Life, as it goes.

I am not hurrying it up but this is how it actually happened, the last lap of our journey was meant for doing nothing. Lazing around in the sun on the beach was the plan so it isn't very eventful.

On Day 7 of the holiday the third lap of our journey had started. We were to go reach at 10:00 a.m. at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal from where we would get a ferry to Bintan Islands, Indonesia. By now we were experts on Singapore public transport so we took a taxi from the hotel, one trip on foot with baggage was enough for us and from there took a train to the nearest station. Passenger service at the station gave us the bus number for the terminal.

The bus was on time to the second and we reached the Ferry Terminal where a lady from our tourist company was waiting for us. After checking in and immigration, we got into the ferry. Now for me the word ferry brings an image of a motorboat with horizontal wooden planks for seats, peeling paint on the sides and a smell of wet, rotten wood which we normally board from the Gateway of India but here as I stepped into the ferry I was stunned, the inside looked no less than an airplane. It was airconditioned obviously, also had a T.V, a snack bar and toilets.

The ride to Indonesia was uneventful except for R feeling a little queasy due to the motion of the boat. He normally has this problem in closed vehicles and uneven motion. I had kept cloves which helped him feel better. At Bintan Islands the immigration and check-in were quick but it took time for the baggage to arrive.

A shuttle bus dropped us to our resort and we gasped in amazement at the beauty of the sea in front of us. It was of a deep blue colour with white sands and waves lolling slowly. It was mid-day but R went in for a swim before lunch. After that was a series of swim, eat, sleep, swim, eat, read, laze around, sleep, eat, walk around, swim ...

Thats how the two days passed. Interestingly Indian holiday makers have not yet discovered Bintan and so we did not meet any Indians except for a small family of parents and daughter who had come from Singapore but were originally from Mumbai. While R was not in the mood for trekking I did a bit of it walking on the beach from one end to the another, through the water in some places, on rocks in another.

One highlight of our stay in Bintan was the high tide at mid-day on the second day. The waves were more than a meter high and though I know swimming the sight of a wave coming at you, un stoppable by any force on earth, swelling each second, bigger and bigger till it towers over you and breaks on the beach with white, salty foam is mesmerising. I was scared, every time the wave broke over me, knocking my breath away and submerged me into the sea I would swear to walk back to the beach but then the next wave would entice me and I would stay, challenging it to engulf me into its enormity. The sea gave me a good bashing but I don't think I have had such fun anywhere before. I also realised the bond a surfer has with the waves, it inexplicable but real.

So, basically we chilled out the last two days of the holiday. Swimming in the sea to the heart's fill and hogging away to glory. It was with a lot of sadness that I said good-bye to the sun because the next time I saw a sunset it would be from my apartment in Mumbai.

Not even a speck of sunlight could come in through the thick curtains of the room and the air conditioning had maintained the same temperature so I was not concious of the time. For the first time in this trip R was up before me. He was all charged up for the day. I wasn't even fully awake when he told me he had planned the day in such a way that we would get to see the sights, have lunch with his colleague and go to Sentosa island.

So we set off on foot again after a breakfast that could last for three meals, through the maze of malls and escalators towards Suntech City Mall where the Singapore Tourist Hub was located. If you have seen Krishh you will recognise this place from the fountain which was featured as Krishh jumped/ flew in search of his father. Its the largest fountain in the world and is shaped in a way that water flows in instead of spouting out which according to Feng shui conveys that money should always flow in. It is constructed in the middle of the five Suntech City Mall towers which interestingly form the shape of a person's left hand. The left hand again signifying money coming in as the Chinese believe that in business you give with the right and take with the left hand.

All this we found out on our first tour called the Duck Tour. This was basically a tour in a vehicle which could move both on land and water, an amphibian. It took us through the Civic District, the Business District, the Shopping District and the Marina Bay. Its quite interesting to be in a country of one city. They do not use the word city at all, they just call everything country because the city is the country. Its size is just 42 kms, thats just the distance between Churchgate to Bandra and back and thats not even 1/3rd of Mumbai.

After the Duck tour we were to go to R's office for lunch with his colleagues. Again we decided to walk but realised that it would be too long. At the tourist hub they told us about a free shuttle which took us from Suntech City mall to the Metro station of Raffles City which was the nearest to the business district. The free shuttle was also air conditioned and R shook his head in frustration.

We reached his office, it was on the 10th floor of a business centre and had a view of the Marina Bay as far as the islands of Malaysia and Indonesia. Lunch was great at an Indian restaurant. Somehow I was craving Bhaji Pau and realised that could be great business here as there were not many Indian food restaurants.

It was close to 4:00, we had to board the bus for Sentosa at 6:00 so we took a city bus to Suntech City Mall and relaxed in a cafe for sometime. I was too tired to walk so R strolled around the mall looking at the brands and returned with a bag of chocolates. As I reached out to take one he pulled it away. "These are gifts. You have your chocolate sundae na." So then I had my second chocolate sundae. R had also tried to call V and S but the hotel said they had left in the morning and not returned.

At six sharp, the tour bus came and we set off for Sentosa. Now the best thing about these conducted tours are the guides. They are very entertaining and it takes a lot of spirit to repeat the same thing day in and day out without getting bored or boring the listeners. The tour guide Yan was the best of all we had met. She knew a lot about Singapore. As a passing remark she mentioned her age at 37 and R looked at me with surprise, she hardly looked beyond 20.

The ride till Sentosa took us through the port of Singapore, Yan talked about the history of the country, the story behind its discovery and its name, the current governance, the demography, technological advances, economy and what not, she knew a lot. I was really impressed.

At Sentosa, the main attraction was the musical fountain show. Yan told us to meet us at the entrance of the amphitheatre after the show ended and as we walked the amphitheatre looking for seats, who do we see, V and S sitting hand in hand sipping coke and snacking on Lays.

"Kuch toh connection hai apna." V said when he saw us. We talked of what we had done that day and our plans for the next day. The fountain show was incredible. They had used laser lights reflecting on water to form animated figures of animals and aquatic creatures. It was mainly for childern but even the adults sat in wonderous awe at the technology used. We went back to Yan after fixing with V and s to meet them at Orchard Road later in the night.

From Sentosa we rode back to Singapore, our next stop was Bugis Village street market. The moment I stepped out of the bus I wished I had seen it before. Right in front of me stood spread on sidewalks and spilling on the road, shops and stalls of all kind of food, clothes, electronics, watches, footwear and what not sparkling with halogen lights and tingling with human voices of emotions, a laugh here a shout there and the best part about it which R pointed out, no air conditioning. Thank God, they were after all humans or maybe they were allowed to be humans in this little area of Bugis village street market.

"Feels like home." I remarked to Yan.
"Why?" she asked.
"My entire country is like this, noisy, crowded and hot but undoubtedly alive. Every corner throbs with life in every possible form." I said.
"I would love to visit your country." she remarked, not with the tone of fake formality but with sincerity.
"Do come but be prepared for the shock of your life. It sure is different from yours." I replied.

We boarded the bus from Bugis to our next stop, Orchard Road where we were going to get off and meet up with V and S. We were to meet them at the Mariott Hotel. Actually both of us were very tired and I was longing to go back to the suite so was kind of half hoping that they wouldn't turn up. We waited for them for almost half an hour, looked up and down the building but couldn't find them so we took the next city bus available. We were the only people on the bus, as it ran down the road, I looked out of the glass window and saw S, her red kurti standing out in the crowd, R saw them too but it was not possible to stop the bus or call out at them so we just let it be.

Back at the hotel I was feeling much better after a shower and we were discussing our observations on Singapore. Yan had given us the people's perspective of the country. I couldn't help wondering how they managed to convey the discipline and the rules to the people and how they were convinced to abide by them. The population was 4.4 million, much less that even Mumbai's but still quite a bit for the space they covered. R came up with his point which made the most sense.

"Its all a little too good to be true. I swear to you, these people would also love to spit in the street and pee on walls if they were allowed to. Living in India we are free to have as many definitions as of freedom as the number of people, but here this definition is stated and made unargueable due to the penalties. It is forced and there comes a point in time when people begin to see the good of it too and then do not want to consider any other definition of freedom because theirs give them comfort and a good life. Its not such a bad deal you know."

He maybe right, it may not be such a bad deal but understanding that littering is bad for the country on your own is more valuable than the understanding being imposed on you I think. I slept that night with a vision of trying to impose and penalise each and every pan spitting and wall peeing male in India. A humungous task like that would take lifetimes. Nahi.

R had decided to reserve the day for eating and sleeping mainly because there was nothing else to do. The ship was to reach Singapore harbour at five in the evening, we had the entire day to ourselves so he did what he had decided to and I went around exporing once again the gigantic machine.

One thing I forgot to mention was that every evening the cabin service would drop in a pamphlet which would mention the activities of the day. They had separate activities for the childern too. We used to plan our evening based on the pamphlet. That day's activity included a musical called "Beyond Broadway" which was the reproduced excerpts of the various Broadway hits. I coerced R to come with me to watch it that morning.

The ships auditorium was called The Lido and it had a topless show every night which cost money so obviously we didn't watch it but in addition to that they also had free shows like "Beyond Broadway". The auditorium took my breath away, it was decorated entirely in deep red and had gallery seating which gave an excellent view of the stage without the discomfort of the disturbence of people moving in and out.

The show was amazing, the actors were fantastic and though R did not know much about Broadway, even he was captivated by the music, lights and energy of the performers. They showed excerpts from Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Westside story, The King and I, Chicago, Grease etc. After it ended the actors were introduced.

One by one they walked in with their costumes on and bowed to the applauding audience. The anchor announced their names and countries and spoke a bit to each of them. It seemed rehearsed with rattofied punchlines and jokes but was delivered well enough to bring out the laughter. Just after the actors of the King and I were introduced, walked in the subject of our bet in a yellow leotard of the Cats. R tapped my hand,

"Wohi hai na?"
"Yup. listen."

I could see my chocolate sundae melt in front of my eyes when the anchor announced.

"And this is Ruby N. You would have seen Ruby N in the Karoke pub as well crooning the latest hits."
"Dekha, ladki hai." R whispered, "Maine kaha tha."
"But ... I could have sworn ..." I stopped in mid-sentence as the anchor continued.
"Ruby N is our own Ms. Thailand, right everyone." The anchor thrust the mike towards the audience who roared in agreement.
"So nice of you to agree, most don't and for good reason." the same shrill voice of the subject of our bet who we now knew as Ruby N spoke.
"Oops ..." R whispered.
"Now you know what make-up, wigs and padded bras can do." the shrill voice had changed into a deeper tone, the auburn curls were replaced with a short black crop and out came cups from the earstwhile curved chest to reveal my chocolate sundae ... i mean ... a guy.
"Yesssssss..." I pumped the air, "Dekha." I said in the same tone as R had spoken a few seconds ago.

I gloated with my Chocolate Sundae, I guarantee you there is no other high than a well deserved choclate sundae on the high seas. Cheap thrills R called it and sulked. That afternoon after a heavy totally unbalanced lunch with desserts weighing the majority I went off to sleep, I don't know what R did but he woke me up with a call in my cabin. He had found V and S again.

At five sharp the Singapore skyline came in view. By six we were ready to disembark at the Harbour Front. We exchanged Hotel names and phone numbers with V and S and took a metro to City Hall station where our hotel for the next two days was located. We asked the passenger service desk at the station, our hotel according to him was walking distance so R lugged on to the bigger suitcase, I took the smaller one and we walked and walked and walked, over escalators, in subways, on overbridges, through miles and miles of malls it seemed, to finally reach the hotel exhausted and furious.

Singapore has as much construction under ground as it has above it. Malls are interconnected with subways and tunnels, at no point in time can you confidently say as to what level you are, whether it is above ground or two levels under ground or the second floor of a building. Everthing is very well labelled though, there are toilets at every corner and directions every two minutes, people are helpful too but that cannot reduce the distance can it. Inspite of being used to walking a lot in Mumbai, R was getting impatient and at one point just exited out of a building in warm evening air.

"This is a city of escalators and air conditioning. Its so sickening." he remarked.

Finally after walking a few blocks on a silent and empty sidwalk we reached our hotel to be greeted by a smiling and stunningly beautiful woman. She gave us the very good news that we had been upgraded from two single rooms to a suite. R grinned and I gulped, "Oh oh."

"Do you have any other room available." R said inspite of his grin.
"No sir, we have a conference going on and there is nothing else available. Is there a problem? Maybe you can first see the suite and then decide?"
"Shu kahe chhe?" R asked. (What do you say?)
"I want to first rest my feet. We will think of what to do afterwards." I said, truely tired and just a little curious to see the inside of a suite.

It was indeed fantastic. Decorated elegantly in shades of brown, it had two rooms and a huge walk in closet. Complimentary chocolates, fruits and coffee stood on the side table. Both, the main room had an eight seater sofa and a large working desk complete with connections for a laptop, fax machine and printer and a huge plasma TV. The second room had two single beds, a music system, a night table and again a TV.

"Now what do you say?" R asked.
"I want to keep it. There are two rooms, it will do." I said.

After dinner, I sat on the carpeted floor of the main room, zipping through the various channels totally clueless of the language but still watching with amazement the similarity between our saas-bahu serials an theirs soaps. Especially the music effects and zooming in on each character separately technique and the reality shows complete with glycerine induced tears competition. HBO was playing Ladder 49 which I zeroed on and watched.

R was already snoring in the inside room full of beer and chicken which he believed to be the reward for being my coolie. I don't remember when I switched off the TV and went to sleep on the floor, the only thing I remember was thinking, "I am sleeping in a hotel suite which is bigger than my house in Mumbai."