Singapore

While on a planned trip to Hong Kong, I decided to take a few days to visit my daughter, who was studying for half a year in Surabaya, Indonesia. It’s always a sport to find competitive rates and still book Comfort Economy for the long stretches, but it worked out fine. My itinerary ended up like this: Amsterdam – Hong Kong - Singapore - Surabaya – Hong Kong and back to Amsterdam.

The stop in Singapore gave me the chance to meet up with an ex-colleague as well. Singapore is pleasant for just a few days. Very safe, very clean, and very organized, although it might get a little boring if staying there too long. On the other hand, to live there as an expat like my former colleague, does not seem so bad. None of the expats that I know who live in Singapore, would complain about living there.

Arriving at Changi airport, year after year chosen as the World's best airport, I took the free shuttle to the hotel in Changi Village that I had booked for this one night, Changi Village Hotel. Reasonably priced, a comfy room and bed, a nice bathroom, great breakfast and not too far from the airport.

After a shower I took a taxi to the Central Business District where I met my ex-colleague at his office. We decided to go out for beers and dinner at one of the places at Clark Quay, and had a good time talking about the old days, common friends, gossips and his new life in Singapore as an expat.
Time went fast, sitting outside, eating and drinking with such a nice temperature and a soft breeze. By the time we left there was no public transportation anymore, so we must have been sitting there for more than six hours…