One birthday, two countries

Like most blog posts, I started writing my birthday entry in my head. However, I was in such a state earlier that everything came out sounding like a eulogy.

Rui
Rui at the Melaka Sultanate Palace Museum

I suppose it is something like a parting — me parting with my much loved youth and heading towards a new phase in life. Eeew.

The sunrise found me buried under the covers in Melaka, while the sunset caught me walking towards my brother’s flat in Singapore. This is a novelty that I particularly love about these two countries, that I can just hop on a bus and be in a different country. Having lived in the Philippines all this time, going overseas has always been associated with airplanes, not buses.

This trip to Malacca is in some ways a huge relief. I’ve been so stressed and exhausted in the days leading up to my trip, that the only thing I was looking forward to was sleep. And sleep I did. It was goooooood. Of course, the town is lovely and all, but the sleep was the highlight of the trip.

The trip home, however, was something else. I was so engrossed watching Queer as Folk in my laptop, that when the bus stopped and everybody started piling out with their luggages, I followed suit. I only realized when I’ve walked away from the bus that I got off at the Larkin bus station, and not at the immigration check point. *facepalm* Never thought I could lose a bus. Then again, a lot of things that happen are never what you expect.

That woke me up from my reverie. The short and sweet bus ride back to Singapore became the hop on and hop off tour of Johor, Woodlands and Sengkang. I guess the birthday lesson for this year is that even when you think you’ve lost your way (or your bus), you’d still find a way to get back home.


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13 responses to “One birthday, two countries”

  1. dyanie Avatar

    wow new phase. and talagang sleep ang highlight ng trip mo ah. anyway, ninaaaa, happy happy bdaaay! i was glad na aside from online friends tayo eh, friends din tayo offline hehe. thank you sa mga pagsagot mo sa mga katanungan ko kapag nagtetext/nagchachat ako sayo. iba na talaga ang jetsetter. hehe.

    happy bdaaaay ulit! enjoy!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. cayce Avatar
    cayce

    happy birthday!

  3. dementedchris Avatar
    dementedchris

    A wandering soul takes pleasure in even the smallest detail; I’m glad your birthday gave you lots of moments to savor. Happy bee, Nina!

  4. nina Avatar

    Dyanie: Salamat! Looking forward to our coffee, cream puff, chismis session! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Cayce: Thanks girl! Hope to see you soon ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Dementedchris: Thank you for those lovely lovely words. Can’t wait to see you girls soon!

  5. markku Avatar

    Uy, happy birthday! =) Sarap naman ng celebration, kung saan-saan nakakarating!

  6. Ferdz Avatar

    Happy birthday! Nice way to spend the birthday. On the road ๐Ÿ˜€

  7. di Avatar
    di

    can i just say. i love the travel blogs as much as i love travelling as well.
    googled cambodia for my next trip, and there was your blog.
    thanks for the detailed travel info. and happy birthday!

  8. flipnomad Avatar

    happy birthday!!!

    wish you more money, more travels, more adventures, more new experiences and more new friends ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. ajay Avatar

    Nina, long time no see. Anyway, happy birthday…. 80 more countries to go..or is it more?? hehe. Best wishes always!

  10. AudMraz Avatar

    Happy Belated Birthday, Nina ! ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Cat Avatar

    Eeep. Glad you made it back home safely. I’d probably be the one fool who tries to chase the bus on foot.

    Curious though—how long did it take you from the missed ride to get to the right station? ๐Ÿ˜‰

  12. nina Avatar

    Thanks for all the greets ๐Ÿ˜€

    Cat: Ah, that’s the good part… I lost my bus in a bus interchange so I didn’t have to go far for my next ride ๐Ÿ˜€

  13. […] Lost my bus in Johor Grew another year older and instantly reverted to an idiot. I was too caught up with watching a video on my laptop that when the bus I was riding from Melaka to Singapore pulled up at Johor Bahru’s Larkin bus […]

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