Paco´s Life: Madrid

Singapore: Arrival and First Night

And the time came, Thursday, 30th September, 10 pm, Copenhagen airport, first stop of a trip which finally will allow me to travel out of Europe. I have a 9 hours flight to Bangkok and then another 2 hours to get to Singapore, my final destination, where my good friend Paul is waitting. Is OK, the Scandinavian Airlines plane has a lot of entertaiment available: different movies to choose, games, musin channels, I have a very big book Iván gave me but…as soon as I get to my seat I fall totally sleep just to wake up with the captain saying that we are landing in Bangkok . Good way to do a trip, I guess the fact that I only slept 2 hours the night before due to a very hard party night had something to do with this. Anyway, I am already in Bangkog, short yellow persons are all over the place, I have a 2 hours wait until my next flight, what can I do? Answer is pretty clear, I am taking a thai massage. There is a place in the middle of the aiport with some women given foot and back massages to the tired travellers. Half an hour for 5 or 6 euros, after that I dont really know wheter I am relaxed or totally fucked up. This is the way thai massage are, there are moments in which the woman is really hurting you a lot, maybe there is a bit of masochism in this thing. But the truth is that, even though you stand up believing your back will be hurting for a few days, later on you realize you actually feel more relaxed.

So, after the short thai experience I get into another plane and I reach Singapore. Paul is waitting for me in the aiport, we get into a taxi and we head to his place. I am surprised to see talk is using English with the taxi driver. The truth is that Singapore is a very “british” city, consequence of have been a colony of this country for many years. Everything is written in English, they drive like them and Paris Hilton new cd is announced everywhere. Paul lives in a complex of high buildings (this city is mostly high buildings) with swimming pool and very well located, close to the center. After an easy afternoon we get ready for going out in Clark Quay, very touristic area. International environment and very expensive and bad drinks, 8 euros Bacardi with too much ice. Anyway, I use my wallet to get into the mood. I managed to get friends with some british girls (I guess there is something useful about having lived there so many years) and they get us into a very nice place called Attica for free. There I talk with some Spanish guys.When I am about to order something I see this guy who apparently bought a whole bottle of Absolut Vodka for himself, he has about 8 glasses in front of him. When he sees me he asks me wheter I am up to the challenge, with a lot of sacrifice I help him to get rid of such a heavy task. Very friendly guy, we get friends and oh! surprise! he is british! Funny thing, 3 years in that country I only need one night in Singapore to socialize with those people more than in that whole period. Anyway, it happens to be a very funny night, laughs, shots and with the british who is in the company of his wife. Nobody would say she is that cause she is dancing with me very close while he is just looking and smiling, I guess is some kind of game between them. I dont get into trouble and just drink vodka and talk with the Spanish until the place close down. As I said, a funny night

Because of the british guy I lost Paul who went home earlier. Once again I have to find my way in a unknown city when been pretty drunk. Is OK, Paul´s place is not far away. But when I am getting there I see this Asian girl, arround 16 and totally fucked up next to the road. She is almost unconscious with her stuff spread all ove the floor. My drunk mind requires me to help her, I sit down whith her, get her stuff back in the bag and take her in my arms out of the road so no car can kill us. Few times I have seen someone so fucked up, she has no control over what she says or does, she is a total zombie. I am not exagerating when I say I probably spent about an hour trying her to tell me her address so I could order a taxi. I have no idea if she really understands english or not but since I am also quite drunk I get very stubborn and dont leave her alone. Finally she reacts, I manage to get her up and then, suddendly, she embraces me and start crying like hell, telling me a lot of stuff in chinesse. I would really like to know what was going on with the poor girl. So we stay in this weird situation quite a few time until I finally see a taxi, I get her inside not before I make sure she already remembers her address. And then, when the taxi is leaving she looks at my face for the first time from the window and say goodbye with her hand to this guy she will never see again and she probably wont remember tomorrow. Maybe this sounds ridiculous written like this but at that ime, 8 am, and in such a remote place, I felt I was the most decent man in the world. I got home feeling I had done the good thing of the year…