Singapore, day one

---

We arrived late last night, staying with my step brother and his wife - Andy and Anna-Marie. They have a nice house not far from town which will be our base for the next few days of our trip. After a late night, today started later than most but Andy's banana pancakes got us fueled for the day.

Today we had a plan that was very different from the last two weeks. No temples! We drove to Sentosa Island which is a kind of resort and entertainment complex. We were there for a spot of indoor skydiving! A huge vertical wind tunnel where you fly as if you were skydiving. We each did three sessions and all succeeded nicely, although we may have to try a few more flights before we attempt the 360 inverse loop sulko manouvre. Music quiz! Who sang Free Fallin' and in which year was it released? Lunch by the beach was followed by a couple of runs down the luge. Ben won the race but there were some allegations that he left the gate early!

After that we went home for a swim. Weather here is almost always very hot and very humid, and the pool offered welcome relief. The house is close to the botanical gardens and orchid gardens, so we went for a walk around the beautiful gardens and stumbled upon the Singapore Symphony Orchestra giving an open air performance. A nice surprise, and a very chilled kind of experience.

Final move of the day was open air dinner at the Newton Circus - big square of stalls offering all kinds of local food. We feasted on giant tiger shrimp, satays of all forms, fried rice and tiger beer. Lot of fun and tasty food. Tomorrow we have some sightseeing on the agenda.

---