Oh no! I’ve missed a day, so I will make a quick belated entry.
Friday morning started with a very groggy me lounging in bed half-awake, trying to will myself up when I got a call from Mizu. Thinking it was my alarm, I picked up the object ringing at me and pressed something, apparently picking up. I read the screen and wondered why Mizu’s name appeared when it dawned on me that I had picked up the phone. Confused, I spoke into it and found him speaking back to me, telling me he’d be there in just a few minutes. I rushed to get ready and woke up Typea as planned, so he could help lock up after I went out. It took some stuffing, but we managed to get all my luggage in the car, all the while wondering how we managed to do it the first time around, even with a full car. With that, we were off to pick up Zen and meet Starfish at the airport.
I can't believe this is the only picture I took in the airport.
I checked in with no problems and even had 5 kg to spare in one of my bags, so I added some more to it from my carry-on. The four of us got some breakfast together and then said our goodbyes as I headed in. Once I made it through the passport check, I waved to my little sending party and went to my gate. I enjoyed the free internet they had and sent an e-mail to Panda before I boarded the plane for the first leg of the trip. I had been given an emergency exit window seat for more leg room, but I hadn’t realized that the window would be so far away when I had agreed to it, so I regretted my decision. The trip to Tokyo was fast and painless and soon enough it was time to get off, go through security, and reboard the plane with a fresh crew.
This time I asked for any other window seat and the air hostess got a guy to switch seats with me. I had a nice chat with the people sitting next to me and then enjoyed a few movies before taking a nap. Unfortunately, much of the latter part of the ride was suffered in discomfort as the girl sitting behind me put her knees up on the back of my chair and began to move around constantly, kicking, kneeing, and pushing the seat annoyingly. I decided to take it as an erratic massage or a broken massage chair of sorts. I didn’t know if bringing it up would just make it worse, so I just kept moving around every time she did. I definitely liked her best when she was asleep. At least I figured out why my chair wouldn’t lean back at first when I tried earlier on.
Looks like an upside-down dolphin. Where are we?
After way too long, we had breakfast and began our descent into LAX. I watched the scenery pass by, trying to spot the UCLA campus or anything else I may recognize, but I couldn’t tell which cluster of tall buildings was downtown and everything else looked unrecognizable. Coming out, I found Tom Bradley International Terminal to be under construction – yet another thing that looked foreign to me. However, once I got out to the street, I was back in my comfort zone, familiar with the area and accent, content with the sunshine and temperature, and ready to be on my way. I patiently waited for Panda for about 40 minutes (he couldn’t get off work too early) and happily spotted him 15 minutes early! We loaded up my stuff and I clung to him, thrilled to be able to feel him again. He’s gotten thinner from the busy, stressful days lately, but gosh, he looks good dressed up.
We got some Quizno’s for lunch and ran a few errands before crashing at his place, which I got to see for the first time. I was given a card and key so I can let myself in as needed and he read his card to me, as we like to do. We don’t have an anniversary day, but it’s about that time, so he got me a Happy Anniversary card. 🙂 I gave him the tie and cuff links I bought him and promised him his other gift the next time I see him, since that one was buried somewhere in my luggage. We got to hang out for a few hours before my mom came to pick me up and get dinner. I spent the rest of the night unpacking and telling my mom stories about all the things I had acquired (which really wasn’t much). Strangely, I don’t feel like I was gone for so long. Everything is pretty much as it was and I immediately fell back into most of my old life patterns. Things do smell different though.
What a fabulous experience at Sentosa! I touched so many creatures I can’t even count them anymore. From butterflies to sting rays and even a dolphin, it was an absolutely thrilling time for me. Though I enjoyed the views from the Tiger Tower and Merlion, what stood out the most was the time I spent at the Butterfly Garden and Insect Kingdom, Dolphin Lagoon, and Underwater World.
The Dolphin Lagoon provided good entertainment as the pink dolphins there showed off their speed, balance, and accuracy. They even showed off for us before the show and posed for pictures. They are still adolescents, so only their bellies have started to turn pink, which was interesting to see. After the show, we were allowed to pose for a picture with one of the dolphins for a small fee, so I happily lined up for my turn. My dolphin’s name was Splash and loved the ladies, but swam away when the only guy entered the water! He was good for me though and struck the best pose. 🙂
Continuing on, there was a pool entirely of rays that would whisk by and occasionally stop to say hello and see if you had food. It made me want to have a pet sting ray – they’re better than dogs! I spent a lot of time there, petting their soft bodies as they went by and marveled at the opportunity. There was a display showing sharks at their stages of development with live examples! Then it was case after case of bizarre and brilliant species, like jellyfish, cuttlefish, seahorses, crabs, and sharks. There were these “angels” that flapped their wings and cuttlefish that changed skin patterns in the blink of an eye. Some leafy-looking sea horses floated around near the seaweed they resembled and some giant crabs scuttled slowly across the sand.
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for five months and even harder to believe I’m about to leave on Friday. Thankfully, there’s lots to do so I don’t have much time to mull over it all. On the one hand I’ve missed Panda for nearly 150 days and I can’t wait to see him, touch him again. It’s been too long of pretending I could touch him and feel him hug me through the webcam. On the other hand, the people here are amazing and have taken great care of me. Plus, I’m just getting around to exploring Singapore! It’s a pity it’s ending already, but I can’t help but look forward to who and what I have waiting for me back home.
Each one has its significance to me (and may not be the most practical, but I was going for more meaningful…): for Zen, a pair of silver dragons because that just seems fitting for an influential man; for Mizu, a pair of gold electric guitars because he truly is a rock star (in so many ways); for Typea, a pair of blue and sea green golf clubs in their bags (or whatever it’s called) for his enjoyment of the game and the lifestyle it represents; for Marylin, a pink cover with a pretty peacock for her growing involvement in the beauty industry; and for Starfish, a cool blue cover with an elegant flower for her cool head and classiness as well as the spray I mentioned above because she loves VS. As for the elephants, I figured that Mac would want the purple one (actually why I bought that particular pack, though I liked it because I like purple too) and Lorry would appreciate the green one (a bit of an inside joke on that one, for all his Greenness). Skim was the only wild card, who could go for the pretty light blue one or the more royal blue one, or maybe even the bright white one.
I’ve noticed that I tend to make more Asian type noises when I’m in this part of the world. I’ve always done that whenever I’m speaking Chinese and occasionally with Asian friends when I’m speaking English, but now I find I’m doing it far more. It’s strange because I’m usually either in one mindset or another, but now there’s this mixing of speaking English but making more Chinese noises. This ranges from saying “wah” instead of “whoa,” “aiyah” instead of “ugh,” and “ah?!” instead of “huh?!” They’re subtle differences, but I notice them and I wonder if other people do too. Isn’t it interesting how different the sounds we make are? I guess that means that every language also has it own distinctive onomatopoeias to reflect the way they perceive the sounds that are made.
Additionally, I’ve been thinking in a British accent lately, which makes no sense to me since I’ve always sucked at pronouncing things the way they do. Of course, in my mind it all comes out right, but that still doesn’t explain why that happened to begin with. Perhaps I’m getting confused by all the British and Australian accents I’ve been surrounded by while traveling. It seems like everyone but Americans are out and about exploring the world, and now I sound like them too, in my mind. I’ve always switched between thinking in Chinese and English, but I must say this is the first time my English has taken on a new accent. o.O
Sadly, when I got to City Hall to locate the restaurant, I found it is under renovation, so I was redirected to a place called Jasmine in the La Jardine building nearby. It turned out to be one of those fancy places that I hardly frequent, offering bird’s nest and albacore or something like that. I don’t really care for high class food, but I was desperately hungry and wanted dim sum, so I went anyway. The food itself was tasty and they still served them in the bamboo containers, but it was so unceremonious it made me sad. No lady pushing a cart, touting her choices. No cutting the food in front of me or adding soy sauce and other last-minute touches. No sheet filling up with stamps to indicate the dishes I’d eaten. Just a waitress placing my orders on the table.
That’s what I thought, anyway. Then I saw pictures and it was undeniable; these things are PINK. Like little girl playing hopscotch and blowing Bubble Yum gum pink. Like pink rose pink. Like how flamingos are neon pink, they are baby pink. Nothing like the “pink” tint of human skin or other such wannabes. So, I was really excited to go out to see some of these creatures for myself. I almost couldn’t get on a tour, but we managed to book me for a tour before I was due to leave (though I had to delay my intended departure time by a few hours).
When we were first heading out, we were right around the area where the planes were coming in for landing at the airport. Distracted, I took pictures and videos of them as they roared overhead and came down for a smooth landing. By the time one plane landed, another was appearing from the clouds, making its descent. One by one the planes took turns coming in, like clockwork, as others left going in the other direction. I marveled at how many people and how much cargo I had just seen arriving in Hong Kong. It was the first time I’d ever spent some time watching the operations of an airport and it was pretty cool.
At one point when we were further out, I was sitting in front, staring down at the water when a little fish jumped out and quickly got overrun by the boat. I continued staring down and soon more came, jumping just ahead of the boat, then falling off to the sides to avoid being hit. Excited, I started to film and snap away, trying to get a good shot of these little flying fish. Maybe it was just my imagination, but they looked a lot like mini dolphins. I spent a long time observing them and noticed that when they are in groups, they all jump at more or less the same time in some sort of coordinated effort. They also really seemed to like jumping in front of the boat in the rushing water, but once they went off to the side, they seemed to resume swimming more. I guess they’re looking for the adrenaline rush!
I so wanted to hop in the water, toxins and all, and go join them. I wondered if they’d come closer to explore if I had some body parts dangling in the water. Still, it was so rewarding to finally find them, after so many hours of searching. I had even begun to entertain the idea of how I could go on another trip (they offer a free retry if you don’t see any on your trip) – perhaps I could get an IOU that wouldn’t expire, so I could use it years down the line, or whenever I return. Thankfully, I didn’t have to worry about that in the end and we ended the trip on a happy note.
