I met another friend for lunch who lives in Singapore. I met this friend in Memphis at the startup conference a few months ago. We ate tons of Singaporean food including noodles with pork, soup with dumplings, a little bun with meat in the middle, and a small pastry dessert. For dessert, I had a Japanese honeydew ice cream and a strawberry flavored ice tea.
During lunch, my friend compared Singapore to The Truman Show and I guess it really is. It's so new, so safe, and so customized toward the people there.
Afterward, I did a little shopping and Walkin in Memphis was playing overhead. That song follows me around like nothing else.
I finally found some shampoo at The Body Shop. I also learned that Victoria's Secret doesn't sell bras outside of the US. They are primarily a provider of bath products, cosmetics, and perfumes.
Last, I stopped by an H&M. I've been checking in at H&M in most countries to price compare. It's a bit like people who compare economies with a McDonald's cheeseburger. I bought a pair of jeans at H&M in Dublin for around $15 USD. The same pair was around $40 in Stockholm and $60 in Singapore. Crazy, right?
Afterward, I stood outside the high end mall in a taxi stand line. A few cars drove by with signs on that said "shift change" and I immediately imagined the nightmare of being stuck in NYC during the shift change. One of the taxis pulled up to me and the guy working the stand asked where I was going. When I told him, he immediately put me in a shift change cab and said "it's on his way." When the driver learned of my destination, he began to rant on about his sign and the fact that I was not on his way. He was a very old Singaporean and I could only distinguish some of his statements. Then, suddenly he paused to ask where I'm from. When he learned, he went on a giant tirade about the Boston Marathon. He mentioned that he thinks it was an inside job put on by a religiously affiliated group. He said that he believes the attackers feel the US is controlling them and they do these things to assert power. In the end, he said, they are still weak, but they have just hurt people, and what's the point? He forgot about me being out of the way and was very happy that I got in his cab.
On the way to the airport, I took another taxi from Andy and Catherine's. the driver was excited that I was flying with the Australian airline. He chuckled to himself about an airline with a kangaroo mascot. Once in the airport, everything was super clean and comfortable. I ate sushi and drank an iced milk tea.
As I started to board the plane, the person took a double take at my passport and examined it closely. When she handed it back to me, she said "you have no lipstick" and laughed. She's not the first person to do that on this trip. In my passport photo, I'm wearing makeup and lipstick and my hair is done. Traveling, I have no makeup and my hair's in a braid. So much for looking my age.
I forgot to mention. When I checked in, I asked for a bulk head seat so I would have extra legroom. The airline staff said that there was a seat, but that a baby would be next to me. She was right. There was a baby with those parents who could care less that the baby is freaking out and happily hand the child to airline staff to look after.
Needless to say, I did NOT sleep on my overnight flight at all. Despite a very little time change, I'm totally jet lagged. Please forgive typos, etc. it's past midnight and I've been typing most of my entires on my iPhone.
Goodnight!
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