The Trip There

---

THE TRIP THERE

The less said, the better. Besides the currently-accepted practice of being considered a terrorist every time you fly somewhere, and giving up any rights to personal privacy, the actual flights were L-O-N-G and painful in those tiny seats. After all, Sri Lanka is on the other side of the world from my home in San Jose, California. It is impossible to travel further away! Of course, the pleasure of being in Sri Lanka is worth the pain of getting there, but that's hard to remember when you're trying to sleep upright.

However, it is worth noting that Singapore Airlines is a superb business venture. I would recommend them to anyone who is traveling: excellent service, excellent food (with printed menus of the choices), and the video-entertainment system called Krisworld (recent movies, TV shows, music, and video games on demand). Quite unlike the American airlines these days, where barely civil employees offer to sell you potato chips for your dinner.

SINGAPORE

Our trip itinerary included a twelve hour layover in Singapore. Fortunately for us, Changi Airport is one of the best airports in the world! They provide every amenity that would make traveling more pleasant. We checked into a nice "transit motel". These are real rooms, with soft beds and hot showers, that can be rented for six-hour intervals. It was a real blessing to have a real nap between flights. Singapore's tourist industry also offered a free two-hour guided tour of the city, complete with a bum boat ride on the Singapore River. This was very considerate. We passed the Raffles Hotel, where the Singapore Sling was invented, and many other colonial buildings. We felt that we almost got an "extra country" thrown into our trip.

---

Photos

Bum Boat
Bum boats on the Singapore River