A meet up with an old friend...

I went out with an old friend (A) cause he saw me online and asked if i'd like to meet. Said he just broke up and was feeling very down.

Okay - sure! i'll play aunt agony, plan something that'll help to get his mind off the matter, at least for a while.

Went to NParks website, downloaded a couple of maps, print them and set off. Met at Tampines 1 (did you guys note how crowded it was in there?!), and took a train to Buena Vista in order to reach Kent Ridge Park. I found out just how bad it was when A started telling me about tarot cards and spells and astrology, and how he plans to use them to win back his (ex)lover.

erm. okay. Wasn't sure if using spells counts as fairplay but if he's not harming anyone, it's cool.

Alight at the station, took bus service number 200 and almost ended up at the wrong stop since the place marker (its in the wilderness after all - no buildings!) was mouldy and overgrown with weeds. Found the entrace up Kent Ridge Park. The regret piles on almost immediately. Man! the slope is steep! Make that S.T.E.E.P. !! I was smirking at the nice bespectacled chap who looked like a Doctor (or at least a Houseman) walking slower than my grandma, until i started to pant. ARGH!! The deceptive slope took more effort than we both thought! Bet the Doctor (i know there's a possibility that he ain't one but i don't care - he looks like one!) is smirking now!

Anyway we trudged up the slope, walked the little patch of green, went downslope on some broadwalk, found Reflections @ Bukit Chandu (Chandu means opium/drugs in bahasa malayu), found a map, decided we were at the wrong spot, and walked back up broadwalk. Tada!! found the sign that says "Southern Ridges"!! Went down hill (again!) and found ourselves in the very beautiful Hort Park! We saw daisies (real daisies!!), roses and all manner of flowers and took tons of pictures before setting foot on our true destination - the famed bridges and canopy walks of Telok Blangah and Faber hills.

More climbing (i know there aint steps but since we are going uphill, we must be climbing!) and a lot of squeezing later (what the.. oh its saturday - of course everyone's there), we found a rather large garden, complete with landscpaed terraces in gradually expanding concentric circles lined in aged balustrade along the style of the grand early Rennaissance period. The only thing missing from this expansive garden was an equally grand palace - only a sad gazebo grace the top terrace. (Just read that this "Terrace Gardens" was part of the Alkaff Mansion!!)

Further on, we found the now abandoned Alkaff Mansion. OMG!! its lovely even in it's dilapidated state! Snapped some pictures and continued on to the Henderson Waves. Man! It's beautiful against the darkening sky - like some golden shimmery stairway to Heaven!Finished our trip with a walk down Marang Trail (which remains unlight - had to rely on the torches i brought) taking us to the base of Mount Faber. Went for dinner at Vivocity - where we were promptly mistaken for Indonesian tourists.

Time was 8:30. Decided to go for the Songs Of The Sea musical fountain show at Siloso Beach in Sentosa - crazy huh? Fed myself a giant sized Malibu Dream from Coffee Bean and a cake before heading back. Laughed at near non-stop screening of "Just For Laughs" on the bus ride home. Bought some more water and sat at the playground near my home. And that was where i heard the shocking news.

My friend's been tested positive. For HIV!! OMG. Now i understand why he is so keen on winning back his (ex)lover. i mean, he has nothing else. So, even though i do not condone his using spells to cause his Ex to break up with the current lover and return to him, i couldn't blame him. Just kept telling him to reconsider and that it doesn't do him any good if he wins the body but not the soul. Nothing goes in as expected.

I really don't know what to say. And after much pressing, he did tell me that if all his attempts should fail, he might as well die as there is nothing without Jaz. Oh dear... I honestly don't know what to say. I am violently against the idea of imposing one's will on others but at the same time can't let him die like that! Big headache.. Please, pray for A. And for Jaz, who's been avoiding his calls. I sincerely hope that a resolution will be found soon..