6. Days and nights in Singapore

What a fantastic person! ”It’s my treat” she said after a delicious, and spicy, dinner at an Indian restaurant. It didn’t matter that I protested (vaguely), she insisted to pay. A woman that offers you a free bed and pays for dinner sounds too good to be true, but here she is. My colleagues will be surprised and probably accuse me of lying, but Iunia even managed to shut me up. I don’t know how she did it, but she did most of the talking and I actually listened. It is fascinating on so many levels.

I took the metro from the airport to meet her. The ride took longer than expected so for a moment I was afraid I was going to be late (now my colleagues recognize me again) but I got there just in time, as I almost always do. We were chatting the night away at the restaurant, talking about travelling, cultures, life, the universe and everything. Time passed and I didn’t go to bed until 3 am which was fine by me as I was in the Swedish time zone, but Iunia had to work. She started at 1 pm, but still.

I was optimistic and set the alarm to 10:30 but woke up two hours after it went off, just as Iunia was leaving for work. I got myself together and went out for breakfast. If the backpack and camera didn’t give me away as the obvious tourist (it did), my inability to properly order and eat Chinese food certainly did. Maybe a Wanton soup isn’t what I usually have for breakfast, but I don’t usually wake up in Singapore at 12:30 either.

I walked around all day trying to capture the obvious Singapore sights, until it was time to meet up with Iunia and her friend Tristan in Little India. After a visit to an Indian temple, tasting some Indian sweets and drinking some Indian tea, more friends showed up. If Iunia is talkative, it is nothing compared to Raj. I did my best to follow his Indian English while I wondered how anyone can wear a thick leather jacket in a 30 degree heat.

The next day, I think it was a Thursday, I decided I wanted to see Sentosa, an island resort south of Singapore. On the monorail across the strait a soothing voice told me how much I will enjoy all the shopping and all the (expensive tourist) attractions. The voice was absolutely right, I did indeed enjoy the beers and they were indeed expensive. I walked about half way around the island when I got stuck with a couple of Scottish guys. The beers were flowing and I listened to some incredible stories. It’s too R-rated for the Internet though, so I won’t reveal them here.

This bike trip is starting out great. Now I just need to get a bike.