Anne Coates hits Singapore and the Aussi lifestyle!

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Goodday all!

We have now arrived in Australia, after a fab week in Singapore with Mum...

Last Tuesday we dragged ourselves out of our pit, after our last night in the creakiest bed ever! Double bed's now being the norm whenever either of us moved, we woke the other one up! The bus to Singapore was boring, however, we were both excited for it to be over, as this would be our last bus journey in South East Asia... although I think secretly both of us had managed to convince ourselves this would be the last one we would ever do - forgetting all the even longer bus journies we still has ahead of us!
Upon arrival in Singapore we were shocked at all the rules and regulations - even instructing us how to queue! We had already read that you could cross roads unless you were at a pedestrian crossing or chew chewing gum, but soon found out pepper spray was banned (not that either of us carried this!) and that you could be shot for doing any of the above! Needless to say we were very well behaved when disembarking the bus and trying to flag a cab - in the pouring rain!
The Fullerton Hotel was amazing, however we both felt VERY embarressed turning up with our scruffy backpacks and numerous plastic bags and half-empty water bottles! (My backpack was officially on its last legs, with all the straps broken and rips in it, meaning I had to tie my bag together to stop it from exploading!
We surprised Mum by knocking on the room door and immeadiately trashed the room, by dumping bags and clothes on every surface! We headed down to the pool for lunch and a quick dip, before a thunderstorm struck up and we hurried inside to shower, leaving the bathroom a mess however we were sparkling clean, probably for the first time since we stayed at The Tara Ankor in Siem Reap! The balcony had had an absolutley fab view of the city when we had first arrived in the room, but due to the storm there was now a think fog preventing us from seeing anything at all!
We headed out for dinner, no surprises for guessing what we chose! After I had filled myself with my Italian cuisine, we headed back and crashed out!

Obviously I had to be woken up for breakfast the next day, however I was extremely glad I was as a huge selection of cheese, bread, muffins, pastries, hot food, cereal and fruit greeted me! After trying everything and feeling very full, we headed for Sentosa. It was a perfect sunny day and we got the cable car over the city! Sentosa was amazing however this was the first realisation of how expensive things in Singapore were compared to the rest of South East Asia and how much more expensive things were going to become!
We headed to the aquarium first adrmiring the fish and avoiding the stingrays and the sharks! Next stop was one of the beaches where we enjoyed the heat and the cool sea for a good few hours. Our last stop was a Pink Dolphin Show which was enjoyable, but all three of us thought it was cruel the way these creatures were captivated and forced to perform, especially since mum and I had seen wild Dophins only a few years ago. Sentosa reminded me slightly of a Stepford Wive's environment as everything was too perfect, however I guess thats the appeal of it!
We had all been drenched in sweat for most of the day so we all welcomed a long cool shower back at the room, before champagne and canapes and then dinner.

After a glass of champagne and a huge breakfast (yet again!) we headed to Orchard Road to the shopping Malls. This trip was sucessful for both Sophie and I and we happily headed back to the hotel with our bags, only to be greated with already heaving rucksacks and mum's bulging suitcase and soon wondering how we were going to fit it all in! We enjoed afternoon tea... with the hotel staff laughing at the amount I consumed! Alex and Jon had given mum and I some money to have a treament each, so the three of us headed down to book much needed treatments, then mum and I headed for a glass of champagne before we headed for our facials, body scrubs and massages. The treatments were amazing and it made me so relaxed! Thank you Alex, Jon, Tobes and Pip!

Friday was our last day in Singapore and with mum! After another big breakfast Soph and I headed to Marina Square shopping centre for some last minute buying of essentials... however we both managed to buy heels for Australia, however in or defense they were a bargin buy! After a late lunch and our last taste of authentic South East Asian food, mum and I headed to Central Market, whilst Soph chose to rest in the luxury and quiet of the room! The market trip was very sucessful for both involved!
On our return the three of us headed for our last treat of champagne and canapes, then we taxied it to Singapore Zoo for our night safari. We had all heard a lot about the zoo so our expectations were high. Unfortunately we couldnt use flash photography which meant photo's were limited, but it was good to see a wide variety of animals. We encountered a scary moment with a flying squirrell which narrowly missing our heads, involving much screaming and bumping into one another!
Back at the hotel we enjoyed a G&T in the Post bar before bed.

Up very early the next day we enjoyed our last huge breakfast and then heaved our bags downstairs and into the cab. Although I was excited to go to Australia I was very sad to leave mum! Singapore Airport was amazing, however we didnt have enough time to fully enjoy it as before we knew it it was time to board our plane! During the flight i managed to watch three films and enjoy the copeous amounts of food and drink supplied! The only downside was the annoying "sleeping man" (as we called him) who was sitting next to me, who took up the entire arm rest and put his hairy bare feet on my bag!!!
In Brisbane airport we were greeted by sniffer dogs and scanners and were informed we had to declare whether we were bringing goods into the country. However, after much panicking and wondering whether we would have to empty our entire bags, our bags were routinely scanned and we were sent on our way!
Maria (a very old family friend, who used to live down the road from us, who's son is five hours younger than me) was there to pick us up from the airport! We enjoyed an evening of champagne and spag bol!

On Sunday we surfaced at around midday, finding everybody else had already been up for a good few hour, Maria had been up since 6 am. We soon learnt that most Australian's get up very early as the day gets hot very quickly and gets dark early! After a big fry up, we went to get ready... reappearing two hours later. Everyone was astonished at how long this had taken us and has now become a joke evertime we get ready!
Maria and Paul took us to a local winery and for a tour of the town, filling up the car with amazing amounts of meat for the "Barbie" that night!
I think I ate my own body weight in meat and am very happy not to have to worry about meat or food anymore! One by one Ross and Rory's (Maria and Paul's two sons) friends turned up and we drank late into the night and I even attempted to learn to play pool!

Today we were woken by Paul at 10am, a bit to early for me... who had gone to bed at 4am! Paul made us breakfast, then Rory took us to the city for a sightseeing day. We had Tapinyaki for lunch where we had to catch our own food as the chef threw it at us, which ended up in sophie getting covered in raw egg! This was some of the best meat we've had since we left home!
The three of us went of the City Cat, a boat down the river, which supplied us with yet more amazing views. After helping Rory choose a necklace for his girlfriend we headed back for dinner and a night infront of the T.V., which we had both longed for since we left home!

love to all! xxx

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