Asia Holiday 2013, August 09 (Something Bigger, Something Brighter)

It's always a good start to a holiday when your first flight is delayed by an indeterminable amount of time. We were told shortly before departure that there would be a half hour delay due to congestion caused by runway construction. After that half hour, we were told it would be another half hour. The second time turned out to be a whole hour, then we were nearly ready to start, just 15 minutes for the catering now - but who has food on a Jetstar flight!? Finally we left about two hours late...

I didn't bother to take much on-board the plane as it was only going to be an 8 hour flight from 11am, so I figured I'd just get dinner once I landed. With the extra two hour delay, I was pretty damn hungry on the flight. All I had was a meal replacement bar and a bag of lollies. I didn't even bring anything to drink, so I was pretty tired and dehydrated by the end.

The immigration queue at Changi was really busy, only second to Heathrow by my calculation. Finally got through and down to the rail link, only it doesn't give change for more than $5. No problem, I went up to the food level where there was a Dunkin' Donuts and a Jollibean selling slices of azuki (red bean) pancake - an impossible choice! I went with the red bean and took the MRT into the city - only $2.10 for a ticket!

Red Bean pancake.

I got off at Bugis, and by my original plan it would have been about 7:30pm by now. Instead it was 9:30pm and I was left to find the hotel in the dark. I had a rough Google Map printout, and once I figured out which direction was which it wasn't too much trouble, even though the area around Bugis is full of vendor markets and street stalls, I reached the hotel easier than I expected.

The hotel was pretty basic, although I think quite expensive, except I got a couple of days for free due to earned credits from previous holiday bookings. The room didn't have an alarm clock, and there was no ice machine, gym or free breakfast! There was free internet, and a coin laundry which is useful. I decided to have a quick walk around outside - still warm enough for shorts and t-shirt in the evening - to get a better idea of the surroundings. I found a couple of shopping malls on either side of the main street - Bugis+ and Bugis Junction - as well as a few streets lined which cheap food and clothes called Bugis Street. The circuit took a while mostly due to the traffic lights, they seem to only change every 2-3 minutes at best, which is a lifetime if you're a pedestrian.

Bugis Street.

STEP-O-METER: 17676 steps (approximately 1km per 1000 steps using a pedometer for the Global Corporate Challenge)