Thursday, 11 April 2019

Singapore Roadshow #2

I suspect this may be my last work trip for the year. Based on the 2019 timeline there's nothing else in my calendar. Plus, there's about to be a change in personnel in the office which means less hats, which could potentially result in less trips for some people, including me. Which works out well especially with school in the background.

The plan touches down at 7:50 pm, it's a five minute taxi to the gate and we disembark at 8 pm. The flight has been delayed by 40 minutes and I'm rushing back to the hotel to host a call at 9 pm. Not surprisingly, there's a reason why Singapore Airport is constantly voted the best airport in the world, and part of the reason has to do with how fast it is to get through customs and security. By 8:30, I have checked into my hotel room, logged into my computer with 20 minutes to spare. The call finishes at 9:40 pm and I make my way down to the Park Royal restaurant. I'm 28 hours into a water fast and need food. I look over the menu, I order the Chicken Parmigiana (I know, I should have gone for some local flair, but in all honesty, it didn't look very good). Couple of drinks at the bar with the boss and I'm in bed.

The following morning I wake up for a full day of meetings and a strange feeling in the stomach. I put it down to the late dinner and order a bircher muesli. Throughout the day I start to feel increasingly more queasy, as soon as the final meeting is done, I head back to the hotel. I have a slight fever, achy muscles and dizziness. The evening is spent on the toilet with fever and cold shivers. I wonder if I'm paying for last weekend at the Hong Kong Sevens. I eventually crawl into bed and endure an evening of fever, sweaty sheets and broken sleep. In the morning I wake, all symptoms have disappeared. That will teach me to order Western food when in Singapore.

The remainder of the trip goes without hiccup. Caught up with some friends, managed to hit the hawker centre, wrapped up the remaining meetings and like that we're back on a flight to Hong Kong. I've said it before, but I'm starting to take a shine to Singapore. If only the weather weren't so aggressively uncomfortable.

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