Singapore

Wednesday
First stage of going home. Car pickup at 8, to Heathrow at 9 for flight taking off at 11.30. Security check required full emptying and scrutiny of contents of Russell's carry-on (electrical bag showed as a dense area) after a 15-minute wait while several other passengers were being checked in a similar way. Lucky we were so early - at each Skye  flight this would have been a disaster. But we had an hour to spare. Bev's bag was 22.3 kilos (limit is 23), Russell's a little lighter.

Take-off 11.30 AM

Thursday
Into Singapore at 0715. Pick up docs for Singapore Stopover Holiday. Small bus included in deal drops us at Concorde Hotel at 10, but we can't have the room till 12, so we sit in the foyer and read.


Accidentally, this is the same hotel that Russell stayed in at the end of 2007 when he was here for the Ascilite Conference. It hasn't changed much, but there seems to have been much redevelopment up and down Orchard Road.

12.30 till 7 PM, sleep unavoidable, as bad as that is for jetlag recovery
.
Dinner in the el-cheapo food court below the hotel ($11 for two). It's to be closed after Saturday for reconstruction. Inevitable - nothing else around here is el-cheapo.

Wander Orchard Road for an hour - Hugo Boss, Armani, Nike, Ralph Lauren - they're all here, and the 12-storey Orchard Centre is throbbing and buzzing with the crowds of eaters, drinkers and shoppers,

and it's the same up and down the road.

Friday

Late breakfast in the Concorde's facility, then out to find the SIA Hop-On bus. We have tickets to about 15 "Attractions" as part of the Stopover Holiday deal, many more than we can attempt in the 2 days remaining. We may see a favourite five.

Warm humid day as usual for Singapore. The bus loop takes 90 minutes, so the obvious strategy is to get off at the first desirable destination on the route. This is Singapore's equivalent of the London Eye, called the Singapore Flyer.

Only a small crowd, so each capsule is only half full or less. Nine people in ours (the norm is 30) so plenty of photo opportunities. We'd both chosen to leave the cameras at home and use the phones. Results seem OK, considering the haze worsened as we rose.

Then off to the western end of the loop, to the National Orchid Garden, part of the Singapore Botanic Garden. Orchids make us feel good.

Bus then to the Singapore National Museum, which is not an SIA Attraction, but R liked it in '07 and thought B would too. Found an amazing exhibition of large-format photos, b&w, called Genesis, which turns out to be sponsored by two firms whose deals Liz has worked on. Focussed on unspoiled places and peoples (Inuit, Amazon tribes, PNG Highlands, Antarctic Islands, etc). Astounding images; you can buy the book for US$5500.

Thence back to blog and bed. Last day tomorrow.