Back home!

With my combo of stand-by and waitlisting, I had a long wait in Singapore, but there were a few things that made it easier. I was able to take a shower in the transit hotel. Then there were a couple of 'rest areas' in Terminal 3 with big long stretch out chairs so I was able to lie there quietly for a while with my eyemask on, even though sleep still eluded me.

And they have some excellent services for stand-by passengers in Singapore, run through the Tourist Board. You can get a free shuttle to a couple of places in the city if you want. (I felt a bit too jaded for that one.) They also have a couple of free tours, and I took the "cultural" one at 4pm. They take you out through immigration, then onto an air-conditioned bus. We had an excellent guide who gave a real insight into Singapore's history. And it was amazing to be driven through Chinatown and Little India by bus. I had been to both places before, but in Singapore's heat, you tend to wander them slowly, not going too far away from the MRT station: in the bus we saw interesting parts of these areas that I hadn't passed through before.

Then when we got back to the airport, I didn't need to go airside straight away, and I was able to take advantage of the greater range of cheaper eating options in the basement of T3.

Finally it was time to board the flight back to Auckland. It was slightly shorter than the one from Europe and time seemed to pass a little more quickly, though sleep still eluded me! We had a strong tailwind across much of Australia and made good time. I found it strange that it was possible to cover more than 1000km in an hour when I had just taken many weeks to walk the same!!

In Auckland the people at AirNZ made the necessary changes to my final flight, but it seemed like all the flights to PN were full and I had a long wait. Then suddenly mid-afternoon, I heard my name paged...... Someone hadn't turned up for a PN flight, and the lady in the ticketing/coordination area had remembered me from the morning. Sudddenly I found myself issued with a new boarding pass, and I was off on the final leg home! I was so impressed by this excellent bit of personal service, especially since by this stage I was so very tired.

And so I have had two sleeps (of the jetlagged wake-up-early variety!) back home. And this morning I am even feeling slightly 'normal' again.....

At Terminal 3

Here I am at Changi Airport in Terminal 3, getting ready to go to the Gate Lounge for departure to Paris. I walked over to Terminal 2 after I had checked in, to post a few postcards. Then caught the skytrain back, just for fun, just because I could!! Had a delicious bit of early lunch in the foodcourt in the basement of this terminal. Very delicious. Plus had a pineapple juice Singapore squeezed style with ice. Will soon be sitting down for the long haul to Paris. Catch you all again when I can!

Jurong Bird Park

Today I decided to go to the Jurong Bird Park. I remember going here with Shona when I was only about 23.... mumble mumble years ago, and it has certainly changed since then. I remember being fascinated by the birds back then, but I also remember it was a hot day and there was a lot of walking and not much in the way of shelter. The whole complex now seems to have so much bush there, that though it is hot, it sort of feels a bit sheltered.

It was an easy trip out there on public transport. I caught the MRT out to the end of the line at Boon Lay, past Chinese Gardens (which was the stop for D's apartment when I arrived here in 2006). Then it was an easy transfer onto a Bus #194, air-con, to the Bird Park. It didn't seem like a large proportion of the park's visitors came this way, but it was perfectly easy and straightforward.

There were friendly people near the park entrance, and first off I was told that the penguins were about to be fed. Ahhhh, it was gloriously cold when I went in there! There were five different species in the exhibit, including the Humboldt, which is found near South America. There were King Penguins. It was fascinating watching them swim, as they seemed to use their wings in a gliding motion, as if they were gliding effortlessly through the air. This contrasted with the puffins who seemed to have to wave their wings frantically to get around in the water. The puffins' beaks also seemed quite odd! There were quite a lot of penguins in the exhibit. Not sure what I really think about them being in such a small space in the tropics, even though I loved seeing them.

I thought I might climb on the Panorail train next, but another friendly guide pointed out that the "birds 'n buddies" show was about to start. So I headed in that direction. The bird I loved the most was the Hornbill, which flew across above the audience, displaying its beautiful wings. Luckily, a little later, I happened on a talk about the hornbill as well.

Next I climbed on the Panorail, which travels in a circuit around the park, passing high above many of the exhibits. While some of the birds are caged, there are some very big aviaries as well. The first stop was at Lory Station, where the Lory Loft is full of parakeets. It is "9 storeys" high, and you come in near the top of all the rainforest, then walk a little lower along a wooden structure that has 'swingbridges' and towers. The lorikeets have a large area in which to fly freely.

Next stop was the Waterfall Aviary, which the monorail goes right into. It is huge and doesn't feel like you are in an aviary, but rather in a tropical rainforest. The waterfall is man-made, and gives moisture into the air, that is beneficial to the birds. I was fascinated by the various species of tropical starlings, with irridiscent feathers... quite amazing!

There was plenty to see at the park.... and I spent several hours wandering there. There is still plenty I haven't seen, but maybe I will go there on my return... decided there was no point making myself see 'everything' in the heat.

I took the 'long way' home on the MRT, just to see some different apartment blocks, and yes, to sit down in some air-con comfort for a while. It was 3pm when I got back to Little India station, but a nearby restaurant was happy to serve me at any time. (I will have to remember in the next few days to eat at the 'proper' French times, or I will go hungry!)

Now I have re-packed my bags with warm clothing at the top, ready for a most dramatic change in climate!

Night Safari

Yesterday I went with one of my dorm-mates, Sarah from England, to see the Night Safari. We paid for a transfer, which was a great idea, as I really appreciated being whisked quickly straight home later in the evening. And Mohammed our driver was a very friendly guy.

Mohammed had a theory about the best way to do things, which was that you saw the show first, then went on the tram, as otherwise the 8.30pm show was often full. So we lined up in the queue for the 7.30pm show, only to have the heavens open at about 7pm. And open they did, in truly tropical style. (When we got back to the hostel in town, the people on reception were amazed as it hadn't even rained in town.)

So then we joined the zillions in the queue for a tram ride. But they had the trams rolling along quickly and the queue moved quickly, and before we knew it, we were on a tram. They have artificial 'moonlight' conditions. And it was quite wonderful rolling through the rainforest seeing all the animals alongside. They even had a few elephants, right near us. I noticed that they were feeding on green branches that I had seen being taken in on a truck a bit earlier. So the 'nearness' is kind of stage-managed, even though it doesn't seem like it. There was also a big bull elephant with the most enormous tusks. Unfortunately the person in front of us broke the rule (I think just because she forgot) and flashed her camera as we passed this. Yikes! But fortunately big bull elephant didn't miss a beat and carried on eating.

We thought we would be too late and the 8.30pm show would be full, but luckily there was still room. The person leading the commentary was entertainment herself, a real stand-up comedienne. Sure, a lot of her stuff was scripted, but she also ad-libbed with people in a few places and she was very very funny. A young English child next to us was taken up and used in an act, where an animal had to smell which hand she was hiding a grape in. And a 'macho male' - who turned out to be a very shy Kiwi- had to go up and get a huge python wrapped around him. And one poor unsuspecting family had been sitting on a bench seat that this python lay beneath- and they did a 'mock hunt' for it. The whole show was excellent and had quite a range of animals. It was fun!

The only 'downside' of taking the transfer, was that we needed to be ready to be picked up at 9.30pm, so lacked time to go walking on the trails. But as I was feeling quite jaded by then anyhow, I was quite glad to go. And amazingly, I enjoyed a wonderful night's sleep. I woke once at 4am, then went back to sleep until 6.30am. This is the quickest transition to normal sleep out of jetlag I can recall, all ready to give myself the next dose of it for Paris.

Oh, I did wake one other time. Just after 11pm, although several people in the room were sleeping, Ms Plastic Bag Torturer #2 began her act. I swear she had a whole pack full of plastic bags of an especially noisy variety! The thing is, she was still asleep at 7.30am when I came down to breakfast, so either she is panicking by now as she forgot to set her alarm for an early start.... or...

PS I am of course, Miss Sanctimonious. And I am now off to Jurong Bird Park, where it could well be quite warm!

Singapore History Museum

Once I got over the fact that I hadn't slept much I ventured out for the day. First I went to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd..... (Dean, tell Joseph I thought of him there!) I had forgotten how impressed I was last time by the really strong choir. Fans were going full bore in there the whole time, and they had this wonderful way of opening up the windows to get a bit of breeze through.

Then map in hand, I actually managed without too many wrong direction turns to find the Singapore History Museum, which was still being renovated last time I was here. They have done absolutely amazing things with the building. They have added on a huge extension out the back, with a modern link between the two bits, and architecturally it is all harmonious. I think it is amazing.

I arrived just as a free guided tour was leaving and I joined a small, very international group for it. What was best was that the guide was a 'local', well able to put a local slant on all she told us about the history. She was a volunteer, and this was her hobby to 'de-stress' from work. Seems like quite a busy way to spend time on Sunday morning to me!

After the tour I walked back in the heat... very warm by now, to the corner of Bencoolen and Bras Basah. Those are names I remember from the accommodation place, and 'eggs for breakfast' place, that Shona and I hung out in all those years ago. Names may be the same, but the streets have totally changed. Our sleeping building gave way to the wrecker's ball many years ago it would seem, and flash modern buildings are there now. But despite any sadness at the loss of old character, I would have to say that the food court on the corner was great, and it was easy to find something I liked.

I returned to the museum after lunch to see more of some of the exhibits, and wore their audio-guide. By the time I came out, the sky had threatening black bits, and I saw some fork lightning jump out of the sky. Fortunately it never came to anything before I got to the MRT stop, and I managed to get back to the hostel as well before any rain hit.

I have showered off all the sweat, and am now looking forward to my evening at Night Safari. But I can't close without sharing something from Auckland Airport that I forgot. The toilets in the gate lounge 'talk to you'. I am not sure what all the non-English speakers make of it - but it is totally bizarre in English. As you leave, the toilet says something like: "Please leave the door slightly open when you leave. Thank you. Please come again. " I mean..... I ask you..... which man dreamed this up!!!

Jetlag and plastic bag torture!

You will have to forgive me if I only half make sense! My body has determined rhythms of its own. Yesterday evening when I arrived here I was quite tired as it was past my bedtime NZ time. Then I perked up and was wide awake again. Then found my alarm clock with the 'old' time - 3am. So decided I needed to head off to bed as I might not be asleep long.

Hostel bed was very comfy and I slept very well... until 1.30am = 6.30am body time when I usually get up. Groan! Lay there quietly in the dark, feeling quite relaxed about being awake, which was good, as sometimes I am very 'wired' in these early morning times of jetlag. Now you see why I give myself three sleeps worth of stopover.... and I only tend to adjust by an hour a night, so possibly I will be awake 2.30am tonight. But let's hope not.

The other reminder I was away from home was the 'plastic bag torture' - a feature of big city hostels where people need to come and go at odd hours for transport - and something I last experienced in Sydney last year. You'd think that if you knew you had to get up at 4am, you would pack nearly all your bag the night before, and do the last few bits outside the room. Not hard eh!! Well, apparently it is! This one only lasted ten minutes instead of two hours, but she had a very 'special' bag that made the most exquisite noise for at least a full 30 seconds.

Hostel room is very clean, great aircon, good toilet facilities, and there are a bunch of friendly people in there. Unusual design gives us partly individual cubicles. Great amount of space to put all your gear, on a 'table' next to the bed, and in a lockable locker underneath, or even hanging up on provided hangers! Design was done on a computer without user-input though I think - thought of you Tim!!! - as it was a bit tricky to access the locker... ie you needed to crawl under the table area.

The hostel is in a wonderful neighbourhood. At the top of a hill above a small park. Very tranquil spot, but close to all the action, especially in Little India. I saw lots of people eating out down there yesterday evening as I arrived, so I know where to go eat already.

Okey dokey, breakfast time here, so must go indulge in the free hostel breakfast, and that should help me over some jetlag and reset my body clock a bit.

See you later! Margaret

Arrived in Singapore!

Well, it has been a long day and my body is telling me to get to bed already..... but I will do a quick post. I ended up with an aisle seat when I asked at the gate lounge desk... yeah... always happier if I can get up and walk around on a long flight. And interestingly, I am sure a daytime flight seemed longer than a night one! But a few time zones and quite a few hours later, I have reached the equator. Very friendly crew down our end of the plane which was very pleasant.

The hostel is lovely. Took the MRT here then had to work out which direction I needed to walk in from the Little India station. Once I had finally worked out where the 'carpark' was that I needed to cross diagonally I was home and hosed. It is the Hangout @Mt Emily (YHA) that I am staying in. It is just above a park, and involved a short hill climb to reach here. Amazingly tranquil, yet a hop, skip and a jump from all the activity in Little India and Orchard Rd. Great air-con. And very soon, it won't actually matter whether I find the bed is comfy or not, I am sure I will sleep well!

I have booked a transfer package for the Night Safari tomorrow evening at the Zoo. Possibly there are cheaper options, but this is all inclusive and easy! Now.... to sleep..... Night all!

Singapore temples

Many Singaporeans are of Chinese racial origin and it is not hard to find temples ( though Christian churches are also quite common, and there are mosques as well.) The top two photos are of a temple downtown, and the Buddhist temple was not far from my friend's apartment.

Singapore by Night

Singapore is the kind of place where you eat out every night. There are "food courts" all over the place. Some of them are more up-market and expensive, but many cater for locals and are quite cheap. As I was staying with a 'local" I got to sample food from many food courts.

One of the best I went to was also surprisingly cheap. It was located right by the harbour front near the theatre complex. These photos were all taken near there. The one with the two small wavy light-lines actually shows two of the harbour ferries. The blue lights were in a water feature near the theatre. (Singapore does 'water features' quite well, though they often feel 'planned' rather than 'exuberant' as in France.)

Singapore Apartment 2b

Some more photos from my friend's second apartment in Singapore.

People sometimes had their own individual touches on the landings outside their apartments. These orchids were part of a large 'potted garden' I always passed on the way back to my friend's apartment.

It was Singapore National Day around the time I was there and there were lots of posters up urging people to fly the National flag. Not too many were flown in this particular block. I think it depended a bit on the politics you followed whether you did or didn't.

Singapore Apartment 2

I have a friend currently living in Singapore and I was able to stay with him in his apartment on my way both to and from Europe. He moved apartments while I was away and I took some 'alike but different' photos of his apartment blocks. Here are a few photos of his second block. Sometimes I just liked the patterns and shadows.

Singapore is largely made up of apartment blocks. They were surprisingly roomy inside and lots of elements of the design helped lend more of a 'community feel' than you might expect. A 'plus' was the low crime rate, so that as a woman I felt very safe coming back on my own to the apartment even at night-time.

Washing quite often hung on rods out from the windows in 'Chinese' style.

Covered walkways were incorporated, adding protection from the torrential downpours that could occur, and also adding some shade from the strong sunlight.
This man is lighting an offering to the gods on a special feast day. These huge drums appeared and some people burnt many paper offerings.
In the sheltered area at the bottom of the buildings many things happened. People often gathered to talk or play games around these tables. There were also study carousels where people could study. And sometimes part of the area was used for Buddhist funerals when someone in the block had died.

E28

OK OK so it was a ploy to stop me using the free internet. I had to walk all the way to the furthest gate lounge in the terminal, E28, just before the whole shebang turns into Terminal 1. But there was an e-mail station here in the gate lounge so the ploy never worked. A few more minutes now and we will be boarding our flight and my next blog entry will definitely be from home soil. Bye for now!

Upstairs at Changi

You can tell that I am bored and don't have a good book to read - here I am now upstairs at Changi Airport on another free internet terminal. I just ate some French Fries but am dying for a lettuce and tomato salad so I will make up for it when I get home and be a good girl and have a healthy salad!

At Singapore Airport

It doesn't seem all that long ago that I was at Singapore Airport on my way to Europe. But here I am again and before long, after a night of lost sleep, and four 'lost' hours, I will be in Auckland. Meanwhile I am using the free internet at Changi Airport. Next time I blog I will be a nomad no longer, and will be on home soil and sleeping in my own comfy bed!

Thunder and lightning

I had heard about these kind of storms here in Singapore - spectacular thunder and lightning. One of my final memories of Paris was the pealing of bells from Notre Dame. Looks like one of my final memories of Singapore is going to be a more natural sound and light show emanating from the heavens. This is quite something!

All my bags are packed

All my bags are packed - well not quite yet - half packed - but I am a child of the era of that song... perhaps if I looked back I might find that I even started my travel blog the same way when I left home....

I will be glad to leave Singapore - as a visitor it seems like it is one big shopping mall really and I am not a big shopping mall person. Mind you it is pouring with rain at present and it is warm rain - somehow I doubt the Manawatu rain will be quite the same temperature. Phew, when I say 'pouring' I mean it: it is absolutely bucketing down!

There is another reason to be glad to be leaving Singapore. IMF and/or World Bank - ( I think they are the ones!) -have their meetings here soon. Various roads are going to be closed off from the 10th to the 20th, so traffic could be chaotic. Plus demonstrations are banned here in Singapore - I kid you not. So who knows what will happen.

The thing I find strangest about Singapore is that there is such a lack of awareness of others. I doubt that people mean to be rude - but they seem to just follow their own trajectory in places like the supermarket / trains etc, and take no account of where anyone else may be walking.

I have become accustomed to the heat though- and it feels strange that I will be taking my jacket on the plane with me to make certain I have it ready to put on at the other end!!!!!!

Still lazy!

I have to admit, I have still been lazy. I have been having a holiday after my holiday! I didn't really have too many slow days in Europe but I have made up for it this week. Watching Tv, spending time on the internet, sleeping in.....

But this afternoon I am going to get a wee bit more active again. We are heading up to Seremban, not too far from Kuala Lumpur. So I am about to pack my bag. Nice to be able to pack a small backpack instead of my large one!

This morning I went into town on the bus to go to 10am Mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd. As it turned out, the bus stop was right across the street from the church, which is always helpful in the heat. But today it wasn't the heat that was the issue, it had started pouring with rain. First rain since I have been here. But at the pedestrian crossing near the lights, a lady realised I did not have an umbrella and sheltered me to get over the road under hers, which I much appreciated. She then went into the church as well. The music at this Mass was wonderful, and if I am back in Singapore for next Sunday, I will go again!

Lazy days in Singapore

I know the Singapore Tourist Board won't want to hear this, but I have been enjoying some very lazy days in Singapore while I get over jet lag! I did enjoy some retail therapy on my birthday when I did the expected tourist thing and purchased my new digital camera. Then yesterday I experimented with it around the apartment block where my friend lives. The building shapes actually look quite effective when you capture bits of them on screen.

Yesterday evening I met my friend after work and we went to the Esplanade Theatre complex where we ate at an outdoor foodhall with delicious and cheap food. The views over the water to the buildings were quite spectacular. Guess what though, no camera with me, so we are going back tonight!

At dinner another friend of his was talking about an educational conference she is going to in Auckland, paid for by her school. Hmmm. E-mailed the thought of such an experience I could organise for myself to my boss and got told, predictably, "Yeah Right!" Tui really does have a lot to answer for. (Sorry only Kiwis will really get this!)

Today I was going to get active first thing in the morning. Jetlag clearly still has hold of my body and had other ideas. Slept three hours last night, spent the next three hours wide awake, then went back to sleep and never woke until nearly 11am. And this is me who is usually such an early bird up with the larks. Tomorrow will have to be the early day!

Birthday Girl

Ok ok so I am not going to say how old I am, but I am a birthday girl in Singapore. Thanks to those of you who knew and who sent me birthday e-mails! I started the day feeling quite jetlagged so decided to have a quiet-ish day. Took a short walk to the local supermarket. Felt too tired to read the newspaper I bought, so went back to bed at midday ( not what you are supposed to do with jetlag I know!) and set the alarm for two hours later. Woke up feeling much better and quite refreshed.

Set off for town where I met up with my friend and went shopping. A very Singaporean thing to do believe me! I had managed to break my digital camera when I dropped it not long before I left New Zealand. Decided to replace it. Went into a couple of stores in a huge electronics plaza to get an idea of what was what. Met a couple of quite pushy male salesmen but remained non-commital. Then on a higher floor of the plaza, came across a lovely woman. (She has obviously worked out that 'pushy' doesn't work with some of us!) Decided to buy myself a birthday present then and there. Got an excellent demo of its features from a young man in the store. Plus I will get a small tourist tax refund. I have never spent enough before to be eligible for such a thing.

My friend and I then went out to dinner for my birthday in a very pleasant place. A pleasant birthday in a foreign land, and managed to get over jetlag at the right time to enjoy it!

In Singapore

Had a good flight from Frankfurt though it feels strange to have "lost" six hours. Felt like I never slept much on the flight but suddenly there were only two more hours before arrival, so I actually must have been sound asleep for quite a few hours! I was sitting next to an Italian man who works in Frankfurt and spoke really good English as well.
My friend picked me up from the airport and we came to his apartment. Then we left for downtown where we ate. Singapore buzzes in the evenings. Now, next morning, I am fighting an urge to go back to sleep, but maybe I am about to give in!