My Vivid Memories of a Trip to Singapore

When I was 25 years old, I went on a business trip to Singapore. I flew with Sigapore Airlines. The flight attendants were beautiful and affable. Furthermore I liked a sweet smelling of the flowers in the airplane. As I was sitting on the window seat, I could realize vividly the outline of the Indochina Peninsula. It was as if I was seeing the real map. It was scorching hot when I arrived in Singapore. It's no wonder that I was really in an equatorial country. The sky was blue as far as the eye could see it.

Our client's representative in Singapore tunred out to be a Japanese.  He picked me up at the airport.
I spent three nights at a comfortable hotel by the name of Apollo Hotel. I found my room neat and cozy. From the big window I could enjoy the view of a British styled white colored elementary school in the forest. It was quiet and peaceful. I like the atmosphere.

At that time the Japanese department "Isetan" was located near the hotel. I occasionally met the representative at the restaurant in the department store.
First of all he took me to his office. I met his Singaporean secretary there. She seemed to be a young woman with reservation. I exchanged a few words with her in English.

After that the representative and I visited a shirt sewing manufacturer in the industrail estate. We met a middle-aged-woman who ran the factory.
My purpose was to sell an interlining for shirt's collars. The product was made of polyester taffeta with thin adhesive plastic film. It irons on the shirt's collar quickly. We had already sold the product to a Japanese shirt manufacturer in Shimae. Well, back to the Singaporean factory manager.
When I was done with my presentation. the manager shook her head vehemently.
She said, "You know how Americans wear a shirt? They wear it like a pajama. They wear shirts for only couple of days before they throw them out in the Trashbag. To put it simply, shirts must be disposable for the Americans."
Looks like she is haggling over the prices. I answered, "I'm not allowed to discount our prices by myself. I'm afraid I'll have to check it up with my boss. Can I come back to you later?"
She nodded. Then we parted.

On the final day the representative was supposed to take me to the airport. While I was preparing for my belongings in the hotel room, the telephone rang. It was from his secretary. She said, "I'm sorry, I can't see you off at the airport. But have a nice trip!" What a polite woman she was! I like her.

I left Singapore via Hong Kong for Taipei. It was surprising that the plane took off the airport and landed immediately. I thought something happened to the plane.
Actually I arrived at the airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A large number of Arabs were on board. I took out the boarding ticket to confirm the seat number.
For a split second ,a man with a turban and a whisker bent over from the rear seat and looked into my wallet. He gave a wide grin, as if nothing had happened. But that scared me out of my wits. It gave me the creeps.