..:: 668. Feeling Good ::..

the version by adam lambert just kept spinning while i work in the office. if only i could blast the music lol.

work is strangely fun and enjoyable. though i have been OT-ing. had 2 days of "freedom" cos my boss was on leave and on course. busy answering questions from some major.

lunch can be a powerful networking tool. just sit with the senior officers and listen to them talk, u can learn quite a lot. learn who to "look out" for, how to survive office politics, how i should handle difficult situation or what to do to get things done. very interesting.

sad. this year no mid-year payment. economy bad, govt decides not to give $. gotta wait out till year end, hopefully. managed to claim my india air ticket. now settling my transcript so i can get my emplacement faster and get more $.

finally got my perm staff pass and issued free uniforms and accessories. dunno why i get excited over such stuff. just that sense of belonging and ownership perk me up.

weekends playing xbox with the new 42" tv. just got my emporio armani specs!

..:: 667. U Know U Miss India When... ::..

k. decided to do away with the "friends" kind of label cos its so cliche.

work has been hectic. left office around 8pm everyday but somehow i find myself loving it. quite surprised i am looking forward to work and i dont whine when i have to work late. anticipating my next task which is to settle scholarship matters, documenting the applications, scheduling them for interviews. i think the real joy comes from being able to help people in their career and development. i am also excited about the courses i get to attend in a few weeks time.

tml morning have to brief CO about my number-crunching task. my ma'am sort of pre-empt me about making a bad first impression by providing unreliable figures. *hint* check through thoroughly the numbers and the names. somehow i need to commit them to memory cos i got "grilled" to know the details of the serviceman by my fingertips.

the missing-india feeling is still there and i know it especially when i

1. still convert stuff to rupees and lament about how expensive things are
2. never seem to find ginger milk tea to be able to match up taste of chai, not even talking about the price (5 rupees)
3. spent my weekend watching dvds i bought in india
4. glance at mens health and think of 100 rupess (3 dollars) version in india
5. find myself having the urge to talk to indian people and miss the ultra fast talking speed
6. want to say "joo-lay" but no one understands
7. long to watch cricket match
8. zoom into news about india - like in the straits times, mountain journey of faith. a hindu pilgrim beginning his journey from baltal base camp to srinagar's amarnath cave shrine in kashmir for the annual pilgrimage... its in the guidebook! lol

lastly
9. constantly check for tickets to go india. anywhere in india!

..:: 666. The One With Still India ::..

14. i miss throwing things aka littering. i bought some otahs on the way home and so tempted to just throw in the bushes. i think i am really singaporeanised. even in india, littering seems uncomfortable. we could eat something and contemplate throwing out from the train. even the locals encouraged us to throw.

'there is no bin you know' was what they said.

dunno is it taxi drivers going through courses or what, they become strangely friendly and talkative. so far, i have taken 3 cabs since i came back and all the drivers loved to chat and talk non-stop. i needed that power nap but they just kept talking. perhaps i should stop telling them i went india cos that would usually spark the conversation.

crazily went to meet yash and ky for dinner at LITTLE INDIA. just when i swore not to touch indian food, the crazy gang decided to eat indian food and drink chai. really cannot compare to real india-indian food. the fish tasted like it has swum from india, so tough.

over dinner we decided unofficially to go kerala during the coming chinese new year. as usual, we love to just-say. maybe i should really book and the envy might just kick in and people will start booking. :P

going for wopc (warrant officer promotion ceremony) soon. so excited, hopefully next year i can be the secretary, sure lots to learn. loving my department, my immediate boss just a cute female boss, and the CO such fatherly figure.

..:: 665. The One With Incredible India ::..

shall backtrack some of my entries. touched down this morning at 7am and had a mad rush to go to work. got briefing by my boss which took 6 hours and everyone was "congratulating" me on my new post being "challenging". ya i get the hint. in charge of careers of few thousand men and women is no joke. at least i can take pride in managing careers of others.

left office at around 7 plus and i was so freaking tired that i had to take a cab back. morning: airport to home to work cost me 54 dollars and back home it was 15 dollars. i seriously miss the 1 dollar auto rides in india...

at home out of a sudden, i dunno why, there was a surge of emotions. flashbacks of what i will be doing if i were still in india, the nice people that i have met just resurfaced. i cried. yes, i also cannot believe. i guess the girls probably cried or teared at some point during the trip, but mine though was a little late but still noteworthy. i didnt cry when i came back from my 6 mth trip to china but a month in india was enough to garner that much tears. i guess i was forced to move out of my comfort zone, explored and had really low expectation (initial reluctance to go india), but ended up being surprised by the culture and its people.

another testament that i heart india is that i rather spend some time blogging my best moments in india than to sleep though i am freaking tired.

things i would miss in india:

1. hagging over price for auto - ultimate fun to see them calling you back or laughing at us when we quote ridiculous price. usually i just laughed with them.

2. 55rs (S$1.50) all-you-can-eat thali. enuff said.

3. 20rs (less than S$1) for 1kg of mangoes. the satisfaction you get from peeling the mango and eating it without cutting is priceless.

4. hoping into clubs in goa for free. party all night, having dj knowing our fave pokerface song. staying just 50m away from the club and 200m away from the beach is just pure heaven.

5. bumping into real hardcore backpackers and hearing their stories. overland trips that lasted few years. those were the people that made me feel like travelling full-time. haiz. also made me realise my ideal partner must love travelling. there is just so much to learn from...

6. my nepalese german baker. shant reveal too much details but i wake up early every morning for this. i meant the pastries.

7. staying in the temple at amritsar. communal eating and just basking in the shining golden temple. watching people so religiously and faithfully praying... their devotion is just a sight to behold.

8. guessing whether the couple is from an arranged or love marriage. met 2 completely different couples. one where the wife loves travelling, even while her station has reached, she was still looking at the pics i took while the husband was nonchalant, completely not interested in travelling.

the other couple who completely took us by surprise when they offered to let us stay over at their place. we didnt look friendly to each other until that mango juice spilled. their hospitality really touched me. the couple with a 5.5 mth son was in delhi for 6 mths before we met them on the train back to bangalore. the couple cleaned the house, made two nice beds for us. the husband even went to buy lunch for us, later groceries to cook dinner and when they knew we have supper in singapore, they made another meal around 9pm. their son was so endearing that i didnt know i could make so much funny noises to entertain the child.

9. naturally be meeting nice people. they were probably the ones that made me cry too. i felt so at home and the bed, it was one of my best sleep. i think what moved me was also their love story which i thought you could only see it in their bollywood movies. girl being older and of lower caste system, parents wanted to arrange marriage for her and told the guy that she was dating. the guy confessed his love and proposed. married "illegally" for the first time before getting approval and understanding from their parents in the second formal wedding. now seeing them fight for their happiness and they truly are enjoying having each other and with their son, no amount of words can describe that feeling.

10. nice weather of manali and scenery from leh. waking up to see the himalayan range, what more can you ask. walking around the neighbourhood, greeting strangers "joo-lay", everyone seems so friendly, even yash could hitchhike without problems.

11. good looking people at srinagar though jammu and kashmir got NO freaking phone reception due to security. guys were more rowdy but they were rare species of good lookers compared to the places we have seen. even yash was drooling and checking guys out. :P staying in a houseboat was fun though the toilet was a bit creepy. having birds watch you bathe, shit and pee just made me feel that the birds make pretty bad audience chirping away while i shit.

12. the AC train rides. should have taken more of those but definitely less of their on-the-board meals. we laughed our heads off everytime they serve main courses - egg briyani, veg briyani, veg thali. always the same thing for lunch and dinner x 2 days. people in our cable understood why we laughed but the poor waiter might be thinking we were laughing at his accent.

13. funny encounters. things you can carry with your heads. so you think you can squeeze (in a vehicle). funny pronounciation.

where is the payphone?
oh ma'am. tart floor.

tart? or so we thought.

third floor.

..:: 664. The One With O Leh ::..

22hr jeep ride to leh was no joke. left manali at 2am and reached leh at 1230am. the ride was sick, literally. didnt realise we travelled on one of the highest pass in the world. couldnt acclimatise, suffered from mild acute mountain sickness (AMS).

but it was all worth it when we were here. everywhere u could see the himalayan range. we were on a shared jeep, each person 1500rs cos the mini bus no vacancy and state buses not in operation yet. was in the jeep with a french lady, a belgium and a czech guy and 4 other indian nationals.

reached leh at 1230am, autos were nowhere to be found. had to approach a tout who brought us to a nearby hotel at old fort road. managed to bargain for 250rs for a double room.

stayed in hotel mayflower for the first night cos not enough rooms at hotel t-suru. finally met our first singaporean couple who happened to be jaron's salsa partners at jitterbugs.

together we booked a jeep (1550rs each) to nubra valley which was awesome. went through the highest motorable pass in the world and started snowing. i think the diskit monastery was the best out of the diskit-hunder-sumor-panamik trail. hunder was like a desert but much cooler. sumor cant remember lol. panamik is a miserable hot spring. hotel snow palace at hunder was a killer, except for the hot pink room, the dinner (all-you-can-eat) was 200rs which of cos i cant eat much cos its spicy and boring. breakfast - toast and egg was 100rs. insane.

seems like yash had a great time alone in leh lol. oriental guesthouse is the place to be. great view, incredible breakfast (omelet, cheese rosti), lcd plasma tv, 22 inch samsung lcd for internet and a library with lots of books...

sadly the rafting pass not opened yet :(

took a state bus to srinagar. so much better. and it only cost 500rs.

..:: 663. The One With Manali ::..

ha. forget about waking up at 4am to watch sunrise. left the temple at around 1pm and donated about 150rs. thinking we could catch the bus to dharamsala at 3pm (which was what the ticketing officer told us last night), the bus to dharamsala was actually 12pm. as usual, we were not surprised by the "anything is possible" in india which could well be their tourism tagline.

we could either transit at pathankot then take another bus there to dharamsala. alternatively, we could take a 12-hr ride to manali which was on the way up to leh. since dalai lama would be at dharamsala on sun and it was monday, i thought we could go up manali first then come down later.

230pm bus. i had to climb on top of the bus to secure our huge backpacks and a whole lot of butt abrasion, bumpy ride, ANOTHER puking woman, we finally reached manali at about 6am.

i was totally not prepared for the weather, freaking cold and i was in my singlet and berms lol. my face turned blue immediately, and lucky there was the pipping hot chai to keep my sanity. took an auto (which was rare in sight) to old manali.

found tourist nest guesthouse which had nice room and balcony for 400rs per night. wondered around and found a german bakery with a hot dude. after random conversations by yash, found that he was actually training to be a singapore gurkha but had insufficient money to pay to go to singapore. that explained his buff bod which i thought he got it from carrying sacks of flour since gymming isnt the kind of thing they do there. there were lots of people from nepal working here in summer and during winter, they would all flood to goa.

weather is so cooling, its like aircon 24/7. good thing there was tv in the room so we could catch some bbc news. visited the marketplace which was flooded with the locals. shopping spree as usual, bought shawls as gifts and another empty bag to store all the gifts.

going to book a mini bus to leh which cost 1500rs each. ouch. but considering the 300rs and the savings we got from the interstate-my-ass-in-a-bad-state bus ride to manali, it was alright i guess.

embrace myself for colder weather (thinks of barbarella chantel thomas) and rafting!!!

i miss my pastry...

..:: 662. The One With Amritsar ::..

kena cheated by the guidebook... lol. no straight train from chandigarh to amritsar. unlike what the book wrote, 1 hour by train. it is a lot faster to take the bus. in the end, we had to take an interstate bus first to jalandhar (about 2-3 hours, cost 85rs) then we took a transit bus which was surprisingly A/C (aircon) which took about 1.5-2 hours and reached around 1pm.

the bus ride was as usual exciting. when travelling in india, never sit near

1. the exit or window
2. any female/mother, especially those who look thin

cos they puke! the bus ride was so bumpy. jaron and i were sitting at the rear of the bus. when the lady approached the rear of the bus with "i-want-to-puke" face, i knew i was going to experience some drama. i tried to open the door but to no avail, then the bus conductor kept yelling in hindi (like hell i know what he meant) and left me frantically to look for other door switch. my friend just woke up in daze and another guy translated "open the window".

i looked at the gap, how can the lady reach the window without her puke landing on us? she was not in a state to move to the back seat with retractable window cos we had our luggage with us. she puked near the door in the end and the bus had to stop somewhere so that her husband could rinse away her "remains" using the water available at the street well.

then the bus conductor came up and blabbered hindi at me again. must be cursing this time, though i felt like hurling hokkien vulgarities at him since no one knew but i forgave him for his lack of common sense.

when we reached the sikh golden temple, it was "wow". we first checked into the supposedly free lodging for travellers that was within the temple. after the stay, we were supposed to give some donation in any amount. it was like a dormitory layout and the place was packed with backpackers who really travel full-time.

there was this russian guy who hitch rides all the way and has been travelling for three years and counting. yash was there to flaunt her malay with the russian who knew basic conversational malay. there was this chilean guy who is on his buddhism route and out for a few years as well. another swiss with his wife travelled overland using their bikes for 3 years too. such amazing people, impressive. as usual, awkward questions had to be endured (insiders would know :P).

the hunt for chicken king (a restaurant) failed miserably as expected. wanted to resort to hand gestures and body language to "charade" chicken king but thought they would not get it anyway. still not feeling well to eat our first meat since 1 week. loaded on oral rehydration salts and felt much better.

finally useful and friendly policeman came to our rescue as we were trying to bargain to get an auto to bring us to attari-wagah border (also know as the india-pakistan border) to see closing of the border. we were smart to get the auto at 250rs return without waiting charges.

basically we went there to sweat. the place had high security so no bags were allowed. the stadium was divided into male and female sectors. the female sector had room for movement while the male as usual was under packing order. if u are ever claustrophobic, india is not for you. guys love to put their hand on your shoulder, back as they move along. if u are seated down, most are clumsy enough to hit you with their knees, legs, whatever. quite a number of people trying to sell the ceremony dvd and not getting the hint that if we want to buy, we would have gotten it long ago. damn those houseflies.

ooo. the parade and ceremony were interesting. the footdrill that the indian soldiers do, not for the girls. such high kick, i thought they were doing gymnastic or ballet kicks. when the soldiers "face off", they looked like they were doing tap dance. damn funny. you can see them "act macho" march towards each other (india and pakistan soldiers), then suddenly raised their legs and did a little tap dance and shake hands. there was this compere who kept shouting

Bharat Mata Ki Jai! (Hail Mother India!),
Hindustan Zindabad! (Long Live India!), and
Vande Matram! (Hail to the Motherland!)

all the crowd got rowdy and started to shout and roar. before the ceremony, songs were played and you could see girls (including aunties) coming up to the area to dance. girls would carry the indian flag and run up and down like they were in olympics. jaron and i just stood there and sweat. oh no, and get pushed around.

since they loved to squeeze, i found myself some "drying agents". wiped my sweat whenever another guy tried to squeeze in front of me, since most of them surprisingly still wore long sleeves (more cloth to dry my sweat)

at night, we went back to take pictures of the golden temple. the sight is amazing... we could see people bathing in the holy pool, bodies of all shapes - gave the temple a different dimension. but the fun and interesting part was actually when we went to their dining hall for communal eating. the place was open 24hrs, serving dhal curry and chapati. it was nice seating with the rest eating. saw a cute little boy serving us water. after the meal, the temple volunteers signalled us to have some chai. inside the temple, we had to cover our heads and being guys, we were not used to covering our heads with cloth. the cloth kept coming off and we looked insane. yash was there giggling at us but found herself being giggled at by a weird man. HAHA. the guy sat beside her and had 3 big bowls of chai and still mesmerized by someone. maybe its me. lol. but i am sure i didnt look like a transgendered hijra (known as third gender, neither male nor female but mostly dressed as female). i goggled hijras and saw a picture of hijra holding a banana, lol. wth. you often see them doing their "rituals" on the train, known within us as the "claps claps", they expect you to tip them and rejecting them is bad luck. i chose to ignore them but the train is how big to "siam" them?

..:: 661. The One With Bikaner and Chandigarh ::..

took a 5hr bus from jaisalmer to bikaner (150rs), the horn was amazing. lol. recorded it as an alarm tone for my phone, another irritant for yash. hee hee.

realised the buses love to customise their horn sound.

had 2-3 hours to spare at bikaner while waiting for our train at 5pm. went to this rat temple which was like 30km, took an auto which cost 300rs. we forgot to ask about "waiting charges". lol but luckily he didnt charge more in the end.

the rat temple. gross. can see lots of rats sleeping and running around the temple. though if they run over your feet, you will have good luck but i praying hard i dont have one running across me. they dont look as cute as your tom and jerry kind. they were feeding on what looked like masala dosa or potato-like stuff, drinking milk. just the whole bunch lying at a corner made me queasy.

during the train ride, we experienced sand storm. the locals were looking at us weirdly as we were trying to take pictures and videos while they were hoping we could wind down the windows asap. lol.

chandigarh is so much like singapore! with road dividers! and traffic lights that people follow. potted plants and lampposts along the streets. less honking. so sad we have to leave quite fast.

oops. time up. gtg.

..:: 660. The One With Jaisalmer ::..

arghz. entry didnt manage to be published so now have to rewrite. hate rewriting entries, lost all the 'steam'

the very smart trio booked a 3D2N desert safari once we checked into the himalayan guesthouse. nothing cooling about the guesthouse, in fact all we could feel was hot air. quite amazed by their touting skills, a guy got to us even before we alighted from the bus. got us to his jeep and drove us straight to the guesthouse.

for 650rs per day, yash managed to negotiate 2 free nights for the price we pay. perks of being a girl. (in yash's defence, its the nego skills)

we were told that there are 3 other English girls and 2 Americans going with us. hur hur. and also 2 Swedish girls. in the end, they were non-existent, except for a very nice asian american guy, nic.

desert safari. freaking hot. camels apparently cannot walk during 12pm to 4pm. hence we had to sit under trees that did not provide much shelter. you cant sleep nor read so pretty much, we either listen to the guide's rags to riches story (how an american couple saved his life, gave money to him to buy 3 camels so he can become his own boss).

heat can do some serious brain damage. after catching a bad-rhyme hindi movie,

i wish you a good life.
i want you to be my wife.

we were entertained by some of the guide's rhyme.

camel college, full of knowledge.
no curry no hurry.
something lassi then varanasi.

we also had our own fun after visiting so many villages and most of them just had people running after us begging for money or items.

our little version:
no free chai (tea), no free lunch
i have a hunch
the next village, i would punch

but i suffered a mild heatstroke. needed oral rehydration tablets and stuff. lost appetite and felt feverish. sucky feeling. had nice rooftop chat with other tourists from france, holland, japan, hongkong. amazed how they can just quit their jobs and travel.

i am missing home already :(

..:: 659. The One With Udaipur ::..

travelling by train is definitely more enjoyable. i can see myself sleeping better on train than sleeping on the bus. reached udaipur early in the evening and managed to find soni paying guest house (tell me one that dont need to pay).

the room was so-so but the price was 200rs for a triple bed so it was worth it. but everything didnt matter as much as soon as we hit the roof. gosh, the lake palace looked amazing with the glittering lights... started to drizzle as we were up in another roof having dinner. the electricity was cut and the town was in darkness.

the daylight comes and it was weird to see the (dried up) lake palace. decided to be adventurous and rented a bicycle to find lunch - all-you-can-eat thali for 55rs. funny things happened. guy got beaten up for no reason. lol. our little secret.

took a 12hr bus ride to jaisalmer (transit at jodphur) which was 300rs for a non-AC seater. damn bloody noisy. people just loved to quarrel. then in the morning, there was this boy who puked and the "stuff" kena my leg! gross. there are windows HELLO...

there was this smart tout, who guided us where to go before the last stop. dunno how he managed to get onto the bus. we managed to bargain to get a 650rs x 3 days for a 3D2N desert safari and 2 nights free at the guest house. =)

going with an asian guy from US, chatted at the rooftop with a Hongkie as well as a Japanese couple.

weather is damn freaking hot!!! 43 degrees or more. could feel my toes burning. hope tml camel rides would be fun. and the night wont be too cold.

..:: 658. The One With Aurangabad ::..

wah didnt know results out so fast! scrolling carefully one by one to see my grades. but was pleasantly surprised. got what i had expected so i was pretty much excited and happy. finally graduated. got A+ for hr metrics. unexpected but it pays off to be active in class i guess. thought my quiz was a goner but luckily everything turned out well.

had the best last sem but was also one of the most dramatic ones. worked with people whom i were eager to do project with but in the process, we might have disappointed each other in some ways but that is the learning process like what everyone says. i also have learnt: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. handling conflicts with friends requires ultimate tact since it will come around to bite your a** and also to prevent future awkward moments.

it just feels weird to know a person who doesnt like you. whether you should pretend the person does not exist, or continue to be friendly knowing the person dont really care.

anyway back to happy moments. all my alone journeys are quiet exciting. i left the hostel at 7pm to catch my bus to aurangabad at 8pm. the bus agent told me that it would take like 15 mins to reach the place to board the bus. as usual, the cab driver said he knew where to go and ard 730pm i got worried that we have not reached and decided to call the bus agent to tell the cab driver how to go to the boarding venue.

the cab driver didnt want to take my phone! wth.

in the end at 8pm, he managed to drop me at where i bought my ticket which was not the boarding venue. i was freaking pissed and had to pay the drive 250rs to not-my-destination.

luckily the bus agent was nice to ask me to take a seat to wait for the bus who will make a turn to his place. at 930pm, the bus never came. so i had to hop on to one random bus which brought me to another place for a connecting bus to aurangabad. totally different bus companies and i think they dont really care which bus u paid for.

in the end, all turned out well. i paid for a non-AC semi-sleeper and got an AC (aircon) sleeper bus. after all that trouble, i cant complain with that unexpected free upgrade.

as usual sleeping with a male stranger is nothing new. this time i had 2 different guys. but the "dolphin" bus (name of the bus) was really good, had good clean pillows and offered blankets. at about 5am, my bed mate alighted and another boarded. luckily i chatted with the second guy, cos he stayed near the hotel which i was supposed to meet yash and jaron. he brought me to his house for breakfast and his wife made great chai (tea). then he drove me to the hotel where i was so excited to see yash and jaron.

took a tuk tuk for 20rs to get to the government bus station for a bus to ellora caves. we decided to stop midway to explore the daulatabad fort which was like a freaking great wall of china. climbed thousands of steps and my legs almost gave way from the so-long-never-exercise period.

we then hitch a "car-pool" ride which squeezed 8 people in one cab to head to ellora caves. each person only 15rs. second day we visited ajanta caves which had more paintings and like ellora, after a while, the caves looked similar. we just gulped down tons of water...

most hotels in india have this 24-hour checkout system. doesnt mean you can check out anytime :P it meant you have to check out 24 hours after you checked in. and need to ask whether there is electricity the whole day. some places i stayed in, they switched off the electricity at certain times of the day. without fans in the freaking hot weather, we couldnt sleep on the second day when the fans went off at 5am!

our next destination: udaipur to see the lake palace. woo! going there is difficult.

we took a bus to jalgaon which cost 40rs and took about 1.5 hr. took a tuk tuk to the railway station (10rs) to find that there is no direct train. but there are a lot of bus agencies so we found "Hamsafar" which helped us booked a bus to Indore (300rs, non-AC sleeper, depart 9.15pm, arrive 5am; 7+ hours) and then train to Udaipur (410rs, non-AC sleeper, depart 8am, arrive 7.15pm; 11+ hours)

looking forward to my first inter-state train experience.

so sad, adam lambert didnt win american idol but will definitely support him. his live performances are so much better and engaging than kris's.

..:: 657. The One With The Heat ::..

i think the heat is making me sick. been drinking lots of water but the air is still so hot and humid. breathing was difficult especially when i was on the train.

caught the bollywood show which i couldnt understand what they were saying but roughly knew the plot. surprisingly dont have the mass-group dance that i used to see. cos the movie was in hindi, everyone was looking at me, thinking why is this guy watching a hindi film lol...

the salvation army hostel was alright... with breakfast, each night is about 200rs. today visited the mahalaxmi dhobi ghat (sounds like singapore's dhoby ghaut)... it is a place where people do mass laundry. saw a lot of people beating the dirt and washing and drying the clothes. my very own underwear could be there since i have sent some clothes for laundry. and i saw a small hole from my mr quiet shirt :( probably from the previous wash...

went to chowpatty beach which was nowhere near the standard of goa beaches. its like family gathering. so crowded even on weekday 4pm. got lots of stalls and i finally tried the paan which was a leaf wrapped in many stuff (paste, mints, cherries, desiccated coconut...

took a bus and enjoyed the sights... rush hour everyone heading home. i am preparing to load an album entitled "things you can carry with your head" lol... u will be amazed... my first attempt to jump up the bus failed :( the bus went too fast and there was an old man in front of me and i didnt have a free hand to grab. waited for more than 30 mins for a bus... took shots of people jumping up and down the bus. damn cool. u can practically alight anywhere... when the bus stops at the traffic junction, you can just jump lol.

..:: 656. The One With Mumbai Day 4 ::..

wanted to go to the "crossroads" which according to the lonely planet guidebook, it is the biggest shopping mall in mumbai. when i started to make my way there from mumbai central station, a shopkeeper told me it was closed for renovation :(

went to a nearby city central mall, boring like hell lol. cannot even fight my house's compass point or even bukit panjang plaza despite having like 4-5 floors. went to their electrical store "croma" which is like our harvey norman, courts, etc. bought a headphone from sennheiser. damn solid sound and bass. loving it.

my fren was driving me around and happened to chance upon this bollywood filming... so many people standing around and of course i wouldnt have known who were the actors/actresses.

my first day there, they were actually counting the votes for the election so once in a while you hear announcement from the loudspeakers informing the public the parties and their vote count. interestingly, everyone who voted had an ink marked on their left middle finger. this is done so that they could only vote once, the ink would last a week. i guess its just too many people to have proper documentation...

in the evening, my fren brought me to this members-only royal bombay yatch club... so atas.

i also went to catch doomsday. gosh the cinema experience was truly incredible india...

1. before the start of the movie, i had to rise for the national anthem O_O
2. half way through the movie, there was an intermission. ??? the lights suddenly went on and i thought what happened.

but the good thing is that the seats, they have this roller so you can slide and make your seat incline. damn cool. =)

doomsday just full of blood and gore. head and limbs being cut off, bodies run over by vehicles. at some point, i thought i was watching fast and furious with all the car racing and heads flying around.

one more day left and i must go the the chowpatty beach and try their desserts and snacks!

..:: 655. The One With Exciting Mumbai ::..

gosh, must share with u all the scary "excitement' i got...

i boarded the bus fully AC (aircon), expecting to find my inclined seater that i paid 800rs for. instead i saw rows of beds and when i saw an indian man on the bed i was supposed to be on, i was a little puzzled.

my ticket showed 12A and when i looked at the wall, it was labelled 12A, 12B. i thought 12B was the bed below cos i knew mine was the upper deck. when i bent and saw the label below, i was stunned. 11A and 11B.

worse, upper deck had little room for movement and it was like a freaking single bed for 2 guys! sian 1/2. the person bluffed me!

but the good thing was the bus was not full, so the guy moved to other bed, but that was not before he almost dozed off and breathed down my neck literally!

that was not the scariest part, i kept asking the bus conductor where i could drop cos i wanna drop at colaba. they didnt answer me, just uttered some hindi words which i cant find in my map. then i was sitting at the lower deck looking at the signboard... there was this couple who was going to alight so i asked them how much longer would it take to reach colaba, they told me another hindi "station name"... then the bus moved and made a turn, after some distance the bus conductor walked towards me and asked me to alight. Then i told him i got a luggage at the storage compartment which i needed to get down to take my luggage. he gave me the confused face and hurried me to go down. then he ran back to where the couple dropped and only then i realised he had actually left my bag there... i regretted then not to put my luggage up but i wasnt allowed cos no space...

i lost him half way as he ran. i looked confused in the sea of people. luckily i went straight out to the street and saw the couple. they were on the phone apparently trying to call the bus company cos they saw my bag. phew. they also shared a cab with me and told me it only took 40rs to reach my destination. never felt so relieved...

but once i alighted, i was swarmed by so many people trying to recommend me hotel and gain commission. so hard to ditch them. frustrated with that heavy load... and hotels in mumbai are so expensive. managed to find a real cheap 450rs per night. the rest were all 600 and above and its NON-AC :( the room standard i saw was like in bangalore kind just slightly better.

buildings in mumbai are damn nice, esp the taj mahal palace. walked and explored colaba, fort and churchgate area. my first experience of jumping off the train, it was so fun. also standing at the edge of the door-less train was exciting. sipped high tea and had great sandwiches and chocolate truffle recommended by lonely planet.

tml chowpatty beach and mumbai biggest shopping center!

..:: 654. The One With Goa ::..

finally caught american idol top 3 and america's next top model finale. gosh. surprise kris garnered more votes than danny... but kris really more original in his version of "heartless" and many of his songs. i hope adam is the one who trumps with one million more votes... excited about next week. hopefully the internet and computer are good enough...

really amazed by allison, she has the look that can go international. teyona :( dun look sweet in person, only does well in photos. lovin allison's walk in the runway, surprisingly great. but as expected cycle 3, 6, 9 and now 12 they have a black to win. so coincidental.

spent almost a week in goa now. been great. super relaxed. sun sea and the beaches. chilling out on the deck and ordering food and drinks while reading. visited calangute beach, then to baga beach and also anjuna beach and the flea market.

it's really good to talk to the local people and often we got free rides to wherever we wanted to go. i guess i was lucky travelling with a girl. every corner, guys with bikes will stop and ask whether she needs a lift. well lucky me. bikini on the beach sure draws lots of attention. felt like trying parasailing but havent got the chance.

partied 4 straight nights in a row. free entry, just popping cheap drinks... beers like kingfisher their local brand...

rented a bike for 300rs for 2 days and rode illegally. scary experience with heavy traffic and they all drove really fast... currently staying at marlin guest house which was so comfy and 5 mins away from all the clubs and nowhere near noisy dogs.

heading to mumbai this friday night, hopefully it will be as fun. overspent on shopping for gifts :(

..:: 653. The One With Kushalnagar-Mangalore ::..

took a bus from mysore to kushalnagar. decided to go there over breakfast lol. made a call and this helpful guy said we could go there without a permit though the guidebook said it was needed. cost about 75rs.

the area is the closest feel to tibet, very peaceful and serene. very different from the india we have seen so far. of course there is a chinese feel to it but they cant speak chinese at all, english was quite limited only those stall owners knew. we stayed at this great hotel (finally not hostel), with hot showers... at night when we slept, it was so peaceful, even though there were chanting and prayers early in the morning, we could still sleep till late morning.

in the day, we walked around the neighbourhood, explored their schools (secondary and university), temples. looked so grand. ky was on a monk hunk hunt where we stood outside our hotel which was a cross-junction between the schools and the prayer area. took pictures with both cute little monks as well as ky fave "hunks" who do not look like monks at all.

very cleansing meals cos its vegetarian and whole lot of rice and noodles.

decided to go to Mangalore as a pit stop before we head to Goa. initially wanted to go Gokarna but the only bus takes 8 hours and will reach there at 9pm :( not a good timing. and ky hurt her back from the bus ride to Mangalore which was so bumpy all the way.

while she rested at the hostel, i roamed about. went to this kadri temple which the guidebook recommended... there was this holy pool where mostly guys swimming in it. took some photos as they looked excitedly at my camera. took pics of the 1000 year old bronze statue. decided to sit near the entrance of the temple and observed how people enter/exit and pray.

when they go in, they would touch the step and then their chest(heart), as they come out, they would exit sideways then face the deity to avoid showing their back. touch the step again and chest.

was reading my guidebook where the kids from the holy pool recognized me and became excited with the guidebook again. there was this indian guy who approached me and asked me where i wanted to visit. he said he could show me around on his motorbike since he was staying near the places i wanted to go.

coolness. so i daringly went with him. took video and pics along the way. he pointed out to me the famous ice-cream shop near the bus interchange! he brought me to see the sultan's battery where i could take a boat ride to the opposite island. he shared with me how to get there, by bus 16 and an auto-rickshaw would cost about 40 rs. i thought he was "informing" me of the tips/charges i had to pay.

then he brought me to this gorgeous temple which was not in the guidebook. the buildings all glittered in gold. he showed me around and taught me what angles i should take my pictures. amazing. he also brought me into the temple and introduced the different gods they have and the custom they follow while praying. very interesting! then we met random people and i was also shown around the marriage halls that they have. nice... and it was marble-flooring.

at the end, it was around 8pm and i gotta head back before ky starved. lol. wanted to pay him some money but he declined politely. i was amazed. tried to stuff in his pocket but he returned to me and said he just wanted to show me around and hope i had fun. 0_0... such nice people...

now waiting for the sleeper coach to go GOA... excited about the beaches, another scenery different from what we have seen. and i can get to do some shopping!

..:: 652. The One With AI ::..

gosh. rock and roll week is totally made for allison and adam. they were great together. caught their duet on youtube, nice!!!

adam's solo as usual pawns everybody else.

..:: 651. The One With Bangalore-Mysore ::..

now in mysore, some internet shop, freaking hot. missing yesterday's weather already...

lunch was great. we had been trying to get to MG Road but to no avail. chanced upon this indian hunk who guided us to the internet shop yest. after surfing, we went back to the shop to have lunch. had fried fish and rice (a lot of rice but very nice)100rs + 20rs ... tried masala cola (20rs)which tasted better than ky's masala soda. lol.

then again lots of walking from the shop past KG road before we decided to hop on the bus (5rs) to MG road. when we reached there, we happened to see the tourism office at church street so we went to check out where else we could go. MG road good for shopping, is like orchard road and a few pubs and stuff. 15 mins walk you can reach commercial street selling more pasar malam kind of stuff. tried some fruit that tasted like coconut, 10rs for 4 pieces pics to be up on facebook hopefully.

we also had macdonald's coke float 25rs. we went to have dinner at nearby restaurant which was empty, maybe dinner at 7 plus is still early for them. had tandoori chicken (80rs) yummy. then decided to try smoking shisha (200rs)... went over to Le Rock, a rock pub and had Fosters. (120rs)

we tried to bargain for auto-rickshaw to bring us back to our hostel since its night time. 4km, we got 70rs for a ride, which i thought can still be a little cheaper but it was below our reservation price of 100rs, we were happy. our area, chickpet, unlike the street name, no "chicks" - all men.

left our hostel early at 9 and reach the bus station ard 930 to catch a bus to mysore. they should rename the place as my(butt)sore. sat for more than 3 hours of bus ride. tried for the youth hostel which was dirt cheap 45rs per night but its 4km away from the city centre. 100rs for the auto-rickshaw which made me wonder if it would be better if we pay more to stay in the city area at least transport would be easier.

there is a festival going on at 4pm. now waiting to check into the hostel... more updates soon...

..:: 650. The One With Bangalore ::..

what a way to start the trip... the flight got retimed from 830pm to 1030pm. then my friend lost her phone at the airport :( when we were queuing for the flight, it got delayed because one of the plane lights was faulty.

was queuing to check in when a family came to approach me to "borrow" my luggage space. they tried to help me source for accommodation and soon they started asking other people in the queue if they knew of cheap accommodation... soon i heard one big group of people shouting out names of hotels and some asking what the budget was... crazily friendly.

the flight there was bad. budget terminal motto - enjoy the difference. what's the enjoyment? saw a middle-aged lady beside me stretched her leg across the aisle and onto the husband's arm rest. couldnt sleep on the plane.

amazed that we were able to board bus 9 which cost us 125rps to get to majestic which is the town area. we were swarmed by people driving the auto-rickshaw asking where we wanna go and recommending hotels. the "auto-shaw" cost 10rps at night as we realised they go by meter in the day.

found one super scary hostel that was great for shooting horror scenes. the paint of the wall cracked, with the fan making funny noises, a basin, squatting toilet... could hear dogs barking at night, hard to fall asleep, reminded me of when i'm home where the dogs bark while i tried to sleep :(

morning i woke up trying to brush my teeth and the moment i turn on the tap, brown-coloured water came out. i was stunned. but it became clear after a while. used that to wash my face, no choice. hopefully i wont have pimple outbreak.

toured around the area, checked out the train and bus stations... chanced upon an indian wedding where the band was super enthusiastic to take pics. the groom had to sit on a "decorated" horse to fetch the bride.

lots of walking and had our first meal, dough like stuff called idli and vada which cost 20rps. mineral water 1L for 12rps... planning to go mysore tml! hopefully more natural scenery.

..:: 649. The One With Last Exam in NTU ::..

what? adam lambert bottom two this week? but i am glad he was in bottom two. quite a "strategic" move whether it was deliberate. him being bottom two this week, all his fans will call doubly hard next week so he will most likely sail through top 3. him being bottom 2 also gave a gauge on how much they need to call.

told ya, the show needs some oestrogen going on. i wont be surprised if kris is out next week. just like how fantasia kept being in the bottom two and managed to win in the end.



final paper! i was the first person for bh227. haha.

tml x-men movie gala at 3 and hopefully get to meet my clique after that. havent start packing! oh no.