..:: 678. NBS Convo Ball 2009 ::..

glamour. nothing short of that, well maybe except those who didnt plan to dress to impress. i couldnt even recognise some of the girls with all the dresses, hair and make up. come to think of it, it was my first official "prom". skipped my sec sch one cos i went on a cruise. jc no affinity.

food was ok, given we paid "student price", fish for our table tasted like rubber (even others who came to our table to try said it), everyone was busy walking around to take pics and catch up, so much of the food was left untouched.

animosity. pretty obvious. took pic with everyone except me. the hair and dress were nice but i withheld my comments as i didnt want to appear overly friendly or seen as being hypocritical. it was sad that even till the end of the convo ball, our "issues" were unresolved. i guess when a person dont like u, it stays that way no matter what you do.

anyway, i guess the main highlight was the MC. he was charismatic and funny like hell. all the MTV from the different races and the sexy dance and the "pong pong pong" for the ladies.

joy and laughter. that will be the memories i have for NBS.

..:: 677. Things You Do When You R Desperate ::..

bought some velvet cloth off arab st, only to find out that they were not the right material to be made into blazer.

decided to try costume rental shops. google became my best friend and saviour. called a few shops but they didnt have the colour i wanted. while i was on my national education (NE) tour, i made several calls to enquiry about their closing time and the availability of my chance of getting best dressed. lol.

most of them close at around 6-7pm. i finally reached bugis about 5 plus. quite a mad rush but luckily the costume shops were located within the bugis area. north bridge road to aliwal road to mayo st. finally found one purple velvet.

when i asked my other fren steph wat she will be wearing, she replied "nothing". lol. true, nothing will get best dressed too, so why spend $. but may end up not being conferred on monday :X

blazer - checked
tailored light blue shirt that accentuates my waist - checked
crystal ornaments - checked
goldlion pants to accentuate my legs - checked
goldlion red tie (quite a steal @ 20 bucks) - checked

i hope the hotel is safe for us to have dinner.

went on a NE tour, visited newater factory (insanely boring with occasional chemistry terms). johore battery (interesting to know gen percival was quite dumb). changi chapel (the place that i have been too many times)

at the end of the day, our CO (big boss) asked us to reflect on one thing, what we want to remember and what we want to forget. one officer was picked to "set an example" but he was one of the funniest and wackiest you would ever find.

"i have learnt to grow our own rice"

everyone burst out laughing. then he explained, "40 years ago, people say we dont have our own water, now we do. so the next step is to prove to them we can grow our own rice"

does that warrant a good officer reply? i am sure everyone will remember his answer.

..:: 676. Eclipse ::..

hurhur. is it eclipse or is it dark clouds cos its raining and i dun feel the freaking eclipse.

taking trains to work in the morning rush hour can be a pain in the ass. i secretly wish i could stab those who stand on the right at the escalators.

sunday was spent taking pictures in convo gowns. pictures turned out great. we tried something different. took pics at a busy clarke quay area and had eyes looking at us. we are closeted attention seekers!

mon went hunting for my velvet cloth to make blazer. chinatown has only bright red, pink and yellow while the shops at arab st closed when i got there.

managed to get it tue after work. so cheap. 20 bucks for 2 metres. hope it turns out nice.

..:: 674. awaiting convo ::..

wearing the convo gown and mortar board, i feel like i am beginning the next stage of my life.

finally met up with my mum whom i hid from her that i went india, until she called 2 weeks before my trip ended :P my mum's pretty traditional- those kinds that think everywhere is dangerous and everyone is out to harm me. i always tell her stay at home even boredom (or a spoil ceiling fan) can kill me.

told her my convo plans. take studio pics. treat my relatives for dinner at the hotel she is working. the big big question on my head is WHAT is she wearing. she is known for her lack of fashion sense. meet me wear sleeveless, collarless, shirt and berms with different colour patches. O_O

i decided to go shopping with her, help her choose what looks good in the EYES of others and not what she feels is nice. fleshy at the shoulders, she really needs collar to cover up. she loves sleeveless cos its cooling but i dont want to be reminded of flabby stuff. it was challenging to find something that suits her. in the end got her something like batik which was colourful so that the picture will look nice :) i didnt get to see her (so as she claimed) korean black pants. i hope they are not hideous.

seriously, what is the female equivalent of lounge suit? i got a special ticket for either my mum or sis to sit in the vvip row!! :P power of networking eh. haha. should ask my sis to sit at least she can take a closer shot for me. my mum. hurhur, she couldnt even use sms on phone. sad. i should start a course for her and prob her friends.

it was quite a heart warming meet up cos initially she bought a lot of food (as usual when she sees me). but after a while she stopped eating, and i ask why. too happy to see u that i cant eat. awww... i feel i have let her down somehow, not spending more time with her. k new year resolution.

SATURDAY. shopping, tailoring for my convo ball on the 25th.

SUNDAY taking convo pics with my CHINA GIP friends. crazy bunch. must be damn happening. all our modelesque poses. *jumps for joy*

bought a few magazines to browse through and get ideas for what to tailor. headache.

harry potter was quite a letdown. this time more of preparing the big show down for the last installment.

..:: 675. A leader answers for his men ::..

the chimney finally blew. got chided (the word seems too mild) today by someone. fault and inaccuracy of data making "him" lose face, credibility and reputation (not that serious but the message was targeted as that).

i understand where his anger came from and he has the right to be angry. however controlling and dissipating it through other ways is as important. seriously "he" needs anger management. i dont see a need to shout and scold in order to get "i-am-angry" message across. worse when u are a senior reprimanding on someone so junior (not talking about me).

ultimately the responsibility still comes back to me and i guess the real challenge is to first accept mistakes of others as your own and stand up for them. You may feel angry at your own subordinates but i feel that is the distinction between a great leader from a good one, the willingness to put everything aside and "defend" and "educate" later. i am observing and learning to emulate such traits . not easy. it's so much easy to shift blame.

i have also learnt to use more "we" than "you". whenever my "boys" and I make misakes, i had to make a point to say "we need to improve... though we make this mistake, we should ensure they dont happen again, etc..." i hope the power of "we" makes them feel better.

mistakes. have i been too laxed? am i not training correctly? should i micro-manage? i think i need to be more meticulous. looking at 2000+ names and at least 15-20 fields... WAKE UP! arghz

..:: 673. SAFRA Mt Faber ::..

yeah. finally signed up for gym membership. 5 mins walk from my office. time to get buff up :) facilities are great. many machines, not so many people and wonderful shower facilities. even got jacuzzi and steam room.

was watching tv and saw this school in taiwan using electronic black board instead of our usual white board. it looks like LCD tv that is huge 100" and it's touch screen!

learn through 3D effects, learn how to sing using youtube videos. nice.

dilemma 2: should i disable my camera? hai. no point using BB bold for weekend huh? i love the tracking ball.

today in office, "lucky" was played on radio. i swear i giggled. thinking of our timbre gathering when they said they gonna sing lucky, all except yash think that its going to be britney. LOL. i bet yash was thinking "what kind of frenz i have"...

this time britney was on radio! :) cheers. jason mras step aside!

oh have a song that is spinning in my head. and i guess much to yash's disgust...

LOVE GAME.

let's have some fun, this beat is sick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick
don't think too much, just bust that kick
I wanna take a ride on your disco stick

let's play a love game
play a love game
do you want love
or you want fame
are you in the game

10 ways to drive yash crazy:

#1: bring her to lady gaga's concert

..:: 672. SYZ,PDA and dilemma ::..

SYZ concert was great! better than zhang hui mei's in oct. the stage layout was jaw-dropping, the effects were marvellous and the costumes were so out-of-this-world. totally against her usual image. the dance choreography was great. so glad my impulse buying was worthwhile after all. just woke up today and decided to buy the ticket. left only restricted view for 108 bucks.

the kallang mall has no POSB atm! arghz. couldnt buy food. could only go to supermarket and grab some chocolate.

while on the way home in the bus, there was this couple. arghz. PDA-ing. started to go so close to each other and whisper (what we will do for sex). no wonder everyone had their earphones on. the girl had to place her palm on the guy's chest and slide down to his pecs (or the lack of). get a room. didnt they know that foreplay in bus is not allowed?

but then again i think some would not mind, given that the girl was quite hot and the guy is a hunk. worse, ndp so the bus had to go through a diversion route and we got to watch the "extended" (fore)play.

DILEMMA! foolishly i went to sign up with M1, totally forgot that i called singtel to ask my UPGRADE availability and i thought that is when my contract expires. now my current number is only due NEXT YEAR AUG.

Choice 1: Use my M1 new number - the monthly plan with blackberry services is about 70 bucks per month under corporate plan.

Pro: Use my M1 card! which has a nice number.

Cons: Let my singtel card rot and pay the monthly charges like an idiot. Inform everyone of my new number.

Choice 2: Void my singtel contract to pay damages so i can port my number over to M1.

Pro: I get to use my old number and remain contactable even from my long lost friend. No need to pay monthly singtel for 1 year.

Cons: The liquidated damages could be a lot, i think about 500. which is about 40 bucks per month (which i think quite reasonable seeing that my bill always more than 40).

SO HOW?

i heard convo bells are ringing. :)

..:: 671. 1st Pay ::..

this might sound offensive but i finally get my official pay check! graduate pay! looking at my increment i can drool already.

went for ISO9001 training. kinda fun. being the youngest trainee and i got the chance to speak up. need this kind of chance to "prove" to the senior commanders.

was flipping through minutes and saw that my CO wanted junior officers to volunteer more to be the secretary for conferences. i knew most of the time it was "arrowed" but in the minutes it was written "graciously agreed" to be secretary. LOL.

i am all set to get my blackberry (sadly no camera)! purchase concert ticket!

btw there is a new way to tell whether a person has HIV from their face!

interested? ask me when u see me

..:: 670. Prom ::..

not exactly prom, but convo ball. been thinking of what to wear. 8DAYS gave me a good idea...

swarovski crystal tie! how about that. lol. not very ex though, i would expect more, dunno if they quoted the correct price.

Glamberts. lol... i should call myself one since fans of adam lambert are called that.

..:: 669. Reading ::..

reading has not always been my cup of chai. somehow seeing yash recommending good books to read, i feel that i should start reading! we were talking about starting some hobby cos we must have our work-life balance. basically my life now is work weekdays from 8am to 8pm then reach home about 10pm, sleep then the whole cycle begins. weekend spend on playing xbox with occasional invites from friends for gatherings.

yesterday met up with the india peeps and only jaron brought laptop with the purpose of exchanging photos. the rest didnt. i think the rest of us were pretty much sync - come about 30 mins later than the scheduled meeting time, just sit, chill and do nothing else. we were also talking about joining competitions with our photos taken in india. today i had an idea of what to snap in singapore.

the best moments to take would be inside the mrt, while the door is closing, you should snap those who try to rush into the train. lol. their expressions are priceless! best if there is one who didnt make it then you have 2 different expression.

1. the "scared" face - so scared i will get caught by the doors
2. the "tu-lan" face - for missing the train

evening met up with my red cross friends at iluma (where i sighted david archuleta). was great catching up with my friends. went over to esplanade to watch fire works and cam-whore.

spent my sunday to settle some admin stuff. went to IMM giant to buy the 99 bucks 320gb seagate hard disk. quite a good steal, the external hard disk is pretty sleek. then to chevron, wanted to get the new uniform but not out yet so in the end i got an army bag to put my gym stuff. then i went to Lot 1 to get xbox games and a radio-cum-ipod player for my office.

as usual, refused to pay my overdue phone bills that came up to 950 bucks. in the end, got a pre-paid card to last me till my pay day which is this week! thur and fri on course - my life couldnt get any better.

tml is a big war and much fire to fight. hope i survive. training for ahm soon!

..:: 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.