I always like traveling for the people I meet, the places I see, the sensory experiences, the stories I imagine, and how just a simple conversation with anyone could be so enriching.

The Brit I met on board and I spoke about Hamsphire, and how he knew Croydon very well cos both towns are of proximity. He had quit his project managing job to go around the world in 17 months, and he was already into his 4th month of wandering. He would be flying home in couple of weeks’ time to chill for 2 weeks, before flying off again to where he left off, and continued on with his journey.

I marveled and display envy openly.

That’s what some of them worked hard for.

It costs him 20, 000 pounds, and of cos, another 10, 000 for emergency backup.

Then, there was the Finnish who gets discounted tickets since he worked for the airline, and he spoke of the places he had been to, and how Vietnam had changed drastically in the past 15 years.

The Australian teacher who just got back from Sa Pa, spoke of her grown daughters.

The Danish family with 3 confident, young boys, who introduced themselves and gave us firm handshakes when they joined us onboard in the middle of the sea, somewhere, out there. They were well-mannered, and really sweet boys, and they enjoyed themselves by jumping into the jellyfish-infested sea from the roof of the junk. And then I thought of the conservative, sheltered way Asians bring their kids up.

The Chinese couple who were on business trip and gave us a chance to hone our mother tongue.

The Vietnamese guide who mistook us as cough, fashion models (cough blind cough), and shared his personal stash of green tea with us, and chatted to us aplenty, giving us backgrounds to his cultures and all.

We spoke of different things, different cultures, had meals together, and it was nice.

I learnt things I never did know, and my narrow horizon just broaden, somehow.

I dealt with the hottest weather I ever encountered in my life (okay, I remember the Australia heat some 16 years ago, but it wasn’t humid like that of Hanoi’s).

I felt so small in the big, big, world out there. I might never have the time, money and chance to see everything, or be everything, and the impulsion of letting my instinct guide me along, is becoming stronger.

Reading NatGeo isn’t helping much either.

Round the world ticket is cheap leh!

***

I am glad to announce I have put on weight from recent days of good food and a growing appetite.

I chomped on a burger, followed by a huge scone during a 3 and half hour meeting with my boss yesterday, and he gave the strangest laugh as he looked on to me munching non-stop.

I just had a set lunch after having an ultrasound done, but am now craving for scones again.

Bah. I missed a session today.

***

Seen and heard:

- It was Changi Airport on a Tuesday morning, when I was queuing up to enter the gate, scanning the load of stuff I bringing on board. My colleague let me go before him and then just as I was about to step forward to place my bag onto the strap, this man hopped right before me and placed his stuff onto the moving belt. As usual, I just stared blankly in shock. Tsk! The audacity! My colleague loudly said to me, “Eh, don’t jump queue can or not?“, which I suppose was said to me but subtlely aimed at the guy before me. Of course the chap was too deaf to hear any of such, or maybe he just didn’t understand English. Just as I was moving forward after he was done, a flood of people from the back suddenly stepped before me and followed what the chap did.

I widened my eyes in mocked horror, and looked on to the aggression helplessly, before the immigration officer saw the wooden statue of horrified Ting, stepped in and asked all of them to queue up.

I had to be careful not to be jousted as I made my way into the flight.

- The flight was taxiing when the lady beside my colleague took out her phone and started chatting. Stunned, she asked the lady to switch it off, and with some help from the younger lady in front of them, and some gesturing, the lady begrudgingly kept her phone.

Just when the plane was revving its engine, ready for take off… *RING RING* and the lady’s phone rang.

My colleague, understandably panicky from the horror stories/myths of aviation, and some other passengers had to intervene to get the very annoyed lady to switch off her phone.

- To anyone wanting to travel to Vietnam, please note that some of their old notes are already not in use anymore. Beware of cab drivers who insist on you to use 100, 000 dong note, so they could give you change. We learnt it the hard way after being given some of these old notes as change. So yeah, we got conned.

- On the return flight, when everyone was strapped to his seat, and the plane was picking up speed for ascend, this lady in her 50s, suddenly stood up and started walking up and down the aisle. The air steward flustered and raised his voice for her to sit down, an advice she failed to heed. So he had to quickly unstrapped himself and rushed to her to  get her to sit down and wear her seat belt. After he had returned to his station, and the plane was just taking off, her younger companion from another aisle turned to watch out for the steward before unbuckling herself and moved across the aisle to a couple of rows behind to change seats.

- I held my breath on the plane when one of the passengers started coughing relentlessly.

I think I am start to brew a cough……..

- Vietnamese women are gorgeous, sweet, demure, and have the greatest smiles. Vietnamese are mostly very humble. The service staff do not speak good English, but just be a little patient and you can see the amount of effort they put in. They are really a sweet bunch. I think the staff at the Ritz Hotel(hohoho!) really left a fabulous, fabulous impression.

- Because of a last minute change, the whole bunch of us had dinner at Bobby Chinn’s, which I thought I wouldn’t have the chance to check out this trip. Thanks Irene for the heads up and brilliant recommendation(though it was my boss’ idea for the last minute change of venue)!

I so wanna marry a half-Chinese, half Egyptian now. So hot lah, with the distinctive widow’s peak…

And yes, the highlight wasn’t the food, but because coincidentally,  Bobby “the man” Chinn was in the restaurant and he came by to the table to say hi.

So hot lah. Giggles. He just returned to Vietnam after popping by Singapore, he said.

Then I saw him on the magazine yesterday, attending LV launch. Speak about coincidence.

***

Over dim sum supper last night, I was told my shift to my new domain hasn’t been all that smooth, apparently due to the 10MB of database of text (pictures not inclusive at the moment) accumulated over the years.

Woops.

Upon visual inspection, I was told I probably don’t need a boob job, before I cautioned him not to be fooled by the hormones and fillets.

Honestly, I am apprehensive, and I ain’t sure. I have people who egged me on, and some (normally those who don’t understand the woes of the small nehs haha) objected to it.

But then a part of me just want to do it so that I don’t look back and think about how I should have done it but I didn’t, and what it would have been if I did.

Somemore not say I got budget, but then got instalment plans and subsidies lah.

Okay, so tomorrow if I have bigger nehs, you will hear about it!