Ego-trip to Singapore Everything went according to plan... i did what i had to do: leave Japan and go to Singapore to fix my student visa. for some reason you can't do that stuff inside Japan, or so i was told. well, i did a few more things other than that... mostly eating.










it just struck me that i don't have a lot of shirts. i travel light, what to do?








the first two photos are from BreadTalk, a bakery chain selling bread and buns, all sweet-looking. one day i bought a pork floss bun, not knowing its name, or that non-sweet buns are common in Singapore. taking a bite, i was expecting something sweet... but it's pork.. and inside there is actually some kind of spicy sauce, too. wasn't a pleasant experience.. anyway, next photo is of a typical Milo Dinosaur. it's a chocolate drink, similar to Oboy in Sweden but using water instead of milk. the thing that separates it from the ordinary milo is that you add too much powder,so what do we have here... the old classic pork floss bun and a wasabi-flavoured version.. the pork floss bun was one of the more shocking things in Singapore. they sell it in BreadTalk, a creating a little mountain of milo on the surface. i believe this is done so that when the ice melts, you won't have to add more powder in order to keep the same powder-to-water ratio; you just mix around the excess milo powder! somehow, the milo goes perfectly with the next dish, cheese prata! cheese prata is the one thing you have to try if you're ever in Singapore. and if you go to the restaurant shown here, The Cheese Prata Shop, you're sure to get some top-class cheese prata! the last photo is of the famous chicken rice so common in Singapore. this was from a very posh and fresh-looking new food court in Holland Village.

i also went to Pulau Tioman in Malaysia for two nights. the trip there was quite long though, and it felt kind of stupid to spend that much time just going to and from the beach.. if you do it, better stay a few more nights, and make sure you don't take the funky buss with resident cockroaches in the back, like i did. they roaches kept me awake for the entire 3 hours it took to go from JB to Mersing. there was no way i could relax, knowing i'm being watched by a family of omnivorous bugs. if you want to hear some Singlish, listen to the travel agency guy on board the bus going back to Singapore!










i had to go back to the National University of Singapore (where i studied for a year). school had already started so it was really cool to see all the students etc. here's old PGP... it was soooo weird to be there again. felt like a ghost, walking around unseen.. observing people... it's mostly the same. fuzion is gone.. the new place seemed pretty similar though. blooie's is still there, right outside PGP.







so yeah.. very nice to see NUS again. it's a special feeling, to go back to a place you haven't visited in a long time. the photo with the trash bin full of milo cups is from central library. it's from the milo van that comes and gives away milo to the thirstiest kiasu students... the amazing telephone is from Georgie's. the bus you see is the one i took every morning (well, almost every morning...) and the canteen is the Deck. no major changes to the campus, except that a new alumni complex is under construction (seems like a very ambitious project) and that the new conservatory (music faculty?) and university hall have been completed. both very solid-looking buildings with nice architecture.
went out a few times too. this is from clarke quay, which has been totally revamped since last time i was there. much better now, in my opinion. looks a bit spaced-out, but the whole place feels much more welcoming now than before. feels cleaner and safer.. the bars must have gotten a little renovation too. the "tower" is 3.5 liter of a very tasty beer. thanks Jason! at the time, i didn't expect us to finish that thing.. after that, i payed a visit to the Ministry of Sound. that evening Deepdish played.. can't believe i danced for hours after downing that beer hehehe

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