Relief with a view

     August marks our one-year anniversary of living in Singapore. Once again, the Ghost Festival is in full swing till the end of the month, providing enough chanting and joss-paper burning to keep even the most demanding spirits satisfied during their annual visit among the living. It's also the time of year when complaints to authorities about paper burning double, over-taking complaints about foul-smelling curry. 
     Despite the incessant sing-song and spot air pollution of August, it's been a good year here. Actually, a great year. I didn't think we would visit as many places as we did and I feel fortunate for that. No new trips are planned for the immediate future, but I'm confident Margaret will need to go somewhere soon -- and I'm hopeful of being able to go along.
     One of the things I miss most about not traveling is the opportunity for discovery at Singapore's Changi Airport. Not only is it one of the best shopping centers in Singapore, which is saying a lot in country whose national identity is synonymous with shopping, but we always make some new happy discovery.
     The last time we were there on our way to Bangkok, we discovered a 7-Eleven store (thank heaven!), free computer kiosks with internet access and a men's room that thoughtfully enables travelers to keep an eye on their departure gate. 

Relief with a view.

Fully Google-enabled.

For our next trip, I'm hoping we'll arrive early enough to ride on the giant indoor slide Changi installed to amuse kids and immature adults like me.