Day 2, 10:00 AM – Little India Tour
“So, all that for a diskette box?” Vince shook his head, perhaps in disbelief. I could not believe he totally dismissed all the trouble I had to go through remembering how it all started. I rolled my eyes, dodging all the drama, just in time for our Little India Spice of Life Experience. Then I shrugged and got off the Trishaw.
A pretty girl welcomed us with scented jasmine garlands and ushered us into the quaint looking bazaar. There were several stalls and boutiques that sold Indian textiles, shoes and accessories, and a few food stalls that served Indian spiced snacks.
The pretty girl with the garland invited Vince to try one of the popular Indian Muslim food called dhosai which were made of crisp, savory and slightly sour rice flour and lentil pancake. From the look on his face, he seemed to have enjoyed the delicacy and the short trivia that the tour guide was dishing out. He even took another piece and shoved it inside his mouth, took everything without even blinking.
“Wow.” I uttered in admiration. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as adventurous as he was, so I just watched him enjoy his snack and for a moment I felt relieved that whatever it was that he ate had made him forget about the diskette box.
“Tastes good.” He said with a mouthful. I shook my head and grinned, then headed off to a few more retail shops. Then he got a handful of some spices and betel nuts as pasalubong for some of his titas who love to cook foreign cuisine. I waited for him to finish his transactions before going back to the Trishaw.
“So how do you find this experience so far?” He asked as soon as the driver started pedalling.
“Interesting.” I quickly replied. He made a face and smirked at me. Come on, was all over his face. I smiled and added, “Well I have you to keep me entertained.”
“Wow! That’s great!” He replied faking a wounded expression.
“Oh, it’s so much better than that.” I retorted twitching his arm. Vince started screeching like a baby, reached for my neck with his left arm, which was stretched behind me that time and started tickling my nape. I began fidgeting in my seat, letting out a few squirmy laughter while telling him to stop. Vince finally did when we noticed that the passengers from other Trishaws were staring at us. We both giggled silently to ourselves. It turned out that the ride wasn’t really that bad. In fact, it was a great way to explore the streets of Singapore and experience its colorful, dynamic and rich culture
“Thank you for spending time with me.” he whispered.
“My pleasure.” I replied.
We were silent for a while, enjoying the sights and sounds of Little India. We saw a few more colorful stores as we drove along Serangoon Road and passed by a few conservation houses. Vince made casual conversation with the Trishaw driver who gave us a little history about the buildings. The driver said that many of the buildings were restored to look exactly as they were originally built. And I think they were pretty amazing actually. A side of Singapore that not so many people know about, unless you experience it first hand. The aroma of spices, colorful sights and music of Singapore’s Indian community has pretty much left an interesting impression on me as we circled back to Bugis area.
“What is it about me that you liked so much?” Vince asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.
“You never give up do you?” I said almost choking on own spit.
“No. Apparently not.” He continued nonchalantly. I looked into his eyes before responding. Searching for some clue why he wanted to know after all these years. But he just blankly stared back at me. I looked away and finally said, “I don’t know Vince. I still don’t.
