Week 1 July 1st - 7th Singapore and Perth

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Day 1 Singapore Tuesday 1^st July

After a very long flight of 12 hrs from Heathrow we arrived in Singapore at 8am, the heat and humidity hitting us like walking into an oven. We took a taxi to our Hotel in Bencoolin Streeet but were too early to checkin so we left our luggage with reception and went out for a walk. Unfortunately we went into a shopping mall called Suntec which was in 5 towers and we got lost (partly due to being so tired) we finally found our way out and stumbled upon Raffles so we had a look round, took some photos and then returned to the Hotel, 4hrs after arriving. It was nearly 1pm so we didn’t even unpack, we went straight to sleep and didn’t hear a sound until 5.30pm.

After a shower, we went out for something to eat, heading for Orchard Street, the famous shopping street full of designer shops and shopping malls and restaurants. We found a food court that had, Thai, Indian, Chinese and local food, so we had some chicken and rice and headed back to the Hotel after a 4 hour walkabout. We slept like logs that night and nearly missed breakfast the next morning.

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Day 2 Singapore Wednesday 2^nd July

After nearly missing breakfast we headed for the local Metro Station (MRT) to buy a day pass which was only 8$ unlimited use. Firslty we went to the Marina, another huge shopping Mall and as Lyn had lost her sunglasses during our walkabout she decided to splash out on a pair of Oakley’s . Then we got on the monorail across to Sentosa Island as the weather was lovely and sunny. Sentosa is a pleasure Island, with beautiful beaches, an underwater seaworld, a dolphin sanctuary and much more. As we began to walk along the beach, the heavens opened and began to rain. We sheltered in a bar and as the rain seemed set for a while decided to have lunch. We watched as the children played in the sea and rain while we sheltered with our lunch, the sea was very warm and so was the rain. After lunch we visited the seaworld centre and stroked the stingrays then changed into our swimsuits and went for a swim in the sea, as we dressed, the heavens opened again and the thunder, lightning and rain came down again. We sheltered for a while, had a coffee and then made a run for it and bought a brollie from a beach shop . As the rain stopped, the Sea and Sound Light show was beginning so we joined the queue, the lazers and fountains were good but the story was rubbish. We found our way back to the mainland and a trip on the MRT back to Orchard Road for dinner. This time we had chicken in pepper with noodles but there was no cutlery, only chopsticks, half way through it we gave up, it was very hot and spicy and the noodles kept slipping off the chopsticks so we went for a walk further up Orchard Street but after an hour of walking couldn’t find the next station so had to turn round and walk back again and took the MRT to Bugis Street and 10 mins walk to the Hotel.

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Day 3, Singapore Thursday 3^rd July

Our final day so we decided to get up early and left for the MRT, buying a new daily pass and made our way to Raffles, however, we got off at Raffles City (you would think that Raffles would be here, but no) we should have got off at City Hall, so we had to go back 1 stop but still had trouble finding Raffles, maybe it was jet lag or maybe not but we found Singapore very difficult to navigate. Finally we found it , had a coffee and cake in the little bakery, visited the museum upstairs which was very interesting and looked in on the long bar, didn’t have a Singapore Sling as it was only 10.30 in the morning. Bob bought a golf towel with their name on but everything was really expensive. We walked through the Hotel and out the front door and back to the MRT to go to the Singapore zoo. After a 30 mins ride we got off the MRT and climbed onto a bus for another 35 mins to get to the zoo which was way out of the city. We didn’t realise it would take so long but when we arrived we were very glad that we made the trip as the zoo was set in a rainforest and was amazing. We had taken then brollie with us as Singapore seemed to have a lot of tropical storms but typically, it didn’t rain all day, however, the sun was so hot at times that we used it to for shade. We walked around for over 4 hours, stopping now and then to watch the antics of the animal, the whole zoo was open, very cleverly concealed electrical wires and fencing kept them in their compounds but you felt as if you were walking with them freely. We watched a very funny act by the elephants showing the way they learned to work in the rainforest. In one area which was netted overhead there were no fences or electrical wires, all the animals oamed free, limas, little hairy pig things, an iguana, huge bats and many birds.

As we left the zoo we realized that we hadn’t eaten all day so we stopped in the KFC at the entrance to the zoo as we knew we had at least an hours journey back to the city. As we walked from the MRT in the evening warmth, we were thinking of meeting up with Adam and TJ in Perth the next day. Adam had phoned during the day to say they had hired a car so they would pick us up at the airport. Just before the hotel was an internet café so we stopped to transfer some money and check emails and just let everyone know we were ok. We picked up some fruit and water from the 7Eleven Store before heading for an early night as we had to be up at 5am to get the flight the next morning.

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Day 4 Singapore to Perth Friday 4^th July

We didn’t sleep hardly at all as the rain pounded the windows, a delivery van emptied his load below our window and cars screeched in the street so heavy eyed we left the hotel at 5.50am and walked to the MRT to get the train as it cost $1.50 each to Changhi Airport against $25 for a taxi ! After a quick chechin we had breakfast and boarded the plane. The flight was very good, with a window seat and mostly clear blue skies we had a fantastic view of the Indian ocean and the islands, although Lyn slept most of the way. On landing, we went through customs with ease except they did query whether my golf shoes had mud on them ! Bloody cheek ! The house is nice, fairly big, a bit dated but comfortable. After refreshments and a shower we went out for dinner at Hogs Breath Café and home early to catch up on some sleep.

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Day 5 Perth Saturday 5^th July

We woke at 10am with breakfast in bed – fantastic – then we phoned Tom Daly and went round to his house only 5 mins drive away. His granddaughter Alicia was with him so we all jumped into his Jaguar Limousine, which he uses for his wine tasting business, and went to the Marina for a walk about, then we went to look at the plot of land he has bought to buiuld another house on. Adam and TJ had got interviews for a job at Hogs Breath Café at 3pm so they wnet off for that and we sat and reminisced about old times with Tom til then returned. We also phoned Racheal, his ex wife and arranged to meet up next weekend. We tried to get some food shopping on the way home but everywhere was closing so we cooked dinner with what was in the fridge and watched a DVD in the evening. The weather is ok, windy, a bit of rain and a bit of sun, around 15 to 20 degrees, cold at night. I think they are still 10 years behind us but are trying hard to keep up, it could be America except they drive on the left.

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Day 6 Perth Sunday 6^th July

We woke to warm sunshine this morning and after breakfast on the terrace we drove to the beach and watched the surfers riding the waves which crashed onto the beach. After spending a small fortune on stocking the cupboards with food we ate lunch and Adam and Bob rigged up the hammock they had bought in Singapore, (they put a mattress underneath when they tried it out – just in case). During the afternoon we went looking for job vacancies in Hillary’s Marina, a couple of possibilities but most said it was the slow time so they didn’t need any extra help. The nights are very cold , in fact the news said that last night was the coldest this year, so we bought some wood and Bob lit the wood burner and we moved the TV into the dining area where the wood burner is so that we can stay warm. During dinner we decided to drive to Perth City tomorrow.

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Day 7 Monday 7th July
This was our first trip into Perth City, our first impression was that it wasn’t very big – well shopping streets are 2, plus lots of little arcades that run between. It was very cool in comparison to Singapore so we had to buy jackets, took some doing but we both found a bargain! We had some lunch in one of the many eateries (I think all Perth people must eat out) and spent some time in the internet café updating the blog and checking our emails, thanks to those of you who have emailed us with your news, glad to hear that you are ok. Finally after orientating ourselves (via free buses all around the city) we called in the tourist info to gen up on what was good to do.