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Published: December 14th 2008
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There is nothing pleasant in arriving anywhere at stupid o'clock, i.e. at some ridiculous hour of the day where the sensible are in bed and the hedonistic are out looking for the next high.
Unfortunately, myself, I was doing neither and while I occasionally crave the latter at that moment at 1am in Singapore airport - the bed, the warm room with the curtains drawn tight was the more prevaling temptation. And the image was taunting me as I considered my options. Realising once again that I had lost my hostel booking I made arrangements with the airport to take me to the closest and cheapest hotel in town. Consequently, I ended up in Little India arriving at my hotel in the cold and pouring rain. As soon as I found my bed I sunk into a deep sleep with the rather irritating realisation that I could only satisfy this ache for just a few hours.
So, after only 5 hours sleep I awoke in yet another strange city. My first priority was to unload my bags and prioritise what I needed for New Zealand. The remainder would be posted home to England. I have never been to Singapore
Waiting for a train at Farrer Park
...excited to be heading out into the city before and I had less than a day to explore it as that very night I would be boarding another plane that would take to me to the farthest country in the world in another continent.
Once the job with the post office was complete I realised my hunger but did not want to spend the time immediately available searching for an eatery in Little India. I wanted to see Singapore. The great roads and skyscrapers, the clean streets and the inhabitants that make up the city that is also a country.
Singapore is a strange hybrid indeed. Situated on a small island off the very tip of the South-East Asian peninsula it is separated from Malaysia by a causeway which is traversed by one of two bridges. And while it is one of the smallest nations in South-East Asia it is too huge to conquer in a day let alone in just 5 hours!
I headed to the city centre so that I may observe the city in all its greatness, to peak at its gardens and the Prime Minister's palace. To explore its shopping malls and to take a rest in one of its many
great hotels where I would be able to sample fine wine which had since been eluding me in Asia.
I ended up in its civic and business district but once I emerged from its subway I was at a loss as to where I should turn. Behind me were western restaurants, in front were roads leading in all directions and pathways heading into the unknown. I was hungry but did not fancy western fare. Thankfully, a lady stopped to ask if I was o.k. I said that I wanted food, local food and she invited me to walk with her as she led me toward a row of street vendors where I ate to my heart's content.
With my belly satisfied I set toward fulfilling my next duty. To buy a guide book on New Zealand. For that I had to venture into the shopping malls. I did not like it. I wanted to be out, not surrounded by people walking in a souless vacuum.
After much deliberation searching for a bookstore I found the guide I wanted and made a quick exit back onto the streets. My next and probably last destination would be the famous
Raffles Bar where its greatest feature is the peanuts it serves. Strange as it may seem, history tells us that customers would fill this bar to the rafters eating peanuts and throwing the shells onto the floor while discussing the issues of the day and gossiping. The place would be filled with chattering socialites and as you walk through the bar the crunching of the peanut shells underfoot grew into much of an establishment as the bar itself.
I drank delicious and expensive red wine soaking up the atmosphere pondering the month ahead of me as I read through the Lonely Planet Guide on New Zealand.
After that I did not want to see anything else for it would take too much time and I had to be at the airport so with forced reluctance I returned to the hotel where with fresh eyes I saw Little India for the first time. Over the roads were stringed Happy Diwali signs which at night time would light the streets. My thoughts as I carried my bag to the taxi and was driven to the airport was of what I had missed and strangly felt a liking for the place.
I wondered if I should return.
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