Singapore to Seattle
I'm back now after a trip to SE Asia. After training our partners in Kuala Lumpur for a week, I had a couple of days in Singapore to do a bit of sightseeing during the day. I made Little India my first priority. Well, my second, since my first was trying to stay cool in the sunny, humid weather.
Little India is a short trip via the subway from where I was staying. The subway system in Singapore is pretty cool. It's efficient and clean, and the tickets are somewhat unique in my experience. Tokyo has firm cards that can be tied to your credit card (or used as a credit card), or, for single trips, a small paper ticket. Singapore has the firm cards, but even day trip cards are credit-card thick, and stiff; there's nothing to actually insert into a machine (like BART tickets or the one-use ones in Tokyo). You pay a deposit of $1 SG for the card, which can be refunded when you're done with your trip. The only trouble is that if you already have one of these cards, you can't add to it, so a second trip means first getting your deposit back, then buying a new single-use pass. Just causes a bit more queueing at the ticket machines.
Little India itself is replete with shops of all kinds. There are grocery stores, spice and dry goods stores, clothing stores, etc. Rarer here are the electronics shops that are prevalent in other parts of the city. But I wasn't here to shop. No, I was in search of FOOD. And I found it. An amazing Southern restaurant, which even serves some of the menu selections on a banana leaf. You signify that you're done by folding the leaf over. The ginger tea was amazing, and of course the food was astounding, too. And despite the aforementioned diet, I was undaunted here, and I left well-fed.
The second sightseeing day was spent wandering through Chinatown and the historical district. The day was a bit warm, so I didn't wander around as much as I had planned. But I saw the original landing site of Stamford Raffles, and some cool sights in Chinatown.
Wednesday saw me up at 5:15am to make my way airportward. Quiet roads and a nutty cab driver (saying that all people are assholes) made the drive pass quickly. Unfortunately, that was the only part of the trip that did. The flight from Tokyo to Seattle in particular seemed interminable. Couldn't really sleep, and in my window seat, I couldn't keep to my usual practice of wandering around and standing up often. Oh, and another problem: Non-upgradable fare. WTF? They make such a thing? Have to pay attention to that one in the future.
I also have to say here that clearing customs in Seattle sucks. You clear immigration (I got grilled, 'cause the agent noticed "Oh, Singapore are you bringing back any goods with you?"), then wait for your luggage. While waiting, I was grilled again, by a wandering agent. Then you walk through the "nothing to declare" line, and give up your bags. Yes, you've claimed it from the carousel, and you get to do so again, this time back in the terminal. When I finally headed for the parking structure, I was fed up and ready to be home. The good news is that my bed is still as comfortable as ever!
Little India is a short trip via the subway from where I was staying. The subway system in Singapore is pretty cool. It's efficient and clean, and the tickets are somewhat unique in my experience. Tokyo has firm cards that can be tied to your credit card (or used as a credit card), or, for single trips, a small paper ticket. Singapore has the firm cards, but even day trip cards are credit-card thick, and stiff; there's nothing to actually insert into a machine (like BART tickets or the one-use ones in Tokyo). You pay a deposit of $1 SG for the card, which can be refunded when you're done with your trip. The only trouble is that if you already have one of these cards, you can't add to it, so a second trip means first getting your deposit back, then buying a new single-use pass. Just causes a bit more queueing at the ticket machines.
Little India itself is replete with shops of all kinds. There are grocery stores, spice and dry goods stores, clothing stores, etc. Rarer here are the electronics shops that are prevalent in other parts of the city. But I wasn't here to shop. No, I was in search of FOOD. And I found it. An amazing Southern restaurant, which even serves some of the menu selections on a banana leaf. You signify that you're done by folding the leaf over. The ginger tea was amazing, and of course the food was astounding, too. And despite the aforementioned diet, I was undaunted here, and I left well-fed.
The second sightseeing day was spent wandering through Chinatown and the historical district. The day was a bit warm, so I didn't wander around as much as I had planned. But I saw the original landing site of Stamford Raffles, and some cool sights in Chinatown.
Wednesday saw me up at 5:15am to make my way airportward. Quiet roads and a nutty cab driver (saying that all people are assholes) made the drive pass quickly. Unfortunately, that was the only part of the trip that did. The flight from Tokyo to Seattle in particular seemed interminable. Couldn't really sleep, and in my window seat, I couldn't keep to my usual practice of wandering around and standing up often. Oh, and another problem: Non-upgradable fare. WTF? They make such a thing? Have to pay attention to that one in the future.
I also have to say here that clearing customs in Seattle sucks. You clear immigration (I got grilled, 'cause the agent noticed "Oh, Singapore are you bringing back any goods with you?"), then wait for your luggage. While waiting, I was grilled again, by a wandering agent. Then you walk through the "nothing to declare" line, and give up your bags. Yes, you've claimed it from the carousel, and you get to do so again, this time back in the terminal. When I finally headed for the parking structure, I was fed up and ready to be home. The good news is that my bed is still as comfortable as ever!
posted by Sanford Owings at 10:43 PM
1 Comments:
There is nothing quite like the feel of you own bed after a long trip to say "welcome home". :)
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