Singapore VISA Run

Identification Parthenos sylvia - the clipper.

Here we are again, the two monthly VISA run. The last run went so well, it passed unnoticed. Today's run however was not so smooth, but at least gives me something to write about.

The day started out pretty good, woke up to the alarm at 03:30 and was out of the house by four. My first mistake was breaking a life time habit and not making a list, but as it is only a day trip, there is not that much to list. But, apparently enough to forget something.

At the check-in desk, the girl asked me where my immigration card was. I knew exactly where it was, but had to tell a whitey as I had forgotten to pack it - DUH! She gave me another card to fill in and told me that I would have to wrestle with the immigration guy.

I eyed up the two guys on duty and picked the one who was smiling. I hit the desk with my most subservient and groveling persona, pleading for his forgiveness. Even though I allow extra time, there was not enough for a home run to retrieve the original. If this guy gave me a hard time, I was screwed, with no money for another ticket.

Fortunately he was very good to me and wrote me out a duplicate, for which I did some more groveling.

The flight gained time in the air, landing 25 minutes early, quite amazing given that it is only a 90 minute flight. This just meant that I had more time to kill.

The plan was to hit the butterfly garden and see if I could top the last total of 15 different species. There was still work going on, but this time the whole of the upstairs part was open and half the ground floor.

As I walked in, my first thought was "where's all the butterflies then"! The display was pitiful an no way was I going to be breaking any records today. The count and the number of species was well down, as if the place had been neglected. Extremely disappointed, I collected a few shots for a blip and called it a day.

Still, what better airport to be stuck at for five hours than the worlds number one. Second floor in terminal 3 there is a snooze area, with shaped seats that you can stretch out on. So after checking my internet (free), I set an alarm and caught up on my sleep.

The return trip was going well until we got to about 50 miles from Bandung, above which was the biggest mass of cumulus you have ever seen. The pilot announced that he has been put in a holding pattern until the weather improved. This was fine by me, I was in no rush to wade into that lot. Even 50 miles out, we were still taking a battering.

Two hours later, we finally had permission to approach. The cloud had dispersed, but the ferocity of the storm was clear to see. Massive flooding all around the city. Many of the paddy fields had merged together into lakes.

The pilot treated us all to the smoothest of landings, for which I complemented him on the way off the plane. He gave me a huge smile and thanked me.

I arrived home with my new VISA, soaked to the skin, as it was still raining. The roads were covered in sludge and rubble, evidence of the river that had been pouring down the roads an hour earlier - Just glad to be home in one piece.

I had three good images, but liked this one because a drop of water was caught in the curled proboscis, looking like a magnifying glass - a bit different.

Dave