Friday, June 10, 2005
Welcome... home????
by venitha
We are FINALLY here, both collapsed into bed in our temporary apartment, and both wide awake. It's 2am here, but noon in CO.
The trip through Changi airport was surprisingly smooth; a benefit of flying business class is that both you and your luggage get off the plane fast. My knee did just fine; it's very stiff now, but so is my good leg after 30 hours of travel. I'm almost disappointed that I never got stopped in security for all the metal in my tibia; don't you feel safer?
We swept through immigrations, and no one even looked twice at us through customs, making me wish I'd brought an entire suitcase of chewing gum and R-rated DVDs. We were met just outside of customs by a driver holding up a "Fraser Place: Anderson" card - aren't we special! - and after a bit of a challenge fitting all eight pieces of our luggage into the car, we were off to Fraser Place. The drive from the airport into the downtown area (about half an hour) is gorgeous even in the dark, making me wonder how long it'll be before I make that trip in the daylight and really get to see it.
Our one-bedroom apartment is on the ninth floor and very nice. Dining area, computer desk, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and even a small deck, occupied, Jim said, by a small house gecko. I didn't look, as I was too busy eating all the junk food in our welcome basket (potato chips, butter cookies, yogurt granola bars) and flipping through all the tv channels (lots of nothing, just like in the US, but a few new sports: maybe cricket and/or rugby?, and lots of Kanji subtitles). Now that I think of it, I hope that "welcome basket" wasn't actually a Singaporean-style mini-bar. Singaporea-style as in not containing alcohol.
It is also VERY cold here (in the apt, not outside). The thermostats (three of them in this little apartment) were all set to just above 15 degrees C. I'm too addled to figure out what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's darn cold. We turned then all off, so we're sure to wake up drenched in sweat about 20 minutes after we finally fall asleep.
The info packet we received upon check-in contained schedules for free shuttles to work for Jim and free shuttles to shopping areas for me. I guess it's clear what my main activity is expected to be for the next month! There was also info about the local spa facilities and the many different therapeutic massages we can get; we just might have a new plan for tomorrow. Tension? I don't feel any tension...
We're both now drugged for sleep (thank God for the pharmaceutical industry), but wide awake. I'm sure all the sugar we just consumed will also help a lot. Good night from Singapore!
venitha
The trip through Changi airport was surprisingly smooth; a benefit of flying business class is that both you and your luggage get off the plane fast. My knee did just fine; it's very stiff now, but so is my good leg after 30 hours of travel. I'm almost disappointed that I never got stopped in security for all the metal in my tibia; don't you feel safer?
We swept through immigrations, and no one even looked twice at us through customs, making me wish I'd brought an entire suitcase of chewing gum and R-rated DVDs. We were met just outside of customs by a driver holding up a "Fraser Place: Anderson" card - aren't we special! - and after a bit of a challenge fitting all eight pieces of our luggage into the car, we were off to Fraser Place. The drive from the airport into the downtown area (about half an hour) is gorgeous even in the dark, making me wonder how long it'll be before I make that trip in the daylight and really get to see it.
Our one-bedroom apartment is on the ninth floor and very nice. Dining area, computer desk, living room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and even a small deck, occupied, Jim said, by a small house gecko. I didn't look, as I was too busy eating all the junk food in our welcome basket (potato chips, butter cookies, yogurt granola bars) and flipping through all the tv channels (lots of nothing, just like in the US, but a few new sports: maybe cricket and/or rugby?, and lots of Kanji subtitles). Now that I think of it, I hope that "welcome basket" wasn't actually a Singaporean-style mini-bar. Singaporea-style as in not containing alcohol.
It is also VERY cold here (in the apt, not outside). The thermostats (three of them in this little apartment) were all set to just above 15 degrees C. I'm too addled to figure out what that is in Fahrenheit, but it's darn cold. We turned then all off, so we're sure to wake up drenched in sweat about 20 minutes after we finally fall asleep.
The info packet we received upon check-in contained schedules for free shuttles to work for Jim and free shuttles to shopping areas for me. I guess it's clear what my main activity is expected to be for the next month! There was also info about the local spa facilities and the many different therapeutic massages we can get; we just might have a new plan for tomorrow. Tension? I don't feel any tension...
We're both now drugged for sleep (thank God for the pharmaceutical industry), but wide awake. I'm sure all the sugar we just consumed will also help a lot. Good night from Singapore!
venitha
