Ice cold in Christchurch

Christchurch

Day 3 in Singapore was another scorcher and also plagued with Jetlag. After a 'Lost in Translation' evening with Ryan where we wandered around Singapore until 1am I managed a whole 3 hours sleep before heading back off into the sprawling metropolis. The first stop was the Gleneagles Hospital for another pilgrimage to see where Neil was born. Fortunately the person I asked for directions from at the metro station was a nurse who worked there, so finding it was a lot less difficult than finding the house. Convieniently enough the hospital was also next to the Singapore Botanical Garden, another tourist spot on my agenda. I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours wandering around the beautiful sprawling gardens, including the Orchid garden, Ginger garden and Swan Lake, before the heat and lack of sleep got to me and I had to head back to the sactuary of the air-conditioned hotel for a nap. Unfortunately it wasn't butterfly season, but I got some lovely pictures of orchids (to be published soon).

That evening I was kindly invited for dinner at the home of Louise Pye, the ex-pat daughter of friends of my mum and dad. I was treated to some top-notch hospitality and a gorgeous traditional meal cooked by their Philappino housekeeper Josie. Louise and her husband have a beautiful home that used to be a military house and a much enjoyable evening was had, especially the ride home in an open-top Porche... backpacking, it's all about roughing it!

I couldn't leave Singapore without the obligatory Singapore Sling at Raffles, so Ryan and I headed down there before I headed to the airport. Although it was expensive (especially as we had a couple), I can at least say I've been, and we did have the advantage of being able to listen to the practice laps of the Grand Prix nearby.


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So on Saturday I arrived in Christchurch, where I was met by my hosts, the lovely Caroline and Eric, who have been looking after me very well ever since. It is, however, FREEZING here and my lack of winter clothes is apparent, especially after the heat Ive been enjoying in S'pore.

On Saturday night we went to the opening of the Methven Spring Festival, which featured dirt bike and snowboarding jumps, very entertaining except the bloke who faceplanted the dirt from about 40ft up, the crowd went wild... these Kewis are more bloodthirsty than the Romans.

After finally catching up on some much needed kip spent a chilled Sunday wandering around Christchurch for a bit before heading back out of the cold. Was very excited to find the Soul Motive 4th release (Jah No Dead/Son di Cali) in a record shop, big in the Southern Hemisphere!

The only time I have to write a blog is when suffering jetlag...

Singapore - day 2

I've finally started my travel blog. I wanted to start it in Heathrow, but I couldn't work out the wifi and I got distracted by Yo! Sushi and duty free. Heathrow is HORRIBLE, everyone is angry and miserable, I wasn't sure if Terminal 3 had been reserved for deportation now, rather than sending people merrily off on their holidays. Still my part was a breeze, I checked in without so much as a 'have you packed this bag yourself madam' and the security didn't even check my little sandwich bag of miniature cosmetics; mind you they were more concerned with making the Muslim family in front of me remove their three-year-old daughter's trainers, so I guess they have their priorities.

Good flight and was actually sat next to a normal, a nice Canadian chap called Ryan, who also turned out to be staying in the same hotel as me. As we are staying in Little India, we ended up going for a gorgeous hot curry and cold beer, and I successfully proved that Brits have a higher tolerance to chilli than Canadians.

The Park Royal hotel is amazing, but fantastically posh. I am only staying here because the travel agent booked a package, so basically I can enjoy the luxurious surroundings as long as I don't use or touch anything, as no doubt a large amount of money will be charged to my VISA of which they are holding hostage till I've proven myself as the sort of girl who won't sneak two bathrobes, a hairdryer and a flatscreen TV into her rucksack.

Singapore is just how I expected, but was no less of shock, with its sparklingly-clean streets and demure attitudes. Nobody stares or is pushy, and whereas it is not exactly as friendly as some other places, it is nice to walk around with relative impunity... even if the threat of accidental law-breaking is always hovering nearby. One can't help wondering if these clean, low-crime, virtually beggar free streets are kept so without compromise of civil liberties - maybe I'm reading too much into it.

So today I went on a little mission. I say little, I walked about 10 miles. I wanted to see the house in which Neil first lived. I had a vague address and took the MRT system to the area I believed it to be in. Alas, that area turned out to be massive, and I had to walk through suburbs and along highways to find it, even taxi drivers didn't know where it was. I did feel a wonderful sense of achievement - and mild heat stroke - when I did find it through, and am glad I made this mini pilgrimage.


Once I got back into town I decided to treat my poor feet to a massage, as there are many places offering 'reflexology' for very cheap prices. Apparently the definition of a foot massage here is 'poking your feet very hard and beating you around the ankles with a sharp stick'. After racking my brains for any Nazi war crimes I could confess to, the torture was over but surprisingly my feet did feel bit better, or at least tenderised.

Now back at the hotel for a freshen up and a dip in the pool, I am going to head out for some food with Ryan as I have not eaten all day and am starving after my trek. I have yet to get to grips with Singapore cuisine though, as it doesn't seem to be anything specific. As so many different nationalities live in Singapore food choices range from the sublime to the ridiculous; around lunchtime I was looking for food and came across a stall selling only deep-fried duck heads and feet; the next restaurant along was a McDonalds... needless to say I went hungry hopefully I will find some middle ground this evening.