Even though I barely slept the night before, I felt pretty good. The check-in for Vietnam Airlines was supposed to start at 4:30 AM, but when I went upstairs, there were only two women setting up the cones for the waiting lines. Some passengers had already started lining up for check-in.
One of the women was probably new because she did not seem to know exactly how to set everything up. After a few minutes, a couple more staff members showed up and started accepting check-ins. Although I had to wait for check-in to begin, the process itself was very fast since there were not many passengers in line. I think taking an early morning flight is a good idea because you do not have to wait very long to get through all the procedures.
The reason I wanted to finish check-in quickly was because I wanted to take a shower. I had been told that there would be a shower room after check-in. However, I could not find one. I quickly gave up and settled into one of the chairs. There were very few people waiting for flights, so the waiting area was quite empty, which I liked.
I spent my time charging my phone and transferring videos from a Xiaomi device that I had bought in China to my iPhone. The process was troublesome because I had to connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network.
The flight departed on time, and I landed at Changi International Airport in Singapore. Usually, entering a country as a foreigner takes quite a while, but the process was very simple and straightforward. All I had to do was fill out the arrival card on my phone and take a selfie at an automated gate. Normally, it takes me more than 30 minutes to enter a country after landing, but it took less than 10 minutes to enter Singapore.
The head coach was waiting to pick me up at the airport. I had met him in Vietnam at the Southeast Asian Judo Championship, so we greeted each other briefly and left the airport.
He took me to the place where I would be staying for a week. It was a dormitory for students from a nearby school. The dormitory was huge, with multiple halls, a cafeteria, and laundry rooms. My room was located in Hall G, which was quite close to the entrance. I needed to scan the card I was given to enter the building.
The room was well-equipped and looked like a regular hotel room. Since I had been staying in hostels for most of my trip, it was exciting to have a private room.
After dropping off my backpack, we went to a random local restaurant for lunch. This was actually my second time visiting Singapore. The first time was when I was a junior high school student. My school had a partnership with a school in Singapore, and senior students could visit every year.
I did not remember much from that trip except for the chicken rice that I ate at a food court. Eating chicken rice again after more than ten years brought back memories of my younger self.
After lunch, we headed to his main dojo. He has dojos in multiple locations. There, I met a Japanese judoka named Kyohei and the head coach’s daughter, Jingfang.
Kyohei graduated from a university in Japan and moved to Singapore to teach judo. Jingfang is over 30 years old, used to compete internationally in judo, and now helps her father as a coach.
I stayed at the dojo for a while before Sensei took me to the central area where the Merlion and Marina Bay Sands are located. The area reminded me once again of my visit when I was 15 years old. I remember buying a lot of things at low prices back then. I do not think I could buy the same things for the same price today. Singapore is expensive now.
I never imagined that I would return to Singapore 12 years later, traveling by myself as a judo instructor.
After walking around the area, we went inside a building to have tea and chat. About an hour later, we had an early dinner. I had heard that some people in Singapore eat dinner early, and I think that is true because there were already many people eating at the food court around 5 PM.
After dinner, I returned to the dormitory. Once I got back, I made sure to wash my judo uniform, which I had not been able to do after training in Thailand, and then went to bed.
The next day, I woke up late, around 10 AM. Breakfast was available, but I had missed it. After that, I updated my blog and went out for lunch.
Since the lunch I had the previous day was very good, I intended to go back to the same place. However, I accidentally ended up at a different food court.
One thing I love about Singapore is the abundance of hawker centers. I do not remember exactly what I ordered, but I think it was some type of chicken rice, which is one of the most common foods in Singapore.
About 75% of Singapore’s population is of Chinese descent, so I could strongly feel the influence of Chinese culture. That also means the food is amazing.
From there, I took another bus to the central area. I appreciated the fact that I could use my credit card for public transportation. In several other countries I had visited, credit cards had not worked for transportation.
In the central area, I visited the Asian Civilisations Museum. The museum focuses on Asian cultures and the goods that people traded throughout Asia. I had expected to see more historical exhibits, so it was not quite as fun or exciting as I had anticipated.
For dinner, I went to a Mos Burger near the Merlion. I think I have mentioned this before, but I enjoy visiting Japanese chain restaurants no matter where I am in the world.
I felt like eating Mos Burger that day, so I had “Japanese food” for the first time in a while. The last time was when I ate curry at Coco Ichibanya in Beijing.
After enjoying both the meal and the nighttime view of the city, I returned to the dormitory and went to bed, getting ready for the judo camp that would begin the next day.
