Six - Singapore Twas Passion Down In The Tropics Our last day in Singapore began with packing up and leaving our bags in The Mitraa as we set off to explore Little India and Chinatown. We started by looking at the two temples close to our accommodation. The first, Leong San See is a Taoist temple whilst Sakaya Buddha temple was Hindu Buddhist. The latter was built with funds donated by Aww Boon Haw who made his millions from Tiger Balm. Both were pretty nice although Sri Srinivasa that followed overshadowed both of these. After a quick potter around we headed for lunch, having more Indian food whilst Leanne preferred a Subway. As we left, a storm arrived and as the rain was pouring down, we decided to give Little India a miss and proceeded straight ... read more

Day Four Part Two - Singapore - Hoooooooooooooooters!! Landing at Changi was as smooth as can be and soon we were off and through immigration. We walked into the customs hall and the humidity hit us like a wave. When you see local staff fanning themselves you know it isn’t just you. Rather than a taxi we opted to get to our accommodation on the MRT, the cleanest metro system going. Once we arrived at our stop we faced a 5 minute walk to the hostel with the packs on. We even stopped for water as it was a shock to the system. The Mitraa was superb from when we walked in the door and a step up from the Ah Shan in Hong Kong. Angela got to do the laundry so her Monica side was ... read more

Day Three - Peak Performance & Going the Extra Mile After rising late and finally pushing out the door late morning, we eased the girls into the trip with a McCafe (McDonalds) breakfast. This seemed to give everyone a kick and the delights of Hong Kong started to have more of an impression on the lil laydees. A first MTR trip (so much nicer than the Tube a few days earlier) down to the Harbour led us to the impressive Peninsula and the delightful Pan Pacific. The best was to come though. The Star Ferry ride from Tsim Tsar Tsui to Central is a journey I could never tire of. HK$9 took four of us across Victoria Bay with the relaxing breeze countering the effects of the peeking midday sun. It offered the girls their first ... read more

Day One - And it begins, cry havoc It’s early to rise and already, travelling with three laydees is a ‘challenge’. It will be a long four weeks methinks but then again it is four weeks in SE Asia just as Belfast sees snow and icy roads. Anyhow, it’s a short hop over to Heathrow before the bags are thrown into left luggage for the day. Express into Paddington for the obligatory picture with the eponymous bear statue and the foray onto the Tube. Now I’ve been slooow at an unfamiliar ticket machine before but good God, some people are defective. How long does it take two people to top up an Oyster card? Too long and my normal sunny disposition begins to wane. Soon we are on the way though and head straight to Victoria ... read more