Well. Last day. Boy that month has flown. I wanted to see as much of the city as possible today so set out early. I took the shuttle into Orchard Road and on the advice of a couple on the bus, went to the underground train and purchased a tourist pass for $18, of which $10 is repaid on the return of the card. The card entitles you to 12 trips. Pretty good if you get to use the entire 12 trips. I travelled completely around Singapore in just over an hour. The trains are amazing. Clean, roomy and well planned. [View Full Entry]

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Took the free shuttle into Orchard Road again and had a good wander. What a world away from the countries I have just visited. Names like Armani, Dolce, Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Massimo, Marks & Spencer, Chanel are everywhere. All the cars are clean and in excellent condition. The streets are clean and lots of vegetation. The many pedestrian over passes and undergrounds mean you rarely have to negotiate traffic lights. You never see any jay walkers. The traffic flows freely without many pesky pedestrians clogging up the works. Even the buskers and disabled people selling little packs of [View Full Entry]

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Went to see Wut's baby. There was a large celebration in progress. As they are muslim there was no alcohol, but lots of watermelon, other fruit, water and juices. The celebration starts first thing in the morning, and continues all day. When we arrived there were no adult men present, but lots of women sitting around talking and watching the baby. Sounds like an Aussie BBQ doesn't it!! Christine and I decide to have a pedicure before she went to the airport. I enjoyed mine, but Christine winced the way through hers. After she left I decided to revisit Pantip Plaza, [View Full Entry]

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Saw another side of Pattaya today, a much nicer one. Friends of Nittaya's took me on the tourist drive into the hills at the outside of Pattaya, then along Jom Tien beach. It has some beautiful sights. When we visited the high vantage point there were the usual food stalls, but one had some different fare. The warmers held baked goodies consisting of frogs, scorpions, grasshoppers, large bugs that looked like very big cockroaches, and many more smaller insects. I didn't see anyone buy any and declined the offer of a taste. They must do a roaring trade though or they [View Full Entry]

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I left Thailand with yet another dodgy driver. I had negotiated with him to pay 300baht and the highway tolls to get to the airport. They do not like to use their meters believe me. He also tried to get me to go to a sponsor on the way. GIVE ME STRENGTH!!!!!!!!!!!!! The taxi driver appeared to be enamoured with me (or at least my money) and told me I was very beautiful, and perhaps we could go to Phuket together next time I was in Thailand. He was obviously angling for a larger fare, and he certainly wasn't going to [View Full Entry]

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Back in Pattaya. Christine booked a 2 day trip up the River Kwai. She had to get up at 5.00am to go. I lazed around doing nothing. My knees needed the rest. Planned on a massage too. Nittaya wanted me to send some photos for Derek's mum to see her house. [View Full Entry]

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Took a tour to Halong Bay. We were the first to be picked up in the bus at 8.00am. Made quite a few stops on the way, and arrived at Halong Bay at 12.30. The place was full of buses. Apparently they get 2000 people visit each day. We were on the one day tour, but others on our bus were on the 2 day and 3 day tours. They get to sleep on the boat overnight, anf the 3 day people also get to sleep on the island. If only we had more time!!! The bus was an international mix [View Full Entry]

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Well now I've done the bike thing too. Christine went on a tour to My Son which she said was beautiful. I thought I would hire a bike and do all the things I needed to do. Foot massage, tailor, old town and a general look around. I admit I was more than a little concerned, but.....what the hell!! I haven't ridden a bike for many years, and the last one I rode had 11 gears and a very comfortable seat. This bike. The most basic, but the tyres were pumped up. I got off to a very wobbly start, but [View Full Entry]

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News break!!!!!!  5 men from Laos arrested for drug smuggling at the Haon Kiem lake  Celebrities from Australia attend Vietnamese weddings But more about that later! Christine and I decided to have a look around Hanoi today. First we made our way by taxi to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. Another dodgy taxi driver. He asked for 40,000 dong, but we refused and told him to use the meter. Final cost, 18,000 dong. We didn't get to the mausoleum until 11.30 and found it closed. It is only open from 7.00 until 11.00, so missed that one. You can't [View Full Entry]

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Things I have learned in Thailand and Vietnam: 1. Thai drive on the left hand side, Vietnamese drive on the right hand side. When I first got in the taxi at the HCMC airport and the driver got in the LHS, I wondered who was going to drive. However in Vietnam, they also drive on either side of the road at any time and red traffic signals are apparently only a suggestion to stop! They also drive on the footpath regularly. 2. In both countries they do not put toilet paper in the toilet. You are meant to put it in [View Full Entry]

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