vibes in mao sg? i didn’t ask for this but here we are

i just woke up in this tiny apartment that smells like old pizza boxes and questionable life choices. the clock says 14.04.2022, but honestly, i don’t trust time here. it’s that humid swampy mix again-23.92 degrees and feeling like 24.48. like someone spilled a latte on the weather app. i checked, and it’s raining. not the fun drizzle, the kind that makes your jeans cling to your legs. hope you like that kind of thing.



my neighbor, who i swear is a raccoon in human form, keeps playing reggaeton at 3 am. and not the good kind. the kind that makes you question your life choices. i heard that the place next door is a secret speakeasy. or maybe that’s just a myth. someone told me that. drunk advice, obviously. i don’t know if it’s real. but i’m gonna take a chance. maybe it’s a trap. maybe it’s a trap with coconut cream. either way, i’m gonna find out.



the maps.google.com link? yeah, i put that in. it’s a placeholder. i didn’t even look at it. i just wanted to feel like i was somewhere real. maybe that’s what this place is-the kind of spot where you don’t know if you’re lost or found. the address is 1702413, whatever that means. i also saw 1608841812 somewhere. maybe it’s a phone number? maybe it’s a secret code. who knows.



i passed a market last night. *that market was chaos. stalls selling everything from dried mango to conspiracy theories. i asked a vendor for directions, and she handed me a pamphlet for a yoga retreat. i told her i wasn’t looking for a retreat. she yelled, ‘help is always near, even if you don’t realize it!’ she might have been high. i gave her a dollar. maybe she’ll change her ways.



i took a selfie with a palm tree that looked like it was judging my life choices. the photo is on unsplash. or maybe it’s a different unsplash. i don’t care. the alt text says green palm tree near brown concrete house. sounds like a dystopian flick. maybe it is. i don’t know. i’m too tired to question it. i just know that unsplash gave me three good pics. one of a field, one of a tree, and one of… wait, is that a human? no. just a weird shadow. probably a tourist. or a ghost. i’m leaning ghost. ghost hunter? maybe. but i don’t have a flashlight. i just have my phone and a existential dread level of 9.9.



someone warned me that the locals here are not tourists. they’re surviving. i heard that if you’re not careful, you’ll end up eating dog meat or something. i told them i’m a budget student. they didn’t take my word for it. i didn’t want to. i’m not here to write a travel blog. i’m here to find a place where the wifi works and the coffee isn’t instant. i did find a café. it’s called brew haven* or something. yelp says it’s amazing. i haven’t tried it. why? because i’m waiting for the perfect moment. or maybe i’m just being lazy. either way, i’ll update you later.



i’m gonna go sleep. or maybe just stare at the ceiling. the neighbors are quiet now. for now. probably. i heard that the street artist alley is 2 minutes away. i might go. i heard that the walls there tell stories. i also heard that one wall is haunted. by a saxaphone player. i don’t know if that’s true. but i’m gonna take a chance. if it’s false, i’ll at least have a good meme. if it’s true… well, that’s another story.



tags will be travel, mao sg, human, vibe, messy. because nothing else makes sense.

You might also be interested in:

• https://votoris.com/post/gotham-whispers
• https://votoris.com/post/chiclayo-dust-humidity-and-the-hunt-for-the-perfect-frame
• https://votoris.com/post/shanghai-utility-bills-my-brain-on-a-ramen-budget
• https://votoris.com/post/digital-nomad-diaries-chasing-wifi-chai-in-lahore
• https://votoris.com/post/nairobi-through-a-leaky-lens-when-23c-lies