17 June - Beginning of a new life (Day 150)

I went back to work in the morning. Just to finish up some of my work. Few of the colleagues who saw me at the corridor were surprised and delighted to see me again. But really, this is the LAST TIME. I still remembered last night at the pub, we were still hanging around outside after the pub had closed. It was 1am in the morning and we were holding a bottle of beer each in hand, standing there chatting.

I left shortly after lunch to catch the train at 2pm. I knew I am embarking on a new journey now; 3 weeks of Europe tour. And once back in SG, I would be in my final year and there are so many things that I would like to achieve. It will be a very exciting beginning for me. But I can't help but feel reluctant to close this chapter of my struggle, joy, experience in France.

150 days had passed. I had endured, suffered, enjoyed, learned and grew in France.

From feeling depressed, to being pressurised to finish up the experiments, I went through all sorts of emotions which no matter how much I had written down in this short journal, they wouldn't be understood completely. Only when reading them again many years from now would I be able to revive these past memories of growing up.

I am sure some of the things that I promised here would be forgotten or taken for granted once I am back in SG. But I am sure I had changed somewhat now. As what Anatole said, good or bad experiences, they are still valuable and are treasures we could take away with.

A mes amis de France, merci beaucoup. Au revoir.

16 June - Last Day (Day 149)

Last day! I never thought things would move so fast. I continued to work on the amendments in the morning. Having done the bulk of it, I suddenly thought of going to the bank to withdraw most of my money. This is because I am restricted to withdrawing just 200 euros per week from the ATM and from the experience in Germany, some pubs do not accept VISA. Hence I went to take the bus to town centre. I had one unused bus ticket and didn’t want to use it. I wanted to use it on my last day, which is tomorrow when I take the bus to the train station. 2 stops before my destination, 5 or 6 men in black suits hopped onto the bus and said, “ticket sil vous plait” (ticket please). SHIT!!! Never had I seen these people in action before and I started to panic.

I didn’t even have to chance to alight before one of them asked for my ticket. I gave him my unpunched ticket praying that he would overlook. But he didn’t. He asked why I didn’t punch and that’s when I started to act blur and pretend not to understand. He was persistent and asked me to get off the bus. There were 2 more guys who got caught. That man in black said I had to pay 25 euros fine and I just kept acting blur. He then asked where do I stay and still acted as if I don’t understand. I showed him my empty wallet and he asked me to go and withdraw money. Before that, he demanded I surrender my student card. No choice, I gave him and went to withdraw money.

On the way, I wanted to just ran off and never return but my student card will be with him. In the end, I still guai guai pay up the fine. 25 euros!!! Super suai. I remember chatting with XP about cheating the bus and metro in France/Germany. She said it is always on the last days when people would be caught. She got friend who also gana like that. Herself had similar encounter. She was with friends in Paris and they cheated the metro. But on the last day, they decided not to and that’s when the conductor appeared. Haha. She really very accurate. That’s what I got. I had cheated about 20 times and that meant I had saved 22 euros. Paying that fine meant I paid 3 euros more. Still, I felt dulan about it but can only blame myself.

Back in the office, I told hui about my unlucky experience. Once again, I felt worse after telling him that. He always has the “talent” of making me feel more miserable than I already was. He kept telling me that 25 euros was not worth it. Come on, which FINE is worth paying? For the 50 euros taxi fare which I paid, he even converted to 120 SGD just to spike me perhaps. I don’t know. Being a sensitive person, I thought he should be good enough to care about my feelings. But apparently, he doesn’t. It seems as though it makes him feel better when I feel worse. I don’t know. I hope I am wrong to judge him that way. But to prevent myself from being hurt by him further, I wouldn’t want to share my worries and woes with him in future. Just happy things and my joys.

It was my last lunch here and I ate with the 2 Nico and Mr. Giant. Halfway through, Anatole came and said we never “jio” him. In fact, they did but he was on the phone. But still we didn’t wait for him. After lunch, Anatole came and talked to me about the cleaning up of my work. Once again he praised me that I had done a really great job. He said that some of the guys were asking him, “what is this guy doing after his attachment? Is he coming back?” I am so glad to see my work being appreciated and recognised once again. There is one last important work I had to do which is to ask Sebastien about the installation of MEZUL. I have to document it so that future students can benefit from it.

I went to see Mathilde a few times to borrow some stationery. She asked me if her English has improved and I said I noticed that. She was really delighted. But still she said “furniture” instead of “stationery”. Halfway through my work, I went to call home and told them that it is hard for me to call them now and then while travelling. But I will send an sms to my dad whenever I get to a new place. I told mum that I am a bit reluctant to come home. After talking for a while, I went back to office and sent out a final departure email to everyone; not just those from Project Siames but also all the other people whom I met while conducting the experiments. I also gave them my personal email so that they can contact me if they were to come to my region. Some of them even added me to their msn which means we can still continue to stay in touch.

Many of them replied saying that it was fun to have me here and would definitely call me up if they ever come to SG. Surprisingly Mathilde replied and said she will contact me if she comes to SG. At the end of the day, I went around taking pics of the people and of course Mathilde. She said she will add me to her msn and say we can continue to stay in touch like this. Great. I will miss her because of her bubbly personality. It was really a sad parting moment as most likely I wouldn’t be able to see them in the near future. But still I have to leave. At the end of the day, Seb was still very busy with his work and I asked him if I can see him tomorrow morning. He said sure. Means I have to come back and work in the morning.

After saying goodbyes and taking some pics, I went back to INSA and started to pack my luggage. At around 10pm, I went to the soccer field to look for the rest of the guys. After they finished their game, most of them came and wished me bon voyage and they felt it was a pity that I didn’t play soccer for one last time. Even those people from other project groups wanted me to play for the last time. But really I don’t want to risk an injury and also I needed to pack my luggage. Even for those guys whom I never really know much came and bid me goodbye. Jean-Marie apologised for not speaking to me often because he really dislikes speaking English. Haha. Never mind. I told the guys again that if they were to be in SG for conference, do not hesitate to call me up.

I left with Anatole to the Irish Pub. In the end, only a few turned up because my invitation was too last minute. There were Nico, Mr. Giant, Vincent Gramoli from another team, Anatole and Fabrice who came quite late. Vincent Quester from my team who agreed to come didn’t turn up in the end. Julien Perret too, didn’t turn up because he had 4 articles to review by tomorrow. It was really an amazing feeling at the pub. I talked about my experience here, how wonderful things are. Anatole wanted me to speak freely about him. The only complain was he was always not around and I would sometimes be quite lost in my work. I then asked him to speak freely to me about my personality and anything that I can improve on. He said everything I did was perfect and he had nothing to worry about when supervising me. The only thing he felt I can improve on is he realised that I needed clear instructions in order to perform my task. I told him I realised this too. I should start to think more on my own than to rely on him for orders. Well quite typical SG style. Spoon-feeding.

I can’t carry on typing now because I am a bit drunk now. Second, I can’t put the emotions I have now into words. I have an attached feeling for the place now but on the other hand, I wanted to return to SG soon. I am really quite torn apart. After so much bad experiences here, I didn’t know that I would still like the place so much and feel reluctant to leave. Must be the people of Project Siames. I shall stop here now because there is no way I can describe my feelings now in words.

15 June - Cambodia Teochew (Day 148)

Finally back in office from a wonderful trip in Germany. Well, I had no idea what to do for the remaining 2 days in office. I remember Anatole wanted to talk to me about the results of the experiment and so I had to wait for him. Hence while waiting, all the while I was doing my personal stuffs like typing blog, uploading pictures, etc. He came near lunch and asked about my Germany trip. He then said that he would treat me a restaurant tomorrow night for the wonderful job I had done here. But of course I declined. Still I would want to have a dinner with him tomorrow. Tonight was not possible because I had something on. One of my participants, a student from INSA invited me to his house for dinner. He is a Cambodia Teochew called Kwan Meng.

During lunch, I told the guys about my adventures in Germany, esp. the random sex in the hostel. As my last day gets nearer, I felt that I wanted to talk more to the guys here. After lunch I continued to zobo until Anatole came and told me that he had just talked to the other guy, Jean-Marie about my data. He told me to make some changes and said that tomorrow he would need to do a final clean up of everything. He said I could ask the people in Siames to join us for the dinner tomorrow night too. I went around asking the guys and realised that their soccer only ends at 10pm! That meant that we could only have a drink. Hence, I sent out an email telling the guys that we will be having a drink at O’Conneil the Irish Pub at 1030pm tomorrow. It was already 5pm then and the response wasn’t good as it was too last minute.

I left the office to meet Kwan Meng who drove to INSA to pick me up. He said he also invited another Cambodian Chinese, named Hui Zheng who came to INSA for one year of Masters study. Soon we reached his house which was a bungalow in fact. First we met his mother, a fat cheerful lady. Then his father, a short, tan and also very friendly man. Luckily his parents can speak Mandarin because they speak Teochew at home. In fact, the parents spoke better Mandarin than Kwan Meng, who was actually born in France. As for Hui Zheng, he spoke very good Chinese because half of his education was at a Hua Xiao, or Chinese School. And he watched a lot of HK, Taiwan and Channel 8 variety shows. He liked Wu Zhong Xian as much as I do and he listens to 933 too!!! Even here, he listens to 933. Wah. I didn’t know Cambodia has access to all these. I always thought they were poor and backwards. In fact, Kwan Meng’s family is quite well to do because his father is a businessman.

I then realised that they were staying at the border, called Jin Bian. Kwan Meng is going to Cambodia tomorrow for 2 months of attachment, and will be going to the university where Hui Zheng used to study. After that, he would perhaps visit China. In fact, he had already been to China when he was 17, alone!!! His mother told me he always likes to go travelling on his own. Very wu ji. Kwan Meng said he is keen to find out the root of Teochew. I told him me too and he said we could organise a trip together to the hometown of the Teochews. It was time for dinner and his mother made some traditional Teochew dishes which I had never eaten before. I guess these dishes contain Cambodian-taste and hence not really traditional Chinese Teochew dishes.

I learnt that Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos were all once French colonies and when the communist party Rouge Khmer (I think spell like that) came into power, a lot of them fled the country. So his parents fled to France and were refuges here (nan ming, that’s what they called themselves). That happened in the mid 70s. Something new to me. One of the dishes was really special. It is Bopiah or spring roll. But the way to eat it is unique. I had to wrap it with cabbage, xiang cai, and some dong fen, then dipped into a bowl of don’t know what funny water with chilli seeds. It was tasty but nothing special except the troublesome way of eating it. We also had sui jiao mian.
They asked me about SG but actually they knew more about SG’s in the olden days than me. Kwan Meng asked if I watch Wang Sa Ye Feng comedy and I said rarely. He said he has the VCD and find them super funny. Of course lah, their jokes are all in Teochew mah. I can understand just a bit. But after this meal, I think I would want to pick up my Teochew from now on. While eating with them, they were all conversing in Teochew and I had a feeling of eating Reunion Dinner because I only meet my paternal relatives during CNY and they always speak Teochew.

Soon it was time to leave because Kwan Meng hadn’t packed his luggage for tomorrow. They had a cherry tree outside his house and his mother just plucked some for us to try. It was very fresh but not very sweet because according to Kwan Meng, it would only be sweet next week. His mum said once ripe, they can pluck them and sell at good price. Kwan Meng then drove us back. It was really a big bonus to get to know these 2 Cambodians. All thanks to the experiments that I had to conduct. We exchanged personal emails and said will visit one another some day. I would want to go to Cambodia because they have that Ang Kort don’t know what old palace which is world famous. Another thing that I learnt is that these people from the poorer countries are actually not as backward as we think (or at least as I think). His mother who is working in France, travel around Europe every year because she has 5 weeks of leaves. But their taxes are very high. Income tax is about 25%. That explains why they have so much family aids, free education, medical subsidies. Anyway, now I am beginning to collect emails of international friends and hopefully I can build a worldwide network of friends.

14 June - Germany Trip Part 5 (Day 147)

I had nothing much to do in the airport and hence took out the book to read. It was still about Christianity but still quite interesting. While checking in, the lady at the counter questioned my purpose of going France. She said my VISA had some problem and wanted to see my air ticket back to SG. I told her it was in France. The same issue occurred when I entered Munich. I had to tell them that my SG passport allows me to travel in any part of EU for up to 90 days. They then will check in their system or online about this fact. Really, SG passport is not that powerful after all. And Swiss Airline really is not very professional. For 2 times they had change the boarding gates. But good thing was they give Swiss chocolate on board.
While transiting at Zurich airport, there was a thunderstorm and our flight was delayed for 45min! I had a train to catch in Paris and would really be in deep shit if I were to miss it. It was the last train. When I arrived at Paris airport, I regretted not bringing my backpack on board. I was too lazy to drag it up the plane. Hence I wasted another 10min waiting at the luggage collection and was horrified to see that my backpack was completely wet.
I rushed to take the airport express at 755pm but they told me the bus would only leave in 20min time. And it would take 1hr to reach the train station. My last train was at 905pm. Dead. They told me to take the cab and get a refund of the bus ticket later. I hoped on the taxi and told the driver that I needed to get to Montparnasse by 9pm. He driver was still happily driving slowly, taking his own sweet time until I tapped his shoulder and showed him my train ticket and a note I wrote in French.
“Paris Montparnasse, avant 2100hrs. Train!”

That was when he realised my urgency and started to speed and overtaking other cars. Once the taxi reached Paris city centre, it was slowed down by the traffic again. Dead. Sure die. In the end, I reached the train station at 903pm. The taxi fare was a freaking 53euros. Over $100! Costliest taxi I ever taken! But I couldn’t care. I ran to the platform, punched my ticket, jumped onto the train before the door closed. Yet another exciting train adventure.

On the train ride back, I begin thinking about the happenings over the past 4 days in Germany. Some of the things I found out:

1. People there are: Tall and big size. Girls not pretty. French girls more beautiful
2. Language: Difficult. Very long words. But English is very common.
3. Food: Beer and sausages. And very salty.
4. City: More traffic, more modern. Less medieval stuffs. Bustling night life.
5. Culture: people don’t kiss on cheeks, don’t shake hands.
6. History: WWII, Berlin Wall, Prussia
7. Experience: Youth hostel, transportation.
8. XP: Great to do some catching up with someone. She is still quite mysterious. Knew nothing much about her. Just a bit more. Very easy-going and soft kind of girl. No big emotions.
9. Spent a lot. Entire trip plus air tickets, train, etc. about 600 euros.

PS: After returning to Singapore, I met up with XP a few times and had become closer. Through her, I got to know other canoeing girls like lin and shihui, and had been in touch now and then.

13 June - Germany Trip Part 4 (Day 146)

We had to part when we reached Munich train station as XP still has a meeting later. For me, I checked in to the youth hostel she recommended. At the breakfast table, I met a friendly Japanese guy. He said there are nice places in Germany besides Berlin and Munich which are worth visiting. These cities, or rather towns are not famous, but had very beautiful scenery.

While queuing up to buy the train ticket at the station, an old lady behind me suddenly poked me with her umbrella. She asked if I speak German and I said no. Then she said, “Oh, I can speak English!” As if she suddenly remembered that she knows the language. She asked me how to get to Fussen town, and I told her all I knew, since I was going there as well. Indeed, almost everyone can speak English here.

It was rather troublesome to get to the Neuschwanstein Castle, as much trouble as pronouncing it (New-Swan-Stein). First, I had to get to Fussen town. Then take bus no. 76 or 78. Then take a horse carriage or bus up the mountain.

In the train, there were a tour group and as a cheapo, I eavesdropped on the tour guide’s introduction of the castle to group. This castle was built sometime in the early 19th century by a king who turned mad. He wanted to castle to be built in the mountain, completely isolating himself from others. It was one of the grandest castles ever built and Walt Disney used it as a model when they built the Sleeping Beauty Castle for Disneyland.

When I reached there, I could see the magnificent castle standing aloofly on the mountain. That was when I realised I used to have a 1000 pcs jigsaw puzzle of it. 10 years ago I guess. Wonder where that puzzle is right now. The place was packed with tourists and we had to enter in batches. Each batch will be lead by a guide. In the past, swans were associated with the royalties, and hence there were many swan portraits in the castle. It also explains the name of the castle.

After touring the inside of the castle, I went walking around the surroundings and came to this Mary Bridge, which was hanging precariously between 2 mountain passes. From there, I had a great full view of the castle. I also tried one of the stalls selling German doughnut. At first I thought the white color seed on top were sesame seeds. But they turned out to be salt! Damn salty.
My return train was at 405pm. Definitely would not return on time to meet XP at 6pm. As such, I tried calling her but there was a German voice at the other end. I didn’t understand what he was saying and asked someone nearby if he could translate for me. He said he doesn’t speak English. I asked if he speaks German. He said no. I tried French, he said no again. Kao! What you then, damn it! I was sure that I would miss XP at the train station.

I reached the train station at 630pm and since I couldn’t find her there, I decided to make my way to her apartment. With what little navigation skills I have, I found her place at 7pm. No one answered the door. Her flatmate was not around too. I decided to return to the train station to wait for her and that’s when I bumped into her returning from work. She had left my number in the house and so had come back to get it. What luck.
She was really tired after work and hence I didn’t stay long at her place. Had wanted to ask her out for dinner but I could see she was really exhausted. So I just aimlessly walked around the city centre, but it was no fun at all. Touring a place alone is always very lonely. There was a street performance playing violin, clarinet, cello, and it was a very sad tune. Adding more sadness in my depressing mood.

On the way back to hostel, met a lady who stopped me. Asked me where I from. Feeling lonely, I decided to talk to her. She asked if I am a Buddhist and I said yes. Then she gave me a booklet titled “In search of a Father” and said it is about Buddhism. Haha. Auntie, you sure? Anyway, she told me read it and after that write to one of their headquarters for comments. Nearest one is in KL. She said hopefully in the end, when all the wicked people are dead, she would see me again. I am pretty sure this is not about Buddhism but still I felt happy talking to her and decided to read it later in the hostel since it was still early.

Back in the hostel, I talked to this American from Arizona and we shared some of our traveling experiences so far. Pretty cool guy. He learnt that I would be in Amsterdam in June and he said he might be there too. Hence we exchanged email and hoped to remain in touch. We did briefly, after I came back to Singapore. These Americans are true backpackers. They would work part time during summer vacation and then used up all their savings to go on a trip. Once they ran out of money, they would return home. I also found out from him that it is quite convenient to take a ferry from the southern tip of Spain to Morocco. After chatting with him for 2hrs, I felt much better and less lonely.

12 June - Germany Trip Part 3 (Day 145)

We both felt refreshing after a good night rest. I told her about the sex incident last night while we were having our breakfast buffet. Would be really embarrassing if she were to be present last night. We visited the grand palace built by Fedrick the Great. With the audio guide, it was easy to navigate around the palace, going from room to room. And in each room, the guide would relate some historical events. And there would be classical music played in the background during the narration. I like the ballroom especially. I almost felt like dancing then.
After visiting the palace, we went for a short stroll in the garden and then we broke for lunch. At the restaurant, all the waiters and waitresses spoke English. It was really easier to live here than in France. That was the reason why XP stopped her German lessons after 2 classes. I guess there is just no need for it. It was not easy for me to strike a conversation with XP, as she is of a quiet nature. Hence, I spilled out all the secrets that I knew about RV canoeing guys, in order to interest her. Sigh… I am one 重色轻友 guy.

We went back to Checkpoint Charlie, which we had briefly passed by yesterday. There were 2 female “soldiers” at the checkpoint, taking pictures with tourists for just 1 euro. And you can take as many pictures as you wish. We also visited an artist’s work in memory of the Jews died in Berlin. On a small piece of land, he created many blocks, each representing a Jewish life lost. The entire place was like a maze.

The Pegamon Museum was an eye-opener, with so many different civilizations all in one place. The Greeks, Mesopotamia, Babylon, etc. But it was too much info with too little time. No wonder Nico’s girlfriend needed to read the guide book before visiting.

Near the evening, we went to the Parliament House and had to queue for 45min before entering. It would be much longer had we not cut the queue. The security check was very strict and it took us another 10min or so to be cleared. At the highest level, we had a bird’s eye view of Berlin. But it was nothing much actually. We returned to the youth hostel and packed up; ready to return to Munich. Our only common interests were canoe and entertainment news. Nothing much was told to me about her. I did tell her a great deal about me though. The night train back to Munich was worse. Our seats were near the toilet, which was in the middle of 2 cars. So every time someone needs to use the toilet, I would be woken by their closing and opening of the door. Very light sleeper indeed.

11 June - Germany Trip Part 2 (Day 144)

Upon arrival, we checked in to a very big youth hostel. It was recently opened in April and the facilities were all very new. It was during registration that I realised she held a Malaysian passport. This showed how little I knew about her. She picked a female dormitory while I went for a mixed dorm. She had bad experience last time in a mixed dorm because the guys were snoring away. I would be experiencing worse later on.

After some washing up, we had our breakfast at a small coffeehouse. Sitting by the window, we were deciding whether to join the walking tour as it was drizzling. In the end, we went for the tour which was very informative and entertaining. Most of the tourists were Americans, and our guide was a Scottish. His thick Scottish accent took me quite a while to get used to.
Although the tour was only half a day, it was very enriching as the guide was very experience. It was in fact a historical tour, with the timeline starting from rise of Prussia, to WWII, to the Cold War and ending with the tearing down of Berlin Wall. He told us a great deal on Federick the Great, one of the most famous German kings. But why was he The Great, I have cleanly forgotten by now. I guessed he was the one who made Prussia powerful. By the way, Prussia was the northern Germany in the past, and Bavaria together with Austria was the southern part.

The guide also brought us to this carpark behind a condominium and said that this used to be the bunker where Hilter committed suicide following the surrender of Germany. He also shared with us some info on the Nazi and the SS but they don’t ring a bell now. The only thing that I could still remember vaguely is the Berlin Wall. After WWII, Germany was divided into 2, West and East, with the Allies controlling West and Soviet controlling East. Berlin itself was torn into 2 as well. In fact, Berlin was situated in East Germany, and hence people in West Berlin were kind of stranded.

As communism was crippling East Germany, many professionals in East Berlin fled to the West. This resulted in a talent drain and as such, the East ordered a wall to be erected and placed guards there. The Berlin Wall was not a single wall. It was in fact 2 walls, one on the West territory, the other on the East. The middle ground is known as Death Strip, or No Man’s Land.

Despite the risk of being shot, many still took their chances to cross the No Man’s Land. The Easterners wanted to escape from the communists, the Westerners wanted to visit their love ones who were still trapped in the East. There were many casualties of course. At the end of Cold War, the communist government of East Germany was crumpling. People could sense that freedom finally had arrived and thus gathered at the Wall. During the press conference, the East government was pressurized by international media’s questions on the dire situation of the country. In the end, whoever the decision maker for the East at the time, broke down and answered “yes”, the Wall will be opened.

It was immediately broadcast all over the country. One student climbed on top of the Wall, took a sledgehammer and slammed it against the Wall, producing a crack. He was immediately shot down by the guard using a water gun. Another student took his place. He was shot down as well. But there were thousands in line to do the job. None of the guards dared to fire a single round, as they heard the broadcast themselves. It was chaos then. A good kind of chaos as everyone, women and children did all they could to break the wall. Soon, the Berlin Wall was demolished. The Cold War was over.

It was touching story on how people in the past who were deprived of freedom, fought and attained it in the end. As a finale, the guide gave a summary of what he had shared with us whole morning, in a quick 90sec. He earned himself round of applause from us and some tips from a few tourists.
After the tour, we went in search of the famous CurryWurst in the city centre of Berlin. We found this out from the guide book but to our disappointment, it was not a restaurant as we had expected. It was just a roadside stall near a cross junction. And it was nothing special. Sausage with curry powder. Then we went shopping in a large shopping mall, something like the Takashimaya in Orchard. It was the first time I entered a shopping mall in Europe. It would be silly to spend our time in shopping mall like this and hence we decided to visit the Jewish Museum. I had a glimpse on how hard lives were for the Jews, from the past till recent years. How they were made scapegoats for every little disasters happening in Europe, from The Plague, The Great Depression, The War and so on.

After that, we returned to hostel to bathe and rest. XP had caught a cold while walking in the rain and made herself a cup of Panadol Lemon Tea. I had no problem with rain. I was from Brittany after all. Having rested a bit, we decided to explore the night life of Berlin. I had info that the night life was crazy, with sex pubs everywhere. People literally perform sex on stage in those pubs. But both of us were not really into such adventures, and moreover she was feeling rather unwell, and hence we opted for an Irish pub. There we exchanged gossips about our teammates and speculated a few scandals.

At 1130pm, we decided to call it a day. I returned to the 8-men dorm and found that I was the only one back by that time. I guess most people would exploit Berlin nightlife to the fullest. When I was about to fall to sleep, I heard a couple entered. Weird noises were coming from the bed near the entrance. “ooo, argh… yes… oh… come on.. yeah.. argh~~~~”. “Was it good baby??? Argh….” After 30min, they left. I tried not to pay much attention to their sex moans.

Shortly afterwards, another couple entered and were talking at the entrance. Not another sex party? I thought. One of them switched on the lights and the girl came over to wake me up. She asked was I here alone all the while and did anyone else entered the room. I said yes and I heard them having sex. She said her bed was in a mess and there was a used condom lying around. The boyfriend asked if I could recognize them and I said no because it was in the dark and I was far away. They felt that someone just came in to have a convenient sex since the bed was near the door. They left and reported the incident and requested to change their beds.

After the sex saga ended, it was 3am in the morning.

10 June - Germany Trip Part 1 (Day 143)

The subsequent entries on my Germany trip were entered on 21 October 2007, based on the summary I had written during my time in France and also from the pictures. And perhaps what little memory I had on the trip.

I don’t know what prompted me take all the trouble to travel from Rennes to Munich, but it was definitely a tedious process. Perhaps the excitement of meeting a fellow Singaporean, or maybe a chance of a romantic holiday with a pretty.

I started off the journey at 630am. Took the usual bus to the town centre where the train station is. From there, I took the TGV train to Paris Montparnasse, which was about 2hrs 50min. Once I reached Paris, I took the airport express to the airport Charles De Gaulle. SwissAir was the cheapest flight I can find online, but it required a transition at Zurich. From Zurich, I took another short flight to Munich and finally the train from Munich airport to Rosenheimer Station.

Total traveling time: 12 hrs
Fatigue Level: Very high
Excitement: Very Low

I started off at 630am, and ended up at my destination at 630pm. What I did during the 12 hrs of travel to pass time, I could not recall. Sleep, perhaps.

There was a small incident while boarding the plane at Paris. As I bought my air ticket online, I had to print out the confirmation email and present it to the counter during check-in. The assistant gave me the boarding pass and said that the email serves as the electronic ticket. However, during boarding, the personnel said that I needed the real ticket and would not let me pass. The plane was all gearing to go and I was the last passenger boarding. In the end, another personnel asked me to take the passenger minibus and join up with the rest of the passengers. He would run to the check-in counter to print the ticket for me.

So I followed his instruction and while climbing the steps up the plane escorted by one of the attendants, that personnel who ran off to get my ticket drove his little buggy to the plane. Once again another close shave.

At the Rosenheimer Station, I waited anxiously for xp. I wonder would she recognize me. I sure wouldn’t miss her, since she looks like Kelly Chen. But the train station was so big, and we didn’t agree on a particular spot to meet. It was a very risky thing because we did not have each other’s contact except email, and if my flight were to delay, she would have waited in vain.

Fortunately, none of these mishaps occurred and I finally saw her. Can’t remember what the situation was like. But she sure looked cool as ever, not the least excited about seeing me. But I was thrilled to meet a Singaporean finally (not counting hui of course)! Still I played down my excitement, in case she thinks I have a crush over her. She brought me to her apartment and it was a nice little cosy home. We chatted a little on individual life over the past few months abroad, and I was envious of her. At that point, I thought I would want a job that provides me with the opportunity to go overseas for training. In this way, I would have fellow Singaporean colleagues to hang out with, min. responsibility, and can take leave during that period to tour the country. But that isn’t the case now of course.

Having rested a bit, she then brought me to a fantastic restaurant. Initially she intended to bring me to another classier one, which she had been to with her colleagues but somehow she lost her way and in the end, we stumbled into one that was hidden underground. It was below a BeerGarden.

The restaurant had a very good ambience, and looked high-class. But the food wasn’t expensive. XP recommended I try their local delicacy, the fried pork knuckle. It was a gigantic piece of pig trotter, fried in a hideous looking way. I can’t recall the taste. It was nothing special I guess. However, the beer that I had was one of the best. Paulaner. We do have a Paulaner branch at Millennium Walk and can find this brand also in other bars like Brewerkz. However, the authentic Munich beer was much more fragrant. There wasn’t a tint of bitterness in it.

We talked mostly about canoeing life back in HJC. During the 2 years in JC, I don’t think I have spoken to her before. And now by chance or fate, we are dining at a German restaurant in Munich. And I probably wouldn’t know that she was in Germany at the time had we not bumped into each other at Double O prior to our arrival in Europe.

The train bound for Berlin was at 11pm. Even though I was dead tired after traveling for 12hrs, I couldn’t get to sleep as it was very uncomfortable sleeping in the train. The lights were not off until after 1am. And the controller came to check our tickets only at 2am. XP had a better night, as she had with her an inflatable neck rest and a blind.

We reached Berlin at 7 in the morning.

09 June - Mark and Jaako’s Presentation (Day 142)

Knowing that I will be slacking for the remaining of my days here, I came rather late to work. I got the details for the plan tomorrow from xp. She will meet me at the train station at 6pm and then we still have time to go for dinner because our train to Berlin is at 11pm. We will be back in Munich on Monday at 7am. That means I have enough time to go to Neuschwanstein Castle which takes 1 whole day to tour. I guess I have to visit Munich itself in two parts: tomorrow evening and on Tuesday morning. Thanks to the longer hours in the day, the sun only sets around 10pm. Hence, tomorrow I would still be able to walk around Munich city after 6pm. Our team went for early lunch and the only girl Caroline joined us again.

During lunch, as usual, they were talking in French and I was sitting just opposite of Caroline. Laurent sensing that I felt bored, suddenly asked me how’s the water in SG. Haha, a rather dumb question. That was his exact question, “How’s water in SG?” I wanted to reply, “Well, his doing fine. Thanks for your concern.” I told him it taste as plain as in France. But I did ask him if we can drink from the tap in France and he said yes. This is to clear my doubt because I always see people buying cartons and cartons of mineral water. Caroline said we can’t drink from the tap in the train however. Laurent said the tap water contains chlorine which helps to kill bacteria. I told them that I think the SG water contains fluoride to help clean our teeth. Mr. Giant said he heard that France or some other country did that also but found out that too much fluoride is unhealthy and so stopped using it. After lunch on the way back, Mr. Giant asked if this weekend is my last here. I said yes but told him I would be in Germany. He said cool. Caroline was a bit shock. He then asked if I am leaving next Friday and I said yes. Then he just kept quiet. It is a funny feeling because in the past few weeks they would occasionally ask about my departure date and I would tell them 17th June. Then they would ask where I would be going, etc. Now it is just next week, they don’t ask about what I am going to do after that. It is like those previous times were just asking for the sake of asking and now it is the “real” asking of my departure date. And the reality is yes, I am leaving soon.

At 2pm, we went for Jaako and Mark’s presentation. Jaako presented his stuffs first which was in fact a lecture more than a presentation. He was talking about Programmable Graphical Units (GPU, can’t remember if the abbreviations mean that) and how flexible it is as compared to OpenGL and Direct3D. Then he talked about the functions, how to use them, how to integrate the functions into OpenGL codes, etc. It was super dry topic and moreover the room was like an oven. I don’t know if I was the only one who didn’t understand what he was talking about but I am sure everyone was as bored as I was. The rest of the guys probably knew what he was talking about because they were all graphics experts. I am just a bummer in CE. No real interest, let alone passion for computer science. In the end, Stephane asked Jaako a question. “You have introduced to us about these technologies but what is your research on them?” Wah. Sounds like a takan kind of question. Jaako said this presentation is to “sell” the goodness of PGU. As for his own research he did have some works and briefly talked about them. When Jaako finished his presentation I clapped out of courtesy although it was really boring. But I found myself the only one clapping and some of them turned and looked at me. Julien smiled.

I turned and asked Sebastien why was everyone so quiet? It looked as though all had fallen asleep. He said he wasn’t sure we should clap at the very end, i.e. after Mark finished his presentation also. But I think it is wrong. Because both of them were presenting two different things. I mean when one presenter finishes, we clap to thank him and at the same time welcome the next one. I guess the guys didn’t clap because they probably felt the presentation was poor. It was poor because of the dry topic. But that is not to say Jaako cannot be blamed at all. He can perhaps make it more interesting, which Mark did very well later and earned loud applause in the end.

Mark’s topic was on his research on BRDF (Bi-directional, something, something, something). For e.g. when light shines on an apple, it gets reflected into our eyes and we can see a spot of highlight on the surface. His research was to compute this highlight in a realistic and convenient way which was really cool. Previously, CG artists have to adjust 3 or 4 scrollbars on the interface to get the right combination. His technique was much simpler, easier to use and efficient. The artist can just use the brush and brushes over the area he wants to highlight. Then he can adjust the intensity by stroking the surface with the brush. The real image would be rendered in real time and the result will be instantaneously displayed. He even took an apple from the restaurant to illustrate his point. It was a very interesting presentation although he spoke a little too fast. But he did apologise in advance for his American accent which was very smart to do; esp. presenting to the French. Even for a layman in computer graphics like me, I was able to understand pretty well what was going on. At the end of the presentation, everyone clapped enthusiastically. I am not sure it was for both of them or just for Mark. Personally, my loud applause went to Mark. What was really bad about Jaako’s presentation was he will explain very longwindedly about a point and then sensing that we don’t get it, he will say, “never mind. That’s not important. The main point I want to stress is…”

After the presentation, everyone went back to work. I continued to surf the net and also tried to pick up some Java GUI coding for self-interest. Chris told me that he had decided to return to SG early, probably because he is broke. He said he just sent an email to xp telling her he will go to Munich in July. Then he changed his mind and so told me to tell xp tomorrow about that. Well, I guess he should have gone to enough places by now. He will be in Spain tomorrow till don’t know when and later in London 2 weeks later. Too bad I would not be in London then. I would be in Italy around that time. However, Chris did “order” me to take pictures of Germany for him because he wanted to go so much. Esp. that Castle I mentioned earlier. It is really one of the most famous castles in Europe. Before I left the office, I wished Laurent happy birthday in advance and went back to INSA. I have yet to pack my bag for the trip and need to sleep early because my train is at 0735am tomorrow. Damn early.

08 June - Participation in an Experiment (Day 141)

I was feeling still a bit drowsy this morning and hence took a bit more time to take my breakfast. When I reached the office, I heard from Laurent that Mark was looking for me for the experiment. I went to look for him and we went down to the VR Centre. Sebastien Thomas was there and after reading the instructions and being briefed on what to do, we were ready for the experiment. There was a big screen in front of us and both of us have to sit on the chairs, with a cardboard between us. This was to prevent us from looking at each other’s screen. The objective was to move the object from one end of the 3D maze to the other. I was in charge of rotating the object while Mark was to do the translation. The time for each trial was taken and the number of times the object collided with the wall was also recorded.

It wasn’t an easy task because sometimes I would have a full and clear view of the object but his vision would be blocked by the wall. Hence, I had to communicate with him and tell him to move a bit more. Vice versa. Sometimes he had to tell me to rotate more. In the end, we both agreed that rotation was easier than translation. And if shadow of the object could be added, it would greatly improve our perception. By the way, we had to manipulate the cursor via a sensor and this cursor was used to grab that object. So there would be 2 cursors controlling the object together. It was a very fun experiment; like playing 3D games with the 3D glasses. After an hour or so, we completed the experiment. When we left the room, both of us were feeling a bit giddy. This is known as VR sickness.

Soon it was lunch. Mr. Giant asked me about my NS. He said that in Lebanon, there was a law that was just passed last week. For men who are abroad, they can send some documents back to Lebanon and would be exempted from NS. He was lucky. In the past, they have to send deferment letter every year but once they reached 30, they have to go back. Then the law changed and stated that if that guy stays abroad for more than 5 years, he would be exempted. Now it is this one. And the duration of their service is 1 year. After lunch, I had no mood to work. Neither do I have any work to do. I just surf the net on DNA sequences in preparation for my FYP. Not really preparing but just for interest sake. Nowadays everyone (papers, movies, etc) is talking about bioinfo, DNA, genes, but I don’t even know what DNA is. Now I had a glimpse of it. And of protein and chromosomes. But soon, I got bored again and began searching for info on Munich.

Anatole finally came and I thought he would give me comments on the paper so that I can carry on with the work. In the end, he said he will take over from now on since the bulk of the paper is already there. He said there are still lots of improvement but it would be faster for him to amend them himself than to explain to me since he is more experienced. He told me to send him all the data and clean up the codes. And if I am really bored, I can continue on with the other techniques which I had done halfway. So, it seemed like I have been released from service. I have just 3 more working days, tomorrow, and next Wednesday and Thursday. I don’t think I would be needed on Friday morning although I still can spare that since my departure train is only at 2pm. Anatole said that perhaps we should go for a drink on Wed or Thurs. Looks like I can don’t even come to work tomorrow. But I will still come to do some coding but mainly to use the internet.

I went with Laurent again to the cafeteria since I am super free. But he was really rushing to meet his deadline. Still he wanted to take a break. I told him now that I am leaving, I have a kind of strange feeling. After 5 months here, I have just begun to know the people and settle down but this is also when I am going. He said he understands because he had similar experience in Sweden. I feel that I had subconsciously distant myself from my colleagues these few days. I think it is because I didn’t want to feel too sad when I leave next week. But every time when they asked me when am I leaving, I can’t help but feel a bit sad to say next Fri. So fast! Yesh. My chapter in France is about to close very soon.

07 June - Fell Sick (Day 140)

I was feeling re-energised after a small holiday. Everyone in the office said, “you are back!” when they saw me. I went to tell Mathilde that I am leaving next Friday and asked if I need return my access card. She looked surprise. She put her hand on her cheek, opened her eyes wide and said, “so fast?” Yes, I know you will miss me. Haha. I received an email from xp regarding the details of the Berlin trip. Instead of bed seats, she got normal seats for us which saved us 35 euros. This is most welcomed as I really spent too much in Normandy. But that also meant I would die sitting throughout the 8 hours train ride. She was thinking of joining a guided tour in Berlin, recommended by her friend. I took a look at the content of the tour and felt that it is worth it. Then I had an idea of joining such city tour for my own Europe tour. I was thinking of Brussels and Amsterdam as they are small cities and we have only 2 days for each. But for Brussels, most of the tours are in French. English tour needs special arrangement. For Amsterdam, the min. number of people is 4. I looked at London and found that it was very expensive. Will think about it when we get there.

Throughout the day I was coughing and having a bit of running nose. Must be the Normandy rain. I thought I had been well-trained in Brittany and can tolerate rain quite well. But in the end, I still caught a cold, perhaps because of the sea breeze. The wind at Omaha Beach was actually quite strong. Laurent and I went to the cafeteria in the afternoon to have a break. The drinks here are really cheap. A cup of hot chocolate is only 25 cents. I had to pay 2.60 euros for one in a cafeteria in Bayeux. Laurent said it cost about 3 to 4 euros in Paris. Crazy prices. At the cafeteria, I met Kadi and again he asked when I would be leaving. I said next Friday. He said that we have to meet up before I go. Actually, I don’t mind going out with him or have a drink. The reason I didn’t want to organise a farewell dinner is because I guess I would be left alone for most of the time in the end. Only Vincent, Mr. Giant, Laurent, Kadi, Julien, Fabrice and Anatole will talk to me constantly because they speak good English. For the rest, they are more likely to talk among themselves. I should be the centre of attention throughout the farewell dinner and if I am not going to be one, I would rather not hold the dinner. Unless I stress that everyone must speak English just for that last dinner. But that would be too imposing. Anyway, if Kadi wants to have a drink, I would definitely go. In fact I love to go because although I chatted with him for only a few times, I feel that he is really interested in Asia and even though he is quite old, he has a very open and receptive mind. Like those old wise man whom I can gain a lot if I were to learn from him. But I guess he would forget most probably. And next week I would only be around for 2 days.

At 4pm, I went with Sebastien to the Virtual Reality Lab. There, I met my partner Fin, who is Danish. However, the network in IRISA was down at that time and Sebastien told us to go back. He will call us again when everything was ready. That explains why I couldn’t print my stuffs. I wanted to print out all the booking details but the printer failed to work. In the end, I used the colour printer and printed the flight and hostel for the Germany trip. As for the rest of the tour, I didn’t dare to use the colour printer too much and ask hui to print instead.

Half an hour later, Seb came back and told us it was working again. By then, I wasn’t coughing anymore but I was really drowsy. My nose was running like mad and eyes full of tears. Typical symptom of a flu. I hope my state of mind wouldn’t affect the result. When we were there, the network coincidentally was down again and it was already past 5pm. Seb said there was no way to do it today because it was quite late and he didn’t know when the network would be back. He proposed tomorrow morning but that Danish guy would not be free for the next 3 days. He would only be free next week but Seb’s deadline is this Fri. I felt disappointed not to be able to do the exp because it looked fun. Like playing game in VR.

Seb said he had to find another English speaking guy to pair with me. He said he can’t find any French who can speak English well. This is because during the exp, the 2 participants are required to communicate and hence both must speak the same standard of language. He said he needed more time to find an English-speaking person and asked if I can wait till Fri evening. I told him I wouldn’t be around then. I asked why didn’t he ask the 2 Americans in our team, Jaako and Mark? Also there is Mustafa. He said he has no contact with them. I told him we will go now to look for them. I went to their room and found only Mark and Mustafa. In the end, I persuaded Mark to pair with me. He is really an easy-going guy who is like a kid. I prefer doing the exp with him than Jaako because Jaako is not as fun-loving as Mark.

At 530pm, my nose was really killing me and I looked as if I had been crying. I had to retreat to INSA. I had a simple dinner and took a flu pill. Hopefully I can recover in time for the Germany trip.

06 June - D Day (Day 139)

The bed was quite comfortable but I was shivering throughout the night as it was raining. I set the alarm at 0830 because the museum only opens at 0930. At around 8am, Kevin woke up and was packing up his stuffs, making damn lot of noise. Slamming the door. I think he was trying to wake me up. But bro, it is still early. I was awake but refused to get up. I waited for my alarm. In the end, he left. Suddenly, someone opened my door, came in and clear some rubbish and then left, with the door open! Gnn. It was freezing cold because my room was facing the backyard. It must have been the caretaker of the hostel. I didn’t know what was going on. Is there a time limit? Does the guest have to vacate the room after a certain hour? Feeling blur, I got up, washed up a bit and left. I couldn’t find the caretaker.
I didn’t sleep that well partly because of the cold, partly because those stupid Americans were making hell lots of noise last night. It was still raining in the morning. Perfect atmosphere for D Day. The sky was overcast and the air was cold. I went to a cafeteria and ordered a cup of hot chocolate which really warmed me up a lot. Then I went to the War Memorial Museum. I saw Kevin was there. Despite his dumb outlook, he was very knowledgeable in things related to WWII. I discussed with him about some WWII planes like zero fighter, Messechimit, Mustangs, Spitfires, etc. the night before. I learnt about them when I was doing model kits in Mr. Nakamoto’s shop. Outside the museum, there were some tanks on display. I could only recognise a Sherman and a Panther. Kevin pointed out a few more and could even tell the model.
We were told by the tourism office that the admission was free today because of D Day. However, it wasn’t so. The price was reduced to student price for all. Kevin only had 1.50 euros with him. He said he had a train to catch at 10+ back to Paris. The next one would be quite late. This again proved his stupidity. With just one hour, how could he possibly finish visiting the museum? Furthermore, the train station was like 20 min of walk. And he had the whole of yesterday to visit the museum. Anyway, he was 1.5 euros short to enter and he tried arguing with the personnel there. He told them that he was told by the tourism office that today’s admission was free and he only had 1.5 euros with him. In the end, the lady was kind enough to let him enter for free. I didn’t want to associate myself with him and paid that 3 euros. The irritating thing was, from the way he talked, I feel that he was someone who thought of himself being very smart, contradictory to what he really was.

We visited the exhibition separately because he was really rushing through. At 1030, there was a documentary on the Battle of Normandy. Very informative and clearly explained. In the museum, there were several war veterans with lots of badges hanging from their coats. It was the 61st Anniversary today and these veterans kept coming back every year. I hope that when they are gone, their children would continue to come back. As I needed to take the bus at noon to go to the American Cemetery, I didn’t have time to visit the section with lots of WWII photos. However, I did spend some time buying some souvenirs. On the way to the bus stop, I bought some pastries and bread. One good thing I like about France is their confectionary shops always have very tasty bread. And these food are filling too.

At the bus stop, there were groups of American waiting for the bus. I didn’t join them and sat somewhere else. Then a guy came and spoke to me. He saw me at the hostel last night. I began to talk to him and he said I have to slow down because he can’t catch my English. He was from Argentina and spoke Spanish most of the time. In the end, I joined the Americans and we chatted for a while. The bus came and it took quite some time for all of us to board it because the driver can’t speak English! Almost all the French people here spoke English but the driver who was supposed to bring us to the American Cemetery couldn’t speak English. By now I had no problem buying ticket on the bus. But the price was really odd. 3.44 euros. And the return was 2.76 euros. 44 and 76 are numbers which are quite hard to catch in French. Anyway, it took about 5 min for everyone to board the bus.
It was still raining but rather light. However, the American Cemetery was foggy. Super foggy, adding more gloom to the already gloomy atmosphere. The sight of 10,000 crosses was awesome. And the American flag was flying amongst the midst, a lonesome figure in the wind. I walked around the cemetery for a while and decided to go down to the Omaha Beach. The beach looked like any other beaches. But I can almost imagine how the Allies soldiers charged up the shore on D Day. Just like Saving Private Ryan’s first scene. Barricades on the beach front. German bunkers on the short cliffs. Now the cliffs were covered with vegetations of course. I spent 20 min there feeling the wind, touching the sand with my hands. 61 years ago, this beach must be red in colour. Indeed, the sand was pinkish today. Perhaps, a private had died on the exact spot that I was standing on now. Soldiers shouting for medic everywhere. Bullets whistling past. Artillery shells exploding on the beach.
I went back to the cemetery and tried to read as many tombs as I can. But to read all 10000 would take hours. I hope that every tomb I read, I would be able to give that guy my blessing. At near 2pm, the ceremony was about to begin. However, that was when I had to leave the place also as I had to catch the bus back. This marks the end of my D Day excursion but my interest in WWII has only just begun. In fact, I had always been interested in WWII ever since I started doing model kits at Nakamoto’s shop. This Normandy trip has re-ignited my interest in WWII history. I went back to Bayeux and as I still had about 2 hrs left, I went to the Tapestry Museum. This was another great museum on Arts. Tapestry is the art of sewing of pictures on cloth. The picture would normally tell a story of the past or a legend. In this museum, a 70m tapestry was on display, narrating the story of how William the Conqueror became King of England.

The tapestry started with Edward, the King of England (still under Anglo-Saxon rule). He then sent Harold, his most trusted subject to Normandy to make peace with William, the Duke. Harold’s ship was drifted to another shore and he was taken hostage by Guy de Ponthieus. Guy asked for ransom from William and William being angered, went and saved Harold. From then on, Harold became indebted to William. Before Harold returned to England, William asked him to join him in invading Brittany. The Count of Brittany, Conan, lost battles after battles, retreating from Dol to Rennes and lastly surrendered in Dinan. To reward his courage, William knighted Harold on the spot and betrothed his daughter to him. Harold was then forced to swear an oath, promising his allegiance to William and should Edward die, William will be made the King. Harold returned to England and shortly after that, Edward died. However, Harold took the crown instead of passing it to William.

Angered by this, William decided to invade England after discussing with his half-brother Odon, the bishop of Bayeux. Odon was also the one who ordered this tapestry be made in England. So in 1066, William crossed the channel with a large force and after a long period of fighting, killed Harold and was crowned the King in the end. He was later called William The Conqueror because no other people in history was able to cross the channel and win a battle. The Germans couldn’t do that in WWI and WWII. This is just a brief account of what had been detailed on the tapestry. I watched the film explaining the tapestry. After that, I got to look at the real stuff. As I walked from one scene to another (58 scenes in all), I was holding a device which looked like a metal detector. This, I was supposed to hold up and put it to my ear. A recorded voice would explain to me in detail from one scene to another.

After visiting the museum, it was finally time to go back to Rennes. I went to the station early and waited in the Waiting Room. There, I saw 4 Chinese. In fact, I think I recognise one of them. I went up to the girl who looked familiar and asked her if they are all Singaporeans. Indeed they were. I asked if she was from HJC and she said only for the first 3 months. Her boyfriend beside her was from HJC though. But I had not seen him before. She was from NTU EEE and her bf from CE. Another guy was from CE also. Kao. Super small world again. His bf although was a year younger, had graduated this year because he was a Malaysian. These 4 people were on graduation tour. I still find that girl familiar. I asked her if she stays Hall 2 and she said only 1 year. Her bf however, stayed throughout but I have not seen him before. She really looked familiar. I have definitely seen her in hall.

They had been to Munich, Berlin, Paris and came here specially for D Day. However, they didn’t go down to the beach which was quite a waste. They were planning to go to Le Mont St Michel and I told them they would pass by my town, Rennes. I told them a little about what I am doing here. They said they have been in Europe for almost 3 weeks and are really broke. I told them the bus from Rennes to Mont St Michel is about 10 euros and they thought it was for return trip. Hai. Can’t blame them. After 5 months here, I had started to accept the high cost of living. The girl’s bf was robbed in Brussels train station. A guy came from behind and pretended to take his big baggage. Hence, he bent down trying to hold it. However, when that robber ran past, his target was actually the sling bag and snatched it away. Inside the bag were some belongings and his wallet. Very poor thing. Lucky his passport was not inside. But all his cards were gone. This was another story of robbery I heard in 2 days. I must remind myself not to be complacent. The world is not as safe as I thought. To that SG friend, I hope he can still enjoy the rest of his trip. To that robber, and all robbers in this world, my deepest curse goes to you.

I bid them goodbye as they left for Caen while I had to go back to Rennes. But really very coincidental (again? How many times now since I came to France?) to meet SG in an unknown town like Bayeux. Moreover, they were from NTU and some from Hall 2 and HJC. Kao. I didn’t ask for their names. But given my luck, I might meet them again. It is a small world after all.

05 June - D Minus One (Day 138)

It was a long 2 hrs and 44 min ride from Rennes to Bayeux. I slept, woke up, slept, woke up, slept again and woke up countless times. I wonder how I would survive the 7hrs train ride to Grenoble on 17th June. I will definitely have to make use of that time to type my blog because I would have to catch up on the 5 days trip in Germany. Anyway, I reached Bayeux finally. Bayeux was the first town to be liberated after D Day. In fact, it was liberated on 7th June, D Plus One, and miraculously left undamaged. The first thing I did when I reached there was to find the tourism office. Along the way, there were lots of Americans and British. This is definitely a town where English is as common as French. Much more English was spoken than any other towns in France, even Paris. Almost all the shops and restaurants had British and/or American flag and sometimes Canadian.

When I reached the office, there were some Americans and British there asking for info and when they were done, the lady asked them their nationality. When it was my turn, I told her I am from SG. Special case. Because here, either the tourists were British or American, perhaps Canadians and Germans. But a Singaporean here is kind of like out of place. Anyway, I got the info I needed and went to the youth hostel. When I reached there, the door was opened but it was empty. I saw luggage and backpacks of the guests lying around in the hall. I could have just taken one and ran off. Then I decided to roam about and then return to the hostel.

I went to the British cemetery which had about 5000 soldiers buried. Majority was British, with close to 4000, while the rest were Canadians, Polish, Germans and some others. It was raining and the atmosphere was gloomy. As I walked on the soft grass, reading the words engraved on the tombs, my heart grew heavy. Most of the parting words were signed off as “love, Mum and Dad”. How sad it is for the parents to bury their sons. There were some British families there but not many. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful. Solemn I would say. In the middle of the cemetery was a monument with the words: Their name liveth for evermore.

On 6th June, the Allies launched an operation called “Overlord”. It was the first attempt to return to France soil and drove out the Germans. The largest combined force ever summoned (land, air and sea) crossed the English Channel to take the beach. 3 airborne divisions dropped behind the enemy line to prepare the assault. One of them was the famous 101st Airborne. The Americans were the first to capture the Normandy beaches (Omaha and Utah) while the Canadians and British took Juno and Sword (East of Omaha and Utah). 2 mobile harbours were dragged across the Channels and installed at Normandy. Bayeux was liberated the next day. Although the Allies had more troops, better equipment, it was not until 80 days later did they managed to push out from the beach front. The resistance from the German was strong. Finally, by the end of August, Normandy was liberated. There were 400,000 German casualties, 200,000 Allies casualties.

After paying my respect to the British soldiers who died for a just cause, I went back to the hostel. I thought of saving that 20 euros and sleep in the cemetery because the grass was so soft and the air was fresh. Luckily, I didn’t do that because that night, it was raining very heavily. I check in at the hostel and was shown my room. Inside the room there was a toilet with bathing facilities and 4 more beds (2 double-decks). One bed was occupied with the belongings of the guest on it. But he wasn’t around. The lady told me there was no key. So I took my valuables and locked my bag. This was the first time I stayed at a youth hostel and felt really unsafe. I think during the end tour, I would chain my bags to the bed using my laptop lock.

I went out and had my dinner at a Kebab restaurant. It was really easy to go around the town here because everyone spoke English. The waiters, the shop assistants, etc. With nothing much to do, I went back to the hostel and saw a few groups of Americans eating at the hostel’s restaurant. I don’t think they were related but somehow they just clicked together and were making lots of noise. I met my roommate, Kevin who was also an American. However, he didn’t join the rest. He studied in LA on history and was on some sort of exchange program in Seina, Italy. He came here purposely for D Day as he was a great fan of WWII. However, he was quite a stupid guy. He came on Saturday morning, went to the tourism office and didn’t go to any war museum. Then he walked from Bayeux to Omaha Beach. From the map, I guessed it must be 50km. He started walking in the morning and got back after 12 midnight. What an idiot. I told him there is a bus there and he said he didn’t know. I got the info from the tourism office. Obviously this guy was not smart enough to ask and just used brute force.

For the whole of today, he spent most of the time in the hostel. Kao. He is sure one boring guy. I told him I would be going to the war museum tomorrow morning and to the beach around noon. He said he had to go back to Paris in the afternoon. I told him to join me in the morning. He said when he arrived in Paris, he was robbed at the train station. He took out his handphone and was dialling some numbers when someone just ran past him and snatched away his phone. Some of the locals saw that and helped him filed a report at the police station. Now he had all his zippers of his bag locked and on top of that, he had the bag locked to his body. He said, “haha, now if anyone wants to rob me, he’ll have to drag me with him. Hahaha.” He really sounded quite dumb.

04 June - Packing Up (Day 137)

Morning was spent on doing grocery. But before that, I went to the shopping mall and bought 2 postcards of Rennes. I have been here for nearly 5 months and have not own a single postcard of this town. I have about 30 postcards now, collected from all the places that I have been to. There will be more to collect of course. Then I went to Leader Price and very calculatively bought the stocks for the remaining 2 weeks. Actually I need only to cook 5 or 6 times more as I wouldn’t be staying in Rennes for half the remaining time. After my grocery, I went back and plan the itinerary for London. I have re-study the schedule so that now the trip will be more relaxing and less packed. As for Paris, I gave up planning because there will be more than enough time.

After lunch, I went to the multimedia centre. However, I couldn’t log in using my friend’s password. Either I have forgotten the login name and password because I have not use it for a very long time or he has changed it. After trying and failing, I gave up and went back. The entire afternoon was spent on watching LOTR II, The Two Towers and towards the end, I almost fell asleep not because it wasn’t exciting, but I was just feeling sleepy. After the show, I took a short nap and then went to prepare dinner.

After dinner, I spent 1.5 hrs packing up whatever I can pack up for now. Quite surprisingly, I found that I have not much to pack. I brought 27kg of stuffs and can only return with 20kg. After consuming the food, finishing the toiletries, throwing away some papers, and stuffing the remaining into my backpack, I hope I can keep the weight to less than 20kg. This is because I still need to buy some souvenirs back. After that, I started to pack for my trip to Normandy tomorrow but there wasn’t much to pack since I am staying there for a night only.

Since today’s blog is rather short, I shall share with you this dream of mine which I wrote quite some time ago. I started writing my dreams, reflections, thoughts and feelings since last year. Well, most of those were feelings which of course cannot be disclosed. But this dream is quite funny and so I don’t mind sharing.

I was walking with a friend of mine in a garden. The garden could only be described as beautiful and serene. Weather was cooling and clear, the grass was well trimmed and so were the bushes. While we were walking, Li Nanxing joined us and I was not taken aback at all by the sudden entrance of a celebrity. It seemed as if I had known him as long as I had known my friend. His appearance made me realized that the garden we were strolling in belonged to MediaCorp. We were at its front porch.

The 3 of us followed a path and chatted on the way. Whatever we had talked among ourselves, I could not remember. The path led us to a flight of stairs and following that, we were at a lower level of the garden. The scenery was still very beautiful and we were almost in the state of tranquillity. Suddenly the path came to an abrupt end; a small cliff appeared in front of us. We found steps nearby but this time they weren’t as easy to climb down as those previously. These steps were embedded into the vertical face of the cliff, one directly below the other.

Slowly we began to descend and fortunately, the cliff was rather short and we soon reached the ground. We proceeded on towards the main gate and I started to feel that nobody would notice me because I was walking with 2 handsome guys. All eyes would be on them and not on me. Well, that’s nothing new for me as even in my normal days, I tend to catch little attention from other people. Not far in my northeast direction were 2 sheep grazing near some bushes. I was a bit shocked to find animals in a garden but I did not sound myself out aloud. My astonishment was subtle because in a dream, emotions were normally played down.

However, I was drawn forward by the 2 sheep and left my friends. Walking towards the animals, I realized that I do not know the way home by myself. But I remembered that Li Nanxing drove a BMW and he would send me home later and being sure of that, I continued on. When I turned to see where my friends were, I saw Li Nanxing sitting at a bus stop outside the main gate and my other friend jumped into an olive drab BMW. Despite my shouting, my friend left me in that BMW.

I ran after him, abandoning the sheep but he was way gone and so I sat beside Li Nanxing at the bus stop. I asked him where my friend had gone to and he replied that he had left. This of course I knew! I saw him left me with my own eyes! But what I wanted to know was whether he would return to fetch me home. Li Nanxing just said that my friend had left. We waited for our bus to come and as I did not know what bus number to take, I was totally dependent on Li Nanxing to bring me home. 2 buses past by and yet he did not board and so we waited.

As I turned around to check out the 2 sheep, I saw them still grazing casually but this time there were more animals around and in the bushes. A lion was behind the sheep standing and another lion, with a head much bigger was behind the first one. Its head was really gigantic, perhaps 5 times its body size. Disgusted by the deformed lion, I turned back and looked across the street. I saw primary school children, a class perhaps standing there taking down notes. They were wearing my former primary school uniform! I recognized the uniform by the checked collar and dark brown shorts. A female Malay teacher with a green scarf around her head, was also there taking down notes. Probably the form teacher I guessed. I realized all the students were Malays too! Pandan Primary School had finally transformed into a Malay school. Their purpose standing there was to observe the animals in the garden, but because of the lions, they could only do so across the street. I remembered that I used to go on such excursion also when I was a kid.

At last our bus came and following Li Nanxing, we boarded it. While travelling halfway, I suddenly realized that I had not bothered to find out where the bus was taking me. I looked around and found a sign indicating that the bus would pass by Norlan MRT Station. I had not heard of such a station but never mind; as long as I reached a MRT station, I would be able to find my way home.

Sitting on my right was a beautiful woman who looked very much like Pan Lingling. She had a disgusted look on her when she saw the scars I had on my right arm. I had recently returned from Pulau Ubin and these were the scars caused by insect bites. I was quite angry (just a bit more than unhappy actually) that she minded my ugly arm. I told her that her behaviour was wrong. What if I am a boy suffering from long term skin disease and her expression would definitely hurt my feeling. I told her that a child’s pride is extremely fragile especially when he is suffering from illnesses. My eyes were wet as I was touched by my own compassion for others. I knew that I was dreaming and could have cried in my sleep. Pan Lingling, equally touched and felt ashamed, cried and hugged me. And slowly I fell into a sleep…

12 July 2004

PS: Just watched part of LOTR III Return of the King. The White City Minas Something looks a lot like Le Mont St Michel!

03 June - My Birthday (Day 136)

I went to the bank at 10am and told the same receptionist that I had an appointment with Lesaje, whom I didn’t even know is a Mister or a Miss. There was a middle-age man around and it happened that he was Lesaje. So, I followed him to his office. I told him I needed to close my account after I leave because there is still pending transaction. He told me what I have to do is write a letter back to the bank when I reached SG. In that letter, tell them the date I want to close my account and give them my SG bank account number. They will then transfer the remaining money. Also, I need to mail back the blue card. Alright. It was a simple procedure but I stayed in his office for a little while longer to repeat and make sure I get the procedure correct. This was because he wasn’t speaking in complete English and hence I wanted to be extra sure. After settling the issue, I returned to INSA to talk the lady there. I told her I understood her difficulty and everything was ok. She was relieved to hear that. It seemed like I have won the Battle with French Admin II. But I can only be sure when I get my money back in SG.

Back in the office, I searched the yellow pages and realised that there is actually a General Societe branch in SG! It is at Robinson Road. That was a good news because in any case if I fail to get my money back, I can still go there for help. I found out that ZP had helped Gary, Adrian, Jeryl and Cai to get the centre rooms of blk 10. Great. Now they are back together. The legendary Z4 had disbanded because of my departure. I must say those 2 and half years in hall have been indeed memorable. Like me and Gary sometimes will “cold war”, me always “suan” Jeryl that cheehong, me discussing anime with Cai. Sitting in front of the little TV watching Jacky Wu’s show. Pizza feast in our rooms. That was my daily life then. And then when it comes to events and OMC, there would be more fun with ZP, xiong, fan, loi, benny. I know if I still want to stay, ZP would definitely help me but another part of me tell me that I should leave. I feel that if I continue to stay in hall, I would return to my old self who always takes things for granted and be complacent. Esp. now that I have come so far to see the outside world, I have so many things in mind that I would like to do when I am back in SG. If I stay in hall, chances are I would slack and do what I used to do back then. Furthermore, once inside NTU, I will have the tendency to stay put and don’t feel like going out. But now, I realise there are so many things for me to do, so many people to meet, so many new experiences to venture, therefore I decided to leave. I know hall life meant a lot to some people because they had “fu chu” a lot. I admit I am not committed to hall 2, I did all those garang guni, all those stupid cheers not because of hall 2, but for the friends I made there. Oops, a little digression here as my thoughts drifted away as I typed. Well, it shows that I really cherish those hall memories. Anyway, definitely have the chance to go back and visit whoever is still left in hall 2…

I did nothing but surfed the net for the entire afternoon. Even go to Friendster and look at some friends’ profiles. The more I look, the more I think of them. Esp. a particular her. Here in France, when sometimes I am alone and having a hard time getting into sleep at night, I would hallucinate myself attending her wedding with another guy. Haha. And Chen Yi Xun’s “Hun Li De Zhu Fu” will keep playing in my ears. But of course, she is of the past. Towards the end of the day, hui asked if I have any program this weekend. Staying in Rennes again but since it is near the end of the IA, I don’t really mind. Then I suddenly remembered that 6 June is D Day! There would definitely be some events going on in Normandy. The nearest town to Ohama Beach is Bayeux, in Normandy. I checked the train and found that the timing is no good if I were to go just on Monday. I thought of going there on Sunday, 5 June and stay there for a night. There were 2 youth hostels but both require calling for reservation. Then I checked out those cheap hotels and all were booked. Even those expensive ones were fully booked. If that’s the case, youth hostels would definitely be gone too. Still I decided to try and called one of them. Surprisingly, the lady said there is vacancy and took down my name. That’s all. No need confirmation. No need deposit. It means there must be plenty of spaces. I guess those who are going there for the ceremony are those war veterans and their children and they wouldn’t stay in youth hostels. And young people would rather go Paris than to some ulu town like Bayeux on D Day.

So I will skip work on Monday again. And next Fri I will be going Munich and hence will skip another day. Hui said I am clearing “off”. Haha. Indeed. I should have taken a few days off in March when I was very free to go Spain myself or Italy to visit Chris. Anyway, I am really zobo now and Anatole wouldn’t be around on Monday. Oh yah, forgot to wish myself Happy Birthday…

02 June - Battle with French Admin II (Day 135)

Battle with French Admin I happened during the Prefecture Saga in which there was no winner. It was a draw then. I didn’t get the Carte de Sejour in the end. But I got back my 55 euros. Well, I lost in time and a little bus fare. But I gained in experience and got to know Ana. Anyway, Battle with French Admin II actually begun when I went to the bank yesterday. That, perhaps was just a skirmish, a prequel of the real battle. At 11am, I went to INSA as requested by the lady. However, she told me to come back in the afternoon because her superior wasn’t around. Still with a smile, I left the office. But of course that smile was fake. Back in the office, Laurent said he had just applied for a job in Hungary. And he was still wearing that red Hungarian T shirt. For 3 days without washing. Kao. I asked him to call the bank and asked if I can close the account in Paris instead. The answer was a straight no. Then I thought of another problem. My payment for the Easyjet flight has not yet been deducted and now that I am closing my bank account, I don’t what to do. Emailing them would take years for them to reply and probably still leaving my question unanswered. Just before lunch, hui found the number for me to call Easyjet.

During lunch, I told Mr. Giant about my admin problem. He said that when he was here for training in 2001, something funny happened when he closed his bank account. He went to the bank (the same one as mine), and said he want to close the account. The bank asked him to return the RIB (this is a little identity card which can be printed from the bank’s website. It is an official proof here for any transaction. For example, if the company needs your bank info so as to pay you, you just give them this RIB), which he did and then he emptied his account on that day. Without surrendering his check book and blue card! He still has them now. They didn’t ask for his ID also. They just took that paper RIB from him and gave him all his money. Which means anyone with that RIB can just go and withdraw all the money and close the account. No verification. While I was complaining to him, he said that all admin in the world is the same; inefficient. This I beg to differ. At least not for SG. But then, back in SG, I was just a student and didn’t have to deal with so much admin and hence maybe it is just that I am unaware about it.

After lunch, I tried to call Easyjet and it was machine voice again. This time it was worse. I followed the instruction when told to press ‘1’ for English and then the phone hung. I tried again and again and in the end gave up and left my colleague’s room. I told hui about it and he said he will try. He faced the same problem. It turned out that it is not easyjet’s fault but INRIA’s. Their phone system is really confusing and caused that problem. Hui said he would help to call from a payphone because my card was really running low. In the end, it was confirmed that easyjet deducted and had received the money. But why it wasn’t reflected in my account, I do not know. I then went to INSA again to settle the 130 euros deposit issue. When I was there, there was a middle-age man in suit being attended by the lady. The lady saw me, paused and told me that she can only credit the money into my bank account earliest on 30 June. Then she signalled me to go without even hearing what I had to say. 30 June or 30 July make no difference to me because I wouldn’t be around to close the account, you fool! She just told me to close it after 30 June and that’s it. I was really furious. I told her to finish attending that man first then talk to me. I can wait. I hated to be dismissed like that.

And so I waited and finally she had finished. She explained again to me. Then she asked me again if I speak French. Damn it! How many times must I tell you I DON’T SPEAK FRENCH! She gave a frustrated look and sighed. Nabei. I told her that in the first place I need not pay that deposit because I am from IRISA. She explained something about that policy to me. From what I gathered, it seemed like the policy was only implemented recently after I arrived. Ok, if that’s the case I have nothing to say. Then I wanted to tell her how difficult it would be for me to close my bank account on a future date. She didn’t want to listen to my explanation at all. She said she will call Anatole but I told her he is not around. As I had told her yesterday also. Then I really gave up because she didn’t want to talk to me anymore. I told her I will go back and ask some senior guy to talk to her. I had Kadi in mind. She said good and I left without saying Au Revoir for the first time. I was really unhappy not because that policy didn’t apply to me. Not because she can’t do anything for me. But because she didn’t even want to listen to my bank problem! Basket.

I went back to look for Kadi and found Mark and Pascal in his room. They said he is in Britain now. Wah lew. So suey. Then I decided to look for Marie-Claude. I told her about the INSA problem. She said I don’t have to worry because she is sure I can close my bank account on a future date. All foreigners in IRISA did that. And they will use their card to withdraw the remaining money from the ATM in their countries. I told her the bank said I have to return my card and check book but she said no. Then I told her about the currency issue. I wouldn’t be able to withdraw every cent out because after conversion, there will be cents and dollars and the min. denominator of ATM is 10. I would be able to know how much euros I have in my bank through the internet. But after the conversion, I wouldn’t know how much I can withdraw from the ATM in SGD. I am not sure if there is an option in the ATM that allows me to withdraw all I have in the account. She didn’t understand all these chim stuffs. I told her I need to speak to the bank people and she gave me a name card. She said that this person Severine, is the contact person dealing with foreigners in IRISA. Previously it was Chebourou who helped to open my account but she had quitted. Marie-Claude always corresponds with her and so she will understand all these issues. She told me to look for her again if there is still problem.

I went back to the office and called that number. A lady picked up the phone but she wasn’t Serevine. Since she can spoke English, she tried to help me. However, in the end, I don’t think she got what I wanted to say. Then I told her I want to make an appointment with Serevine to talk to her face to face. She told me she is on holiday. Wah Kao! Bu hui bah? So coincidental? First it was Kadi, now Serevine? However, she made an appointment for me with another person; a Lesaje. I don’t even know this is a guy or a girl. Anyway, I will have to go down tomorrow at 10am. Towards the end of the day, Anatole sent me an email telling me that INSA emailed him about my problem. He said the misunderstanding must be because of language barrier and he jokingly said I didn’t learn my French well enough. Nene. He explained to me the situation and said he will discuss with INSA when he returns on Wed. In the meantime, he told me I can ask people from the team to call INSA. I replied him that I understood about the policy issue. I told him about my bank problem which I will try to solve tomorrow. I also read the email that lady sent to him. She said that as I can’t speak a word of French, hence the problem. gnn. Why not say, you can’t speak a word of English?

She must have thought that I felt cheated and angry and therefore sent an email to Anatole. But I wasn’t really angry with her though she should at least listen to what I have to say. I was angry with the inflexibility of the system. If they can just give me back my money earlier then I will be able to close the account normally. No need to write letter, make appointment, etc. Settling this admin stuff really drains a lot of my energy. Worst of all, despite how unhappy I am, I still have to jia jia smile at them. Unlike in SG, we can demand things to be done in our way, esp. if the admin is at fault. Here, if I were to show sign of frustration, I think I will never get my money back. And I am really tired to keep apologising for not speaking French. I am not a French! I would love to speak the language if I can or given a chance to learn. I don’t even mind if people expect me to speak French here. I don’t mind really. But please, don’t DEMAND that I speak French! The truth is none of this is my fault and I am a bloody victim. But from their tone and expressions, it seems as if my inability of speaking their language caused them much trouble. Even the locals agree that French admin is always not easy to deal with. It almost seems as if it is the right of the French admin to be inefficient. Anyway, I will be “yi zhu gang da fan yi chuan ren” if I were to label French admin as the lousiest admin in the world. I need to first live in other foreign countries, esp. those that do not speak my language in order to tell the difference. But for the moment, I hate the French admin.