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Day 1 - Singapore (23rd September ‘24)

Oh hi there! Back for more of my shit blog, hey? Well you’re here because you chose to be, don’t blame me for bad photos and amateur commentary. For those new to my blog, please lower your expectations. It’s a run down of each day and a few pictures - it is unlikely to be inspirational or life changing.


So here goes.


Day 1 in Singapore. We arrived off the back of a long old journey with a brief connection in Abu Dhabi. Etihad is a good airline. Food and in-flight entertainment was great. Oh  the flight map showing the direction to Mecca was a first, if not all that useful for me.


We got to the incredible Singapore Airport at 9.30am. If you’ve not been it’s the undisputed champion of airports. Slick, clean, modern and beautifully decorated with plants, flowers, trees and fountains. Also a rooftop pool and cinema - but we gave that a miss. For Kirstie and I, we have a history with Singapore Airport having slept through the final calls for a connecting flight once, because we were waiting at the wrong gate. While waiting the many hours for the next available flight, we had a quick city bus tour and a good look around the airport.


This time we wanted to just get the hell out of there and to our hotel to freshen up.


We grabbed a ‘Grab’ which is basically Uber. When the taxi arrived at our hotel, we thought it was paid for through the app, but it turns out it wasn’t as we hadn’t selected the right option or something, so we effectively borrowed the fare from the hotel reception to pay it. All done with good grace a humour all round - all Singapore people we have met, literally everyone, have been delightfully friendly.


We got to the hotel but it was too early to check in, so we dumped our bags, got changed into shorts etc (it was bloody hot) and headed to  Clarke Quay (five minute walk away). We had a little mooch around the colourful waterfront (lots of bars and restaurants etc). It felt like a bit of a ghost town at that time of day - but imagined it would be busy later on (we were right).


We wandered back to the hotel via Daiso - a Japanese Poundland type place (but quite good) made a few purchases. Kirstie will return for a more substantial shopping experience. It’s up there as one of her favourite shops.


We headed back to the hotel, had a good nap, then headed out to meet a friend, Will, for dinner. He chose Marco Pierre White’s English House - which we thought was hilarious, however we had an incredible 9 course Dim Sum feast.


To top it off at the end, Will had arranged a birthday brownie complete with candle etc. Kirstie enjoyed the brownie much more than the pre-cake singing.


We spent dinner catching up with Will, who is a Thai chap who was a student at IH summer school with Kirstie, then an Activity leader working for me, then did a PhD in Biochemistry at Oxford and then moved to Sweden to do something I barely understand related to working with the police to find out what dangerous element some kind of synthetic cannabis contained that was killing people. Now he’s leading a research team at Nanyang University about something to do with blood pressure. God knows. It’s way above my head.


We mooched back via the waterfront to the hotel and said farewell. By this time, bed was calling us both (as was the air con in our room!).


Classic photo from window.

The riverside in the Clarke Quay area. A couple of minutes from our hotel.

From the other side of the river. Very colourful!

Will, Kirstie and I. You can’t see Kirstie’s red face after being publicly sang to.

Clarke Quay by night. What you can’t hear is the sound of nightlife - some club music but mostly live cover bands.

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