escape & evasion

I am now back in Singapore.

The 5-hour bus ride to Kuala Lumpur was uneventful save for the awful traffic once we got near the city proper. It was a sight to see the Petronas Towers at night, it was an almost surreal view from the bus window. I arrived at the hotel at around 8 pm, did some housekeeping stuff, checked some emails and updated friends who were online as to the current situation. I decided to grab a couple of beers and act tourist-like for my duration in KL. Surprisingly the band performing at the hotel’s bar were Filipinos and I had a bit of a chat with them.

first glimpse


I was still apprehensive going back to Singapore so soon, and a few people in Manila suggested trying to stay at least one more day. I was having thoughts of being detained in immigration prison and heavily interrogated before being hauled by armed guards to the airport for immediate deportation or being denied entry to Singapore leaving me in limbo, stuck nowhere.

So I made some arrangements for another day’s stay, grabbed something to eat and went out to do some tourist stuff. Just went to the Petronas Towers and took a few pictures, I decided to put off going up the bridge so that I would have something to do later in the evening or the following day. Turned out to be a big mistake.

Petronas Towers


As soon as I came back to the hotel, I received a call to stick with the original plan and head back to Singapore in the afternoon. I just missed out on going up the Petronas Towers and getting to see a bit more of KL. So I packed my bag, rested as much as I could, given the circumstances, and proceeded to board the bus at 3:30pm.

heading back to Singapore


5 hours later at the end of the Malaysian immigration stop, I was really feeling nervous as we only needed to cross a bridge for the Singapore immigration stop, which holds the key to my very immediate future.

Goodbye Malaysia


Surprisingly (and luckily) I had no trouble with the immigration officer. I was promptly stamped with a 14-day pass. He was actually a bit concerned for me as I would need to go through the hassle of going to their main office if I wanted to extend my stay longer. He seemed to have the impression of me being a tourist (which was the supposed plan), which could’ve been brought about by the fact that the address I will be staying at was a residential address and not a hotel.

The next plan of action is to leave Singapore at the end of next week, which is a bit disappointing. This whole event was a bit of a hassle, yet also a welcome experience at the same time.