Chapter 3; Southeast Asia, Singapore Slingin'

Wednesday 11th November 2015

We had to be alive again by the crack of dawn to shovel down some breakfast, before our taxi driver appeared outside the hostel. As we were hurling our luggage into the boot of the car, a man glided through the glass doors towards us.
"Excuse me," he asked, "are you heading for the airport?"
I looked at the man and recognised him from the breakfast table, because he was wearing a hard rock café shirt. As I am a metalhead, I instantly spot anything to do with rock or metal. That reminds me... the hard rock café have this starter of onion rings that are presented quite royally, stacked up high and curled around a slim metal pole, crispy and to die for. My taste buds would always welcome them with open arms.
"We sure are!" I replied.
He swiftly lifted up his bag and procceeded forward. "Do you mind if we share this taxi?"
I looked at mum, and she gave me a nod of approval. I turned my head back towards the man. "No problem with us, climb aboard!"
His face transformed, a serene smile as warm as the sun. "Thank you!"
As the taxi cruised along the Indonesian highway, we found out that the man's name was Yoji, and he was originally from Japan. He explained his travel itinerary to us and how it was his first time in Indonesia, as it was one of the few places within Asia that he hadn't yet explored. He also kept us entertained by playing some videos with the volume up loud on his Iphone, which were live clips of Paul McCartney and Bon Jovi. The flamboyant atmosphere passed the time away swiftly. Even the driver broke into a grin as Yoji switched eagerly from song to song, pressing the matter that Bon Jovi were a 'very, very good band!!'.
Half an hour or so later, the taxi pulled itself into a parking spot and rested next to the curbside. Yoji turned in his seat for the last time to face us in the back, and held out his hand.
"It was wonderful to meet you two," the gratification never leaving his eyes as he spoke, "and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your trip. I will pay for most of this taxi."
We each took his hand and shook it vigorously, beaming as we thanked Yoji for the generous offer. Then off he went, into the terminal building, soon to board and to carry on wandering. We climbed out at another terminal and waved the taxi driver away, then turned and strolled through the large, glass mechanical doors.
Check in could have been worse, but it also could have been better. The phone code that was required for us to scan and print off our boarding passes, turned out to be more hassle than what it was worth. We stared dumbly at the machine as it flashed at us, angry, with the word 'ERROR'. We seeked out help, becoming desperate, at the airline desk. And of course, the attendant fixed the error right away.
The airport was on a miniscule scale, so even after we had circled the allocated space that we could drift around, our enthusiasm lacking, the flight was still a weary distance away. As there was nothing more that could capture our interest, we decided to go through security and wait at the gate. We somehow brided the dragging time, with our eyes lazily watching the random, unvaried adverts that droned on and on, across the several television screens surrounding us. I let out a yawn, and folded my arms across my chest, as I sunk deeper into the leather seat. I was becoming as monotonous as the meaningless images on the screens, stuck on a boring, soundless loop. But then, my phone piped up. Inquisitive, I opened up my emails and scanned over the latest. Well, mother was going to love this latest piece of news.
"Mum, it looks like that we shall be waiting a little longer," I said, my eyes squinting at the fine print of the email, "as our plane is delayed."
She looked at me, expression as cold as stone. "You kidding?"
I shook my head and shut my eyes as I dropped my phone beside me and refolded my arms. "I wish!!"
So there we were, stuck in the confined gate space. I was sweating from the lack of air conditioning and I tried my upmost to incessantly disregard my aggravation during those two, unexpected longer hours. More and more humans began to file through the security point and occupy the room, until it was brimming. Other flights were being called through and I became sightly envious. We only had so much time in Singapore.... just a few days to cram the city in, and my stomach was rumbling out of both colossal eagerness and growing hunger. When we were at last summoned to board, each passenger was handed a free bottle of water and a cake, for the inconvenience. I appreciated the gesture and my stomachs grumbles subsided. My neutral opinion of Air Asia had certainly tumbled, and I would certainly hesitate to pick them again.

SkyTrain-http://www.changiairport.com/en/transport/transfer-between-terminals.html.

The flight flew by (pun once again intended and I know that I am terrible. I will stop) and we finally touched down in Singapore. To reach our hostel we had to ride the sky train, which was a cool, easy experience. Buying tickets for it was straightforward (for once) as it's system resembled the London Underground. The train literally weaved through the sky, in and out of the towering skyscrapers that loomed mightily over it. I watched the city zoom past, and even through a moderately blurred vision, I could see the slick streets, looking somewhat unreal because of how clean they were. The comparison between the vibes of Singapore and Jakarta already were on complete opposite ends of a strict and hygienic spectrum.
The hostel was a few minutes walk from the designated sky train station, which was a relief. It had been a long and wearisome afternoon, so we were smelly and disgusting. Mum was apprehensive because the pad that we were going to be staying in, was a shared dorm. Singapore is expensive. The images of the place on Hostelworld had been at an acceptable standard, and when it comes to booking hostels, I usually hit them up well, and bring satisfaction because of my grand experience with them. With this particular place however, I seemed to had struck out. The receptionist barely said a word to us during check in and the dim

light hanging from a broken shade at the front desk, created an aura as solemn as her expression . She lead us up the almost unmanageable steps (due to our exhaustion) and opened up the door to our dorm room. Well. It resembled a prison cell, more than anything. Nothing but stained white walls and no windows. Five bunk beds spread along the edged of the space. There was only one other female in there at that time, buried under her sheet, like a recently deceased corpse undergoing examination. As we unloaded our belongings, we were endeavoring to keep our spirits up and hoped that the girl wasn't actually dead. Because of the depressing prison/morgue/whatever, we soon forgot about our fatigue and showered, so we could get the fuck outside again.
Darkness had encased this part of the world, and we wandered down the quiet roads on the outskirts of the city, under the shining, golden street lamps. Noise gradually increased as we dived further into the city centre, with the lamps then being joined by multiple car headlights, sailing smoothly along the wide road. I found the Lavender food court that I had plugged into Google maps, and we decided that we were going to eat there the following night. Cheap, local street food? All over that. We were joined on foot by a random man for ten minutes or so, who took a keen interest to mum, and I laughed silently as my phone camera recorded them in front of me, his awe and enthusiasm attempting to crawl all over her. When he realised that mother wasn't interested in the slightest, he shuffled away into the shadows, muttering downheartedly to himself. Mum threw her hands up in the air as we crossed the road quickly, keeping to the crossing to stay within the law. It was illegal to cross Jay walks willy nilly.
"Why oh why do I attract the weirdos?!" she exclaimed, with a growl of frustration then escaping her, "I do not want to be dealing with this tonight!"
I simply sniggered and played the recorded video aloud, over and over to wind her up. Her mind a ticking time bomb, would she explode?
The shared dorm was full up by our second night, and our room mates were far from normal. We walked in, slightly tipsy from beer (usual senario) and saw two women on the floor, limbs sprawled out and covered up in white robes. The prison cell had turned into a mosque. Had we walked into the correct building? In the communal bathrooms, we spoke to a man who was from Essex, and the it proved that the planet really is on a small scale. I can still hear his accent faintly in my mind, when I think about him describing the work he had down 'Saafend On Sea.'

Thursday 12th November 2015

Breakfast in the morning was hysterical. One of the workers stumbled into the tiny, weirdly laid out kitchen area, possibly half asleep, possibly half drunk. Probably both. He dumped a loaf of bread and other various condiments on the wooden table that we were apprehensively waiting at, our eyebrows reflecting attitude. It turned out to be the ultimate basic of breakfast basics. But in all

fairness, the coffee was rad. That was the one satisfaction within that whole unorganised and chaotic time of the day.

As we only had two full days in Singapore, our sightseeing schedule was an intense one. And this is why I have had to break down this part of the adventure into separate sections...

-Lavender street court-We ate there more than once because of how cheap the flavourable grub was. There were many options to choose from too. The beer buckets were the greatest deal when it came to picking alcohol. I advise you to wear dark clothing, because I ended up making a downright mess all over my long sleeved, light grey shirt. I obviously blamed the untamable sauces that were sat next to/poured over the dishes. It wasn't me or the beer....
I had to scrub the hinderance off promptly over the public sink, which was located right in the middle of the court, where all customers could see me, as clear as a summers day sky. Embarrassed? I tried not to be.
On one of the nights in Lavender, a young, solo Dutch woman sat at our table and began to speak. Her stories inspired us and it was impressive for her to be wandering through the Asian countries with herself and herself only. Even I would have been uncertain to have planned an adventure through that area of the world on my

own. I would have the confidence now that I know what to expect, but there would still be levels of awareness and vulnerability that I would have to tune myself into. I was grateful to have my mother by my side on the present journey.
The last somewhat exciting event that is worth a share on that night was the trouble of having to desperatly pee as we headed back to our cell room.
"Oh goodness mum, I cannot hold this anymore!"
I had to literally sprint to the closest toilet, which we had luckily managed to seek out from earlier on in the day. My bladder almost burst and it was utterly dreadful. Fuck you, Tiger beer!

Lavender Food Square-https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g294265-d787757-Reviews-Lavender_Food_Square_Centre-Singapore.html

Has moved!-http://www.herworldplus.com/lifestyle/food/where-lavender-food-square-hawkers-are-moving

-Orchard road - A haven for all of the shopaholics out there. It was, without question, a case of mall after mall after mall along the street. And they were not measly or insignificant malls either. There would be no doubt that you would stumble upon the store that you would request. Mother and I adore our shopping escapades, so we were practically skipping down Orchard road and drooling over garments that we could not afford.

Shop & Event info-https://www.travelshopa.com/events/boutiques-at-the-pit-building--2

- Raffles hotel - The famous place to order up a Singpore sling. We took oursleves up the stairs but quickly found oursleves decending them again, as the queue was far too long for what our patience could stand. We also bailed because of how much a single sling was, and it was an amount to wince at. At least we saw it.

Raffles-http://m.raffles.com/singapore/

There is a free view from a hotel close by to Raffles. It turned out to be a better deal than the famous joint itself. An expensive cocktail to be drank within a sea of humans or a free spacious view of the

whole city? The latter won. It was recommended to us by an Irish man, who sat on the next table to us in an old traditional English pub, a home from home. He knew Singapore very well due to having relations out there.

-Macritchie National park - This was my favourite part of Singapore. The landscapes were as picturesque as postcards; the waters were as still as a silence, and the forest was nothing but a tranquil green oasis. All that we could hear was the voice of nature, echoing all around us in a most beautiful fashion.

Marcritchie Reservoir-https://www.nparks.gov.sg/gardens-parks-and-nature/parks-and-nature-reserves/macritchie-reservoir-park

-Gardens by the bay - This attraction was also very charming. You have to pay for the bigger areas in there such as the Flower Dome etc, but there was still plenty of pretty roaming to do for no price tag. We didn't end up being there for long as we had planned to fit in their version of Universal Studios. But alas, we took the wrong road in the wrong direction and we ran out of time. No theme park for us that day.

Gardens By The Bay-http://m.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en.html

-China town - I remember the food complex that left my mouth open and watering. There was the sterotypical structures and imagery that is typically seen in a China town (apart from that Jakarta one...!) and it was a pleasure to drift through it.

China Town-http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/places-to-see/chinatown.html

- Little India - A vivid, vibrant, colourful area that displayed true

Indian society at it's finest. There was such a diversity of cultures within the city.

Little India-http://www.yoursingapore.com/see-do-singapore/places-to-see/little-india.html

-Coffee stops - So we were naughty and decided to be indulgent on both days when it came to the coffee break. Costa had released their Christmas drinks so it had to be a popcorn caramel frappachino with a slice of mixed berry cheesecake. The other treat was in a chain that I had only seen since travelling around Southeast Asia, named The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Co. In there, the order was a toffee nut frappachino and Chicago cheesecake /

coffee cheesecake. We accepted the indulgence without regret because we were on our feet all day, so the calories were burnt away through the paces and the sticky sweat. The city was horrendously humid.

Costa Coffee-http://www.costacoffee.com.sg
Coffee Bean-http://www.coffeebean.com

-Bay strolls-On one of the mornings I managed to pull on my running gear and take a tour of the bay during the early hours, before daylight commenced. I wasn't alone in my running shoes, and noticed that the sport was popular there. It was exhilarating to be up and out, instead of the less animating jog on the spot, which

I had to endure all of the time through Indonesia. Safety wasn't as much as a concern here.

Bus Stop Info-http://www.backpackingmalaysia.com/things-to-do/golden-mile-complex-bus-terminal/singapore