Singapore

The first thing that I notice when I get off the plane is that Singapore smells exactly the same as it did 11 years ago. I looked around the airport, and the airport looks exactly the same way it did 11 years ago. And this is a good thing. I walk down the concourse and it all seems so familiar. I see the immigration control and the only difference I notice is that there is not a special lane for residents. Of course, I could have missed it, since everything was moving so fast.

To my mind, there is no better airport than Changi. I landed, and the doors opened quickly. I got to the concourse and quickly walked down the (wide and fast) moving sidewalks to immigration. There was only one person in front of me in line. I was stamped through with little fanfare. I walked down to baggage claim, waited under 5 minutes and my bag was on the belt. I walked to the taxi queue and waited no more than another five minutes and was whisked off to the hotel.

The hotel was sort of another story. I am not sure why we were put up in The Negara (well, I actually do. But that is another story) It is old, dank, and under renovation. The drilling in the wall kept up, but no one seemed to pay it any mind. It made the rooms uninhabitable from 9:00 AM until 7:00 PM.

The only interesting thing about the hotel was that the first night when I got back after dinner was that the work crew next door had obviously tapped into my electrical system in my room. When I turned my bathroom light off some mechanical device next door turned on. It sounded like a drum spinning up a wire rope. I played with it for a while, and then decided to leave the light on for the night and just close the door. The next morning I showed the manager (she was reluctant to accompany me to my room, but I insisted) the problem. She was mystified.