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Published: August 2nd 2008
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I guess I should mention that I'm doing this blog a little strangely - I got home from my trip 6 months ago, and I never got around to actually posting the travel journal I was writing during that. I'm heading to Japan at the end of the year and wanted to be able to blog that, so I thought I might as well re-write, polish and post my writings from my Gap Year while I was at it. So, with that little note, as they say, on with the story!
We spent two days in Singapore, it was just a stopover to break the 22 hour haul from Sydney to London up, really - and it gave me a chance to ease slowly into the whole being stuck on a plane for huge lengths of time, which I was rather glad for. Singapore Airlines has nice enough planes, with personal TV screens in the back of the seats and a huge range of things to watch, so I was perfectly happy, but I never ehave been the best person at sitting still for long lengths of time, so I was quite relieved to arrive at Changi. At 11pm on
Friday, Singapore time.
The moment we stepped off the plane into the air-conditioning was just fine - but then we had to go outside. Phew! In the 12 years since I'd visited the country, I'd forgotten just how hot and humid it was! Off came the fleecy jumper immediately! I'd have hated to have arrived in the middle of the day for my first taste of it, I think I'd have just decided to stay in the airport for the two days. Being with my parents had its advantage, here - we were staying at a decent hotel, the last I'd see for months of course. My budget stretched to the cheapest hostels I could find that didn't have reviews saying they were rat-infested. Also, we got this cool little mini-bus to take us right to the door of the hotel, seeing as we were on a special stopover package. Very nice, seeing as it was late at night and we had no idea where we were going!
The next day was our full day in Singapore. As expected it was bloody scorching and humid - however, weather was much improved due to the fact that it absolutely
bucketed down for most of the day. Admittedly that’s not very good for the humidity situation, but at least it kept the heat down a little - and forced Dad to allow Mum and I to go shopping! Afterall, would YOU want to be walking around outside, in Singapore, in the rain?
Although I was very good, considering we spent almost the whole day shopping. I didn’t actually BUY anything until we went to yet more shops after dinner - but it’s hardly news to anyone who knows me that I can’t resist cheap books. The rest of the day was spent just wandering around random shops, looking at a lot of things, and translating Singapore dollars into Aussie and realising that most things aren’t actually much cheaper there than they are at home. And we went to Raffles the famous hotel in Singapore. Apparently it was closed for renovation the last time we went there, so this time we HAD to go in, visit the bar and have Singapore Slings. Well, actually I had lemonade, something I was quite glad of, because I tried Mum’s, and it was quite disgusting, in my opinion! I guess at the grand old age of 19, I just haven't quite acquired the taste for most forms of alcohol.
Dinner was at the Hard Rock Café. This is a bit of a family tradition for our family - it's where we'd eaten every time we were in Singapore, and most other cities we'd been that happened to had one. And why spoil our family tradition, especially when I wasn't entirely sure when I was going to get a decent burger again - I'd been warned in advance that most English meat sucked. Though happily, unlike when we were in Singapore when I was 7, this time I put my own sauce on, so did NOT end up with the rather unpleasant situation of taking a big bite of burger smothered with tomato sauce and discovering that in fact it was hot chilli sauce. Seeing the bottles though, I can see how Mum made that mistake - they’re identical bar one label is white and the other yellow.
I do enjoy Singapore, and one of these days I'd like to have time to explore it properly. Maybe in the winter when it's a little cooler! Two days passed quickly, and it was time for the long bit of the trip. Changi to Heathrow. London, here I come!
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