I have not been here since 1984. No, the few times I was on transit whilst flying with SQ during my student days didn’t count. Still the familiar Singapore the moment we landed – armed presence of the Singapore military within the arrival hall, the familiar taxi unker who could speak some Malay, passing by err… Big Splash on the way to the city centre from Changi and, of course, the Pertama Complex-like Peninsula Plaza.

Hitting Peninsula Plaza really brought me down memory lane. I saw the location of the “Darling, please buy me that radio” incident[1] on the ground floor. The sights and smells of the myriad of sports and jeans/bundle shops were ever so familiar. But what I couldn’t remember from last time was the presence of guitar shops, one of which was the famous Davis[2] which was jam packed with guitars, especially of the ESP/LTD/Edwards/Grass Roots variety. Davis certainly gives a certain Malaysian ESP dealer a run for their money. My heart missed a beat when I saw this:

… followed by asking for its price which, on converting to GBP, was just a few squids above a grand. I was contemplating to reach for the wallet until my brother said to hold on, as it finally dawned on me that it was the wrong guitar. I had been yearning to get the cheaper Edwards version of GEKI-TETSU which is the guitar that Teru of Versailles used. What they had was the Edwards version of AOI’s (of The GazettE) A-I[arc] 艶~en~. I’d say it was divine intervention that I was not spending more money on a guitar this year. Heh. The prices are very competitive though – my brother bought a Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB humbucker for S$90-odd. Gila ah.

We will be hitting murtabak country tomorrow morning and Beach Road for lunch (makan is important[3]) but I have a few words to say before I end this post.

Within the span of ten minutes, the civic mindedness of the passengers on the SMRT just struck me as being superb. The moment we got on the train at City Hall and thereafter at Dhoby Ghaut, my sister in law and my 4-year old nephew were immediately offered a seat. It put a smile on my face to see this happening when I know for a fact that my 78-year old dad had been left standing whilst taking the PUTRA on the way to IJN, whilst the younger passengers would do the archetypal muka sardine pretending to not see a more deserving fellow passenger who could do with a seat. So tak malu one.

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[1]I was probably ten, standing with my late mom near a shop’s window display, when I saw this couple who stood quite close to us looking at some radios (yes, this was 1980). Suddenly I heard a booming man’s voice saying, “Darling, please buy me that radio!” and both mom and I were 120% sure it was the lady who spoke. I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.
[2]Davis was established in 1989, 5 years after I was last visited.
[3]Hence, my new kicks from ASICS bought at a discount at Peninsular Plaza. It’s the thought that counts.