A cold, the National Geographic shop and evil shirts
16.06.2011 - 17.06.2011
34 °C
By Thursday morning, Plane Boy had started to come down with the cold Nerdia had before leaving home. 
Nothing major, but enough to put off doing too much that day. Thus Plane Boy settled down at the hotel with a book while Nerdia went for a wander.
A few streets away was Lot 10, an as yet unexplored upmarket shopping mall. Within was a welcome surprise: a National Geographic shop! Shelves of old magazines, tables by the window, time to spare - her idea of heaven. Several hours were spent lazily reading about Hanoi, moth photography and other nerdy pursuits. 
When hunger pangs struck it was off to Tarbush, a nearby Lebanese chain restaurant recommended by a workmate (onya JT!). Yummo labneh! After a late lunch, Nerdia slowly wend her way back to the hotel... via Sungei Wang bargain shopping plaza. What started as a mild interest in tacky knick-knacks led to bad shirts, more bad shirts and even more bad shirts. Truly hideous, even by Nerdia's standards. Hurrah!
Once Nerdia had returned to the hotel and injured Plane Boy's eyes with the blinding ugliness of her purchases, both relaxed for the rest of the arvo before returning to Tarbush for a delicious dinner.
Friday saw Plane Boy slightly better but still not tip-top, so nothing too strenuous - just hours and hours of shopping at Times Square. An early highlight was discovering a Borders bookshop still open on the bottom floor, where (wonder of wonders) Nerdia bought more books than Plane Boy did. Most of the day was spent hunting souvenirs plus a particularly funny window display Nerdia had meant to photograph days ago. Plane Boy later retired to the hotel while Nerdia tried her hand at indoor archery (not TOO bad given how many years it's been since she picked up a bow). Then it was books and beer in the hotel bar until dinner time back at Sahara Tent, where we had another scrumptious meal. (Nerdia had gorgeous spiced chicken while Plane Boy had some new delicious lamb dishes.)
Today we've had a leisurely start, and Nerdia is about to head off sightseeing. Cheerio!
