Singapore
It's now only a month until Mum and I go to Europe. I'm getting excited. Planning on getting an ANZ Travelcard with Euros later this week and then pretty much sorted. When Mum arrives we'll work out what tickets to pre-purchase.
Had an awesome time in Singapore. It was a great little break. My hotel was only about 10mins from an MRT station, so super easy to get around. First day I spent shopping on Orchard Road. There for about 5 hours and only spent money on food and a couple of books. *g* Next day (Sunday) I headed to the Botanical Gardens. Lovely place to walk around, especially the orchid garden. Had a squirrel run up and down a tree I sat under to rest. Had lunch at VivoCity and a look around the shops. Then headed to Sentosa Island. Didn't spend too long here as I got sick of queues. Did go to Hershey World. Wow! I wasn't too tempted as the only Hershey's chocolate I really like is Reese's. Did buy some miniature peanut butter cups which I ended up giving to my brother. Went back to the hotel and read. Boring, eh? LOL!! Monday saw me headed to Jurong Bird Park. Got there early so there weren't many people. One of the highlights was feeding the lorikeets. You pay for a container of a feed mix and they come to you. Had them perched on my arm and even on my shoulder for a bit. Very cool. They have a couple of shows, where you get a bit closer to the birds. The Kings of the Sky has birds of prey, and they fly over your head, and the Birds and Buddies one which has a range from parrots to pelicans and flamingos. A turkey vulture hit me in the head as it flew over. Can't remember what I did the rest of the afternoon. Probably just read!
Tuesday was my last day. I checked out early and took the train to the airport to drop off my bag. Only had carry-on but I didn't want to be lugging it around all day. It was too early to check-in for my flight which was annoying, and I couldn't wait around as I had a tour to get to. Went on a Chinatown walk. Saw lots of shop houses. These are normally 3 floors. Shops on the bottom and accommodation on the top floors. Saw some temples and a wet-market. The wet-market was kind of gross. Learned that it's not just the French that eat frogs legs. You can buy live frogs to take home and eat. Visited a Chinese medicine hall where we were given a talk on Chinese medicine, sampled some goji berries and a nice relaxing tea. After the tour I found an internet cafe and checked-in for my flight and to work out exactly how I was going to meet Shobha. Had a look around the shops. I don't think I've ever seen so many travel agents in one area! Headed off toward the university to meet up with Shobha. Got there early so had a coke at a cafe there and wandered through the bookstore. Then met up with Shobha. It's so cool to be able to meet up with Trixie-friends in so many different countries. Spent the afternoon chatting at her house until unfortunately it was time to head to the airport. A little pushed for time but made it to the gate okay. While waiting to board someone said "Hello." I turned to see my boss. Luckily I was travelling on my days off and not taking a sneaky day! He was travelling business class though. Flight home wasn't the best as there were screaming babies and I didn't end up sleeping. Too many years of night shift mean I don't have to sleep at night. It does make for feeling grotty all day unless I get some sleep.
Have been thinking about my next trip. Yes, I know I haven't been on this year's one yet, but I do like to think ahead. I had been thinking about the Middle East, but am very likely to go to Canada/US. Especially if we do Ossining, because I can't miss that! My current thoughts are flying to London and taking the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York. Then visiting Eastern Canada, potentially doing a tour of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and other cities on my own. All very tentative at the moment and depends on the dates working out.
Sorry, can't find the LJ Cut button.
Had an awesome time in Singapore. It was a great little break. My hotel was only about 10mins from an MRT station, so super easy to get around. First day I spent shopping on Orchard Road. There for about 5 hours and only spent money on food and a couple of books. *g* Next day (Sunday) I headed to the Botanical Gardens. Lovely place to walk around, especially the orchid garden. Had a squirrel run up and down a tree I sat under to rest. Had lunch at VivoCity and a look around the shops. Then headed to Sentosa Island. Didn't spend too long here as I got sick of queues. Did go to Hershey World. Wow! I wasn't too tempted as the only Hershey's chocolate I really like is Reese's. Did buy some miniature peanut butter cups which I ended up giving to my brother. Went back to the hotel and read. Boring, eh? LOL!! Monday saw me headed to Jurong Bird Park. Got there early so there weren't many people. One of the highlights was feeding the lorikeets. You pay for a container of a feed mix and they come to you. Had them perched on my arm and even on my shoulder for a bit. Very cool. They have a couple of shows, where you get a bit closer to the birds. The Kings of the Sky has birds of prey, and they fly over your head, and the Birds and Buddies one which has a range from parrots to pelicans and flamingos. A turkey vulture hit me in the head as it flew over. Can't remember what I did the rest of the afternoon. Probably just read!
Tuesday was my last day. I checked out early and took the train to the airport to drop off my bag. Only had carry-on but I didn't want to be lugging it around all day. It was too early to check-in for my flight which was annoying, and I couldn't wait around as I had a tour to get to. Went on a Chinatown walk. Saw lots of shop houses. These are normally 3 floors. Shops on the bottom and accommodation on the top floors. Saw some temples and a wet-market. The wet-market was kind of gross. Learned that it's not just the French that eat frogs legs. You can buy live frogs to take home and eat. Visited a Chinese medicine hall where we were given a talk on Chinese medicine, sampled some goji berries and a nice relaxing tea. After the tour I found an internet cafe and checked-in for my flight and to work out exactly how I was going to meet Shobha. Had a look around the shops. I don't think I've ever seen so many travel agents in one area! Headed off toward the university to meet up with Shobha. Got there early so had a coke at a cafe there and wandered through the bookstore. Then met up with Shobha. It's so cool to be able to meet up with Trixie-friends in so many different countries. Spent the afternoon chatting at her house until unfortunately it was time to head to the airport. A little pushed for time but made it to the gate okay. While waiting to board someone said "Hello." I turned to see my boss. Luckily I was travelling on my days off and not taking a sneaky day! He was travelling business class though. Flight home wasn't the best as there were screaming babies and I didn't end up sleeping. Too many years of night shift mean I don't have to sleep at night. It does make for feeling grotty all day unless I get some sleep.
Have been thinking about my next trip. Yes, I know I haven't been on this year's one yet, but I do like to think ahead. I had been thinking about the Middle East, but am very likely to go to Canada/US. Especially if we do Ossining, because I can't miss that! My current thoughts are flying to London and taking the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New York. Then visiting Eastern Canada, potentially doing a tour of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and other cities on my own. All very tentative at the moment and depends on the dates working out.
Sorry, can't find the LJ Cut button.