Christmas in the tropics

On the day before Christmas, I was unusually late for work; this was the reason why I decided to hop on a cab.

As we got closer to my destination, Siam Paragon, the cab driver started hinting at the fact that I would actually have to pay three times the amount displayed on the meter. I got upset and told him that I wasn't up for it. To my astonishment, I realised that he drove through my place of employment without stopping and that he turned off the meter pretty much at the same time that he hit the accelerator.

It took me two seconds to try and grab my mobile phone, which was then buried in my handbag. As soon as he realised what I was trying to do, he started shouting and pulled over in a deserted area. I'm not sure if we opened the cab's doors at the same time but I know that my survival instinct made me start running in the direction of the crowds.

Fortunately, I was wearing flat shoes but, unfortunately, I was born with wobbly feet meaning that it didn't take long for me to be laying on the floor screaming in pain. The inglorious bastard reached me just before I managed to, once again, get hold of my mobile phone; and as he went for what looked like a knife, I woke up.

On the day before Christmas, I went to work and spent the evening with Leon and Ash. On Christmas Day, I worked again and had chicken soup for dinner - this was my attempt to fight off a sore throat. On Boxing Day, I had an appointment at 9 a.m. at the Immigration Department; and so as not to wake up earlier than 6.30 a.m., I decided to... hop on a cab.

Going places

This time last year, I was getting ready for a great adventure - everything seemed possible and it was really!

"Will they hate me for all the choices I've made?"

One year down the line, I can assure you that everything is still possible but if 365 days ago I was ready to take off, right now I'm ready to settle down.

"I can't stop now I know who I am"

Three months after landing in Bangkok and following a path, which has been a lot rockier than you might think, I can honestly say that I'm ready to stay a while, take it all in before the time comes to let it all go - and I'm sure that this will be as exciting and unpredictable as flying away.

"Now I'm all yours, I'm not afraid"

I think it's pretty unbelievable to finish this year's journey in the place where I started it - Bangkok - but then again, how could it be any different? After all, I'm quite good at building bridges between beginnings and endings.

"And all my life starts now..."

The imperfect fit

It was an evening like many others - I finished my day's work at school, headed towards the BTS station and hopped on the skytrain.

Shortly after having taken an available seat, which was quite a treat at that time of the day, I realised, quite randomly, that some of the women surrounding me were wearing shoes, which were way too small for their feet; so much so, that some toes were practically touching the ground - seriously!

How could I not ask myself the reasons why these women decided to buy such small shoes? I mean, aren't there enough shoes in the world?

My search for meaning took me back to Singapore - a place I've always been very fond of. It felt good to be back in a country where everybody speaks English, there's law and order and everything looks nice, neat and, ultimately, safe. But then again, does the fact that everybody speaks English mean that there's no space for misunderstandings? Does the fact that there's law and order mean that there's justice? And don't the highly impressive manifestations of cleanliness walk hand in hand with some kind of rampant eagerness to judge, condemn and, ultimately, repress?

I'm far and away from saying that I didn't enjoy having a couple of drinks overlooking a golf course, a lake and then a river, splurging on different kinds of foods, walking around in the Gardens by the Bay, sharing a pool with a couple of loud but polite kids; I'm just saying that I haven't yet found the right shoes for me. And there's really no need to settle for the wrong ones...