Singapore, to me, seems like that odd midway-point between home and ideal holiday destination. I know it's only been 6 months, but even those 6 months were enough to throw me off. Marina was under construction when I left - and Carl's Jr didn't have a Singapore outlet. Several roads seem to lead to different places from what I remembered, though driving on the left hand side of the car seemed oddly familiar.
The greatest point of disjunct, however, has been food. It's no secret I've been hitting Singapore food pretty hard. I just never expected it to hit back so fiercely.
Last night, just before dinner, I developed bad abdominal cramps. I've had these before when I was in the States - it was when I discovered that I'd become lactose intolerant. This time round, however, no lactose was involved. The cramps got so bad that my parents had to rush me to a doctor for an injection. The injection settled my stomach for all of 5 minutes - where I promptly "merlioned" my dinner outside the clinic.
A graphic representation of what happened outside the clinic for those unfamiliar with what "merlioning" means
Needless to say, I spent the whole of last night feeling bloated and queasy. I threw up two more times before my stomach settled.
What does this have to do with local food, one might ask? The final time I threw up - I threw up the remnants of my dinner two nights ago, and the pain immediately ceased. It was a bowl of bak-chor mee. More accurately, it was probably the bak-chor, which tasted a little funky to me even when I was consuming it.
I am now recovering at home, with plenty of time to think about food misadventures mere days before Chirstmas. Perhaps even my stomach no longer acknowledges its Singaporeaness. I certainly had no problems consuming wasabe beef sandwiches recovered from the floor. Either that, or it's my retribution for tormenting Victoria about the availability of mee pok tar in San Francisco.
Perhaps there is no moral to this story, save for those manufactured by a morose mind.
8 comments:
LOL.. i've been eating lots of local food since i'm back.... no tummy aches .. but my tummy is bulging out! :( not a pretty sight... jia lat...
Fat Fingers,
I only -wished- that what I suffered from was only a bulging stomach. -sigh-
Morose: having the doleful countenance of a fool, from Gk 'moros' = 'fool' (cf Gk 'moron' = 'a foolish thing').
Well, you must be suffering from Bulgaria, which is the aftermath of an over-response to being Hungary. You need a more Austria diet. And maybe, your tummy no long responds well to local Germany. Well, you know the saying: give Europe enough to hang yourself.
Darthe Sidhe,
How apt.
It's probably just that one meal of bak chor mee. Singaporeans don't exactly have stomaches that can, um, handle the real dirt ;)
I will never look at the Merlion the same way again. Thanks for that colorful description of projectile vomiting. :P
Tym,
I hope so. It was bad enough for me to discover lactose intolerance. To discover hawker intolerance is unthinkable.
Ben,
I'm extremely suprised that you don't know what "merlioning" is.
Wen,
I'm recovered lar.
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