Japanese Exchange Student

Just yesterday and the day before, I was asked to tag along to help out with showing an exchange student from Japan around.

\First Day/

Met up with Kaori and her exchange student, Sayaka, over at Orchard Road together with Bjorn who was invited as well. Sayaka-san is currently a First year Nursing student from one of the Universities in Tokyo (Can’t remember the name ^^;) is here for an exchange program. This is actually her second degree.

We had dinner at a local food court. I didn’t eat my dinner as I was actually more concerned on how to communicate with Sayaka-san and lost my appetite. There was a language barrier which I had to overcome.

After dinner, we headed to Kinokuniya over at Takashimaya. Sayaka-san exclaimed that it was exactly like the ones in Tokyo… except that the ones in Tokyo span over 4 floors. That’s 4 floors of Japanese goodness! Which also means lots and lots of Japanese mangas as well!

(Left to Right) Me, Sayaka-san, Kaori, Umehiko, Bjorn

I looked terrible as I was at Comex earlier (PC Fair) where there was alot of walking around ^^;

Made a quick trip to the basement of Takashimaya where Sayaka-san tried out the local variety of ‘Taiyaki’.

Instead of the usual red bean paste, there was Kaya Jam and Butter in it.

Kaya’s that greenish-looking stuff that you see on the left. It’s made with coconut milk, and infused with the aroma and taste of Pandan leaves and contains eggs as well.

Sayaka-san took a bite and said “おしい おいしい！” straight away!

We then bought Sayaka-san to Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay which many locals casually refer it as  “The Durian”. The roof top had a spectacular view of the city skyline.

Couldn’t grab a good shot without the other part of the roof top getting into the way.

After which, we head towards the front of “The Fullerton” Hotel where we were greeted with The Merlion. The Merlion is one of the most well-known tourist icons of Singapore. It’s a very cozy spot as well.

One thing I find funny is how people don’t seem to get tired of the place. There will be people there each night without fail, snapping photos, enjoying the view etc.

Left the place and headed back home.

\Second Day/

We met up again over at Little India where Sayaka-san wanted to get a Sari / Saree <Wiki Link>. I didn’t know Sari were that expensive as there are some which go up to 200 dollars and above @.@ I asked the shop owner on why the difference in prices for Sari and she gave quite a elaborate explanation.

The quality of the cloth, handiwork and the patterns determines the price. Simpler patterns are usually cheaper as they are easier to make and vice versa.

We also visited 2 temples and thereafter, to New Bugis Street.

New Bugis Street consists of alot of concept shops where you can grab alot of cheap clothes and stuff you want to stick in your drawer.

We were there to grab souvenirs instead. There were a lot of souvenirs which consists of some of the famous landmarks of Singapore but most of them are  of average or poor quality handiwork. The high quality ones are hard to find.

These are not fakes as the Singapore Tourism Board grants the usage of the Merlion Symbol so long as certain guidelines are followed <Link>.

Sneaked a shot as I fear of getting beaten up by the shop owners or something.

^ Fear of getting beaten up ^^;

Took some Purikura over at Orchard before going on our separate ways.

\Notes/

Would firstly like to apologize for the lack of pictures. I was taking more of the role of translator instead of a photographer. Communication-wise, there were some hiccups here and there but it was rather okay. I realized that I still need to improve my Japanese vocabulary as it is seriously lacking ^^;

Picture Information: None