Chester and Phoenix at the Upper End of Orchard Road - in front of Forum The Shopping Mall
Linkin Park's Asia Tour 2007 started with:
・Sun, Nov 11 - Bangkok concert
・Mon, Nov 12 - flight from BKK to SIN
・Tue, Nov 13 - Singapore concert
・Wed, Nov 14 - free day in Singapore (!!!!!!)
・Thu, Nov 15 - flight from SIN to TWN
・Fri, Nov 16 - Taiwan concert
・Sat, Nov 17 - flight from TWN to HKG
friend figured out from the touring schedule that Linkin Park had an entire free day in Singapore the day after the concert and before they leave to go perform in Taiwan, plus, it was confirmed that they were staying at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is super small! the entrace, the lobby... everything in there is very intimate, so it's really easy to spot people inside! and we figured, if we don't start from the hotel, we'd never be able to know where they're off to... so we decided to give it a try and just go to the hotel and wait to follow them around~
arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel around noon and immediately saw Mike and Joe having lunch in the hotel's restaurant... my friend got there in another half an hour, and around 1pm, the guys finished eating and went back up to their room only to come back down again soon, ready to go out. Joe went to the concierge so we caught Mike (when he came out of the washroom ^O^;;
and asked for autograph...
didn't dare ask for photos cuz he seemed so cool >_< didn't dare to go up to Joe either *sigh* we are such suckers. the two of them left in a car to go somewhere... the guys later blogged about them going to Arab Street, Haji Lane and Sultan Mosque... why is it that these rockers all love to go there? when Muse was here in January some guy also caught them there on the streets (and got photos! with Matt and Dom~~~)
after they left, Chester and Phoenix soon came down too... and Chaz was sooo easy to spot with the red wrist guard thing on his entire lower right arm~ they walked pass us and my friend went after Chaz to ask for photographs, in which he declined saying "sorry, no photos in the hotel"... puzzled as we were, thinking whether it meant photos will be allowed once *outside* the hotel, we then started to follow the guys on their trail... like, literally walking few metres behind them, all the way from the Four Seasons Hotel, connected to Hilton Hotel's Shopping Gallery, out onto Orchard Road.
there was one point in which the guys had to turn around in order to go down the escalators... and of course, they'd see us stalking them... but Chaz looked at us as he went down the escalator and *smiled*, so whew. I was sooo scared and embarassed cuz I've never done anything like this before, stalking someone else... ^O^;;;;;; actually felt like the biggest idiot ever, like, I kept thinking, what the hell am I doing?!???
the guys ended up going to Forum The Shopping Mall, located next to the Hilton Hotel, and had lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen there... we also ate there, to wait for them... ^O^;;;;;; we didn't eat *inside* the restaurant tho cuz it was full, but seriously, even if there were seats, I wouldn't wanna eat inside either cuz it'd be sooo awkward!!! it's not like I wanna stare at the guys all the time while they eat anywayz! ^O^;;;;;; so we sat outside right by the entrance. the glass partition had reflections on so we wouldn't be able to see anything happening inside the restaurant anywayz, but we figured, they'd have to come out thru that entrance, so we'll catch them then.
about half way thru one of the two bodyguards came out. he first started to walk back to the hotel, then he turned around and came straight at us, saying "do me a favour, don't let me see you guys again anywhere at the hotel or following around" O______O I then started to look at the passersby on Orchard Road, and all of a sudden I saw the drummer Rob walking by himself!!! *O* it was completely by chance! I was just sitting there people watching! there weren't a lot of people on that part of the street at the time, so it was so easy to notice him! but still, I thought he looked completely blend in, haha! I told my friend and she went after Rob to chase him down the street... it was hilarious looking at her following behind Rob at the opposite side of the street~
after the guys finished lunch and came out, nearly 2.30pm, they walked pass us (again) to go to The Coffee Bean at next door. we had no idea what the hell we're supposed to do. then we saw there's someone else in the cafe, asking Chaz for photos and he refused again, but he agreed to sign. and when they were waiting for their coffee, the baristas were talking to them too. so, when they were about to leave, we finally went up to them to ask for autographs. but I guess it was pretty clear by then already that they just don't do photographs ~~~~~~>___<~~~~~~
my friend's the one with the marker so she started talking with Chaz first and got his autograph. I got no pen... standing in front of Phoenix, and he kept asking me if I have a pen... ^O^;;; I was actually waiting for my friend and Chaz to finish signing then give me the pen, but the other bodyguard gave us a pen (nice!), so Phoenix signed. as he was signing, he saw Mike's signature there, so he asked me "where did you find Mike?" ^O^;;;;;; "umm... in the hotel?" it was sooo embarassing!!! as I said that I felt like the biggest stalker ever and felt like digging a hole right then and there to hide... >___<;;; (my friend later said she heard Phoenix asking me that too and that it was funny. yeah, stupid funny *dies* why the hell would he even ask that anyway?!?)
but I guess it was some sort of opening, cuz I think, subconsciously, in an attempt to (re-)present myself as a genuine fan who loves their music and not some crazy stalker girl, I started babbling to Phoenix, "it was the 4th time I've seen you guys~ I saw you twice in Japan before and once in Vancouver, and then last night (in Singapore)~~~ would you guys be going to Vancouver again??? Vancouver misses you!!!" (I subsequently repeated the entire thing to Chester, haha)
Phoenix commented on "wow you travelled around a lot" hearing what I said. THEN, my memory is blank now, cuz I'm not sure how I made the switch from Phoenix to Chester ^O^;;; all I can remember now is, at that moment, I suddenly realized why am I not talking to Chester (when he's the one I reaaaaally wanna talk to) and what if he leaves soooooon~ I can't even remember if I said "thanks" to Phoenix before turning away from him to go to Chester?!??? *dies* god, I hope I did. in moments of hyper excitement apparently I lose *both* my manners and memory (and this has been proven over and over again all too many times now since then...)
so then, I repeated my script~ Chester's reply was like, definitely they'll go back to Van, da da da... actually, it's not any more certain than Phoenix's reply (who cited reasons like scheduling and whatnot). but I just remember Chaz said the word "definitely"~ but well, I guess that's the standard answer anywayz? just say yes first. haha ^O^;;;
I realized suddenly tho at the moment how weird it must have been when I kept babbling how much Vancouver misses them... they must have been a bit puzzled as to why I'm saying all this in *Singapore*?!??? HAHAH~ cuz I don't look one bit like a stereotypical Canadian! ^O^;;;;;; I later told this to a friend in Van, and she was like "lol, yeah! you need to explain that you're from Vancouver!" ^O^;;;;;; which I missed, dumbass me.
after that script, I added in, the one thing I reaaaaally wanted to tell Chester (and it was for this i decided to stalk them) even tho I'm sure he hears this ALL the time, that I love his voice and his singing style~~~ (I forgot to also say that I love his lyrics) Chaz seemed genuinely pleased and he *smiled* and patted me on my upper arm while thanking me ^O^ then after that, I guess it's time to "close" the dialogue, cuz I didn't wanna seem like we're taking up so much of their time bothering them... so I just said I hope his arm get well soon... and I was literally mumbling that last line, not loud and clear enough, so Chester leaned over to me to listen ^O^;;; then they left, and this shot was obviously taken when we were there watching them go off...
the two of them were in a cheery mood (probably cuz they were fed. haha. just finished having lunch) and when we talked to them, they both did respond back and *smiled* and everything. so it was really nice, it was the highlight of the entire day and what we were stalking them for.
after that, we stopped stalking them. well, we still did, a little bit... ^O^;;;;;; we went back to Hilton Singapore's Shopping Gallery and waited there, thinking the guys had already gone back into the Four Seasons Hotel... then we saw them coming back with shopping bags ^O^;;; we obviously didn't dare go back into Four Seasons again cuz the hotel staff there had seen us already... and for one who works in hotels, I should know better than to bother the guests staying there, haha. so yeah, after that we went back out on to Orchard Road wondering whether the guys would pop out again, but it was late afternoon already and there were just too many people on the street, so there's no way they'd be wandering around anymore. so we called it a day and head back.
and that's my confession of being a Linkin Park stalker ^O^;;;;;;
it ain't that fun tho, to tell the truth. I hate that bodyguard... but come to think of it now, Chester and Phoenix were the first rockers I actually really talked to (and they talked back)... cuz I think when I met David Usher and Raine Maida, I never really said anything! it was all my friend who was there asking for autographs, photos and hugs! I was just standing next to her being the copycat to get the same things! haha!
so yeah! amazing. I finally managed to see the guys and talk to them after 3.5 years. I had wanted to meet them sooo much before that I went as far as to join their fan club, because Linkin Park is well-known for having Meet & Greet sessions before every gig, and they're the only band other than the Japanese GLAY whom I've joined fan club for... but when I actually got the chance to go to M&G, I gave it up opting to be at front centre of mosh pit to see the show.
the whole thing still seems somewhat surreal now tho... to think that someone you have liked and admired for sooo long and that you always see through TV just standing right in front of you looking you straight in the eyes, smiling and acknowledging you... it seemed like a dream~ and now whenever I go to The Coffee Bean, or just see one, I think of Chester and his smile... *dreamy*
and yes, you can bet that I have since been frequenting The Coffee Bean a lot... haha ^O^;;; there is one around where I work, but it's further away so I rarely went there... now tho, I'd always travel the extra mile (and spend extra money >_<) to go to The Coffee Bean to get their drinks~
CRAZY. hah.
oh yeah, and speaking of which, I should also go to the California Pizza Kitchen more often too... and sit where Chester and the gang sat. HAHAHAHA~~~
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