Shopping galore in Singapore

We have had a fantastic, wet couple of days in Singapore, it really is something special this place. Matt had warned me previously about all the shopping malls, but nothing could have prepared me for the amount and the immensity of these places! They're that bad that once you get inside one, it's very difficult to find your way back out again. It really is a shoppers paradise and I would recommend it to all my girlfriends. Stew and Kirsty spent a couple of days here on their way to Oz and Kirsty told us how much she loved it (Kirsty loves to shop!!) but Stew really struggled with the humidity which we can relate too!!

We have visited some really exciting cities on our trip, but Singapore is something else. It screams efficiency. We have completely exhausted the underground (MRT) which is so simple to use and 100% reliable. Everywhere is really clean and there is just a really positive energy about the place, I love it!!

The one thing I do hate though (oh yes there's always something you must be thinking) is the humidity. We have the luxury of A/C in our hotel so you can have a nice shower, blow dry your hair put on clean clothes, but the minute you step outside the hotel the place just steals the air from your lungs and you are damp in an instant, and remain that way for the rest of the day, which is why they probably have so many A/C shopping malls. I swear to God I have never seen so many shops. I don't even think Buenos Aires can compete, and that is another huge shopping city.

But we're backpackers and so whatever we accumulate, we have to carry, which kind of spoils things a bit. That said I am going on a shopping rampage when we get to Bangkok (where we fly home from) and will be doing all our Christmas shopping. I think I can get gifts for my whole family and friends for about ten quid, it is soooooo cheap!! The only thing we have bought today is a fake G-Shock watch (1.70GBP and it's still working 7 hours later!) and an umbrella for Matt as it seems to rain every 5 minutes here. No let me re-phrase that, it teems down!!

So we have spent much time on Orchard Road which is where a lot of the big malls are, we did Raffles, we've spent more than our fair share of time in Little India, Bugis Village (more shops) we have been along Circular Quay where all the trendy restaurants and bars are, and lots of other places in between. James we didn't get to the Zoo as we only had two full days here and half of one of those was spent trying to get out of the shopping centre!!

We also booked our bus tickets today, and tomorrow we get the bus for a 4.5 hour trip to Melaka, Malaysia. I think we could have quite easily spent more time in Singapore but the urge to shop is just too much to bear any longer. Today we also booked some accommodation for the Christmas period, and we will be staying on the Island of Ko Samui in Thailand. We arrive on the 23rd December and will stay until 27th, it will be so strange been away for Christmas, we are both looking forward to celebrating ours late with family and friends when we get back in Feb.

One thing I really envy of Asian women and that is their poker straight hair, it totally defies humidity. I've spend most of my time here with a gaping jaw wandering how it stays so straight in all the humidity and rain. Unfortunately my hair does not tolerate humidity and I am looking more like Bonnie Tyler every day. I'm going to get my mum to book me an appointment for Toni & Guy for the day after I get home, I am in desperate need of some serious cutting and colour. I used to have my hair cut ever 6-7 weeks at home, it is now 10 MONTHS since my hair saw a professional pair of scissors. Initially I did try to "keep it tidy" using the scissors from our first aid kit but it was like trying to fit a new carpet with a butter knife so I gave up.

It's all girls talk this hair and shopping stuff!

Missing you already

We're now in Singapore and it's ace!!

Yesterday we packed our gear away after 6 easy weeks in Oz, ready for some more hardcore travel through Asia. We took the van back to the depot, which was almost as stressful as when we picked it up. Despite my bragging at how good we were getting at driving around the cities, nothing can prepare you for the roads in Sydney, it's a nightmare to drive round/through. We agreed that I would drive and Matt would be chief navigator (damage limitation!) that way if we did get lost (or should I say when!) it wasn't my fault, I was simply following instructions ;o) Anyway we did get lost, a few times. We eventually stopped at a petrol station and asked a taxi driver where the address was, as always when you're lost we were practically right by it.

We got our full deposit back too which was good news, as obviously coming to the end of our trip we need all the financial resource available to us. We jumped in a cab back to the airport and apart from a slight delay (1.5 hrs) due to an electric storm in Sydney we had another good flight on a Boeing 747! We saw the new Airbus at Sydney airport, it is HUGE. We took a few pics so will post them on Flickr soon.

As you will have probably gathered I'm not too sorry to have left Oz. I don't know why I didn't take to the place, I can't really put it down to any one thing, all I know is that it feels great to be in Singapore where nothing is familiar (apart from Mcdonalds) and nobody has yet told us where to go(!) and what to see.

Our last few days in Oz were spent at the campsite where we started off, Lane Cove and it really is a lovely park with lots of trees and greenery, it's almost like camping in a wood. The other night I was on my way to phone my dad to wish him a happy birthday. The phone box is a few minutes walk from the camp site, but it is pitch black down the footpath and there are LOTS of insects, beetles, flies, moths you name it, and they all come out at night. So me being the arachnophobiac that I am, you can imagine what an ordeal it is for me venturing out in these conditions. I went fully armed with a tin of fly spray much to the annoyance of Matt whose patience is quickly running out with my obsession of creepy crawlies. Anyway there is no real reason for me telling you all this, other than to say when we got to the phone box (unscathed) we realised that we had forgotten the phone card (I say we!!) so we had to go all the way back to the van, at which point Matt decided that he wouldn't come back with me so I had to brave it alone. Yeah thanks for that!! When I got back to the phone box, trembling, there was somebody in it, so it was another wasted journey. I wafted and swatted my way back to the van (God only knows what I looked like to passers by) and decided to text my dad instead. Much easier and insect free ;o) We did see a MASSIVE spider though on our first attempt, and I'm not exaggerating it was the same size as a small tarantula, obviously being in Asia now for the next 7 weeks means that I'm not out of the woods yet either!!!!!

We arrived at Singapore at about 1.30am this morning, totally cream crackered and probably half cut, thanks to the complimentary beer and spirits on the flight. We exhausted their supply of red wine and had to go onto the white in the end, we only drank to help us relax though ;o) We got a taxi to our hotel which took about 15 minutes, we had a bit of banter along the way with the taxi driver, who now wants to work for Comet as they pay well enough to allow us to go travelling and they even allow you to have 10 months off work and keep your job open for you.

The hotel we're staying at is on the outskirts of the main city so we are just making our way in now, on foot at the moment, and then we are gong to get the tube for the rest of the journey. It is 5* luxury to be back in a hotel, with our own bathroom, a T.V and A/C, I felt a million dollars this morning getting ready surrounded by such comfort and luxury. As much as we loved camping in NZ and Oz, it has been a bit much after 13 weeks. We are in Singapore for 3 nights altogether so we will get to Malaysia on Monday, all being well. We will head to Malaka for a couple of nights and then to the capital Kuala Lumper. I can't begin to tell you how exciting and challenging it feels again to be back in the thick of travelling. I think that is what we have missed since leaving South America.

So look forward to a lot more happy blogging and a lot less moaning from me. I am loving it already and we've not even seen anything yet!!