Impromptu Singapore trip 2018

Last month, I asked Wife if I could go for a short 24-hour trip to my beloved country, Singapore. It was meant to be an impromptu, back-to-memory lane journey. The last time I went to the Merlion City was probably two years ago; when I was told by the Immigration Officer that I had lost my Singapore PR. The Miri-Singapore-Miri flight tickets cost me RM226.24 which was a great bargain.

Excitement grew as soon as the plane landed in Terminal 4. Was it Singapore dollars that lured me approximately 15 years ago? Or was it because of abundance of job opportunities? All I know at that time was that I needed a career. And my home country could not provide me with one. Things didn't get better these days too with high inflation and lack of jobs' vacancies.

Immigration clearance was very fast and orderly. I was not familiar with the new terminal and after five minutes, I found myself following the crowd and sitting inside a bus towards another airport terminal. From there, I boarded the MRT train to go to much-talked Marina Sands.

I did not know the directions. I was there just to catch a glimpse of the "three joss sticks" towers. I walked for a good 30 minutes before I reached an end to the enclosed walkway. The lights mesmerized me. The ambience was wonderful. I enjoyed looking at the children running about underneath the huge chandelier.

Time was ticking away. I had yet seen the Marina Bay Sands from afar. I passed the casino and the hotel lobbies. I found myself back to MRT station. Almost giving up and cursing myself for not checking out the routes the day before, I saw the signboard showing the path to Gardens by the Bay.

I walked for a good 10 minutes. Then, there they were. Right in front of me. The majestic three towers of Marina Bay Sands. Mission was accomplished. The view was great. I was as happy as a five year old boy jumping on a trampoline. 

Gardens by the Bay seemed very alluring. My heart was willing but my legs were weak.

No time to waste. I headed to Chinatown to find my budget hotel .The Bohemian Chic at Mosque Road.

It took me a good hour to locate the no signboard hotel. A simple shared room with 8 strangers cost me SGD 28.50 a night. I had a short rest before venturing out to Chinatown Complex Food Centre for dinner.

I frequented the food court when I was working in Singapore General Hospital. I used to walk at least 20 minutes to reach the food place; just to have a SGD 2 meal.

I was dissappointed. The eating place was closed. Such a nostalgic place. But to think that I walked so far last times to save a few dollars and to fill my tummy; not a wise thing to do. Then again, it was me. 15 years ago.

The place was crowded as it used to be. Nothing changed except the number of mainland Chinese people peddling their food was much bigger. I walked for some time. I was not sure if these foreign food worth eating or not. One scoop cost me SGD3.

I chose stewed intestines, soggy fried chicken and probably braised stomach?

SGD 10 poorer and surrending my taste buds to salty, awful food, I could not say more. Just stay far away from mainland Chinese food.

I hit the road at 6 a.m. the next day. I was pretty sad to leave this country.

I stood in the middle of the road. An hour MRT train journey later, I was in T4 again.

It was still early morning. Not many passengers were walking around.

I was still wearing my pyjamas.

Time to say good bye and thank you for the pleasant trip.