Well it's not too long until I'll be greeted by those tall, blond and blue-clad members of KLM, a sure sign that my internship is over. With a few hours to go before I enjoy the my last fix of Singapore public transport efficiency I thought I'd reflect (tissues not necessary) on my Singapore experience.
Life in Asia has been exhilirating, frustrating, moving, informative, enjoyable, silly, professional, adventurous, tasty and ultimately very worthwhile. The Saltire Foundation has given me the most fantastic opporunities and I leave today feeling more confident and worldly wise than when I stood on the platform at Inverness Station. It is only with hindsight that I realise what I have actually done in the last two months. I have served guests, solved complaints and problems, written presentations, given presentations, learnt about pricing, improved my computer skills, mixed with an incredible range of people and opened my mind to a new industry which I would consider for future employment. The programme has given me the opportunity to travel around Asia and experience the delights of Singapore. My ability to walk to most places without thinking almost confirms my place as a local though my physical apperance discounts such illusions massively! The final few days at the hotel were action packed and rewarding. I managed to finish off various projects and work in restaurants that I had spent time in over the two months. Guy and I concluded our internship by helping at an event organised by the hotel's charity organisation for a local Muslim home. It was absolutely fantastic to finish my internship in the grand surroundings of a Grand Hyatt ballroom with 90 children celebrating buka puasa. I didn't envisage spending my last hour of my internship explaining the rules of pass the parcel down a microphone in traditional clothes to a room full of people but it was fantastic. If all else fails I could represent Scotland in the future as a Children's entertainer! The task was made all the more difficult by the fact that I too was following the rules of Ramadam. Needless to say having eaten before sunrise and fasted for 14 hours I was more than ready for some dates and local specialities; table manners unquestionably went out of the window! We finished the evening saying our farewells to John who has been extremely kind, helpful and a definate role model throughout our time at the Hyatt, Guy and I are very grateful.
The last week has been spent travelling around Indochina. The ruins of Angor Wat were awesome and worthy of their accolade as one of the wonders of the world. The sights, sounds and pace of life in Phenom Penh and Ho Chi Minh were certainly something and make Singapore seem even more law-abiding and efficient. I return with beard and gap (week) beads the first of which is going before the flight and the second will probably go if my constant fiddling continues.
Really looking forward to catch up with everybody back in Glasgow and share experiences.
Thank you Saltire Foundation
Alastair