The Last Post

Marina Bay Sands Resort

Ever since I found out I had to return to London sooner rather than later I have looked at life through very thick, negative glasses. Had I visited any of the last few cities before finding out I had to go back I think my enthusiasm and ability to highlight the nicer things would have been more apparent in my notes. But instead, I seem to lack the motivation to put any effort into enjoying the new places and very easily fail to find anything exciting. It's not that I don't enjoy myself, it's that I don't do so to the extent I would have if I knew I had lots more travelling left.

So with that in mind, this is my description of Singapore, my last stop before London: Singapore is a medium sized, modern, clean, western city; it's expensive, has great shopping and nice restaurants; it's hot and it's humid. Oh and Singapore's Chinatown is probably the nicest Chinatown I've ever been to. It's definitely the most organised and the cleanest I've seen, whilst somehow still preserving the Chinatown feel and character. I did some good shopping on my last day of travels; I figured, I no longer have to lug it around on my back so might as well load up! I'm so glad I found a few things I wanted already back when I was in Vietnam in December. I just hope Malaysian airlines are willing to look the other way when it comes to number of bags and weight allowance.


Despite the slightly gloomy mood I was in knowing I'd soon return to London I did have a very good time in Singapore. How could I not, with Marisol as my host, putting me up and taking me out and about? We did the Sling in Raffles and the going out for dim sum and the cooking at home with lots of vino on my last night. Not sure if it was the vino or my subconscious not wanting to leave so badly that I slept through my alarm. Luckily I had asked Marisol to put her alarm on too so I didn't miss my flight, only got a bit of a later start and half a heart attack, but I made it to the airport with plenty of time.

It was a fairly painless journey and I kept myself distracted with movies and didn't think much about anything, but when the captain announced we were landing in Heathrow I felt a pinch in my heart. It wasn't as much sadness about the trip coming to an end as nervousness about a combination of things like just going back, seeing everyone again, not having a job, having to take the most important exam of my life in less than a month which I hadn't even began studying for, and waiting to see if I would get into school. Actually I don't even think it was about "going back" but about starting something new, a new chapter in my life if you will.

Raffles Hotel, Long Bar

That concludes it, four months of - let's be honest here - flashpacking around Southeast Asia. It has been the most absolute amazing experience of my life, no words can do the experience justice.

Singapore Slings and Peanuts

Here's some numbers!

Number of hotels/hostels stayed in: 38

Number of countries visited: 9

Number of visits to the hospital : 2

Number of food poisonings: 1

Number of nights away: 122

Number of flights taken: 16

Number of boats / ferries taken: 31

Number of buses taken: about a million

Number of trains taken: 3

Number of pedicures had: 8

Number of massages had: 4

Number of photos taken: 5,247

Number of Pad Thais eaten: about the same as number of buses taken

Number of nationalities encountered: 39

Number of kilometres travelled: 40,810

The Hamper that was waiting for me at Heathrow with Lonkero, Knackebrod, red wine, three different kinds of cheeses, chorizo, jamon iberico, Singha beer, Tiger beer, Lakerol, Haribo, and Champagne! Thank you Pete :)