Thur. 14th February 2013
We are flying to Singapore today but it turns out that the plane we are on goes all the way to London. This only reinforces that we are beginning to head back towards the UK, even though it should take us another five months to get there. We have enjoyed very much being based in one place for the last two weeks and having help in plan what to do and how to do it. Now we will be back to working it out for ourselves. Last night Myf helped us choose our hotel in Singapore as we had not yet booked it!
The morning was spent packaging up our cycle helmets and other bits and pieces we do not expect to need, like the old tech which has been replaced with new toys, and yet more fridge magnets! The box weighed in at 5kg and is now waiting for the next space on a ship UK bound, which could take a month or two before arriving home. The upside is that there is 5kg less for us to carry in our backpacks and the removal of the bulky helmets will help too.
Around lunchtime we headed off past the sand sculptures situated on the harbour front that we have been watching being created over the last few days. My favourite was the ‘Ovo’ from Cirque de Soleil depicting an insect from the show they are currently performing in Melbourne.
The airport is an easy 20 minute bus journey which we had done before. The Qantas Business lounge is to be recommended as the food and service is excellent. The waiters constantly bring around treats such as cocktail of the day, freshly cooked chips and ice cream. We even remembered to toast each other for Valentine’s Day! Who says romance is dead after 30 odd years. [Editor’s note: Very odd years!]
We were also excited about the plane as we were going on upstairs on an A380 Airbus for the first time. The whole of the upper deck is business class and although the service was slow the steward had memorised our names, which was a lovely touch.
The plane was slightly late into Singapore and it was nearly 10pm by the time we had our bags, found an ATM for cash and were finally ready to find the MRT (metro) into the centre. This is all very straightforward and cost about £1.50 each. We had to change subway trains twice but this involved walking across the platform to the opposite track. Like London the trains and streets were still very busy even so late at night.
We deliberately booked a hotel close to the MRT interchange of Dhoby Ghaut in the centre of town to be convenient for our three days sightseeing and the hotel easy to find as we knew it would be quite late when we arrived. With the three hour time difference we were glad to find our bed and were soon fast asleep.