In A Galaxy Far, Far Away.....

It was a spur of a moment that I decided to join the fellow Star Wars enthuasiast namely Terry, Jia Wern and Yuin-Y to the island of Singapore to witness the Star Wars exhibition which was being held until 3 April 2006. Not that was a fan like the rest, I went merely to get away and have a holiday. A short trip over the weekend will indeed help to break the norm.

We boarded the train towards the South. Why the train? I would rather hop onto a bus which would get me over the border in a matter of just 4 hours. However, the trip on board was not as bad as my previous trip as I manage to sleep which I didn't previously and also enjoyed the view that the railroads had to offer. History could be seen by the many old unkept railways stations. There were still left untouched and unmaintained. Our travel over the border took us around 6 hours. Instantly, I felt the difference. Development was iminent. The roads and its surround were a sight to behold. I was felt foreign.

We made our way to check in to our place of stay. It was a backpackers lodge that Terry had researched. As we made our way through the jam packed MRTs to the tight street of Little India, we finally found the blue building of Inncrowd Hostel. The first thing that came to mind as I entered was "Ikea". A simple, well decorated place that had ample space for a densely packed counter, a pool table, an IT corner, a well equipped kitchen, dobby services, shared toilet and bunkers to sleep. I felt very much at home despite realising we were the only Asians there, other than the proprieter of this hostel. Slept well and had a great bath. What more can you ask for especially when we only return late at night.

Yuin-Y introduce her fellow Penang mates, namely Vinly, his girlfriend and Francis who were in Singapore studying. They practically brought us around Singapore, introducing to us the fares of Singapore. From window eating the posh eateries along Clarke Quay, indulging in authentic fish and chips, sipping hot thick chocolate at Esplanade to having a great serving of kebabs at Orchard. I truly met people who in the same wavelength. It seems that wherever Malaysians are, food will always bind us together.

Star fighters, Chewbacca and R2-D2. These were some of the exhibits that were on displayed at the exhibition. It was an interesting display of real life models and art work that allow us to view it up close and personal. My favourite part of the exhibition was the Folly Studio. As we were going throuhg the exhibits, there was an entourage that was going through the similar exhibits that we were seeing except with more detailed explanation. We decided to join in as there was goin to be a demonstration at the Folly Studio. Enclosed in a small room, was various object that comprise of household objects to food. We all gathered in front of a small stage where the soon to be sound recording would be taking place. As a scene of Star Wars was flashed up, the volunteers who participate in this sound making session began to hold their vegetables, brush and dustbin lids and orchestrate a symphony. The end product was alot better than the previewed sound, which I was quite impress with. Its interesting to know where sounds we usually watch in movie are made from. I was then off to join the toru to the very end and then made my own way through the exhibit for a close up. All in all it was an interesting, just that I had wish for more as there was not much exhibits for the last three episodes. It seems most of them were thrown away after production. Other than that, the exhibits that we saw was only one fifth of the entire Star Wars exhibition around the world. If all of the props and exhibits of the movie were collected and kept, I believe that a Star Wars museum could be possible.

Besides the exhibition, I experienced two culture shocks. The first was while attending church at the New Creation Church at Suntec City. The auditorium where the church was held was called "The ROCK". Security was pretty tight as I was not allowed to snap a picture as a rememberance of my visit there. I had heard much of this church and it was a priviledge to have a sneak preview of one of the biggest church in Singapore. Inside, I was shocked to see a man with an Ah Beng hairstyle preaching, clueless that he was the senior pastor, Pastor Prince. Worship was rather simple, nothing too extravagant. Message dealt with real live situation that were relevant. I enjoyed myself. However as I left the auditorium, I was amazed to see a crowd gathering. Initially, I thought the reason a crowd had gathered was that it was a weekend and people were shopping at Suntec. My assumption were not to my expectation as I soon saw a line forming outside and realising that these people were actually queuing up for church. I was like, "WOW, imagine Malaysia had such enthusiastic crowd that came early for church, revival would take place."

"It will, one day." affirm Francis. My disbelieved silent at that moment.

The other culture shock was visiting the IT centre in Singapore. Software were sold off the shelf of each of the shopwe visited. The only different was all of these softwares were orginal unlike the typical scene at Low Yat or Imbi where its hard to spot an original to a fake. Pirates were much more reasonable to purchase.

All in all, I enjoyed myself. It was tiring walking around Singapore. The people I saw. The gorgeous Brazilian girl I met at the hostel. The awesome display of one of my childhood films. The new friends I met. It was a good getaway weekend.