5. Arriving in Singapore

Throwing away my jacket was an amazing feeling. It was either that or it was the five beers I’ve had so far. A couple of days ago I bought the cheapest jacket I could find at a second hand store for the sole purpose of keeping me warm until I could board the plane in Amsterdam. As I put the jacket in the thrash bin I was half expecting Schiphol Airport Security to grab me for suspicious behaviour, but nothing happened. This isn’t the United States after all. The trip has been really pleasant so far, I got upgraded to business class from Gothenburg to Amsterdam, which makes you feel like the most special customer on the flight. Sure, there were others in business class, but I paid less, mohahaha.

I had a nice chat at the bar with a woman from Las Vegas on her way to Kilimanjaro, and we discussed why you never explore your local surroundings. Although I must say Halmstad doesn’t really compare to Las Vegas. Maybe if you include Tylösand, but not otherwise.

The flight to Singapore was equally pleasant. The seat next to me was unoccupied on an otherwise fully booked flight, so disregarding the fact that it is a long wait for take-off when you have five beers that want to get out, I was travelling like a king.

Coat or no coat, arriving in Singapore was quite a shock. I am going to ride a bicycle in this heat? What was I thinking? I was prepared for it, and I know I am going to get used to it, but when I left the airport the heat hit me in the stomach and slapped me in my face as if I was some kind of masochistic snowman. I liked it. It was 10 degrees below zero when I left Sweden and now it is suddenly 40 degrees warmer. Combined with the humidity my t-shirt immediately turned into a wet sweaty piece of clothing that clinched to my body. Iunia, my coachsurfing host, is really going to love me now.

For a second, I just wanted to find the nearest bar, have dozens of cold sweet beers, and sit there until I’m going back home. But just for a second, because that would have been one boring tale to blog about.

Iunia doesn’t get off work until 8 PM so I’ll linger around Chengi airport for a while, grabbing something to eat.

And something to drink.