On Clarke Quay
It was too late for them to realise that the waters weren’t too deep after all.
(credits: www.traveljournals.net)
I know I still have those Japan entries to do, and if this dissolves the guilt any better, I think about it everyday. To be quite honest, I haven’t really started on it yet because we’re still sorting out and printing the photos for our own personal album (I have this grand scrapbooking vision - damn you Martha!). To compound things further, I have been busy with my clinical elective, catching up with family and friends and finding some time of my own before I return to Adelaide.
Yesterday, during a busy round at the hospital, I slipped out early (there wasn’t much teaching available) and travelled to nearby Clarke Quay for a late lunch (or early dinner, if it so pleases you). I know it has a vibrant night-life - I’ve barely witnessed it because it just isn’t part of my life - but to me it is an ingredient of this simple ritual of my own. I sit by the riverside and gaze, as the bars and restaurants prepare their tables and chairs for business, while the girls (and guys) scream as the nearby cable bungee ride catapults them into the sky. I’m not there for long, for I suppose the humidity plays such a big part in that. And yet, I feel oddly comforted to sit by the cradle of this country: it was there when the Malay fishermen led their simple lives, it was a channel for migration and commercialisation, it bears the distorted reflection of a claimed democracy that is said to exist in the moonlit skies. It saw what the country could be; now it fringes a nightly act that shakes off our stoical image. Yes, the waters cover well - one can hardly estimate its murky depth - but that is not what it is for. My high school teacher once said that ‘we have no natural beauty, because we change it and ruin it; we fill the swamps to make buildings and we build bricks to control rivers; we’re nothing but land and longkangs.’ It now drains the dreams and ideas that could have been.
I like to sit here and eat sushi; the steady Japan-isation of this area has always attracted me. There is an impressive Japanese supermarket that (and I can gladly confirm this) is the real deal, where I can find my heavenly Haagen-Dazs Green Tea ice-cream and other nostalgic items. Japan is such a beautiful country and I won’t hesitate to return one day should finances permit. I’m thinking of learning the language; not only would it make navigation easier next time, but I can also read Haruki Murakami in his native tongue! I don’t think I’ll ever be a bonafide Japanophile - for example: I still take two bites to eat my sushi, I sometimes prefer the easier route of dipping the rice edge into the soy sauce and (God forbid should a sushi chef ever catch me) I disassemble it at times to create a side portion of ’sashimi’.
Being there reminds me of my travels. Is it not ironic that I find its beauty when, in my mind, I am transported to places so far away; where the concrete confinements of the river edge can barely restrict my imagination. Where my freedom is my own.
what rotation are you doing in sing?
Comment by mun — January 9, 2009 @ 12:54 pm
Hey you! I’m doing ED. How’s work been?
Comment by pinkmutton — January 12, 2009 @ 9:11 pm
oh cool ed. do they allow you to clerk patients and do stuff etc?
i’m doing ed too. night shifts. been good so far though my sleep cycle is so screwed.
Comment by mun — January 14, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
No, not really. They’re pretty anal about it over here; one can’t see patients without prior approval. It gets a little boring just hanging around after a while. But my consultant’s heaps great though.
So, you coming by to Adelaide? You still owe me a visit..and now that you have a proper salary, you can’t make any excuses!! :p
Comment by pinkmutton — January 15, 2009 @ 8:39 pm
haha i’ll try..i’m gg to sing on my annual leave though so if i do go to adelaide it will be like a weekend thing which isn’t very long. i do have salary but no more long weekends darl…
Comment by mun — January 17, 2009 @ 11:36 am
girl, if my hunch is correct, u’re doing the same elective at the same hosp that i did mine exactly a year ago. but silly me i din even think of lunching at CQ. bah!
oh and hey! tht jap mart u talking abt is at the basement of central rite?
i am always amazed by its huge selection of tidbits and snacks. i miss CQ. god, i miss SG *sniff*
u back in SADelaide edi?
Comment by Jun — January 18, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
Yes, your hunch is right! It’s not as exciting as how you described it to me though.
I’m flying back over Chinese New Year. You’re in Kapunda! When will you come back to Adelaide?
Comment by pinkmutton — January 25, 2009 @ 10:19 pm