Dorkman Migi rockin' the CM Punk shirt at the Marina Bay Sands Viewdeck
November 2013. Singapore.
My trip to Singapore a few months ago was one which I thought of going through with to recharge after a few months of hectic work, and also, one I opted to take because, well, I had missed Singapore. I had saved up enough cash to go at it alone, and so, I did.
I was really happy to have had the chance to meet old friends along the way. I had dinner in this great Indonesian restaurant along Orchard Road with Harry, a DJ friend of mine during more exciting times in my life (my media days!). I also had the chance to reunite with my friend Josephine, a Singaporean whom I had met while on tour in Italy. To this day, it amazes me how small the world's become because of the internet, and, more specifically, social media. Because of the many innovations that exist in so far as communications goes, I have managed to stay in touch with people I care about, and people whom I know care about me in the same way that I care about them. In a world where permanence can sometimes seem like a thing of a world that has passed us by, relationships which CAN be retained, and subsequently nurtured, should be seen as "musts" rather than "maybes".
So, back to Singapore.
I stayed at the Haising Hotel in the Bugis District. The prices were a little bit steep for the amenities, but, its not that I wanted or expected anything fancy. I was more in it for the fact that it was close to a train station, a bus stop, etc. A lot of the time, I was sleepy, because I'd tend to stay up late, walk around the entire day, and eat like a foodie unhinged. The chicken rice was awesome (go, Tian Tian Chicken Rice Stand!). The duck in Geylang, awesome still (Sin Huat!). The list goes on. I had made it to foodie heaven.
I was fortunate enough to have had a local by my side for a part of my trip. Through Josephine, I managed to go on an art tour, have some great Indian fare at Serangoon, and watch "Gruesome Playground Injuries" at the Esplanade Theater.
My old schoomate Jon also met up with me for breakfast. We ate in this great little joint called Kith Cafe near Orchard Road. Nice continental fare. If I remember correctly, I had a Vegetarian Omelette plus a piping hot cup of brewed coffee. Great stuff.
During the week I was in Singapore, one of my all time favorite bands, Matchbox Twenty, happened to be in town. They were in the midst of an Asian Tour, and before my trip to Singapore, I was in Hong Kong with my family. I missed MB20 in Hong Kong. Their Manila concert had been called off because of Typhoon Haiyan. I believed that I was set to miss the group AGAIN in Singapore because of the fact that:
-My Cebu Pacific Flight from Changi to Manila was set for 12:40 am on the day of their show.
-The MB20 concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium was set for 8:00 pm. Concerts never really begin on time, so, I fully expected the gig to begin more between 8:30-9:00 pm.
After I bade goodbye to Josephine and some of her friends, I took the MRT from Esplanade over to Stadium station on the yellow line. It was 4:45 pm. My suitcase was in my Bugis hotel (I had checked out earlier in the day but had left my luggage in the hotel's storage room for safekeeping so as to allow me to have freedom of movement during my final day in Singapore). Upon arriving in the vicinity of Singapore Indoor Stadium, all signs pointed to day being consumed by night, and night moving towards the start of a great rock show.
Or maybe not.
The parking lot was practically empty. Save for a small queue near a souvenir stand, and an even smaller line near the ticket booth, there weren't many people in sight. Matchbox Twenty had, after all, gained fame in 1996, and since 1996, the Justin Biebers, Miley Cyruses, and Selena Gomezes of the world have trampled upon good music as we know it.
I went over to the petite, intellectual looking, lass at the ticket booth and asked her the million dollar question.
"Will I make my plane if I watch the Matchbox Twenty concert, assuming I have a 12:40 am flight?"
The cute ticket booth girl looked at me with a wee bit of a smile.
"Uhmmm...maybe. But you'll have to run, and leave immediately after the show."
That, and the fact that I felt that seeing the band in Singapore could be my final chance to catch them on their Asian Tour, or even for the rest of my life, was enough to convince me. I whipped out my credit card, breathed deeply, and ran my butt off. I had also consulted the MRT Station manager at Stadium MRT
station on my plan to run, run back, watch a great show, run again, then, fly. This process involved lugging two large bags around and crossing 2 MRT lines to get to Changi Airport.
"Well, if you hurry up, and leave precisely when the show ends, you COULD make it."
I took a moment to take this in.
"What if I queued up for a cab post concert?", I said.
Without batting an eyelash, the MRT manager said:
"Oh no, no, no. Not a good idea. You'll spend 30 minutes queuing up and might end up missing your flight."
So the train it was.
It was a Sunday, so, the usual rush hour weekday crowd was not present on the Singapore Metro.
This sign was of particular importance to me during my sprint in the name of Matchbox Twenty, and, a good adventure.
While the trains weren't as packed as they would have been on a weekday morning, I did have two large bags, and that didn't make things any easier. I was determined, however, to make a memory. And boy, what a great memory it was.
Pre-concert. The venue was smaller than I imagined it to be. Preshow buzz was incredible,
though.
The proof. Amazing. A swipe well done, money well spent.
My first concern upon arriving at Singapore Indoor Stadium was where to deposit my bags. My internal clock just couldn't resist making me feel conscious and overthink things.
My initial plan dictated that by this time, I was to be having dinner at some Hawker Center (maybe one in Newton, or, in Old Airport Road), killing time before my flight. But no, here I was, taking a tremendous risk. I kept thinking that, should I miss my Cebu Pacific Flight, I could either check into the airport hotel, call some friends to see where I could crash, or, wait things out in the airport lounge until the next available flight.
And so, from the daydreaming, we return to the issue of my bags.
I am a veteran of many a sporting event, concert, and all kinds of shows in between. In the Philippines, there typically isn't a baggage deposit counter where you can deposit suitcases. At the very best (as with the Araneta Coliseum), you'd be able to find an umbrella deposit kiosk close to each gate. Luckily, those in charge of the Singapore Indoor Stadium had enough foresight to see blokes like me, coming.
I think this was during "She's So Mean".
After all the running, and lugging of heavy bags, I remember being quite famished. I got myself an overpriced turkey sandwich and a bottle of 100 Plus (a MUST in Singapore). I couldn't wait for the concert to get started- both because I was ACTUALLY around to FINALLY see Matchbox Twenty, and also because, I needed to monitor every minute, every second, of where I was and needed to be because the margin for error in terms of making the trip to the airport, was slim.
Let's get something straight- I am a huge rock music, and, furthermore, Matchbox Twenty, fan. The band's music, and that of Rob Thomas as a solo artist, have helped "get me through" a lot of tough times in my life. You can imagine, then, that during certain portions of the band's set that warm night in Singapore, I felt like I was on the cusp of shedding a few tears.
Lost loves, things left unsaid, dreams fulfilled, some left by the wayside, and colors, upon colors, thrown onto a blank canvass, making up a picture with a thousand meanings, and a thousand different avenues for inspiration.
This was much more than a concert for me. It was a trip through a forest of memory, sentiment, and truth.
I was entranced by the fact that vocalist Rob Thomas' voice didn't seem to wain despite singing songs which are by no means simple to belt out, and despite the fact that he had been singing pop rock tunes continuously for quite a prolonged period. There were mostly Asians in the crowd, and a smattering of Americans, Brits, and some folks who I think were Irish. It didn't matter who you were or where you were from. THIS was the SPECIAL that wasn't on the menu, but, the cook was willing to whip up for you. This was the epitome of experience- a blending of feeling, time standing still, and outright awesomeness, the outright definition of cool.
The band did a four song encore, and by this time, I was all raspy from all the singing and shouting.
By this time, fortunately, I was well on my way to Changi Airport.
MB 20, as most had expected to them to do, sang "Push" as their final cut for the night. It was amazing. It was as if Rob Thomas encapsulated years upon years of insight, raw feeling, and poetic flare into a 4-5 minute span that totally blew the roof off of the arena.
People clapped. And clapped. And clapped. And screamed for joy.
I did too- albeit, for a shorter time.
Imagine things going in slow motion for a while.
Clap, clap, three point stance, SPRINT.
And I was off.
I grabbed my bags from the deposit kiosk (situated on the opposite side of the arena from the gate I had to exit from, which was at the top of a platform in front of a pair of escalators near Stadium MRT), and, for whatever reason, was brought by my instincts to the taxi queue, which, at that time, didn't seem all that long. In a matter of seconds a mass of people rushed to the taxi stand before I could, hence, effectively blocking all chances of me catching a cab to Changi Airport in a short amount of time.
Armed with my two heavy bags, I sprinted from the taxi stand, to the opposite side of the lot, where, Stadium MRT's main entrance was at. I decided to try and get to the airport by train. I thought that there was less of a chance of a "people jam" compared to an automobile "traffic jam".
So, off I went. Through the door, down the stairs, past the turnstile (thank goodness for the Singapore Tourist Pass), and onto the concourse area. For a moment, I looked lost as to which train to board to get to Paya Lebar interchange.
Then came the nice MRT Station Manager from earlier in the day. The fellow directed me to where I needed to go. I should have gotten his name to thank him for directing a clearly disoriented tourist and preventing him from slipping off of a proverbial banana peel.
While on the train to the airport (by the time I made it to Paya Lebar, it was around 1030pm), I couldn't help but smile. Man, I had made. Man, what a great show I had seen. Man, what a nice Matchbox Twenty t-shirt I had bought (it cost me 40 SGD but hey, a worthwhile souvenir is a worthwhile souvenir).
By the time I had checked in for my flight to Manila, the clock read 11:22 pm. I was way ahead of schedule. Lucky, and ecstatic that I had perhaps the most exciting solo holiday I had been on in a long while.
Hokkien Mee and a 7up- My final meal in the Lion City.
I realize that something is always lost in the telling, and, its not like I ran off militants in the middle of a small village in Tehran or anything like that. I happened to have had the chance to go out on a limb both in the name of saving my artistic soul, and, feeding the part of my spirit which had an insatiable thirst for furthering the concept that says that "the best laid plans suck, and the moments which happen sans plans, are often the greatest things which you end up remembering for the rest of your days".
I will likely write about the other facets of my Singapore journey soon, but for now, as I did while up in the air en route to Manila on the 12th of November, 2013, do allow this constantly stressed, sleepy, and giggling fool of a man to bask in the glow that comes with having checked something off of his bucket list.
Yum.
MC
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