SINGAPORE 20 - 22 July 2011

WEDNESDAY 20 JULY- SINGAPORE

The Singapore humidity hit us sharply as we stepped out the doors of the airport.  It was only 8.30 in the morning.  We were of course dressed for a long plane trip in long pants, long sleeves and sandshoes.  It was quite overwhelming since we had left rainy cold London and arrived in this heat.  Having so much luggage to keep an eye on added to our overwhelming feelings - heat, going home and tiredness after the flight.

All this changed though as we travelled in the air-conditioned mini bus to our hotel on Sentosa Island.  I do love Asia, the tropical settings, orderly lifestyle and hustle bustle of a major Asian city.  The kids were excited about our last stage and in only a few days we would be home.

We pulled up to the grand foyer of our hotel and jumped out with excitement.  The attentiveness, efficiency and orderly organisation of being here was such a contrast to our muddled, speech impaired experiences through Europe.  We were staying at the Shangri-La Rasa Hotel, Sentosa Island.

We were shown to our luxurious rooms with balconies overlooking the grand pools and beyond to the South China Sea and all the tankers and ships moored out there.  We figured that since we had flown overnight and hardly slept, it would be best if we had a couple of hours sleep now otherwise we would all be asleep by 5pm, wake early the next day and then have trouble with the jetlag again.  The best option was a couple of hours sleep now.  Despite the crystal pools beckoning, no persuasion was needed and we all fell asleep quickly for a few hours. 

About 1pm we rose and headed out for lunch before heading to the pool for the afternoon.  Corky had a meeting in Singapore so he headed off and the kids and I enjoyed a fabulous buffet lunch - how nice to know exactly what you are eating, no communication barriers here!  Sated, we went to the pool and I found a lovely deckchair under the umbrella and that is where we stayed all afternoon.  The kids expended a lot of energy swimming and constantly going up and down the water slides.  Corky returned and enjoyed time in the pool with the kids.  Later in the day we headed over to the poolside bar for a mocktail and a listen to the wandering band and enjoyed watching the monkeys climbing up the hotel balconies in search for food.  There were at least 20 of them and they were indeed cheeky monkeys.  

We decided to finish our cocktails down on the beach as the sun started to set.  It really was quite a site and even though I would have preferred a beautiful ocean outlook, the site of all the tankers virtually nudging each other was quite dramatic.  I guess it exemplified us being in Asia.

Soon it was time for dinner.  We honestly did now know what we were in for.  The buffet was exceptional.  There was the choice of everything imaginable, every delicacy and prepared so beautifully.  We just didn't know which end to start so we started in the middle and worked our way outwards.  I think we chose everything from chinese, japanese, indian, seafood, sushi, fresh salads and fruit and then there were the desserts!  I still can't talk about them because I still feel guilty at my gluttony.  A drink on the balcony upstairs and then to bed; our beautiful big luxurious beds in our decadent air-conditioned rooms.  Sigh of satisfaction!

THURSDAY 21 JULY- SINGAPORE

Well, this is it!  Our very final full day of our wonderful adventure.  Certainly it was a bittersweet day, a day of Singapore sunshine and food, food and more food but also a day of sadness that our dream is coming to an end but also excitement at arriving home tomorrow.  We were ready to go home, 15 weeks is certainly a long adventure for a family of six.

Sadly today we overslept and missed the buffet breakfast.  After last night's buffet dinner, we were very excited to see what gourmets would be supplied for breakfast.  What disappointment we felt when Corky woke us at 10.40am!  Never mind, we headed off to the pool, me dragging my feet in buffet-glutony disappointment and had a great day in the sun.  After lunch by the pool, we decided to try a little adventure.  The first adventure was leaving the boundaries of our resort.  We wandered along Siloso Beach and the kids (except Harry because of his age) tried the trapeze.  They had a fabulous time and went for a 2nd go.  

Adrenalin in their veins, we moved onto the next adventure.  The flying fox!  Corky stayed behind with Harry (age thing again) while I hopped on a motorised buggy with Jack, Madi and Sophie and we headed up the hillside behind the beach.  We had a briefing session, we kitted up and then headed around to the 3 story wooden platform we were to launch from.  The view from the top down to the beach was incredible.  We could see Corky and Harry playing on the sand way below.  Soon enough, i was our turn.  Jack and Madi were strapped together and Sophie was strapped onto my front.  We were let off the platform together and we soared down through the cutting above the forest and out into the open over the beach, a bit of water and then onto a tiny island.  It was so exhilarating.  To come down from our death-defying acts, we climbed some palm trees!

We once again had our buffet dinner out on the balcony enjoying the balmy evening.  We had organised a cake with a candle and some of the staff to sing Happy Birthday to Corky because tomorrow we will spend his birthday on a plane home (he thinks the A380 is his best gift yet!)

FRIDAY 22 JULY - SINGAPORE TO HOME

Corky's 44th birthday.  We woke very early, hoping to get in a quick 20 minutes at the breakfast buffet before our car took us to the airport.  We weren't disappointed, the buffet lived up to everything we thought it would, we were only disappointed that we couldn't linger and savour it.  Off to the airport and ready to board our flight home.  Yet again, so bittersweet but we were all very excited.  Our flight took off about 11am and was about 7.5 hours long. 

Going home ....

We arrived into Sydney at 7.30pm, Corky having a little trouble with his water stained photo in his passport (due to melting snow off a glove tucked next to the passport in our bag in Innsbruck) but soon enough he was released and we grabbed our monstrous amount of luggage and got a maxi taxi home.  The kids were giddy and very excited as they stood at Nanny and Poppy's door about 10pm.  

We were home!

LONDON, UK - 14 - 19 July 2011

FRIDAY 15 JULY- LONDON, UK

We were very excited to hit the London streets this morning.  We wandered along High Street Kensington because we were staying on a side street off the High Street.  The kids were excited to catch a double decker bus so we jumped on one and headed to Harrods for a shop.  From here we were meeting Ian for lunch and had arranged to meet him outside St Paul's Cathedral.  We caught the tube to meet him.  All these things we take for granted are exciting for the kids; 'Mind the Gap'!

We met Ian and had lunch at a Sushi Train, we all seemed to want to talk at once to tell him our stories so no doubt Ian was worn out after an hour long lunch with us.  From St Paul's we caught another bus which eventually got us back to High Street Kensington.  

Our apartment

We put our feet up for a little while and then headed back out to go on the London Eye.  We had booked on for 8pm.  The London Eye was fabulous, the sites from the very top were incredible and we had very clear views of the City of London and far into the distance.  The whole experience took about 30 minutes.  

Once we were off we walked along the Thames and up over the river to Big Ben.  We arrived under Big Ben just before 9pm so we waited till it struck 9 and then walked over to Westminster Abbey to catch a bus to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. 

Dining at the Hard Rock completed our European Tour of Hard Rock Cafes.  The Hard Rock Cafes we went to were; Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome and London.  Loved them all!  By the end of dinner we were exhausted and very ready for bed.

SATURDAY 16 JULY- LONDON, UK

Today we had organised to meet Jim, Angela and Jim's twin 3 year old boys.  First though, we went to Oxford Street to have a look at the shops.  As usual Oxford Street was absolutely packed.  The rain didn't seem to deter anyone but it was certainly unpleasant to battle the streets in.

We met Jim, Angela and the boys at Waterloo Station.  They had come up from Portsmouth for the day and this was the twins first visit ever to London.  They were very excited.  Because of the wet weather, we decided it would be best to go to a Museum but first we headed to Leicester Square where we got some lunch, tried to dry our shoes out a bit and then we went to the British Museum.  We spent quite  a bit of time here and I think the most interesting part of all for everyone was seeing Cleopatra's mummy.  All of the Egyptian exhibition was exciting and interesting to see.

Cleopatra

We left the Museum and headed towards Oxford Street again where we stopped at a Starbucks for a hot drink and then finally said goodbye to Jim, Angela and the boys.  It was great of them to come to London to see us.  We headed home, quickly changed and headed out again to meet Richard and Karen for dinner at Brinkley's in Earl's Court.  We had such a fabulous dinner with them, Richard as usual entertaining the kids and it was very sad to say goodbye at the end of the night when we jumped into a cab to head home.  Hopefully it won't be so long before we see him again.  Another busy day and another late night but that is definitely London for you.

SUNDAY 17 JULY- LONDON, UK

We slept in this morning because we had had such a late night however once we were up we were keen to get out to see more of London.  Another very wet day so we were seeking indoor activities.  We first caught the tube to Madame Tussard's however the queue was 2 hours long so we decided against that.  We caught the tube back to Leicester Square where we went for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe - exactly the same one that is at Paris Disneyland.  After lunch we thought we would try and see a stage show however we had missed most of the starting times and there weren't anymore on for that day.  Such a shame.  Instead we walked down to Leicester Square and went and saw the movie 'Kung Fu Panda 2'.  We had to find something inside to do because of the rain and the kids were keen to sit for a while so it worked out perfectly.  After the movie we wandered around a little more and then went to China Town for dinner.

MONDAY 18 JULY- LONDON, UK

Our very last full day in Europe/UK.  Quite a sad day, we were feeling a bit melancholy about it because we had been over here for just under 4 months now and had had such an incredible time but it had to come to an end eventually and here it was.  Our last day we spent with Ian, Sal, Olivia, Grace and Zachary.  They came to London and met us at the Science Museum.  Unfortunately we had to spend another day inside because of the weather.  It was quite cold really, incredible that it was summer.  We spent several hours in the museum meandering around enjoying a chat, lunch, coffee stop and all that the museum had to offer.  We certainly talked about a return trip one day because we now realise that this trip is the beginning of more to come, certainly not as long a time away but we know that we can do it with a family of 6 and we are definitely keen to be back sooner rather than later.  Hopefully Christmas with the Fairalls one year.

Godson & Godfather - who has more hair?

We tried to prolong our farewell as much as possible.  We had a quick visit to the Natural History Museum but unfortunately we arrived 30 minutes before closing time.  Soon enough it was time to say a very sad farewell to the Fairalls and we then waved them off in a taxi.  Wish we could have stayed longer but it makes us more inspired to come back again soon.

Farewell ... till next time!

We headed back to our apartment, gathered our bags and our maxi taxi arrived to take us to our hotel, the Ramada at Heathrow.  We decided to spend our last night out near the airport so we could get our flight without fuss the next morning.  Our last night.  Hard to believe.  We had mixed feelings because we didn't want to leave however we were also very excited to get home and see our friends and family again and resume our lives where we left them.

TUESDAY 19 JULY- LONDON, UK

This is it!  We are leaving, our European adventure is over.  We caught our flight, Qantas A380 at 12.20pm and unbelievably we were under in our luggage allowance by 10kg.  Incredible since we had 3 extra suitcases and had bought so much - goes to show how little we came away with when we left.  As we took off, we all were looking out the windows at rainy England, feeling a little sad, as we flew off to Singapore.

Our flight home

Till our last instalment .... x