Day 5

Hotel phone rang 6.40am. Very annoying as we were both fast asleep. Tea and sort out bags. Confirmed transfer for Sydney with help from concierge then out for stroll. 2 beautiful temples very close. One in use for prayer, no one in the other one Hong San See so had wander round. Very peaceful.

A bit peckish so called at 7/11 and had chicken katsu sandwich and 2 spicy/honey chicken dumplings. €6.20 and yummy. Sat on bench by river to eat them. Back to hotel 11ish for shower and final pack.

Sunny this morning and place has a different feel.

Out to Little India. Decided on taxi rather than trek. Well worth it! Had wander round streets and saw more temples. Walked back into town and had lunch at Lau Pa Sat again. Very quiet as today is Bank Holiday. Andy had black carrot cake - same as before but soy sauce added and char Sui fried rice. I had fish balls and minced pork with noodles. Total $11 ish.

Had a sit by river but very hot in sun so went in Museum of Asian Culture. $8 each. Quite interesting but more on Singapore itself would have been much better.

Happy Hour @ Boat Quay. 2 jugs & 1 coke $39. Turtles and fish in the water. Today is National Day so big show at stadium. Watched helicopters and F1 11s on display. Had last drink at Amber Nectar. Watched show on TV - great show of national pride.

Back to hotel for quick change. Ordered taxi & specified we only had $30 left. No problem - expected fare $25ish.

Airport a bit chaotic with ongoing work. Went through with NO security check other than passports. They did do check at gate but certainly not thorough. Very surprised.

Up to lounge. Had couple beers. Beef curry, laksa, Andy had soup, salad & curry. All quite nice but not spectacular. Lounge v quiet

Singapore locals dress very smartly, especially the ladies. Very few overweight people and even less tattoos!

Overall observation - liked the city once we'd settled down but it isn't as classy as we expected and the city didn't have a 'happy' vibe. Drivers impatient and don't let pedestrians cross, restaurant staff friendly but locals stony faced (like any other major city, I suppose - just going about their daily business with tourists in the way!) A bit irritating that restaurant staff pester tourists to go into their restaurants.

We were told that to control traffic, new cars can only be registered when older ones are deregistered and that it costs about €50,000 to get a car on the road. Assume thats true but the roads were very busy day and night as far as we could see!

Flight to Sydney 23:55Read more