It is generally accepted that travel increases our understanding of a range of universal truths because it gives a broader context to the way we make sense of the world . Simple constants, such as the cycle of sunrise and sunset, gain flexibility as we cross time zones and move the hands on our watches to fit our changing locations.
As if to prove this, within 12 hours of our arrival in Singapore, my world view has already broadened, and my perceptions and concepts have been challenged in surprising ways.
But first, apologies to fellow travellers and family to whom I had promised an ‘arrived safely’ text or email yesterday. We are safe and well, but I have no mobile phone signal in Singapore and have had to wait to use the ship’s wifi to upload this post. The flight from Heathrow was uneventful and on time. However 13 hours felt an enormously long time to be held in the confines of our economy airline seat. Chris and I snatched only occasional moments of sleep. We wriggled and moaned and grumbled about our lack of rest, so that we had reached the ‘why on earth are we doing this?’ phase of our journey by the time we dragged our cases into the wet, 29 deg humidity of Singapore. We were then processed through the somewhat disorganised check-in processes required by the cruise company, before we were finally allowed to access our overnight hotel room and the promise of horizontal sleep. We are staying in the Swiss Hotel Stamcroft, a skyscraper above a modern shopping centre in the Raffles area of central Singapore..This is the tallest hotel in south eastern Asia, and as the lift finally took us to the 43rd floor of this70 storey building, our expectations were at most, moderate However, as the door opened, the size and luxury of the room and the breathtaking views of Singapore at dusk cut through our travel weary perceptions and lifted our spirits. Space in Singapore is in short supply. If they can’t build out, they build up. Fen Shui principles are central to design with carefully constructed curves and angles, Building materials emit warmth and cohesion. My prejudice about the lack of beauty in all modern, high rise cities has gone. Singapore is stunning.
Sadly we had very little time and even less energy to fully explore the city, and my thanks to fellow traveller Fran for the photo below.
It is now early morning on 15th April, and my time clock is beginning to adjust. But before we collect our cases to take to the ship, I will share one more of my previous misconceptions with you, namely that buildings are static. This skyscraper moves. It is designed to do so. You can feel the movement as the building sways gently with the vibrations of the outside world and, very occasionally, it shudders. Perhaps it is responding to an aftershock from the Indonesian earthquake.
This afternoon we will head for the ship, with the promise of a very strict post Concordia lifeboat drill before we sail, thence 2 sea days before we visit Bangkok. This will give me some time to blog some more, whilst trying to sort out my jetlagged body clock.
I’ll be back soon!
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