Day Five

Let’s see. By this point in time I have come to terms with the fact that my luggage is gone forever. Come to find out, 5 other people on my trip are also missing luggage which in a devilish way makes me feel way better about my situation and that I will not be the only one looking like a walking disaster for the next four weeks. On our cab ride home, Theo, Kathryn, and I decided to drink to our sorrows – most notably our favorite swimsuits we will never see again, Theo’s tunic from Indonesia, and everything black that Kathryn owns. We learned there are no open container laws in Singapore so you better believe we drank the entire cab ride home.

But let’s back up. Yesterday… more students finally came, I have never been so happy to see other faces. I sat by the pool and watched them swim (no swimsuit) and then we went for a walk out and about campus. That consumed most of the afternoon and into the evening hours when people were ready to pass out. Fairly uneventful day that was much needed for the travelers who arrived at 6am that morning. They had a rough 48 hour go trying to stay up until a decent hour as to relieve jetlag the next day.

Some kind of fish/egg/spinach combination. 3 dollars

Today is where it gets interesting. For whatever brilliant reason, we thought that we could get 15 people to the same place downtown. Thinking about this logically- this took 4 taxis and a whole lot of broken English. Given the recent string of events, our taxi was naturally the only one that did not make it to our chosen meeting destination, The Majestic Opera House. Our driver thought the Majestic Salon would be a better destination. Without proper communication channels, we became a foursome and the other eleven set off on their own with intermittent cell phone calls between Amy and I – the two lone ATT users, trying to connect at some point and probably racking up some serious international phone charges.

Tooth Relic Temple - or something of the sort

I think we were better off as a foursome- herding fifteen Americans through the heritage districts of Singapore would have also been rough go- the going theme of this trip so far. After Chinatown, we managed to stumble upon the highest point in Singapore which Garrett and Kevin lovingly talked their way into letting us to up to the rooftop. A bar at nighttime, during the day this lookout offered a complete 360 view of Singapore including the port, marina bay sands, and even off into the distance – Indonesia. After this we headed through the Arab district and finally Little India.

Highest Point in Singapore - Roughly 63 Stories

By this point we had connected with the other group of students but it was clear they were tired of the mob mentality and we splintered off into separate groups- Kathryn, Theo, and I making up the shopping excursion. If you have ever tried to force-shop you know it is not fun. Possibly one of the biggest shopping districts in the world could not have annoyed me more as we rummaged through racks and tried not to spend a fortune on things we did not want in the first place. Our main goal was swimwear so we weren’t left out- again. I am now the proud owner of a white swimsuit with butterflies on it… clearly we had limited options. We also decided to make our own dressing room in the middle of forever 21 because the lines were horrendous and only allowed in 3 GARMENTS. Clearly making a spectacle out of ourselves, at this point it was dire circumstances and we were pulling on dresses over our clothes left and right.

Shopping mall - they do it big

So that brings me to the present. A group of people are getting ready to go out and see the nightlife but I am so tired and achy that I decided to sit this night out. We were on our feet from about 10:30-8:30 and that is much too long in the tropical heat. Sunscreen is hard to come by here and since mine is safely stowed away in Kermit, possibly floating in the Pacific Ocean by now, I have a nice lobster tint to make me stand out even more amongst all the Asians. Clearly an American. Tomorrow is when the real fun starts and everyone gets settled in for a kick-off bbq. Glad I have that swimsuit. - Becca