scotgold

This trip was planned a long time ago. Back in October 2013 we made our first trip to Australia and had a really superb time. Returning had always been on the agenda and we knew that after we both retired, a longer trip was a priority. What we had in mind was a trip of several weeks, exploring the big red continent in an off-road camper. Well, that was the plan. What actually happened was that I was invited to go on a month-long extreme gold-prospecting trip to the remote Pilbara district. My dilemma as how to include Hazel on the trip but without her coming to the Pilbara. She came prospecting in the outback in 2013 for a week but there is no way she wanted to spend a whole month living in the red ... read more

When Singapore does things, it does them big and it does them well. Five years ago the area lying to the south of the Fullerton Hotel was a massive building site. There were rumours of a casino, a hotel and a garden. Despite several massive financial, construction and labour force problems, the site has a world-class hotel with capacity of over 2600 guests, restaurants and a garden that is a mega-sensory experience on a massive scale. We caught a taxi to the Gardens at the Bay and spent the morning exploring the many different themed areas. Passing the usual gift shop, restaurants and information kiosks, we set of in the general direction of the 'centre' of the garden. This was marked by around a dozen large 'trees' which had been constructed from metal frames onto which ... read more

Today was another special day - at trip to Raffles in the afternoon but more on that later. In the morning we decided to walk to Central Plaza some 1km away from our hotel. It is a modern shopping centre in Tiong Bahru Road and Hazel did some shopping for small items. At 13.30H we were all dressed and waiting at reception. Hazel had brought a surprise outfit for this special trip to Raffles. It comprised a lilac Indian dress with matching trousers and looked very special. I made the effort of putting on a shirt and long trousers - not at all easy after the freedom of a month in shorts and a teeshirt. The tour began at the Asian History Museum and Raffles Square. I got the impression that before Sir Stamford Raffles sailed ... read more

On our first full day in Singapore we decided to explore the local area around our hotel (Tiong Bahru), visit the Botanical Gardens and then finish the day in Little India. Wangz Hotel staff are exceedingly friendly and over breakfast we were welcomed by Sylvia, the hotel PR rep who told us about the local attractions. Some years ago I bought Hazel an Alaskan gold nugget Seiko watch. It was old when bought and had never worked well. We thought that we might find a Seiko repair watchmaker in Singapore. A search of the internet showed that there was such a place in one of the streets near to the hotel and armed with a steetmap on my I-pod, we headed off to the watchmaker. When we eventually found the place after asking around, it was ... read more

We caught the 10.00H ferry to Rottnest Island which lies some 12km off the coast and is very much a holiday resort destination for the people of Perth. Perth is visible on the horizon but the island is a world away from the hussel and bussel of Perth. It's a haven of tranquillity and calm. The island has many sandy bays, no major hotels or development and the majority of the accommodation comprises simple apartments/chalets. No motor cars or dogs are allowed and most people travel around the island on bicycle. One of the charms of the island is the lack of fear that the wildlife has of people. Whilst magpies and crows hang about the cafes, the most endearing animals are the quokkas which can be found sleeping in the sun, resting around the cafes ... read more