87- Malaysia Memories: Cendol and Malaysia

Ah yes, Cendol. Ah yes, Malacca. Such wonderful memories from years past. 

In 2013, I was fortunate enough to have been able to go with my Malaysian friends to Malacca, a well known tourist/cultural destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Malacca is located 148 kilometers away from Kuala Lumpur. I rode with my friends Sharon and Chak there. There's nothing like a trip with friends that promises good dialogue and good food. 

Cendol is a lot like my country's Halo Halo (in the Philippines). Condensed milk, sweet beans, flan, fruit, ice cream, and other wonderful bits of sweetness that complete an all in all amazing experience for your tastebuds. 

A return to Cendol-land is due. 

I'll be on my way back sooner rather than later. 

MC

86- Singapore Memories: Lost

The year is 2009. I was in Singapore with my dad, and youngest sister. 

Dad says,

"You guys have been out all day. That's alright. Just be careful, and meet me in Chinatown at 5pm."

Simple enough, or so my sister and I thought. 

This trip was my mine and my sister's first time in the Lion City. Needless to say, we were in awe at how organized everything was. We were used to dirty MRT stations and overspeeding jeepneys killing it on the roads. Here, things were neat, and in order, and yet, still teeming with life. All in all, everything was beautiful. 

So sister and I made it to Chinatown MRT by around 430pm. At this point, I really was not very well versed yet on so Singapore hawker food culture nor was I all too aware of how it was to be anything more than a lemming-ish tourist. I went with the flow. I followed along- for better or worse. 

This little tryst with my sister and my farher, though, was a deviation from the norm. In all honestly, all this was fun, despite the fact that my sister and I had gotten scolded in the end for "not paying attention to instructions". 

"Meet me by the pagoda in 20 minutes."

Sister and I looked around, and discovered that there were probably 5-10 pagodas in the district we were in. Dad was starting to panic like parents often do. Panic, panic, panic, then, boom! Sister and I finally find where we need to go. Enter a walkway, a mall, then, an escalator. Oh look, there's the pagoda!

Wait, where's dad? 

Wrong spot. Uh oh. 

Look around again, kids. 

We keep scrounging around for answers. I am of the belief that finding the actual meeting spot got harder because of the fact that we knew dad was in panic mode already. After 15 minutes, a period of time that seemed more like light years, we finally found dad. 

"Where've you been?" dad said. 

"Sorry we got lost." I said. 

What followed after this conversation was a great dinner at a restaurant called Yamcha and a lot of laughs.

You've got to love family, family trips, and good food. And oh, Teresa Teng music was playing in my head during the whole thing. 

All in all, a great day in 2009 Singapore.

MC