My first taste of Singapore

As the news of my Singapore trip reached my ears in the second week of January, I was quite excited. My childhood dreams of an overseas trip will finally come true.... :) But it was not such an easy and exciting one to be, as I assumed. As the days of my journey drew close, I really started giving a second thought about it. On one side I had to leave Raji alone at home and be away from her for around 5 weeks. On the other side, work was getting really hectic over the last one month that I was not able to give myself any time to raji, myself or anything related to my personal life. And the fact that I will miss all my familiar surroundings, my home, my pets, friends and the familiar atmosphere at office did not excite me much about the forthcoming trip. And before the feeling could sink in, I was there at the airport on the morning of 8th Feb 2009 waiting to catch my flight. As I sat thinking about the how the next 5 weeks would be for raji with out me & for myself without her and my friends around, some exciting news reached me. I had earlier assumed that my flight was a Jet-Airways (how boring!), but when i reached the airport I realised that it was a Singapore-Airlines :). From my childhood, with due inputs from my dad on his overseas trips, few airlines had been on my dreamlist which go on as follows: British Airways (more for the color combination), Cathay Pacific (lovely name & service too..), KLM (different color), Lufthansa (the Germans are known for quality), American Airlines (there has to be a US Airliner on my list :D) and finally Singapore Airlines. During her London trip, Raji flew by a British Airliner, so one in the list is down and 5 more to go :)

So finally I have some reason to smile, as I wait to get a first glimpse of my Airliner [one more in the airline list is down :), 3 more to go ]...... I was just hoping the Airliner to be a Boeing 747. Personally, I am a big fan of Boeing and hate the Airbus (more because Boeing is a US company, and Airbus is French). But the irony is that I work for a French-Italian company (ST), but yes I love Italy (the land of the awesomeeeeee Ferrari). But now my company is a French-Italian-German company (with the Ericsson merger) :D... What a delight to belong to multiple countries :)) Coming back to the Boeing, Airbus fan following, though there are other airline manufacturers apart from Airbus and Boeing (like DC), these two hold the major market share for passenger (public) airlines. And in Boeing, my favourite pick is the 747 more because of the hump that it has at the front portion (to accomodate the First Class, which is a floor above the economy & business class). This aeroplane is a treat to watch.

But unfortunately, my Airliner turned out to be a Boeing 777. Nevertheless, a Boeing is a Boeing anyday :) and the 777 has the longest range among any twin-engine flights (US to India non-stop). I very excited to see the plane'd interiors with 3 columns of seat in each row (9 seats in each row). The in-flight personal entertainment was amazing. Though I was very sleepy due to the fatigue from office work, I managed to watch a movie in the flight ( BODY OF LIES - very good movie starring Russell Crowe & Leonardo DiCaprio) and also catch a few minutes of sleep. 40 entertainment channels (english, hindi, tamil and chinese) for a flight journey was really amazing! Half an hour before landing in Singapore, we flew over Kuala Lumpur and I was able to catch a glimpse of the city from above. But unfortunately I wasn`t able to spot the twin towers :D

Finally we approached singapore and the view was spectacular. The man-made harbour was a treat to watch. The full of the sea with so many boats, streamliners and ships anchored, with others racing each other and jostling for space was spectacular! The full view of the sea during the landing phase was a little bit scary, and gave me a sense that it may fall into the sea anytime! The view of Singapore from the flight was astonishing. In short, the city looked neat and very modern. As we touched the ground, I spotted a Boeing 747- Singapore airlines at the parking bay :)

The Singapore Changi airport is a really wonderful airport. It is very very huge! As I sat in the taxi for my transfer to the hotel, it gave me a strange feeling as I passed through the city. Being the first overseas trip, I felt as if I had lost my way in a strange land! The place was totally new, roads unfamiliar...... but I felt safe in the city, which was a solace :) The road from the airport is very close to the coast and the view was spectacular. The first thing that struck me when I was travelling in the city was the CARs. The Cars here are wonderful (more on that in a separate blog that will follow).

My check-in at the hotel was smooth, my room was on the 12th floor. The hotel has 24 floors in total. Very good hotel and my room had an amazing view of Little India and the places nearby. My first day at Singapore went in slumber, because of the fatigue. The next day morning, I realised that I was all alone in a new place without Raji. It gave me a different feeling as I started for office. My first trip to office was in a Mercedes-Benz E220 (E-Class, costing upwards of 44 lakhs in India) taxi. I was thoroughly excited, but to be frank i did not find anything great to worth 44 lakhs (being a Ferrari fan, I am anti-Mercedes :D).

The office in Singapore is a very good one (though not as modern as the IT parks in Bangalore or Gurgaon). In short, it is a neat campus. The office basically is a Philips campus. Now there are many other companies in the same campus (which are spin-offs from philips). NXP is the semiconductor spin-off from Philips (which is now owned by ST). There are 4 towers in total (5 floors each), and each other its connected to the other by bridges :) The first two days at office seemed really slow when I was missing raji & other friends! Then things got settled a bit, and now a week is past :)

Singapore is a blend of various ethnics. People from all over the world blend here very well. However, after the Chinese, the Tamilians are more in number here (making up for the majority of Indians here). And the Tamil community is present in many areas of Malaysia as well. A majority of the working class here are Tamilians. My hotel (Park Royal), being next to Little-India gives me a chance to roam around little-India in the evenings. It gave me a feeling that I was in Chennai, rather than Singapore. To be frank, the courteous and hospitable nature of Singapore is in a way spoilt by the attitude of the Indians here! This includes the cleanliness as well, which is apparent in other areas of Singapore..........

Overall, my stay at Singapore has been a mixed blend of all feelings. I am quite happy that I am able to be in touch over phone very frequently with raji, parents and friend(s). Without which, life would have been much tougher for me here......

My first weekend at Singapore was good, with a visit to the Night Safari (at the Singapore Zoo), a blog on this follow....