i decided that this weekend wasn't going to be devoted to doing absurd amounts of work, or to worrying about what absurd amounts of work i'd have to do at some point. it was going to be all about enjoying myself, doing what i wanted (instead of what i felt i had to do) for once, and to the general idea of enjoying myself.
it began with Good Friday. me, oli, and tim decided to go to a nice little island just north of singapore, between it and malaysia. Called Pulau Ubin (literally translated, Granite Island), its an island no more than a few miles across which is known for its trails through its semi-inhabited land. we decided at the beginning of the day that the weather looked nice enough that we'd go out and rent some bikes for the day. it turns out that the weather was gorgeous and the island is a lot cooler than i expected. it was exactly what we thought it would be: some paved paths, others not so much, snaking through woods and fields. it was a great retreat from the concrete jungle of singapore, and all three of us had a great time. it was quite a workout though--our best estimates put our total distance biked at around 5 or 6 miles, about half of that actual paved areas, and all hills. good times.
saturday was a significantly more relaxed day. most of it was spent in anticipation of going to our family friend's home in singapore. i decided that to battle the fleeting feelings of homesickness, i'd spend an evening with my aunt here, and i have to say that it was a great decision. however, i thought i'd be going over a good deal earlier than when i did, so i spent a lot of the day just sitting around not doing much at school. at around 5, i left school and arrived at their place at 6 or so, and spent the rest of the evening there. i took a backpack with some clothes, just in case i ended up staying over, which is what ended up happening. it was just me and my aunt, so not a big crowd of people at all, so we just spent the evening together, chatting, eating, did a little shopping and dinner in little india (which was within walking distance of her home). we got back from our outing around 11 or so, so i brought out my laptop and i showed her pictures of my trips that i've taken so far over some strawberries and whipped cream. all in all, a spectacular night, i really appreciated having somewhere/one to turn to in the face of my homesickness :)
the next morning, we woke up and had a late breakfast, and she went on her way to the spa for an appointment she had made some time ago. i wandered around the area around their house for a bit while Tim was on his way from school to meet me. we then proceeded to go to the National Singapore Museum, basically just the national history museum, but it turned out to be spectacular. we spent about five hours inside the museum, which is quite a bit if you think about it. for five bucks, you cant go wrong. and it was really interesting too! learned about the history of singapore from beginning to end, and its quite a story...makes me want to pick up a book about it and learn more! after we finished up the museum, we walked around for a bit, mostly looking for food and a subway to get back home, and ended up home shortly afterwards. on the way, we passed through the campus of the SMU, Singapore Management University, and i have to say, i was quite impressed. the area even outside the university was absolutely beautiful, the buildings were painted nice bright colors, a very clean area, i think it would be a really pleasant area to be studying in. it kind of reminded me of the area around BU, just in terms of how well it was kept and the old-town feel it gave me.
so ended my weekend, and what a weekend it was. im really glad that i got to go around singapore some, because with time dwindling down at an alarming rate, its a legitimate fear to think that we may not get to explore singapore before we leave! its cool, im on it now and by the end, i dont think i'll have forgotten anything.
1 comment:
who says "indeed"??
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