Singapore - the final countdown

The flight from Phuket to Singapore was on time and relatively short.  During the taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, we rapidly appreciated what a change of scene Singapore was going to be.  Everything seemed to be so well managed, well organised and well maintained.  We had allowed ourselves five days here before returning to the UK.  Although we had chosen a hotel with a swimming pool in order to help us relax before the challenging journey home; we never got to use it, as we found there was so much that we wanted to do.  In fact, we have not managed to do it all and a return to Singapore, at some stage, is definitely on the cards.  We could not have chosen a better final stop-over.  In order to get about we used the very efficient MRT rail system, navigated with some considerable expertise by Peter.

Our first excursion was to the Jurong Bird Park - which was absolutely amazing and took and entire day to fully appreciate.  Although the birds here are contained; they are contained in a very natural and mainly spacious environment.  There were a number of walk-through aviaries of such a size that one felt one was inside a rainforest rather than an enclosure; with Macaws, Parrots and Lorys whistling past our ears.  The Lorys liked to be fed on a nectar-like mixture and thought little about landing on your shoulder or wrist to collect the goodies.
There were a number of programmed events during the course of the day and during the Birds n Buddies Show in the amphitheatre Mary was chosen by the presenter to participate.

  A great day indeed.









The second day saw us setting off for the Singapore Flyer: a far larger version of the London Eye (largest in the world) at over l65 metres.  We decided to beat the crowds by setting off before breakfast and were, in fact, rewarded with no queue, a pod to ourselves and no-one else in sight.,  Singapore is a truly lovely city and amongst many interesting vistas, we were able to see part of the grand prix course and a very unusual football pitch, as you will see from the photograph.  After breakfast and some chill out time, we set off for the Singapore Zoo, which was to be followed by a night-time safari.  Again we hate caged animals; on the whole, the Zoo here strives to deliver a natural environment, for the most part using water to create natural barriers.
Again, we had a great time.

The third day was mostly dedicated to shopping and anyone who knows anything about Singapore, knows that shopping is the national sport and pastime.   There are more serious shopping malls here, per square metre than anywhere else we have travelled and Peter hated every minute.

Our fourth and last full day was dedicated to the Botanical Gardens and the National Orchid Collection.  We think that it is enough to say that it was superb.

Dear friends, tomorrow we set off on our return journey and so this very lengthy entry must be our last.  The next time you hear from us will be when we are back at home.

Phuket & Diving

Drizzle and heavy cloud followed us on our journey to Phuket; although the weather continued to be humid.  We were met at the airport and taken to sort out our dive equipment and after a fairly brief wait we were taken to our dive boat: the Colona VI where we were introduced to the crew and fellow divers.  It was a fairly international affair with six Russians, three Americans, one Israeli and us two.  The first two days provided us with some excellent diving; although the swell was quite strong at times, which made getting back on the boat with our dive kit on quite challenging.  On the third day, however, everything changed and the weather deteriorated.  After spending two days in the shelter of a bay, staying out of the way of force 8 gales and seas to match, the decision was taken by the captain to abort the trip.  Obviously we were all very disappointed but agreed unanimously that safety was the first priority.  Whilst spending this time sheltering we got to know each other quite well, with the help of  some vodka, whisky and raki; with Mary learning some Russian and even a few words of Hebrew.  The captain and his crew were first class in every way.

PS typing this on the 4th April, we saw in this morning's newspaper that the death toll to-date, in southern Thailand, from the unseasonal storms, has reached 51.

Amit's photos!