It's their money what

Date: 31 Aug 2008
Time: 1211 hrs
Place: Rochor NTUC

(both) This typical old uncle wearing white singlet and pants, white haired and bespectacled, was queueing up behind us at the NTUC. In front of us were these two Indian men. Out of the blue he mumbled something to us, something about it being very dangerous for those two Indian men to be carrying a thousand dollar note in cash. And then I said, in Hokkien, "it's their money what."

For a rainy day

Date: 24 Aug 2008
Time: 1405 hrs
Place: Middle Road

It's a rainy day and I'm just outside Prime Centre near the recycling bins when this 40ish guy in t-shirt and jeans walks up to me and says "Hello sir hello sir" and I didn't know what he meant, then he pointed at my paper bag which I was about to throw into the recycling and I gave it to him and he said thanks and walked off into the rain.

the dude of kent

Date: 02 Aug 2008
Time: 1323 hrs
Place: NUS

I was walking outside the Kent Ridge Guild Hall when a man in a blue car drove up to me to ask where the "Kent Ridge Hall" was. I told him I wasn't sure and he drove off.

Battery Auntie

Date: 12 Jul 2008
Time: 1105 hrs
Place: Just outside Carrefour Plaza Singapura

(both) We're outside Carrefour walking quite rapidly towards the taxi-stand and this hip auntie with loose spaghetti curls and make-up dashes up to us to intercept us and ask "Excuse me did you spend $25?" and apparently there is some offer for batteries if you spend above a certain amount. "Do you want to keep your receipt?" and we said yes.

Every mornin' shuttlin'

Date: 23 Jun 2008
Time: 1836 hrs
Place: Harbourfront

The Indian man who took the shuttle bus with me then asked me, "Can I take the same shuttle in the morning?" I told him, "Yes".

every day I'm shuttlin'

Date: 23 Jun 2008
Time: 1815 hrs
Place: Science Park II

I was plugged into my iPod minding my own business when an Indian guy with curly hair wearing a white shirt came up to me and asked "Where does the shuttle go? Can I take the bus?" I told him it went to Harbourfront.

The quay to the puzzle

Date: 02 Jun 2008
Time: 1504 hrs
Place: Near AIA building, Shenton Way

I was walking quite briskly with some friends towards Lau Pa Sat when along comes this rag-tag family, middle-aged mom and dad and teenage boy, quite dressed down and looking out of place downtown. The father was clutching a small piece of paper with the address "One Raffles Quay" and he asked me where it was. (I suspect that the wife probably got tired of walking around randomly and nudged him to ask for directions.) I told him that he should go down the nearest MRT entrance and walk around there as there were pretty obvious signs showing the way, and for good measure I waved in the general direction and set them on their way.

No. I've seen you before.

Date: 28 May 2008
Time: 0936 hrs
Place: Bayview Hotel

I had just crossed the street when this white-haired lady, in singlet and shorts, approaches me from behind and shouts at me, saying "Hello! Can give me one dollar!" I said no, I've seen you before, and she just walked away.

Shuttle bus vamoose

Date: 18 May 2008
Time: 1900 hrs
Place: Grand Copthorne

I was asked by an Indian lady in a blue sari. I was walking quite far from her, about 5 meters away, and she called me over, and she had a piece of paper with the hotel shuttle time table which she couldn't quite read (perhaps she was long-sighted?) I told her the next shuttle would be twenty minutes later at 1915.

I'm still not Rachel!

Date: 15 May 2008
Time: 1528 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) And another skinny Chinese dude in glasses asking for directions to Kam Hoe's desk in Chinese. Argh

I'm not Rachel!

Date: 15 May 2008
Time: 1111 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) And again some bearded guy leaned on the counter to interrupt me typing madly and said "I'm looking for Rachel." I'm so tempted to say "I'm not Rachel and what the heck do I care?!"

Human signboard

Date: 12 May 2008
Time: 1210 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) Ok i'm typing, looking madly busy, and some middle aged woman comes up to me and asks, "hi can you help me I'm looking for Sumiko". !

Delivery in progress...

Date: 6 May 2008
Time: 1712 hrs
Place: The Factory

(sorf) Some middle aged delivery man with gap tooth just swanned up and went "'scuse where's Asiah?" I said over there waving a hand and he never even say thank you!

Walking into a trap

Date: 04 May 2008
Time: 1243 hrs
Place: Bugis Junction junction

(both) We're standing at the traffic light, debating the architectural merits of the old Nafa building / church, waiting for the light to change, when from behind (it's always from behind!) this Caucasian woman, from a pack of 7 or 8 fat middle-aged tourists, all looking very sunburnt, asking "Excuse me where's Bugis Street?" So we pointed her in the direction and we then asked them why they wanted to go there. She said she wanted to get lunch. We then counter-suggested eating at the Bugis Junction basement where it's cooler and there are more choices for food. We might have helped them avert a tourist trap. Unfortunately, as we left, we saw them walking in the direction towards the Bugis Street traffic light.

Time to get a watch!

Date: 03 May 2008
Time: 1450 hrs
Place: Cathay

I was walking outside Cathay from Carrefour carrying rice and a bottle of Ribena, obviously plugged in to my iPod. She was walking on my right, probably a tourist. wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, grey sweater around her waist, and camouflage slippers, carrying some books in an "IXIZ" shopping bag and a big black handbag, probably Indonesian, thirty something. She asked me what time it was. I told her it's 2.50 and she said thank you and we went on to walk in the same direction for a while.

Resultant confusion

Date: 01 May 2008
Time: 1420 hrs
Place: The Factory

I was on my way out of the building at the lobby when this forty-something year old auntie asked me where the Straits Times was and started going on about how she had a meeting about the PSLE results. I told her to head for the lift but also confessed that I did not work there and so she walked off to bother some other person.

Lifted

Date: 22 Apr 2008
Time: 2037 hrs
Place: Across the road from St. Regis

I'm standing at the bus stop when an Indian man in blue overalls approaches me from behind and asks where the Hilton is. I told him to go down the road and turn left. I then noticed that his overalls had the word "Otis" on them. I suppose he was repairing the elevators at the Hilton and got lost? He walked off to his white scooter that was parked just a few meters behind me at the side of the road and rode off.

Lost in sakura mania

Date: 30 Mar 08
Time: 1128 hrs (Tokyo time)
Place: Ueno Park, Tokyo

(both) We are standing in front of a map in Ueno Park and it's the first Sunday since the cherry blossoms have opened and so the park is packed with locals and tourists. We're trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant specialising in eel for lunch. From behind us, an Indian man asks us, "How do you get to the water?" and pointed to the map where the small lake was. So we told him to follow the main path where the cherry blossoms were and at the end of the road would be the lake.

Singapore Slinging

Date: 03 Mar 2008
Time: 1508 hrs
Place: Raffles Place MRT

(sorf) Stuck in the rain at Raffles Place and a chubby, short, blonde American woman tourist asked me where Raffles Hotel was. I told her she should have gone to the City Hall stop instead.

Cookie cutter answer

Date: 01 Mar 2008
Time: 1502 hrs
Place: Isetan Scotts

(both) We'd just purchased Le Creuset pots and were wandering about looking at kitchen gadgets when we saw a little flower shaped vegetable cutter when an Indian lady behind us in a pink sari asks "oh you use this to cut cookies right?" and we said, no, you use this to cut vegetables and make canapes.