Seattle to Singapore

Author Message   greg mooney New member Username: Dogwoodfarms Post Number: 1 Registered: 03-2010 Posted From: 74.163.18.71 Posted on Tuesday, April 06, 2010 - 12:29 am:    navy inn manager must be on the take. those rooms were 48 bucks two years ago at sembawang   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1552 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 67.190.52.82 Posted on Sunday, February 21, 2010 - 11:18 pm:    Well, just 24 hours after leaving Yokota, I am at home. I took the 4am C17 to Charleston thru Fairbanks. That flight was only 8 hours after having landed at Yokota. It was a short night. Only 4 spats on the plane, me and a family of 3 going to Alaska. The plane took about 8 hours to Fairbanks. We spent about 2 hours on the ground unloading cargo. Then about 8 hours to Charleston, landing about 9am. My luck has returned as Charleston had no less than 3 C17's going empty to Peterson in Colorado Springs. I got on the first one and we left about noon. Four hours later, my son picks me up at Peterson and we are on our way home. Now I just have to retrieve my car up at McChord sometime. Sounds like a space a trip! The only interesting intel that I picked up is that the C17's that go from Travis to Diego Garcia (and sometimes Bahrain) are actually never Travis planes. Twice a month them come to Travis from Hawaii and twice a month they come down from Elmendorf. From Travis, they always go thru Elmendorf, to Yokota, to Singapore, to Diego, then some weeks Bahrain and then return by the same route to Travis. Oddly, therefore, the Elmendorf plane starts by flying down to Travis, then back up. On the return, it flys back up to Elmendorf. The crew explained that since these flights begin and end on weekends, that reserve crews fly down to Travis and back on each end. The active duty crew does the Elmendorf to Indian Ocean to Elmendorf segments. Not only is this generally interesting, but it also shows that if you want to get to Yokota or Singapore, try to get on the returning flight that goes to Elmendorf a day or two before the 'new' flight transits Elmendorf on its main run. The 'main' mission usually only has 5 or 10 seats to Yokota, but the dead head run home will be empty. Then after a night or two at Elmendorf, jump on the main run when they open more seats, as they usually do. The other trick would be to keep an eye on this Indian Ocean schedule in an attempt to catch the empty C17 going home to Hawaii from Travis.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1551 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 203.105.88.90 Posted on Saturday, February 20, 2010 - 11:19 am:    Well, of course, the DC8 didn't go this morning, Saturday. I have heard of this DC8 but never really seen it. I believe that it exists but not really certain. There was a C-17 making its weekly run back to the states 2 hours later, so all 16 of us got on that. They would not let us manifest past Yokota. We are now at Yokota. The C-17 is scheduled to go thru Elmendorf to Travis tomorrow about mid-day. There is also a C-17 going thru Fort Wainwright, Alaska, to Charleston about 7 hours earlier. I think that I will try for that one. If I don't get on either, then there is nothing until the Tuesday PatEx. The Friday PatEx according to the rep took no Cat6's. Good thing that we all got out of Singapore today, as there are no more flights to Yokota until Wednesday. Singapore just might be a 'bridge too far'.   Larry W. Carnes Senior Member Username: Larry Post Number: 1071 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 12.65.156.78 Posted on Friday, February 19, 2010 - 03:22 am:    This is a longshot, but certainly worth a try: Call the Clark AMC rep's cell phone and see if anything is flying out in the next couple days. If there is and it looks like it will have seats, go online or walk up to the Tiger Airlines counter at the Changi Budget terminal. Fares were running under US $100 last month. It's only a 3-hour flight to Clark; might get a flight out the same day you arrive there. The AMC terminal is about 1/2 mile from the Clark commercial airport. The Blue Bianco Hotel is located between the two terminals and you can get a clean room there for about US $30 if you need to kill a night or two, without leaving the base. Beats spending $100+ a night in Sing.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1550 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 61.8.254.194 Posted on Friday, February 19, 2010 - 02:45 am:    Well, of course, the plane didn't go this morning, Friday. My luck is changing for the much worse. There is only 1 DC8 that basically flies constantly back and forth on this trip. There are 2 crews that trade off in Singapore. When things go wrong, they tend to pile up badly. The plane wasn't here on Wednesdy because it couldn't land here Tuesday because the base was closed down solid for Chinese New Years. It landed in KL, Malaysia. The crew here in Singapore took a van up to relieve the onboard crew. Yesterday, Thursday, it got here but had a dead radar type module. Someone from Tokyo actually brought it down from Tokyo personally to get the plane going again. Sometime very early this morning, they decided that the schedule was now 2-3 days out of sync. So, they decided to forget the last few days and just start back up with where they 'should be'. Sadly, for us, they were originally scheduled today to be going back to Diego Garcia. So, that is where they went. So, the 'mission was cancelled'. The problem with that from our perspective is that the airline company no longer is responsible for us and don't have to pay for our hotels and food anymore. So, here I am 'out on the economy' waiting for the plane to get back here tomorrow and head back up to Yokota. The pax terminal has computers and internet. We got online and found hotels for the night. Shatner has let me down!! Priceline said that they have no rooms anywhere in Singapore tonight. So, about half of us are at the Accor Mercure Roxy at about $110us/ night. The other half headed over to the Furama Riverside (?) for about $95us/ night. The Navy base said that they had no rooms. The Mercure Roxy is a $9sing taxi ride from the airbase and about 10-15 minutes. Nice area and nice hotel. Rooms are quite nice and the wife wouldn't mind it. Sort of Marriott level in the states. Not the level of the Conrad or Intercontinental but very livable. Interestingly, being about 2 miles from downtown, the area is more 'real'. Right across the street is a vast market with food stall and bakeries and shopping. The prices also seem less than downtown. The hotel is on the corner of Marine Parade Road and Joo Chiat Road. So, I am about a week past when I would have liked to have left. I got here a week ago Tuesday. The last flight out was a week ago today, Friday. Saturday, there were no flights. Sunday they were closed as usual. Monday and Tuesday they were closed for Chinese New Year. Wednesday, the plane was not here because the place was closed on Tuesday. On Thursday, there was a broken piece. ..and today, they are headed the other way to get back on their schedule. I hope that all my plane troubles will stay here in Singapore, if...err, when... I get to Yokota.   Larry W. Carnes Senior Member Username: Larry Post Number: 1070 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 12.65.162.68 Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 09:14 pm:    "they took us downtown to the Intercontinental Hotel, gave us a room with breakfast, and gave us $40us in cash for lunch and dinner." PR, as they say in Kentucky, you're the kind of guy who could fall in a pile of horse manure and come out smelling like roses! "The cab driver not only had no idea where the Navy base was but also didn't speak English." I thought "I" had the only taxi driver in Sing who couldn't speak English one early morning 5 years ago. He couldn't comprehend Paya Lebar Air Base....kept trying to take me to Changi Airport. I finally convinced him to call his dispatcher for directions. Your suggestion of carrying a map for those situations is a good one.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1549 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 61.8.205.2 Posted on Thursday, February 18, 2010 - 02:46 am:    So, of course, the plane was broken this morning, Thursday. About 10 of us had boarding passes, but this is where things took an interesting turn. Usually, a broken plane leads to you being out of luck. I, tho, have had excellent luck on this trip. This is a contract flight. Once you have a boarding pass, the airline company, in this case ATI, owns the problem. So.....they took us downtown to the Intercontinental Hotel, gave us a room with breakfast, and gave us $40us in cash for lunch and dinner. They said the van would come back in the morning at 6:30 to get us for the flight. The Intercontinental is a 5 star, $300ish/ night place. ...and I didn't even have to use Priceline! Now that is space a living.   Dakota Ray Advanced Member Username: Rhammer Post Number: 356 Registered: 05-2007 Posted From: 69.62.147.217 Posted on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 10:50 pm:    Hi PR, With a Suite like that it should be "party time" for you. Hope you found the mini-bar!!! Thanks for all the good info. I wish you luck on your next flight and I will look you up next time I am at Travis. I probably know you but I don't recognize PR. Happy Trails!!!   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1548 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 58.185.199.164 Posted on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 06:45 am:    Well, of course, the plane never made it here. It is broke in some other country that we cannot space a to. So, I was stuck at Paya Lebar at 7am in the morning without a ride or a hotel room. Since my priorities were laundry, internet, and cold cheap beer, I headed back up to Sembawang Navy base. The cab driver not only had no idea where the Navy base was but also didn't speak English. He understood Yishun MRT and from there, I directed him road by road. Since neither of my cab drivers have known where the place is, it would be good if folks brought maps with them from Google Earth or something when they space a here. The gal and her boss at the reception desk of the Inn remembered me for my nice comment about the Durban suites. The boss even thanked me for my similar comments on the online evaluation. They must of liked me because not only did they give me a room at 8am but gave me one of the 2 named DV suites. I got the Raffles Suite. Very, very large and the top half of a building. 2 bedrooms, an office, a living room, a couple of foyers, 3 or 4 long hallways, kitchen, dining room set for 6 with linen, and washer and drier. Best of all, there are frozen Tiger Beer brand mugs in the freezer. I know that there is a minibar in here someplace, but haven't found it yet. I guess that it pays to be nice. Called the airbase and the plane is on for tomorrow am.   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 6431 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.169.151.24 Posted on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 - 12:25 am:    Jerry, Perhaps Richard can explain.   Jerry Hunt Senior Member Username: Exflier49 Post Number: 402 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 71.99.70.184 Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 10:23 pm:    Dino, I don't think Richard was referring to other web sites but rather other destinations and/or places discussed on this web site. Or am I misinterpreting?   dinotars Senior Member Username: Dinotars Post Number: 6430 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 173.169.151.24 Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 09:17 pm:    Richard, Why go to other sites for spacea information? This is the prime site for accurate spacea answers and first hand knowledge.   Richard G Cooper New member Username: Richardcooper101 Post Number: 1 Registered: 05-2008 Posted From: 75.230.226.219 Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 04:31 pm:    Great job and very informative if only we could get the same type of info on other sites/ places.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1547 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 119.73.250.67 Posted on Tuesday, February 16, 2010 - 04:24 am:    A couple of random logistical things before I try to head out in the morning to Yokota. Hotels: I wanted to give some actual hotel options after sounding so negative in my main post. I drove past some and went in some. Park Royal on Beach Road: A good option if you don't use Priceline. Nice inside and out. A little under $100 on their website. Not near MRT but several buses right outside. Good option. Across the street from 'little malaysia town?'. Mercure Roxy: This is an Accor property. They had prices at about $100 when I was looking. Farther from town than the Park Royal, but on the 36 bus route from the airport and not too far from paya Lebar. Swissotel Merchant Court: Very nice inside and out. A few months ago, I found cheap (about $100) on their website. Right across the pedestrian (sp?) bridge from Clark Quay. Rendezvous: Right on Orchard Road and I have seen some reasonable prices for this. Very nice from the outside. Peninsula: I (only) once found this cheap. Very close to Raffles and very nice of the outside. Laundry: I found a laundry across the street from the Conrad under the Carrefour grocery store near the food court across from Pizza Hut. Of course it was closed 4 days for Chinese New Year. But it is there. Oddly, I also found a coin operated laundry in the basement of Changi airport. Very odd, but nice. Buses: I continue to be a big fan of the buses here. $2sing gets you an hour ride in any direction. From the SunTec center, bus 36 goes to and from Changi Airport (and in front of Mercure Roxy). It also continues on past the SunTec center and hits all of Orchard road and most of the hotels downtown. It goes to all 3 terminal basements. The basement of terminal 2 has the bus to the budget terminal. The budget terminal has Firefly and Cebu and Tiger. Terminal 1 has AsiaAir and JetStar. Terminals 2 and 3 have good signs for which is which. Terminal 1 has no sign in the bus area. So, bus 36 goes back and forth between downtown and the airport. Bus 858 goes from the airport up to the Yishun MRT station (and bus 169 to the Navy base). And last, bus 857 goes back and forth between SunTec/ downtown and Yishun. Each of these buses is a little over $2sing and take about an hour. Larry, last month, did a good job of explaining the MRT and the bus to Paya Lebar. I did a dry run. Indeed, the Eunos MRT stop is the closest to the air base. From there, go to the 'bus interchange', that is a bus terminal behind the MRT stop. From there, take bus 94 to Paya Lebar air base. It is hard to mess up because the bus only goes back and forth to the air base. It passes the air base entrance, then passes the Air Force museum, then goes on a round-a-bout and heads back to the MRT station. So, if you miss your stop going past the air base, get off on the way back out of the area. For the $10-15sing, I plan to take a cab to the airbase in the morning to avoid all the walking with luggage and the rush hour crowds.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1546 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 119.73.250.67 Posted on Sunday, February 14, 2010 - 09:49 pm:    It is bright and early Monday morning here in Singapore. I have 2 more nights here at the Conrad (Hilton) Centenial. Then on Wednesday morning, I should be able to get back to Yokota on the DC8. Thought that I might go over hotels, transportation, and things to do. Hotels: The Sembawang Navy Inn is quite nice and unique. At $90 or $95 depending on your suite, it is also a not bad deal for Singapore. It is, however, almost 1 hour time north of the downtown area. Getting to and from town from there ate up almost 2 hours per day. Also, depending upon rush hour, the MRT subway was quite packed and I found myself worrying about getting bird flu. The nice thing about the place is that you can make reservations from Yokota and have a place to stay when you get here, then make further plans. The Navy Inns have an odd policy where you can cancel your reservation up to 10am or so of the day AFTER you are to check in. If you don't get here from Yokota, then it is easy to cancel or change your reservation. This flexibility is far more difficult in a hotel. I probably should have stayed there only 1 or 2 nights rather than 3. Again, from there, I got the Conrad on Priceline for only $90 plus taxes for 5 nights. I used betterbidding.com to help me figure out what to bid and what areas to bid on. They are the pepperd.com of the priceline world. They have lists of what hotels you will likely end up with after you bid successfully. Big cities are broken down into smaller 'areas' and the hotels for those areas are listed. So, you know that if you bid for the 'city hall' area of Singapore and a 5 star hotel, you are likely only to get 1 of 3 hotels. Betterbidding also has reviews on most of the hotels. I would have been happy to get any of the 3 hotels. Priceline only lets you bid a couple of times without changing something like dates or areas. Betterbidding shows you areas that don't have 5 star hotels so that you can add those areas and be allowed to bid again on what you really want. Betterbidding also has a forum that shows prior 'wins'. That way you know what it will likely take to win. So, the Conrad had prior wins in the $88 area. I got this at $90 probably because it was the Chinese New Year. I have stuck with 5 star hotels because it doesn't seem like you really save that much by going with fewer stars. Also, the risk here and in Europe goes up dramatically as you decrease the number of stars. I have gone past some of the cheaper hotels that I saw online. My wife would have been uncomfortable in the vast majority of them. So, while on the web, some look good at $80 or $90, they might not look as good in person. Rack rates for major brand hotels are quite high here in Singapore, but I think the Navy Inn to Priceline approach works well. The Conrad is fabulous. Perhaps the nicest place that I have ever stayed. The rooms are huge. The bathroom is all marble, huge, and has a separate glassed in shower stall large enough for a small party. The bathroom mirrored walls are heated so they don't steam up. The staff physically takes you where ever it seems that you need to go. I ask where I can find McDonalds and they almost take me there across the street. They all speak perfect English. They bring fresh fruit to the room daily! Internet is quite expensive here and most Singapore hotels. It is free in the lobby and several places across the street. Laundry is also a problem here at $18 per shirt. I can't find a dry cleaner nearby and hope that I don't run out of clothes by Wednesday. If you are here longer, it might be worth going back up to the Navy base to do clothes. Across the street is the SunTec convention center and mall. The mall goes on and on connecting 3 or 4 buildings. There is also a Carrefour (sp?) grocery store just across the street in the mall. That was handy. There are not only the usual fast food places like Kenny Rogers Chicken!, McDonalds, Swensons, and Long John Silvers!, but also a vast food court of what appears to be 100 slight variations on SE Asia food. The convention center is a bit of a major stop for buses, so I have been using them. The Conrad is my new favorite hotel. Transportation: If you are traveling alone and with very light luggage, you can probably get to your first hotel by public transportation. I was happy taking a cab to the Navy Inn at $20. It would have been a little less into downtown. After that, however, public transportation works great. The first thing that you need is an 'ez-link' card. These are available at all the subway stops at the assistance desk. They don't look available from the machines. These cards are 'tapped' on the readers as you enter and leave both subways and busses. You pay a few dollars for the card and then load it with money. I put $40 on the card about 5 days ago and still have about $20 left. And, I have been back and forth over the whole island every day. The MRT is the subway system and does a very good job. It is much cleaner and straightforward than many in the world. The Sembawang Navy base is close to the Sembawang MRT station. The Navy Inn is less than a mile but you have to cut thru a housing development and a park and up some back steps into the housing area. With the heat, it is not real walkable, especially with luggage. From Paya Lebur air base, it would take about 45 minutes by subway and involve 1 change of trains. That doesn't include getting to Eunos subway stop from Paya Lebar or from Sembawang subway stop to the Navy Inn. It could actually take 1.5 hours with the buses and getting lost some from the airbase to the Navy Inn. The other 2 MRT stations of interest are Yishun, the one just before, and Woodlands, the one 2 after Sembawang. The bus that comes to the Navy base on Admiralty East is the 169. It runs between Yishun and Woodlands, but does not stop at Sembawang MRT. So, if you want to take the bus to and from base, you would catch the 169 bus to Yishun. Yishun is important because not only is the MRT there but also express buses to the international airport and to downtown. I actually took the 857 bus from Yishun to right in front of my hotel here down by the SunTec center. It took an hour, tho. The Navy Inn is on Lagos Circle, off Canada, off Admiralty East. Canada and Lagos Circle are just little streets in the housing area. The 'Durban Suites' that I was assigned to are right behind the reception building across a little road named 'Durban'. I discovered that if you walked a half a block down Durban to the the west, not only did the 169 bus pass there, but also the 882. The 882 is important because it goes to the Sembawang MRT in about 2 minutes. So, in terms of transportation, cabs are cheap, MRT is nice, and buses go everywhere. Just buy your ez-link card as soon as possible. Things to do: Battle Box: This is the headquarters for the British when they lost the island to the Japanese. It is in Fort Canning Park. Today is actually 68 years from the day of surrender. Orchard Road: Way too much shopping. Way too many stores. Sentosa Island: Little island on the south shore. Several big amusement parks. A new casino that openned yesterday. Gambling is new here. A beach is on the south side of the island. Several big hotels are there. The whole place, tho, was a little artificial. Sort of like the movie 'Westworld' with Yul Brenner. Little India: Very, very real. Tight and tiny shops. Lots of jewelry. Bought a bunch of bangles for the wife. Food next to the MRT that go on forever. Bought Indian tiny clothes for the granddaughter. Little Malaysia: Similar except Malay. Nice fabric stores with batik (sp?). Bought some for the wife. Chinatown: Wild with Chinese New Year going on. Very interesting. Good street markets. End of this edition.   Mike Spengel Advanced Member Username: Mike_sp Post Number: 324 Registered: 07-2006 Posted From: 70.95.149.155 Posted on Friday, February 12, 2010 - 06:29 am:    PR, a very tiny quibble with your description of the naming of the Terror Club. It wasn't named after a ship. British naval bases are named as if they ARE ships and so it was with the old base at Singapore where the U.S. Navy occupies a very small portion. That club section was unoccupied and a total wreck when I became the Project Manager for the Base Operating Support contract for the Navy and Air Force in Singapore. The Navy decided they wanted to take that area over and rejuvenate it and added that task to our contract. Operation of the club facilities AND of the lodging facility falls under the Base Operating Support contract. I left Singapore on a full time basis in 1996 but still do odd jobs around southeast Asia for a different U.S. company with a headquarters there from time to time.   Larry W. Carnes Senior Member Username: Larry Post Number: 1063 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 12.65.108.153 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 09:07 pm:    Good report! Remember, Angeles City is only a 3-hour, US$95 trip away.....considerably more tittilating than downtown Singapore. Gary will save you a room at the Maharajah.   Leland Senior Member Username: Leland Post Number: 5761 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 98.218.147.237 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 07:48 pm:    But don't rest on your laurels. We need another installment of your report. Particularly how the Conrad (Hilton) Centennial Hotel turned out.   Martin V Smith Advanced Member Username: Mvsusaf Post Number: 250 Registered: 04-2005 Posted From: 98.254.34.54 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 07:39 pm:    Wonderful report. Please let me know what rehydrating brand was your choice.   Edgar Inocentes Senior Member Username: Traveler88 Post Number: 459 Registered: 01-2005 Posted From: 209.242.132.226 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 04:06 pm:    What a traveler! Enjoyed your report. Good luck on the trip home.   Leland Senior Member Username: Leland Post Number: 5757 Registered: 05-2006 Posted From: 98.218.147.237 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 12:08 pm:    Paul, wonderful report. A lot of good information. Thank you.   David Advanced Member Username: Reverie4401 Post Number: 155 Registered: 02-2008 Posted From: 68.159.45.139 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 10:11 am:    Thanks Paul. Great info on schedule back and forth to Yokota.   PR Senior Member Username: Pretzlaff Post Number: 1543 Registered: 06-2003 Posted From: 58.185.199.164 Posted on Thursday, February 11, 2010 - 06:51 am:    Last week, I was hungry for some clam chowder, so I drove from Colorado to Seattle. After eating and going to the boat show, I starting thinking about space a'ing somewhere. On Saturday, I left my car at McChord in long term parking. If you tell the pax reps that you are trying to get on the PatEx for Japan, they will give you a dashboard form. I then took the Kitsap shuttle to SeaTac. There were only about 30 spats waiting for the PatEx with about half being Cat6's. I was walking past the area below the USO and recognized Gary Roberts and his wife. We flew to Yokota about 3 years ago together out of Travis. Everyone got on the plane. There were extra seats but it is hard to know if they could have filled them or if weight was an issue. So, it looks like Saturday is a good day for Cat6's. Very, very long ride to Yokota. Took off about 1am on Sunday, then spent 2.5 hours in Anchorage, then another 3.5 hours in Misawa. All together it was about 16 hours to Yokota. Then another hour to get thru customs and immigration. Landed about 11am on Monday. I had called ahead with Skype and reserved 3 nights at Yokota's Kanto Inn. Got there and got one of the small but nice suite diagonal from the main Inn. After sleeping for a few hours, I went back to the terminal and determined that there was a C17 going to Singapore the next day, Tuesday. So...went back across the street to immigration to get 'stamped out' for the early morning flight. Roll call was at 5:10 am and 6 spats were interested in the 20 seats. All got on, including Gary and his wife. Called and checked out of my room. There is a key dropbox at the pax rep desk. The flight was about 7.5 hours and it was nice to stretch out in the C17 after the very tight 757 PatEx. Landed about 1pm and went thru a slightly odd immigration process involving going thru a metal detector to just get into the country. Then went downstairs and chatted with the AMC rep. She had the monthly schedule with the show times. Nothing else really seems to come thru Singapore according to her. Seeing the monthly schedule at Yokota and at Singapore finally made all the planes make sense. Basically, there are 2 DC8's a week and 1 C17. Some days they go from Yokota to Singapore to Diego Garcia and Bahrain, then back. Other times they just go to Diego Garcia, then back. So, some planes return in 2 days and some in 3. The DC8's are home based at Yokota and the C17's start and return to Travis thru Elmendorf. I was hoping to stay for 4 or 5 days and start heading back but the Chinese New Year is in the way. Got here on Tuesday. There are no flights on Saturdays (in general). The terminal is always closed on Sundays. And now, the terminal is closed on Monday and Tuesday. So, I either needed to leave on Friday or stay until next Wednesday. Seemed a shame to miss the New Year Festive Season, so I am staying on. I had called from Yokota to get a reservation at Sembawang here in Singapore. Could only get the first night, Tuesday, reserved. When I checked in, they let me make it for 3 nights. I got up to the Navy Inn by asking the AMC rep to call a cab for me. I asked him if I could pay him in US$ and he said fine. I gave him $20US for the Sing$20 ride. Make sure that you tell the driver that the Gateway Inn is off Admiralty East, not West or Drive or Road or Link. So, it is on Lagos Circle, off Canada, off Admiralty East. You have all heard the stories about the Inn here, and they are all true. Basically, if you are alone, you pay $95 for a full 3 bedroom house/ apartment. If you are alone, your key only opens the master bedroom, tho. The other 2 bedrooms are on separate locks. All bedrooms have 2 beds. The master bedroom has a double and a single and its own bathroom. Down the hall are the 2 other bedrooms and another bathroom. The whole place is about 1200 square feet with a huge living room with ratan furniture. There is free wifi and laundry out the back. Some Navy guys off a boat were checking in and they were staying 6 to a suite. The buildings are huge and basically 6 plexes, with 2 apartments per floor with 3 floors. They all have 10 foot ceilings and look like they were build before the war. There are bomb shelters all over the place. The 'base' is across the street. Very odd place with 2 or 3 ID card checkpoints to get to the NEX. It is a big shared military base with Brits and Aussies and stuff. They also import all the cars to the island thru here. So, very commercial also. Not really a base at all. The "Terror Club" named for a British warship is just across the street with good food and very cold beer. And you need a tremendous amount of beer to stay hydrated here. Very hot and humid. I have had good luck with Priceline in the past and did so again here. Tomorrow, I move downtown to the Conrad (Hilton) Centenial Hotel. 5 stars and very nice. Scored 5 nights on Priceline for only $90us per night. Their website wanted over $300 per night. Captain Kirk negotiated well for me. I have been out and about using the bus system and the subway system. I also did the $23sing tourist bus. Nice 2 hour orientation. Must go now and further hydrate.