First taste of Asia - February 3rd

First taste of Asia

This morning we woke up at 5 in the ambassador transit hotel, in the domestic terminal (terminal 1) part of Singapore's beautiful comfy Changi airport. And by 9 am today we were in Kuala Lumpur eating tasty noodles with rich broth in the airport, and now on a plane with so many handsome friendly smiling women wearing Muslim headgarb that's, well pretty! Amazing to think we are headed for Banda Aceh province, allegedly one of the most dangerous places in the world for its fervent Islamists practicing Sharia law, and these lovely women with their shopping bags and roller bags are making me feel at peace. Salaam aleikum.

Many people on our plane are wearing enough white, I'm pretty sure they have been to Mecca on pilgrimage. Men with fez like headgear. But the surprise is what women can do with a kebaya headscarf. If you make it fall in layers with slightly curly edges, in different variants of the same color, well, it's very very feminine! I think I have a new idea for my cancer patients that will be more flattering than a scarf. I want one of these!

As in other years: If you are lucky enough to book your flight on Singapore air, then, the vacation starts big time the minute you walk down the gangway. I love Singapore air. Doesn't cost more than the competition but it sure should! In comparison, I can't believe how consistently surly and stingy with smalll kindnesses united in particular can be. On this flight, We had a totally full plane, but the crew never failed in their pleasantness. We had several incredibly delish meals, all with great choices like a mukticourse vegetarian India option, and a European Asia fusion menu with chicken or beef options and even some seafood options. I brought home a menu just to show it off. We had our choice of 135 movies, 120 tv shows or documentaries, foreign language classes with video games embedded.... Pilates class to do in your chair.... While i was reading i also could watch and listen any one of six classical music performances out of the corner of my eye. basically it was as if i was being given the freedom of 26 hours of totally blank time to catch up on all the good movies and cultural events I've missed . Free socks tooth brush toothpaste and comb.... And lots and lots of smiles. Would you like some water, orange juice or would you just prefer some wine right now..... No charge for anything. Oh, I love Singapore air. Did I mention that?

The other thing people really should know, is how much Singapore is ahead of us.. Five years ago we saw people use their cellphones to pay for lunch without even getting an ATM card out. My seat mate told me they have an app where if you have called a cab, you can instantly see your cab speeding towards you on a GPS map. Really amazing how much they have integrated amazing features into their lives.

Well, they don't have Yosemite......

We couldn't buy our flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, capital of Malaysia (a one hour flight) or from KL to Banda aceh on Sumatra (90 minutes) or Banda aceh to another sumatran city, Medan, or from Medan to Penang, where we will be next week, because the local airlines do not accept web purchases with foreign credit cards. But luckily we had no problem getting them today in singapore at 5 am even though all the flights are pretty full, and so weare on track, and we are soon landing on Sumatra, a jewel of an island, huge, as long as California perhaps but thinner, lots of high mountain ranges cloaked with the remnants of jungles and a giant volcanic crater which we are flying parallel to now. We like the budget airline, air Asia, which used to be less reliable but apparently that's ancient history now, it's a very good airline. NO food for free but we don't care, we like cheap!