ah. im back. and this whole post is cluttered with random stuff. there's no link.

i ripped this photo off bel's blog long ago, supposed to be for him but somehow slipped off my mind. hey sean yeo. now this is for you, since we were discussing on some retro topic, 如果能夠!!

<-- this is like one of the wonders in taipei's ximending. and yes, u would think that sean/me would have tasted this dish. BUT NOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo! we were there few years back and we bypassed it!! we didnt give a hoot bout it at all, just wondering why the heck are people willing to stand outside the stall, holding their bowls and slurping delightfully. interesting shit martians do sometimes. he aint the best pal for nothing.

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(few days back) went with august (virgin trip) to go onboard an offshore casino ship parked in international waters, 'LeisureWorld', one of the most popular among Singaporean gamblers.

• departed from Tanah Merry ferry terminal at 11am, inclusive of transit at batam, the entire ferry journey took 1.5hr.
  
  

And while at the ferry terminal, several groups of ntu pple on their way to bintan. When the boarding call came (for both bintan/batam), it was 2 different queues side by side. We were at the queue filled with aunties/uncles. While the one beside us were filled with babes (who're gonna have a good time on the beach). aha

• first thing to do onboard the ship --> surrender ur passport at reception for safe keeping (dun worry, passport is tagged for easy retrival later on).
  im not sure why they do that, but there are cases of people jumping ship after losing big (easy to swim back to sg amidst the sharks and pirates?)
  Next thing to do --> book the desired ferry timing back home. if you don't book the timing, u'll be left on the waiting list for other timings without any guaranteed seat.
  

• i saw the directory, 5 different levels. hey there's basketball, tennis courts, massage salon, ktv lounge, arcade, and some shopping.. but im also pretty sure no one has the time for such stuff except gambling.
  

interestingly, i spotted this lone chap playing arcade for a couple of hours. its an achievement itself. coming all the way from sg to international waters for arcade.

• there's also buffet spread available at the canteen. decent food-fare. usually, people skip the food once they come onboard, wasting no time changing cash into chips and hitting the tables. by the time we came to the chips counter after lunch, it was empty.
  

oh, at the buffet area, i was observing this lady sitting at the table next to me. she's got that 'satisfied' look, most prob from winning loads of money. moments later, a waiter brought her food etc, its really VVIP treatment. Imagine the delight on the waiter's face when it was SGD50 chucked into his hand every single time for things like cutlery, drink, main course, dessert and so on...

• In the casino, its like your friendly neighbourhood community centre. all the next door aunties/ah mas/ah peks/ah gongs/unemployed trying to strike their luck. Picture a morning fish market and substitute the fishes/chopping tables for chips/gaming tables. there u have it. nothing's new i guess. often seen examples would be grandmas boarding the ship early in the morning and leaving at 1 plus, in time to say, pick up grandchild at school or fix dinner.
  

• ok, i didn't come onboard to play the arcade. so i first tried my hand at roulette. after initial hiccups, i began to be particularly lucky at the odd/even and black/red options (come to think about it, its 50/50). as for the numbers itself, u could see the various stacked towers of chips by the gamblers. aha, just imagine Jenga time! picking the right number pay attractive dividends. 1 pay 35.
  

and so at the roulette, there was this lady. she left me totally awe-stuck. I was being asked a favour to put her stack of chips on the number 23. roughly $100 worth. i swear i could have followed suit by placing a token bet, since 23rd was the date i was born. but i didnt, there's this sniggering thought in me, 'no way she can be so accurate.' To my utter dismay, after that game roll, the winning number was indeed 23! oh yes, she happily collected the $3500 winnings and gasped when i told her i didn't place my own.

• went on to dice after that. ah, another 50/50. just choose Big or Small, or if you r adventurous enough, take your pick among other options such as which face will come out.
  

And came this incident. whoever's been to casino b4 would know that, since all chips r identical except for the stated value, you gotta take note of where u placed ur chips and respond promptly when the dealer gives back the winnings. so there was this lady who didn't pay attention.

Placed a combined bet with August on SMALL. and it........ came out small! halfway while giving out the winnings, nobody came forward to claim this particular set of chips and the house takes it. at that time, we were still waiting for our payout. and when it came to ours, that lady suddenly claimed its hers! and with neither side giving way, i mean 'hello, we have a witness beside us vouching that we indeed placed those chips', it seemed that video playback was needed. yes, there's cameras everywhere, and the lady, sensing her impending blowout, backed down.

that pretty much sums the trip up. anw, won't be going there anytime soon. its ridiculous to visit like every week.

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just to end of with this. recently, within my grandma's side (paternal), we have felt closer to each other. despite how things in the past may have prevented us from doing so, but somehow again, things do change. for the better. dun think its ever too late to mend some ties and cherish the moments, grandma aint getting any younger.. good that everyone's doing their part, looking forward to more get-togethers.

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