It was cold. Very cold. I breathed out steam. When I urinated the pee gave off steam too.
I once thought Wallaby was cold. Now I think it was chicken feet. Back then we could sleep on the grass with just one set of clothes. In R0C I wore two sets of clothes, a winter jacket, another jacket to cover my head, covered myself with the sleeping bag, and I shivered throughout the night. Genuine uncontrollable shiver.
R0C is a agricultural country. In fact more agricultural than Australia. Countless numbers of farms rearing everything from flowers to vegetation to oranges to chickens and ducks dominated my sights as we took a four-hour bus ride from the airport to our destination, and throughout our stay there.
Whichmademewonderwhyakitbaginspectionwasrequiredforaustraliabutnotneededforr0c.
R0C has majestic power lines that run across the lands, through the mountains, and disappear into the horizon. The highways stand high above the ground, run overhead other highways and under high speed rail lines. The infrastructure was a sight to behold.
The efforts put in towards recycling can be clearly see too. Two to three bins always appeared together, one for general waste, and another one or two for recycling purposes. Everywhere. Something that can never occur in Singapore. Quoting my friend: "We just throw into any bin we see. You put a pail in a random public place and it will be filled with rubbish at the end of the day."
My first job involved staying at the top of a hill for four days and three nights, to help pass messages to parties who could not reach each other. Sometimes traffic got heavy; I would have three parties yelling for my attention at the same time.
My second job allowed me to travel around the town. The rural area was one place one could never find in Singapore. Bidirectional single-lane roads ran through the town, with shops and houses clustered together along the sides. Traffic was light, mostly scooters or small trucks that the residents used to carry their goods around. Height of buildings never went past four storeys, and the highest structure there was a huge golden Buddha that towered across the surrounding hills.
The countryside scenery was very beautiful. No pictures [hopefully a yet], and a friend told me to draw the scenery out. So drew I did:
Its all green!
*Runs and hides under the table to avoid the punches and kicks thrown at me*
The very, very fresh air and lush greenery made the place a perfect escape from the urban jungle.
It was the season of oranges, and we were generously given bags and boxes of oranges and kum, so many that we could not finish them.
Weather-wise, it doesnt rain there. But when it does, it rains for several days straight. It rained almost one entire week without stopping, although small.
R&R was very, very, very, fun. It made the one I had last November a total trash. We travelled upwards to the capital city, stopping along the way to visit a temple, a nearby lake, and a wine brewery.
We visited a theme park, where I sat a ride that took me up to 85 metres before dropping me down. And a "suspended looping coaster" that took me through two loops at 4.5G. Basically I wanted to scream but nothing came out from my mouth. The feeling was...high.
I chickened out at a ride at a second theme park. I decided that sending me flying at 122km/h was a little too much for my heart. There's no hurry anyway; two rides were enough for this trip.
At night when it was free and easy for us we visited the famous night markets around the city, travelling to different places using the metro system that worked the same way as the Mass Rapid Transit in Singapore. Those night markets were easily twice the size of Bugis Street, and the crowds were strong, especially on Friday where the weekend was here.
And of course, the famous dress sense of the youngsters that beat us hands down. They were not afraid to wear shocking colours and spot outrageous hairstyles.
The traffic scene there was again something we could never see in Singapore. In the rural town I once spotted a man, one hand on his scooter, another hand carrying a baby. Another one had a dog sitting on the legrest of the scooter. Because the roads were single lanes, the only way to overtake was through the opposite lane, which happened very often.
In the city pedestrian crossings were generally ignored. Vehicles and pedestrians alike just found their own way to cross the roads. Something smart I saw was the operation of traffic lights. Traffic lights did not come into operation on roads with light traffic. Blinking amber lights meant a major road with a intersecting minor road, while blinking red light meant the opposite. Smart in my opinion. Unlike in Singapore where the car stops at a empty junction at 3am, just because the traffic light is red.
I enjoyed my trip there very much; definitely I will go back again someday. Four days was not enough.
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