Leaving Singapore and Southeast Asia

With my final night in Singapore and a flight at 5 am the next morning, I decided to simply explore the city for a few more hours and then spend the night at the airport, since I would otherwise have to get up around 2:30 am and get an expensive taxi to the airport anyway. I left my bags at the hostel and began to explore a few final corners of the city, mostly ending up going back to the colonial downtown area with a few nice-looking buildings and some of the historical structures in town, as opposed to the many apartment high-rises and corporate buildings that don't have quite as much character. I had a final meal at the wonderful food courts, opting for the signature dish of the country, chicken rice which is just a simple but delicious meal with white rice and chicken served with a bit of soy sauce and a bit of chili sauce. I also couldn't resist the temptation of fresh squeezed lemon/lime juice, which was amazing and very much worth the dollar that I paid.

After dinner, I headed back to the waterfront to watch the sky darken above the skyline and the Merlion, half-Mermaid, half-lion statue that spurts a water fountain into the bay and is the strange symbol of the country. As expected, the tourist crowds joined me, but it was a clear night, and the deep blue sky made a good backdrop for the statue and the city, gradually illuminating itself as the night set in. Slowly, deliberately, I made my way back to the hostel to grab my bags and over to the airport around 10:30, making sure to not miss the last subway line to the airport but in no hurry otherwise. I didn't really know what to expect in the airport, remembering it to be pretty nice, and I found a website made by travelers that rates it as the best airport in the world in which to sleep, so I had high hopes for the place. The only trepidation was caused by a few negative comments on that sight, saying that it can actually be the best or one of the worst, depending on where you are in the airport. I also saw a few signs aobut a huge event at the airport that afternoon, a race featuring an airplane against a race car, speeding down one of the runways. It also said that this was the first race of its kind IN ASIA, meaning that this rather idiotic waste of fuel has also been performed on another continent at one time or another. It would have been interesting to see, but I didn't feel that I should plan my day around it, so I ended up a few hours too late for the show, and I don't think I ever figured out who won. From what I heard, it was quite a close race, though, and they had to go to the video booth to declare the winner. So dramatic. They probably staged that, actually, in an effort to drum up more excitement about the country.

The bad news was that right about this time, I started feeling pretty sick, which is rare for those that know me. Darren, the motorcyle rider that I met back at the hostel, had come down with a really bad flu that morning, along with someone else in his room, so I really hoped I hadn't picked it up, though it felt like I did. Even worse, I was flying to Japan that next morning, and I didn't know what I'd do if I was sick when I got there, since the quarantine regulations are pretty strict there, especially with the H1N1 virus going around. So, as the subway shook and bounced back and forth, I began to feel woozy and light-headed, also getting chills and feeling almost nauseus. I just hoped the ride would end, and after about 45 minutes, it did. I rambled my way into the airport, hoping things wouldn't keep getting worse, urging my immune system to fight this bug off quickly. Moving through the airport sheepishly, I asked around and found that the only nice places to sit/lay down are within the terminal, and you can't enter there until 3 hours before your flight, so I was resigned to lay across one of the few hard rows of seats, with the seat edges jabbing me in the side as I tried to adjust to find a comfortable position. Still feeling terrible, I bundled up in more of my clothes to fight off the cold chills and made a sort of baracade around myself with a luggage cart to try to keep my bags safe while I slept for an hour or two, remembering the terrible experience of sleeping in the airport in Tahiti and having all of the bags of my sleeping neighbor stolen during the night. As you'd expect, I didn't really get much sleep, but when my alarm went off around 2:30, the time when I could go in the terminal, I was fortunately feeling better. I wasn't back to 100%, but I wasn't freezing anymore, nor was I light-headed or nauseaus. Things were looking better for my flight, though I hoped that my condition would keep improving as quickly as it had come.

Within the terminal, I found what everyone was raving about. There is free internet and a few nice benches and lounges. I even saw a sign for a free 10 minute neck and shoulder massage from one of the spas in the airport, open 24 hours. After my terrible sleep in such a contorted position, that sounded perfect, so I circled the terminal and finally found the spot just before 4 in the morning. Unfortunately, I investigated and only found a few of the workers and patrons asleep on the reclining chairs, and I didn't feel like I could justify waking them for a free service that they were offering, so I had to pass on the tempting massage. Further on, I did find a leather chair with free massaging features on the legs and feet, and this was decent, though it was nothing compared to what the real massage would have been.

Soon, I boarded the plane and met my seatmate, a true Mississippi redneck who was working with Haliburton or some company like that with assignments all over the world, entertaining me with a few stories from his last two months spent in Vietnam on a boat with a bunch of locals who spoke very little English, though one did manage to convey the 'throat-slitting' hand gesture to signify that he was going to kill him, though my American friend said he wasn't worried. Even better, my health was almost back to normal, so once again, my body had made quick work of the flu bug that had kept Darren out of action for a while, and I was glad that I wouldn't end up in a small hospital room in the Tokyo airport.

(Singapore is a food destination, and it definitely didn't disappoint in that respect.)

(A bridge over the Singapore River by Boat Quay, near the colonial district, one of the prettiest areas of the city.)

(I once again visited the Merlion. With his (or her) mix of lion and mermaid charm, I felt mysteriously drawn to the place.)

(This strange creature really does know how to attract the tourists, including myself.)

(Looking North across the bay from the Merlion towards the Esplanade - Theaters on the Bay and some office towers.)

(And then back to the Merlion. If you pasted a few of these pictures together, you could pretty much get the exact viewing experience from that evening, free from the chattering crowds and camera flashes.)

(Singapore's two biggest landmarks, the Merlion and the Esplanade, in one picture. Just order some Chinese, Malaysian and Indian food and stare at this picture and you've pretty much got Singapore covered.)

(One final shot from the bridge of the Esplanade aka upside-down durian, the Singapore Flyer (the world's largest observation wheel) and the rising full moon - probably my last notable view of Southeast Asia.)