17. 13-20th Oct. Mmmmm.....meat!!!

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13/10/07
I said my sad goodbyes to Lee and Chloe and was at the bus station by 9.30am. There was only one other backpacker on the bus and her name was Georgie from Bristol. It turned out really well as even though it was designated seating she ended up in the seat in front and i do like to talk! At our rest stop there was a pond which had two fish that i can only describe as carps on steroids. They were huge! About 1.5m in length. We asked around and eventually found out they were Dragon Fish costing around twenty thousand pounds each. They believe the fish bring them good luck...they best do for that price! We arrived in Singapore at 5pm and decided to walk around on foot rather than get a taxi. Not to sure this was the right move as it was roasting hot and it turned out we were miles away from where we wanted to be. Standing out like tourists holding out our maps looking puzzled in was only a question of seconds till two young girls came to our rescue and pointed us in the right direction. I said goodbye to Georgie after swapping details as I had already accomodation booked. I turned up at Hang Out around 6pm looking hot and bothered, checked in and got he keys to my dorm. This guest house was awesome and easily the best place i have stayed so far. I entered my dorm room to find a Chineses bloke sitting in the corner. Having a conversation with this bloke was hard work as he was very strange in a kind of creepy way. I had a well deserved shower and headed to the lounge room where the internet was free. Shortly after that i met up with Matt and Amy and we went out for dinner. On our way back we stopped off at the shop to buy some food for the next day as we were going to the zoo. We were all in bed and asleep by midnight.

14/10/07
We could have taken the easy and expensive route to get to the zoo by getting a taxi but we opted for the more fun and miles cheaper public transportation option. This entailed the unbelievably clean underground and then a bus. We arrived at the zoo and the big kid in Matt burst out with excitement. He could hardly control himself...i was expecting to see a wet patch appear on his shorts! The Zoo was brilliant and all the animals looked healthy. It was one of them zoos where the enclosure resembled the animals natural habitat and there were no visible metal bars. The White Tigers were awesome and probably my favourite. A pair of Baboons performed a live sex show for us and not suprisingly Matt and I acted like adults and...found it hilarious. We were back at our guest house by 5pm and Matt and Amy got dolled up to go out and celebrate their anniversary (i think its their 7th?!). They went to the famous Raffles where they would spend alot of money on a few drinks...I think Matt took some persuading as he loves his budgeting! I on the other hand had a cheap night in planned of eating and watching a film in the lounge area. I didnt even get to eat as i met some girl sat in the seating area outside and our numbers grew as people joined us. I had a really fun night but there was one very strange man who kept interupting everyones converstaion to ask the wierdest questions. It was that wierd I was looking around to see if i could spot a camera as i thought i was on one of those hidden camera shows! This man was from Pakistan and he was wearing a smart shirt, casual shorts, white socks pulled up and trainers. He was talking to me about religion, politics and god knows what else. I thought at one point the girls behind him were going to wet themselves with laughter when he sat facing me about two yards away asking me question after question...it felt like i was getting interrigated! He introduced me to his friend from South Korea but this bloke was normal to which i was so thankful! I spoke to him about the staus of Korea and enjoyed the converstaion. I felt like i had learnt quite a bit. Half way through the converstaion though the bloke from Pakistan stood up and announced he was going for a run (it was about 1am!!) and about 2 minutes later we saw hin running down the street like Mr Bean! I took this opportunity to go to bed before he came back!

15/10/07
I woke up in the morning to find the wierd Chinese bloke who normaly sits the corner of the room sat up in his bed facing me...not a great way to wake up! The three of us checked out by 11am and went for a walk around Singapore. We visited the biggest water fountain in the world but unfortunately it was not on. We went down to its base where you can walk around it three times for good luck but the security guard stopped us as it just closed that second...only if the security guard had known my series of bad lucksince i had been travelling!ha They would have had a red carpet rolled out ready for me!ha We were allowed to use our guest houses facilities the rest of the day while we waited for our flight in the afternoon. We watched the film the Ring and left about 4pm. We opted for the underground tube again which took us straight to the airport. At the airport i bumped into Georgie again and spoke to her for a while before we junped on our plane. I think we were all sad to leave Asia but we were all looking forward to Australia and meeting up with Pete And Kellie. I worked it out that i would of been able to watch three films during the duration of the flight. I watched two movies and 95% of the last one...which wasnt to annoying at all!

16/10/07
We arrived around 7am and Pete and Kellie were there waiting for us. We had a short drive back to theirs with Kellie taking a few detours showing us around their lovely city. Kellie and Pete had to work and the rest of us needed some sleep so Matt and Amy disapeared into their room and I had the very comfortable couch. I had no sleep at all on the flight and i think Matt and Amy only had a few hours. We slept till midday and since Pete was back early we went for a walk down to the beach and strolled back up through the main part of town. We walked up one major street and there were only three types of shops...cake shops, cafes and bars...we all liked this street alot!ha It must have looked like to people there that Matt and I had never seen cakes before as we were stopping at every shop looking through the windows at all the cakes on display and going, "ah...cheese cake," and "ah...chocolate cake!". I think Pete had enough when we all got excited about seeing a pigeon again!ha We stopped off at bar and played pool for a while. Matt got beaten by a man three times his age and Matt took it suprisingly well. Later on we decided to walk down to the shops and get some food for dinner...we were going to have a BBQ baby!! I girl stopped us in the street and asked us if anyone would like to model for her as they would get a free hair cut. Her luck was in as Matt needed his cutting and a mirror is his best friend!ha I found out that you cant greet people by asking if they are ok as they think you mean "are you hurt," or something like that. The girl behind the counter gave me some very strange looks and it was Peter who explained to me why!ha Matt eventually turned up two hours later after Pete and I were about to go out searching for him and by the look on his face you could tell he enjoyed every minute of being pampered! We had an amazing feast and our first Ozzy BBQ was worth the wait. God have we missed eating meat! We all watched a film afterwards and peaple retired to their rooms afterwards. I stayed up watching tv till 2am even though i knew i should be trying to atch up on some sleep. Why is turning off the tv and putting the controler down so hard?!

17/10/07
We slept till 10.30am and lazed around for a while before Matt and I took advantage of the free gym. This is going to sound sad to some people but we have missed the gym. Matt and I were a bit confused though as the gym we are used to is covered in mirrors and this gym had none. We didnt know where to look!ha Come night time we headed down town where Pete organises a poker night between friends. It takes place in quite a swanky bar on the top level where there were a few tables layed out. While Pete and his friends played away Matt, Amy, Kellie and I drunk away and enjoyed the free food. Towards the end of the night the buy ins to join the poker games got lower and since Matt and I develpoed some Dutch courage with the help of beer we thought it would be fun to join in. Before hand i spent a while telling Matt not to go all in at first and study the others on how they play...i went all in within three hands and lost!ha Matt stayed in till the last four so he done well but won nothing. The last sit in i ended up winning and broke even over the course of the night. I learnt by my mistake! By the end of the night Amy was well drunk bless her and Kellie was passed out on the couch. We were back around midnight after a very enjoyable night out.

18/10/07
The majority of us woke up in the morning accompanied by headaches but Pete cooked us up the perfect cure...a full English breakfast! With that in our bellys we jumped on a tram with a football under our arm and went to the park (i should really start calling it soccer...but i refuse to!ha). Amy and Kellie sat on a grassy hill doing what girls do best...talking and us boys acted like big kids...thats what we do best! We had to borrow some construction cones to use as goal posts but im glad to say we put them back afterwards. We played for hours under the scorching sun. So much so that the girls got fed up waiting and decided to go shopping. I ended up losing a game that went on for hours which meant that Matt and Pete had a free shot at me bending over with my bum in the air...not to sure where that rule came from?! It was a bit worrying looking back between my legs seeing a huge smile on Matt and Petes face looking directly at my rear aiming to take a shot. Pete hit the jackpot and Matt scuffed his shot...obviously enjoying the view to much!ha We stayed at the park till 5pm and than realised that none of us had a key. Luckily for us the girls were back before us and Kellie cooked us a chicken stir fry. Very tastey!! We watched a rented dvd and considering it had Robin Williams in the film...it wasnt bad. Pete and I stayed up and watched another film afterwards and didnt get to sleep till 2am. Once again having the use of a tv at my finger tips denied me sleep!

19/10/07
I slept till 11am and enjoyed every second of the deep sleep. Matt and Amy went off to visit friends of their family for lunch and I spent an annoying few hours on the internet booking a flight and arranging a bus to take me to Whyalla so i could visit my family there. After i finally got it all sorted i blew off some steam at the gym and Matt and Amy turned up shortly afterwards. Just before they did though a couple walked in and asked me for directions...what a bloke to ask! I would struggle to give them directions in my home town!ha We were to go out for a big night out around 8pm so we spent an amusing few hours trying to get ready. Matt and Amy had pre-planned going out in Melbourne and had bought some smart looking clothes in Asia for the occasion. Myself on the otherhand struggled. I ended up looking like a skater boy down the park who had just mugged a passer bye for his shirt! Pete and Matt took great pleasure in winding me up and the girls tried to keep a straight face by telling me i looked fine. I told Matt that i looked like a pick 'n' mix after he tried to sound comforting and then he ran off to his room laughing. He ran off shouting "I have to write that down before i forget so I can put that down in my travelblog!!". Good mates are always there for you in times of need!!ha We started the night round one of Pete and Kelies friends and then headed off down town. It was a really good night out and the $8.50 bottles of beer were going down a treat. We were back home by 2am and Pete and I decided that since the night was young to head back out again. We tried to get into this swanky night club by saying we were on the guest list but suprise suprise...we didnt get in. We found a club that would have us and we stayed there till...god knows! Pete and I cant even rememeber getting home!

20/10/07
Now even though im not to sure what time we got back, it must have been around 5am. With that in mind imagine the state of me when i got woken up at 8.45am by Pete and Kellie telling to to get ready as Petes friends were going to arrive in the next 10mis to take us to golf! Pete was hyper from the drink still but the hangover had well and truely kicked in for me! Kellie found the whole situation hysterical. We knew we had golf in the morning so we only had ourselves to blame. Luckily Petes friends didnt judge me by first impression and we had a well good laugh. After a 10 on the first hole i played well considering i havent played a game of golf for about a year. In fact the better i felt the worse i played?! It came down to the last hole and Pete and I ended up winning with the same score. I think its the first time for me when i have been teeing of from the tee with bats in their hundreds hanging down from trees directly behind you. I lost one ball and decided not to look for it when i realised it was close to a river...a river that looked to crocodile infested for my liking!ha Both Pete and I managed to hit about three trees each with the ball bouncing back onto the fairway so the lost ball count could have easily been more. It would be safe to say that i wouldn't go hunting for lost balls like I do back in England...them bunny rabbits are no match for the animals you can find in OZ! The drive back home felt like it lasted hours and as soon as we got back i collapsed in Matt and Amys room and slept till dinner. Pete had been playing the perfect host while I was in my coma. He cooked a delicious Sunday roast which is one of the meals that Matt, Amy and I all said we missed. After dinner the lights went off and my friends suprised me with a birthday cake. It was a lovely touch especially as the cake had 19 on it rather than my slightly older age. Afterwards I walked to the internet cafe as i had arranged with my family to talk to them all as they were all round my sisters for Isabels (my beautiful nease) birthday party. I was there till closing time at midnight and the two hours flew by talking to my family. We were using the web cam so seeing them all was great. My friends Duncan, John and Amy were even there as a suprise and that was the first time i had talked to them as well so that was awesome. As midnight struck i had everyone singing happy birthday to me. I might be on the other side of the world but your family and friends still have an impact on you no matter how far away they are. The 15 minute walk back was fairly tough though but speaking to my family and friends just reminded me how lucky I am to have them in my life (I know thats fairly deep and im sorry!ha). I got back and Pete, Matt and I stayed up watching football till 3am. I said my goodbyes as Kellie was taking me to the airport early in the morning. I was looking forward to another day of travelling and i was sure it was going to be a birthday that i would never forget...i was right!!!!ha

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Photos

Our dorms in Singapore.
Just slightly different to what im used to!