Old Meets New
I’m excited!
As you know, I’ve been planning to visit Japan since… well, forever now, and I was really excited this week. Yesterday, not so, because I was not feeling well, and because I saw… with… and I really started a downward spiral again. So, the natural order of things was to think about something positive, like an upcoming vacation, cos’ there’s nothing like running away to another country to mend a broken heart (I can’t believe I’ve actually fled the country twice, and with the upcoming one, thrice because of the memory of him still lingers inside).
Unlike Shanghai and Beijing where I enjoyed the serenity of being alone, and to be honest, not doing much except to hope that I embark on a course set for self-discovery, I was really open to the idea of company this trip. Titus began his previous two relationships through putting up an ad on Trevvy for travel buddies, so I did the same. Maybe I’m dreaming, but I really just wanted a regular platonic relationship where two people could just do things without meaning to fall in love, or in the case of Trevvy, get some benefit out of it. I wanted a best friend, someone like Terrance and Seng Kiat – particularly who plays on the same team (if you know what I mean) so if I ever emo, or feel lousy about myself – and start dribbling on about my mistakes or what not, instead of someone flinching and whose soul reads “this is AWKWARD…” when I look at their eyes, I have someone whom won’t bat an eyelid whenever I broach the subject. While Jsen, whom on the first day of Chinese New Year, decided that he wanted to be part of my life again (although the extent is unclear), I’m keeping skeptical (maybe, he’s bored or somethin’…, I reason to myself). Anyway, it turns out a dependable friend’s harder to find than a life partner, it’d seem.
Pumped up with motivation to just go somewhere, I checked fares to Tokyo this afternoon, and to my horror, the airfares had shot sky high. Fueling the fire further was the skyrocketing prices of accomodation. A quick check on Singapore Airlines’ website revealed still reasonable rates, but the flight times were without a doubt, terribly disagreeable – I arrive in Tokyo too late to make the night’s stay worth paying for, and I depart Tokyo too early to make a night’s stay worth paying for. That, I can stand, but I couldn’t accept the cut-throat accomodation costs at nearly a hundred SGD per night. Disappointed yet determined to go somewhere, I sought for a destination which was actually worth its while (a.k.a. paying a thousand dollars for) – playing with everything from Asiatravel to Zuji. Then, from the depths of welfare, financial turmoil, lost ambitious for a superstate, I found the old world, not in it, but at its periphery, the edges where life still thrived, and in fact, now symbolizes a beacon for the inside to aspire to – Europe!
Istanbul, ladies and gentlemen, Istanbul. It’s not quite what I planned nor wanted, but if life has thought me anything it’s “just go with it”. In fact, for the dates I’m looking at, it costs the same or cheaper to visit Spain, Italy, Turkey, Greece, airfare and accommodation included. Now, I’ve to see whether my mom’s coming. If she’s coming, it’s gonna complicating things a lot.
After work, I had dinner with Keidi at Swensen’s.
