Come 1st January 2009

IT is time to buckle up the rear seatbelts.

Or else the driver (me) will be fined RM300.

Here I am blogging from Singapore. Coming Tuesday will be a new semester so I'll spend some time here before going back to UTM (Universiti Tak-tau-macam-mana-baru-boleh Maju).

Visiting to Singapore this time is a different one. Why?

Because I'm using the newly opened Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) building (which later renamed to Bangunan Sultan Iskandar for what reasons I do not know. A place how nice also sounds not nice already).

The building is new, clean, look organised, has lots of curvy roads

There is still a problem - TRAFFIC JAM. From the new CIQ building to Singapore, the cars were moving very slowly because we had to pass through the old Immigration building which has yet to be torn down. Imagine, from two lanes to become one.

This is also the first time I'm taking my car into Singapore

Good thing that the new CIQ building is in operation cuz the officer-on-duty seldom do their jobs in the old one. Last time we just waved our passport at the officer on the counter (without stamping) and we could just go off. So it is time to say 'Bye-bye' to the old building where my friends and I always used.

This is where we used to come out after coming back from Singapore

Today my aunt family brought us (me and mum) for breakfast at Tiong Bahru. The Bak Kut Teh in Singapore is very different from the one in KL. Back in Malaysia, our soup has more herbs wherelse the one here has more black pepper.

The soup is white, not black

Then we headed to Funan DigitaLife Mall cuz aunt wanted to buy a new laptop. There is like the Low Yat of KL. Seeing the prices there made me thought that the stuff are cheap. Of cuz I have to multiply them by 2.4.

In the end, with the help of my cousin, she got a Dell Inspiron 1420 for S$1299, with a three-years international warranty.

Funan DigitaLife Mall

Some photos while on the way:

Chinese New Year's decoration is up in Chinatown

With so many 'kam'

A building

People queueing up in front of Central, Clark Quay

Then we went to Little India. My cousin didn't want to go so he took the bus/MRT back alone. At first I thought the area was going to be like Brickfields in KL or Indian street in Georgetown, selling Indian, Sami Velu and Deepavali stuff.

I was so wrong. It has more than that!

We walked in a mall called Mustafa Centre. It has almost everything!! So big and packed with many things. Name anything and you will probably find it there. Supermarket, household items, books, electronics etc.

And what's more? It even opens 24 hours, on everyday.

There is a place to go now other than 7-Eleven

By the time we came out of the mall at about 6.30pm, the streets were already filled with people. Mostly Indians and Bangladeshis. There were stalls, gatherings, and people walking all around the place. For a moment I felt like I was in India.

There are everywhere.

Since today is a weekend, they spend the day out and meet out with friends. One thing I noticed is that all of them dressed up neatly and they do not dare to do anything (harmful) or else the Singapore government will have to send them back. So don't play play with the goverment here.

As for dinner, we went to a nice food court at Balestier Road. There are also many cheap but good hotels around the area. Probably be an economic place to stay, plus it is not far away from the city.

And look what mum collected from her aunt yesterday?

Bags of used toys. But they still look new

She can be Santa Mama Claus already.