7 Mistakes I made in Singapore

So, after a month in Singapore, I felt quite at home.

I would happily catch a bus, ride the MRT and be comfortable finding myself where I wanted to be.

 

I would walk around and find a nice place to eat, and ask someone for help or directions.

…But it wasn’t always like that

Below is a list of some funny, some not, of my mistakes in Singapore

My 7 mistakes

• Walking into the wrong toilet
• Catching the wrong bus
• Afraid to ask someone to take a photo
• Not giving myself enough time to apply for a visa to Thailand
• Losing my phone
• Only wearing shorts and a T-shirt when visiting the cinema
• Not checking my photos before leaving somewhere you have to pay to visit.

Walking into the wrong toilet

I would like to point out that I don’t make a habit of this. 

In fact, during my time managing office buildings, I had to deal with this type of incident many times over.

When men thought it was okay to go to the ladies’ toilet because, and I quote, ” the cubicles in the men’s toilets were full”

But Asia is a funny place

But, Asia is funny and many signs are I feel are added as an afterthought.

I have seen toilets where they have a cupboard which, if opened, completely obscures the sign for Ladies.:)

Watched with fascination how many guys just wander in, oblivious to where they are going.

For me, the idea that after looking for a toilet in a shopping mall,

(you sometimes have to walk through service areas reserved for staff to get to them)

and watching a woman walk into the left-hand side of the entrance was enough to automatically go right.

However, what I didn’t realise was that the woman, an elderly lady, was too busy on her phone to notice she had actually walked into the Men’s.

Upon realising her mistake, she went into the correct toilets, only to find me.

To which she then decided to shout rather loudly that I was in the wrong one.

(Trying to explain that it was her fault that I had ventured into this side wasn’t going to cut it somehow).

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Catching the wrong bus

 

“I did this several times before I figured out that it is worth checking the timetables and destination before just getting on a bus that looked like the one I catch and was in the same spot and had the first 2 numbers of the bus I needed ( Meatloaf once sang two out of three ain’t bad) so couldn’t be too much of a problem right?”

Lost in Singapore, 2017 and 2018

Erm…wrong!

Firstly, it turned off in the opposite direction shortly after pulling out.

Then when I thought we were going back to where I needed to be, it turned again.

The lesson here is to ask the driver; most speak good enough English, and even if they don’t, they will probably understand where you are going enough to say yes or no.

Afraid to ask someone to take a photo

I am sure we have all been here, you find a great place on holiday and whilst by yourself fancy taking a good photo.

Selfies just don’t cut it when you have a beautiful landscape you can stand in front of and just need someone to help. 

You look around and eye up the prospective candidates; a few look like they will run off with your camera if you give it to them.

A couple who look like they don’t speak English, and you can imagine the fun that will be.

Firstly, pointing in some Asian countries is disrespectful, and secondly, you will probably look silly in the photo anyway.

Why do we older guys just struggle to look good in photos on our own? (A bit like Dad dancing at a wedding; we never seem to pull it off) 

Then you spot the beautiful lady on her own, who seems to be enjoying the view as much as you are.

You think for a minute, then decide that she may panic if you (an older guy also on his own) start walking over to her, and you stop!

Suddenly imagining her pulling out pepper spray from her bag, and the next minute you are lying on the floor.

Whilst the oriental couple who don’t speak English are pointing their camera at you, suddenly happy that they have something to take photos of, other than the view.

At the same time, the 2 dodgy looking younger guys make off with your camera while you are rolling around on the floor crying like a baby.

 

After that brief insight into the future, you forget the beautiful scenery and walk off without trying.

Which is a shame because she can only say no, but maybe, just maybe, she is also standing there thinking the same thing (although whether she has pepper spray is still a mystery).

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  Might it have looked better with me there?
  
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Not giving myself enough time to apply for a visa to Thailand

This one should be obvious: you decide you want to visit another country while in another country, so you go to the local embassy of that country and apply for a visa.

Lesson one

Do the research, check how long it takes to apply, and how you apply before starting.

Don’t do what I did: decide a week before you want to go that you will apply, only to find out it takes a week to process (assuming everything goes right the first time), which of course it doesn’t.

For non-Singaporeans applying for visas to Thailand, you need to do it online, which means gathering all your documents and uploading them after creating an account on the embassy website.

They ask for the obvious, like accommodation, flights in and out, and confirmation that you have enough money to live in Thailand for the duration of your stay.

All straightforward, but here is where it gets to be fun. If you apply for a visa to go to Thailand (currently) you are applying for 60 days by which time you have to leave and therefore produce flights out of the country.

But once you are there, you can ask for another 30- day extension, which I believe is reasonable to get. 

So I decided to send them an itinerary of my flights, without booking the actual tickets, because if I want to stay for 90 days, then the flight out in 60 days will be worthless, right?

So why book it?

Nope! 

They reject your visa application and email you telling you that you need to send the correct documents.

So I panic and book the flights I was going to take before realising that not only have I now committed to staying in Thailand for a minimum of 60 days (without having my visa confirmed), but I now fly in 4 days, and I have just started the whole 7-day visa process again from scratch!!!

In the end, it all worked out well, and I collected my Visa the day before my Flight.

But it might not work like this every time, so give yourself plenty of space … NEXT Visa application Cambodia

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Losing my phone

See my post on this in September Blog Post https://www.nos.me.uk/travel-in-motion/a-story-of-a-lost-phone-an-honest-taxi-driver-and-a-beautiful-city/

Where I explain in detail how a change in clothing can dramatically affect one’s life!

Only wearing shorts and a T-shirt when visiting the cinema

This may seem silly, but when the average temperature is 30 degrees and the climate is humid, you get used to wearing as little as you can.

But when you decide to visit the lovely air-conditioned cinema, remember the temperature won’t be as hot!

In fact, it is going to be very cold considering what you are used to, so be aware; they do sell, however, very good Hot coffee 🙂 

By the way, go see Crazy Rich Asians; it is a great film.

Forgetting to check your photos before leaving somewhere you have to pay to visit.

“I am a Man, therefore I do everything right the first time… ‘was the answer I always got when I quizzed my father about checking anything”

unknown, around 1980s

He had many sayings like this, but none made any sense, and I always ignored him, so why did I not check that I actually took the photo I wanted before I left the place?

It is worth pointing out that both my phone and camera are new items I purchased before embarking on this trip, and like all men, I didn’t read the instructions, as I can figure it out when I need to.

But after paying to go to the Skypark observation deck on top of Marina Sands Hotel, I really should have checked the photo quality before coming down!

Currently awaiting my cousin to provide better shots from his camera 🙂

So there you have it! My first list of mistakes made whilst travelling, but trust me, they won’t be the last:)