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  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 45

    Day 44 Heading home

    October 13, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    We have had a few leisurely mornings but today took the cake. Our flight was at 7.30pm and we could check out late. We had bought some coconut buns (a bit odd but rather nice, cooked coconut centre in a soft white roll) and bananas. We had a bit of packing to do, lots of things that we could throw away like our plastic plates and endless receipts that we had accumulated from all over the place. We did that while watching a couple more episodes from series one of Outlander, Trisha’s Netflix has been very useful with all the smart tvs.

    We left about 12.30 and took a taxi to the airport, at this stage of our holiday taxis seem to be a much better option than public transport! The taxi had the aircon on so cool that I was pleased to get out into the heat for a few minutes.

    We were leaving from terminal 1 which had the cool water feature and huge mall. First stop was to a chocolate brownie shop for a really decadent treat. We took a couple of pics and then walked through the over bridge to terminal 2 to build up some steps but then caught the cute little train back. Then we got a bit carried away in the Turtle shop which had a number of cool things in it like the softest wee cuddly toys like those we had seen in Dubai, great variety of usb fans which could have been useful earlier and various stationery options. I had taken out $200 Singapore dollars when we arrived which we have shared. Turtle was great as we paid them with our remaining cash and the rest on our wise cards ie by phone tapping. We loooooove the phone tapping as the phones are always on us with the cards in a safe place.

    Just wandering around and then we noticed a croc shop. I had googled that in the mall we were at yesterday but hadn’t thought about one being here. Now that I have 3 pairs of crocs maybe it was time to decorate some lol. We went to several floors looking at the water feature. Then had to go back to Turtle as Caitlin had put in a request for a fox stuffed toy. Then I might have had to get one as well! Pillows on the flight you know.

    10,000 steps and 33 degrees outside. We spent less that 10 mins outside today though so that doesn’t really count. So we have a 7 hour flight to Sunday then 3 hours to Auckland. And hopefully John hasn’t disowned Trish and we will see him at the airport.

    Ciao ciao ciao!    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 44

    Day 43 Singapore

    October 12, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We both felt a bit tired this morning after the big day yesterday. We considered a couple of options like Sentosa island and the wildlife park but ended up going to Chinatown. We spent a bit of time in a Buddhist temple which had 4 floors and a ceremony going at the time. Then we went over a courtyard to the mall where there were lots of clothing options and I might have bought a couple of tops. We had a banana for breakfast so were a bit hungry by that time, but not quite ready for the range of unusual delicacies in the food court. I don’t think I will ever be ready for frog porridge! So a coconut bun for me and a cheese bun for Trish. The heat was out in force by then so we thought just one more temple and then the bus back, What actually happened?

    A walk through a number of interesting stalls, a visit to another temple, a stop at a chocolate shop for a gelato and aircon. Then a walk through more interesting shops (including a Tintin shop) to get a train for a bit. When we left the train to walk to our bus stop we were in front of a big mall and feeling quite hungry by that time and we found a very cool Vietnamese restaurant called Paper Ice. We were seated and then waited for a while to be served. But it was so interesting watching the robots deliver the food to the various tables. Then it occurred to us that maybe we were supposed to order remotely as well and finally noticed the QR code on the table mat. We had an amazing meal, quite simple but very tasty.

    Then back out to wait for the bus. At one stage all the traffic stopped, must have been stopped by police as they then arrived escorting some important person. Finally our bus arrived but by the time we got back to our hotel it was around 4pm so not such a short day after all.

    This is our last night of our holiday and we celebrated that in our usual fine fashion, eating dinner in our hotel and watching some tv. We had gone out earlier to get some supplies, but just couldn’t be bothered eating out. It is very hot and humid here.

    Our hotel room has grown on us, partly cos of the amazing aircon and the location has been pretty good as well. I can’t believe that I will be sleeping in my own bed in 2 nights, though need to kick Glynis out of it lol.

    One thing we have noticed here is how friendly and polite people are in general. They often give way in buses or escalators, say excuse me and sorry if they get in the way. Maybe it’s just because we got used to it not happening in Europe where there were all manner of queue jumpers and pushy people. There are a number of positive messages around the city re helping others, giving up seats etc.

    So our incredible number of steps today was 8,752 and 33 degrees again.

    We will be doing a final pack in the morning and chucking a few things out like the plastic plates that have served us so well. Some of our clothes are a bit threadbare as well from being washed so much lol.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    Day 43

    Day 42 Singapore

    October 11, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    We slept for 10 hours and woke up feeling a bit refreshed. Our first trial of the public transport was great. We have enabled our Wise cards on our Google Pay and so it was an easy tap on and then off with our phones, just so easy. We took a bus and then a train to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and then ended up in a very flash mall. So flash that the shops weren’t open at 9am when we got there. We went in search of breakfast and Trish had a pastry from Starbucks. We didn’t feel like the other options available from the food court at that early time. Then we went in search of the Gardens by the Bay. We went to the top of the mall, found a good viewing spot for the evening light shows, and walked around the top and over a bridge, through the Marina Bay Sands hotel and then were at the gardens.

    There are a lot of free areas to walk around the gardens, an amazing 144m sculpture of many different endangered animals and lots of toilets and food areas. We chose to pay to go into 3 extra areas which was well worth it.

    The Super Tree observatory was good, and very cool on the inside. It was a bit annoying not being able to have a clear view due to the artificial tree branches. But when we went to catch the lift down, we realised there was a set of stairs upwards and then felt really silly as we had been there for about half an hour and were missing out on the amazing view one floor up. We met some Australians there who took our pics. There are a lot of Australians who pop over here even though it is a 8 hour flight.

    Then it was time for some food so we visited the Jurassic food hall. That was pretty neat as it was set up as the opening cafe in the Jurassic Park movies. Every now and then the dinosaurs would move which startled us the first time.

    Our next stop was the “Avatar: The experience at Cloud Forest”. This was simply amazing. It was in a huge dome and the plants were watered by misting which happened every 2 hours. There were many things there that came from the Avatar movie including a booth so we could avatar ourselves, and also the ability to ride a banshee. There were 6 stories, with a lift to the top, and then a gradual walk down with lots of different plants. On the ground floor was an orchid exhibit which was just stunning. We stayed there for about 2 hours and really enjoyed it. Next stop was a short walk to the Flower dome which as a chrysanthemum exhibition with a Mongolian theme. There were many more lovely sights to see there as well.

    We were well and truly knackered by this stage as it was very hot - how unusual! I went and took a video of the sculpture with the animals which Trisha recovered in the shade. Then we got lazy and caught a little bus for the 1km back to a train station, though it was still at least 500m from the drop off point to the actual station.

    A quick train ride and then a further walk to visit the Mustafa Centre. Well this was very different to what I had expected. I knew it was a place where you could buy anything and was something to be experienced. In reality it was about 4 floors of an extremely long building with no corridors with shops off either side, just loads of goods to be sold everywhere. It was rather chaotic and we walked the length of about 3 normal supermarkets in search of some potato chips of all things. We also found some blueberries and found a checkout. It was interesting when we entered the building as they tied up our bags with cable ties so we couldn’t steal anything and the things we purchased also had the plastic bags cable tied up. On our way our we also found a couple more gadgets.

    So we were really really tired by then. Walked about a km to find a direct bus back to our hotel, had a rest when we got back, then went and found some dinner to bring back here. We had Nasi Goreng Satay skewers, Sweet and sour chicken and all tasted great but there was no way that we could finish it all.

    Sex Education is now finished so we have started on Outlander from the first episode lol.

    17,958 steps and 33 degrees - so much muggier than Dubai though and that was bad enough.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 42

    Day 41 Singapore

    October 10, 2023 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Short blog today.

    Flight was just ok, 7 hours would have been nice to sleep and then wake up at 8:30am here. But they started the food service a couple of hours into the flight, and then woke people up for more food a couple of hours later, so neither of us got much sleep.

    Both Dubai and Singapore airports were really empty which was pretty surprising. We got a taxi to our hotel and were checked in by 10am which was great. Our room is 12m square which I sort of missed when booking it. But it has great aircon, was over the road from a laundry and was pretty cheap.

    We had a sleep until 1.30, then went in search of an atm to get cash for the washing. That took a while and we went past an astonishing number of food places and little supermarkets. The ATM wasn’t where Google said it was, so we retraced our steps and found it closer to our hotel. We bought some supplies and tasted jackfruit which was rather nice.

    Our lunch was a fried rice dish and some sort of corn dish. Also nice and so much cheaper than Dubai. Then we did washing, went for a short walk got some chicken sate on sticks and fries for dinner and had that back at the hotel.

    We are nearly at the last episode of Sex Education, but Trish missed most of the 2nd to last one, I didn’t realise she was asleep.

    Steps would have been around 10,000 and of course the temperature now is hot after than forecast so was 33 today and expecting that for the next 3 days as well, damn!

    Bed time now at 8.30…    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 41

    Day 40 Dubai

    October 9, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 39 °C

    Another day and another great breakfast in the hotel. Turmeric shots and omelettes for us every day. Then we caught a taxi to The Frame which is a very high structure oriented so old Dubai is on one side and new Dubai is on the other.

    Funny story about this. On my first trip to Dubai with Allan Rohde 8 years ago we went to a park and walked all the way round trying to work out what was inside and how could we get in. I have just today realised that this was the same park and they would have been constructing the frame at the time so the whole area was fenced off as a construction site.

    It was nice again to go earlier in the morning for less people and we were up in the lift pretty quickly and having fun talking pictures. Part of the floor was glass which I didn’t expect. But was thinking the other day that we have never walked on a glass floor after seeing funny videos where the glass floors are shown to crack and seeing people’s reactions. It was quite confronting to walk on it to start with as we were 140m up but we got used to it and just walked across to get from side to side. They did take some great pics of us, but $55 was a bit steep when we took some ourselves as well. That would have been a good place for the selfie stick which wasn’t in my bag.

    Then a Uber back to our nice cool hotel and time to pack up again. It has been nice to be here for 3 nights and able to checkout at 5pm. So plenty of time to pack, then go to the pool and to warm up and do final dry of some clothes lol. We will get a taxi at 5pm for our flight at 9pm. Flying for 7 hours and hopefully sleeping as it will be 9am in Singapore when we get there.

    So far 5,000 steps and 39 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    11
    Day 40

    Day 39 Dubai

    October 8, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 30 °C

    We did not set an alarm for this morning and didn’t wake up until 8am. So did pretty well being in the taxi by 9.30 and at the miracle gardens by 10. Omg the first thing we saw were the massive grassed horses, 2 of them facing each other just through the entrance. That set the scene for our visit. We walked all around the outside first before crisscrossing through the middle. There were several grass covered exhibits, the horses, 2 elephants, penguins, peacocks and a massive plane with the Emirates logo on the side. We were able to walk up steps to a castle like structure and view things from higher up. The Smurf town was a surprise but very cute with the Smurf music playing. Flowers were everywhere, with heart shaped archways that we walked through. There was a small water feature as well.

    We felt very prepared for our visit with our fans and umbrellas which look great in pics. My umbrella also got borrowed by someone to enhance their pic!

    The surprising thing was the number of vendors around the perimeter selling perfume, scarves, t shirts, roasted corn, fruit drinks, soft toys, games to win soft toys. Also had sideshow areas so well set up for kids. There were lots of places to sit in the shade with alcoves and tables. We did go into one shop for the aircon and had such a nice man not trying to hassle us to buy stuff so Trish ended up buying a scarf.

    We were pleased that we had gone early because it did get incredible hot. Was 39 but Google said it felt like 44 with the humidity and we weren’t disagreeing. So had a lovely ride back in a cool taxi and took cover in our room for a while.

    Then it was time for a swim again. We went earlier today so it was a bit hotter, but there is a huge waterfall feature in the pool which helps to cool all the surrounding area. There was a guy in the pool doing butterfly laps. It was funny when he was trying to tell a family of 5 that their position was impeding his self generated swimming lane. It is a pretty small pool and not really intended for a serious swim but he made the most of it.

    After another small rest in our room, which we love, with the king single beds, and the great aircon! The only tv we get is CNN or BBC and they are both pretty sobering with the crisis in Israel and the earthquake in Afghanistan.

    Then time for the mall. We wanted to get a restaurant table with a view of the fountains, and booked Joe’s Cafe for 6pm. Then there were 3 things I wanted to purchase which I had seen yesterday but decided on later. My crocs, a handheld fan and a phone case. The mall is really huge, but these 3 shops were sort of in a similar place. I was rather impressed that we left the cafe, bought the 3 things and were back within half an hour. Of course then the first show which should have been at 6 didn’t start. But we saw the next 3 shows and had an amazing dinner. Both chose a quinoa and avocado salad and had a dessert.

    It took around half an hour to get back to the hotel. It isn’t a long walk, but we need to go through several sets of lights at an intersection with lots of connecting roads so it takes while.

    15,807 steps and 40 degrees. I am writing this at 10 pm and it is 34 degrees.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 39

    Day 38 Dubai

    October 7, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌙 31 °C

    We were both feeling a bit average this morning after the very late night last night but perked up a bit when we saw out amazing buffet breakfast. We both had an omelette made for us on the spot, fruit, I had mini pancakes, and we both had turmeric shots.

    We had to have a wee rest to recover after that and then headed off to the Dubai mall which is supposedly 650m away but felt a lot further when we didn’t know where we were going and it was around 36 degrees by then. We finally made it and loved being in the cool aircon.

    We saw the aquarium, the ice skating rink, the amazing Chinatown where we had yummy stuff for lunch, Trish finally found her self heating eye masks that she started looking for as soon as we started our trip. And she was so impressed with the price that we went to another Mumuso shop and bought 2 more boxes. I went to a croc shop and was very tempted by another version, which still might end up fitting in Jony. I also have been searching for another cell phone cover so saw a few of those. There was also an amazing sweet shop where you could make your own stuffed toys and they had a little train going round with sweets that you could choose, sort of like the sushi shop idea.

    Our legs got pretty knackered with the walking, and there weren’t many seats for sitting down. A lot of the prices were really expensive, but it was nice to look. So back to the hotel we went and by golly it had got a lot hotter. Our room was very nice and cool though. That was around 4pm and time for a swim in the pool. Our room is so cool that even though there is a drying string in the shower, we don’t think our last batch of washing is going to dry very quickly, so took that to the pool with us as well. The pool was very refreshing and on the shady side of the building so wasn’t too hot.

    The first fountain show was at 6pm and we thought we’d would make the 6:30 but trying a different route did not serve us well but we were there by 7 about 3 rows from the front. That show was to Enrique Iglesias’s “Hero”. We then stayed half an hour for the next one and had front row possie to a song in some language other than English. I love watching the fountains, but it was still pretty hot outside and there were loads of people. So we headed off for the supermarket and dinner. I got some of my yummy grenadilla fruits which were expensive but the one I have just eaten was lovely, not like the one I tried in Frankfurt. And for dinner we had to go back to Chinatown because all the food was cooked from fresh and there was great variety, Trisha got dumplings and I had a spicy chicken with fried rice which came with a clear soup.

    So a pretty fun day was had, 11pm is high time for bed for Trish. I have just said that my first few nights at home will be very late nights for me, just cos I can lol.

    18,774 steps and a very hot 39 degrees where we nearly melted.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    1
    Day 39

    Day 37 Travel day

    October 7, 2023 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Well it didn’t need to be just a travel day but that’s what it turned into. We went out and got some goodies for breakfast, watched more Netflix, packed our bags including our extra bag Jony who has joined us to cope with some of our purchases. We packed stuff we cared about less in him in case he got lost.

    A Uber to the airport, I am getting quite hooked on Uber! And we were there at 11.30. When was our flight departing at 3.10, so lots of time. Then got notification that it was delayed and it eventually left at 5pm. So that was 5 hours sitting at the airport and then a 5 hour flight. We went through security early so were limited to some rather uncomfortable seats and limited food options.

    When on the flight I had my fingers crossed as we both had aisle seats and there were singles next to the window. So I was lucky and Trisha was not. But my single by the window didn’t like having to ask me to get up so she could go to the toilet so she left mid flight and sat in the reserved seats at the back. So then Trisha joined me on my side.

    We got to Dubai about midnight and had a long bus ride from the plane to the terminal. Jony had arrived safely so then it was out into the heat and madhouse that was the taxi line, sooo many people and sooo many taxis.

    We are staying in the Swisshotel Al Murooj and it is pretty swanky. We had porters collecting our luggage from the taxi, a nice checkin process seeing as it was nearly 2am by then, and a lovely room with 2 king single beds. We also found that our reservation included breakfast. We booked flights with Flight Centre and the agent suggested this place and booked it for us. We could check in and out late and early and it was only $170 per night and is walking distance to the Dubai Mall.

    So we basically kicked off our clothes and fell into bed!

    9,668 steps, and a nice 22 degrees in Zagreb and an exhausting heatwave of 30 degrees at midnight in Dubai.    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 37

    Day 36 Zagreb

    October 5, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Today we had our first hotel breakfast and it was great. Haven't had eggs for a long time so had them boiled and in an omelette. We were on the road as planned before 8 as we had a 3.5 hour drive to Zagreb. Our car was a Volkswagen Tijuana and it was great on cruise control as it automatically would adjust to the speed limit applicable at the time. So sometimes it would brake suddenly to go from 130kph to 60kph and I had to be ready to hold the steering wheel for the quick acceleration back to 130 so that was a bit of fun. After that I dropped Trisha off at our hotel then took the rental car back. When I called a Uber, I ended up in a Tesla which was rather fancy with a screen with a visual of everything around the car including pedestrians.

    We chilled out for a bit, then went out for a walk around the old town. The street with bars and food was quite different to what we have seen for a long time with various street food available. We ended up sharing kotthu which was Sri Lankan and was rather yummy. Then we walked up a hill and Trish went to the Museum of broken relationships, and we caught a furnicular down the hill - would have been good if we had noticed that going up!

    Had a final gelato in Europe on our way back to the hotel, and the spent our evening packing and getting rid of stuff that we have accumulated along the way all ready for our flight to Dubai tomorrow.

    12,819 steps and it was a bit chilly today only reaching 22 degrees. My trackies have come out again!    Read more

  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    Day 36

    Day 35 Porec

    October 4, 2023 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We both woke up pretty early today so were out the door on the way to our car at around 8.30. Then spied a laundromat near the car so thought we would dry our wet washing. Well 20 mins later it wasn’t much drier so we headed on our way to Porec which is 50 kms north on the coast.

    We got there around 10.30 and could leave our car at the hotel but the room wasn’t ready. So we went for a walk beside the sea and saw so many more swimming bays. Also had our second visit to a supermarket for the day where I found some chicken nibbles for lunch and a really nice broccoli savoury.

    Our room was ready by then and is a bit more flash with a balcony, a pool and a whirlpool. We had a rest for a bit, then Trish went out for a walk, and I hired a bike for 3 hours and had fun checking out the coastline. It definitely is not that busy here, and all the resorts are pretty empty so I stopped at one for a couple of swims and their outdoor showers. I talked to a guy from a dive shop who said the water temperature in October is normally well under 20 degrees but today was 22. Apparently they had an awful summer with lots of rain and wind and lots of cancellations. For September and so far for October the weather has been great, but all the people have gone.

    While I was biking, Trish walked around the old town and then had her own swim before taking it easy in the hotel. We chose to have the buffet meal here tonight which was ok, but nothing flash. Best bit was not having to go anywhere for it. We are such party animals!

    So today was our last day by the Adriatic Sea. I never expected to have been swimming so many times. And who knew that crocs made such good buoyancy aids? I wear them into the sea as the bottom is pretty rocky, but then take them off and put my hands in them and just float.

    And tomorrow is feeling like we are starting to head home as we will be leaving Europe the day after.

    14,883 steps for Trish. I did a fair few, biked for a couple of hours and also swum a bit. Temperature 27 degrees    Read more

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