I am in Changi, enroute to a meeting. I don’t travel as much anymore, but when i do and the journey includes a transit in Changi – i tend to reminisce about what it was like to be here in my mid 20s. I was still a diplomat then, and work would take me here every few weeks.

Every stopover, I would feel the need to buy something. whether it’s a bottle of designer perfume, pair of sunnies that would set me back 400 bucks before “disappearing” , a pair of ferragamo flats that took ages to break into and the ocassional handbag from one of the LVMH houses.. each time convincing myself that it’ll be cheaper to get it from singapore. tapi sebenarnya it’s not.

Looking back, i wish had brought my forty-year old self along on those trips where i would tell 20 something me to NOT BUY ANYTHING AND INVEST INSTEAD ..exactly like this – in caps. but you learn kan? and i guess it was the only way to learn.

Now at 40, i do still shop at Changi just not at the boutiques. As soon as i disembark the plane ill make a beeline for the Pharmacy.

• ducolex – check.
• bilaxten – check.
• Lotion untuk eczema – check.
• strepsil – check
• tiger balm yang red cap – check

After the pharmacy, ill pick up kuih lapis at BENGawan Solo (i only realised that it’s actually spelt that way today, i thought it was just how singaporeans pronounced it ) ill have a mee siam at one of the halal stalls, followed by a teh c . spending $20 bucks max

..and only if im really on low energy, i will allow myself a coffee from Bacha (sp?).

of course, i slip up sometimes. 5 changi trips ago i did went home with pair of sunnies I insisted weren’t buyer’s remorse. and i’m still insisting.

but times have clearly changed. im seated infront of the LV pavillion and i feel nothing. i can’t wait to go on the plane and get to my destination.it’s not that i dont like nice things anymore, but i think these days im less impulsive, i may as well save up for something i really want rather than spending on things that only bring short term joy.

but it’s really funny how travel itself has evolved for me. Matt teased me this morning as he was helping me pack, laughing at how much space my PILLOW took up in my suitcase. haha dulu masa muda2 belayar nada membawa bantal. sudah tua tua ani membawa bantal. skali bantal ani kuning lagi sleeve nya. tarang benderang mcm there’s no hiding age.. even my pillows announce it. lol.

and last night just before Skechers closed, we pulled up to get myself a slip ons to wear in my meetings that could pass for professional work shoes lol. I am now wondering whether black crocs can also pass for work shoes. i have a pair in purple, which Matt finds deeply embarrassing. Anyway, gone are the days that i rocked up to meetings in stiff ballet flats or red bottoms…

in other words, BYE PLANTAR FASCIITIS! lol.

my packing checklist has also grown a new category: medications. It now includes tolak angin, ibuprofen and yokoyoko sama yang inhaler atu yang utk idung tesuMMMMMat.

heh…

im praying hard i won’t need any of them.

kiss me.