Sydney and Singapore

We were very impressed by Singapore Airlines and Singapore airport. Our transfer went well and we booked into our hotel. We then had to cope with an elevator that missed our floor twice. By the time we reached our room Lyn was very frazzled. It ensured, I suspect, that we will never stay in a hotel requiring elevator access again – ever.

Singapore in the evening was hot, in a humid stinky oppressive way. We found the pool – but it provided only limited relief – because it was warm and smelt suffocatingly of chlorine. The other unpleasant surprise was that Singapore is expensive. The beer, however, is good.

The following day we explored the shops. Our only significant purchase was an expensive battery for our camera. (What I really needed was a recharger. This meant that most of our photographs were taken on my iPad. In the end it worked out well enough. Lyn found a decent handbag and we both found the commercialism as overwhelming as the heat. We found a brass band and a display about Singapore's military contribution in Iraq or Afghanistan.

We haeded for the botanic gardens by foot and bus. These are beautiful and we had an encounter with a monkey!

Lyn proved how determined she can be in solving travel problems. Despite road works, and the many changes caused by Grand Prix weekend, she successfully found us the right buses to get back to the hotel. 

We found a restaurant for dinner across the road – but were no more impressed by the food than the weather or the inhabitants. 

We left early for the airport and read books and watched movies on our iPads in the luxurious and efficiently air-conditioned terminal. Our flight was at the ridiculous hour of 1.00 am. At last we left for Rome ... both of us, I think, a little discouraged at the thought of coming back to Singapore on the way home.