I chickened out!

PEOPLE!!!!

I’m back!! Hooaa..when did the last time I posted a traveling story in my blog? I think it was ages ago, huh? Haha! Well, the traveling part definitely was AWESOME and UNREAL! But I suffered from Post Traveling Syndrome if that kind of sickness even exists, so I’m kinda having a short term memory problem to recall all the good memories I have had during my trip! Haha!

Anyway, I should start with something! So, here we go guys..

I have thought to do solo backpacking around South East Asia for many, many months. Gathering information from some good Travbuddy friends, researching the internet and reading travel books were my TOP priority activities for the past few months as part of preparation for fulfilling this dream. At first I was very thrilled and confident about my plans. However, a bit before my departure my confidence faded and I was apprehensive. No, probably more than apprehensive, down right nervous about undertaking a solo trip to Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur.

Thanks to several good friends, I was convinced that I could handle such a trip, that I was an experienced traveler, that I had a knack of meeting new people while traveling, that I had a half-way decent head on my shoulders and that I should be prepared to have the best time of my life. A little bit of apprehension is a good thing, but I found out that enjoying the Anticipation of a new experience is the best way to start any challenging trip!

I off to Singapore the next day as my first pit stop of this leg. My good friend Najiah welcomed me warmly. She picked me up at the bus shuttle near her house and served me a nice brunch with chicken rice, grilled chicken, soup and sambal. The food was great and my tummy was really happy!

Afterwards, we made our way to the downtown area, but we went different directions. Najiah had to go to her Spanish class and I had an appointment with a friend named Renny at MRT Hall. Renny is an Indonesian woman who works in Singapore. I had a great time with her not only because she was so kind to show me around the city, but also because we could speak our native tongue, Bahasa, in foreign country. Haha!

Then, I made my way to Singapore Cooking Meet Up. It was an occasion which was organized by The Singaporean Travbuddy members. Some people were very kind to cook for the rest of the group! I was quite surprised that I was the first person there, and I wasn’t even part of the cooking crew! But I’m glad I came early because I had a chance to get to know Winnie and her cool son Dylan! Not too much time passed and Bri showed up and they decided to start cooking. I’m sorry, but I’m just not cut-out to be a cook, so, I had to excuse myself and ran away from the kitchen area and ended up playing Monopoly with Dylan in the living room! LAME! Since I was in the living room, suddenly I changed my role to be an usherette because I was the one who always opened the door and welcomed everyone to the Cooking Meet Up! Hahaha!

Around 7:30 PM when the food was ready and everyone had shown we started eating (that part I’m good at!). I had to give two thumbs UP for the cooking crews because they are really talented. I felt a very warm sense of family chemistry that night. Everyone clicked really well with each other and we exchanged stories during the meal just like one big happy family :) A Photo session should never be crossed out from a Meet-Up agenda. So, we took some pictures after eating.

Najiah and I decided to leave the meet up early since I had to catch my flight to Ho Chi Minh City the next morning. I thought I could sleep early. But well, it didn’t happen! Both of us were having a blast talking until the wee hours of the morning and I was only able to sleep for about 2-3 hours. But no regrets, it was WORTH it!