A Cinderella Story

Upon purchasing our tickets for the bus ride from KL to Singapore (the country AND the city), we were told the six hour trip would only take us four. In the words of our bus attendant, a guy named Guy, “We drive fast- very fast.” Katie told us that this was probably because we had chosen a bus company her guidebook cautioned travelers to avoid. We looked at each other and shrugged. We told Say we would arrive at 4:00 pm at the Lavender Street Station.
First, we were shuttled from inside the bus terminal to a busy intersection outside (twice) before the man we were dutifully following hailed us a bus. We wouldn’t have followed just anyone around for twenty minutes like that, but he was sporting the standard uniform for the transportation industry in Southeast Asia- street clothes, walkie-talkie, fanny pack, book of “tickets”- so we obliged. Trusting that the person you are giving your money to is going to put you on the bus heading to where you want to go is half the fun!
Our pumpkin carriage lost its air-con after a couple of hours, so we were transferred to another for the Joho Bahr—Singapore leg. Customs here were a bit more stringent at the border crossing and this time they actually looked at our passports. Even after “recording” our desired stop, the driver emptied the bus at Beach Street, leaving us to wonder, “Where is Say?” Four hours later, we were truly stumped and decided to take action:
“Alright Keeks, call his cell.”
“Riiiight. Should’ve brought his number…”
“Okay, Plan B.” There is always a Plan B, even when there is no Plan A. “Facebook him and see if he has his number posted on there.”
In this case, Plan B necessitated finding an internet café in the dark, on a rainy night in a foreign country. Piece of cake. Say located us shortly thereafter on Beach Street- just like we’d told him, but we let it slide.
Shopping, eating and beach volleyball consumed the days leading up to New Years Eve. Since we bring the sunshine with us wherever we go, Singapore was no exception and they enjoyed a break in the weeks of rain preceding our visit. The day after we left, it rained cats and dogs.
So, drum roll please… the Republic of Singapore Navy proudly presents “Operation Black Enigma”, the Wardroom’s themed New Years Eve Ball. We don’t necessarily get the lingo yet, but we had a blast accompanying two naval officers for an evening of VIP treatment and member’s privileges. The entire trip we had been treated like princesses and now we were able to dress the part. To be fair, our Prince Charmings cleaned up nicely too.
We rang in the New Year with glasses of bubbly grape juice (unbeknownst to us at the time but, in hindsight, probably for the better) after an evening with magic tricks, martial arts and a six-course meal. We mingled with plenty of important people from the community, including Singapore’s Minister of Defense and his wife, who have been attending the function since 1977. They said this year’s ball was the best one yet. Well, duh.
A special thanks to our escorts, Say and Yongchye, for a fairy tale ending to our holiday.

Happy New Year—Sawasdee Bee Mai