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Day 2 in Singapore (Jan-30)

January 31, 2009

Speed metal day on the Singapore subway.

We ate lunch in Little India, which was really spicy, flavorful, but not hot. Vana got an Indian Ink tattoo.

I always dreamed to have a big fat Indian wedding. Well…at least this fulfills half of my dream. 🙂

Went to the Merion Park in the city waterfront and took pictures with the tourist of the city skyline, and the freaky lion fish statue. Their concert hall across the river is shaped like a durian fruit. I think it looks cooler than the Beijing’s Birds Nest, or Sydney’s Opera House. I guess we’ll have to verify this in person in April.

Then, across town again to visit the Collins near Orchard Road; Kevin parent’s across the street neighbors. They currently live in Singapore with their lovely three children. We listened to their philosophy about why they choose to live in Singapore for few years so that their kids can fully experience a different culture and an alternative education system. This is such a wonderful idea that I might make it my goal for the next ten years.

We were very lucky to get a hold of Tawi this morning. He is Kevin’s friend from Beijing, when we studied Mandarin during the SARS problem few years back. I had tried for weeks using google searches to locate him. He made a comment on a web site about a stage performance, which included his name, title, and company. I called the company’s customer service a few times, saying we had an urgent meeting this week, and I lost his contact. One of the reps took my name, and hotel number. Turns out Tawi changed to another company, but they located him and forwarded my message!

Tawi said of course he remembers me; “that good looking guy”. Tawi is an intelligent professional in the financial industry. We experienced another side of Singapore meeting him for 15 minutes in his busy schedule. Apparently, his last five years are a blur, he works all the time and travels to meet high ranking clients. He didn’t lose any of his humor though. We exchanged our last 5 years in 15 minutes while Tawi stirred his coffee a few hundred times. Great to see you Tawi!

After meeting Tawi, we jumped on the subway heading to the City Hall to see the Chinese New Year parade. There are groups coming from all over Asia: India, Cambodia, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, etc. hmm…so maybe all we need is come to Singapore to see the entire South East Asia!

New Zealand