Well, that box is ticked. Thank you indeed Singapore for your hospitality, it was sincerely appreciated. In particular it was mighty impressive of you to turn on the sun and boy did it have a bit of a punch to it whilst we frolicked around in the humid surroundings.
Sadly though the sun does go down on all good things, as new challenges replace old privileges. But before saying greetings to India, the day in picturesque Singapore was as follows:
Monday 9 December
6:45am- Having read the blog merely 5 hours prior, Mr Jordan, aka Shane Train/Plane/Pain, chartered a private jet and flew to Singapore to be with us out of the kindness of his heart. He also managed to encourage five other AGS boys to join him, with Allen, Boswell, Fox, Morreau and Ross, all jumping on board for the ride. The text at this hour of the morning simply stated 'We are here- thanks for the 1st class tickets, they were much appreciated after the NZ Secondary Schools Road Race we competed in earlier yesterday morning- please put the jug on- see you in 30 mins'
7:15am- The dirty half dozen named above arrive at the Hotel to find Mr Skeen completing laps in the swimming pool (all in a mornings work). Fletcher Boswell is quick to be mentioned. He claims 3 different individuals spotted his tour polo and asked him to explain what the big deal was whilst flying over. The others claim Fletcher used the flight time to introduce himself to everyone on board before proceeding to volunteer the itinerary of the programme. The Editor won't be drawn into taking sides on this debate
7:30am- The rest of the group get a wake up call after the late arrivals are subjected to a 15 min history of Singapore lecture from a certain History master on tour (the other poor souls had to hear it the day before)
8:10am- All 22 students arrive in the Lobby having showered properly for the last time in the next 28 days. The blog is then read so that the boys could appreciate to what volume their movements are going to be tracked (1694 hits at that stage which was very impressive). In particular a sincere thank you to those throwing up comments- we love the interaction and banter (as a side note anyone is free to post blogs using the email address that had been sent to the families- Lucy we applaud you!)
8:30am- We depart for a McDonalds breakfast, the last of the western fast food buzz for 2013. Now this is where the fun begins. Mr Jordan feeling bad about his notable absence to date requests the ability to play tour guide. He then proceeds to exit the Hotel and walk 14 blocks to the right, in the hope of finding a McDs in Chinatown (go figure). All the mean while Candy and Skeen reflect on how much easier it would have been to walk one block to the left to the Golden Arches sign we had seen the night before. Interestingly hindsight assisted the boys as they started to mention 30 mins later how weird it was that a man handing out McDs flyers outside the Hotel was so worked up when the large group was walking in the wrong direction. Now people are starting to understand the MVP decision of last night
9:30am- With breakfast finally located at 9:10am and consumed in the space of 20 mins the boys are split into three groups to complete a 150 minute navigation challenge. This included working in their own groups without staff presence to locate and take photos at the following locations- Raffles Hotel, the War Memorial Park, Marina Bay, Raffles Landing Site on the River, Fort Canning Park and finally Paragon Mall on Orchard Rd. The staff do come across Hamish Fox's group and a snake charmer who took their photo (whilst they held his pet snake) on the edge of the river. The excitement was all too much for Hamish who ran off in a time quicker than Bolt could ever achieve in a century of training
12pm- Everyone arrives safely at the Paragon Mall and go exploring for lunch bargains. At this stage Reuben McGregor-Sumpter realises he has lost his wallet- thankfully the store owner has it when he retraces his steps (thankfully it wasn't his Passport or else a depleted squad would have been going onto Kolkata tonight. Consequently, it seemed appropriate to name Reuben as the 2013 Fine Master. His job will be to collect Rupees off any tour member (staff included) whose dumb behaviour justifies a financial punishment. These combined funds will be used on New Years Eve to order up the meals of a lifetime on the beach in Goa. Reuben will be joined by Hamish Fox whose sleeping technique includes leaning out across half of the aisle in the plane. As such the plane flew with the left side slightly up as all foot traffic on board had to travel down the right aisle. On the subject of areas of responsibility Tim Burns and Jonty Morreau have been named the 2013 Quote Masters. Their job is to record the dumb things tour members say throughout the trip.
2:15pm- All present and accounted for outside the Paragon Mall entrance. As we walk off Lorde is belted out over the loud speakers. Her hit song, Royals, strikes a little sense of pride (some break into dance led by Miss Candy)
2:30pm- We dropped into Orchard Central and took the lift to the top (12th) floor to gain an insight for a rooftop position as to the breath of development in Singapore. Toogood counts 29 cranes on the northern side
3:20pm- Arrival back at the hotel followed by last minute purchases of trashy rip-off gear, prior to throwing on our tour issue gear to head for the airport
3:50pm- We departed for the airport on time. Is this a sign of things to come?
4:45pm- A seamless drive to the airport, followed by a very efficient check in at the Group desk of Singapore Airlines (all is going very well)
5pm- Well done to the boys as they endured 45 mins of 'that Skeen creature' providing the last formal instructions regarding our expectations as staff, what will happen upon arrival tonight, and a general reinforcement of the programme's aims.
6:30pm- "Flight SQ516 is now ready for boarding to Kolkata".
It's time to go. A 4.5 hr flight awaits before the real culture shock begins.
Catch you later Western World.
Ben
MVP- Hugo Stewart. Young Hugo stepped into McDs and actually consumed something from their selection for the first time ever in his life. Absolutely no lies!
Thought- Everything is relative. A Kirin beer in Singapore cost the Editor $19 Singapore dollars today. A flat white at the same establishment was $9.50. Even in such a wealthy country it appears there clearly are downsides.
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