Vacation

I am recruiting people (mostly my relatives) to come on vacation with me. I know it sounds sooo unlikely because I am mostly a solo traveler but two weeks ago I told my cousin and cousin-in-law the sweet spot for people like me is either alone or 3-4 pax. I am mostly YOLO. I am OK doing cheap or somewhat expensive but I just don’t like babysitting people’s asses and having to feel responsible for them. Those with anxiety are worse. (And I have anxiety sometimes but it never shows on my face!) My sister is 50-50 (told her she had to be there because if I died during the holiday she’d be around to still bring my body home in 56D.. (was a joke am sure they’d stick me in cargo) I don’t want to be cremated.. morbid I know but it’s how the Sagittarius live!). My 23 year old niece (actually in anglo they call this ‘first cousin once removed’) is game. We’re similar to each other. We sleep a lot. She has her doudou from when she was a baby which she brings on vacation… the doudou is no longer a doudou it’s just scraps of fabric by now. LET ME FIND A PICTURE.

There we go. Hahaha!!

I didn’t have a doudou growing up because my sleeping pattern was more about having a body (alive) beside me. It’s not the case now. I don’t mind my cats on me while I sleep. I have a few doudous now (I think after my dad died I was just lost so I hung on to my doudous for comfort when I went out).

They are the Monoprix ones! Let me find a photo to give you an idea. So Aurore gave me two for Christmas 2022. I flew with one in my suitcase and one on my person from Paris back home. I lost one in Don Meuang in 2023 which Chappy said in Malay, no less, it was already prostituted (dilacurkan).

I know it sounds bratty of me but this thing ‘just’ costs maybe €9.90 to €15.90 each and I didn’t want the taobao version. And it’s not easy to find in Monoprix stores. It’s made in China of course. Let me look. So last year S sent me 2 new ones via FedEx hahahah. Got to get the French la to buy. You ask any Asian to go Monoprix they’re always like where where which Monoprix. Paris one got? You’re there you lah look for it!

So anyway back to vacation. I think flying is the part I dislike the most. I try to break my flights into 2 legs because of because haahah. Some routes I just don’t like and there is no explanation for it. Example I prefer to go from Singapore to the Middle East then a 3-hour layover then fly to North America or Europe, rather than Singapore straight to Europe to N. America. I flew once to Paris 13 hours direct from Singapore. It was not fun. Then my French driver’s car battery died before he got to the airport to fetch me but I got to have a quick breakfast at CDG and shop a bit even got my phone sorted. The next time I flew to Paris someone asked if I had gotten a driver. I said I’d just take the taxi or Uber to my destination. Like whatever it was it would be €200 thereabouts. She’s like you’re crazy. So she got me a driver. I didn’t like him as much as I liked the first driver. But the second dude was more used to driving important men so he probably didn’t know what to do with a woman in a faux fur winter jacket.. plus I landed at night. It was €170.

Gulf airlines for me are better than my national carrier though my national carrier has a fresh smelling cabin. It smells sterilised. My friends lose their minds when I appear off grid but when you’re flying over restricted areas/territories I’m sure even biz class doesn’t get WiFi lah. I don’t understand them sometimes. You talk to me all the time! Let me go and vacation.

Aside from recipes I clip places I want to visit. There’s even a folder on my Google Drive for it. One of my relatives wants to do a train ride somewhere in Northern Europe but because of the Ukraine war that’s out of the question now. I haven’t found my dream vacation but I like very old cities, buildings, museums, bookstores, and trying new food so most of my holidays are planned around those. Nothing too strenuous. Nothing ever too serious.

I had rabbit in a restaurant about 40 miles southeast of France. Then people would ask did you eat snails did you eat snails. Pshh. I like snails even in Singapore.. but if you’re talking like the French style escargots with butter and a bit of parsley yes, those too. Both in a restaurant and I had some frozen ones from Franprix. Just popped them in the oven. The difference was minor. So maybe should have gotten them from Picard. Hehe.

One time I was having dinner in an Italian restaurant in France with friends and I said my drink was a virgin mojito. The restaurant gave me actual mojito and I said you need to change cause there’s alcohol in it. The guy was like you need it, darling.. so if God ever asks me this in future I will ask him to rewind the tape ar!!

I hated Chinese tea when I was a kid but on a trip to Shanghai they were coming out of winter and the weather was still very cold so when I drank that it was refreshing. I drink pu er now in Chinese restaurants.

Anyway I am telling you all these because apparently some people think I spend my time talking about them. I don’t. I have no interest in other people’s lives aside from my own.. my family’s.. my cousins’… my own friends’. I like celebrity gossip (but don’t care for Blake Lively drama) but I don’t like gossip about some random people I know. You’re not interesting! We are on earth for a limited time. I refuse to spend it thinking and talking about people I dislike. If I know any information about you it’s because people talk at and to me. Then I just hmm and haw la. But your shit isn’t something to write home about la. Get a life.