Singapore (again). I came back to Singapore on Tuesday (12/20) to wrap up some loose-ends (and cuz the ticket package for my return flight to the States mandated it). It was good though, since I had time to make out a list of things I hadn’t gotten to do/see yet and actually come back to finish ‘em off. Good for alleviating that coulda shoulda woulda feeling that I often have in retrospect. (Though I guess I still didn’t get everything accomplished. =/)
I had already checked out of the NUS hostels, so I had to find myself a hotel. From the airport, I just told the taxi driver to take me to the cheapest hotel that was close to the airport. He ended up taking me to a Hotel 81 at Geylang (though the actual street name was different, so I didn’t know where I was). And I’d seen Hotel 81’s around, so I thought hey, it must be a chain like Holiday Inn or something. So I go into town that evening and grab coffee with PZ and return after sunset only to realize that I was staying right in the heart of a red-light district! I was shocked; I mean seriously, it’s absolutely crazy how normal this place manages to look in the daytime. It’s like they’ve all got legit daytime business fronts or something; then when the sun sets, carriages turn into pumpkins, pet stores and hardware stores turn into clubs and karaoke parlors, and all the prostitutes come out of hiding. I slept with the tv on that night to drown out the outside sounds, and any sounds from the neighbors. I found out later that Hotel 81 is apparently a chain that caters mainly to ummm, [illicit liaisons]. To the place’s credit though, it was pretty cheap to stay there (by Singapore standards). The next day, I moved myself to a more respectable hotel a bit further from harem district.
Wednesday was largely a hang-out day. I got my errands taken care of early, and Deenie had taken the day off from work, so we hung out and did touristy stuff that I hadn’t gotten around to during my main stay. We met up for lunch in town, then went down to Boat Quay to take the River Taxi tour. Took pictures with the Merlion, the Esplanade, Raffles Landing statue, etc from the boat. Then we grabbed some coffee and headed out to the Night Safari- it was really cool; it’s like a zoo, but at night, so you get to see all the nocturnal animals actually doing stuff instead of just napping like they do when you go to a regular zoo. At night, we went to the new MoS (Ministry of Sound) club down on Clarke Quay that had just opened up the week before. It was freaking packed; waited over an hour to get in. The inside was pretty cool, but some of the different theme rooms are like hidden and you gotta look for ‘em (errrr, at least it seemed that way after a few drinks, heh). Didn’t find the hip hop room until we were about to leave. Anyways, the whole day was a lot of fun, and I couldn’t have asked for a more well-spent day in Singapore.
Thursday, more errands, had dinner with Deenie, then hung out with Clara and her friends. I got a really bad case of that nostalgic heartache at the thought of leaving for good. It’s funny, I always miss a place more before I actually leave, and then once I’m gone, it doesn’t actually hurt that much. In some ways, I guess it’s good, cuz it saves me some heartache, but I hate to think of myself as an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person. =/
Friday, Clara and Serene saw me off at the airport. The finality of it all struck me pretty hard, and I had to choke back some tears. Then the customs gave me a bit of a hassle cuz I apparently overstayed my student visa by like one day. They scolded me a bit, but ultimately let me off with a warning.
I had already checked out of the NUS hostels, so I had to find myself a hotel. From the airport, I just told the taxi driver to take me to the cheapest hotel that was close to the airport. He ended up taking me to a Hotel 81 at Geylang (though the actual street name was different, so I didn’t know where I was). And I’d seen Hotel 81’s around, so I thought hey, it must be a chain like Holiday Inn or something. So I go into town that evening and grab coffee with PZ and return after sunset only to realize that I was staying right in the heart of a red-light district! I was shocked; I mean seriously, it’s absolutely crazy how normal this place manages to look in the daytime. It’s like they’ve all got legit daytime business fronts or something; then when the sun sets, carriages turn into pumpkins, pet stores and hardware stores turn into clubs and karaoke parlors, and all the prostitutes come out of hiding. I slept with the tv on that night to drown out the outside sounds, and any sounds from the neighbors. I found out later that Hotel 81 is apparently a chain that caters mainly to ummm, [illicit liaisons]. To the place’s credit though, it was pretty cheap to stay there (by Singapore standards). The next day, I moved myself to a more respectable hotel a bit further from harem district.
Wednesday was largely a hang-out day. I got my errands taken care of early, and Deenie had taken the day off from work, so we hung out and did touristy stuff that I hadn’t gotten around to during my main stay. We met up for lunch in town, then went down to Boat Quay to take the River Taxi tour. Took pictures with the Merlion, the Esplanade, Raffles Landing statue, etc from the boat. Then we grabbed some coffee and headed out to the Night Safari- it was really cool; it’s like a zoo, but at night, so you get to see all the nocturnal animals actually doing stuff instead of just napping like they do when you go to a regular zoo. At night, we went to the new MoS (Ministry of Sound) club down on Clarke Quay that had just opened up the week before. It was freaking packed; waited over an hour to get in. The inside was pretty cool, but some of the different theme rooms are like hidden and you gotta look for ‘em (errrr, at least it seemed that way after a few drinks, heh). Didn’t find the hip hop room until we were about to leave. Anyways, the whole day was a lot of fun, and I couldn’t have asked for a more well-spent day in Singapore.
Thursday, more errands, had dinner with Deenie, then hung out with Clara and her friends. I got a really bad case of that nostalgic heartache at the thought of leaving for good. It’s funny, I always miss a place more before I actually leave, and then once I’m gone, it doesn’t actually hurt that much. In some ways, I guess it’s good, cuz it saves me some heartache, but I hate to think of myself as an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person. =/
Friday, Clara and Serene saw me off at the airport. The finality of it all struck me pretty hard, and I had to choke back some tears. Then the customs gave me a bit of a hassle cuz I apparently overstayed my student visa by like one day. They scolded me a bit, but ultimately let me off with a warning.
posted by Dear Daniel at 12:00 AM
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