Well my lack of planning anything is asia has caught up with me. I spent all day yesterday on the phone with airlines and reading travel info. I am stuck here an extra day, but leave tomorrow for Bangkok then overland it to near Puket Thailand to learn to scuba on the island of Koa Tao and that area for about 8 days. Then most likely overland it to Phnom Phen in Cambodia where I do a jungle motorcycle tour for 7 days then fly back to Singapore to spend 6 days in Bali but I still need to buy that [View Full Entry]

---

---

We got our internet access last week and our shipment from the US arrived on Friday which means that we have our computer so we can update the blog! So much has happened in the past two weeks. I will try to break it up into a couple postings. Our first day in Singapore (Wednesday) was pretty mellow since we were still adjusting to the time change. Phil’s mom took us to a local mall to show us what we might expect to see in Penang. Asian malls are not totally different from US malls in the kinds of shops they [View Full Entry]

---

---

We have arrived in Singapore! Oregon gave us a very fitting send off, 60 degrees and raining which was a surprise after the perfect summer weather we had been having. Our flight between Portland and LA was as normal as it could be thought it was delayed a bit by the lightning and hail. I do love Oregon :-) The topper for that leg of our journey was the 8-year-old who was belching on the backs of our heads while we waited for the plane to arrive. LAX wasn't too bad. Our walk to the international terminal was quite nice due [View Full Entry]

---

---

We decided to make the most of having a stop over in Singapore, to stay an extra day and do some shopping and see the sights. We left our big backpacks at the airport and took little day packs with us.. Stepping out of the air conditioned airport was a shock... as a big wave of heat hit us! Stayed at this nice little hotel in the middle of a local area, we saw no tourists walking around there at all! Next day we went shopping(great shopping!!!) did the tourist thang, ie. the boat cruise and had a wonderful traditional lunch [View Full Entry]

---

---

Just arrived in Singapore after an 11 hour flight from Heathrow, so this is duty free number 3 of 4 today. Just waiting for my flight to Phuket. It's a chilly 32 C at the mo. Singapore Airlines are amazing. Very polite and helpful. The facilities on the plane are class. 60 + channels and movies built into the seat. The best part is the real time gps navigation screen. I could see exactly where I was at any one time. Very cool flyin over Afganistan and Kabul. Desolate doesn't even begin to describe the landscape there. Also flew over Phuket [View Full Entry]

---

---

On arrival at Singapore Airport, we were greeted by the cutest baby you have ever seen (we may be a bit biased - but she is gorgeous). Gill finally got to meet her niece Chloe face to face. We were staying with Jenny and Simon whilst were waiting for our Vietnamese visas to be processed. Our first stop was back to their appartment and then off to the pub to catch up with Simon (who was in dire need of Gill's physio services as he had slipped a disc!!!). The next day all the girls went shopping on Orchard Road - [View Full Entry]

---

---

I went to Changi prison museum and chapel today before going to the airport. The tour that I had was very touching, thought-provoking and of course, saddening. I'd read a lot of Changi, such as The Diary of A Girl in Changi, and other books from Australian men held there. Awful stories of 10,000 Aussie guys in a prison area built for 1,000. I'm getting more and more of a rounded view on the war, now having been to Hiroshima twice, Okinawa, the Battle Box and Changi Prison here, Nanjing (Nanking), the Australian War Memorial and other small sites and memorials [View Full Entry]

---

---

I'm at Changi airport writing this. Leaving Singapore I thought it was a good time to go back and mention a few of the cool, funny and last things I've noticed and not written about yet. First of all, Dengue Fever There are big posters everywhere. Like at bus stops and inside train stations. They say "Stop it now Before it kills." "Get rid of stagnant water around your home or workplace." Buses I usually find catching buses in foreign places the most scary thing. I don't know why. Catching buses in Singapore isn't ve [View Full Entry]

---

---

I had planned for a ten-hour lay-over in Singapore on my way to Capetown from Taipei. It was my second time in Singapore, having been there once in 1999, though it was with a tour group. First off, I hate tour groups. They control your time, and you always have to wait for the slowest in the group to get ready. And the Chinese ones at least, they always take you to eat at the Chinese restaurant no matter what country you’re in. I think I could get a more cultural experience from watching a foreign film than by traveling with [View Full Entry]

---

---

Over my time away, I've been to a lot of museums. So I thought I'd tell you a bit about each one. They are all really fantastic. And I couldn't pick a favourite. THERE'S A LOT IN THIS ENTRY, AS I'VE GONE AND PUT ALL MY MUSEUM STUFF TOGETHER, NOT ON THE SEPARATE DAYS I'VE GONE. I WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED IF YOU DON'T READ ALL THIS IN ONE SITTING. BUT I WOULD BE DISAPPOINTED IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IT ALL EVENTUALLY... (IT IS ALL FASCINATING STUFF!! AND ALL PLACES YOU SHOULD GO IF YOU COME HERE)..... CHECK IT OUT WHEN [View Full Entry]

---

---