Bangkok Airport is enormous, with two very long runways. We could takeoff and land three times before reaching the end. They even have a golf course between the runways. How about that! You not only have to be aware of birds and other aircraft on takeoff but also try not to get hit by any stray golf balls.
After the last two longer legs of 9 and 8.5 hours respectively, the run from Bangkok to Singapore was a walk in the park--only 4.5 hours. We were near the coastline most of the time and the scenery was interesting. There were a few clouds to dodge here and there and some mountainous terrain toward the end for variety. The time seemed to pass very quickly.
Hooking up the iPod helped, too. Sherry received the iPod as a gift this past Christmas. It is small enough to fit in your shirt pocket with room to spare and it holds up to 10,000 recorded songs. It is incredible! It can play through tiny earphones or plug into a car radio. Plugged into the aircraft intercom system, it can play your favorite songs seemingly without end. We chose "Hits from the '50s" for this flight. Fats Domino. The Everly Brothers. The Big Bopper. Little Richard. It was great to hear all of the oldies again and to try to remember the names of the songs and artists before checking them out on the little screen.
Singapore means Lion City. It is an island, city and country, all in one, about 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. It is amazing how much they can fit into an area that size. More than 60,000 companies from around the world have a presence here. The population of 4.1 million is considerably more prosperous than that of Thailand. Taxes are very low but prices are high, especially when compared to Bangkok. They have 3 airports, one with non-stop flights to New York. That would be a longer time in the air than any of our flights.
Our hotel is located in the downtown area and there are shopping malls all around. They also have a very nice waterfront dining and shopping area. The ride of the day was in a "bumboat", one of the popular old converted cargo boats that go from place to place along the waterfront area. When we say we were exhausted when we got off, we are talking engine fumes. Fun!
The Red Bearon has a little romance in his life. I had mentioned that Sherry was required to take an elephant home with us and she certainly did not wish to counter tradition. Well, the Bearon and elephant hit it off splendidly from the word "Go" so we now have another passenger. There may be a problem in juggling the extra weight in the aircraft but there is no turning back at this point. The pachyderm is definitely along for the remainder of the trip.
