ON THE ROAD TO INDIA 1987

Well, we arrived at the Singapore airport at 7 a.m. Just as we arrived they announced my name over the loud speaker to check with the ground crew.  This has been one of my most interesting trips. It feels really strange.  Nothing seems to be going right, but at the same time, it's not too bad.  Singapore Airlines is doing all they can to keep me happy.  After getting my new schedule for my trip into India, they gave me a room at the Shanghai Meridian Hotel to wait in.  Getting there was another comedy of errors.  The taxi driver was about 55 years old and spoke no English. I showed him my voucher for the hotel.  He looked at it.  Then he asked another taxi drive for its location.  They said something that I didn't understand.

I got into the cab and received a wonderful tour of Singapore; the first hotel we went to was the Pavilion that was wrong.  That's what the cab driver thought he heard.  I showed him the voucher again and told him it said Meridian Shanghai. He acted as if knew where it was and headed for another hotel.  It was the Meridian, but it was the Meridian Singapore.  The hotel people told him that the Meridian Shanghai was near the airport where I had just landed.  So we headed back where we came from. I finally arrived at the correct hotel at 9:15 a.m. I don't know what they paid the cab, but the meter was well over $25

The hotel was beautiful. I was given a meal voucher for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I wi11 be at this hotel until around 4.30 p.m. They put me on an 8:40 p.m. flight for Bangkok on Thai, Airlines then on to New Delhi.  I'm supposed to be in New Delhi around midnight on the morning of the 31st of December.  Then, I thought, this will give me one day in New Delhi before starting Off to Agra and Jaipur; however, I should see Delhi, on the way back because I'm supposed to have an 11-hour layover before the flight to Singapore.  Anything could happen on this trip!

After checking into the hotel, I watched part of a movie on the television called "Streets of Fire" and then I went to the steam room.  It felt great!  It cost $5.00. I didn't expect a charge. There was some India woman who tried to proposition me on a sexual massage for $40.00. I refused the pressure and left. This type of garbage goes on throughout the world especially in French hotels.  I went for a walk after lunch in the immediate area.  I saw some interesting ships and also walked along the beach. It was about 75 degrees.

I returned to the hotel around 3:45 and I watched a little more television, "

Sesame Street

".  It was amusing.  I left for the airport around 4:30 p.m., expecting more hassles; however, it wasn't too bad.  After getting my ticket I went to the bar and had a couple of screwdrivers.  There were two guys there from Sweden and another American. They were all disgusted with their air travel experiences.  I finally got some duty free booze.

We boarded the plane for Bangkok around 8:00 p.m. The flight time to Bangkok was 1 hour and 55 minutes.  There was a very stinky Australian sitting next to me and a large bearded Indian with his prayer beads was about to flip out about something.  It looked like I'm heading for a big change.  The flight from Singapore to Bangkok was uneventful besides smelling the man next to me.  I listened to good jazz and fell asleep. I woke up just before the plane started to land in Bangkok.  The plane was met by busses, which transferred us to the main terminal.  There, we were issued new hoardings passes for the Thai Air trip to Delhi.  It is now 10:40 p.m. Thailand time though my watch says its 11:40. Oops! We just lost another hour.  This is crazy!

There is really a strange looking group of people heading for India, all walks of life, Thai, Indian, English, etc. I have been the only Black male on this trip since its inception.  I wonder why.  There are probably a thousand reasons but who cares at this point. Oops!  I spoke too soon, a   black couple just walked in to the boarding area.  You know if I didn't have an Anglo-Saxon education the subject would be irrelevant:    to wit, race, America's cancer!