Singapore: Day 62

I slept around 4 AM this morning again, but did not sleep well at all because there were loud noises outside (they may have been birds, but I am unfamiliar with Singaporean bird noises). My sister texted me at 8:15 AM to contact our mother, so I decided to finally wake up. I quickly webcammed with my mother and updated her about my time in Singapore and my arrival to SFO at 11:40 AM. After this, I worked a bit more on my blog and chatted with friends. I cannot wait to be home!

I had a haircut scheduled for Shunji Matsuo at 11:30 AM. Laney and James' supervisor recommended this salon and both of them recently received likeable haircuts from there, which is why I decided to trust this salon with my transition to short hair.

Shunji Matsuo at Holland Village

Interior of salon... and the remainders of my long hair

 I have been quite anxious about getting a short cut. I had short hair during my sophomore year of high school, and it wasn't exactly the most pleasant of experiences (I had wavy hair, which made my short hair difficult to control). I spent the next 4 to 5 years growing out my hair into the length it was today, and I was going to destroy my effort by cutting it off. However, I needed change. I am tired of being called "cute", tired of sporting a feminine and traditional look. Singapore has definitely de-emphasized physical appearances, and I hoped the haircut would secure that change in mindset. However, the salon did not entirely fulfill my wishes. I do like my haircut, but it is not drastic. It seemed that the salon staff admired my wavy hair and thought it to be a pity to cut it all off; my hair stylist, River, wanted to preserve my waves and instead gave me a longish bob. I hope that as soon as I grow my fringe a bit longer, I can cut my hair even shorter.

While I was in the MRT station and walking toward the train platform, I stopped by Each a Cup for an earl grey milk tea at 50% sugar. Michael said this place had delicious drinks, so I decided to try it before I left the country. He was right-- it was indeed the best milk tea I've ever had! Many American milk tea stores claim to have roasted milk teas, but this milk tea actually had a roasted taste. I cannot put my finger on it, but it had a roasted and rich sweetness instead of the pure sweetness that most milk tea stores sell. However, despite its deliciousness, I regretted drinking it before I had breakfast because it upset my stomach and ruined my appetite for the rest of the day.

Early grey milk tea

 I needed to exchange the Singaporean money I received from NCCS into American dollars, which is why I made a long journey to Chinatown. Along the way, I stopped by Buona Vista to make a spontaneous trip to the Star Vista. I've never visited the Star Vista before, so I wanted to explore it a bit while I had the chance. The outdoor mall mostly had restaurants and random shops, so I did not spend much time there.

The Star Vista

 Afterwards, I continued my journey to Chinatown and stopped by the People's Park Complex. By the time I finished exchanging my money, it was already past 2 PM. I had a manicure/pedicure appointment (Laney, Emily, and I bought a GroupOn deal for this) at 2:30 PM, so I quickly grabbed a pork bun outside the complex and bought Singapore key-chains from Pagoda Street. The pork bun didn't taste as good as it should've because my appetite was askew due to the milk tea. It was definitely unfortunate that my appetite was ruined on my last day in Singapore.

Love the food stalls in front of People's Park Complex!

My last pork bun :(

 Around 2:20 PM, I grabbed a taxi to the Gallery Hotel, which is where the Nail Spa Studio is located. The Gallery Hotel is located quite a ways from the Clarke Quay MRT station, and I wanted to conserve time.

The Gallery Hotel

 It was my first time receiving a manicure and a pedicure and I usually do not care about my nails, so it was an interesting experience. The stylist was very friendly, and because we were around the same age, we were about to talk about everything from Singaporean vs. American culture to horror movies. She dropped out of high school, so she brought a different perspective to life that I wouldn't have known about. It's amazing the unique types of people you meet through these types of conversations!

After my manicure, I decided to explore a bit. I sighted the Liang Court from a distance away, and headed there as a reference point.

Walked along the river

The Liang Court

 I explored the Liang Court, but found that most of the shops inside were food places. My appetite was still irregular, so I did not find the food appealing and quickly left. From there, I headed to Clarke Quay. It was definitely strange exploring the area during the day; it was empty and dull, while at night it is bustling with activity and almost fantastical as though it was another world. It felt surreal and appropriate for my sad farewell to Singapore.

The empty bridge in Clarke Quay

After my explorations of Clarke Quay, I returned back to PGP. We were originally planning to have a dinner with Jessica, Nelson, and his friends, but Nelson and his friends wanted Japanese food while Jessica and I wanted Indian. They went ahead with a Japanese buffet, which left Jessica and I to look for food options. Wei Wei, the research associate in my lab, recommended Annalakshmi, and we decided to head there for dinner. However, Jessica who had arrived before I did found that the restaurant was booked for a dinner, and we decided to have dinner at Chinatown instead. I ordered a delicious food porridge, and because I did not eat much today and it was my last meal in Singapore, I ordered a second dish-- Fu Zhou noodle. Both were very tasty; I definitely love the Chinese food in Singapore, especially the porridge and noodles. The porridge is rich and flavorful, and the noodles are so perfect in texture and chewiness that it seems as though they are handmade (perhaps they are)! I will woefully miss these dishes when I am back in the United States. Chinese food will never be the same!

Fish porridge

Fu Zhou noodle

 After we finished eating, Jessica and I just spend the remainder of the time talking; we had interesting conversations and it was great to get to know her better. Before we knew it, it was 11 PM and we decided to head back before the MRT closes at midnight. The MRT ride back to PGP was my last one, and that fact saddened me a bit. I took a clip of the ride and a photo of the map for memories.

Empty MRT

MRT system

By the time I arrived home, it was about 11:45 PM. I called the taxi company so I could book a taxi for 4 AM. My flight was at 7 AM Friday morning, and I definitely didn't want to miss it. I had saved $34 SGD for the taxi ride, but when I asked the operator for an estimation of the price, she told me that the ride would be $50! I panicked, because I did not have enough Singapore dollars, and asked if I could pay in American dollars. After a series of calls, it was established that I could pay with American dollars; However, luckily, I found more Singaporean dollars while packing, which saved me from paying in American dollars. I spent the rest of the night doing laundry and packing for my flight.

Singapore: Day 61

If I were to summarize today in one sentence, I would say "Goodbyes are difficult."

I stayed up last night and this morning working on this blog, and ended up sleeping at 5:37 AM. I was hoping to wake up at 7 AM so that I could continue writing, but I think two month's lack of sleep has finally caught up with me and I can no longer handle not sleeping. I ended up waking up around 10:30 AM and spent the late morning packing for my Friday morning flight. In the afternoon, I made a trip to Deutsche Bank at Raffles Place to cash my check from NCCS (I received a stipend for my research with them.) Deutsche Bank is located in the South Tower, and it was very formal and high-end. Upon entering the tower, I had to receive a visitors pass that would allow me to proceed to the elevators. Once at the elevators, I had to key in my desired floor and the machine would tell me which elevator to take. The elevators themselves had buttons but I could not use them to maneuver among the levels; the entire process of moving between levels was too formal for my taste, but it was exciting to do. 

Raffles Place

After cashing my check, I checked out Watsons for their La Roche Posay products and grabbed a snack from La Pau Sat, which is across the street from the South Tower. I ordered the kueh pai ti, which is a Peranakan (Malay and Chinese) dish. I've seen it at NUH but never purchased it because I found it too pricy for only a few pieces. I'm leaving Singapore very soon, so I wanted to at least try the kueh pai ti before I leave. Most stalls sell both popiah and kueh pai ti, and today I understood why: both taste very similarly and use the same ingredients. However, the kueh pai ti is generally more expensive (I bought 5 pieces for $3.50), but more tasty. It has a delicious crunch yet the moist softness of popiah inside the crispy shells. The shrimp, cilantro, chili, and crispy shell were a combination made in heaven--- pure perfection!

Kueh pai ti

 After my short snack, I headed into lab. Raffles Place is only two stations away from Outram Park, which was convenient for me. On my way to the station, I bumped into my lab mate, Wei Wei, who was working out at the gym during her lunch break, and together we made our way to NCCS. I ran my last gel, and now I am finally done with my project! However, I still need to spend time analyzing the mountains of data I collected and organize it into coherent figures. I will be e-mailing the prof and Jianxiang when I am back in the states. At 5:30 PM, our lab assembled for a lab dinner at Jamie's Italian, a famous restaurant opened by the chef Jamie Oliver and featured internationally. Tina had previously called the restaurant about reservations only to find the restaurant booked; she even went in person to the restaurant during her lunch break to ask about it. Luckily, we were able to receive a table quickly despite the long queue.

Can you spot the prof?

Wonderful ambiance

We started our dinner with a couple of appetizers: Posh garlic mushrooms on toast, their famous polenta chips, and funky chips. All were delicious and definitely an indicator of the high quality of our dinner. We also had two bottles of wine, which paired well with the delicious meal.

Posh garlic mushrooms on toast

For the main dishes, we split into pairs so that one would order a pasta while the other a main dish. I paired with the prof, and we ordered the veal flash steak and seafood bucatini. The veal flash steak was perfect: the meat was thin and flavorful, and the lemon and tomato added a sweet sourness to the rich and savory meat. Who would've thought tomato and steak would go so well together?

Veal flash steak

The seafood bucatini was also highly delicious. According to the menu, it is "tubular spaghettini steamed in a bag with crab, mussels, clams, squid, scallops, capers, chilli, garlic, white wine, and juicy sweet tomatoes." If that doesn't sound delicious, then I don't know what does. The tubular spaghettini was wonderful; I don't know who invented it, but it is deliciously chewy and holds flavor very well. The seafood was also tasty. I found myself slowly tasting each one to capture the rich flavors. Even the sauce was delicious, because it was sweet and slightly savory, and complemented the seafood and flavored the spaghettini oh too well. The seafood bucatini was definitely the best pasta I've ever had!

Seafood bucatini

Fine dining w/ the lab. One of my best dinners in Singapore!

After we finished our main dishes, we ordered desserts. I had the chocolate and vin santo pot, which is a cup of dark chocolate mousse topped with ice-cream. The dark chocolate was very thick and creamy, and it paired well with the sweet ice-cream. I found the ice-cream to have an interesting taste-- it was sweetened by a hint of alcohol, and because I'm not too fond of alcohol, I only had small bits of it alongside each scoop of dark chocolate. The biscotti was the perfect finish to the strong-tasting dessert.

Chocolate & vin santo pot

The meal was an expensive one ($792), but it was definitely one of the best I had in Singapore. Overall, it was a night spent in wonderful company and the perfect conclusion of my internship with them.

Group photo

I was particularly sad about leaving Jianxiang, the quirky postdoctoral fellow I work with. He has been very supportive and understanding throughout my entire internship: he would frequently urge me to take a rest and to not worry, and whenever I had to miss work due to illness, he understood and cared. He was definitely more than a professional supervisor and instead stepped in as a friend. I am saddened that I will not see him again in the coming years, but he suggested that I visit Singapore every year for two months so his English would become flawless (plus, he obviously wants to see me.) Goodbyes are difficult, especially when they span across continents. I will miss everyone dearly and treasure my experiences at NCCS.

Me and Jianxiang. I will miss you!

Goodbye Jianxiang. Goodbye Bek Chai Heah Laboratory of Cancer Genomics. Goodbye National Cancer Centre Singapore. And as of Friday morning, I will have to say goodbye Singapore.

Yes, goodbyes are definitely the most difficult.

Singapore: Day 60

Today, I missed my alarm and overslept until about 10:20 AM. Two months of sleep deprivation have definitey worn me down, and I can't wait to go home and finally hibernate. While I was walking to the Kent Ridge MRT station, I couldn't resist my craving for Mr. Bean; whoever put Mr. Bean next to the MRT station is very clever, because whenever I am near the Kent Ridge MRT I am always tempted to make a quick stop at this delicious soya dessert store. I ordered my usual warm 25% sugar soya milk and tried the cheese pancake. As usual, it was delicious! I don't know how I am going to survive in the U.S. without soya milk and pancakes, especially since I eat them so frequently in Singapore. 

Cheese pancake and soya milk

 I arrived into lab in the afternoon, and quickly picked up my project. I ran a gel for the two genes that I left in the PCR machine yesterday as well as ran PCR for two more genes. I only need to run one more gel tomorrow, and I will be done with my project at last! I worked efficiently and quickly, such that I finished all that I needed to do that day by 4 PM. As a result, I left work early to explore Tanjong Pagar. Ever since last night, I have been craving the Pad Thai Jessica had for dinner; the egg prata also did not fulfill my craving for murtabek, so I wanted to actually eat mutton murtabek. That is why, at 5 PM, I found myself at Amoy Street Food Centre eating another huge feast.

Amoy Street Food Centre during the day

Pad Thai and mutton murtabek

The meal was very delicious, because I was able to satisfy my craving for Thai food and Indian food simultaneously. It is rare that I have cravings for two very different foods, and I was immensely happy that I was able to fulfill both. I quickly ate the food and shortly began my explorations of Tanjong Pagar afterward. 

Tanjong Pagar was one of those places that just resonated with me. I am not sure why, but sometimes a place just feels like home and we can't explain it. I felt this way with Chinatown as well, but I had the chance to explore Chinatown and now was my opportunity to explore Tanjong Pagar. I first went to the Red Dot Museum only to find it closed until August 2 (the day I leave Singapore, sadly); however, the receptionist gave me a "Design Map" that pointed out many stores in the area that featured creativity and design. I made it my goal to find the Little Drom Store. Here are some shots from my journey to find the store. I was lost on multiple occasions, which gave me the perfect opportunity to explore the area.

Thian Hock Keng Temple

Statues detailing Chinese processions

Ann Siang Road

Finally found you!

The interior of the store. Such a cute find!

At the Little Drom Store, I purchased a pair of hand-made owl earrings as a commemoration of my journey. It was fun exploring Singapore with friends, but I wish I had more independent journeys like the one I had today. Perhaps I like being by myself, but there is nothing like getting lost with a map.

After my explorations, I returned to PGP, took a quick shower, and headed to Holland Village for dinner with Luke, a graduate student I recently met. We ate at Cha Cha Cha Mexican Restaurant, and I ordered the Enchiladas de espinaca y papa. The food was pretty good, considering that it is Mexican food in Singapore. It was not comparable to the Mexican food in California, but it fulfilled my cravings for Latino food. 

Enchiladas de espinaca y papa (sorry for the poor image quality)

 Afterwards, we went for dessert at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which is an Asian chain store similar to Starbucks. I ordered the raspberry cheesecake, which was overpriced at $5.80 and at best decent. As a baker of cheesecakes, I am quite critical about what a good cheesecake is, and this one was definitely too thick and dry. However, like the Mexican food, it satisfied my cravings for Western desserts.

Raspberry cheesecake

Looking into the distance

After our dessert stop, we made our way back to PGP and separated ways. It was an interesting encounter with Luke, to say the least. When I returned to my room, I showered and continued working on my blog until the AM.

Singapore: Day 59

Today, I stayed up working on my blog until 3 AM, and as a result, I missed my alarm. I originally planned to wake up at 7 AM so that I could prepare for my SASE West Regional call at 8 AM. Thankfully I woke up a few minutes before 8 AM and did not miss the call completely; however my laptop froze on me (I had too many tabs open for the blog) and I entered the call late, much to my chagrin. The call gathered the presidents from the SASE chapters of the West Region, and it was interesting to finally meet everyone. We discussed general updates, the National SASE Conference, expectations of us, etc. and the call ended shortly after 9 AM. I then had a call with Jesmin, our SASE Vice President, so that we could discuss the direction of our SASE chapter while filling out the transition survey from National SASE. Both of us are still inexperienced and have much to learn as SASE leaders, but I am sure that we will make an effective team and improve our Berkeley chapter. I ended up talking to Jesmin for more than 3 hours; it was a great bonding experience, and I look forward to getting to know her better. The SASE calls were the perfect way for me to return to reality and transition into the Berkeley environment. I have so much to return to (SASE, UCSF interview, Cal Camp, etc.) and I cannot afford to be weak right now.

I already contacted Jianxiang about coming into lab later because of the calls, so I made my way to lab after a quick shower. While waiting for the MRT, I scheduled appointments for a haircut and manicure/pedicure on Thursday. Laney and James received haircuts from Shunji Matsuo at Holland Village, and because I liked both their haircuts, I decided to schedule an appointment at the same venue. This haircut holds a certain significance to me: I am planning to chop off my long hair for a short cut. I've always wanted to try short hair, but have been too afraid to. However, my experiences in Singapore (I will talk about them in a concluding post) have changed me in that I am no longer afraid to make this leap.

In lab today, I was able to analyze the data with Jianxiang and determine which experiments I needed to repeat. I had six genes whose results were strange, so I repeated my experiments with those genes but with slight moderations to the temperature and the number of cycles (this was to support specific binding)  I ran PCR and a gel for two genes as well as completed PCR for two more genes. By this time, it was 7 PM and I was late to my dinner with Jessica. We had planned to meet at the Tajong Pagar MRT station and head to dinner at Amoy Street (a recommended hawker centre I found online.) After I arrived half an hour later and apologized for my lateness, we walked over to the two-story food centre.

Amoy Street Food Centre

 I ordered the ipoh hor fun ($3) and egg prata ($1.40) for dinner. I wanted to have mutton murtabek again before I left Singapore, but because the Muslim stall did not have it anymore, I settled for the egg prata. Jessica ordered a delicious looking Pad Thai from the Thai food stall. The meal was very delicious, especially the ipoh hor fun. I loved the rich flavors and the sweetness of the dish! The egg prata was a bit disappointing, but it satisfied some of my craving for Indian food.

Ipoh hor fun

My feast of a dinner!

After we ate, we went onto the MRT and separated ways. It was a lonely train ride back home, because for the first time, I felt truly alone in this foreign country. These past few days have allowed me to question what "home" means as well as question myself about what home means to me. I will share my conclusions soon! At the Kent Ridge station, I stopped by Mr. Bean and bought a mocha red bean cake. You would think that I'd be full, but I made room in my stomach to try this lovely dessert. I've been meaning to try the cakes at Mr. Bean, and this was the perfect opportunity to. The cake was an interesting one; it was a mix of the West and the East. The cake was prepared in a Western style, but the layers of red bean and the green tea flavor made it Eastern. The first few bites tasted a bit strange, but eventually the cake tasted delicious.

Perhaps I should have noted that I ate this cake at the PGP lounge, because I planned to continue working on my blog in the lounge. I moved in between rooms in search for a quiet space. Eventually I found one next to the laundry room. During this time, I met the other student in the study room (I randomly asked her where I could buy food at 11 PM, after seeing her with two boxes of pizza); apparently she attends university in Canada and has been working in a lab on campus for the past three months. It's very interesting the diverse people you meet while abroad and how kind they are, as she gave me a slice of her pizza and even offered me more. After conversing for a while, we returned to our respective workloads: I went back to working on my blog and catching up on the 30+ posts I must update, while she worked on her lab presentation the next day. I want to completely update my blog by the time I leave Singapore so that I can analyze my experiences, reach a conclusion, and move on. Hopefully I can do so!

Singapore: Day 58

On Sunday, I tried to sleep in but was unsuccessful. Perhaps it is because of the move to the new room. I woke up around 10 AM and ate the black sesame bun I purchased last night as well as finished my box of longan. This was enough to fuel me through my morning of blogging. I resolved to finish my blog as soon as possible, and spent the day creating first drafts for over 30 entries. Eventually, I became hungry and decided to move to the PGP canteen to do work and eat. I am quite fond of the Vietnamese stall in the canteen, because I have cravings for Vietnamese food often and their stall does not scar me. I ordered pho, which was thankfully almost similar to the pho back home.

Pho

After working in the PGP lounge for a few hours, Nelson texted me about dinner. He was eating in the other canteen, and I went to join him. I ordered the pickled shredded pork noodle from Taipei Delights. I am also very fond of this stall, because they have delicious soup noodles.

Pickled shredded pork noodle

 Nelson and I talked about how strange it was that the Berkeley group was no longer at PGP among many things. Eventually we separated ways, he to badminton while I to my blog. It was going to be a long night, but I was determined.

Singapore: Day 57

I spent most of early morning talking and packing with James, so by the time we separated ways it was 6:45 AM. I woke up again at around 8:30 AM to shower and pack. We had to check out of our current rooms by 10 AM, and in my case, I needed to check out and move into my new room. Because I extended my stay in Singapore for a week past the end of the program, I needed a room to stay in and the best I could find was a non-air conditioned single room for $20 SGD per night. While I was packing, I lost track of time and missed my goodbyes with Emily, Angelo and James. I was only two minutes late, which greatly saddened me. I said my farewell to James earlier this morning, but I did so nonchalantly because I thought I would see him again in a few hours and give him a real goodbye then. What truly saddened me was not being able to see Emily and Angelo, because they both graduated and I will not see them around the Berkeley campus. Emily will be working at UCSD for two years, while Angelo will be searching for employment and working as well. I hope that I did not miss my last chance to see them and that I will see them again in the states.

I went downstairs to the Fire Command Centre to receive my new set of keys. Because I was a bit down, I wandered into the lounge and spent time with Michael, Kate and Annette. It was sad seeing people trickle in and out and saying our goodbyes. Michael, Grace, and Allison left for Bangkok around the afternoon, and that left me, Kate, and Annette in the lounge. Eventually, I returned to packing and moving my luggages into my new room. It was a strenuous process because I had so much to carry (I can't imagine how terrible it'll be when I finish packing for my flight) and my new room was quite a distance away from my current one. Before I left, I took a couple of shots of my room at Block 5, Level 5, Room N as well as the general block.

The room was a mess because I was packing

The kitchen

The hallway. My and Emily's rooms are on the right.

The view from the 5th floor. We usually walked down that hill on our way home.

View from the elevator area

I spent two months in this room, so I was a bit sad to leave (I was more sad that I was leaving my precious air-conditioner and private bathroom.) After I finished moving into my new room, I webcammed with Emmie. I definitely miss her so much, and I can't wait to see her again when I go back to the states!

At 5 PM, I met up with Richard, who had arrived in Singapore earlier in the day. I became acquainted with Richard through the 2013 SASE West Regional Conference at UCSD, and he is studying abroad in Singapore for a year! After finding out that he had recently landed in Singapore, I messaged him so that we could spend time together before I had to leave. He wanted to go to Maxwell Food Centre for dinner and explore the Marina Bay Sands, so we did exactly that. At Maxwell, I ordered sliced fish bee hoon from Jin Hua. I have had fish soup before at Chinese restaurants in the states, but I never had it with noodles. It was sweet and rich in flavor, and very delicious. Maxwell definitely has the most amazing Chinese food! For dessert, I ordered a soya bean curd. Ever since I tried Michael's strawberry bean-curd on Thursday, I've been wanting to order one of my own. I chose the mango flavor, and it was good but the mango and soya flavors were not too compatible.

Sliced fish bee hoon

Mango flavored soya bean curd

Afterwards, we headed to the Marina Bay area. We were surprised by the fireworks showcase and the water and light show. Across the bay was something like a concert, because the arena was filled with people and cheering; I suspect that it is a celebration for Singapore's National Day, which is coming up on August 8. The fireworks were beautiful (sorry that my pictures do not capture the beauty of it, I was too busy gawking at them) because of the design and colors. It was not powerful, like how Americans would blast a large number a fireworks, but instead it was well-designed and elegant. Shortly after the fireworks, Marina Bay Sands had their light and water show. I have been meaning to see the show, because I missed it when I had my Gilman dinner and the others explored the Marina Bay without me. I'm definitely glad that I was able to see it before I left Singapore.

Fireworks!

Light & water show from Marina Bay Sands

Richard and I in front of the beautiful view

 After the light shows, we explored the mall a bit and finally headed outside to walk on the Helix Bridge and venture into Gardens by the Bay. I have to admit that it felt strange exploring Singapore without the Balongongs, because after all they have a strong presence in my Singapore experiences. However I have a few days to myself so I will be able to independently explore this country and not have experiences defined by others.

The Helix Bridge

Gardens by the Bay

Marina Bay Sands

By the time we got back to PGP, it was midnight. I was extremely tired at this point, because I only had little more than an hour of sleep last night. I showered and then went to bed at 2 AM.