The ironic part about my trip to Singapore is that it’s the only city in Asia where I know people, but I still had to explore the city completely alone! Timing was not on my side as it was reading week for all the university students.
I only had a few hours to look around the city on the day I arrived because I was catching a connecting flight to Vietnam. I could have gotten a hostel in Singapore but the only ones close to the airport were booked so my friend had suggested that I sleep in the airport. Word of wisdom: don’t trust your friends unless theyve actually tried it! Changi airport in singapore is rated one of the best in the world and when you google “sleeping in airports” it’s ranked as the best airport to stay overnight in. Word of wisdom #2: there’s a reason your elementary teachers wanted book sources- DON’T TRUST GOOGLE.
After an evening exploring Singapore I made my way back to the airport to hunker down for the night. According to google there are reclining chairs for sleeping, flower gardens, pools, movie theaters and reasonably priced airport food… This is all true, the only problem is that to prevent hobos from living it up in the airport all of these things are only available after you’ve checked in. My flight wasn’t for hours AND it departed from the budget terminal that, while still nice, wasn’t winning any awards. When I realized this I started to get a little nervous but was still optimistic… The sleep deprivation hadn’t set in yet. There was a lounge in the airport with other sleeping travelers and carpet. I made a bed out of my towel and clothes and tried to fall asleep. It proved harder than I expected, not only because it was uncomfortable, but also because soldiers and police officers would walk around every half-hour carrying giant machine guns. Maybe it says something about my conscience how easily I felt guilty… Even though I wasn’t quite sure of what. Then to make things worse those same officers came around to clear the area so they could close it for cleaning. This is about the time my optimism started to fade. It might not seem that bad but when you’re in a completely foreign city in the middle of the night with no one you know, no phone, an iPod that’s out of battery with only 3hrs of sleep in the past 24hrs, things can look bleak reaaaaaaly easily! All I wanted to do at this point was sleep and would have gladly signed away my first born for a mattress. The cruel, cruel airport designers had put arms rests or gaps every chair- it was as if they were taunting me, so close yet so far.
After half an hr using free Internet at mcdonalds and scaring singaporeans by crying and blowing my nose too loudly I Sought out the comfort of arm chairs and tea and made my way to the 24hr Starbucks. FINALLY an oasis of comfort and tranquility in the barren wasteland that is terminal 2. The servers offered to charge my iPod for free and were some of the nicest I’ve met, especially considering it was 4 in the morning. After sipping my tea and reading Singaporean cosmo I took a cue from the sleeping grandma beside me and put my eyecover on, wrapped my valuables around me and hoped the threat of caning would prevent anyone from stealing all my worldly goods. I may have spent ridiculous amounts on tea that night, but it was worth every penny. I will always have fond memories of Starbucks Singapore for preventing me from having a mental break down and going on a rampage. Words of wisdom #3: cheapskates get what they deserve, next time I’m springing for a hostel.