“Go on… take the phenomenon” – A weekend in Singapore. Part One.

I write this from a first class coach back to KL. While this is one of the swankiest of KLM trains, it has only set me back about 20 Dollars… A comforting thought, given how pricey Singapore turned out to be! I was just looking out the window, listening to some Laura Veirs and Regina Spektor on my iPod, when it occurred to me just how jungle bound I am right now. I’m both entranced by the outside and conflicted by the restaurant train car behind me. Do I wait until Jalan Alor sprawls in front of me, or do I experience the joys of eating in a restaurant car (a pleasure so unjustly denied to most of us by via)?
Ah, but once again, I’ve gotten ahead of myself! I have an entire country to report back on. Well, the adventure started on Thursday night, on the 9:19 out of KL… sleeper class. Me and Jose arrived to the train station, burdened with bags and excess sky water. We hadn’t really done dinner, and after we got things figured out in terms of where to go, I gave into an itch that had been bothering me for some time. I left Jose in charge of the fort as I dashed downstairs to McDonalds and bought a Big Mac Meal. If I was going to go on a train, I was going to have to get greasy fast food – they go hand in hand, right? Right? In any case, I can justify it – it was an experience: They gave me spicy chili sauce for my fries! The downside, of course, was that I would soon find out that there were no garbage cans on the train, and I would have to live with the McDonald’s smelling garbage for the next 11 hours. The sleeper class train was very cool – it consisted just of an isle with bunk-bed style berths on each side. Me and Jose were on top bunks 9 and 11 – but I was sure it was 7 and 11, so I got into 7 and started munching my big mac. There were no areas for luggage so I hauled my bag and knapsack up onto the top bunch with me. My area was a mattress with a sheet, a window, a small light and some curtains. When the rightful occupant of berth 7 came around, I was busy sitting on her bed with wet jeans, and rogue lettuce, so we figured it would be best if I just stayed on 7, and she took 11. I really do think it was best for everyone involved. No one wants to get into bed and find Big Mac lettuce strewn about. Anyways, the train left the station, and I go my lounge on. It wasn’t long before I felt it was time for a movie, and started up a bootlegged copy of Atonement. To be honest, it really kept my interest up – and I watched it all, captivated. Oh that Keira Knightly… so misunderstood by her little sister.

The majority of the train ride is a bit of a blurr – a lot of passing in and out, being woken up by discussions in Malay, and by talk of various immigration forms. I started watching the second half of Usual Suspects after Atonement, but dozed off. We arrived at immigration/customs at 7 something in the morning. I, a groggy mess. Despite being generally dazed and tired, the process was pretty painless, and after a short continuation of the train ride later, José and I stepped out into the happy, clean Singapore … … sun? land? Air? –ness? Parking lot? We hoped into a cab, and I was startled by the fact that there had been no resistance from the driver about using the meter.

[Andrew’s computer runs out of battery, goes into hibernation mode, and he’s left to stare out the window listening to music and eating cookies for the rest of the train ride. Later, he gets a plate of Sin Chew Beehoon without knowing what it is and is pleasantly surprised. After a solid night of sleep, he finds himself re-visiting this blog from CIJ the next morning]