for a week. My feet were decorated with blisters. They still are, but don’t hurt anymore.
First time missing a flight. And having to spend the night waiting for the next one. I felt like a TAR contestant that evening we raced to catch our flight. Except that we were a lot calmer. When it was clear that there was no plane we could get on that night, my boss went about getting us rooms for the night. I was looking forward to going home, of course, but our little adventure was really quite exciting; I didn’t mind it getting in the way at all.
First time a plane full of travellers waited for me to board. Long story.

I miss Hong Kong. I miss the feeling of being by myself in an unfamiliar place. I’m hooked. I want to go away on my own again.

I can’t wait to be home, but I will miss this place. I wish I were here on vacation. There are so many places to go & so much to do. It’s a shame that I have to spend most of my time working.

Hong Kong, I will be back!

I was at the Merlion Park earlier, eating my lunch & minding my own business, when I was suddenly SURROUNDED by a bunch of Korean ajumma & ajeossi (aunties & uncles in Singaporean context). (At first I didn’t know they were Korean, as they were speaking very fast in a non-Seoul accent.) The place where I was sitting was the only shaded area, so that must’ve been why they gathered around. They were standing SO close though.

It seems like Korean ajummas who visit Singapore are very in touch with technology. I notice that most of them carry the latest high tech digital cameras & camcorders. Oh, and another thing. These ajummas have great-looking skin! Apparently, not only models & celebrities in Korea have such perfect skin. Maybe we should start eating kimchi too, huh.

One more thing I notice about ajummas: they’re loud. Once, I was resting at the park, closing my eyes & listening to music, when I heard a “발리와~!” (”Hurry up!”) out of nowhere. Opened my eyes & saw a Korean ajumma, of course. Haha.

In case you haven’t guessed, the Merlion Park is like my favouritest place to have lunch nowadays. It isn’t very pretty or anything, but I like that it’s right above the river. After eating I usually sit there enjoying the sea breeze & the sun on my face. Lovely place to be when you’ve to be stuck in a cold office all day.