Singapore Diary 2 contd

Had to go back to India, only to be back two months later. Well, not getting the Indian 'pakkad' last time, I got an entire set of Indian kitchen tools this time. Things are muxh easier this time.
           While meandering the Yew Tee area, I had walked into a small shop & was delighted to find Alva's ' thair'  ( plain yoghurt in Tamil). There can be simple pleasures in life like this one - You are surrounded by colorful & wonderful flavoured yoghurt while craving for the 'No Flavour ' one. So this shop made me feel completely at home with familiar words on the packets like  'moong', 'tur', 'biryani.masala' etc. Oh! There - a packet of Aniseed too. That felt lke an achievement because I could buy lesser quantities too unlike shopping for huge ones in the Malls. To be contd

Singapore Diary 2 contd

Had to go back to India, only to be back two months later. Well, not getting the Indian 'pakkad' last time, I got an entire set of Indian kitchen tools this time. Things are muxh easier this time.
           While meandering the Yew Tee area, I had walked into a small shop & was delighted to find Alva's ' thair'  ( plain yoghurt in Tamil). There can be simple pleasures in life like this one - You are surrounded by colorful & wonderful flavoured yoghurt while craving for the 'No Flavour ' one. So this shop made me feel completely at home with familiar words on the packets like  'moong', 'tur', 'biryani.masala' etc. Oh! There - a packet of Aniseed too. That felt lke an achievement because I could buy lesser quantities too unlike shopping for huge ones in the Malls. To be contd

Singapore Diary 2

Settling down, had a quick look at the furnished condominium I was to share for next few months. So far so good. After sandwiches for lunch, went out for shopping groceries. Being a vegetarian I had to have home made food. Though I did eat eggs, it had to be either omlette or scrambled or the typical North  Indian egg curry ( the yolk in the curry wouldn't do). I was thoroughly disappointed not to find basic stuff like onion or potatoes in the local mall which otherwise sported colorful  local produce & canned/tinned foods in bulk. Someone told me to fetch a local South Indian shop that had Indian Food available. For the 1st time in my life I missed our local malls like D-Mart, Star Bazar, Big Bazar or even Reliance Fresh. Suddenly the daily pinch of ' Hing' ( Asafoetida) appeared far fetching. That apart multiplying the $ with rupee ( Hing 2$s for eg) revealed how cheap things were in India. Walking out from our  apartment into the adjoining Marwadi grocer back home looked like a luxury.
              In the evening, headed to the Mecca for Indians here - Little India which's rather Little South India. One gets everything Indian here : food, garments, you name it. But one queer thing - I couldn't fetch 'Pakkad' - the Indian Tong used in kitchen even after scouting at endless shops....to be contd

Singapore Diary 2

Settling down, had a quick look at the furnished condominium I was to share for next few months. So far so good. After sandwiches for lunch, went out for shopping groceries. Being a vegetarian I had to have home made food. Though I did eat eggs, it had to be either omlette or scrambled or the typical North  Indian egg curry ( the yolk in the curry wouldn't do). I was thoroughly disappointed not to find basic stuff like onion or potatoes in the local mall which otherwise sported colorful  local produce & canned/tinned foods in bulk. Someone told me to fetch a local South Indian shop that had Indian Food available. For the 1st time in my life I missed our local malls like D-Mart, Star Bazar, Big Bazar or even Reliance Fresh. Suddenly the daily pinch of ' Hing' ( Asafoetida) appeared far fetching. That apart multiplying the $ with rupee ( Hing 2$s for eg) revealed how cheap things were in India. Walking out from our  apartment into the adjoining Marwadi grocer back home looked like a luxury.
              In the evening, headed to the Mecca for Indians here - Little India which's rather Little South India. One gets everything Indian here : food, garments, you name it. But one queer thing - I couldn't fetch 'Pakkad' - the Indian Tong used in kitchen even after scouting at endless shops....to be contd

The Singapore Diary

Day 1
Chennai to Changi - All airports basically begin to look the same after some point of travel. Shiny surroundings, sparkling glass walls, spotless floors, uniformed men / women....etc. The crazy feeling of ' Visiting Foreign for first time' wasn't there thankfully. It had exhausted in the Dubai trip couple of years ago. Funny this - soon after we accomplish that which seems almost impossible, it appears like second nature to us. For example, always scared of heights, when I flew first time, between take off and landing, I was surprised to find myself behaving like a seasoned flier. As I was done with the ' wow' factor of Dubai razzmatazz, I walked on the Travelator non-chalantly, forgetting to call up my friend who had told me  I could do free calls.  I am famous for losing my way, so the advice to call. Its ironic - When thrown into alien situations, I manage to steer smooth though I appear confused. People get panicky about me even after I ascertain
Can't heip the look, can I? So, here I was in front of my friend whom I met years later. As we moved with my strolley in tow, suddenly from nowhere, a pair of doors opened and I found myself in a Metro!! MRT as they call it here, right from thr exit of an airport was  strange but utter convenience. After a couple of sweet sounding announcements by a female, before every station, we alighted at our destination. The stations sounded weird of course, with names like Bukit Batok, Pasir Ris, Bukit Gombak, Joo Koon....Having taught Korean Adults & and Children while in Pune, the last name Joo Koon sounded familiar while the people looked like Koreans. After alighting at a station, in no time we reached home. I got it - MRT - platform-couple of escalators - out after swiping the card - you could either cross the road to your apartment or enter the Shopping Mall / food court.that starts right after MRT station exit. Later..to be continued

The Singapore Diary

Day 1
Chennai to Changi - All airports basically begin to look the same after some point of travel. Shiny surroundings, sparkling glass walls, spotless floors, uniformed men / women....etc. The crazy feeling of ' Visiting Foreign for first time' wasn't there thankfully. It had exhausted in the Dubai trip couple of years ago. Funny this - soon after we accomplish that which seems almost impossible, it appears like second nature to us. For example, always scared of heights, when I flew first time, between take off and landing, I was surprised to find myself behaving like a seasoned flier. As I was done with the ' wow' factor of Dubai razzmatazz, I walked on the Travelator non-chalantly, forgetting to call up my friend who had told me  I could do free calls.  I am famous for losing my way, so the advice to call. Its ironic - When thrown into alien situations, I manage to steer smooth though I appear confused. People get panicky about me even after I ascertain
Can't heip the look, can I? So, here I was in front of my friend whom I met years later. As we moved with my strolley in tow, suddenly from nowhere, a pair of doors opened and I found myself in a Metro!! MRT as they call it here, right from thr exit of an airport was  strange but utter convenience. After a couple of sweet sounding announcements by a female, before every station, we alighted at our destination. The stations sounded weird of course, with names like Bukit Batok, Pasir Ris, Bukit Gombak, Joo Koon....Having taught Korean Adults & and Children while in Pune, the last name Joo Koon sounded familiar while the people looked like Koreans. After alighting at a station, in no time we reached home. I got it - MRT - platform-couple of escalators - out after swiping the card - you could either cross the road to your apartment or enter the Shopping Mall / food court.that starts right after MRT station exit. Later..to be continued