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Back at it again!
It is the final push on the epic journey that will have spanned nearly 2 years and 42 countries. After a 2 months sojourn back in Wisconsin for me and Cali for Adrian, I am back in the traveler mindset with backpack packed and rough itinerary mapped out. This trip includes a 5 day stay in Singapore to help Becky wrap up her 2 year work/life stint before heading off to India for 3.5 weeks and Nepal/Tibet for 2.5 weeks.
The flight to Singapore was a doozy, maybe the longest travel day to date. We flew out from San Francisco, laying over in Hong Kong and then continuing on to Changi International Airport. Upon arrival, we grabbed our bags, changed out of our San Francisco winter attire and into something more suitable for the hot, humid Singapore climate.
We grabbed a cab and journeyed into the city, Centerpoint on Orchard Street to be exact to meet Becky at her office. We said our hellos to the crew, including my old boss Wendy, and ventured out for some lunch of dim sum.
After lunch we grabbed our bags and another cab and headed over to our abode for the night; Marina Bay Sands Hotel. For those of you who don't know about this place, it is probably one of the more famous hotels in the world. It is approximately 57 stories and has three towers and a large ship-like structure perched on top of the buildings connecting the three. Atop the ship is the world's highest infinity pool with sweeping views of the bay below and the cityscape in a 360 degree panoramic. We spent the afternoon lounging by the pool trying to recover from our long journey and fighting through our intensifying jetlag. We were visited by Kieran, our good friend from Sydney who has also spent the last 9 months of his life traveling around Asia.
By 6:00pm or so Becky was finished with work and we had reunited in our upgraded room with a bottle of fine red wine and a cheese platter order from room service. We caught up about all the traveling we had done and what we should be expecting in India and Nepal (as Kieran had recently completed that trip) until it was time to check out the rooftop one more time for an evening hot tub session.
The view was spectacular and the hot tubs were heavenly, however, given that my jetlag was really beginning to set in, I felt it was soon time to get out for fear of falling asleep and drowning in the water.
We headed back down to the hotel, changed, and grabbed a great pizza dinner washed down with another nice red. Soon it was time to say goodnight as were all getting heavy eyes.
The next morning Becky was off to work and Kyle were left to our own devices at the luxurious MBS. We ordered a late check out and lounged as long as we could in our room. We left our bags at the front and headed up to possibly the best hotel fitness center I had ever been in before. We exercised on the 55th floor with gorgeous views and took a dip in the warm infinity tub and dried off in the sauna before heading up for lunch and a mandatory Singapore sling poolside.
By 3:00 we reluctantly pulled ourselves away from the pool and down to pick up our bags and head over to Becky and Kelly's place. We were greeted by Kelly and caught up about our lives for several hours until dinner time. We showered and headed out with her fiance Kefri to an area far out from the city center. We dined on tasty Malaysian food and after sipped on a bucket of Heineken as we chatted to some drunk locals. By 10 o'clock our jetlag was getting the better of us and we grabbed a cab and headed back to the apartment.
In the morning, we thought we would take in a hike around the MacRitchie Reservoir for a bit of exercise. Kelly, Kyle and I enjoyed the 3.5 hour hike that took us over an extension bridge, showcased local wildlife (monkeys and flying lemurs) and gave us ample time to talk about, well just about everything. After 8.5 miles we were sweaty and tired and caught a bus back to the apartment to lounge poolside for a while.
That evening we had reservations at nice outdoor venue that was having a trivia night. 'Trivia Newton John" had a great showing that night. I believe we came in at one of the top 5 teams and even won a free drink for everyone at the table.
Thursday was move out day. Becky's movers arrived promptly at 9 to start packing up her Singaporean life and ship it back to San Francisco. It was a flurry of activity as movers rushed into tackle the big job. We had to get out. Kyle and I headed to the gym for a sweaty work out session, followed by lunch, and more poolside lounging. After several hours they had completed the task and the cleaners had arrived.
At 3pm we ducked out to handle some very important business, manis and pedis. Becky treated us to the service as she had extras from a 'group-on' type dealy. We returned to a near empty house. We grabbed our things and headed over to our last stay for our stint in Singapore, Randy and Lindal's house. I worked with Randy back in Singapore, and him and his lovely wife and son were kind enough to let us crash there for our final night.
We cleaned up and quickly headed out to our final engagement in Singapore, Becky's going-away party at the Ying Yang bar atop a hotel. We chatted with all of Becky's friends and colleagues that she had met during her time in Singapore and sucked down very overpriced beers in the hot Singaporean twilight. At one point I turned around to see Patricka, an old colleague from San Francisco that I hadn't seen in probably 6 years! We had a great time and continued on well into the night until it was time to wrap it up and head back to bed.
In the morning, Becky was off to her last day of work and Kyle and I decided we would take a nice long walk down to get coffee and through Singapore's gorgeous botanical gardens. It was beautifully landscaped with waterfalls, lakes, pathways, and sprawling amphitheater. By 11:30 or so, we were hot, sweaty, and hungry and decided it was time to head back. We met up with Lindal and Sebastian back at the apartment and soon after headed back out for some hawker-stall lunch. We dined on yummy and delightfully inexpensive Asian fare, and checked off the quintessential Singapore culinary experience.
Soon after it was time to wrap it up and head back to the apartment for a shower, final pack, and finally cab ride back to the airport for our flight to Mumbai. We thanked Lindal for her incredible hospitality and off we went.
It was a nice stay in Singapore and certainly and easy kick-off to what will surely be madness as we enter the chaos that is India. It feels as though the real trip begins now... Here we go!!!
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