Singapore arrival

Once we landed at the very modern and efficient Singapore Airport, we breezed through immigration and customs, then went searching for a post office to ship home Hoyt’s musical instruments purchased in Java and Bali, as well as things we wouldn’t need anymore, like sarongs and a snorkel. As promised, the Singapore Post has a location at the airport that is open until 9:30 pm. We needed the biggest box they had, and had to do some creative packing just to get everything in. Then we had to secure our box with tape all around and reinforce the corners. Finally we finished up, with the help of the very friendly postal staff. Our items are expected to arrive home in about 2 ½ months, since we shipped them slow boat. Then off we went to find our Bus 36 which will drop us off about a block from our hotel. After some missteps, we find the bus garage and within a few minutes, Bus 36 arrives. It’s not very full at first, but that changes rapidly as commuters arrive about 6:00 pm. We’re concerned that we will miss our stop, but Hoyt asks the bus driver to tell us when it’s the next stop and he did. As we are driving into the city, we can’t help but notice the beautiful skyline and the Singapore Flyer. After about an hour, we arrive at the bus stop and manage to hoist our bags without a hitch, but our glasses fog up immediately from the extremely high humidity. It’s cooler than Bali, but much more humid at least tonight. We have a good dinner at the hotel including one of my favorite Singaporean dishes, Hainese chicken rice. No beer, since we’re staying at the YMCA International. It’s a great hotel with the best bathroom we’ve had on the trip, plus the staff is very nice and helpful. We decide to go to Orchard Road to check out the Christmas lights, which are blue and twinkly and go on for miles. This is shopping central and they are all dressed up for the holidays. It’s nice to be able to look at the shops without the constant haranguing we experienced in some parts of Bali, especially Kuta, to buy their kitsch. That, and you can drink the water! We turned in early, and I tried out the internet connection in the room before going to bed, secretly hoping that it wouldn’t work so I’d have an excuse not to blog. No such luck – it was the best connection we’ve had and fast, too. I tell myself I’ll get up early to blog – just too tired.