What A Fortune Teller Told Me
September 27th, 2008 | Published in general | 30 Comments
That I’m currently obsessed about how to make money in my own way, and how to make a lot of it. (I am)
That it’s not here yet, but I don’t have to worry about it.
That I lead a charmed life, full of travel, a life dictated by and dedicated to travel, and it will be this way for the rest of my life.
That I’m awaiting a life-changing transformation, which starts now, but “Life isn’t bad at all right now right? It’s pretty good? It gets better.” (Yes, and I’m looking forward to it)
That I will go everywhere in the world and see many amazing things.
That I should go to church more.
That I should avoid China.
That I should avoid, as best as I can, the east.
That if I absolutely have to go to China, to absolutely avoid the east of it, because you ren hui hai ni. Sounds like a recipe for a Taiwanese soap opera, so I’m not going to mess with it for a while, especially also since she said hai ni de ren shi yi ge ni ai de ren. I swear the Chinese language makes everything sound poetic, even while you’re having your murder/downfall/coming-down-in-the-world foretold.
That I should avoid the east of Singapore, too.
That my brilliant streak of good luck and charm in life extends itself in every way, BUT in the east. And so to avoid swimming in Pasir Ris, East Coast, Changi, for example. I don’t really swim; I wade. I didn’t know how to say “wade” in Mandarin.
That I need to eat less salty foods. (My sodium intake is… pretty scary.)
That next year I will meet a man who will love me but it will be impossible to be with him. “Probably because he’s married,” she said. (”Probably because it’s a man,” and “probably because I’m not available,” was what I was thinking.) Is this fortune-telling business gender-specific?
That “everybody loves you… but. But.” And she didn’t say anymore. I didn’t want to hear the end of that sentence anyway.
That West Asia, “The Middle”, and “South Asia”, is where I need to be right now, not China; apparently that’s where I’m going to trip all over myself while I’m there by the sheer choice of wonderful things waiting for me while my career peaks, while if I went to China I’d be stuck in a rut I can’t get out of. (I didn’t say anything at all about travelling, or about going to the Middle East, so the fact it popped up — and so much — was pretty amazing. That’s what she does for a living, right?)
She then let me know she was done by taking out a cotton bud to dig her ear with, and yawning a bit. (This woman has a reputation for being very ling; there was an endless queue of people after me!)
I’ve never really believed in any of this, but now I’m curious. Especially since The Plan, all along, was to build my independent photojournalism career in China. It hasn’t happened, time and time again, it just didn’t work out every time I tried to go. And I ended up deciding to base myself in a part of the world I’d never, ever thought of.
In about eight days I will get on that flight to the Middle East, and the plan is to pop into India often, take bus trips to Oman over the weekend, travel all over the seven emirates, and head west… to Syria and the likes of it. West Asia, the Middle East, South Asia.
So I’d better be tripping all over myself getting there, and it’d better be gold. Because this is where I want to be, on weekends: Suqutra, Yemen.
It’s still too early to be feeling butterflies in my stomach, and there isn’t much to pack. But you know that feeling you get when the stars are all beginning to connect? That’s sort of where I am right now, and it’s pretty nice.
P.S. Twitter is awesome. Two nights ago I’d twittered about how I was reading the Lonely Planet UAE, Oman and Arabian Peninsula, and a few minutes later the author of the UAE section twittered back! She runs a very cool blog, and I’m glad I found her: she makes it sound like I’m going to feel right at home in that city. That edition was the rare Lonely Planet that I liked, though I’m sure I’ll like the LP Vietnam when Tym finishes with it.
P.P.S. I don’t think I’m going to a fortune teller ever again — that was my first time, probably last. I don’t think I want to know that much. Takes the fun out of it, don’t you think?
September 27th, 2008 at 2:05 am (#)
cool, can i ask where that fortune teller was?
September 27th, 2008 at 2:07 am (#)
in singapore, block 925 yishun central ;)
September 27th, 2008 at 7:37 am (#)
It’s not cast in stone…you create your own destiny,too :) Have fun !
September 27th, 2008 at 8:18 am (#)
I’m curious too :) So you just show up anytime?
September 27th, 2008 at 10:55 am (#)
no actually, it sounded like the fortune teller wants you to avoid taiwan instead…
‘…..that everyone loves you but not the chicken wing that you just ate’ just had to pop into my head.
September 27th, 2008 at 12:01 pm (#)
@alvin no you need to make an appointment and they’ll slot you in, she’s too insanely popular!
September 27th, 2008 at 12:08 pm (#)
@tiak taiwan? cannot! i will kill myself if i cannot go to taiwan. i mean, ah zhong mee sua. i will happily eat that as my last meal if i have to!
September 27th, 2008 at 2:03 pm (#)
ah. i’ve never shared that same passion for ah zhong mee sua. i ate it when the whole of my mouth was in pain with toothache or something.and with a thick nose block.
September 27th, 2008 at 2:21 pm (#)
that’s your loss, cousin! :) see you at home tomorow. i promise i’ll respond if you kick me a little while i try to meet an impossible deadline. just a little.
September 27th, 2008 at 3:43 pm (#)
thanks! how do you make an appointment; is there a contact number?
September 28th, 2008 at 2:30 am (#)
Can u please email me her contact no?
September 28th, 2008 at 7:29 am (#)
I want her contact number too!
So, did you think your post would end up being a referral business? :D
September 28th, 2008 at 8:53 pm (#)
haha, does everybody think she’s very ‘zhun’, or something? i’ve sent out the contacts to a few people here, will do so to the rest of you when i’m done with some stuff.
September 29th, 2008 at 1:43 pm (#)
I SHOWED you why you should avoid China!
:P
September 29th, 2008 at 1:44 pm (#)
Oh! And talk to the liasion in Dubai(she’s mailed you), she wrote to you. Remember - Bree brought to life.
All the best!
September 30th, 2008 at 12:27 am (#)
Thanks for the link to our blog! Glad you liked the post. Lara from Cool Travel Guide has done some great writing for us - she also helped us with our
insider’s guide to Dubai.
September 30th, 2008 at 1:59 am (#)
Hi there, could I get her contact number too, if it’s not too much trouble? Thanks :)
October 1st, 2008 at 3:13 pm (#)
I also want her number…! How much did you pay her?
Oh hey and let me know if Rods is gonna put u up in Dubai..
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm (#)
She sounds like an interesting person. I should pop by when I have time. Thanks for the address!
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:11 pm (#)
you have a great blog…I stepped in here, intrigued by the name…and you are doin what I would love to do sometime in the coming days…travel the globe..travel writing is the coolest I guess…do temme how to get in touch with you..would be great!! :)
greetings from New Delhi, India.
Scribblers Inc.
October 3rd, 2008 at 2:58 pm (#)
i also wanna go to that fortune-teller. hahahaa.
can’t believe u’re going to the middle east!! hope ure good!!
October 3rd, 2008 at 5:47 pm (#)
Now, wasn’t that interesting? Let’s see how it plays out. She’s pretty accurate for us so far and our friends and family. But like she says…predictions can be turned on their heads by the actions you take now.
Thanks for the invite to your party last night…but we were having our long monthly biz meeting in the midst of a seemingly endless array of slurrpilicious great food.
Do vist us when you’re next in Singapore. Would love to chat. XOXO
October 6th, 2008 at 4:28 pm (#)
“…she said hai ni de ren shi yi ge ni ai de ren. I swear the Chinese language makes everything sound poetic, even while youâre having your murder/downfall/coming-down-in-the-world foretold.”
Now here’s a nice song to add to your ipod playlist just so if the prophesy actualises, you can play it and add to the melodrama ;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4G31_I7AB0
October 11th, 2008 at 2:29 am (#)
i empathise. i wanted to go to argentina and ended up in the Philippines. I then wanted to stay in kuala lumpur and ended back in london. just go with it lor (it’s more fun that way too :-p)
October 24th, 2008 at 8:03 pm (#)
hi adri, second time to your site and i really enjoy your posts. i’ve been delaying my backpacking plans for years, and reading your posts (at a time when other things are also happening in my life) has pushed me to finally act. i’m now planning a visit to laos in dec. thanks for the spark of inspiration, keep up the writing, and be happy in the middle east! =)
and because i’m so intrigued, can i please have the contact of this fortune-teller?
October 26th, 2008 at 10:28 pm (#)
i assure you, you really should go china, despite west lake, despite Lhasa, there are too many amazing place, and plus, you get a chance to taste the local food, you can find almost every food in the world there,
November 1st, 2008 at 12:33 pm (#)
hello,
bumped into your blog via or by chance as fate would have it. your post was intriguing. please could you email me the contact no of that yishun lady too? ta v much :)
November 2nd, 2008 at 8:52 pm (#)
hi, could you email me this contact please? thank you :)
November 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm (#)
ok. may i please have that contact too??
does this lady speak in mandarin or dialect????
November 10th, 2008 at 12:19 pm (#)
hi, those who have this fortune teller’s number, can email me? need her contacts urgently. thanks