I've been practising flexibility again. Yesterday I left home at 5pm and we finally set off for the airport at 6.30pm. We could have left earlier but Vuth disappeared; apparently he'd developed diarrhea and wanted medicine. No sooner were we in the rickshaw when Cheata (3 years) decided she wanted a pee. We sang, "I love you, you love me", to take her mind off things. The airline provided absolutely nothing on the plane so it was good it was only a 1 1/2 hours flight. I'm glad it was short as a rather rotund lady behind me kept shoving her knees into my back. If I'd been travelling alone I would have been in the hotel bed by 1am but with the group it took until after 2am.
We checked in at Hotel 81 and, when I opened the door to go into my room I banged into the bed. I've been in small rooms in Vietnam and Amsterdam but this beats all of them. This one is 2m x 3m with a double bed. There's an enormous mirror to make the room appear bigger but it didn't fool me. There's no wardrobe, just four hooks on the wall. It's very clean and the beds comfortable but I have to breathe in when Oudom goes by. The mattress is covered with plastic so I'm wondering if they think I have a bladder problem. The hotel serves no breakfast so the folks had brought lots of containers of instant noodles and breakfast was spent sitting on our beds. We were in the centre of China Town. I had a vision of lots of narrow streets, with the dominant colour being red, but it's just like any other modern city and the only hint of Chinese, as far as I can see, is the street names in English and Chinese.
Managing the underground was quite a challenge as Cheata had never experienced escalators and screamed her head off. Her parents decided to take her on the elevator and so we constantly had problems connecting for the next step. The lads grumbled that their parents always told them not to get lost but they said their parents were constantly getting lost. I had no idea where we were going; I joined the men and just followed the women. We ended up on Sentosa Island. 20 years ago I'd been there and it was a green place but now it's another built up area with expensive attractions. For me it's a training ground for those heading for purgatory.
I checked out the attractions and decided the only thing I didn't mind seeing was the aquarium. Most people were heading for Universal Studios but the $78 price ticket put us off. I love watching fish but not when there's as many people as at a football match, armed with cameras and dragging children along. I survived an hour and then I needed a bit of peace and quiet outside.
If it hadn't been so hot I'd have loved to have just sat there, watching people. There was quite an eclectic crowd; there were even Hindu holy men and Buddhist monks. Young ladies wore skirts that were daringly short; in contrast were Muslim women covered in black, wearing gloves and socks and an eye slit just enough to allow in the light. As usual I couldn't get over the amount of tattooing being done on people - it must be a multi billion dollar industry. One fashion trait seemed to be having both knees tattooed; I can't think of anything more painful.
I found a quiet place to sit but it didn't last long as a chap sat next to me and started to watch a Kung Fu type movie on his mobile device. Another man sat by me and started to smoke. I was glad to move on when the rest of the group appeared.
We relaxed in the hotel and in the evening five of us set off to have a walkabout. The rest of the group were fast asleep. I stand corrected, there is a China town but I don't think anyone lives in it; it's full of shops selling traditional medicines and strange food, souvenir shops and restaurants. We bought a bag of roasted chestnuts and wandered around a bit. We found a restaurant and had an excellent meal. Having listened to the programme on tipping in the West, I couldn't help noticing that the staff in our restaurant were on the move non-stop but with a cheerful smile and obviously enjoying their work without the thought of a single dime in tips. Cina ordered rice and a tiny bowl arrived. She thought they'd bring rice for all of us. She gestured to a waiter that we needed four more bowls and he came back with four empty bowls; presumably we were going to share the one bowl of rice. He finally realised he was talking to some serious rice eaters and we did get our five bowls. The air conditioning was so cold and strong I felt like asking for a seatbelt to keep me in place.
Back at the hotel I was ready to collapse but my room was invaded by Oudom (12) and Samnang (14). They've been to a nearby 7/11 for something to eat and now the Khmer folk are enjoying a party in another room. I think they'll leave me alone for the rest of the evening.
