A Holiday of Serendipity

 An orchid overload near the Singapore River Cruise ticket counter at Clarke Quay

Today (May 13, 2014) was Vesak Day in Singapore. For us it was an unexpected holiday. Starting the day at an easy pace, we went out for lunch. We both felt like some comfort food. So we went to our preferred A-Roy Thai restaurant at the Funan Digital Mall. There we decided to go to Little India after lunch. I suggested we take the MRT from Clarke Quay instead of going to our regular City Hall MRT station. Clarke Quay was nearer from Funan. While walking towards Clarke Quay, we saw the pristine looking boats cruise by. My partner suggested we take a cruise trip and then go to Little India. I agreed and we both boarded the boat 37, as suggested by the boat operators. A boat ride for two cost us S$44. These are some of the pictures that would say more than words here.

The Central Shopping Mall above Clarke Quay MRT station

That’s the Supreme Court of Singapore

Another landmark of Singapore: The Asian Civilization Museum

The famous Merlion of Singapore.

The amazing Marina Bay Sands Bay area. It’s a whole new world of experiences.

A part of the Central Business District (CBD) of Singapore

My favourite 🙂

The Esplanade – A theatre destination of Singapore complete with a sky garden, food stalls etc. Because of its design, people call it the Durian (a local fruit)

Our co-passengers in the boat – a mother-daughter duo 🙂

Birthday

In the middle of the madness of house hunting and my work, we had a reason to celebrate. It was his birthday yesterday (May 4)! He wanted to take the day easy. We called off all the house hunting appointments. He relaxed at the hotel and I completed some work.

In the evening, we went to Changi Beach Park. It is a beautiful and serene place to sit and watch the ships and aeroplanes go by. A unique meeting point of the waterways and airways.

A sign near the park walkway

We ended the birthday celebration with a nice and delicious dinner at the A-Roy Thai restaurant at the Funan Digital Mall. The Anderson’s Ice Cream added that special touch to the day’s end.

House Hunting

I have been seeing houses since 2:00 pm today (May 6, 2014). The real estate agent (a lady) is kind enough to show me around in her Mitsubishi. On our way to the last house, our conversation went like this:

She: The house we are going to see now is near a Mosque.

Me: Near a Mosque?!

She: Yes. (She continued gracefully) It’s a Punjabi Mosque.

Me: Huh! Ahem, okay! But we call it Gurudwara.

She: Yes, that.

During our house hunting, the lady often calls house owners from the car, and tells them about our requirements. She also enquires if it’s possible for the owner to show us the house today. So far, we had no problem seeing (viewing) houses at any condo except this one place. The description of the house was too good to be true and it met all requirements completely. But the owner doesn’t want to let it out to Indians. She argued over phone with the man saying that these are nice educated people, not like others who litter the place and so on. I asked her, what the problem was. She said, “They don’t want to rent it out to Indians.” I asked why so. She said, “They are scared of the Indian curry. The landlord said that the previous Indian tenant cooked so much that the smell of the curry got stuck to the air conditioner and walls. The smell took really long to go from the house.” I did not know how to react to that. I wondered what the previous tenants cooked and where they were from!

Whoa

This is an art installation at the Ion Mall, a new mall in town. I was amazed to see this freaky and unbelievable creation. Good job!

Assam Laksa

I saw these packets of Maggi in a super market recently. It has ‘Assam Laksa flavour’ written on it. I wonder what it means and how it tastes!

The Ceiling Fan

Today (May 2, 2014), I went to see a house at Kembangan. The Kembangan MRT station was just a few steps away from the condo. I decided to take the MRT on return. Climbing up to the platform, I was shocked to see this ceiling fan! It was massive in size. One blade of the ceiling fan must have measured 3.5 to 4 metres in length! It was intimidating enough to make me stay away from it.