Landfall

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A little past one pm I step out of the Don Muang arrival hall into the fretting dry heat of the megalopolis we know and love as Bangkok. Wait a second? Bangkok? Yup, that's right. This is where I will meet up with Kay for the onward flight to Singapore later in the evening. In fact, I will have some four hours before it is time to head back to the airport again, and I intend to make good use of them. I have a taxi drop me off at Pradiphat Hotel where I have arranged a room. I quickly head up to drop off my bags and take a very much needed shower. Then it is time to hit downtown Siam to puchase any and all camera equipment I can find. The walk down Pradiphat road is just as hot and welcoming as I remembered it last time. In all ernest it feels very good to be back, and it pains me not being able to swing by Bangkok at least for a couple of days if I am travelling in the region.

What I didn't plan for however, was that the staff at my favourite shop Bangkok Photo have taken an early leave and locked up the store for the Songkran festival one day early. Go figure. Fortunately I know another small shop nearby and decide to raid its second hand section. Out of the blue I go pick up a used 72mm lens, a lightweight tripod and some used 58mm and 72mm filters and a handful of film. Nice job!

My expedition took a little bit longer than I had anticipated so I get back on the Skytrain up north. On the train I witness a slightly bizarre chain of events take place. Standing in the section between two cars I was facing a very cute young teenage girl. As she got off the train a young man I hadn't noticed before was walking up to the place where she had been standing and elegantly rotated to face the wall. A bit puzzled at his style of travel I suddenly noticed that he was taking deep breaths and gently touching the wall. WTF!!??

Back at Pradiphat Hotel again, and I am red hot, time to throw off another set of clothes and jump back into the shower again. Kay messages me that she's ready to go and I quickly pack my belongings, check out and wait for her to pick me up outside the hotel. As the taxi speeds off towards Don Muang airport I realize we are not exactly alone about this idea. As we enter the elevated tollway we face an almost standstill. Apparently most people were expecting gridlocks and opted for the tollway instead... Anyway the traffic is lightening a bit and we can make it to the airport in time. We're continuing courtesy of Tiger Airways, one of the recent low cost airlines based in Singapore. They have nice and clean Airbus A320s, but the seats are rather cramped and the advertisements and "special offers" being announced on the PA are a bit annoying. You get what you pay for indeed.

As we arrive in Singapore it is close to midnight, which means MRT and airport buses are out of the question. We land at the brand new Budget Terminal (ho-hum) which opened this March. Open air arrival gates and no sight of the rest of Changi Airport except for the occasional plane taking off from the nearby runway. Especially designed for low-cost airlines I doubt that Richard Quest will ever set his foot here, but at least it is squeeky clean and efficient. Cameras everywhere of course, as well as posters with helpful pointers about what to do and why. Going outside of the terminal the heat feels very different to that of Bangkok, as this is much more humid and the air smells a little bit of ocean. We grab a taxi from a stand with a very energetic traffic director waiving his arms and whistling constantly to the point where it makes him look like a cartoon character. I was surprised by the fair price of the taxi ride downtown (14 SGD to Chinatown, and I am sure someone will message me saying that it is in fact outrageous...), even though we had to struggle a bit with all the one way streets in Chinatown before finally locating the hotel. You will quickly learn where is a good place to hail or stop a taxi. The next pleasant surprise was the hotel room, which turned out to be quite comfortable and reasonably equipped. I had chosen the aptly named Chinatown Hotel based on its size, location and modest comparative price from a neverending list of available hotels. No white concrete towers with swimming pools on the roof for me thank you very much. Instead it is located among other similarily renovated and rebuilt buildings in atmospheric Chinatown.

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Photos

Check your numbers, ladies and gentlemen
Although the ruckus seems to have died down since the resignation of Thaksin, this is a battle that is far from over.

My room at the Pradiphat Hotel
A clear improvement over the one I got last time, although this one had a number of different pets.