Indonesian’s Foolproof Guide to Singapore – Shopping

Setelah sebelumnya berbagi tentang tempat makan dan wisata favorit saya di Singapura, sekarang saya mau sharing tentang toko atau spot belanja favorit saya. Sebenarnya, saya kurang menangkap kenapa turis Indonesia hobi belanja di Singapura. Karena menurut saya barang-barang di Singapura harganya lebih mahal dari di Indonesia atau Malaysia. Sekarangpun beberapa merek yang suka dibeli turis Indonesia lumayan banyak yang sudah tersedia di Indonesia. Memang sih tipe barang dan variasinya lebih lengkap di Singapura, tapi menurut saya harusnya Singapura tidak lagi menjadi tempat belanja yang spesial. Tapi memang saya akui, bahwa Singapura sangat nyaman untuk dikunjungi.

Walaupun belanja di Orchard, Sommerset, dan sekitarnya terlihat sangat instagrammable dengan dekorasi yang selalu berubah setiap saat, tapi hidden gem Singapura ada di balik stasiun-stasiun MRT yang jarang disebut di buku guide. No, I’m not talking about the hipster-ish Haji Lane or Tiong Bahru. Berikut ini saya cantumkan tempat-tempat yang saya rekomendasikan untuk belanja dengan harga yang lebih miring.

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The Pumpkin Season

The last two weeks were pretty exhausting for me. A lot of things happen in a short time and I cannot remember days and dates anymore. It’s a really nice feeling to be home again, waking early in the morning still tucked in a blanket staring at the ceiling while doing nothing. Finally, taking a deep breath.

October is my favorite month, simply because it is my birthday month. So, here’s a couple of things to cheer up the mood.

As a loyal Google Chrome user (who doesn’t?), I fall into the ‘tab abuser’ category. I love opening a lot of tabs and clicking a lot of related links. Palettab is beyond belief, the Chrome Extension combines fonts from Google Fonts and color palette from ColourLovers to create party every time you open a new tab. I’ve been using the extension for a long time and still inspired every single time.

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Naming Fear

A few weeks ago, my friend Mega asked me to watch It on the cinema. Although I thought the movie would be a thriller/mystery, I was a little bit surprised that the movie actually falls to a horror genre. The main ‘ghost’ in the movie takes form as a clown, later known as Pennywise, The Dancing Clown. I, personally, have never really like a clown since I was a kid and would like to define it as ‘disturbing’ and ‘not really pleased to look at’, but never really fear it wholeheartedly. But aside from all the spooky and scary things, I find the movie is quite interesting from the way they approach the word ‘fear’.

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I Don’t Want You to Get The Wrong Idea

I ordered the cheapest coffee on the menu.
Although I don’t drink coffee and don’t know what to expect.
I don’t understand the temperature degree nor thinking the leaves on the cup look nice.
I just thought I need to order something to avoid the awkwardness and nothingness in the air.
You look nice, with the ponytail and the mustard sweater.
Someone must be pulling you off from a fashion magazine.
Although I don’t read that either.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.
Although I will pay for your overpriced apple pie and whatever latte you choose before.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.
You have that look since we got here and my heart, kind of, flutters.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.
But I need to empty this cup hurriedly.
I need to get your friend’s number and I’m afraid that I’m going to fall for you the more seconds I sit in front of you.
Intriguingly looking at your freckles and how you bite your nails.

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.
Although you do look so nice today.
Intriguingly attractive.
Curiously interesting.

That’s it, I really need to go now.

Bertutur dalam Bahasa

Akhir-akhir ini, di mall atau tempat umum lainnya, saya sering bertemu dengan anak kecil yang fasih berbicara dalam Bahasa Inggris. Percakapan dengan anggota keluarganya juga biasanya menggunakan perpaduan Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Inggris. Fenomena ini sebenarnya sudah umum ditemukan dalam pembicaraan anak muda sehari-hari. Sama halnya dengan maraknya majalah remaja yang menggunakan bahasa campuran antara Bahasa Indonesia dan Bahasa Inggris.

Mungkin zaman sekarang, para orang tua ingin mengenalkan anak-anaknya lebih dini kepada bahasa global. Sekolah internasional pun sudah lumayan menjamur di Indonesia sehingga tidak sulit lagi menemukan sekolah yang menggunakan Bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa pengantar. Seketika, panggilan Bu Guru dan Pak Guru digantikan menjadi Miss dan Mister :(

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