Tuesday - The Pain of Disco
In my opinion, what any long flight needs is a full length Bollywood epic to pass away the hours, so I watched Om Shanti Om while the rest of the passengers slept like normal people do in the middle of the night.
Wednesday - My Odd Little Hotel
Over 24 hours without sleep later I arrived at my hotel at 4PM (8AM back home). I intended to have a wash and then go explore, rather than sleep, so that I'd get straight into the right time-zone...alas I spread my map of singapore out on the bed and promptly fell asleep next to it.
My room is clean and there are tea and coffee making facilities - what more could I ask? There are ashtrays everywhere and my room is a bit stifling with the smokey smell. I would open a window but the window does not open. The balconies are apparently for show. Oh well!
It is, all in all, a rather amusing little hotel. Their method of ensuring that the bathrooms stay glossy and white is to regularly paint over everything with white gloss paint. Striping off the previous paint is not an issue they worry too much about. The lists do not work unless you insert your room key card (I gather that this is to keep women who allege to be masseurs from getting to the guests rooms) but even after you've inserted your card the lift does not necessarily take you to the floor you asked for. Housekeeping seem to think that between the hours of 9:30 - 11PM is the best time to clean rooms, which is novel. There is also a blue arrow on the ceiling of my room that points to nothing and I have no idea why...
Thursday - Botanic Gardens and Chinatown
I spent my morning on various buses on my way to Singapore Botanic Gardens and National Orchid Garden. The gardens were absolutely beautiful, it was a very peaceful and pleasant way to spend my morning! It was hot and a little cloudy in the morning but at about lunchtime and massive black cloud rattling with thunder descended upon the city and Botanic Gardens and it wasn't long after that that the rain followed. The few people I have had any communication with have been varied. The bus drivers are quite brusque but a very friendly woman on the first bus of the day gave me change for a $10 note as buses don't give change here, and another woman at a crossing offered for me to stand under her umbrella with her and walked holding it over both of us until our paths separated. I went to see Sri Mariamman Temple which is an amazing colourful Hindu temple, and walked through Chinatown Night Market and generally had a bit of an explore.
I might currently be lost, but thus far my vague sense of direction hasn't let me down and I think I'm near Clarke Quay. Fingers crossed, eh?
xxx