A Day in Singapore

One week ago, I took a one-day trip to Singapore to finalize my work visa. Thankfully, I had absolutely nothing to do with the process. So while the paperwork was being done inside the Singapore office, I got to go explore. Singapore is basically the exact opposite of Jakarta. Clean. Almost everyone speaks English. Clean. Reliable public transportation. Clean. Flowing traffic. Clean. I tried to make the most of my time in Singapore; I don’t know if I will ever get back. Thanks to the help of Kavitha (who was introduced to you all during my Lebaran posts) and her roommate Linda, both Singapore natives, I had a list of “must-see” things to do during my brief time in Singapore (pictured below). Thankfully, I was able to do everything that was on the list.

Here we go. I hope you like pictures.

3:40am — First alarm rings.

3:43am — Second alarm rings. Better get going because I know there is no third alarm. I always feel off throughout the day if I don’t shower in the morning, so I hop in the shower for a quick rinse and then make sure that I have all my paperwork in order that I need for the day. No breakfast, today. Kavi and Linda have told me about all the amazing food, and I plan on pigging out in Singapore.

4:15am — Leave my apartment to wait for my driver downstairs.

4:20am —Pak Alek* is my school driver for my trip to the airport. I am the only person from my apartment complex going to Singapore on this day, and, as far as I know, I am the only person from BBS getting their visa done today**.  After we take off, he gives me his phone number so that I can text him when I land at night and he can come pick me up. Very smooth ride to the airport (it is not always a smooth ride with the school drivers) even with a surprising amount of traffic for around 4:30am.

* “Sir” in Bahasa is “pak” (pronounced with a silent “k”). “Pak” is more respectful than “mister.” I learned this about my third week after calling everyone, “mister.” Now, everyone is “pak” or “bu” (meaning ma’am).

** All of us new teachers have been fairly anxious the last week or so about when we would be going to Singapore. We knew that it was right around the corner (because our initial visas expire at the end of August); we just didn’t know exactly when. I found out from our HR person via text Monday night at 5:30pm that I would be going first thing Wednesday morning. I was the first of the American/Canadian crew from PIK to go to Singapore. Why me? I have no idea.

4:55am — Dropped off at the airport.

5:10am — After checking in at the Lion Air counter and paying my 150. rupiah international airport tax*, I head to customs to get to my gate. I get through customs and now just have to wait for the boarding process to begin.

* In Indonesia, you are charged a 40. rupiah ($4) tax for domestic flights. 150. rupiah ($15) for international flights.

5:45am — Boarding begins. I am seat 32D on the flight there. The plane was a Boeing 727, so the seats were 3-3 in each row.

6:15am — wheels up ;;

8:55am — Safe landing in Singapore. It is scheduled to be a 1 hour 45 minute flight. Singapore is one time zone ahead of Jakarta, so our flight got in just ahead of schedule. Very cool descent into Singapore (pictured below: Singapore on a map of SE Asia). You can see the whole city/state/country/whatever you want to call it on your way in.

9:10am — Walk through customs and baggage claim. I was told that someone would be there to pick me up and take me to the visa office. There was no one there with a sign with my name or BBS, so I just assumed that our flight was a little early or that they were running a little late.

9:28am — Thanks to the free wifi at the Changi Airport (self-proclaimed as the “world’s best”) in Singapore, I whatsapp our HR person and check to make sure that I was being picked up. She confirms that someone should be there. After both of our attempts fail to reach Fiona, the person who was supposed to pick me up, she tells me to just grab a taxi and the school will reimburse me for it when I get back.

9:50am — I walk out of the airport to grab a taxi. Before getting in, I warn the driver that I only have 20 Singapore dollars (S$20) on me, my meal money for the day, and that I would only be able to pay that much for a ride. He says, “That will be plenty” and we head off. He was a very friendly man that made solid small-talk* with me for the 25-minute ride. The meter ended up reading S$23.00, but the guy was really cool and threw no fit just taking my S$20.

* I didn’t know what to do with myself in Singapore. I could actually communicate with people. Most people spoke a good amount of English.

10:15am — Walk through the doors of the visa office. I hand them my visa, the sheet of paper I am supposed to give them, and the money from BBS for the processing. After taking a quick photo of me and being told that I need to be back there by 4:45pm, my time in Singapore begins.

10:25am — I walk directly across the street from the visa office into Chinatown. There are several large malls in Chinatown (pictured below) and that is the best place to exchange your money. I brought $140 USD with me just to be safe, but that turned out to be way more than enough. I initially exchange $100 USD at a rate of 1.26. Online, I had read that the current rate was 1.27, so I was pleased (the way I thought of the rate all day was 5 Singapore dollars = 4 US dollars).

  

10:35am — After briefly walking around the first mall, I asked a couple different people where the best place to get Chinese food from a coffee shop (where I had been told to eat) was. They both said that across the street there were a lot of different places to get good grub. I cross the street and go up to the second floor where I see a lot of different stalls with food in them (pictured below).

I had been told that they do not look the nicest, but the food is amazing and it is very cheap. The first food item I was told to try in Chinatown was the roasted chicken rice. I found a place that sold it, and got a small portion for S$2.50. Right next door, I saw a little pastry shop that was selling curry puffs for S$0.80. My friend Christian (the one from KU also teaching in Jakarta) has raved about curry puffs and I had never tried one. I figured now was as good a time as any. After buying a Coke for S$1.10, I sat down for my first feast of the day (pictured below: Chinese food; pastry stand).

The food did not disappoint. It was incredible. Upon finishing, I start to head for the exit with every intent on my next stop being to see the iconic Merlion. As I am walking out of the food area, I notice a stall called, “Granny’s Pancake” where it was selling peanut butter pancakes for S$0.80 (pictured below).

It was too enticing to pass up. It was, also, delicious.

11:10am — Kavi gave me her Singapore public transportation pass for the day so that I wouldn’t have to hassle with putting money on a card. The first time I used it was getting on a bus from Chinatown to go see the Merlion. On the bus, I met a nice elderly Chinese man named Tony who helped guide me in the right direction. Thankfully, Singapore is a very easy city to navigate, so I would have been fine without his help. But the convenience of someone telling you exactly where you need to go was nice. After getting off the bus, I had a little bit of a walk before reaching the Merlion. I saw a pick-up cricket game in the park with the skyscrapers in the background (pictured below).

It was a very cool scene that made me smile and realize how incredible it is that I am seeing/experiencing all the things I am during my time abroad.

11:35am — Reach the Merlion (pictured below: back of Merlion with the Marina Bay Sands in the background; front of Merlion with skyscrapers in background). I had heard that the Merlion was a very touristy thing to do and it wasn't that cool, but...I am a tourist and I enjoyed it. With the bay right there, the Marina Bay Sands in the background, and the skyscrapers behind it, I thought it was pretty awesome. And the Merlion itself was really cool, too.

11:38am — Meet a nice fellow from Turkey who is also in Singapore for the day. We alternate taking photos of each other with each other’s iPhones. He was a very nice guy who was more-or-less in the same boat as me for the day (pictures taken by my Turkish friend of me at the Merlion below).

11:47am —Start my walk to the Marina Bay Sands.

12:05pm — Arrive at the Marina Bay Sands (pictured below).

The cost of admission to the top of the Marina Bay Sands is S$20. I paid and then got in the elevator with 5 gentlemen from the Baltimore area. They are part of a private flight crew and were off to Tokyo the next day (pictured below: elevator).

12:10pm — Reach the top (pictured below). It was a very cool view of the city.

The hotel also has an infinity pool, but that area was only for hotel guests (pictured below).

12:35pm — Head back down the elevator to continue my tour of Singapore.

12:40pm — Start walking to my nearest subway station to catch the subway to Little India.

12:53pm —

Big Gulp, huh…

Also at 7/11 in Singapore is a stadium nacho cheese-style dispenser of mashed potatoes (pictured below). As tempting as it was, I did not try them.

12:59pm — On my way to the MRT (subway) station I see the world’s largest McDonald’s coin donation bowl (pictured below).

1:01pm — Right before entering the MRT station, I meet a very nice Chinese girl who has been living in Singapore since she was in 2^nd grade. She was very sweet and helped outline exactly what I needed to do to get to Little India. I was still drinking my Big Gulp (Fanta Orange) when getting on the subway. I see this sign (pictured below).

The Big Gulp quickly went into my backpack. The subway was very clean and was not too crowded (pictured below).

1:15pm — Make subway transfer from red line to purple line.

1:26pm — Get off at Little India (pictured below).

1:38pm — After walking around for a little bit, I see this pub (pictured below).

I ask if they have wifi and he said that they did. I sit down at the bar and order a Mac’s Brewery Great White Cloudy Wheat Beer from Australia (pictured below).

It was very tasty and was a great way to relax after going non-stop my first 3 hours in Singapore. I also wanted to get reconnected to wifi because I had not been connected since leaving the airport. I wanted to let our HR person know that I was all taken care of. I also wanted to send a couple of pics to my mom and let her know that I was still alive. I think my mom is used to me being out of contact for random amounts of time, and I think she knows that I can take care of myself in any situation. I think.

2:14pm — After finishing my brew, I head back to the main road in Little India to find Komala’s. I asked several people where it was and they all knew exactly where the restaurant was located. I asked one of them if it was good food. He replied, “The best, Jerry. The best.” (Okay, he just said, “The best.”)

2:24pm — Waiting for the signal to cross the street, I see cops writing people tickets for jaywalking (pictured below).

Kavi told me that the cops are everywhere in Singapore. She said that most times they are not in uniform and are acting undercover. She said that locals need to be under the assumption that they are being watched at all times.

2:28pm — Go into Komala’s (pictured below).

Per Kavi’s advice, I order the masala dosai (a pancake wrapped around potato and a few other veggies) for S$3.20, garlic naan for S$2.80, and a mango lassi (mango drink that was a cross between juice and a smoothie) for S$3.50.

2:32pm — Food arrives (pictured below).

Incredible. I was one fat bule after this meal. Two large meals that were absolutely out of this world. The dosai came with three different dipping sauces: orange, green/brown, and white. The orange was easily my favorite. It was very spicy and had a lot of flavor to it.

2:48pm — Finished eating. Pay my S$9.50 and head out.

2:52pm — Walk around Little India some more.

2:59pm — Hop back on the subway to head back to Chinatown.

3:13pm (ooh, I like that number sequence) — Get off the subway at Chinatown (pictured below).

Walk around the mall some more to try and work off some of the amazing food I had eaten.

3:31pm — “Hi, my name is Matt.”

“Hi, Matt.”

“I, uh, never really thought that it was a problem, but I guess you could say I have been a sneakerhead since the fall of 2011…”

I walked into a shoe store at the mall that had a very good collection of basketball shoes (pictured below).

(love the Cool Greys)

(wish they would have had some of the crazier Bron colorways)

(Mamba has some sick designs, but they are all low-cut)

The prices were way worse than in the States, so there was no chance of me buying any, but it was still fun to check out.

4:05pm — Enter the mall that I began my day at.

4:17pm — Sit down to enjoy a Tiger beer, Singapore’s finest (pictured below).

It was not nearly as good as the Australian beer I had earlier in the day. It was average: just your everyday lager.

4:34pm — Start walking back to the visa office.

4:41pm — Get my visa. Fiona comes and picks us* up right after 5:00pm.

* There were two Indian teachers from the other Jakarta BBS campus that were getting their visas done last Wednesday as well. I had no idea they were going. They had no idea I was going. Apparently it was not finalized with the visa office that I would be going last Wednesday, either. That is what led to them leaving the airport without me. If anything, I’m glad this happened to me and not anyone else. It was not a big deal at all and I was still able to see everything that I wanted to in Singapore.

5:42pm — Walk through security at the airport.

6:21pm — Text a fellow BBS teacher that had asked me to get a bottle of alcohol for them while at the duty-free shop (“What is duty?” “What’s duty? It’s duty”). Alcohol is much cheaper in Singapore and apparently that is a very popular move as the majority of my flight back boarded with a bottle in their hand. The few times I drink, I prefer beer, so I was more than happy to hook them up.

7:40pm — Start boarding for our trip home. I am seat 36F on this flight.

8:35pm — Finally back away from the gate after having a “pressure issue.”

9:25pm — Land in Jakarta (remember the 1-hour time difference).

9:32pm — Get in line for my visa approval.

9:41pm — Told that I don’t have the correct paperwork that they gave me (they didn’t) on the plane.

9:45pm — Back in line to be approved.

9:52pm — Approved.

9:53pm — Call Pak Alek to let him know that I am headed for the exit and that he can come pick me up whenever he gets the chance. He informs me that he is sick and has sent someone else to come get me.

10:01pm — Three nice gentlemen greet me after walking through the airport exit and ask, “Bina Bangsa?” That’s me.

10:04pm — In the van headed home.

10:37pm — Home.