From refrigerator to oven.

That is what it felt like to go from Leiden to Singapore. It has been such a long time since I sweated so much. And god! I stink!
Everything was weird. I went out on the first night and was deciding if I should bring a sweater or a coat. But wait a minute, I am back in Singapore and Singapore will never be cold!
I finally touched my flute after a year. It was so horribly corroded! I spent 2 hours cleaning it. It is now my clean little baby again.
I am impressed by my tone. It is still as good as before. But my changing notes response is not there anymore. I am glad my tone is there.
Interestingly, my lower notes sound fatter and fuller! Kilometers of cycling must have built up my lung powers.
It felt SO WEIRD not speaking a word of dutch for the whole day!
Most importantly, it felt so good to be tall again.
On the last Friday of my stay in Singapore, I went back to Balestier Hill and see the band. It takes lots of patience to teach kids. Mr Leng was teaching the kids some very basic music theory, and it just occurred to me that there are many things that I have been doing without really knowing the basics, or even completely ignoring the fundamentals. Well, I am not talking about music but things that associate with my present life. I am a person who flies from doing one thing to another. Perhaps I should slow down and see where I am heading and what I should be doing.
Oh yeah, Mr Leng’s cat is cute. Meows a lot. Probably desperate. This is her:

I used to have a cat that meows a lot too. She would flirt with all the male cats in the neighbourhood and get herself pregnant. This cycle went on and on until I asked my father why didn’t he bring her to the vet and sterilize her. My father simply replied: “Would you like it if I bring you to the doctor to have your tubes tied?”

Trip to Singapore

Many things had changed. Everywhere seems to be renovated, new buildings, new layout.
I lost the most important person of my life, my granny. She died last Oct and I only found out about it this July. 10 months of lies.
3 years ago, my grandpa past away while I was in France. I found out about it 3 weeks after his death. I thought this was bad enough.
People seem to die in my absence.
There are 2 new drinks in town. One of it is called “Anything” and the other is named “Whatever”.
Met up with many people. They just make me feel so unbearable to part with.
Bump into “forgotten” friends. (Singapore is very small. Very often, you will bump into people you know). Perhaps they should stay forgotten. Their presence made me feel so guilty for not catching up with them and it just make it much more difficult for me to disappear out of their lives again.
Most days of the week, dinner is really good buffets. How fattening. I miss my bicycle so much, but I miss the food more.
I am so inspired to pick up Thai, but I just couldn’t find the will to even start it. I am fantastic in planning but totally hopeless in committing.
I got the chance to see how a professional recording works. For the interest of all musicians out there, I better keep my mouth shut.
I attended my first Chinese Orchestra concert. I burst into laughter when the suona’s are tuning. You got to hear it yourself.
Opera makes you dizzy. It is so exhausting to read the subtitles, watch the performers, listen to the singing, listen to the orchestra, and catch up with the most-of-the-time-meaningless acts.
I am one year older.

Amsterdam
Sex & Drugs

This is a taxi. How cute!

Little Anne Frank and me.


The Magere Brug

You can’t miss the Dutch clogs.

Bigger,

Yet bigger.

Ice cream and Chocolate


This is one of the nicer ice-creams I have eaten. It’s yummy! I will be back!


Chocolates too.

Sex Museum



Exhibition
Brief Survey
Sex through the centuries
From the Greek and Roman times to this day
From all the cultures of the world *
The Amsterdam Red-Light district
Art gallery
100 years photography and film
Sado-club
The history of Marilyn Monroe and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
And much more…

* I don’t see any Singapore related culture.


I guess this is what dickhead looks like.


Sexy toilet bowl

Original Stone Phallus dating from the Roman age.

Anybody’s birthday coming soon?

Red-Light District

Finished with the sex-museum and heading towards the red-light district.

Prostitution is a legal occupation here. Prostitutes pay taxes too. Well, I am not supposed to take photos here, so I shall just describe it.

Well, Netherlands is known for its port. So, prostitution has all along been a big business to satisfy the needs of the sailors when they finally land on shore.

Well, down the alleys, you will see these cubicles. And there will be a prostitute inside. Once you have chosen your lady, you will step inside, and draw the curtains.
One of the alleys that captured my attention was the Thai alley. The prostitutes there were so obviously trans-gender. But, they are really beautiful. Perhaps the icing of the whole red-light district. They are so popular that most cubicles had their curtains drawn. And there was a queue!
I saw this man queuing up for this “lady”. He looks pretty decent. He had a nice business suit on, with a tie, and this Elton John sunglasses. It was probably his first time as he was fidgeting so much, looking around nervously.
Down another alley, I saw old, fat, and ugly prostitutes. I wonder if any guy would go for them.
On yet another alley, I got the chance to see a man negotiating the price. It’s €20! Wow! That’s cheap! He went in, and he was out in 5 minutes. So, that is €20 for 5 minutes.
On the main street, there are lots of sexshops, selling toys, movies, etc. There are also peepshows as cheap as €2! Of course, I didn’t go in. I don’t want to end up being the subject of the show.
For more details, come down to Amsterdam.

Cannabis

Netherlands is a country that tolerates the use of soft drugs. And yes, here, it is in all forms. From smoking hashish, to eating cannabis lollipop.


Cannabis lollipops. I don’t trust that “worldwide legal” sign.
So, Singaporeans out there, if you want to try, you got to come. I don’t want to end up serving a life-sentence in jail for one pathetic lollipop, or risk being hanged. I am too young to die.

Cannabis Beer

Cannabis Chocolate

Cannabis Tea

Cannabis Biscuits

As for now, I am packing my stuff, and heading back to Singapore! YES! MY STEAMBOAT! My hawker centers, my buffets, my shopping, and my innocence.

Kerkrade


Look away! PG.

I can't remember if this was an indian or thai restaurant. Maybe it was a hotel. I was too obsessed by the elephant.

Me and my faithful bandie. And yes, I started with the euphonium. But this looks more like a baritone. Whatever... same family.

I still haven't figure out what is this thing. Please let me know if you know what this is.

Leeuwarden



Back to Leeuwarden. And still not speaking Friesian!! Argh...


A friesian wedding gown.

A proud Friesian.

Saxophone makers...

Leeuwarden's red-light district

Hallo ducky!

Paris…


Where should I start? Ok, maybe with this…

Yes, I found Chris here! I have been thinking a lot about you… You disappeared to America, and you disappeared from msn too! I was rather worried about you. I suddenly realized that you are already part of my life.

Ok, this is in Rotterdam. We saw really WEIRD people! Oh god! Don’t they know the feeling of embarrassment? I will NEVER do that even if you are going to pay me a million euros.

First sign of Paris…. I am getting EXCITED! Ok, this is going to be a very long post. So, get your butts off the chair, walk to the kitchen and get a drink, maybe food too...

Ok, let’s start with Notre-Dame. Notre-Dame is situated on Ile de la Cité. It is one of the two islands found in the heart of Paris.

This is Notre-Dame de Paris. It is probably the most famous cathedral in the world.




Look at these cravings. It’s almost unimaginable how they did it without machines and advanced tools.

I must comment on this. Look at that lady right at the left of the picture. She wanted to have a photo of her surrounded by pigeons. She started feeding the pigeons to attract them over. Guess what... the pigeons shitted all over her.

This is just one of the many stained glasses in the cathedral. You got to come and see it for yourself. Sometimes, photos just cannot capture the beauty of a place.

This is the inside of the cathedral. It is really beautiful inside. Big, grand, magnificent… This is art!


And as we move to the other island, Ile St-Louis, this is what we saw…

Yes, this is Notre-Dame again. This is how Notre-Dame looks like on the other side.

This is yet another view of Notre-Dame. Excited yet? Then, call me up for a trip to France. I can be the tour-guide.