Singapore and Home

Irene and I had a final walk down to the sea at St Helier's and then came the final stages of packing.

I also include pictures of the Millenium Falcon model that I had spent weeks making and has been left behind.

All too soon it was time to leave our lovely New Zealand family. Sally, accompanied by Zoe drove us to the airport. After the simple process of using e-passports to check in and drop off our bags there were the final goodbyes before we went up to airside.

The time in the airport went quickly and at 1.15 on Tuesday morning the plane took off. There was the usual movies and food before landing at Singapore. The landing was somewhat early in the morning. After a little investigation it proved cheaper to take the shuttle bus to the Miramar Hotel. At the hotel we were given the full VIP treatment as the bell boys unloaded our cases. Being so early our room was not ready and the bell boys recommended that we take the ‘hop on’ tour bus. This turned out to be good recommendation.

On our first trip around we did not make use of the commentary and enjoyed the sites of the city. The tour bus method, with map is a great way to get familiar with the layout and the sites of the city. Our trip took us along the famed ‘Orchard Road’ which is lined with up market stores and high priced apartments.

 We had decided that our stop off point would be the ‘The Gardens by the Bay’. This was arrived at by going between the towers of the ‘Marine Bay Sands’. The gardens take up a large area with a lot of water. It seems to be a mix between ‘The Eden Project’ with its domes and ‘Hamilton Gardens’ with its national themed gardens. Mostly it is free, but the domes are quite expensive to enter. We opted to go on the tree walk. This was only $5 and involved going up a lift in one of the towers and walking along a suspended walkway. At the beginning of the bridge there was a warning that people with heart conditions or a fear of heights should not go on. So, on we went. There are splendid views from above.

 There was also an aquarium and a variety of eateries. We opted for the MacDonald’s. Then we left to re-board the bus back to the hotel. However, we missed the stop and decided to stay on for a second circuit of the city. This time we plugged in to the commentary. We also went through the Botanic Gardens. The earlier bus did not so this as they were closed. There is a real mixture of old and new buildings. A lot of work is going on to build new ones, renovate anything worthwhile and demolish the rest. On the second time around the sun was far too hot and we opted to go below. This position was also to enable us to get off at the hotel.

Singapore Police Station

Once more we were greeted like VIPs and shown to our room. However, there was an incessant noise. At first I thought that it was the plumbing and then I realised that it was the sound of a hammer drill. I rang reception to find out if work was going on and then, without further ado, we were whisked off to another room.

We dined in the hotel. It was not too expensive as there was a 20% discount for residents. The same was true of the morning.

From the room there was a good view of the Singapore River which I photographed at different stages of fading light. Cities always look good at night.

After a good night’s sleep we caught a taxi back to the airport. He was very scathing about the presence of Chinese people who were buying up properties and inflating the market values. We had heard the same thing about the Chinese in New Zealand who appeared to be buying properties and never living in them. Property values both here and abroad seems to be a major concern.

Since we were last in Singapore they have built an amazing tunnel. Actually it is a network of tunnels. It carries a very long six lane motorway and there are even intersections to other roads in the tunnel.

Changi airport is an exciting place to be in an Irene went off to do some exploring. As we sat it began to rain. The gates were opened and we sat in the lounge waiting for over 30 minutes longer than the announced time. This was due to rain which slowed down loading the plane. But at last we were off through the pouring rain for a bumpy ride home, arriving about 45 minutes late.

I am very pleased with the e-passport which gets you quickly though immigration. However, there was small hiccup as we watched the cases disappear from the conveyor belt without seeing ours. Enquiry revealed that we were standing by the wrong conveyor belt. So now with bags on trolley we exited the airport and straight on to an airport shuttle.

There was neither the VIP treatment nor the temperature at the Travelodge but the room was comfortable and we had a good night’s sleep. We also had a good breakfast in the morning which included Linda McCartney’s veggie burger. Considering what was going to happen it was just as well that we ate well.

Getting back to the airport was no problem despite the shock of the freezing cold London air. We sat in Central Bus Station. Again it turned out to be good decision for Irene to have a coffee and me to purchase a bottle of orange juice and chocolate bars. When it came to boarding the coach we were met by chaos. Once more our coach had broken down and the station staff was busy trying to persuade a bolshie bus driver to take on more cases that he thought was safe. With trepidation I approached him with our cases and his response was ‘I am not touching them while the handles are up’. Calmly, as I was lowering the handled I said that I would gladly lower them if asked politely to do so. We boarded the bus and then some silly passenger said’ get on with it then’. We then had another bout of emotion from the driver. The bus finally set off going through Hemel Hempstead and at least three stops in Luton before finally arriving in Milton Keynes.

Then there was the disorganisation of transferring us to other buses. This time we refused to leave the barrier until we were sure what was happening. Last time we nearly missed the connection having obeyed the instruction to go into the building. Actually, it was not long before the bus arrived in Nottingham we transferred to the local bus. We started chatting with a man who was 96 with a 92 year old wife who he had been married to for 67 years. Then, to our surprise, our neighbour, Francis, got on. Apparently he had gone to a meeting a week early. He had parked his car near the Savoy cinema where we got off and transferred our stuff to his car for an easy ride home.

Amazing.

We thank everyone who has helped us with the journey, including those who gave us their support at home.