Hope you've enjoyed reading my travel blog :-)
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Location:Melbourne
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Home
I'm back! Just cranked the heater up and I'm hoping to get the temperature up a bit! It's freezing here!!!
Hope you've enjoyed reading my travel blog :-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Hope you've enjoyed reading my travel blog :-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Breakfast at the zoo
Our final day in Singapore and we are booked in for breakfast at the zoo. We caught a minibus to the Singapore Flyer and boarded a coach and went out to the zoo.
The first thing we did was feed the elephants. No teasing them as they will spray you!!!
We then had breakfast with the orangutans. Had our photos taken. Excellent experience.
The animals were so close and within touch. No cages at all, just habitat areas to keep the people out. The gardens were also amazing.
The Begal White tigers were beautiful.
We went back to the hotel and packed up as we had to be out by 2pm. We went to Raffles City for lunch and had a wander around the shops. We then went to the Digital Life Mall - electronic stores galore.
We caught our courtesy bus to Changi and I'm sitting here waiting for the plane to go.
It hews been a fantastic 10 days
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The first thing we did was feed the elephants. No teasing them as they will spray you!!!
We then had breakfast with the orangutans. Had our photos taken. Excellent experience.
The animals were so close and within touch. No cages at all, just habitat areas to keep the people out. The gardens were also amazing.
The Begal White tigers were beautiful.
We went back to the hotel and packed up as we had to be out by 2pm. We went to Raffles City for lunch and had a wander around the shops. We then went to the Digital Life Mall - electronic stores galore.
We caught our courtesy bus to Changi and I'm sitting here waiting for the plane to go.
It hews been a fantastic 10 days
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Singapore
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Hop on, Hop off
We thought that it would be a good option to buy a ticket on the hop on, hop off Hippo Bus which would get us around Singapore to all the major attractions.
There are two routes that take you around the city. The city route and the heritage route. We wanted to start off with the heritage route, but hopped on the city route bus by mistake. An inconspicuous sign in the window on the side of the bus determines the route. So we started our journey on the bus waiting for a route cross over Suntec City so we could switch buses.
Our first major stop was Little India. The smells and sounds were amazing. All these little shops and stalls hidden in all the nooks and crannies were good fun to look at. We also visited two temples in the area.
We wove our way through the streets on the bus to China Town. Once again many little stalls to visit, but nothing like the real China where people were dragging you in off the street and trying to sell you stuff. We had lunch at the People's Park which was the next stop on the route. We just bought some Chinese roti nan bread with garlic (that's what it looked like but I have no idea what it was called). Filled the spot.
Next we stopped at Merlion Park for a photo opportunity. We could see the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the ship on the roof, the science museum which looks like a lotus flower and we could also see the Arts Centre known as the Durian as it looks like this local tropical fruit.
Once back on the bus we went past the Singapore Flyer which is like the London Eye. Apparently it is 5m taller. We got off the bus at Raffles and headed to Boat Quay.
We walked through the restaurants at Boat Key looking for somewhere to eat. The staff were keen for our business and kept stopping us to try and get us in for something to eat. It was my choice tonight and we had some lovely Thai food. Thai fish cakes and Pad Thai for me. Very enjoyable.
We walked along the river to Clarke Quay where we got an ice cream from the Turkish Man. And amazing show he put on. Belinda got some wonderful footage. Good on Pete for being the sucker!
We boarded the Hippo River Cruise which was part of the ticket we purchased in the morning. This was a half hour cruise from Clarke Quay to the Esplanade and Merlion Park. The city looked magnificent at night. It reminded me of the Shanghai night cruise we did in China. Lights, lights, lights.
We arrived back at Clarke Quay and found a place for dessert. I had some birthday cheesecake! This is the third birthday in a row I have been overseas. Xian, London and now Singapore. This may be a tradition that I have created. Will I be able to keep it up? I certainly hope so.
We stopped at The Crazy Elephant for a drink before heading back to our hotel for the night. It was certainly a long day, but most enjoyable. We arrived back at the hotel to find one of the elevators missing. Yes, they had built a wall closing off access while we were out! Another one was out of action as they were repairing the tiles on the floor. Lucky there was a third elevator!! A quick check of my email before bed saw an inbox full of birthday wishes. Thanks everyone :-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
There are two routes that take you around the city. The city route and the heritage route. We wanted to start off with the heritage route, but hopped on the city route bus by mistake. An inconspicuous sign in the window on the side of the bus determines the route. So we started our journey on the bus waiting for a route cross over Suntec City so we could switch buses.
Our first major stop was Little India. The smells and sounds were amazing. All these little shops and stalls hidden in all the nooks and crannies were good fun to look at. We also visited two temples in the area.
We wove our way through the streets on the bus to China Town. Once again many little stalls to visit, but nothing like the real China where people were dragging you in off the street and trying to sell you stuff. We had lunch at the People's Park which was the next stop on the route. We just bought some Chinese roti nan bread with garlic (that's what it looked like but I have no idea what it was called). Filled the spot.
Next we stopped at Merlion Park for a photo opportunity. We could see the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the ship on the roof, the science museum which looks like a lotus flower and we could also see the Arts Centre known as the Durian as it looks like this local tropical fruit.
Once back on the bus we went past the Singapore Flyer which is like the London Eye. Apparently it is 5m taller. We got off the bus at Raffles and headed to Boat Quay.
We walked through the restaurants at Boat Key looking for somewhere to eat. The staff were keen for our business and kept stopping us to try and get us in for something to eat. It was my choice tonight and we had some lovely Thai food. Thai fish cakes and Pad Thai for me. Very enjoyable.
We walked along the river to Clarke Quay where we got an ice cream from the Turkish Man. And amazing show he put on. Belinda got some wonderful footage. Good on Pete for being the sucker!
We boarded the Hippo River Cruise which was part of the ticket we purchased in the morning. This was a half hour cruise from Clarke Quay to the Esplanade and Merlion Park. The city looked magnificent at night. It reminded me of the Shanghai night cruise we did in China. Lights, lights, lights.
We arrived back at Clarke Quay and found a place for dessert. I had some birthday cheesecake! This is the third birthday in a row I have been overseas. Xian, London and now Singapore. This may be a tradition that I have created. Will I be able to keep it up? I certainly hope so.
We stopped at The Crazy Elephant for a drink before heading back to our hotel for the night. It was certainly a long day, but most enjoyable. We arrived back at the hotel to find one of the elevators missing. Yes, they had built a wall closing off access while we were out! Another one was out of action as they were repairing the tiles on the floor. Lucky there was a third elevator!! A quick check of my email before bed saw an inbox full of birthday wishes. Thanks everyone :-)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Singapore
Monday, September 27, 2010
Hello Singapore
We arrived in Singapore at about 400am Male time, so we were all feeling a bit weary. Our driver picked us up and delivered us to our hotel at around 8am. As it was early in the morning, we thought we might not be able to get into our rooms until mid morning, but luckily they were able to check us in straight away. This gave us some time to freshen up or have a nap. I'll leave it up to you to decide which one I chose.
We headed off at around 11am for a look around. Our first stop was Chijmes.
)
Next, when in Singapore, you must have a Singapore Sling at Raffles. This is a huge complex and we spent a bit of time looking around it.
We started to walk to Fort Canning Park and then the rain started! We took refuge at a Masonic Temple, not realizing our hotel was but a mere 50m around the corner.
As we were soggy, we decided to carry on.
We climbed, and climbed and climbed until we reached the empty room near the top!
Then there was the flash of lightning and the loudest clap of thunder. I swear it sounds different to the thunder at home. Stay out from under trees we are always told (completely surrounded by them). Don't walk around with an umbrella (stay away from me Belinda with your lightning rod). Soaked through to the skin and it was still warm!
We got back to the hotel late in the afternoon and had enough time to clean up ready for dinner. We headed to Clarke Quay where there was a huge range of eating places to choose from. Fantastic dinner, fantastic atmosphere.
And just to finish off tonight - how awesome is this building?
Could it possibly be that a tsunami left this 'ship' on the roof of these buildings?
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We headed off at around 11am for a look around. Our first stop was Chijmes.
Next, when in Singapore, you must have a Singapore Sling at Raffles. This is a huge complex and we spent a bit of time looking around it.
We started to walk to Fort Canning Park and then the rain started! We took refuge at a Masonic Temple, not realizing our hotel was but a mere 50m around the corner.
As we were soggy, we decided to carry on.
We climbed, and climbed and climbed until we reached the empty room near the top!
Then there was the flash of lightning and the loudest clap of thunder. I swear it sounds different to the thunder at home. Stay out from under trees we are always told (completely surrounded by them). Don't walk around with an umbrella (stay away from me Belinda with your lightning rod). Soaked through to the skin and it was still warm!
We got back to the hotel late in the afternoon and had enough time to clean up ready for dinner. We headed to Clarke Quay where there was a huge range of eating places to choose from. Fantastic dinner, fantastic atmosphere.
And just to finish off tonight - how awesome is this building?
Could it possibly be that a tsunami left this 'ship' on the roof of these buildings?
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Sunday, September 26, 2010
Farewell Maldives
Our final day in the Maldives. It's amazing how time flies so quickly when you are having a good time. The resort allowed us to keep our room until 8pm when we had to head off for the airport. All for a cost of $8 per person. Pretty good considering we were supposed to be checked out at 12.
We had a late breakfast and said our goodbyes to the the staff at 24 Degrees. Then back to the room and time for a snorkel. Belinda took some bread with her in the hope that it might attract some fish. Once they knew there was some bread around, they came from all over the place, nibbling at Belinda's fingers even when she didn't have any bread in her hand.
We headed down to the Infinity Pool for lunch. We hadn't eaten there as the weather hadn't been quite right.
It was windy, but we decided to persevere and we ordered. First course arrived and we ate that and while waiting for the second course, the rain came through.
The guys packed us up really quickly and said they would bring the rest of our meal to the room. We arrived back at the room and couldn't get in. Locked out! A quick trip to reception and all was fixed. By then, the rain had cleared and we went back for lunch. A couple of complimentary drinks and we were finished.
The rest of the afternoon we spent lazing around with the weather changing many times. Male kept disappearing in the mist. It was quite amazing.
A quick pack of the bags and before we knew it we were in reception ready to board the boat to the airport. A full load tonight with about a dozen people on board. We each received a Maldives photo frame as a parting gift and it was nice of Bjorn to come and say goodbye to us personally.
An 11.15 departure makes it a late night. Of course we take off and they are dishing up supper. Beef or chicken? Not quite like what I've been used to for the past week. A 4.5 hour flight saw me snooze for a couple of hours.
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We had a late breakfast and said our goodbyes to the the staff at 24 Degrees. Then back to the room and time for a snorkel. Belinda took some bread with her in the hope that it might attract some fish. Once they knew there was some bread around, they came from all over the place, nibbling at Belinda's fingers even when she didn't have any bread in her hand.
We headed down to the Infinity Pool for lunch. We hadn't eaten there as the weather hadn't been quite right.
It was windy, but we decided to persevere and we ordered. First course arrived and we ate that and while waiting for the second course, the rain came through.
The guys packed us up really quickly and said they would bring the rest of our meal to the room. We arrived back at the room and couldn't get in. Locked out! A quick trip to reception and all was fixed. By then, the rain had cleared and we went back for lunch. A couple of complimentary drinks and we were finished.
The rest of the afternoon we spent lazing around with the weather changing many times. Male kept disappearing in the mist. It was quite amazing.
A quick pack of the bags and before we knew it we were in reception ready to board the boat to the airport. A full load tonight with about a dozen people on board. We each received a Maldives photo frame as a parting gift and it was nice of Bjorn to come and say goodbye to us personally.
An 11.15 departure makes it a late night. Of course we take off and they are dishing up supper. Beef or chicken? Not quite like what I've been used to for the past week. A 4.5 hour flight saw me snooze for a couple of hours.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Maldives
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Our last full day
Well, our stay in the Maldives is nearing it's end. It was showering as we went for breakfast this morning. Eggs Benedict - exquisite! Wandered back to our villa to get our booking number so we could complete our online check-in. Booked our seats but there was no point in printing off boarding passes as they don't accept them at Male International.
Watched the Grand Final on the Australian Channel. What a game. I am reluctant to say who I was supporting for fear of upsetting anyone, but go Saints!!!!! (Sorry Haj, Margie and Janet). Guess I'll be back to watch the Grand Final in my own lounge room after all.
A few hours of snorkeling saw the afternoon disappear. There are so many fish in and around the villas. We even saw a moray eel who was very scary looking! He chose to hide so I guess we were scarier to look at!!!!
After lunch we spent close on an hour sending a couple of emails in the library. Poor Belinda - all that typing and the slip of a key and all was lost. We popped back to the villa and the sun broke through and some of the clouds cleared to provide us with some wonderful sunset shots.
We are waiting to hear if we can keep the room for a late check out tomorrow. We are supposed to be out by 12 noon, but we aren't flying out until 1130pm. Late check out will give us until 6pm. We are booked onto the boat at 830pm, so that is only a small amount of time to hang around.
Tomorrow, the final day and the beginning of Part 2 of the adventure - Singapore!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Watched the Grand Final on the Australian Channel. What a game. I am reluctant to say who I was supporting for fear of upsetting anyone, but go Saints!!!!! (Sorry Haj, Margie and Janet). Guess I'll be back to watch the Grand Final in my own lounge room after all.
A few hours of snorkeling saw the afternoon disappear. There are so many fish in and around the villas. We even saw a moray eel who was very scary looking! He chose to hide so I guess we were scarier to look at!!!!
After lunch we spent close on an hour sending a couple of emails in the library. Poor Belinda - all that typing and the slip of a key and all was lost. We popped back to the villa and the sun broke through and some of the clouds cleared to provide us with some wonderful sunset shots.
We are waiting to hear if we can keep the room for a late check out tomorrow. We are supposed to be out by 12 noon, but we aren't flying out until 1130pm. Late check out will give us until 6pm. We are booked onto the boat at 830pm, so that is only a small amount of time to hang around.
Tomorrow, the final day and the beginning of Part 2 of the adventure - Singapore!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Maldives
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