Richard Steele
I’ve never been a traveller, there’s been no desire to go anywhere, and I’m happy with that. And few regrets either, because there’s no point in regrets.
Then my circumstances changed a bit, when against the run of play, I got a sickness called amyloidosis, and there’s not a lot to be done about that, except try to locate a new drug that slows down the disease’s progress.
Doesn’t stop it, slows it down and in doing so, I will get a few more years, which seems like a good idea , or at least Rachel thinks so, and as I’ve been married to her for 57 years, I’ve no option but to listen.
But I don’t believe in repowering old farm bikes, as every time I have done so, all the other parts are just as worn out, and the repower options has been a waste of good money.
Until a lovely lady I met called Chern Lo suggested that the machinery comparison I was making didn’t include any love, and of course she’s right, it didn’t and it should, as no man is an island. I wouldn’t have been any good on my own , either.
So I went. Didn’t want to, but I did. Firstly, the positives. My travel experienced daughter Anna took all the pain of organising out of my green hands, and made painless all the bureaucratic business, that plagues many of us of a certain age , who haven’t kept that abreast of the new technology as we should have, and find so difficult.
Then there is Singapore Airlines, that with some of the best service I’ve ever experienced, took away any travel anxiety I may have thought I had.
Great service and very good food combine to make the actual travel bit a doddle. Good service has always been important to me, and these fine people have it in spades. In a world where too many people have a sense of entitlement, who go to work not because they want to, but because they have to, Singapore Airlines is actually a breath of fresh air.
I’ve said at the start, travel was never in my plans, but now, after the Singapore experience, I will never say never.
Singapore has more restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world, or that’s what it seemed like to me.
Seventy five per cent of the population is from China, which is certainly reflected in what’s on offer and what I saw of it was good.
Value for money I wouldn’t have a clue about, the exchange rate makes fair comparison difficult, but to my eye, nothing seemed outrageous.
I’m sure it’s an expensive place though, it’s just teeming with people, and I have trouble getting to grips with that, keep in mind my country boy persona, it’s just that the place is just heaving. Six million soles crammed into a place about the size of lake Taupo, takes a bit of getting your head around.
I met one friendly taxi driver, most were surly and not very helpful, though the language barrier is real to me with only one language, and in a country where everyone is meant to have some English.
This driver told me he was half Malaysian, half Singaporean, and that all the grumpy ones were Chinese, but then he would, wouldn’t he? But this guy made my day, was full of useful information, and he laughed a lot .
Changi, the airport, is like being in a separate country again. The service at each end of the trip, was automated, fast, efficient and painless.
Singapore is a vibrant place, but they must ban smoking there, as most places I walked were covered in butts, and that’s an awful look I reckon.
The constant drum of air conditioning inside and outside would take some getting used to.
It seemed to me it was always too cold inside, so the shock of heatwave when going outside was always worse than it needed to be.
Eight per cent of Singapore’s power comes from imported natural gas, so the aircon use must be under a bit of a cloud.
The hospital visit was about what you would expect in a country our size, until you compare populations, and then it became amazing.
I had the normal tests done, met a world leader in the amyloid field, who took the time to explain the sickness to me in words I understood, and wrote the prescription.
I think it was the dearest sale made that day, but still only 20 per cent of the price if and when the drug reaches our shores.
I’m writing this as I fly home, and I’ve just noticed a bit of a shake in the starboard engine. I wonder if the captain has seen it too?
