NZ Trip 2014 - Getting There

On Friday morning our friend Mary picked us up bright and early and so we arrived in very good time at the bus station (about 1 hour early). While we sat in the relative warm we met another friend, Sue. She was on her way to Germany. Just before she left us I discovered that I had my car keys in my pocket. I had intended to leave them for Joni. Sue kindly volunteered to put them in my letter box when she got home from Germany on Tuesday.

After waiting a further hour, as the temperature plummeted to a level below the that which we had dressed for, a kind official informed us that the bus was delayed and it could come any time. So, after one and a half hours delay, we set off. Our journey took us through the A453 road works, where in addition to the normal delays there was an accident and we were directed right into the centre of Clifton. Next we went to the East Midland Airport and then to Luton. Eventually we arrived about 2 hours late into Heathrow. Time was on our side. In fact we were two early and towed our cases for too long around the terminal.

When we dropped the cases they told us that they would be held at the airport in Guangzhou. 'Please don't' we said. The flight was only ten hours in a beautiful 'Dream Liner' with touch screen entertainment.

At Guangzhou we were asked if we had booked into the airlines hotel. This came as surprise to us, particularly as it would be free with breakfast and free transit. With some trepidation, but with some reassurance from a fellow traveller we decided to lose the money on our booked hotel. An elegantly dressed bell boy took charge of our cases and hotel official gave us a polite introduction to the hotel.

It was about half an hour to the hotel. They had already arranged our departure time for the morning.

The room was 75 star. It had its own chandelier which was a miniature version of the massive crystal one in the entrance lobby. The room was about the size of the ground floor of our house. The two single beds were just smaller than a double bed, the room was twice our height there was a mahogany desk, dresser and refreshment stand, valley stand, a bathroom three times the size ours with a free standing bath, an awesome shower area and a vast sink. There was a separate toilet and sink and a walk in cupboard. In the cupboard were two gas masks to be worn in case of fire. There was also a large sofa and coffee table. Beside the phone in the toilet there were two others. There was also free wi-fi.

I tried hard both here and later at the airport to send messages home, but despite the signal I could not Facebook any one. After all, we were in China.

In the morning we woke early and enjoyed the bathing facilities before we went to breakfast. In the 'Italian Bistro' there was vast selection of quality food served on to elegant tables.

We had time to explore this 'The Lake Dragon' estate. A river flowed along the edge of the estate. On the opposite side were the massive homes of the rich. In the complex was an 'English Street'. Apart from two battered, red phone boxes there was little to resemble home.

Next we attempted to walk to 'The Lake Dragon'. This is really the Chinese word order. Not being quite sure of our direction we approached a smart young guard. He could understand what was said, but couldn't make us understand. So, he got out his phone. I expected to see a map. but what he showed us was what he was trying to tell us. However, it was in Chinese.

We found our own way to the lake. I certainly would not swim across it. Neither was I impressed by the concrete boxes described as elegant apartments in the estate agents amazing book. 

There were also some curious signs.

Organism - Recycles

We also discovered one of the main problems of this part of China. We saw hardly any pavements, even in the town. But that is another story.

To Heathrow and Beyond

And so, at last, we are off.


Following a sumptuous meal, courtesy of Joni and Fiona the morning of our departure came. The journey down to Heathrow went relatively well. It improved dramatically when the family behind us got off and Irene no longer had her hair pulled by an unruly toddler behind us. Heathrow is a nightmare to navigate. A helpful officer in the bus station sent us down to find the hotel shuttle. Once down another official sent us up. Somewhere between up and down we found the row of shuttle buses. I am not sure that we would ever find them again. It was a bit like finding the 'Hogwarts Express' on platform 10 and three quarters.

View from the Ibis Hotel

The hotel was modern and it was one of the smallest that we have ever stayed in.It was just possible for me to get to my side of the bed. (Wait until I get to the Singapore bit.) We had a view of the runway from our window. The hotel meal was reasonable and we slept for some of the time, before setting off for terminal 3.


Transfer to the aircraft went quite smoothly and we found our seat on the very large aircraft. We had seats near the emergency door. This gave us massive leg room, but no window or seats in front to stow baggage. I joked with the stewardess who sat facing us when it came to the evacuation instruction which told us that passengers near the emergency doors may need to assist the crew. I made it clear that in an emergency I would be out of the door before she had even thought of leaving her seat. Our fellow passenger was a young man off on his first job. He would transfer to Perth and become a navigator on a seismological survey ship. Some people have exciting lives. As he left I wished him well.


Singapore airport is spacious and clean. We were able to get a shuttle to the hotel, later to be discovered, false impression that we would get a shuttle back.

Le Peranakan Hotel

The hotel was off the beaten track.It was clean, but the rooms were exceedingly small. The bed had very little space at the bottom and butted up to the wall at the side. Having arrived early we left our luggage at the hotel. I have to say that the young man who worked there was very courteous and helpful; but, he did have a masters in hospitality.

High Rise Washing Day

Some of the thousands of bicycles for hire

Coconut Palms and Ships

What to do in a storm

With a desire to get properly set up in the hotel we set off for a walk to the south shore. It has a wide green area and a beach. Hundreds of large ship are anchored just off shore. They have made a great job of the park area. There are wide walking/jogging paths running completely separately from the bicycle/skating paths. There are zebra crossings over the latter paths. Coconut trees line the pathways and there are shelters all along the front and instructions use them in the event of electrical storms. However,  there is to be no 'residing' in them or barbecuing in those not designated for the purpose.

What not to do in a shelter

Immediately we noticed an interesting use of language. Almost all official signs are English alone. But the English is very precise. For instance they talk about bicycling where we would say cycling. We are happy to use context to clarify words. We know that we would not be talking about any other kind of cycling when we use the word on road signs. 'Residing' is to us an over use of the word, but the pictures show more clearly that no one is to sleep on the benches with a bag by the side and their shoes off. We notice that more than one person had totally ignored the instruction.


There were many signs warning us to ring the police on 999 if we saw 'suspicious' people getting off boats or people bringing trolley loads of containers ashore.


Macdonald's was our salvation for refreshment. But once again there were differences. All the items were prefixed with 'Prosperity' as in 'Prosperity Burgers'. Apple pie was Prosperity 'Pineapple Pie'. This is stark contrast with the UK's 'Austerity Apple Pie'.


And so to the hotel. A friendly face greeted us and took us, somewhat apologetically, to our room which was, indeed, small. First, I went down to ask about towels. However, they were already in the room. Then, as the temperature soared to 30 degs I went to ask about air-con. I had not realised that we actually had to switch it on. What a relief. After settling in we set off to find food. As I have said the area was a little off the beaten track. The Thai looked a bit suspicious and didn't open till late and so we took local advice and crossed to the 'Fish and Chip Shop'. It was actually a micro-brewery. I had the pork ribs and Irene had the snapper and chips. Next door we bought slices of pineapple pie and bottles of juice. These we consumed on the large balcony outside our room in the heat of the evening. The balcony was decorated with a waterfall and a running stream.

Supper on the balcony

We were asleep by 8.30 and slept quite well beyond 7.00. Having packed our bags and stored them the first Singapore adventure began. The hotel manager was clever. He met us leaving our room. He had seen us on the CCTV and remembered that we were going to leave our luggage. He avoided the task of having to take our luggage back up after we had bought it down.


The intrepid explorers set off to catch the 15 bus and came across the first language problem, but were eventually able to pay the $1.20 fare to the 'Eunos' metro station. The metro was much like London underground except that it was clean, cheap and efficient with trains running on time. We even got a dollar refund every time we got off. The major scary bit was crossing the roads. They have very wide junctions and at no time does the traffic completely stop. Even when the traffic lights say you have 30 seconds vehicles still turn in to the crossing pedestrians.


The Singapore Botanical gardens are beautifully laid out and we particularly enjoyed the orchid gardens. Our breakfast and lunch at the central restaurant were very pleasant and and well priced. By the afternoon it was getting too hot and we opted to arrive at the airport early and enjoy their air-con. We made an almost perfect reversal of our path. The bus driver recognised us and this time showed us the fare on a piece of card and smiled when I gave him the exact change. However, we got off two stops too soon. We had not realised that all three bus stops on the street had the same name.

Me in the orchids

Irene in the orchids

A terrapin in the lake

Singapore departure hall

Although we were early we checked in immediately. There was a slight scare at the check in. When I looked at my tickets they said that we flew on Saturday. My watch said that it was Friday and it felt like Friday. A quick enquiry confirmed that thanks to jet lag we were disoriented. And so, minus our luggage we found a restaurant and shared a pizza, washed down with ice cold 'Stella' followed by a nice ice-cream. It did not seem long before we boarded the aircraft (a normal sizes one) and sped off at almost 700 mph to NZ.

Back to Kiwi Land - 2009

We apologise for the delay in sending this blog. It has taken some time to get the computer functioning and, as I write, I am still not on line.
Wednesday morning was dark, cold and remained misty all day.
The departures board was full of cancellations and delays – mostly to UK and European destinations.

Air NZ in Heathrow Fog

We were slightly delayed in boarding and then delayed for half an hour while on board. It was annoying to find that our booked window seats were not available and once more one of our in flight entertainment consuls was broken. Having started to make friends with an elderly gentleman, travelling alone, we were given two more seats someway further back.
It turned out that our friend was also heading for The Hacienda Hotel. After a relatively sleepless flight (I did not enjoy the movies, but Irene did) we returned to our seats for landing and eventually departed the airport accompanied by our friend. At 8.00 pm it was hot in LA and we were glad to get to our air-con room.

LA Sweltering Morning

LA Garden Centre

Starbucks Coffee Shop

Before our site seeing walk we went to, what is becoming our usual dinner for plates of pancakes covered in . . .

I recognised the waitress (Claudia) who had sat and chatted last year. She thought that we must make it a tradition and repeated the performance.

We met up with our friend at the hotel and had a chat before boarding the shuttle and departing for the airport.

In America do not let your passport and boarding pass go through the scanner. They are not helpful in retreiving them and letting you through. My first 'criminal' mistake.

The Air NZ staff were better. They at least recognised a mistake and moved seats around so that we could sit together as booked. We are resigned to no window seats. Breakfast was served, on board at 4.00 am. NZ customs are more friendly than US ones. Once through at 5.30 am we waited for Sally to collect us and get us home.