A little background before I continue the story about the Singapore trip. I've never been at The InnCrowd Backpackers inn. Last year me and Azmin found this place on the web, but because we had a female in the party and only had 4 persons travelling, not to mention there were no more rooms available and we had less than 3 weeks to plan for the trip...(ok, sentence structure sucks, but intentional). So this year I took the opportunity to get everyone to buy in because I was too lazy to find other lodging and at just SGD$18, it is a steal! (OK, rooms cost more, but there's a reason why you're sharing 16 to a room, right?!) Since no one wanted to do the dirty work, I successfully 'bullied' everyone into accepting cheap lodging but share sleeping area with strangers (which in the end I'm sure they didn't mind!). Ok, enough background.
We finally 'escaped' customs after the officer decided Azmin was no threat at all, despite his flirtatious efforts. Making our way to the nearest bus stop, I couldn't recall which bus we needed to take to the Woodlands MRT station. Someone had to ask a local (Azmin I think, it was a girl he asked too!) and off we go boarding the next available bus. Since we just arrived in Singapore, most of them didn't have loose change (coins) and for some reason no one wanted to ask me for some. I had like, a pouch full of coins? Anyway, we boarded the bus and frankly speaking, I was trying to recall how I got to Bugis Station 2 years ago with Ahmad alone, so my memory was rather dusty. Luckily the last destination was the MRT station, so it was easy to act like I knew it was the stop all along (though I had a feeling they already guessed I was going on hunches).
Getting off the bus, we made our way to the entrance when an important question was raised....Breakfast??? I suppose with 7 on tow, there had to be people who's been in Singapore more often than I, so it was decided that breakfast it is but not at Burger King (Have I not mentioned that I intend to have Burger King Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Supper??). So Burger King(BK) breakfast was a failure...We stepped out of the restaurant, around 70 metres away from the MRT entrance and right in front of us was a SAM (Self Automated Machine, I think) unit. Andy, who recently got a new job that had a small reference to the machine, looked on with interest. No prizes of guessing the other 6 (I knew about SAMs so I wasn't looking on like them) looked on as interested as Andy having no clue why on earth he was looking at it. After a couple of minutes, it finally dawned upon them that WE (as in Andy and I) knew why we were looking at it and it had nothing to do with the trip or that the device was cool.
Aside from BK, there were really no other options for food if they were looking for cheap ones (in Singapore, where???(you all can shoot me later)) so we finally ended up heading to the MRT without feeding. After a little indecision over which line and stop (at the MRT, because I couldn't remember precisely), we bought our tickets (again, no one asked if I had spare change). While attempting to get into the platform, a guard noticed Emil with his trolley bag and proceeded to do a random check on him. Since we had this camaraderie going on we decided to wait until his search was over, not realising our bags aren't that much smaller than his. So one 'random' check became 5 'not random anymore you stupid Malaysian travellers forcing me to do more than one check when you all should have just proceeded to the platform while I check on your friend' check. We missed the train by mere seconds and had to wait around for the next. In between, a jibe here and there over who's fault is it anyway that we missed the train.
Once on it, it was a whopping 10+ (if I recall correctly, it should be 13) stops before we reach Bugis station. Originally the crowd was ok, and NebNeb managed to get a seat early while the rest of us stood. After awhile the crowds grew and we were almost experiencing a sardine-like scenerio. I must admit though, at least the MRT had good ventilation and conditioning, so even with the crowd I didn't feel warm/hot...No pun please...After nearly an hour on the train and a change of lines, we reached Bugis station. We then had to pick either of two exits (right or left, since I cannot recall the street names) and with me not deciphering the map as quickly as they expected, they chose the exit instead.
Now, I know it's a little braggy, but I've always had a better sense of direction. Than most. It's not absolute, but close. In GURPS terms, Absolute direction was a 5 point advantage, mine would probably cost 4. (GURPS is an RPG system, in case you don't know...(Role Playing Game)) So exiting the station, I/we found out that the other exit would have been closer, but nonetheless I found the direction that we needed to travel. I did have the map, but no maps would do any good if you couldn't read it. I also find locations faster/easier when I'm moving alone and ahead, much like a scout. The problem is people tend to think that I'm being cocky by moving ahead, so at times I have no choice but to slow down (not to mention they're slow followers, so maybe I am cocky after all!!!)
15 minutes, 6 blocks or so and lots of tired legs (8 pairs to be exact), we finally found our InnCrowd Backpackers inn!!! Hooray.....
But the troubles don't end there......
(Next up, life in a Backpackers Inn...Thank god I didn't have a camera or I'll have to really control myself from taking illegal photos!!)
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