Friday, 4 May 2012

4th day of using chop sticks….


Saying goodbye to our Auzzie family and friends was very sad, we will miss them as we move on but are so glad we had such a special time with them. Our journey from Perth to Singapore was great with a 5hr flight where we squeezed in 2 movies and a meal. We then managed to get ourselves on public transport and foot from the airport to the youth hostel. The girls did brilliantly as we all had to carry our own rucksacks (KJ - 10kg, Yas - 7kg, Asia towing 13kg, Mark - 14kg and me - 11kg) plus hand luggage bags each. The final walk of about 15mins in 30 degree tropical heat tested our fitness and spirits but we all managed it and were so glad to have done it. Our staying fit this year plan definately paid off! After we were all showered and tucked up in a 6 bed room (3 sets of bunks) we began discussions of what else we can off load to reduce the carrying weight before our next trip at the end of the week. Fun!! 

We have been in Singapore for 4 days and still I am rubbish with chopsticks! We have been eating daily in Lavender food court which sells an amazing array and choice of Chinese, Singapore or Thai dishes for around £2 per person. I have tried something different every day from Wanton noodles, Green Thai curry, Bejing Zha Jiang Lamian (fried sauce knife shredded noodles) to Shanghai Xiao Long Bao (basket steamed filled dumplings) – the latter being my favourite so far. All so yummy and in my case very messy!

Singapore is a buzzing city with so much to do. So far we have visited Sentosa Isalnd, had Starbucks at Vivo City, taken pictures outside Raffles Hotel, taken in views from the Tiger Sky Tower, picked up English snacks in M&S at Raffles Shopping City (home sick moment!), shopped and eaten in China Town, driven down Orchard Road and spent 7 hrs at the amazing Singapore Zoo. That was all in 3 days so today we are resting, reading, writing and catching our breath before doing a night safari this evening.

We all love youth hostelling so much – sharing a bunk bedded room as a family is a lot of fun. Meeting other fellow travellers from all over the world and sharing stories, books and experiences is enlightening. The staff at youth hostels are usually lovely passionate people who love to hang out, chat and give top tips of the place you are visiting. So far we have been the only family in any of the places we have stayed so people are always interested on our journey/home education/values etc.

For us Singapore is a stepping stone out of the ‘western’ world and onto the ‘eastern’. We are very grateful for this time to acclimatise and learn to live in the humid heat, chopstick eating, Asian cultures while still having the respite in of air conditioned bedroom, coffee shops and public transport. We are encouraging each other to enjoy each day and embrace its challenges…the girls are fantastic at this and adapting so well!

I will let the girls tell you about their specific highlights later so from me that’s a quick taster of us so far….. love Hayley x

No comments:

Post a Comment