Robyn's Travels - Where Am I Now?: Singapore

My first impressions of Singapore are -

- it's clean
- it's loud
- there are lots of either Australians or Americans or Englishans working and living here that I didn't expect to see
- no matter where I travel I am going to have 'issues' with hotel rooms
- people seem friendly
- a lot of Indian people here
- many if not all speak English

The plane rides were like plane rides thank goodness, nothing out of the ordinary. Venice to Dubai I don't really remember but I do remember having to hurry to get to the next lounge for my connecting flight to Singapore because we were delayed leaving Venice because there was fog in Dubai.

I got off the first plane then discovered where I had to be and raced - raced - to my next gate that was about 30 minutes away. I got there with about 10 minutes to spare, long enough to change my shoes and to find out if they would take euro so I could get a bottle of water. Lucky for me they did but gave me my change in Dobaian money whatever that is.

Get on the plane in Dubai and we wait. And wait, And wait. Three people hadn't turned up so we had to wait for them. Half an hour goes by and they either turned up or the pilot decided we had waited long enough because we took off. I had a biggish guy sitting next to me, that wasn't much fun. I did manage to nod off and on a couple of times but it was a bit difficult with him sitting next to me, especially when I could see through the curtain to business class.

Plane arrives, I get off, go through customs, come out the other side and my driver was standing there (thank goodness) so off he goes to get the car, I chatted to an Irish woman who had no idea where she was or what she was supposed to be doing, apparently her husband was off trying to find out. I asked if she knew where she was staying, which she did and I said why don't you just get a taxi to your hotel, get your bearings and go from there, so that's what they did. Deary me.

I get to my hotel, up to the Lobby and they check me in no drama. I go to my room, surprise, surprise, drama. The room stunk of cigarette smoke. Back to the Lobby and they were soooo surprised because it is a no smoking room. Well, someone's been smoking and I can't stay there. SO they move me ...

This hotel is very interesting. You arrive at the front and then have to go up the lift to get into the lobby and reception. Then they give you your room but it is not in the same building that you enter (which faces the water and the landmarks) but in a building behind the building you arrive at (view of a building site). I am guessing that to be in the room with the views you have to pay a much higher price, or something. They should tell you that you don't get the view they show in all the pictures unless you pay for them. The price for the building site is high enough!

I find my new room, same view of a building site but next to the lift, so I will see how quiet this one is and go from there.

I go down to reception - totally different reception to the one arrived at which confused me, but then I realised I was in the other building. Told the girl I was hungry and asked where I could go to get something to eat. She directed me to a food hall a couple of doors down so off I go. It had about ten different stalls so I had a look around and stopped at one that didn't look like it was all meat and I asked the woman if there was a vegetable dish without meat.
"I don't know"
So I went back and saw the reception chick again and she pointed me towards Raffles mall so off I go again. This time in the opposite direction, find the building, walked around all of the food shops but still couldn't decide so went to McDonalds!!

I don't even eat McDonalds at home! At least here they had a vegie burger so I had that.

I came back to the hotel, try to work the complimentary phone but couldn't so back to the Lobby for them to show me, they couldn't get it working so I had to go back later. Okay.

I go back to my room and turn on the tv. TV not working. Ring the Lobby, they will send someone to check on it. Okay.

The TV guy came, there was a loose wire. All fixed. Good.

Some guy brings the phone back and shows me how to work it. All fixed. Good.

Phone rings. It's Alex the buy I have to call if I want to change my car pick up time to the airport Friday. He was ringing to check my ride from the airport was okay.
Yes thanks, all good.
Is this the first time you have been to Singapore?
Yes.
What is your room number? I will come and go through some tours with you, can I recommend ...
Ahhh no thanks Alex
Oh ok then what about I meet you in the lobby after breakfast tomorrow, say 9.45 and we can go through some tours.
No thanks Alex, I know what I want to do while ....
Oh ok then I will meet you at 9.45 in the morning in the lobby, I will be wearing a camel colour jacket
Ok, bye.

WTF??

This morning doors banging and lifts arriving annoyed the crap out of me so before I went to breakfast I told the receptionist my room is too loud, the tv still isn't working - if it's not going to work put a new tv in the room, I'm going to breakfast I will call past when I am finished to see what you can do.

I go down to the restaurant for breakfast. Two people in front of me so the Maitre D' takes them to a table, comes back to me and says "Yes Sir?" I just looked at him and said I am not a man, please don't call me Sir.
Oh sorry madam, please follow me.

Had breakfast, (maitre d' checked up on me twice to make sure everything was okay), receptionist says pack up my things 'nicely' and they will change rooms for me. I said I am concerned that the room is going to smell again or something and the receptionist assures me that he will make sure the room is okay. I ask about the view (I look out on a building site), he tells me view over the city and all the landmarks cost a whole lot more and that I have already had an upgrade by being moved to a higher level and that's as far as they can go.

I go out for the day, I decided to go to Little China on the Hop On/Hop Off bus, so I get to the bus stop and looking for my phone so I can see what the time is. I've left my phone in the room so back I come, find my phone and the cleaner in my room, back to the bus stop in time for the bus to be pulling up. Bonus! Not! Wrong bus. There are about seven On/Off buses apparently. This one was yellow. I wanted red. Didn't matter. I sat on the yellow bus for about an hour doing a tour of Singapore then swapped to the red bus when we got to a terminal and the driver said we can swap if we want to. So, I get on the red bus planning to get off in Little China. We drive a few streets and get to Little India and I thought stuff it, and got off and walked a few blocks seeing only electronics and ridiculously noisy toys and a couple of restaurants, one with a huge VEGETARIAN sign so in I went.

I ordered vegetables and rice, and a home made ice tea. The Iced tea arrived first - hot tea with some ice cubes in it. Then the rice then the vegetables or should I say Chillies and vegetables. Mamma mia! Was it hot! BUT it made my nose run which was good because yesterday's hay fever gave me a blocked nose. Sorted!

I walked up to the top of Little India crossed the road and came back down, went into a few shops, didn't see anything I particularly liked until I came across a shopping mall with heaps of clothes in it, so went shopping in there for a while, then caught the red bus back to the hotel.

After a couple of hours I went to the shopping centre across the road and one block up, made an appointment to get my nails done then went looking for something to eat. I had some 'fried rice' kind of stuff then went looking for the nail place for my appointment. Hopeless. I had no idea where to go, I took note when I left the nail place that I went straight to the end of the passageway and turned left and went nowhere else, so you would think when I turn around I go straight then turn right but no, it doesn't seem to work that way for me. Ever. I was seeing shops I'd never seen before in my life!

Anyway, I eventually tried going down an escalator and things were starting to look familiar ... another escalator down then walking up about 50 meters then up another escalator and along a bit and bingo bango, there was the nail place! To discover the $68 - yes $68 they were going to charge me didn't include colour, that was going to be an additional $20 ... $88 to get my nails done, when I don't even pay $30 at home! Needless to say, I didn't get my nails done!

I've come back to my new room which has a much better view over the park, (still not of the landmarks but I'm not paying them enough for that) and I'm sitting in the window seat watching the lightening happening right now and listening to the thunder rolling along.

Tomorrow I am planning on going to Little China then see what happens, probably not much. I'm tired but not hideously crying exhausted - I could have been if my new room was crap though, quite easily!