Meyricke Serjeantson

March 25 - 26

Singapore to Bourne End

D Day (D for Departure). I woke, almost completed my packing, then went downstairs for some breakfast. I hit the bacon sandwiches as my re-introduction to British cuisine. I then returned to my room to finish packing.

Something I often do is to take the train to the end of the line, just to see what's there. The answer is often "nothing." This was no exception.

	The first train took me to Joo Koon in the industrial West of the island. It terminated there so I had to wait another ten minutes for the next train to take me to the end of the line, Tuas Link. On either side of the line were industrial buildings and signs of ship building and heavy industry.
Joo Koon station - no one there
	Lots of industrial buildings
Some very large ones	Lots of open space

Tuas Link had a large car park on one side, with distant glimpses of the sea and a large bridge. To Malaysia, presumably. When checking a map, I also spotted that I was very close to the Tiger Brewery. A good chance missed. I'll have to go on the brewery tour next time. On the other side of the line were some huge industrial buildings. No signs of cafes or normal life.

I caught the next train back into the city - a round trip of about two hours  - and disembarked at Outram Park. This also seemed to be a mistake as there were lots of hospitals and a big Police building but no signs of lunch. Added to which, it was raining.

I got back on the train again to Bas Brasah, in the middle of the Management University. There was a transparent roof at the station on which the torrential rain could be seen.

The station opened directly into the university and I soon encountered a food court. The food stalls quoted two prices - students and others. One of the stalls specialised in dim sum so I ordered some siew mai. I can make them taste better but mine don't look as good. I must have been the oldest there by a good 40 years!

As soon as I was above ground, I realised that the rain had stopped and that I was about 100 metres from the National Museum. It is a splendid building from the Imperial tradition but magnificently updated inside. I had the usual discussion with the lady at the ticket desk as to whether I wanted cheap entry as a student or as a geriatric. Either way, I gained entry for $10, which can't be bad. I then hit the cafe for an iced lemon tea.
Singapore National Museum	As good inside as out

The main gallery, dedicated to the history of Singapore, is very good but I don't think it has changed much since my last visit four or five years ago. As then, I was captivated by the video of the TV interview with Lee Kwan Yew after the breakup of the Malayan Federation. Britain has done some bad things to its colonies but it also trained a remarkable man to lead one of them and to make it the success that it is today.

There was a very clever graphical display of the wild world but I fear that it owed a lot to Disney. There was also a brilliant photographic exhibition documenting a series of historic trees throughout the island.

I walked back to the hotel, hoping that it would dry out before I walked to the station with my bags. After a 30 minute rest, I ventured out again. The rain had ceased but everything was dull and gloomy. I visited some of the local shops but without enthusiasm, and took a few photos but wasn't inspired.

Just after 18.30, I collected my bags from the concierge, reorganised some of the contents and left the hotel. The walk to the station took less than ten minutes at a very gentle pace. I negotiated the escalators, ticket barrier and the next set of escalators without mishap, and reached the platform.

The train arrived, not too busy, and connected quickly with the airport shuttle at Tanah Merah. I was off the train and into the airport concourse in about 30 minutes. Good progress.

I scaled a couple of escalators, found a trolley and, after a foray in the wrong direction, found the Sky Train to Terminal 1. A minute or so later, I was approaching the check-in machine, collected the paperwork, abandoned my bag, cleared Immigration and was heading for the Qantas lounge. This provided a shower, but not a shave, and the customary quasi-vegan food offerings. I did manage a half decent Clare Valley Riesling.

I read my book and, eventually, had a glass of red. Carrying this while manipulating my heavy shoulder bag proved too much and I scattered red wine all over the carpet and the armchairs. To add to my embarrassment, one of the staff was immediately on hand to clean up.

The only serious criticism of Changi Airport that I can make is that security takes place at the entry to each gate lounge. This means that everyone arrives at the same time and there are huge queues. This time was worse than ever. Immediately in front of me, a girl in her 20's suddenly keeled over. One of the guys she was with grabbed her and I followed suit, managing to catch her head before it hit the floor.  The reaction of her friends suggested that she had done this before and she later seemed to board the plane, apparently showing no signs of distress.

The journey was uneventful. We pushed back on time but it was almost 30 minutes before we actually left the ground. The plane was beautiful, the service friendly and competent and the food mediocre. We landed about 30 minutes late after circling over Essex for quite some time.

Heathrow was reasonably chaotic. Nothing new there. The only actual problems were that my passport wouldn't work in the automatic machines and the only trolleys in the baggage hall were right at the opposite end. A long walk once I had collected my bag. In the end it took me an hour to get myself and my bags onto the train station. It takes half of that at Changi. I caught a train to Maidenhead and a taxi from there. Bourne End looked just the same as when I had left it. Another holiday completed with no health issues. Wonderful!