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Last week I signed up for the Walk with the Japanese programme at JLSM with Yoon-san and Ee Hwa-san. Each of us were supposed to chaperone and guide a group of high school students on holiday here. This year's rombongan was from Tomogaoka High School in Kobe.
My group was made up of four girls: Shirasaka-san, Ochi-san, Kawamoto-san and Yoshida-san; and two boys: Sakata-san and Ueda-san. We had a buffet lunch together at Nikko Hotel, and then walked over to KLCC. There, they changed ¥1000 each (about RM35), and the girls went off on their own. I wonder what on earth they could've bought for RM35.
 
The boys then asked me to bring them to the supermarket to get some omiyage (oleh-oleh), so we went up to Isetan. They were surprised to see that most of the stuff there was Japanese. We also checked out Kinokuniya (both the Japanese and English outlets), and stepped into the park until it got unbearably hot a few minutes later.
In the midst of all this, Ueda-san managed to impart some Japanese slang. A combover is called バーコード (barcode), because that's what the strands on an oyaji's chrome dome look like. And DDR is abbreviated down to ダンレボ.
Before we knew it, our time was up and we walked back to Nikko. Everyone was busy taking last minute group photos before the students were huddled into their buses for their final journey to the airport. Both Yoon-san and I came to the conclusion that five hours was definitely not enough to forge any kind of lasting friendship, mainly because people need more time to open up. Or at least, that's how it is with me.
That night we had rabbit for the first time at and 's place. It was... interesting.
nestum's tunes: hirai ken - omoi ga kasanaru sono mae ni...
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Yong Shen and Kian Howe tried to organise a few outings this week with Guang Ming and me. But in the end Guang Ming couldn't make it, so on Thursday, the three of us went to Kayu Nasi Kandar in SS2, which is supposed to have good ais kacang.
The next day, we tried again, and this time Guang Ming came along. We shared a KL Tower, which is a reaaally tall roti tisu. Three plates were needed to lay it down horizontally on the table.
Then on Sunday, out of the blue, Yong Shen organised yet another get together. The venue was Soul'd Out in Hartamas. I knew that he had managed to rope in Delanie, but the turnout exceeded everyone's wildest expectations. More than twenty people showed up! Me, Yong Shen, Kian Howe, Delanie, Ashlin, Rais, Nisha, Pei Ying, Guang Ming, Ifran, Parjit, Prashant, Elizabeth, Sui Lin, Sheh May, Amin, Adly, Istvan, Chin Teng, Kelwin, Leon, Zher Wyn... the list goes on and on.
Just like the good old days, Guang Ming, Ifran and Parjit were the life of the party. And Elizabeth showed us her freaky ability to whistle without closing her mouth.
Fishy Business
We have an aquarium in the office, and one fish in particular has been on everyone's lips. According to my boss, the other fish all ganged up on it and nibbled its tail off. So my boss checked it into the ICU (the aquarium's net) to give it some time to recover and separate it from the others' cannibalistic intentions. Kesian.
nestum's tunes: road of major - kokoroe
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Chuc Mung Nam Moi! That's Happy New Year in Vietnamese.
Ho Chi Minh was a lot more fun than I expected. Especially after my last visit to Hanoi, which ended with a severe bout of sashimi-induced diarrhoea.
Day One
Our tour guide, Sam, picked us up from the airport and brought us to the War Remnants Museum. Of particular interest was the Hall of War Crimes, with its gory photos of US soldiers maiming local peasants with glee. And our morbid little minds were immediately drawn to the two-headed Agent Orange baby, pickling in a jar.
That night, we went down to the street to usher in the New Year. There weren't any fireworks, or even an audible countdown, but the roads were teeming with thousands of people and their motorbikes. Uncle Ravi, Auntie Siti, my mother and I decided to walk down to City Hall which was lighted up gorgeously.
Day Two
Us kids and my father had to wake up bright and early for our hour-long drive to the Cu Chi Tunnels. Used by the Viet Cong as subterranean hideouts, the tunnels are tiny, and we were forced to squat just to get through. Luckily, our stretch was only a hundred metres long, but our thighs ached for days after that.
We also got to sample the Viet Cong staple diet of tapioca, and fired some AK-47s. Two bullets per head, at US$1 per bullet.
Back in town, we had pho for lunch. Incidentally, it's pronounced fur, not poe. And ao dai is pronounced ao yai. Heh.
After lunch, we went to Ben Thanh Market for shopping. and I lost interest after a while, so we decided to walk to Notre Dame to get some photos. I think I may have traumatised Nat by making her cross all those treacherous streets. Oh well. *shrug*
nestum's tunes: crystal kay - bye my darling!
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