In a span of less than 3 hours, i ran an errand- running from Dover to Chinatown then to Geylang at Paya Lebar. Took the wrong train at the Green line towards Pasir Ris when i should have taken the circle line towards Bishan for me to transfer to the Red line to reach Choa Chu Kang followed by a ride on the LRT to finally reach home. I practically travelled all the MRT lines today huh? (Confusing enough for you?)
All this for a bunch of children and to satisfy my cravings.
Let me start from the top...
While in Chinatown
Chinatown is a fantastic place to go when you need to find lots of cheap/value for money stuff for yourself as well as souvenirs for overseas friends. Which is the reason i went there in the first place. The moment i exited the Chinatown MRT and out onto the streets of shophouses, booths and coffeeshop, i knew i was at the right place. You see, Chinatown MRT has many exits to take to take to the ground level, Exit A to Pagoda Street, Exit B to Chinatown Complex, C to Eu Tong Sen St and a couple more exits. If you're wise, you'd look at the locality map that is available at the station and plan from there which exit to take, if not, then you would be in a hell of a roller coaster ride.
To get to the street of wonderful souvenirs, food as well as the Chinatown Heritage Centre, take Exit A, Pagoda Street. Fortunately, i found what i needed in 10 minutes and got out of there as quick as i could. The sun was blistering hot and without my sunglasses, i had to squint my eyes the whole time i was on the main street. SUCH A PAIN. I was actually finding keychains to give my children in Cambodia, not literally though. I went to Cambodia a few weeks ago under YMCA and Singapore Polytechnic to teach and interact with a bunch of children at an orphanage as well as help build infrastructure for a family at a village. The kids were always jovial and some very naughty and cunning but i managed to bond with a couple of them, especially the class that i taught english to. I miss them so much. Which is why when i found out that a few of the caretakers from Cambodia were coming to Singapore for a short while, i had to pass to them stuff to give my children there.
So i bought gift bags and filled them with chocolates and keychains (from Chinatown) for my level 1 class. I hope they will get it :)
Geylang Si Paku Geylang
On to Geylang i went but i was stopped on my tracks because there was not one MRT on the line that said 'Geylang'. I admit, as a local, i'm such a failure to not know where Geylang's nearest MRT is. So i did what anyone in my position would do, call my mom. Turned out, she didn't know either but her friend sitting next to her who overheard the conversation immediately jumped to my rescue and said it was at Paya Lebar MRT and there i went. For a moment, i did feel like a tourist, not knowing which direction to take :)
The best time to go to Geylang is during the fasting month and Hari Raya because that is where you can absorb all the malay culture in, from the food to the traditional costumes, it's really wonderful! Every fasting month, there is a bazaar held in whatever place possible in Singapore. And Geylang had a big one just right outside the MRT entrance.
The errand was to find Sarang Semut. It is a biscuit among many others that are eaten during Hari Raya, termed Biskut Raya.
There are tons of Biskut Raya, not just these on top. So among all these, i had to find one particular snack called Sarang Semut. I searched high and low i tell you, from the bazaar to a mall and a second bazaar and a third one only to return to the first bazaar which actually had a sarang semut because i underestimated the the size of the place. So lesson learnt here is to look closely and patiently instead of rushing all over the place to find what you need.
So here it is, my darling Sarang Semut, after almost an hour of searching, i've finally found you <3
