FRIDAY
ECP Fun Fun Cafe date during dinner time til late. Haha. Went over to tubs place after that and then we went to Cathay to watch Transformers. I really liked it but there was still something missing. I know it was 2.5hrs but it didn't seem that long other than becoming more fidgety and needing to piss. Maybe I was itching for more Transformers action. Not Human i.e Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf. Anyway tubs bought me a combo just because the cup was damn cute. Haha. It's top was like a snow globe with the silly squirrel and it's acorn. I think one day he'll stop buying me combos just because I like the cup/ gift. Haha. But to be fair, I did finish my popcorn and my drink....
SATURDAY
In the early afternoon, tubs and I set off for our heritage tour, but not before going to Roxy to eat the wanton mee which I haven't ate for years. I still like it even though the standard has dropped a little. Maybe it's just the taste of nostalgia that was so satisfying. Haha. Ok back to the matter at hand. This week we went to Fort Canning to walk about. Becasue it was in the afternoon, the heat wasn't funny man. I nearly passed out on the tombstones there. Haha. The only shady part were below the trees, which comes insects.
Anyway, I'm kinda lazy to explain everything in detail so here are just some pictures and a description I stole off the internet.
Gothic Gates - These imposing and sombre gateways in gothic style lead the visitor into Fort Canning Green, where a Christian cemetery used to stand. Built in 1846, these gates have since become landmarks of Fort Canning Hill. Note the letters above both gates - IHS - standing for Iota Heta Sigm , the first three letters of the Greek word for Jesus.
James Brooke Napier Memorial - Dedicated to James Brooke Napier, the infant son of William Napier, who was Singapore's first Law Agent, and Maria Frances Napier, the widow of George Coleman. The memorial was the largest erected in the cemetery, reflecting the status of William Napier.
Fort Canning Centre - It used to be the barracks of the British Army. The British Army chose Fort Canning as its headquarters of its defence bases in the 1920s to protect British interests in Southeast Asia.
Cupolas - Designed by George Coleman, they were probably places of rest. The word 'cupola' means a small dome-shaped roof or ceiling. George Coleman was a talented architect who left his mark on the urban landscape of Singapore. He was Raffles' consultant on Singapore's first town plan. As Superintendent of Public Works, he oversaw projects of land reclamation and construction of roads and landmarks such as the Armenian Church.
George Coleman's Tombstone @ Christian Cemetary
The Fort Wall & Gate - The Gate and the adjoining wall are the remains of the fortress which occupied this hill from 1861 to 1926 when it was demolished to make way for the reservoir. Some 400 coolies were mobilised in leveling 3 hectares of hilltop and constructing the elaborate fort complex of barrack blocks, hospital, gunpowder magazines and supporting artillery. In 1867, the fort had seven 68-pounder guns, eight 8-inch guns, two 13-inch mortars and some 14-pounder cannonades. A cannon was fired 3 times a day (at 5 a.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m.) in colonial times to announce the hour. Be sure to look behind the Fort Gate's massive wooden door for the narrow stairway leading to the roof.
Sally Port - A small hidden door that leads into or out of a fort, allowing occupants to escape from the fort undetected. Fort Canning had at least three sally ports but only one remains today.
Archaeological Excavation Site - In 1984, archaeologist John Miksic and his team began an archaeological excavation that continues until today.Among the artefacts recovered were porcelain, earthenware and glass shards. These artefacts show that there could have been a Malay kingdom on Fort Canning Hill, with possibility of glass and gold workshops.
In the cemetary
We saw other things like The Battle Box, Spice Garden, Raffles Terrace, Sculpture Garden, 9 pound cannon etc but we didn't take much photos cos the weather was so damn hot I really wasn't in the mood to.
After that, to the museum we went!
Entering the Singapore National Museum was heavenly. No more insects, no more grass, no more heat. Being suaku, and especially when I can't even remember whether I've been into the museum before, we were quite lost. Haha. Luckily we got help from a very nice security who told us since it was already 5+pm, maybe we shouldn't buy tickets cos certain galleries are free from 6-8pm and the other one which wasn't free closes at 6pm and we wouldn't have enough time to finish walking that. So he suggested either we come earlier another day or we come during the upcoming weekend cos musuem hours are extended til late and it's FOC in conjunction with the Night Festival. So while waiting for 6pm, we sat at the nice cafe downstairs for a much needed drink.
There were 4 free galleries in total which were under 'Living Galleries'. The first one we went to was 'Food'. Nothing much but it was fine. Then we headed to 'Photography'. The pictures we damn freaky. Just take a good look at every picture and the faces of the people in all the photos. It's straight from a horror movie. The way they stand, their clothes, their expressions.. instant goosebumps. So we headed over to 'Film & Wayang'. It was darker than the other galleries and they had a few big ass screens showing old movies and the sounds were scary man. The screaming etc made me really uncomfortable and then we came to an area which was better lit but the first thing you see is a huge red paper house. The first thing that came to mind was those houses people burn for the deceased. Even tubs freaked out and when he turned the other direction, it was a bunch of wooden puppets hanging against the wall looking straight at him. That was it for him. Haha. So finally we headed to 'Fashion'. I have no idea why they have to keep the enire place so dark and with so many corners. At every corner, it looks like there's a big space in front of you but it was just a mirror. It took some getting used to cos being in darkness and having a mirror right smack in front of you is just not very settling. But it was less scary than the previous 2 even though it was the darkest. It didn't help that other than the 'Food' and 'Photograpy' galleries, we were pretty much alone in the other 2, other than probably 2 or 3 other people who came before us which means they oso left before us.
Looky at the date. Familiar? Haha
That's all for our little excursion. I still don't think museums and historical sites should be freaky. It's somewhere for people to learn and not portray our earlier days as being ghostly. Anyway at the car park, we heard what we thought was fireworks. But then it sounded more like the 21-gun salute which means fireworks had not started yet! So we went to Marina Barrage and waited for the fireworks, together with many other people. Haha.
It was such a nice evening, and then somehow, you can oways depend on some Singaporeans to spoil it for you. The kids there were like animals let out of their cages. Running like maniacs and screaming non stop over nothing. Gawd. And then when you are nicely seated somewhere with an unobstructed view, there will be people who will stand right in front of you, completely blocking any view at all. There was so much empty space around and it's a no brainer that people are seated there for a reason. But anyways, don't say I never share the next piece of info - Marina Barrage is NOT a good fireworks watching spot. You can only see parts of it between the 3 IR buildings. Damn the IR. Haha.
We had KFC drive thru for our dinner and ate at a block in Marine Parade and the wind was so damn strong & cold at the void deck. Didn't manage to finish my food and so we went back to my place after that and with barely enough time to freshen up, we had to rush off to celebrate Glenn's aunty's birthday at a pub in the Chinatown area. Aunty oready but still a yummy mummy. Lol. Actually aunty Lynn isn't even that old lah. Barely 40 and still looking good. Either we reached just in time for the cake cutting, or they purposely waited for us but better late than never eh. Haha. Joking.
Sent Aunty Rita and Samantha back but not before we went to the coffeeshop near her place for supper. Shared a bowl of noodles soup with tubs and it was pretty good but I only had a little bit before it was all gone.
SUNDAY
Pretty much slept the day away. I woke up now and then during the day but tubs was impossible to wake, which led to me falling back asleep and before we knew it, it was past 6.30pm oready. Die. Quickly got ready and rushed to Granny's for dinner. It was Jeff's birthday so there was yummy cake for dessert. Yay! And Grandma made noodles for dinner which I so damn love to the max. Thinking of it is making me hungry man..
Hung out with Mel after dinner and it seems like forever since I last saw her or spoke to her. No matter what happens, I still love you and will oways be there whenever you need me k! *hugs*
Before we knew it, it was around 2am oready so it was back to tub's place for him to finish doing my com for me and then we went for Macs brekkie. The weather was so cold and shiok and I couldn't imagine what could be worse than sitting at the smoking area and enjoying our hot breakfast but I guess somethings I really didn't predict. Like the numerous insects that were all over the restaurant, both inside and outside. Some were flying about, some were dead on the floor, some had lost their wings and were just crawling around the entire place... But whatever it is, I can't have a peace of mind and enjoy my breakfast with these pests around. Just looking at them gave me an itch. And when i say numerous, I mean it. Everywhere you looked, up or down, you can see them. And then tubs concluded that it must have been the staff that left all their doors open when there weren't any customers so that they could save electricity on the aircon and therefore that was why there were sooooo damn many insects indoors. Gross stuff.
Anyway, because I reformatted my com and some things could not be back-uped and some things were forgotten to back up, I have a load of things to do now just to get it back to normal. That's about it for the weekend. Gotta return to downloading and sorting stuff out. I guess it's high time for some computer housekeeping anyways. Thank goodness they're showing the Michael Jackson Memorial on TV now. At least something to entertain me at the same time.
Asphyxiated at at 3:04 AM
