STUCK IN SINGAPORE

Leaving Malaysia- Cherating Beach, Kuantan

So I’ve had a pretty crazy past few weeks. In late September I packed up my things, and made the move with work from what came to be my home in Malaysia.  After flying off to Male (Maldives) having a quick squiz around and setting my things in the corner, I was off again. Shanghai bound for a 2.5 week work trip. Between Malaysia, The Maldives and China I bounced back and forth from Singapore. (Don’t ask me why, it’s just how things worked out) 
On the morning I was due to board my flight from Singapore to Shanghai I was flicking through my passport when suddenly my heart sank. There was no Chinese Visa stamped in my passport. This meant there was absolutely no way I was getting on that plane. There I stood, like a complete fool with my suitcase at the door, a lift outside and unable to board the plane I was due to be on in less than two hours. Panicking I started the ring around in a desperate attempt to get hold of someone at the embassy & find out if it was possible to apply for the entry visa once already in China, or what on earth my options were.
Now normally I’m really on the ball when it comes to my travel planning, however as this was a work trip I was under the assumption my visa would have been sorted when my ticket was booked and purchased and my passport was taken for two weeks. I’m not pointing fingers here, and regardless of what happened or why it wasn’t organized along with everything else, at the end of the day I was the one getting on that plane and I really should have checked it. LESSON LEARNED.

I spent the next few days frantically running around Singapore trying to obtain first a phone or data sim (which proved to be far more difficult than I had anticipated- for future reference Starhub offers a wonderful $18 5-day unlimited data sim for your phone & can be purchased at phone stores, the airport or supposedly 7-11s although I came to the conclusion after the 6th store that this was untrue).
Off to the Chinese embassy I went, and after running about getting passport photos printed, copies of a bunch of documents I finally managed to get in a RUSH visa application which if approved, was able to be picked up the following day. THANK GOD. Now to change my flight. Changing a flight, even in your own name is actually not easy to do if you’re not the one who booked it. As the travel agent of my company booked the flight they had to be the ones to make contact with SIA and change the date. Easy, I’ll get in touch with them and have them do it. In keeping with the recent theme, luck was NOT on my side. Of course, of all the days- this particular day was a public holiday in Malaysia and therefor the travel agent was closed and unable to be reached. After a number of calls and pushing and sobbing to the Singapore Airlines hotline they eventually gave in letting me change the flight and I was ready to head off the morning after obtaining my visa. SUCCESS! (Just on a side note: I really love flying with Singapore Airlines, I find their flights and service to be a real breeze) Time had run out with all the running about so I decided to head to the airport early and spend my last day wandering around my favourite airport; Singapore Changi Airport. It’s by far one of the best airports I’ve ever been, and an attraction in its own right. From catching butterflies in the butterfly garden to shopping until you drop at one of the 300 stores if one was going to be stranded at an airport – Changi was the place to be. Look out for my upcoming blog post about the airport that’s for more than just flying.

The moral of this story is ALWAYS CHECK YOUR DETAILS. Even when your parents, friend, colleague or company is organizing your itinerary and all you have to do is rock up- check it anyway. There’s no use showing up, ready and rearing to go, only to find you’re knocked back due to minor missed details that could have been prevented. As I said- at the end of the day, you’re the one getting on the plane, you’re the one that will have to deal with the consequences of any complications – you are responsible. CHECK, RECHECK AND TRIPLE CHECK YOUR TICKETS AND DOCUMENTS.