Singapore

Pictures are; me in chinatown, me outside raffles hotel, self portrait by clarke quay, the buddha tooth museum, katie and I on the waterfront.

Hey everyone

After saying goodbye (tearfully) to Laura and Rich at Melbourne I flew to Singapore airport. I was delayed by a few hours so late arrival drinks with my friend Katie who is studying in singapore were cancelled in favour of sleep!

I stayed at a really nice hotel called the Grand Mercure Roxy hotel for a few days which has a shuttle bus to and fro the airport. I had booked it prior to leaving the UK as one less thing to worry about. It was a lovely hotel, with a fitness room and swimming pool, and very convenient for the airport, but a little bit out of town.

Luckily the local metro and bus system is very easy to navigate and taxis are cheap and very safe. In fact the whole of Singapore is very safe and very very friendly. I have never had so many random people strike up conversations with me. My favourite has been the elderly chinese lady outside the Buddha tooth museum who explained that she loved my 'golden hair and blue eyes' (I dont have either...), that her son in law was also from London (with 'golden hair and blue eyes'), that in her next life she hoped to come back with (guess it) 'golden hair and blue eyes'. As we said our goodbyes she explained that she really missed 'your princess diana'. She was a lovely lady and seemed to really like the British, which is always nice.

On Monday I moved to a hostel which I feel slightly more used to and is in my normal price range (about 8 pound a night). The hostel is called 'footprints hostel' and is in the middle of Little India, so much more close to the centre of town. It is a friendly hostel with great staff and hot showers (a bonus). It is a bit odd being in a 10 bed dorm, but I am getting used to it.

Ok, highlights of singapore (in no particular order).

- Hanging out with Katie.

Katie has been looking after me - lending me guide books, recommending where to go, and taking me out for food and drinks in the evening. It has been cool to see her and to meet more of her MBA course friends (who are all very friendly).

- Rooftop bars and Food

We have been to a couple of roof top bars which are wicked cos of the great views, lovely cocktails and cool breeze in the heat of singapore city. Downside? Drinks are really expensive here!

On the other hand, there is a massive range of really good food here, from all over the world, and they have very clean and safe 'hawker centres' which offer cheap and tasty food. I have eaten thai, turkish, and indian so far at both restaurants and little stalls and enjoyed them all.

- Chinatown and Little India

It is currently the run up to Chinese new year and Chinatown is bustling - full of red chinese lanterns, food, clothes and generally lots and lots of people and stalls. The oddest thing we have seen for sale is 'cod jerky' - lovely! I also enjoyed the buddha tooth museum (a tooth of the buddha guarded by monks in a room of gold) and the chinese heritage centre.

I am staying in Little india and really enjoy the ambience. It is not full of the 'postcard' sights like the colonial district but is a great place to wander round and pretend you are in India. Close by is the Arab quarter which is cool - particularly all the independent shops. I loved going in, but the sizes were really built for smaller frames than me!

- Colonial district

I have spent lots of time here - wandering round the classic buildings (and having a drink in raffles hotel), enjoying the waterfront, seeing the museums and going to the Fort Canning park. Singapore is a green place and fort canning park is bang in the centre of town but feels very quiet. There is also a little museum there called the 'battle box' which was where the decision to surrender Singapore to the Japanese was made by the Uk and allied forces on 15 Feb 1942. It is a great little experience but kinda odd as they try to inject the atmosphere of the time with bomb noises going off in this claustrophopic bunker.

- Shopping, shopping and more shopping,...

There is so much for sale at so many different venues across singapore. I have been tempted many times but have held off buying anything as I have way too much luggage already that still has to go to cambodia and thailand. The only thing I have bought is a maxi dress from a street stall as it will roll up very small, and I needed something to wear to all these rooftop bars! Still, i have enjoyed window shopping! If I came here again, I would bring a spare empty suitcase.

After an all too short sojourn in Singapore, I am meeting Alice in Cambodia tomorrow. I don't know how easy it will be to access the web but I will try to keep in touch.

Love to everyone and see you all soon,

Nina xx

Australia

Pictures are: The Melbourne skyline from Brighton beach, Laura and Rich at London arch (great ocean road), Nina and Laura at the 12 Apostles (it was very windy), girls night out in Mordy, and a scary looking Tasmanian devil.

hey everyone - just Nina posting from now on! I am currently in Singapore and can't believe that I have only 3 weeks left!

After saying good bye to Glenn at Lima airport (very tearfully) I flew for an overnight stop in Buenos aires and then onto Melbourne via Sydney. So a lot of flying over that week but the best flight was the Melbourne to Sydney route where there was a mix up over the vegetarian meal I had ordered meaning I didn't get one. So they organised some other food for me, and gave me a bottle of wine on the house (later donated to Laura and Rich). Result!

Laura met me at Melbourne airport and from then on over the next two weeks it was fun, laughter, sun, beach and hanging out with my lovely little sister and her lovely husband. I had such a good time and REALLY appreciated the home comforts provided - as nice as the hostels were that we stayed at, they can't compete with Laura and Rich's fab home.

It would be a really long post (and probably boring for the readers) if i listed everything I did so here are the highlights..(in no particular order).

- Australian Open

I went on the last Wednesday of the tournament and got to see Federer, Serena Williams and Venus Williams play, who (sadly) lost her match. I was really lucky in that the matches were dramatic - Federer was down one set in his match, as was Serena and their comebacks were pretty dramatic.

- Great Ocean Road

Laura, Rich and I drove down the Great Ocean Road on the weekend and stayed at Apollo Bay. We managed to see the 12 Apostles (although i only counted about 5), London Arch and various beautiful beaches. We swam on the beach at Anglesey on a gorgeous warm day. About the only thing that detracted from my enjoyment was the sight of 5-10 year olds practising their surfing and making it look pretty easy (its not fair!).

- Healesville Sanctuary

So I managed to see..deep breath... wombats, kookaburras, kangaroos, koalas, tasmanian devils, bats, goanna, echidnas, platypus, turtles, emus... Basically all the Australian animals you could imagine are here and some of them are pretty weird looking (particularly the platypus). It is a lovely place with large open spaces for the animals and birds to be in - and it was pretty lucky to survive the bushfires that were raging last year.

- Gold Class cinema

How could going to the cinema be a highlight? Well, me and Laura have been talking about going since our last visit and have never made it. Laura kindly took me this time as a fab birthday pressie (thanks Laura!) and it was awesome. The cinema is basically a massive sitting room with huge reclining armchairs paired up from which you can order drinks and food through the show. We saw 'up in the air' (George clooney film) and had a bottle of sparkling wine and a cheese platter bought to our seats in the middle of the film which was ace. Overall, a very luxurious and relaxing experience - it is very nice to be waited on!

I also went to an outdoor showing of the Godfather at the botanical gardens with Rich on a night when Laura had to work. it was very very warm and comfy lying on the rugs and cushions watching a classic film that I had never seen before (really want to see godfather 2 when i get home!). I think ordinary boring cinema has now been totally spoiled for me!

- Mordialloc: Beach, bikes and bubbles

I spent quite a lot of time cycling to the beach at Mordy and also trying some of the other beaches down the coast (including Brighton beach - much nicer than its UK equivalent...). The weather was pretty hot, so a dip in the cold water was much needed after even a short bike ride. The only thing that marred my enjoyment slightly was the 'joke' that Rich made when I arrived about having seen a stingray in the water (after i enthralled them with my stingray story for the 5th time) at Mordy beach. This made me slightly paranoid, but I never saw one, and I think he made it up!

It was also cool to spend time with friends of Laura and Rich - Amy, Derek, Ellen, Pete, Sarah and Matt - most of whom I had met before on the last visit and at the wedding. The boys tended to stick to beer and the girls to 'bubbles' on a night out -which I thoroughly enjoyed - and I had an ace time hanging out with them in Mordy!

It was very very sad to say goodbye to Laura and Rich (more tears at the airport!) but I am looking forward to seeing them at christmas and returning their generous hospitality - although I cant guarantee the weather in the UK will be as good!

Nina xxx