Sleep deprived is probably the more appropriate term. I've taken lots of little naps on the 22 hours of flight time that it took me to get here (note that I excluded layovers), but no good night's sleep. Until this evening, I hope. My last nap on the Johor Bahru - Miri flight was rudely interrupted by two toddlers in the rows in front of me playing an extended game of screech and hide. I thought Asian children were supposed to be well-behaved. I wanted to stuff them into an overhead at the back of the plane.
Today was a day of transit. I arrived in Singapore around 12:30 AM and quickly succumbed to a moderate case of cheapbastarditis. I didn't want to pay the equivalent of US$90 for a taxi ride and hotel room for what would have been 7 hours of sleep. So, in the spirit of Puerto Rico '89, I spent the night in the airport but didn't sleep for want of extremely uncomfortable hard plastic chairs. I read, made mental notes for Borneo, observed people, and watched the airport wake up.
My impressions of Singapore so far are limited to the night in the airport and the trip into the city this morning so I could catch a bus into Malaysia. Singapore seems wealthy and well organized. I had a tasty breakfast of rice noodle soup garnished with various animal and shellfish parts. Breakfast in food stalls and transport are fairly cheap, but little else is. I noticed some steep fines that reflect the soft authoritarianism of the country. Eat on the subway? S$500 (about US$370). Smoke on the subway? S$1000. Import illegal drugs into the country? Death. Apparently chewing gum is illegal too, so I'm lucky I escaped with my life since I have about 4 packs of Orbit in my luggage. If caught, the authorities might think I arrived with intent to distribute. And as almost anyone can tell you, especially someone who just finished taking the bar, ignorance of the law is no excuse.
Malaysia has more of the feel I've been after. For one, you can chew gum. While things work okay and certainly better than in some other locales, the sister city of Johor Bahru lacks the luster of its uppity sibling Singapore across the Johore Strait. For example, there wasn't a neat stack of immigration forms before you entered the country. In fact, there were few forms at all; I think I got the last one. The buses continuing on into JB didn't pull up to the depot like they did in Singapore.* I missed wherever they pick up the passengers and ended up walking for about 10 - 15 minutes to the bus depot where you catch the bus to the airport.**
I arrived in Miri around 4 and did little. I took a much-needed shower and then walked around town a bit and had dinner. Tomorrow I'm going to Lambir Hills National Park. But for now, I am going to bed.
*To get to Johor Bahru, in theory you buy one ticket and ride any bus from the same company for the various parts of your journey through the two countries' immigration and customs and then on to your final destination.
**I could admit some fault on my part for being oblivious to the obvious, but instead I will blame an entire country.
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4 comments:
Awesome. I've spent the night in much dodgier and less comfortable places to save much less money. When traveling, things like that are a matter of principle.
Keep us updated.
Ah, Puerto Rico 89, that infamous trip. I am sorry you you had to recreate it. But thanks for the glimpse into Singapore.
Explain PR 89.
PR 89 = family trip to the Caribbean that began with a missed flight in Dallas that resulted in spending the night in the airport in San Juan.
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