Wow!! It all begins - after months of counting down we can say that we have made it safely to Singapore where we are now. We arrived late on Tuesday night after being on the road for almost 24 hours. The plane ride went off without a hitch and we even got upgraded on the flight from Sydney to Singapore. We spent 5 hours in Sydney with Dave's aunty Angie which was so awesome. She took us around to view the sights and sounds including the Oprah House, Harbout Bridge, Bondi Beach, the Manly ferry and Brookvale Oval (where the Manly Sea Eagles play). We then had a lovely lunch at her house before heading back to the airport. We had had some problems at Wellington airport because we hadn't booked anything to show that we weren't overstaying the 30 day visa, so thanks to Grant (Dave's dad) we manged to book a train to Melaka.
Singapore is an amazing place to start your travels from. Its mad city rush with a touch of everything - from poverty to the suits one block away make it a true sight. We went on a river cruise, went to Raffles Hotel, the Bugis street markets, Chinatown and various shopping malls where the air con was. We also spent half a day at Sentosa Island and crossed over there via the cable car - which was so far incredibly high up that you could see alot of the City. It was amazing to go over the top of a luxury liner which had a swimming pool, mini golf, tennis and bball courts and a hydro slide which overhung the liner. We saw the merlion (a huge statue) and went to the beach. Here we wanted to have our first beer but at a price of $12 we couldn't justify it. Probably the best buy was the hiring of a bike on the island for $5. We got to cycle around most of the spots and give our bodies a rest from walking.
yesterday we went to the Singapore Zoo which was so amazing!! We saw a couple of Kiwi's who gave us a free pass. There were so many animals and fences and concrete were scarce which was pleasant to see. We saw the Polar Bear and White Tigers being fed and went to a couple of shows. At night we went to the Night Safari which was right next door. We had our first Western meal. Over here everyone seems to be constantly eating but have incredibly small helpings - this may be a good thing! We first went to a show at the ampitheatre where they showed some of the animals off in a play like act and then went on a tram ride around the park. This was cool to see the animals but they don't get too much space. The park went on about its commitment to conservation and breeding programmes which was good to hear.
We caught the bus and then MRT back to our local station. The MRT is the most amazing transport system. It is incredibly cheap, quick and runs like clockwork. One of the best things about Singapore is just walikng the streets, particularly at night, taking in the sights of the locals. Everyone tends to go to the corner eatery each night for a meal and a beer, and the next morning things tend to be relatively quiet.
We are on our way to the train station where we will cross the border hassle free (!!) on to Melaka.
Hope everyone is okay and do join up to the blog.
Dane, David and DaveOE
No comments:
Post a Comment