SGeans..

I've been back for more than a month now, & I'm still not used to how people behave here..

It's funny how I've not noticed this before when I have stayed here for 5 years before. People here sure like to stare a lot, like they are all PIs or government spies sent out by the Nazis. In Melbourne, when you board a tram/train, no one would even take a look at you when you hop on. Over here, hundreds of prying eyes are upon the unfortunate person boarding the MRT/bus the moment s/he enters, ready to strike into his/her inner fear anytime and expose all the secrets within. It’s a sudden loss of privacy and personal space for someone who has just returned from overseas like me & I definitely don’t enjoy all the attention. Even if the government is campaigning for everyone to be extra alert due to the terrorism fear, it’s definitely too extreme and unwarranted for. Why can’t everyone just mind their own business and enjoy a moment of peace & solitude in their own little private space after a busy day ‘socializing’ @ work or school???

This is the part where I appreciate Melbourne the most, especially after the not-so-new discovery above. I can spend some alone time walking down Swanston or Lygon St without anyone paying the slightest attention to me, or I can enjoy a hot café latte @ Border’s, reading the latest soccer magazine without anyone interrupting me. When it’s time to socialize, Lygon or Brunswick St offer seemingly unlimited excellent cafes (more than all the ones in Singapore combined!), tempting our taste buds with their amazing array of pastries, cakes, milkshakes, cold chocs, & gelati (yum!). Imagine my reaction when I went out with Sherise 3 weeks ago for dinner & finding out that the double scoop ice cream from Swensen’s cost a whoopin’ S$6.90 (compared to $3.90 @ Il Dolce!) & it wasn’t even that great at all! We ended up getting it anyway because our craving for ice-cream/gelati has reached the must-get-it-or-we-‘ll-go-nuts-!!! Level. Oh yeah did I also mention that the double scoop is actually only half scoop by Oz standard? I can barely see the ice cream on top of the cone when it was handed to me! What a bloody rip-off!

So peeps in Melb, esp. international students, gorge yourself with all the ‘cheap’ Il Dolce’s & Trampoline’s that you can get, before you realize it’s too late! *sigh*

Finally know why Melb is voted as world’s most liveable city now. It’s not huge or anything, but everything is so ‘in the right place’ that it doesn’t matter anymore… Hopefully I’ll be returning there before long, back to the 2nd place I call home..

Writing another post soon on SG’s ‘speak chinese’ campaign. ‘ave to catch my weekly Jacky Wu Zhong Xian variety show on TV now!