Wednesday 4 January 2017

Preparations........It’s the eve of another tour and this time it’s a big one. I’m leaving Bangkok in the morning for Singapore for two weeks which will also include three centres in Malaysia. In truth my head is still not clear after the last tour as I tried frantically to complete my blog. Editing the vast number of photographs has left me practically deskbound and the week between major tours on this occasion is not enough and working on a previous blog while on another tour isn’t an option. I just have to put it at the back of my mind. Today is now all about preparing for departure tomorrow. The priority is to go downtown and change some money while Katoon’s priority is to go shopping.
In terms of expectations, I’m not expecting this tour to be so intense and will probably end up being dictated to by the speed of public transport. Accordingly I have pre-booked most of the accommodation and the flight, of course, which was booked months ago. Just maybe the lack of convenience of having a car parked outside may slow me down.

Day 1 - Thursday 5 January 2017

Departure........With an 11.05 flight to Singapore it shouldn’t be too tiresome to get ready but I’ve set the alarm just in case. But despite an early night, the alarm proves necessary and fires off at 6am. With some packing done last night, there’s not too much to worry about except to manage it, leaving out essentials. After a quick breakfast, all is ready.
A taxi is ordered and we depart at about 8.15am. There are a number of ways to reach Don Muang Airport from Kubon and this driver does his best to avoid morning traffic but succeeds only in adding to the cost by choice of route and driving with no urgency whatsoever. Check-in at Don Muang is straightforward and as planned we have combined our luggage to just 20 kgs avoiding extra charges. At immigration I have kept to my allowance of 30 days without a visa. That would have expired tomorrow.
Flight FD 357........The flight to Singapore which is practically full gets delayed 15 minutes and will now arrive at 2.50am local time. The flight time is 2 hrs 30 mins allowing for a 1 hour time difference. The flight itself is uneventful although there are amazing views of Singapore as the Airbus 320-200 flies east of the Johor River, past the airport reaching the Batam Islands, then does a U-turn back towards Changi Airport....more. While here in the Straights are so many cargo ships they would be impossible to count. Check-in is smooth and airport facilities first class as you would expect. Now it’s time to head into town Google Map.

City bound........While the commentary so far has provided little useful information, that’s about to change. For some reason I decide to use the MRT (metro) figuring that my hotel tonight is not far from a metro station but I think with hindsight I should have used the shuttle bus service which would have dropped us off near the hotel. 15 minutes walk with luggage was really asking a lot. Nevertheless it was useful knowledge gained. To start with I realised that the metro doesn’t run from Terminal 1 where we landed. You need to take the rail link to either terminal 2 or 3 to connect with the city but it is a free service. I also learnt to have some small notes ready as standard tickets are only available in ticket machines: Back in Bangkok they were out of the smaller notes, 2$ or 5$. Ok finally we get onto the metro and make our way to EW9, Ajunied Google Map. As we pass through the eastern residential area I try to recall my one and only visit to Singapore some 30 years ago which left only a vague impessions of a place so modern and clean in complete contrast to many S.E. Asian countries. Well nothing has changed there. Arriving at Ajunied, as mentioned, there is then an awkward walk to Gayling Lorong 18 but easy enough to find in the end.
Missgivings........Certainly today I have missed the local transport, songtheaws and motor cycle taxis. Perhaps the most obvious difference is that, as in the West, things are well orginised in Singapore but if you’re disorganised like me it doesn’t help a lot. In other parts of Asia you can get away with it which suites me better. Not here! Personal service, is at a huge premium. Finally reaching Fragrance Crystal there’s an issue that needs to be resolved but as it’s something that will have to wait till tomorrow I can concentrate on finding something to eat. By now it’s late enough to call it dinner. Gaylang has no shortage of places to eat and I was actually looking forward to eating in one of the famous food halls but tonight I’ll just grab what I can. Not in the mood for shopping around, I pop into a small food hall on the street corner and that sets the tone for the rest of the evening; food not particularly appetising, certainly over priced and not at all to Katoon’s taste. Perhaps some shopping in Geylang Road will help. Well no! I knew Singapore would be expensive but I hadn’t expected to be placing myself on a crash diet so soon. I begin to realise that almost everything in Singapore is imported recalling all those ships in the Straights creating more obstacles than on a pinball machine. It’s obviously going to take some getting used to. Back in the room the bottles of water are that small, sufficient only to fill a tea cup. Bottled water is really expensive here; a larger bottle the price of a pint of beer in the UK.