Thursday, January 04, 2007

I made pasta in Chinatown

Before my India trips, I like to buy some stuff from Chinatown. Mainly because it's getting incredibly difficult to buy gifts for people in India without them (mostly the aunty-types) making the annoying statement "Aaj kal toh yahan par sab kuchh milta hai." ("These days, we get everything in India.") So I go to Chinatown and buy some of the most Chinesey Chinese stuff - things that even the Indian Chinatowns would probably not have, just for those aunties.

So I'm roaming around Chinatown in the middle of the day, when this ang moh (blanket term used in Singapore for Caucasians) hesitatingly approaches me.

"Excuse me, are you from here?"

"Yes." (Sometimes I just conserve energy by saying "Yes" instead of "No-actually-I'm-originally-from-India-but-I've-been-here -for-almost-nine-years-now.")

"But originally from India?"

"Yes."

"I am from Italy. Some day I would like to visit India too. I like the Indian people. To me, more than the place, the people matter."

"Hmmm... okay." I was wondering why he was telling me all this.

"I'm a tourist here. Can you help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Is this a good place to shop for souvenirs?"

"Yes, I think it's one of the best."

"So a lot of tourists come here?"

"Yes, you can see..." I pointed out the million and one ang mohs roaming the area.

"Could you suggest me some things to buy here?"

"Oh okay, no problem. Whom do you want to buy stuff for?"

"My mother."

Ah. Sweet.

"You can get her some purses, maybe? The traditional Chinese kinds? Would she like that?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, that would be nice. Where can I get them?"

"They're all over the place, but my favourite shop is over there." I pointed to the shop.

Instead of looking where I was pointing, I noticed that he was looking at me. Then he paused and asked, "Uhh... I'm sorry, where?"

"There. The second shop on the left."

"Ah. Okay. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome." I started to walk out of the shop.

"One more thing..."

Sheesh! I'm a busy person this week, I have no time to talk to hot Italian men! :/

"Yes?"

"Can you suggest a good place for me to go to, tonight? I only have tonight. I'm leaving Singapore tomorrow morning."

"Well, depends on what you've not seen yet. Have you been to Boat Quay and Clarke Quay?" I suggested the two popular places where most drunk ang mohs are found in Singapore.

"Yes."

"How about Suntec City? They have the famous fountain there... and some kinda laser show..."
(Personally I don't know what the big deal about the fountain is, but apparently it's a hit with tourists.)

"Oh okay... I have not been to Suntec City..."

"All right then..." I gave him my goodbye smile.

But he wouldn't get out of my way.

"What are you doing tonight?" He smiled.

"What am I doing tonight??" Frankly speaking, having never had an Italian guy hit on me, I was a bit stunned.

"Yes... what are you doing tonight?" He smiled that knowing smile again.

"I'm packing tonight. To go to India tomorrow. For my wedding."

And I smiled too.


Chinese sandalwood fan: $24
Red and gold cheongsam: $89
Expression on the face of the Italian: Priceless




57 comments:

Anonymous said...

gold !!

Anonymous said...

u r leaving?? i mean you are coming?? hmm i am still waiting for the reply. u still have to tell the name of the magazine.

shub said...

arrey should've given him my number na! :(
have a good trip, and have a great wedding!

manju said...

Have a memorable trip and have lots of fun in your wedding !

Anonymous said...

hahahhahahah!!!

poor italian guy!!! :)):)) my sympathies r with him! :)

and hei..u leavin tonite?? Best wishes for ur trip+ wedding n all gud things :):)

err...will u b blogging from there?? if yes..then great :D:D else..will miss ya lots! :(

Anonymous said...

This is a classic post...short and sweet but immensely funny. Really enjoyed it. Have fun in India!

Anusha said...

MasterCard! Damn, how I miss those ads. I really really liked them. (This would have made a good one! :P)

And yay, you're coming to India! I'm tempted to burst into song, er...rap (complete with Mallu accent):

"Bhelcome to Indiya, where the cows eat hay,
And we drive otto-rickshaws everyday..."

But...I shall not, because you're coming just at the time I'm leaving. Boo, cannot see you before ze wedding! *sob*

oxymoron said...

hmmm! so u r packing as we all read this post!
out of curiosity, (sorry if you have already mentioned it), appki shaadi kis shehar main ho rahi hai?
dulheraja's hometown or ur hometown?
anyways, wishing u a happy journey, and a much more happier wedding!

Anonymous said...

Have a safe journey. Wishing you the very best for your wedding :)

sandy said...

hilarious!!

Happy new year & happy journey & happy holidays & congrats !

Neihal said...

hahahahaha
I read the title and I was like.."what??"

qsg said...

Priceless! :)
All the best and if you plan to come to delhi at all give me a holler!

Anonymous said...

Just a lil late.. ;) Poor guy :D

-Sowmya

Anonymous said...

Hot babe! Awwwww shucks for the Italian guy.... hehhehheh...

Best wishes for your wedding n please take lots of pictures to show when u come back! :)

RR

Iday said...

You shud have addedd "Perhaps this is the right time for ur much awaited trip to india" ;)

Welcome back to India Bhai :)
We're working on declaring a suitable date as national holiday to celebrate the occasion :D

Anonymous said...

I am in Delhi...any chance you are going to be here on ur way ? Mail me a number I can call at..

Nandini said...

aww man, now you're turning down italian guys? even I wouldn't turn down italian guys! yound couples these days... such prudes. ;D

Sayesha said...

#Anon,
Congrats! :)

#Pujya,
I've replied :)

#Shub,
Thanks! :)
ps: Woh dhakkan tere laayak nahin hai! :/

#Manju,
Thanks! :)

#Thisisme,
Your sympathies are with him?? Hai raam kya zamana aa gaya hai? :O

#Sam,
Are you who I think you are? ;) Welcome to Sayeshaz! :) And thanks! :)

#Clueless,
Hahahaha! Hey why don't you perform this at the sangeet?? It will be hilariously awesome! :D

//Boo, cannot see you before ze wedding! *sob*

Arre you'll be one of the priviledged ones who will get to see me in my Christmas tree get-up! :P

#Oxymoron,
Thanks! :)
Shaadi and one reception is in my hometown, and the second reception is in his :)

#Apalana,
Thanks! See you in India! :)

#Sandy,
Thanks! Happy new year to you too! :)

#Neihal,
:D

#QSG,
Nahin re, I'm already travelling to four states... doubt if I can squeeze Delhi in... we'll meet soon don't worry! :)

#Sowmya,
Hahahahaha! :D

#RR,
Hey hey! Yeah sure will have a screening for you guys when I get back! :)

#Iday,
Hahahaha! Yeah man! :P

#Naari,
Naah no chance of Delhi yaar :(

Sayesha said...

#Wendelin,
Hehehe... yeah :D

Bivas said...

for everything else there's Mastercard :D

rt said...

hey thats a gud one!!

Sakshi said...

Priceless moment.
So you are going to write from the mandap, na?

Aur sari pehne ki practice shuri kar dena :/
Have a safe trip and enjoy!!!

Ans seriously plz post from the mandap..

Anonymous said...

i pity that fool! (apologies to mr t)

Anonymous said...

ROFL!! Kya shot mara, bhai! Italiano ka timing to dekh, khi khi khi...

bhelcome to desh, hai na bharat mahaan :P

Anonymous said...

:))....no secret cam or something that could have recorded his expression??? :D :D :D :D

Good one :)

And good luck to u...

dharmu said...

happy packing,
happy landing,
happy shaadi

-love harley dada

Anonymous said...

happy landings, sash. i have 3 koshins when u get time to answer.

what is chinese sandalwood fan???

ang moh is an interesting term. what does it literally mean?

aur mera nambar kya mar gaya tha, hot dude ko dene ke liye?

Sayesha said...

#Bivas,
:D

#RT,
Hehehe! :P

#Sakshi,
Write from the mandap? Yeah, that's the plan, provided the pundit agrees to allow the laptop in :D

#Renegadefade,
Hehehee! :P
ps: Who is Mr T??

#Jane,
Hahahaha! Wat timing man! :D
Thanks for welcome, will reach tonight :)

#Sindhu,
Hahaha if I knew what was coming, I'd have shot his face. Errr.. with a camera I mean! :|

#Dharmu,
Thanks, dada! :)

#TGFI,
Answers to your koshins:
1. Chinese sandalwood fan is like the fan that Japanese women are often shown carrying in pictures, except that is has Chinese words on it, and is made of sandalwood. :)
2. Ang moh originates from Chinese and literally means 'red hair'. It is used to refer to any white foreigner.
3. Like I told Shub, woh tere laayak nahin tha. Hot or not, woh meri kisi sistah ke laayak nahin tha, hmmmph! :/ Tere liye hum achha wala dhoondenge :D

Anonymous said...

Good luck and amidst all the preparations do keep us posted:)

Sayesha said...

#Duhita,
Thanks! :)

Bivas said...

//Write from the mandap? Yeah, that's the plan, provided the pundit agrees to allow the laptop in :D
huh...arre koi software company or high security area hai kya jo restriction hoga on taking electronic gadgets in ;-)...

Basanti said...

Bhai flying to India!! YAY!!! Bhai getting married.. toh hum phir joote kiske churaenge? :p :p :p Bhai ke yaa bhai ke pati ke?!? LOL Sounds so weird! hahahaahhaahhahah

=)) LOL!

Sayesha's bewdas will miss ya!

Anonymous said...

hi sayesha

welcome welcome !

mumbai kab aa rahe ho! will it be after yr shaadi.

mumbai se koi farmaaish ho toh batao!

RP said...

1stly, sometime ago somebody disagreed to my opinion that Sayesha is beautiful; can that person own up? now? esp aft reading this?

2ndly, welcome to India.

3rdly, convey my condolence to your would-be ;-) kidding. kongrads.

RP

Di said...

LOL!!arre bechara italiano guy...but must have been fun seeing the poor guys expression ;)

Anonymous said...

hee hee!!

Happy New Year and Welcome Home.

Anonymous said...

i just loved reading this post

Anonymous said...

Its me KP in above anon post

Strider said...

Ave bhai! :D
Welcome back! :)

Anonymous said...

LOL...!!

Have a safe and fun trip to India Sash. When are you getting back?

Did you get my New Year wishes?

Anonymous said...

Welcome back!!!

And, Congratulations!!!!

How do we know said...

As usual, am stealing the text of this post for all my girlfriends tomorrow morning! You ROCK!!

Anonymous said...

stumbled upon ur blog a few days ago and have read it start to end over the past few days.

ur posts simply rock. they inspire newbies like me. and no, i am not 'postlifting'. so, relax.

have a great trip and congrats on the wedding. Fogrvie me for spelilgn mstaikes if ayn :)

Vinod Ramamoorthy said...

Priceless !! :)

Anonymous said...

Sweet. Hahahahaha!

Unknown said...

ROFLL Sash.. Poor him! Awesome post! Btw, welcome to India... can't wait to see you :)

Take care,
Aarti

Lalit Singh said...

hahaha uska to popat ho gaya bechare ka...
anyways all the best for the big innings.. have fun!!!!

Viky said...

Happy new year, Sash!!!

Ghutan hui kuch is tarah ki shak hua kahin hum jee nahi rahe...
Gilas humari khali thi to yaad aya ki tere bar se hum pee nahi rahe...

Congratulations on the wedding. I'd been away too long :P

Anonymous said...

Hi Sash...

WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL MARRIED LIFE....

Anonymous said...

Good one.

Good luck for your wedding, and I will keep looking forward to reading the postings on the wedding.

Wishing you A Very Happy Married Life.

Nimrat said...

Ur posts r captivating and refreshing as ever!
Good wishes for the married life. :-)

Anonymous said...

Yet another night out and still more time spent catching up with your blog post (my) vacation. Best wishes for the wedding...wishing you a happy married life and a great 2007 ahead.

Arun

Anonymous said...

tat was a nice try by the italian...
btw wat wud u have done if u were not travelling to india..and were not abt to be married..wud have hung out wid him?? u mentioned he was hot...hmm one more scenario..wud u have gone out wid him if u were not travelling the nextday even though u were engaged?

educatedunemployed said...

Hey Good luck with the wedding and many congratulations and have a wonderful life ahead.Cheers!

Tejal said...

well..my comp had been attacked by a virus so cudnt comment!!!
sooooo...
1>hehehe.. nice pasta huh?
2> wat did viv had to say bout all this?
3>yay!!!!! u comin to india!!!
4>congratssssssss for da wedding once again!!!!
5>please put up wedding pics as soon as poss!!!

Anonymous said...

Hey Sayesha!
Think it s a lil' inappropriate to post this here..Still..
I've got this image that I'm a pampered kid..But I want to take my friends by surprise by cooking something really yummy...something really really uncommon...
Can u plz plz plz gimme a easy to do recipe???
Phuleeeezzzzz..!

Deeps said...

Hehehehehe :))) What a punchline!!