So we arrive on time at 5am, and the plan is to nap and stay at the airport until later in the morning (when things start opening up). In fact, I looked forward to the time at the airport cuz Changi is the best airport in the world. First stop? One of the many leg massage chairs.

Now you may be thinking, “whaaaaaat? is that a playground in the background?”

…and I would have to answer, “yes! it is! and behind that is a butterfly garden, a koi pond, free movie theater, more slides, and all sorts of other jazz!”

But since it’s now 5:30am, I started looking for a place to nap. On my way to the designated napping area (yes, that exists), I found a little oasis consisting of reclining massage chairs that face a little rock garden with a mini-waterfall in that large planter thingy. Unfortunately, all of the chairs were taken…

I found a little area to catch some shut-eye, and when I woke up, I watched some airplanes putter around, and took a shower at the lounge.

And then left the airport…

^This is the area right before customs.

As I was getting my passport looked at by customs, the lady asks, “how long are you here for? your paperwork says 0-days.”

I replied, “That’s correct, I’ll be back tonight, probably around midnight; to catch my morning flight.”

She looked at me puzzled, “what are you doing here?”

I tell her that I’m here for the race, and she writes ‘1’ on my paperwork, and off I went!

…until I hit the customs declaration area. The customs agent stared me down, and seemed to be curious as to why I only had a backpack. I did my best to avoid any and all eye contact, but his piercing gaze was irresistible. He was clearly a professional.

I tried to shuffle through to the “no declarations” crowd but he yelled at me, “HEY YOU! put your bag through the scanner!!!”

Luckily, I didn’t pack any pixy stix or fun dip, and the x-ray scanner technician yelled “It’s only camera gear!” …and off I went!

I took the train to City Hall to pick up the race tickets, and afterwards, I ventured off to China Town, to visit the hawker centers.

Why China Town? cuz the one in Seattle is weak, and this one is legit. Look at all the playas here!

^(they’re all playing chess!)

I wandered around the center and found a wonderful roast meat stall and got my plate!

^the plate and soup cost $2.40 USD. The mango pineapple smoothie was $2.00

The next stop was the Singapore Art and Science Museum… I got a bit lost, but found this fancy schmancy road…

After a while, I made it to the museum, where they were showing two photography exhibits. The lady at the box office asked if I was a resident, to which I replied, “no.”

Then she asked if I was a student, and once again, the answer was “no.”

She kept trying to get me a discount, and finally we succeeded when we found out there was a discount for those attending the race! woot!

The first exhibit was for Annie Leibovitz, but photography wasn’t allowed. They had lots of her early works and a 90-minute documentary.

Second was works by Chinese photographers in an exhibit called, Flux Realities: A Showcase of Chinese Contemporary Photography.

This turned out to be fantastic

^Yang Yongliang  杨泳梁
  Artificial Wonderland II: Wintery Forest in the Night

the detail…

^Liu Xiao Fang  刘晓芳

Some commentary on the routine in China…

^Wang QingSong – Follow You

A FAT CAT!

^Wang Ningde

At around 6pm, I got sleepy, so I took a nap on the conference room floor of a random hotel, and at 730pm, I found a food court, got some Green Tea + Calpis + Aloe Jelly and made my way to the race!!!

I sat the same grandstands as I did 5-years ago, and after the race started, I left the seats to walk around and see if I could grab some photos of the race. Unfortunately, all of the locations I used last time were now blocked off. To get this shot, I had to pre-focus on a spot, hold my camera over a fence, and hope I got lucky…

After the race, I returned to the airport, showered, slept, and flew out in the morning! The HKG to SFO leg was on a United 747, which doesn’t have seatback TV’s, so I watched a Korean Drama that I had loaded onto my tablet. I don’t think I’ve ever been so addicted to a show. If you are reading this, you must watch.

Many hours later and a few layovers later, I was home.

Would I do this again? Probably!