Onwards and Upwards

"It's so damn hot! Milk was a bad choice."

01 Kampung Glam

As I write this, I sit in an air-conditioned cyber-cafe blissfully ignorant of the heat and the humidity outside. Singapore isn't just hot - it's 'one degree hotter and I'm my eyes will melt and my fingernails will spontaneously combust' hot. It's insane. It's so hot that there's no need to use a towel after you've had a shower because any moisture you wipe off will be immediately replaced with sweat.

After a day spent eating Eggs Benedict, playing guitar and chatting with the lovely people at the Melbourne Connection I waltzed along to the airport skipping with joy and expectation, with a hint of sadness at having to leave behind what has become like a second (third? fourth?) home. I had to get two flights - from Sydney to Melbourne and then Melbourne to Singapore - the latter of which was spent sat next to a crazy Polish lady whose only method of communication was to shout and make exaggerated gestures with her hands. I tried to ignore her but she kept staring eerily at the side of my face when I was watching TV. That was always my cue to see what she wanted. A VB? Help with your TV? You wanna go to the toilet? You want to comment on my book? You wanna do WHAT with me?! Ok so I didn't have to say the last one.

02 Loving the private room

I was a bit of a grouch to be fair. A typical Brit on public transport if you like, but I'd spent the whole day talking (yeah yeah I know) and couldn't really be arsed to say anything. Any other time I'd charm the pants off her. Not literally *shudders*.

Regardless, I arrived in Singapore 7 hours later at 2:30 in the morning with no hostel booked and no idea how to get into the city, so I slept in the airport in a nice little spot on the floor underneath an escalator. Ear plugs in, hoodie under head and it felt like I was back at home in Salisbury. On the kitchen floor at least.

After managing to get at least a good 2 hours sleep I made my way into the city on the MRT and checked into a private room in a hotel for one night. When I'd had a much needed shower and sorted out my bag after the shampoo bottle had exploded over everything, I made my way into the CBD to have a look around. A cup of Starbucks tea and a doze later, I found myself in the Chinatown cyber-cafe feeling pessimistic, hungry, hot and sweaty. Thankfully I managed to sort out the first two, the latter of which solved with some amazing crispy Peking duck and egg fried rice, the former with a good telling-off. I went from Chinatown up to Orchard Road to do a little shopping - a new camera and phone. Hurrah! No more pressing buttons with the force-weight of two large lorries just to write a stupid text. The camera is lovely, so there should be a noteable upgrade in the pictures here depending on how much of the quality is lost in the upload.

03 The Mosque in Kampung Glam

When I'd spent a decent amount of money I proceeded to Little India for a nap in the hotel, and then out again to a hawker stall for a lovely - if cold - Chicken Biryani. I ain't gonna complain about the temperature when the whole meal was the price of a chocolate bar in Australia. Nice.