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November 9th - Singapore, Meeting the Prices.
Up early again as we needed to be checked out by 10am and we wanted enough time to make the most of the buffet breakfast on offer (it was included in the cost of the room). Once again it was an original interpretation of what we call brekkie, catching the eye first had to be the chicken sausages followed closely by the bread pudding. There was also a large bowl of crunchy stuff, rubbish description we know but that's all we can say really, tasted quite good anyhoo! Sufficiently full we packed up the room and checked out. They let you leave your stuff locked up and use their facilities so we took advantage. We went online to check our flight details for the flight to Perth in a couple of days, made a note of the best seats to ask for and did a little more blogging. We still had some notes left from Malaysia so went out in search of a 'money changer' to get them turned into Singapore dollars. It didn't take long to find one and after some quick calculations we accepted their offer and swapped cash. On the walk back to collect our bags we saw a juice shop that looked good. I had an Oreo flavour shake and Sam had double choc (she asked for coconut but the lady seemed bemused by this, despite it being written tight in front of her, I guess they were sold out!?!) The stroll back was leisurely, only interrupted now and again by a jelly ball (which they put in the bottom of the drink) getting stuck in the straw!
Back at the hostel we booked a taxi, as it was time to go and find Richard and Jackies' house. It was a nice feeling to be heading somewhere we would know people, it's been a while! A slight mix up with the taxi driver (he turned too early looking for the building number) meant a slightly longer ride than necessary but when he heard me say the name of the building he did a big 'ahhhh, you should have said'. A few seconds later we passed a huge fancy looking building and noticed the name was the one we were looking for - we just looked at each other and laughed…bit different from a hostel!!
As we got out of the taxi a massive (tall) concierge man approached asking if we were here to see the Prices' and to take a seat by the pool because they're expecting us; not quite what we've gotten used to!! After a few minutes he sent me upstairs to make sure they weren't waiting up there and as I stood by the door Sam and Jackie came out of the lift behind me. It was a lovely greeting and despite the fact that I hadn't seen them since they moved out of the village about 10 years prior, it felt like speaking to my neighbour. Richard was close behind and after a rapid hello and introductions we were given a tour and free reign, then left to amuse ourselves. It didn't take long before Sam proclaimed 'I could live here', I found this pretty obvious - a lovely 2 floor apartment on the 12th floor of a beautiful building with breath taking views of Singapore and a huge pool…but I knew what she meant. It looked like a house of Sams', minimal, exact, arty and modern yet homely. We settled in right away!
Once settled, we decided to walk to the Botanical gardens. It was a lovely sunny day, so walking was at a snails pace. As we strolled we noticed how immaculately clean and organized Singapore appeared to be. There were massive buildings all around, however just as many (if not more) trees, so lush and green! The botanical gardens were idyllic, just pristine. We wandered to the top of a stream and found a lizard on the path sunning itself. We wanted to get a good close up picture, so took a pic every step closer we got! When we were too close for comfort the lizard dashed up a tree, which gave us an even better pic! Continuing around the gardens we came across 'Swan Lake'. The water was pretty murky but it didn't take long before we saw some big fish. Tom was most impressed at seeing a turtle's head poking through the surface!!
Within the grounds was an Orchid garden that you had to pay to visit. It was 5 Singapore dollars each, us being adults an all - however it pays to keep your out of date student card, as with these we only paid 1 dollar each, hee! Both our cameras got a fierce work out in this area, as everywhere you turned there were weird and wonderful looking orchids! Walking through the gardens was bliss, so quiet and picturesque (if a little humid and sweaty), hopefully the pictures will do it justice. We managed to while away a whole afternoon and it was about half four by the time we were done. On our way back we stopped for food at the gardens hawker market. The counter we ate from served Asian roast dinner and you could choose from a number of meat and veg combos, however the dishes on offer were far from traditional. Tom almost ordered Chicken Feet for his meat but realised just in time. We both enjoyed our meals, although Toms 'mild' curry (which I almost went for because the lady said it was only a little bit spicy) was far from 'mild'! We finished with fresh juices each, then headed back. As we got back Jackie was cooling off in the pool so we had a little chat before changing and having a dip ourselves. Jackie said how she walks to the Botanical gardens everyday for Yoga - now that's the life!! Swimming in the pool was lush, just what we needed. We swam until it started to get dark and once back in the apartment had drinks on the balcony and a catch-up/get to know you, before Richard and Jackie had to go out. Probably the most we had spoken to anyone in weeks!
Showering to go out and see a bit of the famous Orchard Road, I noticed my 30 Baht (48 pence) bracelet was missing - oh god!!! Looking in the pool we could see it was at the bottom of the deep end - oh dear!!! From the apartment we walked to Orchard Road and strolled along in search of somewhere to eat. A lot of places were finished serving as it was getting late, but we came across a place which did a 4 course deal (soup, salad, a main and desert). Tom had steak and I bravely went for the 3 sea prawns; I say bravely because they came with the shells, legs, eyes and all! Less than 1 hour later (we were the last order of the night) we were stuffed and hoping desert was going to be just a small scoop of ice cream - it wasn't, here was cake too! As we left the restaurant it was raining and as I had just washed my hair I didn't fancy walking back. Tom tried to catch us a cab but unfortunately they were either already booked or just not stopping, so we ended up walking! It wasn't too bad though, as with there being so many large trees we were often sheltered. Once home we went straight to bed!
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