We started our time-killing exercise leading up to our flight with a trip to the Burger King (we loved our culture!). After travelling across Europe and Asia we had fallen into the warm commercial embrace of homogeneous fast-food restaurants. We discussed our old school art lessons over a Whopper and strung out our time with coffee as The Pretenders sang “Back on the Chain Gang”.
We spent a couple of hours browsing in the Lucky Plaza. Lucky plaza is a commercial shopping centre in Orchard Road, which has a range of shops selling discounted electronics, perfume and cosmetics, shoes and sports goods as well as several fast-food franchises and multi salons. It was developed by Far East Organization and was completed in 1981. During its success period, it was centrally positioned in the market with a vertical bazaar zone. The unit varies from a marketplace to a bazaar sector with stacked galleries, long run escalators and glass lifts in open space. A huge multistorey carpark makes it convenient for shoppers.
We were able to spend ages reading books and magazines and looking in record shops. If you asked the price of anything it would miraculously decrease as you turned to leave the shop. We worked our way up to the top floor and took the modern, exposed glass capsule lift (elevator) down to the ground floor.
The lift was initially empty when we got in but was soon filled with glamourous looking oriental girls to well over the 15-person limit. We returned to Bras Basah Road to see the famous Raffles Hotel. It was now a shadow of it’s former self in it’s glory days, showing it’s age and overshadowed by towering new buildings under construction.
Opened in 1887, Raffles Singapore is one of the few remaining great 19th century hotels in the world. No visit to Singapore is complete without a stay at Raffles or a visit to the bar for a Singapore Sling (Mix gin with cherry brandy, Benedictine, Angostura bitters, pineapple and lime juice to make this classic cocktail. Garnish with pineapple and a cherry).
“Immortalized in the novels of Somerset Maugham and Rudyard Kipling, Raffles Hotel, Singapore’s colonial-styled architecture and lush tropical gardens exude an atmosphere of timeless elegance”, claimed it’s advertising material. We had a look around but a visit to the bar was beyond our budget.
Back at Peony Mansions we proceeded to do our “quart into a pint pot” trick, cramming our gear plus all of our new acquisitions into nylon bags which unfortunately didn’t have the interior of Dr. Who’s TARDIS.
George gave the Stephen King book “Christine” to a prissy girl who was sitting at the table. She regarded it as if he had offered it to her in exchange for her virginity and left it on the table. Jimmy wished us all the best. I think he took a liking to us as we didn’t muck him about or take him for granted.
We took the Number 390 bus which cost 80 Singapore cents and followed a circuitous route around the city before racing off to the space-age Changi Airport. Singapore Changi Airport, commonly known as Changi Airport, is a major civilian airport that serves Singapore, and is one of the largest transportation hubs in Asia.
Moving walkways whisked us out of the dismal rain and into the fabulous interior. Arty fountains and video flight information screens graced the interior and piped music drifted seductively in the cool conditioned air.
We settled in the cafeteria, entertained by a nutter who sat muttering with his shoes and watch off and his trousers undone. He tipped the remainder of his drink on the floor before donning a parka coat and leaving. There seemed to be a lot of fruitcakes about.
On the way to board the plane we passed a wanker with a black felt bullet-shaped hat with a brim. He sat there, cool as you like, looking like a complete cunt. We giggled with incredulous amusement as we passed him, but he appeared oblivious to the passengers pointing and laughing at him all around.
We sat in the departure lounge watching a crappy American detective show on the television. “Yankee detectives are always on the TV, ‘cause killers in America work 7 days a week”, sang The Clash. A lightweight gayboy came and sat in the Lotus Position on a neighbouring chair. Thus, we joined the plane freshly appalled by our fellow travellers.
We sat on the starboard side of the IL62 and watched as our fellow passengers quibbled over seat numbers, tried to cram oversized hand baggage into the overhead lockers and generally buggered about.
The Ilyushin IL-62 aircraft is the largest airliner ever built with all-manual flight controls, using steel cables, rods, pulleys, aerodynamic and weight balances, and trim tabs. The Il-62 also has a forward-mounted tank serving as a water ballast. This may be used when the aircraft flies empty or lightly loaded.
The Il-62 entered Aeroflot civilian service on 15 September 1967 with an inaugural passenger flight from Moscow to Montreal. It remained the standard long-range airliner for the Soviet Union (and later, Russia) for several decades. It was the first Soviet pressurised aircraft with non-circular cross-section fuselage and ergonomic passenger doors, and the first Soviet jet with six-abreast seating and international-standard position lights.
With a lot of shuddering, shaking and a horrendous noise we were airborne. Wisps of vapour came into the plane through a central grid in the ceiling as the cabin was crudely pressurised. The cabin crew walked up and down the aisle looking miserable until barracking from fellow Russian passengers forced them to smile in spite of themselves.
We enjoyed ourselves through the drink and meal session, lapping up the wine and the varied spread of food. The hostess was attractive in a motherly way and they seemed quite well disposed towards us when we kept asking for refills of wine.
Our meal complete we began scrounging around for more as others had only picked fussily at their meals. Our favourite left-over was the giant prawn entrée. The lights dimmed after the debris from the meal had been cleared away and we settled down to snooze. Luckily, I had a vacant seat next to me and I was able to lay down.
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