Arriving in Singapore my ferry docked at Harbour Front, which is connected to the fast and efficient MRT subway system. After a plate of Vietnamese food inside the shopping mall (isn’t Singapore one big shopping mall?) that cconnects to the ferry terminal, I bought a ticket from the computerized machine to Dhoby Ghaut, where cheap guest houses are located.
My usual route takes me in from Changi airport, so this way was quicker. Outside the station the rain lashed. Commuters without umbrellas gathered, waiting for a break, but there wasn’t one till about an hour later. I got a soaking just walking half a block. In the tropics rain tends to come straight down, making an umbrella the item of choice. Temperatures in Singapore today were pleasantly cool, a change from my last visit when it was a steambath.
Finally reaching my destination, the cheap and cheerful. multi-storey Hawaii guest house on Bencoolen St., I was already too late to drop off the passport. The Indonesian embassy closes at 12 noon, but I made contact with my ‘agent’ (he didn’t look like Jason Bourne, more like Sinbad) who told me we’ll do the ‘changeover’ tomorrow. I’ll be sure to wear my dark glasses, talk in riddles and use a folded newspaper to pass him my passport (its so exciting!).
Hawaii guest house (171-B Bencoolen St. tel 6338-4187) isn’t a fancy place or particularly that nice. Its 5 floors run like rabiit warrens with shoebox sized rooms for S$28 per night. The good thing is they always have room, are in a great location in the center of town, all rooms are AC and the Chinese guy who works there is super helpful. He told me hs guests come from all over the world, and are mainly backpackers. Around the corner is a decent internet cafe, A.J Internet Center. This place is 24 hours, speed is okay and the cost is S$1 for 0-20 minutes, S$2 for 20-40 minutes, S$3 for 40-60 minutes. They can do copying, FAX, CD burning (S$3), and serve drinks.
My phone is able send and recieve SMS here in Singaporem which is a nice surprise. It shows a new reading ‘M1 GSM’. Cannot call though.
