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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 11
August 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Up 7.30 to do washing and start packing.

Can't believe it's raining today! Not what we planned.

Booked airport bus for tomorrow and confirmed pick up in LA.

All sorted by 11ish.

Out to museum Hyde Park Barracks. Very interesting 3 floors of life since 1800 ish. Convicts slept here and worked during the day and later the building became immigration centre and home for desperate women. Clever people made a lot of money. Rocks became home for immigrants escaping desperate conditions in UK. Great opportunities but lots of vagabonds to deal with! Conditions dire but often better than at home.
Out to courtyard and inviting cafe. Rain stopped so sat outside and had brisket & chicken pie and tea/coffee €32. Really enjoyed all of it.

Left 1.30ish. Bus to Bondi Beach came quickly. Walked to Coogee beach via Bronte beach. All lovely but no nicer than other walks along cliffs. Saw lots of colourful birds and a kookaburra. Quite challenging with lots of steps up and down. Probably good day to do this walk because weather not great. Can imagine very busy on sunny day.

Bus back from Coogee. Very easy. Finished packing then quick jug in Porterhouse 6.15. Meal at Pasta Emilia - very close and we needed something other than chips! Had Peroni then pâté & antipasto then mixed rolled meat (pork, lamb beef with roasted veg) and sausagemeat & pasta. Bottle wine should have been $45 but they didn't charge us for it. Bill was $141 (£85ish). inc tip but no wine! Lovely music - lady playing Spanish guitar and double bass.

Bought $10 bottle with wine so home 9pm.

Love this city. Nice people and fortunately fantastic winter weather. Would definitely come back to Sydney and the Cambridge Hotel.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 10
August 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C
Up 8ish.

Tea and decide what to do today. Another beautiful day. Smokey outside - were told it's 'backburning' because it has been such a dry winter.

Headed to Rocks. Had sausage roll & ham quiche for breakfast - $16.5. Very expensive but nice.

Walked over bridge and admired the views. On other side, walked through funfair Luna Park then round beautiful houses and back down to ferry back to Circular Quay. Lovely harbour cruise in the sunshine.

Back to Rocks for beer in oldest pubs in town. Fortune of War, Australian Hotel, Hero of Waterloo, Lord Nelson.

Went in Rocks museum. Really interesting short videos on history.

Back to town 6ish to try to see light show again!!!!

Finally saw 7pm show. Was good but not sure worth all the time we have spent waiting over 3 evenings!

Back to Porterhouse for beer, steak and sandwich with chips. Had planned more varied dinner but couldn't be bothered by this stage!

Home for glass of wine. Bed 10.30.

Another beautiful day.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 9
August 13, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
City to Surf Day.

Up 6am and out 7ish. Thousands of people milling about in Hyde Park. Cambridge Hotel hotel is perfect location for the start.

Andy went at 8.05 and I went at 8.30. Not a cloud in the sky but chilly in the early morning winter sun.

First half not scenic but second half had lovely views of the harbour and Bondi Beach. Andy did 1.35 and I did 2.05 for 14k. A lot of walking!

Got bus back to Bondi junction then 333 bus home. All very easy. Back home midday ish.

Showered and out for breakfast at 1ish. Had jug of beer (tap) and chatted with crowd from Melbourne. Seemed really nice. Both had burger then off to town. Went round beautiful botanical gardens - enormous green space. Sat outside Opera House watching boats then went looking for beer. Not so easy. Cafes along Circular Quay were very busy on sunny Sunday afternoon so we didn't like them at all. Had a look in a couple of tourist shops - fridge magnets $10 which says it all. Couldn't find any pubs so went to Paragon Hotel for beer then went searching again. No pubs so went to George where we went the other day. Nice quiet beer then went to look for light show from park. People walking away so maybe we missed it again...... Didn't go any further. We've walked/run 26km today so legs have had enough and I need to pee every 5 minutes!!!

Back to Porterhouse. Had 'jug' and shared sandwich & chips. Really nice pub.

Back to Cambridge 8ish with bottle of wine. Very tired.

Bed 10ishRead more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 8
August 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Good sleep again. Up 9ish. Out for walking tour 10am. Eastern European girl took the tour. She was very good. Took us all over the city and told us lots of interesting snippets. Rocks area very busy with chocolate festival. Not sunny this morning so much cooler. Our hoodies would have been ideal.

Finished tour just before 1pm and went back to ICC to drop bags for tomorrow. Easy enough. Then lunch in Darling Harbour. Fish & chips & bacon & cheeseburger & chip pizza. That's a new one on us but it was very nice! One beer each $58 (£35ish). Watched people milling about. Darling Harbour is very nice but there isn't much to look at. No boats!

Walked back home via Romeo's 'everything' shop. Bought milk & flapjacks for tomorrow. Asked on reception for needle & thread to sew up rucksack. Also extra pin for run number.

Did first batch of washing & drying $8.50.

Supposedly easy day today but didn't work out that way of course!

Out 6.30. Tried another bar close by but didn't like it. Went back to Porterhouse. Had 2 jugs $20 each for 1.7l. Cheap! Had BLT & club sandwich - $29. Too many chips!! Home 9ish. Glass wine and watched AFL.

Bed 10ish.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 7
August 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C
Good long sleep very much needed! Didn't surface till after 9.30am.
Message from G about meeting for lunch at 11am so we asked if we could join them. Arranged to meet at George Hotel but nobody there when we arrived. Eventually got message to say they were on the next street but coming back to George. Met another new Oz couple, Karen & Mark. They work in event organisation so she is on duty at midnight Saturday night for 12 hours. Also Susie & Anthony from last night. Had veg burger & meat pie with mash & mushy peas. All amused at the small spoonful of peas. They call them mashed peas and fascinated by what goes into pies! Fun conversation about tattoos, travel, ear piercing, boxing, football etc. Anthony insisted on paying and wouldn't accept 2nd drink with us. Not our way but he would have been insulted otherwise.

Left them 1ish and headed for Manly ferry. Very easy €35 ish return on fast ferry. Great views of bridge & opera house. Had lovely couple hours up and down prom in Manly. Lots of surfing. Reminded us of Abersoch but even more money! No chalets or caravans!

Ferry back 5ish and hoped to see Water Light at dusk but we missed it or were in wrong place! Saw wonderful sunset over bridge. Gave up on light show 6ish and headed off for beer. Didn't find any till back at our local Porterhouse. Had couple Superdry beers $7 pint then tower = personal tap for $20. Had sausage & mash and steak & chips. $9ish each. Both ok.
Home and watched tv with glass of birthday wine.

Bed 11.15ish. Lovely day. Happy vibe in city.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 6
August 10, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
Didn't think much of Qantas. Had fish something with very hot sauce & glass wine. Andy had beef. Not great. Bed seats so low they're almost on floor - bit like a coffin. Only 1 loo for business class and always occupied with people changing in and out of Qantas jimjams. Had about 3 hours sleep then fruit & yogurt for breakfast. Quite nice. Flight approx 7 hours. Landed 10ish in Sydney. Sailed through passport, bag pickup & immigration. Can't believe how easy it was. Straight to waiting limo. Very friendly and chatty driver. Fortunately we could check in early. Nice suite with lounge & fridge etc. They brought bottle of wine for big birthday. Loads of room so unpacked everything then off to collect race numbers for City To Surf on Sunday.

Lovely weather - approx 20. Pleasant after the sweaty heat in Singapore.

Walked to Darling Harbour. Bit like Bristol with some old tall ships. Couldn't get numbers till 3pm so had leisurely lunch 1ish in harbour. Andy has burger and I had barramundi & chips & a pint. All very nice. Horrified at the number, size and cheek of the seagulls. Guy near us took photos of them taking food from his plate. Made me shudder. Waiters spray them with water but they come straight back.
Took an hour to get the numbers - poor organisation for such a huge event.

Home 5ish for shower then out to meet Giovanni from FB running.

Got taxi to restaurant and arrived just about on time. Giovanni recognised Andy straight away. Sat on terrace looking out at boats in the harbour. Owner came for a chat then another 2 from running FB joined us and G's wife Mel a bit later. Nice chat about running, life, travel, families. Had calamares & pizza & wine. G paid whole bill because we were his guests. Very kind and very pleasant evening. Got along with everyone well even though we'd never met before. Susie (runner) & husband Anthony (definitely not runner) run hotels just outside NY - his family business.
Taxi home 10.30. V tired.

First impressions - lovely waterside bits but roads in the city very, very busy.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 5
August 9, 2017 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
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
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 4
August 8, 2017 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Long time wide awake during the night so not up till 8.30. Cloudy sky - very warm but no intense sun.
Andy went for run when he finally found all his kit, running watch etc from the cases.
Came back 10ish - very hot!
Shower and out to Chinatown. Camera has no battery!! So annoying when we have so much backup but none with us. Used hotel phone for pics but couldn't transfer them so no good 🙁. Had brunch in Maxwell centre. Carrot cake (steamed turnip omelette). Only $3 and surprisingly nice. Andy had breakfast fry up from 'Lads & dads'. $12. I had orange & papaya smoothie $2.

Rain lashing outside ☔️ . Another busy place going through modernisation like many other places here.

Went to Tooth Relic Temple - very ornate with lonely looking sacred turtle. Lit free incense sticks - wrong end much to Andy's amusement

Wandered round streets - bought fridge magnet $2. These are the first tat shops we've seen!

Then over to the Marina Sands Hotel 'The Boat' - immense place then the Gardens by the Bay where the new 'Trees' are. Access via massive ultra modern shopping mall with row boats up and down inside. Huge area of green and lake. Lovely but busy and hot. Had water & icecream then home 4ish. Very long walky day. Shower then out to local restaurant Rosso for HH beer $14.50 for 2 so we had another. Slight panic when no wallet but fortunately it was back in the room so all fine.

Bus to Night Safari 6pm. (cost £55 each) A bit chaotic picking up around town so took over an hour to get there. Buffet before Safari was fantastic! Many different Asian and Indian dishes. I hadn't had much to eat so made the most of it. It was all delicious. Fresh fruit and icecream to finish.

Night tram 8.30. Rain & thunder started and it lashed the whole time we were there. Saw lots of animals but to us, it appeared staged. Took pics but none came out. Will write off today's photo efforts!

Optional additional walk tour taken up by a few people but it was pouring so we didn't go. Had frighteningly expensive beer to kill half hour wait. $27 for 2 halves - approx £15. Rain pouring off roofs and literally thousands of people trying to keep under shelter.

Back to bus 10pm. Everyone looking weary and guide disheveled and wet after walk in jungle. Fairly quick drive home then beer in Amber Nectar €14 inc tax. And we think that price was reasonable!!

Home 11.30.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 3
August 7, 2017 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C
Up 7.30 after pretty good sleep. Feel fine. Tea in room and bit more bag sorting. Got Hop on hop off bus (€78 for 2) from near hotel (after a false start where the guy gave us cable car tickets by mistake!). Sat on top deck and put new rain jackets on during the showers. Hot but ok.

Little India & Chinatown look interesting so we'll go back there tomorrow. Went to Raffles but having refit so Long Bar closed. Didn't bother with Singapore Sling - just had a wander round.

Went to famous Hawker place Lau Pa Sat for lunch. Loads of stalls selling all kinds of Asian food. Avoided the one advertising pig's innards and went for Laksa, beef & flat noodles and prawn and noodles. Total €15 (about £10) and all really nice.

Wandered back through Clarke and Boat Quay then up the hill to Fort Canning. Original governer's residence here where Raffles set up experimental garden with 'economically useful' plants. Quite interesting but not much to see as old buildings long gone.

Back to hotel 4.30ish. Sat by pool for a while then back to room 5ish for cup of tea. Tired legs now.

Showered, changed & out 7ish to Robertson Quay. Rather more up market but a bit too fancy for us. Nothing to watch like other Quays. Had expensive beer €16.50 for 2 medium beers then wandered back to Boat Quay stopping at expensive sports bar Boomarang on the way $29.40 for 2 pints approx £9 pint. Boat trips more expensive because laser show on so decided against tonight. Went to Lanna Thai restaurant on front. Had Vermicelli & rice. Both with seafood (rice with smoked fish) & both nice. 2 jugs beer. Total €82.70.

Home 11ish.Read more
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Big Trip 2017 DooWhitt tours
Day 1 & 2 Manchester/Dubai/Singapore
August 5, 2017 in England ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Picked up in posh Merc limo at 11ish. Fast track through security and into Emirates Lounge. Had couple of beers watching planes then smoked salmon blini, chicken & avocado salad, chicken curry and salmon & ratatouille. Andy had beetroot salad with humus and tabbouleh, chicken curry, veg curry, rice, noodles spinach & ricotta cannelloni followed by cheesecake. All delicious. Lounge very pleasant but I couldn't get into wifi.

Boarded 1.30 ish. Glass of fizz as we settled down.

Took off 2.50 so almost an hour late but flight time shorter than planned and we have to wait at Dubai so no problem. Ordered beer & g & t (didn't come till chased) and chicken/mango confit & prawn makhanwala. Glass of Sancerre - lovely. Massive choice of movies/shows/music.

Went to bar mid flight. Great to people watch. Many in stocking feet. Some of cabin crew had nice chat with us. Brought ice cream. Ran out of tonic for gin which was pretty rubbish - bet they had supplies downstairs!

Landed in Dubai and found lounge. Had one beer and more food. Fish & chicken curries. Really nice. Boring wait for couple of hours then boring wait on plane. Took off an hour late but landed on time.

Had fizz & glass of wine & laksa. Didn't like it but too tired and full to care.

Had couple of hours sleep on very comfy lie down bed then the brought scrambled egg & sort of bacon. Yuk but fruit and yoghurt nice. Offered champagne but didn't have it.

Time passed fairly quickly. Landed 4ish Singapore time, 9am UK time.

Got through immigration etc fine and bags already on carousel. Emirates rep waiting to send us to gate for limo to hotel. Lovely driver showed us some sights on drive in. He said it's very hot at the moment 32 degrees but showers expected. Checked into hotel fine and they brought glass of refreshing lemonade.

Room smallish with v little storage but modern and bright with fridge & nice bathroom. Free phone for use here - all calls & internet. Lovely idea. Sorted bags (a bit), set up wifi.

Out 6pm ish. 24 hours since we left home. 3 hours sleep but feel ok.

Wandered to Clarke Quay. First beer in Izakaya overlooking Singapore River. Friendly. $18 (£10 for 4 medium beers). Then wander. Pint in Harry's Bar at Boat Quay watching Arsenal beat Chelsea in Community Shield. Tired but wanted easy tea so went to Brewerkz Clarke Quay. Beer, burger & pizza $90 £60 ish. Expensive and not adventurous but very nice. Wandered home. Bed 10pm.Read more
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