Heading home

Sunday we had brunch at Raffles. Same awesome spread as before but since I was still mad at them about the business yesterday I was just extra crabby. There was supposed to be a guy manning the waffle bar, he wasn't around. I was getting really, really bent about that. What is their PROBLEM, where is my WAFFLE! Then I realized I probably should not stay in nice hotels any more.

Went to church, a smaller service this time because a lot of people went to Vietnam for a big hoe-down with the church there, complete with some sports tournaments that everyone was taking very seriously.

After lunch Greg and I went to lunch with Gerlinda, Chen-da, and a sister named Danay who may be coming to the Bay Area for law school. We went to an Italian place. All week long I'd had my eye on chocolate mousse (relic of French influence) but I'd never get one because I was always too full. I was determined to get one. I did, it was awesome, and large, and I ate the whole thing, which I really regretted because I was way too full to start with.

I got another massage (12 bucks, it would be immoral not to), and went to Gerlinda's to wait for the flight. We did a bit more Karaoke. I finally found the pitch control, which would have been really really helpful for Total Eclipse of the Heart. And I learned that I can't sing "Foolish Games". I know the song well, sing it all the time in the car, but in like 5 tries I could not find the starting note.

I had gotten a chocolate macaron in Siem Reap and left it there by accident (my favorite cookie, they look like little hamburgers, hard to find in the state). I made a big enough stink about it that Greg got me one when he saw it in a cafe on Sunday. I had that, along with some cookies leftover from the party, in a styrofoam container. I accidentally left it on the floor for a few seconds, and someone accidentally ran it over with their luggage cart. When they saw what they had done, they kicked it. Grr.

Landed in Singapore about 10PM. A good friend from college, Lily, met me in the airport there. I was very flattered, she actually flew in from Indonesia just to meet me in the airport so we could hang out a bit (I have a 10 hour layover). We went out and bummed around Singapore for a while. Got some street food (no major downsides yet but I do seem to have some... digestive quirks today). We went to the Sands, a huge and posh hotel/casino. Like nothing I have ever seen before. 3 curved skyscrapers next to eachother, with what looks like a giant deflated blimp lying across the top of all 3. We took an elevator up to the blimp part. There's a pool and nightclup up there, pretty amazing.

I went back to the airport at 1 and thought about getting a hotel room, my next flight would be at 8 AM. I tried the adjoining Crowne Plaza. $350 a night. Oh HECK no. I found what I thought was the transit hotel in the airport. I had stayed at one in 2001 when I went to india, a tiny but complete little hotel room in the airport. Turns out it was the travel *lounge*. What's the difference, you ask? The travel lounge has "nap rooms" that are just beds in cubicles separated by walls that don't even reach the ceiling. So you can hear everything. Like the old lady vacuuming at 2 AM. Or the guy next to me arriving, talking loud, undressing, and snoring. I went and complained at about 3:30 (I have been complaining a lot this trip). They made a bed for me on a massage table and I slept-ish there for a few hours (I have also been on masssage tables a lot this trip).