Singapore

It's certainly been an eventful couple of days.

Saturday started out less than ideally, as I attempted to fight both a hangover and the clock on my way to the airport.  I managed to get there with plenty of time, though the fact that I was the last one in the queue to check-in (and only just beat the flight's closing) was hardly reassuring.  I quickly made my way to the gate, only to find the flight delayed by 40 minutes.  I, of course, was actually quite happy with the turn of events as it allowed me time for a coffee and muffin.  I was quite excited about flying on Singapore Air, which consistently scores near the top of the table for passenger satisfaction.

I then heard my name (actually, something closer to "Christopher Reez", which I of course recongnized as "Chris Freise") announced in the gate area.  Not knowing what to expect, I approached cautiously - as if walking up slower would somehow change whatever was about to occur!  With eyebrows raised and a bit of nervous sweat (though probably more due to the hangover than anything), I was asked to present my boarding pass to the smiling but clearly preoccupied Sing Air gate agent.  I awaited his response, having no idea what was about to happen.  I prepared potential responses - "I checked in on time, I swear!", or maybe "but somebody has to be at the end of the queue, don't they?!"

As payoff for my suspicion and uncertainty, I was upgraded to Business Class.  The attendant must have seen my surprise, as he snarkily smiled, even as I unsuccessfully tried to feign coolness and expectation.  Act like you've been there before, right?  What followed was one of the best airline experiences of my life.  While not flawless, it was pretty spectacular, as were the flight attendants. :)  If you have the opportunity to be upgraded, for no particular reason, from the cheap fare you bought on the most satisfying airline flying today, I recommend you take the opportunity.

Upon arrival, the airport proved pretty spectacular as well, which shouldn't have come as much surprise.  It did seem a little strange to go straight from an international flight into the main part of the terminal without first passing through customs...and then I remembered that *every* flight to Singapore is an international flight.  Ah, the joys of being a city-state.  I was in a cab, chatting with my friend (and host) Angus within 25 minutes of touchdown.  Pretty surreal, all things told.

Following a very enjoyable Saturday night in which Angus purposefully showed me extreme examples of "local" and "expat" Singapore,  fate began to turn.  It was inevitable; the cosmic law of karma conservation (karma can neither be created nor destroyed) simply required it.  A slow start to Sunday and the need to repack my bag for my trip to Jakarta ruled out taking public transport, and it took about 10 minutes to finally book a taxi to the airport.  Stupidly, I didn't look at my flight receipt, which clearly said I was to go Terminal 1.  The driver took me to Terminal 2, which is where Angus has told me to go.  Amazing that he couldn't read my mind.  By the time I realized my mistake and got to where I was supposed to be, the flight - MY flight - to Jakarta had closed.  It's safe to say that it resulted in a rather big emotional swing.

After allowing myself a bit of self-pity once I checked successive flights and found that the earliest I could get to Jakarta was Tuesday - for approximately A$200/US$175 - I got the hell out of Dodge.  What does one do in such situations?  Play ultimate, of course!  I managed to find where Singapore Summer League was being played, flagged a taxi, and made my way.  Yet again - it shouldn't really be a surprise anymore - the ultimate community came through.  I was able to pick up with a team (though unfortunately we lost), which led to meeting and chatting with a bunch of people, and by the time I left for dinner with a few of them over 3 hours later I had a stable of friends.  I was even asked to help coach a session on Saturday for one of the local University teams.

With my original plans in shambles, I'm planning on going to Malaysia tomorrow for 2-3 days, with Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Melaka the main targets.  I'm pretty gutted about missing out on Jakarta, as that was one of the main goals of my trip, but it does open opportunities to see a bit of Malaysia as well as to hunker down here in Singapore once I get back for some writing and research.  Stupidly, I forgot my camera in Australia and therefore need a friend to send it here;  thoughts more directed to impressions and culture to follow, as well as photos.

Comments

[Eileen Dietrich]

Chris - Sounds like a rough start but you are making the most of it, as you always do! Keep your head up...you'll be underwater in Bali before long and all the bad stuff will be mere memory! Looking forward to seeing you soon...no news yet on my tix.

[Eileen Dietrich]

Chris - Sounds like a rough start but you are making the most of it, as you always do! Keep your head up...you'll be underwater in Bali before long and all the bad stuff will be mere memory! Looking forward to seeing you soon...no news yet on my tix.