💾 Archived View for rawtext.club › ~jmq › news › 2016-06-02-wake-day2.gmi captured on 2023-09-08 at 17:58:40. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2023-01-29)
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After carrying around a bag of old pens for donation to the bin outside PC Commons and not finding the chance to drop them off for several days, I finally went out this morning and emptied the bag, which lightened my load ahead of a long walk through NUS and back along Dover Road. A couple hours later, Mom and I started out on the same route but then went through Kent Vale to catch the 143 bus on West Coast Road. We rode on the upper deck of a double-decker bus and only climbed downstairs once the bus had made its first stop on Kampong Bahru Road.
At the chapel of repose Katherine was already there ready to greet the expected visitors. Arlene had baked some chocolate rum cake and sliced it up for wide distribution among friends and family. Mom's contribution of a fruit bowl from our refrigerator surplus meant that we were well supplied in the sweets department, but somewhat lacking in the savory department. Aunt Jo and Uncle John would try to plug this gap by picking up some food on their way to St. Teresa's.
Among the guests who arrived shortly after lunch was Lily Wong from the Environmental Management and Sustainability program. Lily happened to have a spare ticket to the indoor exhibits of Gardens By The Bay that she wanted to give away before it expired this evening. I volunteered to take advantage of the ticket, so I left the wake shortly after the mid-day prayers and walked to the Harbourfront MRT.
The shorter route to the Bayfront MRT would have involved a transfer from the Northeast Line to the Circle Line, but I set out instead on the Circle Line at the very beginning. By the time the train pulled up to the Kent Ridge station, I had lost the necessary patience to endure the rest of the roundabout trip, so I exited and went back to the RC4 apartment to unload my bag and brush teeth.
At 16:24 I set out again, this time taking Dover Road to the Buona Vista station. I rode the train along the greater part of the Circle Line until reaching the Bayfront MRT. The signage guided me easily to the appropriate exit, and soon I was wandering along the paths through heritage gardens (Malay, Chinese, and Indian) on my way to the ticketed indoor exhibits. Today I only had time for Cloud Forest, but I didn't mind missing out on the Flower Dome because I had seen it 18 months ago, and at the time I had promised myself not to come back without a proper camera. In the three weeks I have left, surely there will be time to make another trip with the necessary picture-taking equipment.