So after getting up at normal time, we spent the day updating photos and writing the blog, reading our books and preparing ourselves for the coming weeks.
When we were at Gapang Beach somebody had told Gem that the new Twilight movie was due out. So that’s where she dragged us today.
The cinema was in a shopping centre where we were able to get an Aussie SIM for the phone. This would make communication with the parental more difficult but would be much cheaper for getting in touch with our friends and necessary for any job contact that we needed.
We also picked up an aircompressor for the tyre. We expected that when we got the car back the slow leak would have rendered the tyre flat. We would definitely need to pump it up before we could drive it anywhere.
After our shopping, the movie (that Gem thoroughly enjoyed and Dunc rated as a 6.5 – he would never admit it so I will tell you instead), and the walk back to the hostel it was time to cook our dinner.
Our body clocks were still out we were not ready for bed until 2-3am and were sleeping in late. Tomorrow we were going to try and rectify this.
Our connecting flight from Darwin was on time. At Sydney airport we collected our bags, and caught the train into Central Station. From here we walked to the Hostel dragging our bags.
We had just got checked in and our bags into the room when the handle on the bag broke. This was the second and last handle of the bag. The pull out wheely handle was still there but obviously we couldn’t lift the bag with this. So from here on in, whenever we needed to move the suitcase we had to lift it like we were carrying a huge boulder in a strong man contest.
In the afternoon we went to Coles. We felt that this was a momentous occasion requiring a photo. Our first time in Coles, how exciting! We stocked up on some ingredients for bbqs and pasta and of course many of the things that we had been missing over the last few years.
So it was with great satisfaction that we had a proper steak and veggies tonight.
It was a hugely early night for us today. We were sharing the room with three Swedish girls, who headed out for a night on the town. We didn’t hear them come back though, or leave really early in the morning, so we must have been tired.
We packed our bags, we caught the train and we arrived at the Singapore airport hours early! This was the plan.
We checked our bags in early and then crossed over into the world that is the Singapore airport shopping terminal. Of course by this time we had no money left but it was fabulous to window shop and to make use of all the movie rooms, games rooms, computer rooms, relaxing areas that the airport has.
It was here that it started to hit us. We were about to get on a plane to Australia!!! 4 years and one month later and we were returning to the Motherland.
We spent the last hour or so contemplating not just the last few months, but the last few years. It is exciting to think that we would be back in Perth soon, and we know that there will be an adjustment period but will be able to be as happy?
We boarded the plane a little late and I guess it goes without saying that we were not going to get a lot of sleep. We tried but despite the comfort packs that we had pre-purchased on jet star we could not sleep. It might have been the nervous anticipation or it might have been the absence of leg room.
At any length we were tired when we got to Darwin. Perhaps this tiredness was what gave Darwin such a dreamlike quality. Perhaps it was that at 3am in the morning people were waiting for flights in Blunnies or pluggers or answering their phones when the ringtone starts singing ACDC. Yup, we were back in Oz.
We had a later start today as we knew we would be finishing late today.
We took public transport to the zoo. It took somewhere around 2 to 2 ½ hours, making us very late to the zoo. The highlight of the zoo was the orang-utan enclosure. They have a standard enclosure that the orang-utans use but they can climb between many of the trees around the zoo. The cable system stretches over the pathways between the trees. Each tree has a platform in it (should our cousins prefer not to sit in the branches) Then there is some wire to stop them climbing down wherever they feel like it.
We got to see them quite close up in a zoo talk, and then went exploring the other animals in the zoo. As public transport had seriously eaten into our observation time we had to boot around the and dodge the zoo keepers who kept coming to see if we ‘were making our way back to the gate’
After the zoo was closed we had a small wait before the night safari opened. The night safari is a zoo opened at night (very self explanatory I know). When we arrived they had some performers enacting a cultural dance from Borneo. After that we lined up to watch the night animal show.
We had not been in the line long when the thunder and lightning rolled in overhead and the show was cancelled due to the weather. The thunder and lightning did not bring any rain though so we followed the walking path around while we waited for the next show.
It is quite a cool concept viewing largely nocturnal animals by the light of a synthetic moon in the dark. We saw everything from mousedeer to wolves to bats in the freeflying bat house.
Back at the amphitheatre, the queue was growing for the last show of the evening. The storm never eventuated into anything and had long passed. So at 10 we sat down to watch the show, learn more about the animals and see them in action. The highlight was the recycling otters!
Dreading another 2 hour trip on the public transport and slightly concerned that we might get stuck somewhere along the route, we paid a little extra to catch the Night Safari shuttle back into central Singapore. From there a short train ride delivered us back to our beds.
This morning after breakfast we took the train to west Singapore and visited the Bird Park. Although we had quite high expectations I believe that this Bird Park lived up to them. It had a large variety of walk through aviaries as well as caged birds and it also had a couple of shows during the day. And of course the gardens were beautiful. So we spent a few leisurely hours wandering through the gardens looking at the birds and watching a couple of shows on birds in general and also birds of prey.
Gem was a slightly unwilling volunteer for one of the bird shows, but she once she realised that she did not have to go down onto the stage in front of everyone she was ok. Instead she held a hoop for a beautiful scarlet macaw to fly through.
The hosts of the shows were impeccable and although a little cheesy at times.
After the bird park we stopped off at little China. China town was a nice mix of English and Chinese architecture. The stores sold everything from dodgy Chinese replicas of everything to some very nice antiquities, teapots and souvenirs.
From there we walked to Clark Quay, arriving after dark to see all the lights. It is very modern and very pretty and quirky. It kind of gave us the feeling that we were visiting Disneyland again.
We did manage to find a lovely restaurant where Gem had some enviously good lamb, and excellent Australian wine.
Back at the hostel Gem checked her mail and discovered that she had been offered the job at Northam!
Sunday today – day of rest! Not!
Well Gem did anyway. Blogging, Photos, and maybe a movie, while Dunc hit the streets again!
This time he did not come home empty handed. After spending time determining the proper bargains last night he was on a mission. As our small travel laptop was behaving in a flaky manner that would require being sent back under warranty, and Gem would need a laptop it ‘made sense’ to get a medium range cheapie here, right? So that was the first purchase.
The shopping machine we call Duncan also found himself a watch, Gem some earrings and a couple of other little things. Yes, the cat had caught the canary and was very happy with himself. And as Dunc got to have fun buying things, and Gem got to have fun opening packages, a good day was had by all.
Is it possible that Duncan has ever been more enthusiastic about shopping as he was here in Singapore? We started the day with a quick train to city hall to sort out our tourist travel passes, and then we walked a little around the Colonial district including the Ritz and the outside of the beautiful National Museum. I wouldn’t say that any attempt has been made to blend architectural styles, so that the streets are an eclectic mix of modernistic architecture and colonial buildings.
But then we entered the Funan Centre. A large multi-storey shopping mall devoted largely to computers and cameras. This is one of the centres that was recommended to us for computer stuff. It wasn’t long until the spring in his step lessened a little bit though. He was hoping to get a new laptop which will be necessary for work. As such he had been doing a lot of research to see what the cutting edge of laptops suitable for his requirements were. He had a list of models which he would like to consider (computers that is!) but none of them were carried in stock. They were too new. It was also beginning to seem that buying an expensive computer did not really give much saving. Buying a run of the mill word processing, internet searching computer that Gem might use, did have some good bargains though.
Not to be so easily thwarted we had some lunch at a pasta house and headed on. Our next stop was Sim Lee Square. Now this place is less like a mall and more like an indoor market of electrical goods, mainly computers and cameras. And according to the advice we had been given, this place was not for novices as prices weren’t marked… if you know what I mean. So it was good that Gem was bringing Duncan. We looked at cameras, computers, DS games, computers, cameras, computers until everything was starting to look the same. As we climbed each level Dunc began to get a little more dejected. The upper models of computers that he wanted were still not available here.
Not to have his shopping bubble burst completely we headed to Orchard Road. Tired of wearing a five pound surf watch on his wrist, Dunc thought that he might get himself an early Christmas present of a watch. Gem who had lost an earring while diving browsed the jewellery stores for some replacement studs.
The already impressive collection of buildings on Orchard road was complemented further by beautiful Christmas lights and decorations. It was now getting late and Gem’s tired feet were astounded at the sheer endurance of Dunc’s shopping frenzy. Soon enough Gem’s feet won out, and we returned to the hostel still empty handed. However as many tout Singapore as being a shopping mecca I think we successfully explored that side of the city – tick that off the list.
Back at the hostel it continued though. Dunc was wanting to compare prices of various things that we had looked at with online prices to make sure he was getting a bargain. And I think right about this time was when Gem and her feet went to sleep.
Today sadly we left on Gapang beach. We did leave with a couple of friends though. Mike and Juhah (from Finland). Both waaay better divers than we, but we had spent some time with them both over the week and enjoyed their company.
The bus left at 7am and wound us back to the ferry – there were no monkeys on the side of the road this morning they clearly think that it is too early.
The fast ferry is broken so we were on the slow ferry this morning, but as we are all on the same flight this afternoon to KL it wasn’t really a problem. We could afford to sit in first class on the slow ferry so got comfy in the aircon and had a couple of donuts for breakfast (although they were nowhere near as good as Mamma Donut!)
Back on land we met our taxi driver and for a small fee he took us to a couple of well photographed spots around town. The first was a giant ship that belonged to the State Utility Electricity providing Bantam Island with electricity (who knew electricity came from ships??) The ship ‘landed’ in the middle of town, about 5 kilometres from the sea, right on a couple of houses whose remnants you can see underneath. It is believed that there are also some unrecovered bodies under underneath. Apparently the ship still works properly.
The next seems far less tragic – a small fishing boat dumped on the top of a house. It has been left there as a monument. When we visited it had a fresh coat of pain and a ramp was being built to allow access onto the boat. It did not appear that any of the rooms within the houses had been damaged but that the boat was just balanced between a roof and a balcony.
The day was extremely hot and sweaty and we welcomed the relative cool of the airport. None of us were brave enough to try the airport food while we waited, instead opting to chat over drinks. As we boarded the flight we said goodbye as we were sitting in different boarding sections.
Although we were slightly delayed the light was uneventful and in another hour or so we were back at KL. The delay was a bit of a blessing as it cut down our waiting time in KL. In the bookshop we met a vet whose name I cannot remember, we shall call him John. John had been visiting his son who was an actor in Indonesian soaps, he noticed us looking at Sydney guidebooks and offered some advice as he used to live there.
Finally we boarded our flight to Singapore. 40 minutes later we cleared customs (Gem once again sneaking her alcohol through), got the last train for the city and arrived at the Hostel before its doors were locked for the night. We were asleep in our cold airconditioned rooms before our heads hit the pillows.
We started this morning at Rubia North another fabulous dive which Dunc said was his favourite. As we passed through the fan corals over a see garden and across to a rocky pinnacles we saw heaps of giant morays and honeycomb morays. For with a keen eye there were heaps of nudibranchs (extremely technicolour sea slugs) – which were very impressive when they were pointed out to us. The highlight though was two green turtles swimming amongst the sea grasses on the pinnacle. Feeling that it was going to be our last dive and so happy with the visibility and animals we surfaced and were picked up by the boat
On the way back from the dive we chatted with Mike, Cheryl and Mark. Gem was excited about seeing the turtles but a little disappointed that over the last week we hadn’t seen any manta rays. We had not been intending to dive this afternoon, but after teasing from the others that if we don’t go out then there is sure to be some manta rays we decided to go.
And it was a good thing that we did. Because sure enough, not long after we had descended but two small rays came flying by. While Gem signalled Duncan madly she was afraid that by the time he looked up he would have missed them, which did happen. But then they circled back a couple more times to investigate us further before swooping back into the deep blue.
One of the other groups that were diving much deeper than us had the rare experience of seeing marlin which they were very excited about.
