15th Febuary 2007
Thursday
Old friends, new hangout

Met Wenjie at Hougang Mall in the late afternoon for a chilling session. It has been quite some time since I last saw him. As the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder", it applies to friendships too. As I saw him appear in Sembawang music store, I immediately noticed the sharper chin and the increase in pimples. Teaching primary school students must be really tough. We had decided on visiting this music cafe called "The Ark" at Clarke Quay, and so we hopped on the MRT.

Clarke Quay. Just yesterday I had the sudden urge to walk along the Singapore river and just relax amidst the nightlife of Singapore. But since no one was available to walk with me, I decided to forgo that urge. But today, I'm finally here with a friend I have not seen in months. Clarke Quay has a new shopping centre called "The Centre". Not all the shops are open yet, but the shops look interesting enough. Do visit the place in the future when more shops are open. It will be a mall worth shopping.

Anyway, we arrived at Clarke Quay too early - the performances at The Ark starts at 2000hrs. So we walked around aimlessly and explored the new mall and also Liang Court. Time flew by while we were reading in Kinokuniya. I realised at that point that while I am into writing and improving my English, Wenjie is doing exactly the same thing for his Chinese. Maybe one day we will both have our own books published.

We went back to the Ark just in time for the performances. The number of audiences were pathetic. But that did not make the performers less entertaining. Instead, the three singers focused their attention on the five guests that were present and urged us to have more song requests. With their witty remarks and soothing voices, time flew by and soon it was closing time.

Review of the Ark:

• Food: 5/10 Not too much to be expected here. Main courses are pretty normal. Drinks are quite good.
• Singing: 7/10 Wide variety of songs sung. But singers are some times unable to cater to the maniacal song requests made by certain troublesome customers. ( =x )
• Ambience: 7/10 Quite a soothing ambience. Suits the types of songs performed.
• Overall: 6.5/10 A good place to relax after a hard day of work.