Lost My Passport in Singapore

I got invited to the ASEAN Career Fair with Japan, so I flew to Singapore for a few days. The plan was the same one I use in Bangkok.

Sleep at a hostel.
Walk to whatever is nearby.
Eat.
Repeat.

The first day (14 Feb)

Don Mueang → a night flight → Boat Quay → BEAT. Capsule Hostel.

I left on Valentine's Day. Nothing had gone wrong yet. That night I landed with a red wing outside the window and went straight to the hostel.

A red Lion Air wing over a city at night, seen from the window on the way into Singapore. Perfect valentine. — Perfect valentine

The hostel had a sightseeing list by the door. Merlion, Marina Bay, Chinatown, Fort Canning, and a lot more. There was also a wall already full of other people's banknotes. So cute.

A printed list at the hostel titled Sightseeing near Beat Capsule, from the Sky Garden down to the Musical Box Museum.

The second day (15 Feb)

I slept around 3 hours. Check-in was 10:30, but I set an alarm for 6 because I wanted a morning walk. At 2 am I was still on a bike. The group chat was like "3 hours of sleep?" and I just said "Believe" lol.

Then the fair at Singapore EXPO. A hall of Japanese companies and people from all over ASEAN. The same building had a badminton hall, so I walked down and watched a game. After that I went back into the city.

A standing banner for the ASEAN Career Fair with Japan in Singapore 2025.

Food was random. Char kway teow on an orange table. A big Indian meal in Little India. Chinatown was still full of red lanterns.

A plate of char kway teow, dark noodles and bean sprouts, on an orange table.

A Chinatown shop packed with red lanterns and New Year decorations hanging from the ceiling.

Near the National Museum there were huge mirror balls on the grass. I stood there and took too many photos of the same ball lol. The skyline just bent around me. So nice.

Chrome spheres on a lawn, reflecting a person, trees, and the towers behind the National Museum.

At night I walked to Marina Bay. I had seen this picture a hundred times, but the real one was quiet. I just walked. Then I went back, opened my laptop, and called it a workation. Another 3 hours of sleep.

Marina Bay Sands and the ArtScience Museum at night, lit blue and gold, reflected in the water under a moon.

The third day (16 Feb)

Sunday morning I ran 3.24 km along the bay. 18 minutes, heart rate 154. The air was so clean.

Marina Bay at dawn, the hotel across the water and the walkway railing in front. A nice morning run. Good air quality be like: — A nice morning run. Good air quality be like:

Later I biked to NUS. There was a sign pointing one way to Business and the other way to Computing. I kept riding until HarbourFront.

My bag was a black Mahidol side bag, in the front basket. Inside: passport, iPad, resume, a power bank, some cash, the fair invitation, earbuds. I parked at HarbourFront Station Exit A, left in a hurry, and came back around an hour later.

The basket was empty.

I looked for another hour and a half. No camera. I didn't see anyone take it. At 17:23 I texted the group "Couldn't find my bag". They asked if anything valuable was in it. Passport + iPad. On the front of the bike lol.

They had a flight that evening. I told them to go back without me. I would deal with the police and the Thai embassy. Someone sent the ICA page (you have to report a lost passport right away). Someone else tried AirAsia. They could not let me board. Later I only got the airport tax back.

Find My was useless. The iPad was off. I also forgot my Apple ID password, so my friends at home could not log in either. Near midnight I finally remembered it. Still offline. I kinda gave up. My resume was in the bag, so if someone nice picked it up they already had my contacts. Nobody texted. No CCTV. I was too lazy to go find the culprit lol.

Then Bukit Merah East. I talked to the police for 2–3 hours. They were so calm and professional wtf. They just asked for tiny details and wrote all of them down. In the end I felt so chill lol.

Losing a passport, missing a flight, booking a new hostel and a new flight, contacting the Thai embassy. Easy peasy. (Aside from the costs I need to pay T_T)

This is the same thing I notice every time something bad happens. Past some point I just go calm. No panic. I don't know if that is normal lol. It helped though.

The embassy was closed. It was Sunday.

Before I left Boat Quay I signed a 20-baht note and stuck it on the money wall with everyone else's.

A hostel wall at Boat Quay covered in banknotes from other countries, with a hairdryer on the table below. 16/02/2025 Nacnano was here. — 16/02/2025 Nacnano was here

Monday and Tuesday

Monday I sold a bit of stock. Not much. Enough for two more nights at another hostel and a new flight on Tuesday. I texted the group:

no one has returned the bag (probably stolen la)
booked a new flight tomorrow
booked 2 new nights
will contact the Thai embassy tomorrow

In conclusion, just chilling. (And it costed tons of money)

Tuesday the Royal Thai Embassy gave me an emergency travel document. One journey. Thailand only.

The cover of a Thailand Emergency Travel Document, with the Garuda emblem, lying on a dark table. Can't believe this tiny piece of paper can take me home. Passport loser be like. — Can't believe this tiny piece of paper can take me home. Passport loser be like.

That night was AirAsia FD 352, Singapore to Don Mueang, boarding at 22:10, seat 11F. I held the document the whole way. It got me home.

In March I paid for a new 10-year passport. The bag never came back. The iPad never came online.

A year later the same group asked if I wanted to go to Singapore again. I said I was not sure if I was free. But probably gonna.

Journey completed

Score: 7/10 (the bag T_T)

Days: 14–18 Feb 2025
Slept before the fair: ~3 hours
Run: 3.24 km, 154 bpm
Police: 2–3 hours at Bukit Merah East
Way home: one emergency document, 2 days late
Bag: still gone

Something bad happened and I was just calm. I don't know if that is normal lol.