Singapore Sling

Well, we made it! The first leg of the journey and the worst of the jet lag is behind us!

Friday was very very busy and there were points at which I thought we might not get everything sorted in good time....like when we discovered we needed a bigger suitcase, or when I slipped on a wet floor whilst rushing to buy a new suitcase, landing heavily on my shoulder and hip.....but we got there in the end! Dogs safely in kennels until Marc gets back from NYC to collect them, bags packed and house (nearly) clean! Simon was very patient and such a star - he packed, weighed and repacked all the suitcases to make sure that we came in under the limit ( by about 100g in one case!).

It's a lot of luggage for a small family! Luckily it all fit into Marc's car which we left in long stay parking at Heathrow (the second time I've been asked if I am Mrs T and the first time I've said yes lol!)

We checked in and after the obligatory appetiser of baby formula at security, we headed to Giraffe for some dinner.

We were first on the plane and had someone not abandoned a baggage trolley behind the plane, I am sure all would have been good....unfortunately after an hour's delay before anyone moved it, by the time the seatbelt signs were off and the lie flat toddler seat was up, Crack was in full on meltdown! Eventually, after a lot of singing and several false starts, he went to sleep in time for me to order vodka tonic and a bottle of wine! After that, ear plugs, eye mask and neck pillow, we all got some sleep!

We left most of the bags at the airport and took a taxi to the hotel. A quick swim in the rooftop pool and a cheeky cocktail later, we hit the hotel buffet and went to bed early, sleeping about 12 hours (well everyone, except me, I read my book for 2 hours at 3am!).

Despite a late start we headed to Singapore Zoo - a great day out, but a wet one, as it thunder stormed from 12-3:30! Nice zoo, lots to see, lovely enclosures and Crack's favourite...a road train!

Some things in Singapore are predictable.....

 

and some are not......

Crack was overtired so dinner at the local food court was traumatic and he fell asleep on the way back to the hotel, only to wake up as we arrived. After snacks to compensate for missing dinner, he took several hours to fall asleep, finally zoning out at 23:30.

I took several hours more to nod off and we were at up at 8, all of us tired and grumpy. Plans to hike the Southern Ridges were abandoned in favour of a long nap and we woke in time to walk to Robertson Quay for lunch.

It was very hot and humid, and we felt like we'd seen so little of the city, we hopped on a bus tour, taking in most of the centre in about an hour. There is lots of construction going on but it is hard to know how much is for real and how much is for next weekend's Singapore Grand Prix!

Chinatown

Marina Bay Hotel, ArtScience Museum and, in the foreground, the famous Mer-lion.

We waved at Raffles on the way past, but were anxious not to have a repeat of last night's meltdown, so took Crack back to the hotel for a quick swim and another nap....dinner tonight had to be chilli crab!

Well for Simon, anyway! I'm allergic and it's a bit too spicy for Crack! So we had some steamed fish instead!

C was pretty well behaved compared with the night before, which was just as well, as it was a much nicer place, right on the river, opposite Clarke's Quay. He did keep stealing my chopsticks though....which was a bit pointless given that he can barely use a fork!

 

Simon said his crab was the best he'd had, which is a result and we strolled back along the river to the hotel and got C down without any of last night's fuss, phew.....

 

and now that I've finished updating you all, I think I'd better check us in for tomorrow night's flight to Brisbane....hope they've still got some seats left together!