Singapore

So, the express train was smooth and easy, and despite the fact that my hotel was 5 minutes from the airport, I was up at 6:00 to ensure I was there on time for my 9:00 flight. Let me say right now that KLIA is a million times nicer than the KLIA LCCT (where we flew in from Bangkok two weeks ago)! But anyway, it was really quiet in the morning and I probably could have showed up an hour later and been fine, but better safe than sorry.

Flying from KL to Singapore takes about 50 minutes from gate to gate, so it was practically over before it began. I thought KL was really nice compared to Bangkok, but Singapore blows them (and probably most cities) completely out of the water. The airport was amazing (and spotless), the train system is incredibly efficient (and spotless), and really, the entire city (from what I've seen) is clean, organized, and beautiful.

I had booked a tour of the Tiger brewery today, which ended up turning into quite an interesting event. When I got there, it seemed the rest of the group going on the tour was a group of students from somewhere in Asia. I wasn't sure if they were high school students, but thought it a bit odd in any case that a school group would be going on a tour of a brewery. Now, I was there at about 1:30, and the tour started at 2:00, so we were all waiting around for it to begin, when one of the students, after some discussions with his friends and a few glances in my direction, approached me and asked if he could get a picture with me. Of course, I agreed, and after that it was like I was a Hollywood celebrity. I probably had 20 pictures (or more) taken of me with various students or groups of students before the tour began. (There were actually two white couples there, but they didn't get asked for pictures... must be the blonde hair)

So after the tour, a few more pics, and then we were off to the Tiger Tavern where (unlike what I heard about the Guinness brewery) you could drink unlimited beer for about an hour. I had three Tigers over that span, and these students were also drinking and, unlike myself, who didn't really feel them at all, they were definitely starting to get a buzz going. (If you've ever drank with Asians, it's typically not that surprising.) Anyway, I found out they were students at a Singapore university. Most were from China, but some were from S. Korea, Taiwan, etc., with ages ranging from about 21 to 25. More pictures ensued in the tavern, and then afterwards, when we were leaving and I was debating my options for returning to the city (the brewery was about a 30 minute taxi ride, ~S$20) their instructor, or group leader, offered me a ride back on their motor coach, for being so nice and indulging the students throughout the entire trip.

So as it turned out, on the ride back, the students wanted me to come out to dinner with them, so I figured why not and we took the train to a restaurant serving hot pot not too far away from my own hotel. It was really good, and then afterwards they wanted me to come out and do karaoke with them! By this time, though, it was past 6:30, and I still wanted to see the sights of the city. I probably would have gone along if any the songs were in English, but from what I could tell, they were all Chinese songs with subtitles in Mandarin. I declined, and set off to explore the city.

The sun was going down, but I wandered around and saw a ton of amazing sights, including, of course, the Merlion in Singapore's Marina Bay. I also had a Singapore Sling (delicious) in the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel.

Anyway, I'm spoiling all my good stories so I'll stop at this point. Of course, I got a ton of pics. I do plan to go back to some of the locations to try and get some shots in the daylight, though, and then explore a few more areas before catching my 2:10 pm flight to Bangkok. Then, one more night, and I'm on the plane back home... I can hardly believe it!