Tony & May from Taiwan

Jaymes & I went to the airport to fetch my Taiwanese friends' children, Tony & May. They are from Kaoshiung. They would be here for 3 weeks to learn English.

I went to the Singapore Visitors' Centre to look for some information. I asked if there is any one-day bus pass for tourists. No. Are there any discounts to entrance fees for tourists at our places of interests? No. Alright, I might as well talk to myself.

We brought the kids home, put down their luggage & off to Marina Square we went. Tony & May had lunch on the plane, they were not hungry, so Jaymes brought them to play bowling.




I went shopping. As I was texting to Chris, a young, pretty Hong Kong lady approached me. She told me in Cantonese that she couldn't find her way back to Oriental Hotel. She had been walking round Marina Square Shopping Mall twice & couldn't see any signs leading to her hotel.

The mall had undergone a major renovation, I am still quite lost in this renovated mall but I agreed to bring her to the hotel.

I tried looking for a sign. There was a small one & it was in English. We followed the arrow indicated on the sign, it led us out of the shopping mall to a door which showed the picture of a flight of stairs. I pushed open the door & the lady exclaimed, " Deem kai we kum ka?" (How come like that?) I could detect fear in her voice. I was scared too when the door opened to a deserted landing. Suddenly I have this feeling that I was being conned into coming here to be robbed.

I swung round to look at the lady. Her face had turned pale. OK. False alarm. She was more frightened that I would rob her! I assured her that it could be the correct way. I opened another door, it led to the stairs. We went up the stairs.

After 3 storeys, I realised it was the wrong way. I apologised & told her we need to walk down the stairs.

Finally we came to a door at the end of the flight of stairs & when I pushed it open, I saw the doorman of Oriental Hotel. The lady was so relieved & thankful. It must have been a scary time for her.

I stayed at The Oriental a few times. I was a member of its Gourmet Club. I love its rooms & especially enjoy dining at the old Cherry Garden. Chris & Jaymes love the coffee house, Cafe de Artiste. I used to write to criticise the service & food outlets of the hotel so much, the former Food & Beverage Manager knows me. When he took up his new job in Vietnam, he emailed me, asking me to visit him there & give feedback. ha ha ha.......

Well, the kids came to look for me at 6pm. I brought them to Suntec City for dinner. I wanted to bring them to the Fountain of Wealth, but a fitness club was having an activity there. We stayed for a while to ogle at the muscular young men. Ok, it's actually me lah. The kids were hurrying me to go for dinner!

Chris came after work to join us for dinner. The Taiwanese kids were tired after dinner, so Jaymes brought them home first.

When Chris & I got home, they had taken their baths & Tony was teaching them Taiwanese mahjong. They had a hilarious time!

May came up to my room to watch TV. Later she fell asleep on my bed. Chris slept in the Entertainment Room as he was going to watch World Cup later. I packed the boys to sleep at 11.50pm & then started doing my work.........