Packed our bags today, pre-flight. Zero hour 2 am and I’m gonna be......

We had a fantastic last day in Singapore. This morning we went to church (Maundy Thursday) and then we packed our bags and got them down to the porters store, all labelled up and tied together with bright green “string”. We had a long discussion with the concierge and the cashier about our anniversary breakfast, which we thought was a little on the expensive side. This was after we saw that the Room Service price was $5 cheaper than what we had been charged for eating in the restaurant!
We eventually got the hotel management to reduce the charge to that of the room service price, being gracious enough to admit that they needed to do something about this in future.
We went on a harbour cruise this afternoon and landed on a small island that has a number of shrines which the Chinese visit in October. The vessel was called the Cheng Ho ll and was very much artistically decorated in oriental style, and with twin dragon heads on its prow.
Our taxi ride to the airport was supposed to cost $20 but in fact cost $30 as it was rush hour. The driver changed the meter as we got near the airport, and would have been the stated amount if he hadn’t! Well, we’ll let it go as we don’t want to appear un-gracious British people!
We get to the airport in good time, and just as well. We find that despite having written confirmation from Virgin Atlantic that we have a Business Class flight, Singapore Airlines have us down for an economy flight! We are no not very happy bunny’s, Easter or not! Despite protestations we get now where, although it is accepted that we have paid the full business class fare! So, we are on Standby for Business Class. This means we still get our flight to Cape Town, but it probably will be less comfortable for me and very uncomfortable for Margery. We hope that she can sleep and control the pain over the next few days otherwise we won’t be doing too much sight seeing in South Africa!
Not certain if anything else can go wrong, but I have already contacted Virgin Atlantic about the problem and will see what the outcome is. The problem is that travelling business class you get a better luggage allowance, and you are also able to relax more on the flights. We’re not so fussed about complimentary drinks etc, but if you’ve paid for it already then you are entitled to it if you want it!
Margery is getting anxious about the flight and so we will see what transpires Que Sera sera, what ever will be will be. Oh! Tom Jones has just walked through on the same flight. I bet he’s not in economy class. His Singapore concert was rescheduled to tonight,and so it might have a bearing on why we appear to have been” bumped”. Apparently he is performing on Wednesday in Cape Town so hopefully no repeat performance!
Well, We didn’t get our correct seats and as a result we didn’t get much sleep between Singapore and Johannesburg. We did manage to get up into our rightful seats for the “Joburg” to Cape Town flight and we did get some rest, but nowhere near enough (2 hrs rather than 12).

In the jungle, the mighty jungle the lion sleeps......

Today we are having very much a Cosmopolitan day, an American breakfast buffet, followed by visiting Arab Street, renowned shopping area with multi racial shopping cheek by jowl. Then Little India, before going to the Zoo and on a Night Safari. Well, it is our 20th wedding anniversary today!
Arab Street was suggested by one of the tour guides when M said she wanted some fabric for our “world trip” quilt. There certainly was plenty to choose from – 1000’s of colours, textures, beading etc. Once we’d explained that it had to be 100% cotton to go with the other fabrics we’d already bought, the choice was a bit more limited, but we still must have had at least 50 fabrics to choose from.
We did try Ron’s silk shirt that died in the Cook Islands, but there wasn’t anything he really liked. If I’d wanted a silk dress made, that would have been a completely different matter! The prices were very reasonable, but instead we chose a very nicely made batik printed table runner for our dinner guests to admire!!!!!Or for M to chuck food on more accurately!
We wanted something to drink and as fresh coconuts were on sale we had one to share, which is a very eco friendly drink as there is only the plastic straw to dispose of and no washing up!
So after our substantial breakfast (well it is very hot and you really don’t need the calories even if the pastries and sweetmeats look very appetising) we as usual skip a meal and after changing into dry clothes go to the zoo. This was a superb activity and comes highly recommended as you can really feel as if you are encroaching on the animals habitat rather than them being caged off from you. They are free to roam in a lot of cases, and so like their environment that the electric fences and wet and dry moats are more to stop homo sapiens invading rather than animal breakout. From a simple health and safety aspect there are washing stations regularly around the zoo and you are encouraged to use them. Oh, and please don’t look up with your mouth open as anything can happen especially if the flying foxes are on the wing!!! Don’t understand why? Well, you try going to the toilet hanging upside down!
The Zoo was really amazing as the animals all looked so well and it was great to get so close to them without bars in between.
In the evening, before the night safari we had a meal at the Ulu Ulu food centre. I call it this because it is more like the Hawker food centre in the city where there is one way in but up to 20 different styles of cuisine and a communal seating area. Not like a motorway service station, the food’s freshly prepared, very edible and inexpensive.
Unfortunately, as it hadn’t rained earlier, it decided to rain just before the “Animals of the night” show was to take place. This created a chaotic situation in the tramway area as the world and its kids, and grandma too tried to join the tram rides which are the main way around the park in the dark. Imagine the airline queues at American immigration after 5 jumbos have all arrived at once. Nuf Sed!
A 20 min wait got us on the tram, and what followed was a 45 min ride through the animal’s habitats, mostly subtly lit, so that we could see animals active at night rather than in their more usual sleepy daytime state. We saw giraffe, tigers, lions, Asian elephants, rhino, many types of deer, Asian otters (very noisy!) and Malayan tapir etc. A particular highlight was a Serval (fishing wildcat) which we watched fishing right in front of us.
Finally we were entertained by some wild boys from Borneo, whose antics were great to watch including the acrobatics, blowpipe balloon bursting, fire eating and blowing. One of the female members of the audience was roped into their antics as she missed the balloon with her attempt to burst it causing great hilarity!
Tired after an 8 hour tour, we head home to a good nights “and sleep. Tomorrow is as they say in Monty Python speak (sorry, I had to get a snake reference in, being at the zoo and all).. now for something completely different!” I don’t like spiders and snakes and that is why I love you... (another one of Ron’s obscure song refs..just how did you spend your childhood, Ron? On second thoughts, no, don’t answer that!

Bright Lights, big city...

Well. Raffles lived up to it’s reputation – an amazing building with a very colourful history, complete with a be-turbaned doorman and also the Tiffin room. Tiffin is an Asian meal container of 4 layers and consisting of rice meat, vegetables and dessert which people took to work. This was anglicised to mean High Tea at 4 pm. There was even a “Tiffin” chocolate bar which you were able to purchase in the 50’s and 60’s. The trip up to the Long Bar was fun, even if you’d have needed the aforementioned gold plated bank account for the night on the town! A Singapore Sling signature cocktail of the Long Bar had we indulged would have set you back a tidy S$ 29.75 before 10% service charge and before 7%GST is added. Not that bad if you’re used to clubbing prices in London , but if you’re not used to a sweet mixture of gin, daiquiri, grenadine etc. ....
For those who haven’t been, the Long Bar is still in it’s 1930’s decor, complete with oscillating palm fans! – no punka walla that we could see tho – we presume he’s been replaced by the new fangled electricity! The spiral staircase in the centre of the bar led upstairs to where very good live music was entertaining the clientele. At the foot of the stairs were 3 large sacks of roasted monkey nuts awaiting consumption! Each table had a large square container of these, which were regularly refilled, and unlike the rest of Singapore, where littering of any sort attracts a large fine, you were positively encouraged to drop your monkey nut shells on the floor as you finished them! A hangover from British Ex-Pat eccentricity, we gather! I didn’t have a problem with this (no comments please!) but Ron still found it hard to chuck his shells on the floor!
And so to bed...Andy Pandy is waving good bye! Good bye! Looby loo’s knackered as well!

Any umbrellas, any umbrellas to fix to day?...

If yours needed fixing you might, as they say, be in a fix, because the predicted storm appeared again today - but at 3 o’clock like yesterday rather than Simon’s 4pm!
It didn’t stop us enjoying ourselves though, as we’d planned an earlyish start, and a visit to the Botanic Gardens. The Orchid Garden that we visited briefly before is there too and I for one intended a longer visit! 100 pictures of orchids? Not enough!! Well, maybe not 100 but quite a few!
The gardens are extensive, with beautifully landscaped areas for different types of plant –bamboos, ferns, a sun garden (cacti) water lilies etc. There was a Ginger garden which we found very interesting – did you know that Turmeric was a type of ginger? Nope, neither did we! The other one Ron enjoyed was the spice garden. Using as many as we both do in cooking, it was fascinating to see what they looked like “in the flesh” so to speak. Most of the Botanic gardens was free to enter, just the orchid part attracted a small charge..made less by the fact that Ron has his bus pass! It was really worth it to see so many beautiful flowers in as near their natural environment as could be achieved; sorry Jules, I didn’t smuggle any out for you this time, either!
We’ve come back to the hotel for a rest, a shower and a change of clothes as we’re out on the town tonight! We’re going to Clarke Quay for a river cruise and supper, followed by a visit to Raffles, where we intend to sample the atmosphere, if not the Singapore Sling! I tried one on the plane on the way here and whilst the flavour was very pleasant and the idea of 4 or 5 shots of different spirits in one glass might sound like a good idea, I’m not so sure! Might have to settle for a nice safe G & T!
Oh yes, Singapore is, as we have said, a vivid multi cultural place, but we weren’t too sure quite what was intended when we saw the street sign above...or the “basah” that was being advertised!!!

....thunder bolts and lightning, very, very, fright’ning; mama mia, mama mia....

We are off on a “round the city” tour with a guide to see most of the other areas we want to visit, and to get some of the local knowledge. We will be visiting China Town, Little India, and the Orchid Collection among other sights. My son Simon told me how busy the roads could be and suggested we use the MRT or Mass Rapid Transit rail system to get around. Good advice for getting quickly from A-B and you can purchase a tourist ticket which allows multi trips. He also told us that it rains normally around 4 o’clock each day. Well, we haven’t seen any rain yet!
We are taken on our tour into a Buddhist temple in China Town. We inadvertently went in without a couple of the ladies covering their shoulders. An usher quickly grabbed cloths to cover them up. Unfortunately, one of these ladies was Margery! She normally carries a pashmina for such occasions but didn’t have it with her today!
We grab a bite in one of the China Town street shops for breakfast, having skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning. It was` a Very good lunch! The bus has a no food or drink policy. It helps keep cockroaches and ants at bay, not that we have seen any! We are told about the two meanings of the word fine. Fine can describe the weather, or it can be levied for a plethora of mis-deeds. It seems that this very safe city comes at a price if you break the rules on litter, driving, speeding, jay-walking, etc. We don’t want to be accosted by the “Bill” so listen intently and thereafter mind our p’s and q’s!
After our trip to the rare orchids we decide to top up water bottles etc and get something to eat for lunch before exploring some more this time towards Clarkes Quay. During our trip this morning, the guide gave a message to those travelling to Sentosa (a small island to the south of Singapore reached by bridge) that “do not worry, come rain or shine, thunder and lightning the tour would go on.” We had been watching the clouds building and so thought this was a bit like the warning given by the soothsayer in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar to “beware the ides of March”. So brolly in backpack we set off in a very light rain. We get to Clarkes Quay and purchase an ice cream as the mother of all thunderstorms struck with monsoon force but without any wind fortunately. The sound of the rain drumming on the roof covering was like a tube train rushing through a tunnel, and the rain was bouncing up by at least 4” and water was cascading down steps and off roof’s. OK Simon, you were right and Dad was lucky to have another guardian angel to stop us getting wet!
Fortunately, my navigation was impeccable as always, and we were within a short walk from the only micro brewery in Singapore. Well, what else do you do on a wet afternoon, in a strange city, in a shopping mall a mile from the hotel? We sampled the local wares after 4pm as it was “happy hour” and BOGOF! Philias and Wattlie enjoyed the experience as you can see. After the first pint we had to order some “blotting paper” as we really aren’t used to drinking! We decided to sample the India Pale Ale but sensibly went for the 300ml option rather than the 500ml (pint). Good plan as the latter is 6.2% alcohol.
I wandered of the talk with the master brewer Scott who was a very interesting American who has been brewing at the Pump Room for the last two years. I got a guided “free tour “ to boot. We talked about the brewing process and some of the ideas I floated with him he may take up, including the “polypin” which he hadn’t come across. When I got back some 30 minutes later, the rain was still raining, and the spicy wedges were getting cool. Food takes a long time to get cold in this climate.
Braving the improving weather we walked to China Town and then got some supper after shopping in the air-conditioned malls. The food is very different from UK Chinese food which is possibly because of the fusion of cultures here. We had marinated cucumber and marinated edible fungus (definitely not conventional mushrooms), asparagus with prawns and sliced roast duck. Very scrummy, but you would be lost if you didn’t or couldn’t eat spicy food. (I suppose you could go to McDonalds, KFC or Burger King).

..then all the world will see how great, how great is our God.

Chris Tomlins words from “The splendour of the King” comes into my mind so often whilst we’ve been travelling and today we sang it in the 9am service in the Chapel For All Peoples, which is an annex to St Andrews Cathedral in Singapore, just across the square from our hotel.
I had asked when we arrived where the churches were located so that we could make a choice as to where we went today. This kinda drew a blank as the hotel staff were Hindu or Muslim, or maybe the fact that we wanted to go to church today was because we wanted to go to Mass. It seems that if you ask abpout church in a hotel it is assumed that you are Catholic (and obliged to go)!
Well, we found out by walking across to St Andrews that there were various times for services on Sundays. As the church buildings were then closed we opted for the 9 am service. We arrived and found the Cathedral full and the service of Holy Communion still some way from finishing. Another couple visiting were given some guidance as to where the 9am service was to be held, and then we were warmly greeted and shown the way, so to speak. Clutching our Holy Week services schedule we cross to a new building in the grounds and then go down in the lift to B2 level. WOW, what a church setting greeted us. Seating probably up to 1000 or more in a theatre style was the modern worship area being used for this service. Completed in 2005, the complex has quiet places as well as a state of the art sound system filling the auditorium, and we felt completely at home. The main cathedral was built on the site chosen by Sir Stamford Raffles in 1823, but the building erected on the site was twice struck by lightning and closed as unsafe in 1852. The present building dates from around 1862, when it was consecrated by the Bishop of Calcutta.
The 9am service structure was just like Live Out Loud or the service at Newquay where P & T worship, for those of you who don’t know it. Worship starts with corporate praise through modern worship songs and prayers which then leads on to the Word and a teaching sermon, closing with more upbeat worship to send people out fired up with the message of God’s love.
We were 2 of about 6 visitors in a congregation of approx 7-800, and were welcomed personally by one of the young stewards. The age profile was from 8-80 so we weren’t the oldest by any means. During the service one of the musicians introduced a song that he had penned back in 2004. It was sung during the service before the offertory. The musicians are producing a CD of music to be sold in aid of relief in the Philippines. I will try to get a copy when it is produced.
After a rather fine buffet lunch, (well it is Sunday after all) we get on a city hop on –off bus as part of our orientation in the city. Maps are fine, as are guide books but nothing we had gave any idea of scale, so being driven over the routes gave us just the steer we needed. We got off at the Botanic Gardens and also at the Asian Civilisations Centre, which was having a special weekend with additional events and activities. This was a cool place to go into, as the outside temperature was up around 30⁰C, and the exhibits on display had been on tour to UK, Paris, New York and now here. There was live music and dancing among other activities of the culinary and messy kids kind.
Further riverside wanderings took us past many of the must see sights including Raffles landing place. This is such a cultural meeting and melting pot of cultures that it is hard to see where, if at all, Raffles original demarcation lines occur.
After a swim we decided to crash as we have an early start tomorrow, and we still aren’t used to the 3 hour time difference from Aus waking up at 3 am instead of 6! Tomorrow as they say is another day!

What goes up, must come down...

..and hopefully the right way up as we took off upside down, downunder and, having crossed the Equator (just!) are now back in the northern hemisphere and hopefully back to normal!! Ok, ok, I know Ron and I can never be classed as normal!

Our plane left Melbourne half an hour late, as the one coming in was delayed, but it made up most of the time during the 8 hour flight. We had a good trip, (far too much scrummy food as usual!) arriving in Singapore at 4pm their time.

Margery made a big mistake tho.. well 2 big mistakes - firstly in the Lounge at Melbourne when I decided to have a tomato juice.. the bottle was wet and slipped out of my hand onto the tiled floor, with the inevitable results! Ooops! Fortunately I was wearing shorts and sandals, so the legs were easy to clean up - there were a few splashes on the shorts too, but they seem to have come off ok - phew! Mistake numer two was to watch a very weepy film about a beatulful dog "Hachi" (spelling?) His master died, and he spent the next 9 years living at the railway station where his master used to come home from work, waiting for him. Oh dear, with our boy so far away, I don't know quite what people thought of me sitting there with tears streaming down my face! What a wally! Mind you, Ron had chosen to watch it too - with similar effects! Not that we're missing our Simba, or anything!

Everyone has warned us that Singapore is very expensive - so far we've managed to find a very reasonably priced airport shuttle that took us right to our hotel (we can use this to go back as well) and the hotel has free internet!! Wahoo!! So far so good - we'll see what tomorrow brings!

Our first impressions are of an obviously enormous city, but a very pretty one too - even the motorway centers and crash barriers are covered in flowers! I'm not sure they'll help if you crash, but they do look lovely!

The city seems fairly busy today, but we have to remember it's a saturday..Monday could be a different matter!

We've checked into what has turned out to be a much nicer hotel than I anticipated - good old Expedia! So far all we've really done is to sort out some clothes (washing, ironing, boring!) and had a brief look at what we might do over the 6 days we're here. We got the impression from the tours booking desk that most people only stay here on brief stopovers, and don't have as much time as we have so hopefully we'll be able to see quite a lot.

We've just had a reply to our email to our hosts in South Africa -Keith and Gill are heavily involved with their local church in Pinewood including sorting things out ready for a 7am Easter Sunday Service - so it looks like Easter may be very similar to our ones at home as we've offered to help!! Nothing really changes, does it?

We've found out where our nearest church is here - just up the road fortunately, so after a cup of tea, we'll have a wander and find out what time the service is tomorrow. Couldn't really miss Palm Sunday could we?

Just one picture so far - to prove we're really here!