Blogs from Singapore, Asia - page 326

We have just checked out of the hotel after spending a great time here (even with the humidity). Yes, Dave G we did visit Dave's favourite place (Hooters!) and I am a fan too! Great air conditioning! That said, we have spent a great deal more time in more traditionally singaporean venues. Yesterday we spent the day at Mount Faber which we accessed by cable car and then went for a river cruise on a bumboat before heading to the Night Safari at Singapore Zoo. The safari was great and would recommend it to anyone who visits these parts. Today we have walked round Little India, Bugis market and on the way back to the hotel we stopped at Raffles where Ginnie had the famous Singapore Sling! Killing time now before heading out to the airport ... read more

Well, I got a bit ahead of myself trying to catch up on journal entries. I forgot to put in my day spent in Singapore. My flight from Darwin to Thailand (aboard Singapore's budget airline, Tiger Air) had a 12 hour stopover in Singapore, so I took advantage to see this city. My 3:15am departure from Darwin arrived in Singapore at 6:00am. Clearing customs was a breese, as we were the only flight coming into the budget terminal at this point, but my first indication that I wasn't in Kansas anymore was the military types patrolling the airport with machine guns. I don't think I will ever get comfortable seeing these guns in real life, even if they are not pointed at anyone. Singapore is a sparkling, clean city, even though the repealed the chewing gum ... read more

Couldn't resist popping into the world renowned Zoo yesterday, but unfortunately the photos didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped, but nevertheless it was a good day out. Took the cable car over to the Plastic Fantastic island of Sentosa, Singapore's little tourist heaven with artificial beaches overlooking oil tankers....lovely, but more importantly one last chance for tan top up! One last day on the beach.... I can't believe today has finally come. Today I go home. Mostly I'm ecstatic! Can't wait to set foot on British soil again, although I know it's probably be a rather large anticlimax. I'm longing for the cool weather, a pint of northern tap water from the Lakes and some non-Halal chocolate, never mind a large portion of greasy fish and chips....mmmmmmm. I just hope there are no problems ... read more

Today is the NUS Rag Day 2006. Rag Day is a tradition in NUS (National University of Singapore) and it is an annual event where each of the different faculties and halls of residence builds a carnival-style float, integrates the float with a musical dance, and creates a spectacular show. This year (2006) is the first year where I participated in Rag as a spectator. In 2003 I joined Science Rag as a freshman, in 2004 I joined the Science Rag committee, and in 2005 I missed the Rag Day because I was doing my attachment in Vancouver, Canada. This year, due to heavy workload in school and other commitments, I didn't join the Science Rag team. Instead of building the float and entertaining my friends (like what I did in 2003 and 2004), this time ... read more

Here we are at Changi airport awaiting our flight home to Melbourne. That departs at 9.00pm and we get into Melbourne at around 7.00am local. So another long day. Anyway, back to where we left off. Yesterday we did not do a hell of a log. We slacked around the hotel in the morning and then decided that we would go to Bugi (pronounced 'Boogie' Street). Now back in the day when Bird and I were here in the 70s, Bugis Street was a favourite haunt for tourists. During the day it was a normal street with shops and food stalls, but at night it changed to a mecca for those wanting something different. That came in the form of blokes, dressed at girls, and if I might say so, very beautiful girls. Those who remember ... read more