A couple of days before I was due to leave for Singapore I dropped my phone while walking out of a restaurant. I remember thinking to myself “and that is why I bought a case.” I pick up the phone and check to make sure the screen wasn’t cracked and everything looked good. I went to wake it up and I got a white screen of doom.
I tried several things to see if I could get the screen to come back but nothing worked. It was a goner. This is the main lifeline on my travels and I definitely needed a phone.
I was concerned because I use the Google Fi service but it was only certified to work on Google phones. I couldn’t plug my SIM card into any phone and be up and running again. Luckily, after some research, I found Google recently started supporting some third-party phones. I went to the mall and picked up a replacement phone that was on the list.
So far, I’ve had to replace two big-ticket items, my camera and my phone. It kinda puts a dent in the slush fund. But at least I was connected again.
Singapore – First Impressions
The flight to Singapore is 2h 30m and I’m traveling on Scoot Airlines. It’s a regional budget carrier run by Singapore Air. The flight was delayed by an hour, but other than that it was a good ride.
The first thing I noticed when I arrived at Singapore Airport is how nice and modern it is. The passport control is high tech. You scan your passport and ticket at a kiosk then move to a border agent to finish processing. It was quick and efficient. I was through in a couple minutes.
The next thing I notice is the taxi service. You can queue up for a standard or a luxury taxi. The latter is equipped with Mercedes Benz. Of course, I went the cheapo route.
Singapore doesn’t put up with taxi scams which you find in most other South East Asian countries. Here, they use the meter and you pay the posted rate – which is reasonable considering how expensive it is in Singapore.
When I checked into my hotel, it was the largest and nicest Holiday Inn Express I’ve seen. It was a high rise with interior atrium, fitness center, and rooftop pool.
I know I took some more photos of the hotel, but once again they got lost somewhere. I’m not sure why I started losing or misplacing so many photos. It may be because I started to use my phone camera a lot more which means I now have three cameras I’m juggling between. I need to be more careful in the future. Lesson learned.
In the hotel room, a sign informed me that you can drink the water in Singapore right from the tap. Singapore has an up to date water treatment and sewage system that you don’t find in other nations in the region. Being a wealthy country comes with benefits.
By the time I’d gotten settled at the hotel, it was 8:30 and I was in need of a beer. I ask the hotel front desk for some options and they tell me it’s a short walk to an area with bars and restaurants.
I follow their directions to a pedestrian overpass just around the corner from the hotel. I take it across the street into what looks like an office building. I’m having my doubts at this point. But once I head down the escalator, I enter Riverside Point, a very popular spot for dinner and drinks on the river.
There are tons of restaurants and bars to choose from. I pick a craft brew pub and grab a seat overlooking the river.
Food and drink are expensive in Singapore. A pint of beer is about $9 USD. And I might have had two of them.
It’s an early night for me as I have lots of sights to fit into only a few days.