Travels with my Angst

What happened in Singapore?
It has a seemy side?

I will get into what went on in Singapore. In deference to younger readers I won’t go into detail about Singapore’s nightlife. Google it if you need to know.

deference n. Submission or courteous yielding to the opinion, wishes, or judgement of another. Courteous respect.

End of April
I was just In China again
April 26, 2006
Singapore daze
Fly all day and end up in a crappy neighbourhood in Singapore
I arrive in Singapore about 8:00pm and it’s crowded. The immigration lines are busier than I’ve ever seen them and the line for the taxis is the longest I’ve ever noticed.
I’d just found out that almost every hotel is booked because of conferences and exhibits happening at the same time.
I’d just found out that the hotel I had hoped to stay in was booked solid, and in fact there were only two hotels on the list that had vacancies.
The list is at the hotel reservation desk at Changi Airport. It is a superb service.
The hotels are located in less than desirable neighbourhoods. The nightlife is somewhat active.
While waiting in the taxi-line I meet,or rather I’m somewhat startled by, a young woman. Her hands flay about,abruptly punctuating her equally startling vocalizations. She apologizes, announcing she has Tourettes. She turns out to be one of the most charming,intelligent and genuinely funny people I’ve met in a longtime. Steady on. I’m mature enough to find someone attractive without the need to initiate a seduction.
She works for a local magazine publisher. We chat about Indonesia,Singapore,travel,family and anything that comes out of those topics. The line reaches the end and I say goodbye and head for my taxi.
After a few minutes of confusion, where I don’t take the driver’s advice, I end up at the wrong hotel. I hop into another taxi and get to another hotel where the staff is actually waiting outside to tell me it’s the wrong one. Psychics? No the hotels are part of the Hotel 81 chain. There are three or four on these narrow streets. A series of streets that feed off main streets are called ‘Lorongs’ in Singapore. The same system exists here in Indonesia. The smaller streets are called ‘Gangs’, pronounced with a soft ‘A’. More like Gawng, than Gang.
The driver who has already stopped, doesn’t hesitate. He takes me right to the correct Hotel 81. Note that each Hotel 81 has a name …in this case the Orchid. The driver doesn’t charge me for the extra trip. I’ve been lucky enough to meet some really cool people while travelling. Singapore has the best taxi drivers in the world. No hyperbole meant or inferred.
The front of the hotel is busy with the afore-mentioned nightlife. The hotel staff is courteous and professional, and the room rate is modest. At $79 SGD per night the Hotel 81 chain is a real bargain in Singapore.
The room is small and there are no windows. Given the scene outside that’s probably a blssing. The bed is large, and the bathroom is clean. Water, noodles and a kettle are provided. i walk up to the 7-11 and buy some extra water,sandwiches and a beer. I settle in for a night of Carlsburg,turkey sandwiches and AXN. I doze off soon after standing to switch off the set. No remote?!? Horrors!

The agent has arrived while I was out in the morning. He picked up my passport,money and photo. It’s the smoothest way to deal with immigration. My work Visa may be done today, but I’ll have to stay in Singapore until Saturday as I can’t get a flight confirmed until then.
Thursday morning I wake early and shower. It’s not cold,but not hot either. I decide to forego shaving as the razors I bought in Hong Kong seem designed to inflict damage. Perhaps grooming and mortification translate the same into Cantonese.
I’m almost out of clean clothes – so socks and underwear need to be bought. I’m running out to a bookstore later so I’ll stop on the way. I could have them cleaned in the hotel, but the price may rival the room rate. Honestly, I never checked.
I make my way to the bookstore. I’m here to pick up some magzines for a friend and some pronunciation tapes/cds for the school. I arrive at Borders. It’s a nice big place. The young woman on the desk is very helpful. In a few moments I know they don’t have what I need,but she gives me directions to another store. Mental note to come back when I have more time and money.

I arrive at Takashimaya Plaza on Orchard Road. The bookstore is called Kunikuniya
It takes a moment to locate free staff (never happens in China or Indonesia) and they help me to find things (rarely happens in China or Indonesia).
I find two boating magazines for Peter (a solid teacher and a sailor) and two sets of pronunciation aids.
I then head out to another couple of malls to fins socks and underwear. Where’s a Walmart when you need one?
I find Robinsons. It’s very nice with pricetages to match. No real choice but to buy.
I make my way back to the hotel. Another shower and then out to the Internet cafe. I contact Grace and try find out if I need to go to the airport for the standby flight. A pleasant surprise … my flight has been confirmed for the next morning. Wooowee … I’m going home.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 11th, 2006 at 5:40 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.