The Cat Lady Abroad Makes a Friend
On my first full day in Singapore, I was waiting out a short rainstorm in my hostel when I overheard another guest trying to plan his day with suggestions from the hostel owner. He didn’t seem too thrilled with any of the options, and as the rain began to let up and I was tying on my shoes, he walked over to me.
“Do you know vat you’re doing today?” he asked in a thick German accent, a bit forlornly.
“Um…I’m going to the cat museum?” I said. Lion City Kitty, or the Singapore Cat Museum, had caught my eye long ago and I couldn’t wait to visit. More of a shelter than a museum, it’s a place where you can view small exhibits on cats as well as play with adoptable kitties.
The man raised his eyebrows. “Cat Museum?”
“Yeah…” I faltered. I’m used to people thinking I’m a crazy cat lady. It’s cool.
“Vould you mind if I come?”
YES, I would mind was my first thought. I’d been looking forward to indulging my cat love on my own. But this guy was so nice, and was clearly without a plan, so I felt bad.
“Sure, if you’re up for it!”
His name was Andrej and he was in Singapore on business—his ninth trip to the city. Although his work paid for hotels, he’d decided to try a hostel this time in order to try meeting people. As a product engineer, his job entailed lots of long-term travel in Asia and he seemed a little lonely. And Andrej was totally game for the cat museum. We wandered around each floor, meeting big fluffy Persians, tiny weeks-old kittens, and feisty tabbies. Instead of rolling his eyes, Andrej played with the cats, constantly muttering, “Eet is too cute.”
The volunteers were incredibly kind and when I mentioned that Singapore did not have the stray cat problem I had noticed elsewhere in Asia, they told me that was just because the government puts more effort into putting the animals on the street down. Luckily, the folks at the cat museum do a great job finding homes for their adoptable kitties.
After our time with the cats was up, we headed back outside into the oppressive heat. Andrej looked at me eagerly. “Vat is next?”
“Well, I know it’s super touristy and you’ve probably done it a bunch of times, but I really want to get a Singapore Sling at Raffles.”
Andrej looked at me with a blank stare. I couldn’t believe it. Nine trips to Singapore and he’d never had a Singapore Sling at its birthplace, the famous colonial Raffles Hotel? Within minutes we were parked at the bar under bamboo fans, sipping on the fruity gin cocktail and joking about how it was the most expensive drink we’d purchased in a long time (about $23 USD).
We talked politics and travel and hostel life. He joined me at my final destination for the evening: the light show at the psychedelic Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay. The theme had just changed to musical theatre, one of my deep loves, and as we lay on our backs looking up at the lights and listening to songs from Chicago, Little Shop of Horrors, Evita, and more, he turned his head to me and joked, “Eet’s just like you’re in New York!” I nodded, smiling. The show tunes were making me feel nostalgic for my adopted home city, but I was also feeling enervated by the day. I’d been so close to blowing Andrej off, but he turned out to be a great buddy for the day, proving one of my favorite things about travel: it opens you up to new people, and sometimes you can bond with someone even faster than you would if you were in your hometown.
Back at the hostel, Andrej thanked me for planning the day and letting him tag along. “Staying in the hostel has already paid off,” he said sincerely, and we headed off to our respective sleeping pods, two strangers in Singapore no longer.
