To Singapore

We bid a final and very sad farewell to our wonderful daughter, at the train station at Queens Park.  The rain held off long enough to get onto the train before it poured down.  It was such a treat to be able to spend the time with Ella and now visualise her everyday life in London.

Our trip on the Bakerloo and Elizabeth Lines, to Heathrow, has become quite familiar and we felt like old hands.  Check-in went smoothly and our bags were not overweight, which was a relief.  We flew on a Singapore Airlines A380 (the two storied one) which was so nice.  They feel so like there is much more space and are incredibly smooth.  The flight attendants were very polite and the service very efficient, considering how many passengers there are on those monster planes.  I really enjoyed tracking our flight path and picking out the countries and cities as we flew over them - no clouds.  Sadly very little sleep again.

Arriving in Singapore was painless, though we had forgotten to complete the online arrival registration, which caused a bit of a delay.  When we got the baggage claim area, our bags had been removed from the conveyor belt and were sitting sadly with only one other bag.  The opposite of standing with baited breath, hopping the your luggage would appear.

David's brother Elton had borrowed a friend's car and drove us to their place.  Considering how hot it was when we arrived we so appreciated not having to make our way using public transport.

Their apartment is quite a bit bigger than we had expected and we have room to spread out, so don't feel like we are cramping their space.  Delicious beef stir-fry dinner before heading to bed, even though it was only early afternoon London time.  Thank goodness for air conditioning.

This morning we went to the Mustafa Market where you could find just about anything you could possibly  want to buy, and copious quantities of it.  Again we loved the different sights, sounds and smells of the market, but were restrained in our purchases.

From there we walked through Little India with its amazingly ornate temple, on toward Chinatown, through a predominantly Muslim area.  Apparently this is considered a tourist area, but we enjoyed seeing the quaint and colourful shops and exploring the alleyways.

We caught the bus back, enjoying seeing the world from the top of a double decker, as opposed to the underground, and had lunch at one of the many food courts opposite the apartment block.  Not sure what was better, the food or the cold drink!

Had a bit of a rest before walking to a beautiful park about five minutes away.  We had a great time watching a heron fishing for its dinner and then a friendly turtle that kept popping its head out of the water on the edge of the stream.  The breeze was deliciously cool amongst the trees.

Back to the food court for the boys to have  a beer before dinner and saw a couple with their dog in a backpack!  It was a seven year old long haired chihuahua and they take it cycling with them.  The dog seemed completely unfazed by its unusual mode of transportation.

Dinner was satay and fried rice, followed by fresh mango - absolute heaven.