Exploring hidden corner: A coffee shop called Bibli Library

 

Saturday, June 17, 2023

Exploring hidden corner: A coffee shop called Bibli Library

One impression of Bibli Café. First, when I ran to see the address at Alley 42 Ho Hao Hon Street, I ran a little further on the left-hand side and found the café. As I entered, I noticed that the outdoor space was quite small. So, I thought the interior space might not be much larger than what was shown in the clips that people reviewed on TikTok. When I went inside to order food, I found that the ground floor space was not too big, with tables and chairs placed close to each other. I was given a menu to choose from, but as I had just come in from the hot sun, I didn't pay attention and accidentally hit the wooden cover of the menu against my lip, which was quite painful and caused a salty taste on my lips, indicating that it might have caused bleeding. I ordered a small Prince's Milk Tea, which had a milk foam and some kind of fruit that I don't remember clearly.

Please note that here they do not accept card payments. You can pay in cash or make a bank transfer. Using mobile payment apps like Momo is still acceptable.

After placing my order, I received a cute wooden cube with the order number on it. I went upstairs to the first floor, and the space was quite spacious with two rooms. However, only one room was open, and according to the staff, they would open the other room once the first room was full. It was a bit disappointing, but even so my main purpose was to study here. I chose a table, sat down, took out my laptop, notebooks, and pens, and quickly logged into Zoom to join the class. Unfortunately, I was already one hour late as the class had already started.

There were a few other people in the room with me, and it seemed like most of them came with someone, possibly friends or partners. Only one other person besides me was alone. Almost everyone who entered the room took pictures, capturing every corner of the room. It was slightly annoying, but not too much. The atmosphere was quiet, like a library. People spoke in hushed voices, focusing on reading or working, and there was very little noise. The music playing in the background was gentle, and it was all instrumental, so I could hear the lecturer's voice clearly and concentrate quite well.

I left the café quite early, around 1 PM. I will visit again because it's peaceful and allows me to concentrate on my studies. The ambiance also provides me with a lot of inspiration.

There is one thing I would like to share as well. When I was sitting in the café for a while, a couple entered, and they started arguing. They sat near the window, diagonally across from me, about three tables away.

Because the space was quite quiet, the woman spoke in a very soft voice, and I could hardly hear what she was saying, while the man's voice was louder. He seemed quite tense and annoyed, and the way he was talking didn't seem very respectful towards his wife. He spoke in a challenging tone, saying something like, "You can go ahead, but I won't participate." It made me quite uncomfortable. And that was not the kind of conversation between a husband and wife that I wanted to witness.

I want my partner to be able to listen to me when I speak and to know how to make his anger disappear. And we will only talk and discuss after our anger disappears completely. I only want to argue when both of us are no longer angry. I want to have conversations to resolve issues, not to say hurtful things to each other. I argue because I want my loved one to understand me, and I also understand that we can walk a long road together instead of arguing to determine who wins or loses. What's the point of winning an argument anyway?

Facebook bibli cafe: https://www.facebook.com/Bibli.librarycafe/

Instagram: @bibli. librarycafe

From Toir daily notes.