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We arrived in Singapore on Tuesday after a relatively painless flight from Kuala Lumpur. We jumped on the very efficient MRT (underground) system and arrived at our hotel with no problems at all. It was really hot and even the short walk from the station left us very sticky. After a nice shower and change of clothes we headed out for a bit of an explore around the locality, grabbed some food and then went back to our hotel.
On Wednesday we woke up early and had our first proper taste of Singapore in the daytime. We headed to pick up our F1 tickets from the collection centre, passing part of the track that was being put together on the way. After collecting them we walked back through some of the shopping centre's and had a mooch around. There are loads of shops around and we spent the remainder of the day making our way along Orchard Road. It's the main shopping street in Singapore and was packed with people. We window shopped a lot but we were shattered so we finallywent back to the hotel after dark.
On Thursday we woke up early and made our way to the Singapore Zoo and Night Safari. We caught the MRT train to where we were supposed to catch our bus to the Zoo. When we arrived at the station there were some dodgy looking people offering discount tickets to the zoo along with a free bus ride. We thought about it, found that they were registered with the local tourist office so jumped in the bus and headed to the zoo. Our worries turned out to be unfounded, there were no ticket problems and we got into the Zoo. The Zoo was excellent, the animals were really well looked after and their enclosures themed well into the surroundings. You could also get really close to some of the animals such as parrots and orang-utans. We both agree probably the best zoo we have ever visited! After an exhausting day touring the Zoo we moved just round the corner to the Night Safari. Here the nocturnal animals could be seen in the evening surroundings from a tram that tours around as well as walking trails. It's really good seeing the animals when they are active and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We finally got back home after a long bus journey - absolutely shattered so we went straight to bed!
On Friday we met up With Phil and Margaret (Pete's friend from the UK) We explored a bit of the city with them, including Raffles Hotel, the riverside and finally the symbol of Singapore, the Merlion. We had a cool drink as it was really hot and then headed back to our hotel to shower and change as we were booked in for afternoon tea at Raffles (posh hotel). Whilst we got ready we listened to the 'F1 Rocks' concert taking place in the park opposite our Hotel. We heard Beyonce and the Black Eyed Pea's live! We jumped in a taxi with Phil and Margaret and travelled down to Raffles ready for our '3.30pm sharp' booking. We went into the restaurant and had a lovely buffet with tea on tap in very posh surroundings. It was lovely and we spent 2 hours eating and drinking. After finishing we staggered out, all feeling a little over indulged we moved onto the Long Bar, the home of the original Singapore Sling. We had a drink and threw a few peanut shells on the floor (as is customary) then checked out the the hotel grounds. After that it was time to go and watch the Formula 1 evening practice session. We had seats for the whole weekend so decided to go and find out where they were and Pete taught Hol about what was going on! The racing was really good, we both enjoyed it.
On Saturday we got up late, we even slept through breakfast we were so tired. After a lovely and well deserved chill out we went to the post office to offload some excess baggage and goodies home. After that Pete was allowed out to a camera shop alone and bought some 'essential' bits for his camera while Hol did some laundry and general OCD sorting back in the hotel... When we were showered and changed (again) we met up with Phil and Margaret to watch the Formula 1 qualifying session. It was an hour of fast paced action with a lovely atmosphere at the circuit. After Qualifying we slowly made our way to Clarke Quay, stopping and admiring the landmarks/skyline of Singapore and some of the entertainment on offer at the track. We eventually arrived and had a couple of drinks about 1.30am then headed home. On arriving we crawled into bed again shattered at about 3am.
Sunday morning was a write off, we slept in very late worn out by too many late nights and long days. When we finally moved our sleepy bums as we had the task of packing up ready to move early the following morning to Perth, Australia. After squashing everything into our rucksacks we met up with Phil and Margaret again to go and watch the Formula One night race. We had an amazing evening! The race was stunning, held under the lights and the atmosphere was electric. The only problem we had was sitting next to the two fattest men you have ever seen. They didn't fit in their own seats so 1 moved to a couple of empty seats not far away. He eye-balled us all night as if expecting us to move but was not pleasant anyhow, so we stayed put! :-) After the race had finished, we headed down onto the track and walked along the pit straight, checking out the garages and chatting to some of the mechanics through the fence. It was a lovely evening and after a long walk and a taxi back to where we were staying we eventually got to bed around 230am. Got to be up at 5am to get to the airport. Next stop, Perth, Western Australia.
See you there.
Pete and Hol
xXx
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