The Diary Another very easy going day. 30 lengths of the pool and some sunbathing, the football league on the TV and a cornish pastie. At the British Club we played two very slow and even less skilful games of snooker. Honours even at 1-1.
We watched "When Harry met Sally" on the video.
I spoke to Christy on the phone again and we waited in vain for live coverage of Arsenal v Leeds.
The Diary We booked tickets for Malacca, walked round Chinatown, sweated buckets, looked around the shops and bought Judith a plant. I did 50 lengths of the pool, a bit quicker than normal, and we had curry for tea.
The Diary Beth and Oz went to the airport early and I had a lie in. I got a few essentials from the shops and did little else. In the afternoon I did 100 lengths of the pool and in the evening we went for a sea-food bbq at the British Club. Oz and I had a couple of games of table football which didn't really excite the crowd Brian.
I got an unexpected call from Christy which lasted about an hour - she's going to have a big phone bill this month.
2012 I obviously had to marry her so that we could live together and save a fortune in phone calls.
The world trip was back to just me and Oz.
Singapore Airlines
And we haven't yet had a Hitler parody so let's do it now
The Diary We went to Sentosa Island, taking hours to get there but at least we had a good view from the chairlift. Sentosa still seemed to be being built and the map of the island was completely useless. It had a good beach though and we all went swimming. It took us hours to get off the island and I managed to lose my sunglasses on the way.
On the way back I stopped to phone Christy and it cost a whopping SGD120. Beth's last evening and she was ill, continually throwing up - at least Oz was still ill too so they could share illnesses on their last night together.
2012 Beth's sabbatical from work was just about up and she had to leave to fly back to the UK. It's pretty ironic that they both got sick in the cleanest, most civilised place we went to.
Sentosa was just being built and I think it's a much more interesting place now. Apparently.
That was AUD90 at today's exchange rates. An expensive phone call. I'd better say it was worth it or she won't be happy!
The Diary Oz was still feeling ill so we took him to the doctor where he was given a huge collection of antibiotics. We then went to the Westin Plaza to climb the tower but due to the $15 minimum fee we didn't bother. We then wandered around Raffles and Beth had a Singapore Sling and I made do with a Tiger Beer.
Oz and Beth went back and I went for a wander round the shops and bought a lens for my camera. A lazy night in.
2012
The eagle eyed may notice that the original diary has today as day 244 not 242. That's because the original diary was started when a left home where as this blog has day 1 as the first day out of the country.
This may have been the last beer I drank on this trip. I recall that we just stopped drinking, no conscious decision but everywhere was so hot and humid that we just drank loads of water and cut out the beers.
I've been to Singapore many times since, always for work, and have been back to Raffles a few times. Though it's an oasis of civilisation and a good, very easy introduction to Asia for the wary traveller it's a bit too full of shopping centres and shoppers for my liking. The really interesting parts such as Bugis Street have all been sanitised so much they've lost their authenticity. It's more like a Disney version of an Asian city nowadays. I'm sure out in the sticks it is isn't but the parts the tourists see are just too tame. Oh, and it's bloody hot and humid.
The Diary 22 lengths of the pool before breakfast, a look around Orchard Road and all the incredible shopping centres, a ride on the beautiful MRT, the crappy river boat cruise and a very good bookshop,. Oz felt ill, so Beth took him home and I walked round the shops. In the evening Beth and Oz went to Beth's friend's place, the others went out and I received a call from Christy. I'd phoned earlier and left the number.
I also phoned home and dicovered everyone was OK and Sean had got himself a new girlfriend. The evening was rounded off with 2 hours of the IAAF World Champs from Tokyo.
2012 "beautiful MRT" ? I was easily impressed with a bit of civilisation it seems "crappy river boat cruise". Ah that's more my style.
The new girlfriend would have been Louise, now Sean's wife of 17 years and mum to Hannah and Joe.
The Diary Washing day. We'd run out of clothes but were saved by an automatic washing machine. Judith took us to the Jurong Bird Park (amazing), to a Chinese potters, to the far north of the island and to an orchid farm.
We popped into the Thai Embassy to get some forms, went to Poste Restante (3 from Christy, 1 from Dileep and none from home). In the evening we had a sit down meal with Judith, John and their friends Joy and Michael. Very old-fashioned - after the meal the women retired to the kitchen and the men shared after dinner jokes.
2012 Ok then. Some old-fashioned after-dinner jokes
The Diary Escape from Indonesia. Wasted a few hours in the morning and caught a minibus to the airport. On the way we saw the shanty towns and the slums along the canals. The airport was a different world, brand new, huge and very smart. It was also empty. We had trouble spending our last few rupiah due to the lack of shops but I wasted 9,000rp trying to phone Christy only to be told by Sarah that she's gone to her mother's to do her washing.
The flight was short, smooth and early. We raced through the gorgeous Singapore airport and were met by Oz's mother's schoolfriend Judith (Pinnick). We had a quick guided tour and then we were taken to their flat. Lovely - civilisation and a swimming pool. We had an evening trip to the British Club - colonialism hasn't died.
2012 I've never been back to Indonesia since. I suspect it's changed a lot in the intervening 20 years. Bali certainly has including the two dreadful bombings incidents I mentioned earlier. This article suggests that even quiet little backwaters like Lombok have changed. For the better or worse ? Probably depends on your perspective and how you make a living.
