Singapore arrival

Near the end of 2005, my nephew Joshua told me of his plans to travel to south east Asia with a mate.

I remarked somewhere in the conversation that "Vietnam's a place I've always wanted to visit".

"Why don't you come with us then Uncle Phil?"

My wife who was sitting with us said "Yeah, why don't you? It'd be an adventure."

So on an impulse, an adventure began. And here's how it happened.

It's true. I'd always wanted to visit Vietnam. Vietnam is a part of Australia's military history. When I was seventeen, I fully expected to be drafted on my nineteenth birthday. Drafting worked on a ballot system. If your birthday fell on the day elected, you had to sign up. Australia had a change of government in 1972. The new government abolished all conscripts to Vietnam and withdrew troops already there. I felt a bit cheated but there you have it.

Joshua was a uni student at the time, meaning he had little money. Travel to SE Asia on a budget was his only option. He planned to bunk down with a mate in Singapore, buy a cheap ticket to Thailand, then head back to Singapore then across to Vietnam. Effectively, Singapore would be a jumping off point to places in that part of the world. He would be away for about three months.

We arranged to meet in Singapore after his trip to Thailand then fly across to Vietnam. That was the plan.

In the last week of December 2005, I arrived in Singapore to find Josh'd run out of money and intended to wait out his time until some student funds came through, then head home. That's the version I remember, but his recollection is a little different. Whatever the story, I was in Singapore without a travelling companion and the plan out the window. 

Josh though, was an endless source of budget travel ideas. He'd scoured the Internet for deals and could point me in the right places for best buys. As a budget traveller, I of course was interested in cheap travel too. I'd never travelled in back-packer style. So it was with some trepidation but brimming with confidence, that I set to finding my way around this never-before-seen piece of Asia.

I stayed in a friend's apartment. He was studying in Japan and gave me the use of the place for a couple of days. Half the apartment was already let to a Japanese woman and her two young children. I had a room with en suite; she had two other rooms and we shared the kitchen.

She'd recently separated and was waiting for a Singapore work visa.

I taxied from the airport and bought some bread, milk and a few other supplies to tie me over the weekend. The food was in a little shop; part of a fuel station. Being early evening, it was the only familiar food I could grab in a hurry.

The Japanese woman spoke little English and I speak less Japanese. Although I know "hi" from a brief karate lesson, it didn't help much.

At bed-time, her 8 year old son became uncooperative and sounds of screaming broke through from behind my door. His mother screamed back and sleep was impossible.

I imagined myself kicking down the door, standing feet apart, putting on my fiercest face and pointing at the child, mist and backlighting adding effect. The child would scurry behind his mother and meekly disappear into bed.

Too many SBS Japanese movies!

Instead, I took a chocolate and peeked through the door and offered what help I could.

The boy took the chocolate and sat on my knee. In a little while, he'd dropped off to sleep. You might think that's my imagination again, but I have that way with some kids. I think his mother was glad of a little help.

So ended my first few hours in Singapore.

Next time; looking for a cheap ticket.