After all my belongings were stored in my suitcase and backpack, I left the hotel at 10:00, the last check-out time. The bus station to Strathfield was just a few meters opposite the road. There was a pedestrian bridge to cross the road. I drove to Strathfield and had breakfast first.
I was the third time in this Cafe, had a Long Black and a Healthy Start, which is Yogurt with Granola, strawberries, and blueberries. I still had the whole day to spend, as my flight would be at 20:05. After breakfast, I took the train into town. At Central Station, I left and tried to find a luggage store. The first try was not successful. There was no luggage store where Google Maps showed one. The next was successful, Smart Care Luggage Store in the train station. I dropped my suitcase and my backpack there; they charged AU$16 (€9) for the suitcase and AU$12 (€7) for my backpack. I planned to visit a Museum, it would be the Sydney Museum. The closest Station was Circular Quai at the harbour, where I left the train.
The museum was built over the remains of Australia’s first Government House; it explores the city’s history from its Indigenous heritage through its colonial and modern periods.
The museum wasn’t very big, so I had more time to spend. I strolled along the harbour and The Rocks, sitting down with an ice cream and listening to some street music.
It was time to drive back to Central. In the train Station, I sat down for a while in a pub and had a Coke. There were many announcements for trains all the time. Suddenly, there was an announcement about an emergency and that everybody had to leave the station. But it seems somebody just pressed the wrong button for pre-recorded announcements. For a moment, it came to my mind that I couldn’t get my luggage back in time and would miss the flight. I walked over to the luggage store, got my luggage back and took a train to the airport. At the airport, I found the check-in counter for my flight with Scoot, but it was still closed. So I sat down for a while and waited until it opened.
At the check-in, the guy behind the counter was asking me if I had another passport before. I had my old passport with me, you never know. He checked it, but there was still an error in his system. He passed it on to another lady. She said it was because of my surname. My surname is Böhler, the machine-readable part in my passport shows Boehler. This is OK, and always like this, “ö” gets translated into “oe”. But in my Visa, I have used just Bohler instead. I should always use the machine-readable part. After this was solved, I proceeded towards the security check. My backpack didn’t pass the check and was opened. The security guy couldn’t find what he was looking for. He asked a colleague for help. In the end, three people were busy with my backpack. It was the cleaning liquid for my glasses. All good, I passed and walked towards my gate. I haven’t bought anything in Australia yet, so I went to a shop and bought a nice cap.
I had a pie and a coffee, waiting for my gate to open. We had a delay of 40 minutes already, in Singapore, I just had three hours to change my flight.
The flight with Scoot was for eight hours. I safely arrived in Singapore with a 40-minute delay. I could scan my passport at a terminal. I got an Arrival Card online before I left Australia. So far so good. I had to proceed to Terminal 2 now. Usually, it has a Skytrain, but it wasn’t in use. I had to walk for 20 minutes before reaching Terminal 2. At the check-in with Indigo were already some hundred people waiting. Only two counters for three flights were in use. Some terminals were for automated baggage check-in. It was very slow to check in so many people. In the end, it took me two hours to reach the counter. First, he couldn’t find my name, but then he was successful. Next, he was asking me if I had a return ticket for India. No, I said, I don’t have one, and I don’t need one. He started talking about immigration rules. It went back and forth for a while, but he didn’t want to let me pass. I went to another lady at another counter; she seemed to be in charge here. Without any further explanation, she let me pass. I had to run to the gate; Gate 40 was not close by. In the end, I got my flight to Chennai.
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