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We are now actually in Australia, Brisbane to be precise and so there is some catching up to do! Right, I'll pick up from where the previous blog ended which brings us to......
Day 37 to Day 46
We got up and said our goodbyes to the kind people at the guesthouse before making our way to the airport. The flight to Phuket was a quick two hours (as opposed to a long two hours) where we were met at the airport by someone from the hotel. I managed to look like a lazy oaf by just sitting there whilst Marta lugged the bags off the conveyor belt which was fairly embarrassing. However, on balance I felt this was preferential to lifting up my t-shirt to show my wound and then subsequently being arrested!
It was about a forty five minute drive to the hotel and when we arrived we checked ourselves in and then went for a look around. Phuket refers to a rather large region and we were actually staying in a little place called Karon. Karon is pretty quiet but that was kind of the point given, what had gone before. The weather in that
part of the world is a little unpredictable and looking at the forecast is almost entirely pointless as there is always a good chance it will rain at some point, but then some days it will be scorching hot all day long.
The hotel was set back a little way from the beach and had a pool area up on the roof which was pretty cool. What was not cool was the fact that I was unable to go in the pool on some very hot days as I still had my dressing on. This led to some rather profuse sweating and the accumulation of a strange dressing shaped tan mark which I still have now! Great!
Anyway, our time in Phuket was not particularly exciting by previous standards as I still wasn't particularly mobile. This was ok though as it is only when you stop moving around that you realise quite how tired you are! Its hard work all this travelling lark!
We made some new friends including a nice Canadian couple, the chef from New Zealand, an American guy who played music there and my favourite of all.....Rascal the dog! Anyway, the dressing came off
about two days before we left Phuket and the wound has healed well which is good. I still feel a bit sore but I suppose that is to be expected.
Anyway, relaxing time over and we are back to the trip proper....
Day 47
We flew in to Singapore and caught the airport shuttle bus to the hotel which was our first hint at how efficient the public transport was here. We checked into the hotel and were put in a room with no window....commonly referred to as a cell I believe but even they have windows don't they??? Anyway, we asked them to move us and they kindly did, so we got ourselves together and made our way out into the city. There was a nice park at the rear of our hotel which you could walk across to get to the MTR (tube) station. It transpired you could take a rather more direct route across it than we did but anyway on our first trip across it I noticed what looked like a large mango on the floor. I thought to myself, that must have fallen from the trees and my next thought was, I
bet that would hurt if it hit you on the head.......now don't worry folks, I haven't fractured my skull but literally two seconds later two more of these giant fruits fell out of the tree a few yards in front of us......close call!!!
We got on the MRT and went to the National Museum of Singapore which was a nice way to start our time in Singapore as it gave some good background and historical information. After we finished at the museum we were both shattered so got some food and went back to the hotel to get some much needed sleep!
Day 48
This turned out to be a great day as we went to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. Now, anyone who has ever been to Singapore will know how great these attractions are and we certainly enjoyed them. We caught the MRT and then a bus to the zoo which was very easy to do as it is very easy to get around in Singapore. We spent about three or four hours looking around the zoo and you could easily stay for longer. It is like walking through the jungle as the vegetation
is so thick and lush and the humidity is intense. Many of the animals are only separated from the public by moats and it makes the whole experience a bit more exciting. The animals also have large amounts of space which is always good to see. We also did something a bit crazy whilst we were there.....we rode an elephant! We were going to do it in Thailand but the conditions for the animals there did not look great so we felt better about doing it at the zoo where things looked a lot better. I asked some random western looking tourist to take pictures using my camera as the woman at the zoo wanted to charge about $25 for a single picture......a high risk strategy I know as he could have just ran off with my camera but I figured we would just chase him on the elephant and crush him!!!! Ha Ha!!
The Night Safari is on the same plot of land as the zoo so when the zoo closed we got some dinner and then started the Safari. I cannot recommend this highly enough to people if you are ever in this part of the world
(and the zoo). It is lit just enough so that you can see where you are going but it is pretty dark and eerie out there. We had a little walk around on our own and then got on the tram which takes you on a forty five minute guided tour of the park. We both really enjoyed this and although it was a long day, it had been well worth it.
Day 49
We went to Jurong Bird Park for the day which is owned by the same people as the zoo. It is perhaps not quite as impressive as the zoo but it is still a good day out. It can be hard work walking around in the heat but there are plenty of places to stop and rest although buying drinks is seriously expensive like most things in Singapore! You know you are on a budget when you have to consider quite how faint you feel before considering buying another drink!
The evening was spent with a familiar face as we met up with my cousin Neil who was out in Singapore on business. He took us for the customary Singapore Sling and then
we went to Clarke Quay to get something to eat. It was nice to see someone from home and to share some of our experiences.
Day 50
We made our way over to Sentosa Island for the day which was not the most culturally stimulating experience of our trip. I'm not going to say too much about it as there is no point focussing on the negatives and you cannot expect everything you do to be brilliant but for the price, it was disappointing. It was a real tourist trap in every sense of the word and tried to be like Disney without ever achieving what it is that makes Disney good. Anyway, I won't say anymore about that and we will put it down to experience, expensive experience...
Day 51
This was our last day in Singapore and we made our way to the Botanical Gardens for a look around. The conditions in Singapore for growing plants are just about perfect and as a result all the plants are huge! It is a lovely place to wander around without the fear of being mugged as you would if you were walking around any park in
England! The downside was that it was a very, very hot day and so was hard work! We made our way back to the hotel, got changed and then got a taxi to the airport, seven and a half hours later we were in Brisbane!
Day 52
Our journey through Australasia begins today but we haven't actually done a great deal so far although I have got my hair cut as it was getting seriously long and shaggy! We are just finding our bearings at the moment as we are here in Brisbane for 6 days or so. We then work our way north up the coast before flying down to Sydney over the next month!
We hope everyone is well and keep sending your comments on the blog as we like to hear from you all. We will update you all when we move on. Take care.
Nick & Marta
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Jocelyn
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Hiya!
Was just wondering about you 2 on the way in today - and there you are! Your blogs make smashing reading! They really make me want to get out there and see for myself. Glad you're "mended" Nick (could only happen to you!) Enjoy the rest of your time and keep up the blog! X