The idea formed and hatched less than a month ago. Shortly after mentioning I might consider a return trip to Singers if Arsenal plan a tour there, AudMraz mentioned in her blog her crazy idea of going to see the Liverpool’s tour in Singers. And before long, I had the same crazy idea too!
So that Tuesday saw us exchanging text messages, me exchanging emails with my Singaporean friend to check if there were still tickets, and us checking out how to get there respectively (airlines for AudMraz – AirAsia, JetStar and Tiger Airways - and as for me, it’s a repeat of the exercise I did earlier with a few more airlines thrown in e.g. Tiger Airways, Firefly, Silk Air and Singapore Airlines).
I also tried calling the local office of Profitable Group, the main sponsor of the tour, to find out if I could get tickets here but no one picked up. I preferred buying tickets here rather than in SGD to avoid the exchange rate charge. Luckily AudMraz managed to contact the KK office and although it had run out of tickets, the lady promised she could get her a couple of them tickets by the following day.
So we were definitely going and won’t be alone! I then decided I’d take either coach or train from KL to Singers but would return by air to save time and minimise the annual leave that I would need to take. My airline search for a one-way air ticket yielded the following:
AirAsia: S$28
Tiger Airways: S$25 but there’s a convenience fee of S$5 so it’s actually S$30 (I don’t know why it’s called a convenience fee when it’s hardly that!!!)
Firefly: RM77 (or S$31.5)
MAS: S$101 (still lower than Singapore Airlines!)
Silk Air and Singapore Airlines: S$229 (forget them)
JetStar: S$43 (I could get it for S$35 but that would mean a day’s leave)
I finally decided to take Firefly because it would land at Subang Airport and cost only marginally higher than AirAsia. (Besides, after taking into account the coach fare from LCCT, this option will cost me more than Firefly. Plus, the travel time from LCCT to KL would take as long as it takes to fly from Singers, I kid you not). Plus I get free check-in luggage and refreshment. The next step was to check how to get to KL from the airport by public transportation.
As AudMraz told me it took her more than an hour to get from Terminal 1 to the main terminal and the city, I decided to take a coach early Sunday Morning. Reasons for this particular coach company: it’s conveniently located, the fare is reasonable and I love the interior of the coach. So off I went to catch the coach on Sunday morning and a very early start to the day it was too.
Arrived in SG at 1240 and made my way to Scott and Orchard Roads to check out the last day of the Sale (bearing in mind the increasingly expensive SGD of course). Well, I’m pleased to report that I managed to exercise restraint here. And would you believe it, some things down there cost more than they do here! One good example is the silver and leather bracelet I bought earlier this month in KLCC at 70%: in Singers, it was on 50% discount only and even after the discount cost SGD290, more than twice what it cost me in KL!
I got tired of the shopping scene shortly after this discovery and decided to make my way to Bugis MRT station for the rendezvous with AudMraz. The last time we met was just before we left uni, yes, it has been a while. We headed for Zam Zam Restaurant for an early dinner before proceeding to the National Stadium (thanks to the ‘uncle’ at Zam Zam Resto who advised us to take bus #12. He did also say it was possible to walk, it’d take us 30 minutes). There were already a lot of fans in red there and we had to fight our way through. Mind you, both of us are actually Gooners (OK, AudMraz supports both Arsenal and Liverpool, and loves Torres) but I don’t think I’m betraying my team by being there. I was just there to experience the atmosphere.
We joined one of the queues and went in. Good thing we decided to enter the stadium about an hour before kick-off too because it was filling up fast. Well, at least the Kop (East Stand) was filling up fast. We managed to find some space and it was quite near the scoreboard.
The match started 10 minutes after 7 pm in the dying daylight. I was quite pleased that it didn’t start too long after the stated kick-off time. The Singaporean team defended well and they managed to hold off the Kop – until the dying seconds of the first half. A shame, really. And it was a shame too that apart from the occasional singing, it seemed a pretty sombre affair. Heck, even the lads next to me were very quiet (I was a lot louder and noisier!) and as I remarked to AudMraz ‘expressionless and reaction-less.’
Kuyt and Torres were introduced shortly after the second half started (the latter received a wild reception). And shortly after, Xabi Alonso was also introduced. The second half proved slightly more entertaining and the Kop scored four goals to make it a total of five. I was also rooting a bit for the Singaporean team (it didn’t look as if they got much support and they were playing at home!). I actually thought they didn’t play that badly, but they did squander their few chances in front of the goal.
After the medal presentation, the Kop walked back onto the pitch and clapped their appreciation for the support from their supporters. We stayed on a bit before joining the hordes of other spectators out of the stadium.
After a badly needed cold drink, we took the train to Changi Airport where we spent the night - and an uncomfortable one too! As usual, I had difficulties sleeping. We took the Skytrain to Terminal 3 as the seats at the main terminal were not friendly to those intending to rough it out and even then, had a poor night. At one point I dreamt of showing up at work with bloodshot eyes, how weird is that?
After breakfast this morning, we headed back to the main terminal and caught the shuttle to the budget terminal. Our flights were only ten minutes apart (AudMraz flew Tiger back to KK).
Oh Arsenal, please, please, please come to KL soon. Please, I beseech you dear Captain.
|