Visit to Istana and Getting E51

"When my batteries ran out, you gotta push me," I told Dehong, my good brother/volunteer. We made an appointment to explore Istana on Labour Day. I'm going in my motorised chair.

We weren't the only late ones meeting Dehong at the park, Shet Fen outdid us by arriving after us. We needn't wait long to take a bus and the MRT to Plaza Singapura though. We had a lunch treat from Dehong using his Kopitiam cash-free card. Joined by Li Lian and her boyfriend Zhi Rong, we headed for the Istana.

At 1 p.m. the queue was long at the entrance with temperture check for H1N1 virus symptoms. Peng Mun had a slightly higher temperature and was told to rest in the shade for a while. After the temperature check, a security check cleared us and we were free to roam the grounds.
It was an uphill walk from the entrance partially shaded by trees. After that, there was no escape from the scorching heat. A school millitary band was performing and we stopped to watch it.

When we reached the Istana building, Shet Fen bought tickets for us all to enter the Istana showroom. We were led to enter via the ramp at the side of the building. On display were valuable gifts from dignities around the world: swords, daggers, miniture ship models, ornamental boxes. The volunteers at the Istana were told to look after us and we complied by putting our motorise chair in manual mode and being pushed from room to room. In the comfort of the air-conditioned interior, we took our time to view the state meeting room, the dining area and the sitting area. There were many beautiful art pieces which I took time admiring too.

Back in the hot sun, we squint our eyes looking at the camera while Dehong tried to take pictures of us at every prestigious angle. We sweated buckets and seeked relief in the shady plant shelter around the fountain garden. Dehong was glad that the walk out was downhill as he put my chair on manual to save my battery energy.

We returned to Plaza Singapura and I found what I had been looking for at Carrefour: non-slip bath-mats. (I'd exhausted all shops in AMK hunting for them.) After having cold desserts at Ice Monster, we parted ways and returned to AMK Hub with Dehong.

I wanted to renew my M1 contract and get a Nokia E51. The salesgirl at the AMK Hub M1 shop was rather unhelpful and indifferent towards us. Perhaps she thought we would be a waste of her time. I became really annoyed only when she continued treating me like a dummy after I proceed to make a purchase. Her attitute dampened my spirit and I regreted doing the purchase with her. Just some shops away is Planet Telecom dealing with Nokia products. There, a really nice and friendly salesman Roy paid attention to us and made very satisfied customers out of us. I was happy to get my bluetooth headset from his shop.

It was 9 p.m. when we sat down to dinner at AMK Block 453 market.