subway secrets

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:50:00 +0000

It's delightful to be seeing caring faces and telling stories. Physically I still get groggy rather easily and do not have much of an appetite yet. The humidity is uncomfortable but I feel more mobile over here - less clothing and no chilling winds. So the plates displaying numbers at bus stops have been changed. People seem the same, had to endure someone blasting music on the MRT just now. Over these years I think I've become less able to feel a sense of loss over anything, so if you ask me, I don't miss Paris, I've done whatever I wanted to there and life goes on. Looking forward to the next outings!

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:18:00 +0000

What I Dislike About Paris

1. FOOD! I don't know how Europeans survive eating such pathetic stuff their whole life. Salad. Sandwich. Salad. Sandwich. Thanks to the kebab stores and Chinese eateries they finally know what taste buds are for. Luckily the French have good bakeries to make up for it. (The English have what, soggy fish and chips?)

2. Public transport. It's rare not to have 1 line down out of the 19 (14 metro plus 5 RER) on a single day. And they do not have many buses which link the outlying areas to the city central. So what happens when the train line gets disrupted? Not that taxis are in sight and affordable.

3. Vandalism, graffiti. Paris will be prettier without them. And most of them do not qualify as street art for sure.

4. People. Can be friendlier, especially the younger ones.

5. Nothing else really. There are more things to like, to my surprise. I hope to leave Paris a more content person. Ok, off to the airport!

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:10:00 +0000

What I Like About Paris

1. Rue Mouffetard. There are plenty of other lively streets like this in Paris but I prefer the mix of shops over here. Something for everyone - kebab, restaurants, student pubs, bakeries, and of course the musician! No one gets left out.

2. French newsmagazines. I don't think they read The Economist or Newsweek here, they've got their own array of weeklies and very often has special editions like features on Sigmund Freud, George Orwell, or themes like Islam in Europe or Existentialism. If only my French is...! But merely looking at the covers make me think highly of the general knowledge of the population and want to know more myself.

3. Bakeries. Walk in one and be received by a "Bonjour!" from the matronly staff, choose, pay, smile, return the "Merci!" and "Au revoir!", bite onto the 外脆内软 bread, inhale the fragrance, feel blissful and be convinced that the day ahead will be a good one.

4. The Latin Quarter. A place with many established bookshops, universities, students and cafes where philosophers (used to) debate. The birthplace of theories and the brain of Paris. Brain of the world in fact in the past.

5. Green public transport. Most buses run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) if I'm not wrong. 5 new electric tram routes up and coming. The first global city to have a public bicycle rental programme and to have many other cities follow suit. We like to laugh at France for doing things their own way but this time round, they are right.

6. "Bonjour!" Whether or not it's from the heart is not the point. It's a habit ingrained in everyone which can potentially cheer up depressed souls. Also a good starter to conversations with strangers. I will miss this. In Singapore it's back to the very fake "Hi!"s :):):).

7. Montmartre. The area which used to be the centre of bohemian activity and where a cathedral stands atop a hill. It's a weird mix but neither spoils the sanctity of the other.

8. Sense of neighbourhood. An advertisement for the website of the commune I live near to, listing all the facilities and ongoing activities. I'm not sure if the actual residents see a point to this, but as an outsider I feel welcomed and ready to integrate. Town halls of the 20 arrondissements in central Paris look like they involve their residents very much as well. Maybe it's got to do with them being more political active, having to vote in referendums.

9. Museums. Not the Louvre though, it's so big it makes me feel unaccomplished. I like the exhibitions on ancient civilisations and cultural histories. Bits of the world across time and space concentrated in Paris, it's just too overwhelming.

10. People. I met some nice people. My tutors are especially nice. The grocery shop uncle who reminded me to watch out for those hooligans riding motorbikes on pavement. The man who told me I was swimming freestyle wrongly and said I should be more horizontal. The lady who told me not to eat while walking. Haha! I interacted with so little people, these small things are precious to me.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 12:39:00 +0000

*Plays 失败者的飞翔.*

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:46:00 +0000

Day 113

The Parisian free morning daily.

Pont de l'Alma road tunnel, site of Princess Diana's fatal accident.

The very rare public toilet.

The very rare clean and functioning public toilet.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:47:00 +0000

And as for what's the festive atmosphere like over here,

lightings along Champs-Elysees avenue up to the Arch of Triumph as you can see. Christmas markets flank the streets, as more obviously seen on the right.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:36:00 +0000

Day 112

Another one with character - Arts Et Metiers station on Line 11. Designed like a submarine.

And introducing the primary source of information which feeds me with the ongoings in the city - advertisements in the metro stations! Like which exhibition is on at which museum, and who's holding concerts - Jamie Cullum, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Muse will all be in Paris next year!

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 11:10:00 +0000

Am I right to conclude that Europe isn't into shopping malls? Most of the ones I've seen and been in are as good as Beauty World, Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, City Plaza - the whole family with aged exteriors, musky air conditioning, spooky toilets at inconspicuous corners and carparks meant for drama crime scenes. Over here they seem to be a fad of the 80s, not many brand spanking new ones around I see.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:10:00 +0000

Day 111

Beside the swimming pool near my place is this small estate which looks eerily like S'pore's HDB.

Feels even more at home with a 奶妈 hairdresser. =/

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Day 110

Ten years ago when I watched Japanese drama serials like 长假 I'd envy the characters for the apartments they live in - just a room which makes for working, cooking, sleeping, everything! I'd wonder if the room is stuffy because they don't use fans or aircons and they don't seem to open their windows. I'm from the tropics, and thus blind to these temperate settings.

I didn't know this is a radiator until my room mate told me.

I didn't know buses ran without aircon.

I didn't know how to wear a scarf and the point of applying moisturizer. I haven't used the latter at all cos' my face remained loyal to its oily nature. 4 more days of brumal inconvenience.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:35:00 +0000

In Stefanie Sun's 我的爱 MV she walks out of the airport, says "Hello I'm Stefanie", and later alights at this metro station - Cite.

Halfway up the stairs she stops here and looks briefly at her map and around her.

And walking up she sees the busker with a fiddle/violin/viola at this spot and the music kind of brings back memories of her ex-beau. She then says goodbye and passes by a beach and wait... Paris got beach?

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:05:00 +0000

Day 108

Few weeks back thru Skype I asked my sister what's snow like and she said it's like ice kachang or ice shavings. Ok she wasn't lying.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:01:00 +0000

My friend Wenlong is part of the team behind this, please support School of Discount and reap benefits before we expire being students!

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:55:00 +0000

This Facebook group name is so laughable - "We Can Find 100, 000, 000 BUDDHIST On Facebook". Bad English, plus there are only 350 million Facebook users now how possibly can 1/3 of them be Buddhists? Doesn't look good, makes people think that Buddhists are just simply weird.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:20:00 +0000

Day 106

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 22:22:00 +0000

Snow was spotted today in Paris but alas not by me! The forecast promises snow before I leave. I need to be at the right place at the right time.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:55:00 +0000

I just watched clips of Stefanie Sun performing for 真情无障碍慈善晚会 and goodness weren't they horrible! Missing lyrics aside, her voice was so strained and her face while singing was in such anguish that it became a chore to watch the clip even. She would probably have gotten a 12 or 13 on 星光 and 巫启贤 would have lectured on her diction. Time to retire and marry.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 21:05:00 +0000

Day 102

The last occasion I felt anger in me, was the day I left London for Paris, at Victoria Coach station, when I was queuing at the door of the coach for boarding after depositing in the luggage compartment, and seeing fellow passengers ignoring the Q after leaving their bags and start congregating within the radius of the door.

Coincidentally, all these people who didn't obey the unspoken rule of the queue were blacks, who didn't belong to the same group. At that moment I felt very racist. Images started to appear. I remembered the black woman who got caught cheating on fares on the bus. Another who attempted to cheat at the Tube gantry but failed. The admin staff in my uni who was just trying to rid me off when I had queries. The drunk man on the Paris metro. Really pissed. Then I thought of Singaporeans who have irritated me before and my agitation subdued - it's not just them who can be like that.

It was the 2nd or 3rd week of my stay here when one day I felt I could empathize with terrorists - that the world hates me and I will hate them back and I will resort to whatever means to express my hatred. Caused probably by a series of unfriendly encounters that day, coupled with the insecurity of being a racial minority, the fear of being in an unfamiliar place and having no direct community to belong to. On hindsight I'm glad to have had such emotional troughs cos' I learn from it and it makes exchange meaningful though there's nothing glam about it.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Every weekday I feed myself with 康熙来了 and 大学生了没 and every Friday 超级星光大道. For news I watch AlJazeera English, CNN, France24 and other random news channels. The only Youtube clips which made me connect to my homeland during my stay here are those of Ris Low's, in this sense she is totally booms.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:55:00 +0000

The first snow of last Parisian winter fell on 5th Jan this year. Seems like it's going to give me a miss.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:33:00 +0000

I read about the Bukit Timah flood. London has its fair share of drainage problems, and it wasn't even a storm. Road leading to London Bridge bus and train station.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:23:00 +0000

It's my third trip to London on 29th Nov. Took Eurolines coach as usual but this time round it didn't go through Eurotunnel. The bus went up a P&O Ferry and it was a 30-45 minute cruise across the English Channel! It did make a pleasant surprise considering exactly one year ago I was too on the seas in a different part of the world.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:21:00 +0000

Room mates's moved out, I've got the whole room to myself!

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:34:00 +0000

I find it interesting how on Taiwanese talk or variety shows some celebrities will talk about their Christian faith and reactions will be primarily centred on how they cannot enjoy premarital sex. People like F4's Vanness who proclaimed to have renounced his active sexual life and in turn been pursuing a closer relationship with God. Over there it's like becoming as defining a characteristic as Muslims cannot eat pork. In Singapore or elsewhere the first thoughts evoked from the same identity are probably rather different. Random post, after watching Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ haha.

noreply@blogger.com (Wenjian) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Day 99

I was in London for 7 full days last week cos' my room mate was moving out (wanted to avoid the mess) and also wanted to give it a thorough sweep. Covered Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, National Gallery, British Museum, Charles Dickens Museum, watched Les Miserables and a couple of movies. Was exposed to many new facts and stories, hope the key words can stick with me. I should be blogging more over the next 2 weeks, it's about time to wrap up this experience!