Don't panic Henderson family - we're in the airport waiting for the flight home so shouldn't miss the wedding !
Unfortunately the Telstra SIM card we got in Australia for the Blogging gadget didn't work in Singapore and we figured it wasn't worth getting a brand new one for 2 days so no blog until now.
What have we done with our time in Singapore? Got sore feet for starters - we gave up today and used the BRILLIANT underground (MRT) a bit more. On the day we arrived we hit Orchard Road which is basically lots of shops. Had to buy a long skirt for Kay who forgot that a proportion of Singapore is Hindu and Muslim and if she wanted to see any temples she really shouldn't show legs or shoulders! Martyn thinks that was just an excuse but he can't say a word because on the second day we were here we went on a walking tour of Little India and then found this place called Sim Lim Square. Martyn described it as 5 floors of every computer fair he has ever been to. I think he was in heaven. Anyway, he said he would only need one hour there as he knew exactly what he wanted. Needless to say 5 hours, lunch AND A LOT MORE than what we went in for later he declared himself gadgetted out. I nearly fainted. He said that was it for at least a year but then he saw the Lifestyle Electronics shop in duty free. I give up - he's addicted!
Yesterday was National Day here - the day Singapore gained independence so there was a big fireworks display and celebration. We did not have much success with viewing the celebrations - we saw big chinook helicopters dragging Singaporean flags along - martyn didn't get the video camera out in time. Then there was a fly over by a load of jets - just as we were under this huge umbrella thing. Then we thought the fireworks would be at 9 or 10 o'clock so went for dinner at 7.30 pm. At 8pm we sat in restaurant and listened to the fireworks. We did have a laugh though. Went on a bumboat ride along the river and marvelled at the still more shops that line the Quays.
Today we went to Sentosa Island and went on a cable car, luge ride (650m of go-cart cum sledge thing down a concrete slope - mad) then we went on a ski lift type thing back up the hill. Thought we ought to do something cultural so went to history of Singapore museum thing - very good. Then went to China Town - more shops and the odd temple.
This is a truly shopping oriented place and very humid but we have had fun.
Time to go home now.
See you all soon.
Kay and Martyn
PS - we are now expert at repacking in the middle of the airport floor so that all of Marts gadgets can be checked in after claiming tax back!
Friday, 10 August 2007
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Correction to last nights comment, german trouser man is actually dutch trouser man. He exclaimed this loudly in the car park before getting in his hire car and putting it in drive, rather than reverse - we nearly had him driving through our front wall!
We are actually here a day early, we blew out Geraldton earlier last week, which allowed us to spend the day here before flying back to perth.. this is when we realised that the Canarvon'airians don't like to boast much about their tourist attractions.. there is actually more written in Lonely Planet about one mile jetty and the 'dish' than there is at these attractions. Our favorite for this was the 'dish'..
While the radio-telescope was decomissioned in the 80's it still stands on the hill above town, so we voyaged (on foot!) all 6km from town and expected to pay to get in and stay a while... however this wasn't to be - we ambled up - right up to it, then walked up it 1/2 way, then down again , then looked for some information... didn't find any, so walked back to town.. an opportunity missed Carnarvon to make a few dollars and tell us about the tracking station.... hey ho.. more word puzzles it is then.
the second highlight of the day was finding the inflatable banana - possibly more cool than the info-less dish but probably because our expectations were lower. although they might have had the decency to put it horizontal as it did look a little rude from a distance
I apologise in advance for the toilet humour that is to follow (excuse the pun - all will make sense.....) but seriously the absolute highlight of the day was the public toilet we found. unbelievably fantastic and you should definately visit carnarvon just to experience it. I don't know what was funnier - the loo or the look on the locals face as they walked passed and martyn and I were in fits and yelping as we discovered something new......
l'm not kidding about any of this - you didn't have to pay but you pressed a button to open the door, you got 10 mins (which seems like a long time but there were so many toys in there !) it played music and told you to hurry up if the music stopped and the alarm sounded (door opening soon!) it had an automatic hand washer and no flusher for the loo - it did it automatically when you put your hands in the sink. you had to press a button for the toilet roll to dispense (precisely 5 squares !) - and then if all these delights meant you took too long you got caught in the self cleaning cycle and got wet feet as the thing washed its own floor !
We also learned that us brits are obviously not laid back enough.. after spending the day battling with kays very difficult puzzlebock we sat down for some pizza before heading for the airport.. we realised once our pizza arrived that we should have really been at canarvon airport as our flight was only an hour away.. after scoffing down the pizza and sprinting down the street we fueled up the rental truck and sped to the airport. We made it there at 6.00 for a 6.55 flight... this is when we realised we were not the last to check in, but the first! - the lady at the check in desk told us that the locals are pretty bad and often turn up 10 minutes before the flight left! .. phew.
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We are actually here a day early, we blew out Geraldton earlier last week, which allowed us to spend the day here before flying back to perth.. this is when we realised that the Canarvon'airians don't like to boast much about their tourist attractions.. there is actually more written in Lonely Planet about one mile jetty and the 'dish' than there is at these attractions. Our favorite for this was the 'dish'..
While the radio-telescope was decomissioned in the 80's it still stands on the hill above town, so we voyaged (on foot!) all 6km from town and expected to pay to get in and stay a while... however this wasn't to be - we ambled up - right up to it, then walked up it 1/2 way, then down again , then looked for some information... didn't find any, so walked back to town.. an opportunity missed Carnarvon to make a few dollars and tell us about the tracking station.... hey ho.. more word puzzles it is then.
the second highlight of the day was finding the inflatable banana - possibly more cool than the info-less dish but probably because our expectations were lower. although they might have had the decency to put it horizontal as it did look a little rude from a distance
I apologise in advance for the toilet humour that is to follow (excuse the pun - all will make sense.....) but seriously the absolute highlight of the day was the public toilet we found. unbelievably fantastic and you should definately visit carnarvon just to experience it. I don't know what was funnier - the loo or the look on the locals face as they walked passed and martyn and I were in fits and yelping as we discovered something new......
l'm not kidding about any of this - you didn't have to pay but you pressed a button to open the door, you got 10 mins (which seems like a long time but there were so many toys in there !) it played music and told you to hurry up if the music stopped and the alarm sounded (door opening soon!) it had an automatic hand washer and no flusher for the loo - it did it automatically when you put your hands in the sink. you had to press a button for the toilet roll to dispense (precisely 5 squares !) - and then if all these delights meant you took too long you got caught in the self cleaning cycle and got wet feet as the thing washed its own floor !
We also learned that us brits are obviously not laid back enough.. after spending the day battling with kays very difficult puzzlebock we sat down for some pizza before heading for the airport.. we realised once our pizza arrived that we should have really been at canarvon airport as our flight was only an hour away.. after scoffing down the pizza and sprinting down the street we fueled up the rental truck and sped to the airport. We made it there at 6.00 for a 6.55 flight... this is when we realised we were not the last to check in, but the first! - the lady at the check in desk told us that the locals are pretty bad and often turn up 10 minutes before the flight left! .. phew.
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Monday, 6 August 2007
Martyn was just finishing his mexican chicken schnitzel at dinner tonight, when the fork slipped from his hand and on to the floor. This by itself was not that amusing, but he then bent down to collect a chip that had been brutally dropped with the fork, using his napkin. Kay didn't see this, and shortly after this attempted to mop up a little condensed water from a glass on the table. She manaaged this then, as if skillfully rehearsed, lost the chip from inside the napkin straight into martyn's drink on the table.
Not sure if this picture is quite complete without the vision that greeted us back in the motel car park of a german man in the next room, walking out to check his car with his trousers half down...
Hang on, i'll just bolt the door...
kay here - unfortunately martyn is not joking about any of the above - I knew returning to civilisation was a bad idea - never been more scared in my life than when that man walked out his hotel room.
anyway the meal was nice apart from the whole fork / chip thing but then it was just luck we could remember what cutlery is - using it was bound to be a little complicated - it was stainless steel and didn't flex like our plastic picnic set ones !!!
got here (Canarvon) at about 3pm and went for a walk - the most exercise we've had since san francisco really - a whole 6 miles along a waterfront walk to the historic precinct and the one mile jetty
very pretty if a little rickety but at aud 2500 per pylon to do it up they are a bit behind on fundraising.
martyn nearly trod on a snake but we don't think it was a poisonous one - his reaction means he's a good apprentice for you though dad (sorry - underwood family joke)
tomorrow I think we are planning to see an old nasa satellite dish and a big inflatable banana - great tourist attractions they have round here. I have to come back to visit the giant concrete worm I read about in bill bryson down under. Oh did I tell you about the directions we were given the other day 'turn left at the giant crayfish' l'm not kidding but it wasn't that big and we nearly missed it !
off to sleep now , always assuming we can remember how beds work and of course hoping for no more encounters with german trouser man. will let you know tomorrow how we fared overnight !
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Sunday, 5 August 2007
oh my goodness my husband knows the first 7 decimal places of pi by heart. apparently he is so old they had to learn it in school. progress was made and two years later I only had to know two decimal places.
how did I find this amazing fact out about my husband ? I asked him the highly important question 'where is the shower gel' and he said 'its in the truck - next question ' so I said 'ummm what is the 7th decimal place of pi?' still can't believe I got a serious correct answer.
isabel and barrie - your son is magic ! but be careful , its going to his head and apparently he can remember your visa card number from when he was 16.
personally i'm thinking there could be money to be made here on one of those highly intelligent channel 5 documentaries !
anyway after that highly shocking start to the day I have a very important decision to make - which comes first , shower or breakfast. will let you know the outcome later (coz I know you're interested ! )
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how did I find this amazing fact out about my husband ? I asked him the highly important question 'where is the shower gel' and he said 'its in the truck - next question ' so I said 'ummm what is the 7th decimal place of pi?' still can't believe I got a serious correct answer.
isabel and barrie - your son is magic ! but be careful , its going to his head and apparently he can remember your visa card number from when he was 16.
personally i'm thinking there could be money to be made here on one of those highly intelligent channel 5 documentaries !
anyway after that highly shocking start to the day I have a very important decision to make - which comes first , shower or breakfast. will let you know the outcome later (coz I know you're interested ! )
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Not much to say today, we got up a little earlier (kay already explained that), then headed to local town Denham - found the Shark Bay Heritage centre, and spent the morning gazing at the displays of pictures and memorabilia. Quite a collection, going right back the 1600's ? (we forget already) when the Dutch landed in western australia, before Captain Cook - so there.
Walked along the shore, and ate miss mac's sausage rolls for lunch, and very tasty they were, move over mister Ginster.
Tried to book an aboriginal tour back at monkey mia, but unfortunatley it was the guide's day off.
Spent the rest of the afternoon reading my book (Clive Cussler, schoolboy mission impossibe, invincible ship etc etc)
Just watched the weather forcast for tomorrow - thunder, Kay wondering about that 50 seater turbo-prop waiting in Canarvon... muah hahahahaha.... Kay it can't thunder for 2 days solid.
(i haven't told martyn about the increasing likelihood of cyclones the further north we get !!!)... M: ah, phooey.
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Walked along the shore, and ate miss mac's sausage rolls for lunch, and very tasty they were, move over mister Ginster.
Tried to book an aboriginal tour back at monkey mia, but unfortunatley it was the guide's day off.
Spent the rest of the afternoon reading my book (Clive Cussler, schoolboy mission impossibe, invincible ship etc etc)
Just watched the weather forcast for tomorrow - thunder, Kay wondering about that 50 seater turbo-prop waiting in Canarvon... muah hahahahaha.... Kay it can't thunder for 2 days solid.
(i haven't told martyn about the increasing likelihood of cyclones the further north we get !!!)... M: ah, phooey.
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Saturday, 4 August 2007
its going to be a hot one - no sea breeze , 10 am and i'm sunbathing - its a hard life but someones gotta do it ! besides need to recover from slightly rude awakening at 7am this morning - lady shouting for help and first aid from caravan opposite - her son was having convulsions so dealt with that , then made breakfast, then packed martyn off to shower, then realised how early it was and am now recovering !!!!!
have found singapore book and martyn said we were going there quite soon so I thought I should read it to decide what to do. martyn has found the it shopping mall he wants to go to. personally I think I might stay in the hotel room as every picture I look at has about a hundred people in it and there are cars and trains and everything - don't think we've seen more than 200 people and 50 cars in the last two weeks ! no trains since san francisco..... and there will be a bed - shock horror - maybe we'll put our bags on it and sleep on floor..... ah well , more later.
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have found singapore book and martyn said we were going there quite soon so I thought I should read it to decide what to do. martyn has found the it shopping mall he wants to go to. personally I think I might stay in the hotel room as every picture I look at has about a hundred people in it and there are cars and trains and everything - don't think we've seen more than 200 people and 50 cars in the last two weeks ! no trains since san francisco..... and there will be a bed - shock horror - maybe we'll put our bags on it and sleep on floor..... ah well , more later.
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late night tonight - 19.15 and still awake !!!! we are sat in the monkey bar listening to the band that play here. might try to stay awake for an aboriginal walking tour tonight but if not (and I don't hold out much hope) there is always tomorrow !
after our lazy day yesterday we made up for it today with a short walk this morning - 1.5 km should have taken half an hour at home speed but at holiday speed the sign said allow one hour - that was before the mummy emu with 4 babies crossed our path - lost about half an hour then - quite a lot of which was spent pondering how best not to worry a 6 foot high flightless protective mother who can run at 40 km an hour !!!! and then there was the kangaroo.......
hired bikes this afternoon - well at least they had two wheels and a saddle (sort of) one gear and one brake (non functioning) but it was ok coz to stop you just pedalled backwards - martyn remembered this quaint quirk of aussie bikes just as kay almost went over the handlebars
gosh this band are really good - this is taking ages to type in as I keep getting distracted ! they are called sleazy listening and they seem to have done lots of covers but they're good.
nobody out there faint but martyn is halfway through a book - with actual pages and words and everything ! but he was allowed 15 mins on internet today - checking comments - fred flintstone who are you ? apart from the obvious pal of barney, wife of wilma etc
That's it for today, we are on holiday you know.
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after our lazy day yesterday we made up for it today with a short walk this morning - 1.5 km should have taken half an hour at home speed but at holiday speed the sign said allow one hour - that was before the mummy emu with 4 babies crossed our path - lost about half an hour then - quite a lot of which was spent pondering how best not to worry a 6 foot high flightless protective mother who can run at 40 km an hour !!!! and then there was the kangaroo.......
hired bikes this afternoon - well at least they had two wheels and a saddle (sort of) one gear and one brake (non functioning) but it was ok coz to stop you just pedalled backwards - martyn remembered this quaint quirk of aussie bikes just as kay almost went over the handlebars
gosh this band are really good - this is taking ages to type in as I keep getting distracted ! they are called sleazy listening and they seem to have done lots of covers but they're good.
nobody out there faint but martyn is halfway through a book - with actual pages and words and everything ! but he was allowed 15 mins on internet today - checking comments - fred flintstone who are you ? apart from the obvious pal of barney, wife of wilma etc
That's it for today, we are on holiday you know.
[Posted with hblogger 2.0 http://www.normsoft.com/hblogger/]
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