(this blow-by blow account is more intended for myself next time... as an actual journal.)

14th Nov

Woke up and ate breakfast like any other day, going online to do a last post and check up on other things. I left at 12:30pm with my mother to go to Waraku for lunch, (I've been asking if we could go there for a meal some time) before heading off to Changi Airport. Now that I recall the events preceeding the trip, I suddenly feel nostalgic all over again.

We got to the check in counter (8) a few minutes early, meeting dad there. Fellow participants streamed in, but were all with their families (in two cases, an entourage of farewell friends) and generally isolated in chatting. Sim Yee was late. (Will introduce them all later) Checking in was a brief affair, followed by a phototaking of the whole group, before going to departure and bidding farewell to parents and siblings. Hats off to the Biometric passport system, which might not function at the speed of an ez-link tap (that would be unrealistic) but works efficiently and effortlessly.

The duty free shopping was simply walking around and doing lazy window shopping. We departed from T2, but since some hadn't been to T3, we made a monorail stop there too. The plane left on time, and the first movie I watched was... God. I can't remember. In any case, I also watched Wall-E (pretty good) and that was about all for the 7hr 15mins flight.

We landed at about 8:30 I think, and clearing immigration took a very long time. At least 45 minutes spent waiting in Queue. When it came to my turn, I guess it was some sort of test, because the officer asked me if I was from Vietnam. He was holding my passport. We journeyed fairly quickly to the Hotel, and everyone was pretty much slightly fatigued. The Hotel/Apartments left a lot to be desired.

First impressions were that it resembled an ECP chalet, with bare white tiles and bare white wall paint. It was big, though. The toilets were just as spartan, but the rooms were fine with carpet. (on the second day, one friend found disposable underwear underneath his bed. On the third night, we realised the place was near a small red-light district.)

Tucked in, but the sleep wasn't good, what with not being very tired and being introduced to a new environment. I would only sleep well on the last day of this trip.

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