The Last 24 Hours...
You just knew the jet lag would be
hell!
The flight out of Calcutta was great! It's quite
incredible how re-circulated airplane air can seem as sweet as that in the
Rockies - when one is comparing it to the foul brew we'd been breathing for the
past week. Also, the flight was quite empty....so we got to stretch out and try
to sleep. I think I managed a couple of hours...but Amber...still not quite
satisfied with her heaping doses of Bollywood, helped herself to yet another
sing-and-dance fest.
We landed in Singapore at 6am local time and were pleased to find that the hotel we'd stayed in on the outward leg was quite reasonable (Singapore Airlines had paid the previous time). We piled into the shuttle and marveled at the unbelievable cleanliness of the place. We couldn't actually check into the hotel until noon but they let us store our pile of luggage with the bell captain while we went off in search of our $1 breakfast. I think the ladies at the booth were quite happy to see us again - at least I think so as we had no idea what they were saying. However, there was a lot of smiling going on....
After breakfast and a not nearly strong enough tea, we hailed a cab and went in search of a much-missed Starbucks Frapuccino. These things really are all over the place so we found one without much difficulty. However, even one of those didn't prevent me from doing the "head bob" as opposed to the "wobble" while sitting outside one of the shopping areas. We, somehow, managed to survive until noon...checked in....and crashed for a couple of hours...YAAAAWWWWN!
We awoke groggy yet famished and wandered over to Little India (like we hadn't had enough) to find our gem of a restaurant, the Blue Diamond. It was like we'd never left!
and the food....every bit as good and cheap....mmmmm.....
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Little India...and I think Amber bought even more of those head-sticking Tikka things...while I had a look around at the architecture of this old area of Singapore....
If any of you can remember that far back, the first time through Singapore we (well...mainly Amber) spent a lot of time at the "Pretty in Tokyo" taking all sorts of photos on bizarre backgrounds. Rather like Bollywood films, this is something Amber simply cannot get enough of...so back we went for some more fun-filled snaps. We had a fairly early (& long!) flight the next morning so we grabbed dinner at an outdoor restaurant near the hotel. We were thrilled to see they had Tibetan Momos on the menu...but I can't say they measured up to the Darjeeling version. Then again, we may have been too tired to appreciate them at any level other than that they constituted food!
If you're going to spend a few hours at an airport, you could do much worse than to spend it in Singapore. Everywhere you look, there are plasma screen tvs, wireless internet connections, Gordon Campbells, la-z-boy chairs with speakers in them....whoa...did I say Gordon Campbells??? Yes, it's true....my concentration on that particular weblog entry was thrown asunder by the apparition of the BC Premier wandering dazedly through the terminal pursued by his harried assistant. The only reason I even noticed was the because the assistant was carrying a bag with the Vancouver 2010 logo on the side. It seemed we were home even before we'd left....except for the 17 hour flight to come....OUCH!
Hooray for empty flights!!! We could face the tortuous ride home while able to lounge...ok that's a bit of a stretch (or squash in this case)...across all three seats. This allowed your diligent scribe to put the finishing touches on whatever episode of this sitcom he happened to be working on at the time (I'm beginning to like this 3rd person stuff...it's probably a very good thing this is the last entry!!!).
As most of you know...we arrived home safely...but the jet lag was totally brutal. I kept waking up at anywhere between 3am and 4am for a week....even though I'd stay awake until 10pm the previous night...AARGH!
Amber called this trip the most amazing experience of her life....and I'm glad I helped make it happen for her. She was also a great travel companion - I can't imagine putting up with me 24/7 for almost a month! The trip was also very rewarding for me - especially visiting old haunts in Darjeeling and helping the old school plan and build for an exciting future. Finally, I hope I've managed to convey, in some small way, the great fun we've had on this trip....and that whoever joined us through cyberspace enjoyed the ride.
Until the next one....Namaste and....uhh....Adios!
We landed in Singapore at 6am local time and were pleased to find that the hotel we'd stayed in on the outward leg was quite reasonable (Singapore Airlines had paid the previous time). We piled into the shuttle and marveled at the unbelievable cleanliness of the place. We couldn't actually check into the hotel until noon but they let us store our pile of luggage with the bell captain while we went off in search of our $1 breakfast. I think the ladies at the booth were quite happy to see us again - at least I think so as we had no idea what they were saying. However, there was a lot of smiling going on....
After breakfast and a not nearly strong enough tea, we hailed a cab and went in search of a much-missed Starbucks Frapuccino. These things really are all over the place so we found one without much difficulty. However, even one of those didn't prevent me from doing the "head bob" as opposed to the "wobble" while sitting outside one of the shopping areas. We, somehow, managed to survive until noon...checked in....and crashed for a couple of hours...YAAAAWWWWN!
We awoke groggy yet famished and wandered over to Little India (like we hadn't had enough) to find our gem of a restaurant, the Blue Diamond. It was like we'd never left!
and the food....every bit as good and cheap....mmmmm.....
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around Little India...and I think Amber bought even more of those head-sticking Tikka things...while I had a look around at the architecture of this old area of Singapore....
If any of you can remember that far back, the first time through Singapore we (well...mainly Amber) spent a lot of time at the "Pretty in Tokyo" taking all sorts of photos on bizarre backgrounds. Rather like Bollywood films, this is something Amber simply cannot get enough of...so back we went for some more fun-filled snaps. We had a fairly early (& long!) flight the next morning so we grabbed dinner at an outdoor restaurant near the hotel. We were thrilled to see they had Tibetan Momos on the menu...but I can't say they measured up to the Darjeeling version. Then again, we may have been too tired to appreciate them at any level other than that they constituted food!
If you're going to spend a few hours at an airport, you could do much worse than to spend it in Singapore. Everywhere you look, there are plasma screen tvs, wireless internet connections, Gordon Campbells, la-z-boy chairs with speakers in them....whoa...did I say Gordon Campbells??? Yes, it's true....my concentration on that particular weblog entry was thrown asunder by the apparition of the BC Premier wandering dazedly through the terminal pursued by his harried assistant. The only reason I even noticed was the because the assistant was carrying a bag with the Vancouver 2010 logo on the side. It seemed we were home even before we'd left....except for the 17 hour flight to come....OUCH!
Hooray for empty flights!!! We could face the tortuous ride home while able to lounge...ok that's a bit of a stretch (or squash in this case)...across all three seats. This allowed your diligent scribe to put the finishing touches on whatever episode of this sitcom he happened to be working on at the time (I'm beginning to like this 3rd person stuff...it's probably a very good thing this is the last entry!!!).
As most of you know...we arrived home safely...but the jet lag was totally brutal. I kept waking up at anywhere between 3am and 4am for a week....even though I'd stay awake until 10pm the previous night...AARGH!
Amber called this trip the most amazing experience of her life....and I'm glad I helped make it happen for her. She was also a great travel companion - I can't imagine putting up with me 24/7 for almost a month! The trip was also very rewarding for me - especially visiting old haunts in Darjeeling and helping the old school plan and build for an exciting future. Finally, I hope I've managed to convey, in some small way, the great fun we've had on this trip....and that whoever joined us through cyberspace enjoyed the ride.
Until the next one....Namaste and....uhh....Adios!
Posted: Fri - December 5, 2003 at 09:22 PM
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Published On: Dec 05, 2003 09:24 PM
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Published On: Dec 05, 2003 09:24 PM