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4月24日 The weekend that was...a complete Korean soapie-fest!?Can I just start by saying how awesome it is to get comments on my blog, it's nice to know who does and doesn't visit. Thanks to my regulars (ie-Bibigul and Naseer) and it's awesome to see some newbies (Cara, now is THE time to be here!! Fabulous to hear from you!!!!).
Would you believe it is Monday 5:15am Singaporean time and I have spent pretty much all weekend watching 16 x 1 hour episodes of THE most addictive TV I have ever viewed in my life. No it's not Breakers (haha), Days of our Lives or even Degrassi. It's Korea's highest rating soap called 'My Lovely Sam-Soon', fully equipped with English subtitles as the program is about to air on US TV (cable of course).
I would liken the plotline to any good Bollywood "fillum" except the humour is out of this world hilarious! My favorite scene in the entire 960+ minutes was when the girl (known as "the girl") finally puckered up enough courage to introduce the boy (AKA "the boy") to her mother, he was greeted by an angry/violent little Korean lady who insisted he answer a series of questions with a shot of a potent looking rice wine to wash down each answer. When he finally passed the test (there would have been at LEAST 20+ questions with lots of head bowing and minimal eye contact), the family happily welcomed the new member of the family with a communal singalong in front of the family karaoke machine/TV.
In addition to the excessive drinking and eating in the drama, there tends to be a lot of violence and man bashing! And I'm talking about physical man bashing - especially between the characters that are "in love". It all struck me as a bit odd but I now understand the effects of eating one's Kim Chee extra spicy I guess....
Apart from the obvious craving for Korean food and melodrama, I have decided that Seoul must be on an itinerary at some stage in the near future. Apart from Liz Lamb who I know is an obvious taker for the mission, let me know if you're interested in checking out that part of the world. I'm completely sold!
So as you can imagine, I didn't really get up to much over the weekend apart from a fabulous meal on Friday night at a modern Aussie restaurant called 'Whitebait and Kale' (conveniently located in the ground floor of Singapore's most glamorous hospital known to accomodate a myriad of local and international plastic surgery patients) with my new Singaporean friends - what an amazing bunch they are too! Some pics are attached.
Also visited some great 2nd hand bookshops on Sunday where I picked up a great oldskool Roald Dahl short stories book from the 70's. And found an amazing music shop that sells really old violins and violas cheap.
Well until next time folks.
Choti xo 4月17日 My new place and flatmates. And Happy Easter!!HAPPY EASTER!!!
We've just finished up Easter long weekend (Monday is not a public holiday here) and it is the least Easter-ish I have felt in my entire life having spent 23/24 of them in Australia. No chocolate eggs, Easter bunnies, random viewings of "The 10 Commandments" on daytime TV or Angie's most spectacular annual seafood lunch on Good Friday :(
So me and my two new flatties went out on Saturday night to the infamous Zouk nightclub where we attended the annual Crystall Ball to make it some kind of a celebratory weekend - marking 1 entire week of us all living together.
So, let me introduce Wei and Tom, my 2 ultra cool new flatmates. A lot of people from Sydney know Wei from his Sydney days but most Singaporeans may know him as the runner up from the reality TV program "The next big thing" in which Wei made it to the quarter finals of an Asiawide singing competition similar to Idol. He really does have an amazing voice but he also has other talents lying in his amazing ability to design interiors. He also has the insane ability to wear a pair of silver glitter pants better than anyone else I know (see pics).
And the more I get to know Tom (who like me reigns from Sydney town), it seems that we have a myriad of mutual friends that we didn't think we would have in common - so if you know him too, please email me so we can work out exactly how many degrees of separation there can be. Tom's main passion in life is interpretive dance (see pics) but he also has the ability to work with big numbers in a serious market research capacity.
I have also attached some pictures of my room and our flat (some are pre furntiure, we are not THAT povo) which is a cool old shophouse located on the outskirts of Chinatown. My room is still remotely clean which in itself is an accomplishment as most of you know, but apparently the maid starts her weekly visits next week :)
Anyhow, until next time...
Choti xo
PS - Bibigul, as always your comments are wonderful, keep them coming. 4月12日 Lahore - the uninterrupted story...It really is one of the most amazing and mystical cities of the world and every time I go there I discover some amazing new fact/nook or cranny of the town that has so many secrets. A visit to the Lahore Fort is a prerequisite, even for those of us born there and visiting every 12 months. It is one of the world's most amazing buildings reflecting the Moghals opulent lifestyles, the Sikh invasion and the later British control - and this is not just the many faces of the building but of the entire inner city with its' protective gates, temples, churches and of course the Badshaahi Mosque (the red Taj Mahal-ish looking courtyard).
This last batch of shots are of the infamous Bibigul who keeps popping up on this blog (bless) and Bari Ammi (literally meaning 'Grand Mother'). We went on a fabulous trip to a garden show - some rich guy opened up his 'backyard' (try 3 acres!!) for an invited few to come and 'ooooh aaah' over his very expensive and well maintained flower collection.
4月11日 Choti & Aboo in Singapore (and Indonesia)....Now I'm really going oldskool, these are pics from my dad's (Aboo) recent visit to Singapore before we left for Pakistan together. We went for a day trip to Batam, an Indonesian island around 1.5 hours away (by ferry) from Singapore. We had a great meal of chilli sambal prawns and fresh seafood (out of interest it cost 389,000 rupiyas due to their over inflated currency) and we even went on a bit of a bar crawl around Singapore which was fun! Special dedication to Choti & Chotie (and purple dogs)...I thought the special little Zehra deserved a special little section dedicated all to herself. Or maybe I thought it fit due to the myriad of photos I have of/with her - hehehe...Don't worry Z, I have the VERY funny ones under lock and key (and will auction them off in $US only).
Oh and as for the purple dog? Well the lucky Shah family received a puppy as a present whilst I was there. Unbeknown to them, it turns out that the Labrador puppy was suffering from a smelly and disgusting skin condition. As a result, Z had to apply this ancient herbal medicine to the dog. It was really hilarious (and smelly and disgusting). So allow me introduce Tubby the Bubby Puppy. More Lahore family shots.Family dinner was wonderful, everyone came out and we had a blast eating all kinds of ice creams and steaks (not in that order).
I was also lucky enough to be there for Alima Mammee's borthday which was also a lot of fun. It's nice to have most of the family in one place at the one time. Take a closer look at my cousin Jehansher's t-shirt. hehe. Lahore and family picsMy Ammi and Khala are monopolising my time as I attempt to write a nice piece to accompany the Lahore shots but alas I can't multitask as well as I thought. Visit www.skype.com to understand why.
Enjoy the pics, story to follow. Rawalpindi Pics only.Shots if Pindi and Islamabad. It was way cooler (literally) than Lahore which made it more enjoyable to be outdoors. The mosque was amazing, right at the base of the mountains. The other white buildings are the Pakistani High Court and the Government House, both of which were interesting and contrasting designs. The High Court was my personal favorite - angular and minimalist with its' white marble it really is an amazing structure. Wedding Pics only...Some shots from my cousins wedding in Rawalpindi. It was a 4 day, 5 night event....seriously! 4月10日 Slinging it in Singapore...yet again....Saef and sound in Singapore again, was really nice to come back to my new apartment (this time with housemates!). The place is looking great, we have finally got some more furniture so it is starting to look like a home.
Missing Pakistan (pindos and Bibigul especially!!!!!). It was, as always, a teary goodbye until I met with the Pakistani customs department at Lahore airport who insisted on having me frisk searched on 3 separate occasions. I thought this kind of treatment only took place in New York. ugh....
Must run, but just a very very quick update.
I promise promise promise that pics will be posted next visit to the net cafe.
Choti xo 4月3日 Sick in Pakistan....I've been here for over a week and made a trip to Rawalpindi where my cousin had his wedding. I attended all the wedding functions with Aboo who has safely reached Sydney now. I am still here and nursing a pretty horrible cold.
A few things about Pakistan:
- DO NOT ever visit outside the months of October - February. I didn't believe my mum when she said it is the worst Summer in the world.
- Public toilets are really for the public. Use private ones wherever possible. Squatting is uncool if you don't know the technique.
- Let your local cousin do all the bargaining. If you open your mouth and the shopkeepers detect even the slightest of accent's, you will be looking to pay double.
- And yes, you should listen to your Khala re:servants/tailors. Don't put them up on a pedestal.
In addition, I have spent most of my time with my Khala, Bari Ammi and Z, getting very little sleep and eating Khala's home cooked haleems/aloo gosht! Yum.
Naseer, I will definitely do Pappu S this week - that is if he is still in the country. Apparently he is doing world tours and stuff these days. Thanks for the reminder though :)
I do promise that photos will appear soon. There are complications (or laziness?).
Choti xo |
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