Singapore

As you've realised already we are running behind with this 'blog'....... we've not been in Dubai all this time and we've been to many places, done all kinds of really cool stuff and we are enjoying life trying to live it to the fullest! We are however making note of where we've been and when we find ourselves a quick 2 minutes we attempt to convert the notes into the blog.

So (picking up from last time) we arrived in sunny Singapore at 15.00 (Saturday 19/07/14). After collecting our bags and feeling the humidity on leaving the airport (nothing like we experienced in Dubai but in comparison to the UK it was hot) we jumped in a taxi making our way to Normanton Park the home of our good friends Rachael and Mo. On our journey we saw some of the sights of Singapore including MBS (Marina Bay Sands) and the surrounding buildings of the CBD. It only took about 25 minutes until we arrived at their apartment.

We chilled out, chatted and caught up in the apartment which was great considering we'd not seen each other in quite a while then got ready to head out into the city. Pyn arrived at the apartment to meet us too. He had only arrived a few days earlier into Singapore. It was so good to see him too - we'd not seen him since he left on his travels 2 1/2 years ago - he was looking great if not a little skinny! ;) We had a quick change and application of sun cream then headed out for the afternoon together.

We walked to the metro (MRT) station 'Kent Ridge' and headed towards MBS. We had a little wander round the MBS area and mall. We attempted to go in 'Ku da ta' the rooftop bar but we were all in flip flops and shorts (given the heat) and with it being a Saturday tea time they said we needed to come back dressed smarter or on a different day!

Due to this inconvenience (our own fault) we went to China town to try some of the local cuisine where Rach and Mo took us to a place they'd been before. We wanted to try something random like frogs but then didn't have any! Rach and Mo chose a great selection of dishes for us all to share. Highly recommend the garlic veggies and the noodle dishes - Good work! 

Just like in Dubai it got dark really quickly once the sun went down in Singapore. After dinner we headed back towards the MBS and went into the surrounding gardens. There were lots of photo opportunities here!........MBS is quite iconic for Singapore - a MUST see.

 

We wandered a little further and walked along to the marina. We found a nice bar to sit outside and had a cheeky cider overlooking the marina. Following this we got the bus home back to the apartment and continued our much needed catch up. 

The next morning (Sunday 19/07/14) Rach and Carol got up early and went for a swim before the sun came up. It was so nice being able to do a few lengths in an outdoor pool and not be freezing but it was great having a proper catch up with Rach chatting about loads!

After our swim and showers we woke the boys up for breakfast - scrambled eggs a la Rach...yum! We headed out then for the day to Sentosa Island. We got the MRT into the city then headed over to the boardwalk towards Sentosa.  It was hot, hot, hot. They had travelators on the walkways towards Sentosa so it was a pretty speedy walk over to the island. We were all just chatting lots like we've not been apart which was really nice. We went through one of the food courts and picked up some random Singapore baked goods and some drinks from the nearby shop to take with us. (I don't know how Pyn does it [staying all skinny] because every time we pass a food place Pyn will get something!)

Sentosa Island is a pretty cool place - lots to do and it has a number of beaches so we decided to head to Siloso beach to the Mambo Cafe beach bar (it has a swim up bar in the pool - easy decision on which one to choose). They were playing great tunes, we got an ice bucket of ciders and sat in the pool drinking and cooling off - awesome! Ant and Mo went for swim in the sea and a chill on the beach while the rest of us chilled at the pool listening to the tunes drinking cold cider catching up.

Pyn and Carol went for a stroll right along the beach chatting lots and catching up - again it was really good to spend quality time together - something I'd missed over the last couple of years whilst he's becoming travelling champion of the world! On our walk we found some surfing wave pools and watched some guys fail badly at surfing.... I was going to have a go but didn't want to show them up! ;)

Once everyone was sunburnt enough and wanting to get out of the sun (never enough sun for me) we headed back to the food court to get a late lunch. Antoni and I attempted to get the famous Singapore 'chicken rice' but ended up with a clay pot version which just tasted burnt! LOL not the best dish we've ever had! Rach and Pyn had varying noodle dishes which we all tried and we shared satay chicken (Michelle's nutty favourite LOL). Mo picked himself up some baked goods for later for after sunset as he was fasting. Again, and I can't stress it enough, Pyn is always wanting to eat! .......... In all fairness he needs feeding up! After our feed we headed back over the bridge to the mainland and onto the apartment.

Pyn headed to meet one of his many travelling 'lady' friends whilst we headed back home to get ready for the Singapore Zoo Night Safari. We had quick showers, applied the much needed insect repellent and jumped in a taxi to night safari (which was on the other side of the island but only took us 25 minutes to get there) Singapore really isn't that big of a place.

So we arrived at the much acclaimed Singapore Zoo Night Safari - Initially it was pretty busy so we decided to do the walking option rather than the tram and come back to it later. We started out on the walk which was pretty dark but we ended up latching onto private group walk round so we got all the information, advice and tips from the guide and it took us on a full tour of the safari. After this we jumped on the safari tram and got a trip around the main part of the safari and saw all the bigger animals. 

Soon after Carol had spotted Ben and Jerry's so we stopped and had a quick ice cream and when I say quick due to the high temperature this was a quickest ice cream we have ever eaten - trust me! We nipped into the shop and got some funny pics with the random stuffed animal toys on sale to the point where we got other people laughing in the shop and then copying us and taking their own pictures!

We headed back in a taxi and Mo was still awake when we got home so it was nice to catch up with him for a little bit. The boys went to bed and left me sorting out photos on Mo's laptop - we've decided we definitely need our own laptop or notebook on this trip rather than just our iPad. I also wrote a bit more of the blog for Dubai and stayed up really late in the end! 

 

The following day (Monday 20/07/14) Rach and Mo were up early for work so we had a little lie in which was needed given I was up pretty late last night. We arranged to meet Pyn at the Botanical gardens so we jumped on the MRT and made our ways to the gardens. We met Pyn, went around the gardens briefly and took some random and funny photos.

We didn't last long in the heat and humidity so we jumped back on the MRT (Pyn stopped off for some food) towards the MBS mall with the much needed air conditioning. The three of us had a wander around the shops together - Pyn was looking for work shirts in Zara for when he actually stops travelling and starts working again! and got distracted by the really bad taste in Singapore clothes and Pyn and Ant agreed to model some. I was on WhatsApp with Katie in Australia during this shopping trip and sending her the pictures of the boys in the bad clothing- too funny! 

We also found a shoe/trainer shop with some of the worst trainers ever! There are some crazy Singapore/Asian fashions! We headed outside towards the MBS gardens and attempted to go to the indoor garden dome but it was unfortunately closed for maintenance. Instead we headed to look at the main structures within the gardens where there was a rooftop bar/restaurant and we sat outside on the balcony enjoying a refreshing drink in the sun. We went upstairs to see the panoramic view of the city and the MBS.

 

 

After a wander around the gardens we headed back into the MBS and headed up to the Ku da ta bar to see the view of the city overlooking the infinity view pool on the roof - this time they let us in. We got some great photos from here.

We headed back through the mall and saw the random Venice Boat where there was a lady being chaperoned on the boat ........ very random! We then jumped on the water taxi boat over to Clarke Quay (Clarkys recommendation - maybe it has something to do with his name?) we had a look around and headed for some Singaporean food and lots of happy hour cocktails and beers. Rach and Mo followed suit once they'd finished work.

 

As sunset was quickly approaching Mo showed us around the Arabic quarter and we had food at Ala Turka (again recommended) which was really nice. We then went to get some famous camomile tea from this 'famous' man with a beard - it was served in a take away plastic bag with a straw - it was nice but really sweet as it was made with condensed milk - you should definitely try it if you come and venture around these ends.

 

We said our sad "see you later" to Pyn as he headed off back home to get ready for his return to Tonsai in Thailand to meet another one of his many lady friends ;) and we headed back home to the apartment. Pyn - it was so good to see you and catch up in the brief time we had together - we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and we look forward to our next encounter, keep well and stay safe...and keep eating! 

The next morning, our last in Singapore, (Tuesday 21/07/14) we decided to have a much needed chill out morning. We relaxed by the pool at the apartment complex and did a bit of sunbathing, swam a few lengths, and a few sit ups and exercises. It was another gorgeous day but as the clouds came over just after lunch time we headed back into the apartment for a bit of lunch, showered, changed and headed out into the city. It was whilst we were sat around the pool we remembered that we'd not visited the Singapore Raffles Hotel to sample the world famous Singapore Sling.....you know what's coming.....we jumped onto the MRT again and made our way. The hotel itself is quite a nice old building (something you don't now see much in Singapore) and we both had the famous cocktail sat in the hotel courtyard - a nice experience! 

Heading back towards the MRT we found the raffles market place. Here we found a supermarket where we got a little lost in the cheese section......Rach said she rarely gets chance to have cheeses anymore (which is shame as she resided in Southern France where it's a dietary requirement ;) ) so we decided to get her a little cheese surprise and some lovely Orchids. Due to the heat the supermarkets give out free bags of ice to place in your shopping bags when taking your food home so that it doesn't turn which we thought was a great idea. 

We arrived home just in time for sunset, Rach and Mo were back from work and Mo had cooked one of his Moroccan tagines which was fantastic! Rach had also baked a chocolate cake which we had for dessert which was also amazing! We spent the night chatting and laughing and although our flight was now at 5am as it had been delayed by three hours (good job that our airline Jetstar text us to let us know this in advance) we had a nice last night in Singapore. 

Rach and Mo headed to bed as they were up early for work so we said our sad "see you laters" and started to get our things together. We stayed up, had showers and got us a taxi to the airport at about 2am. We got there super early (given the fiasco we faced in Dubai) to guarantee our seats. We spent some time on FaceTime to Antoni's brother Stef and niece Alexia on the airport wifi, picked up some perfume in duty free and then we finally got to try our Chicken rice, even though it was nearly 4am, although I'm not sure the airport really did it justice.

Again a big thank you to Rachel and Mo for their awesome hospitality, it was so good to come and see you, catch up and share laughs and see where you live and the way of life and culture in Singapore. Let's not leave it too long until our next meet and now we're over this direction we really have no excuses. All the very best, keep well and safe and we'll see you soon, thanks again to both of you

So next stop Perth, Australia....

Dubai

So we arrived in Dubai early hours of Tuesday morning (15/07/14) to be faced with some craaaazzzyy heat and humidity as we took our first step out of the airport. I know people talk about it but seriously this was immense! We felt like we'd walked straight from a fridge into a Sauna! It was only 7am and already nearly 40 degrees! We grabbed an air conditioned taxi (which was very much welcomed) and enjoyed the sights of Dubai whilst enroute to our apart hotel in Dubai Marina (Marina View - could do with a refurb but we would recommend it). It took about 40 mins from the airport and got there really early - we couldn't check in just yet as no rooms were ready so we took a short stroll down to the Dubai Marina Mall - that short stroll felt like forever - it was so hot (seriously crazy sweaty with the humidity)....Note to self no one else is walking about outside - we'd only walked for about 5 minutes. We hit the much needed air conditioning and had a wander around the Mall.

 

As we'd arrived in Dubai during Ramadan and with it being pretty early in the morning there wasn't much open or going on. We did find a helpful lady who assisted us and we purchased some tickets for a few things for the next few days of our Dubai leg. 

We got a few bits from the Waitrose supermarket - I know.....Waitrose ..... in Dubai. To be fair all the shops are the same as in the UK (pretty much) but we went to get bits for the hotel room, particularly water! We couldn't drink or eat in public due to Ramadan so we headed back to the hotel again in the sweltering heat. Upon our return we checked in, chilled out and caught up on few much needed Zzzzzzz's. Later we went down to the hotel pool to have a swim and sunbathe ........bliss! anyone reading this (we don't get paid for plugs) get onto P20 sun cream - best purchase to date

 

That evening we had dinner in the hotel and we went to meet our good friend Johnny (who lives in Dubai) in the Marina at the Trader Vic - Mai Tai bar in Jumeirah beach resort (JBR). It was pretty good in there - a bit like Mahiki Bar in London. 

We decided to walk there - we thought 'looks like a nice evening for a stroll' but as we had no idea where we were going and after dodgy directions from the hotel this ended up being a pretty hot and sticky walk where we got a little lost and no taxi drivers had even heard of the bar - was Johnny having a laugh?!? Anyway by sheer fluke and after losing about 8 litres of fluid we stumbled upon it in much need of a drink. (Ant went to dry off in the gents under the hand dryer!)

 

It was great catching up with Johnny having a cocktail or two and a few shandys. It was about 1am after chatting lots when Johnny offered to take us on a night tour around Dubai in his company car - was really good! We went down onto Jumeirah beach then down to see the Burj Khalifa and had an amazing tour of the city - thanks Johnny. We had an amazing first day!
 

Next morning (Wednesday 16/07/14) we got up and walked to Dubai Marina Mall to pick up a shuttle bus @ 09:30 (we obviously hadn't learnt our lesson as we melted again) to take us on a big bus tour - the blue tour. The tour took us all around the city and we saw all the sights including the Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab, the Atlantis on the palm, Jumeirah Beach hotel and many many more. The tour had headphones we could plug in which was very informative of the landmarks we'd passed so was nice to get to know a little about the place. Thankfully we were allowed to drink water on the bus despite it being Ramadan as long as we were discreet which was an absolute lifesaver. Antoni sat mainly in the air conditioning part of the bus upstairs as I was catching some rays - you know me I love the sunshine! 

 

 

 

 

Later that evening we had a booking at At.mosphere restaurant on the 122 floor of the Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world - 829 metres tall! We had a table booked for just before sunset to see the amazing view of Dubai by day and night. We headed out early and went into the famous Dubai Mall which is huuuuuge! Think of the Trafford Centre, multiply it by about .......... 20 - could have done with hiring a couple of Segways!

We had a wander around and then got a taxi around the other side back to the Burj Khalifa- we attempted to walk but we were told it was too far - that gives you an idea how big the place was considering its only next door and we had a good half hour before our evenings booking! We went into the Burj Khalifa though the Armani Hotel and up in the speedy lift - our ears popped a good few times going up the fast lift to the top - it only took roughly 20 seconds (it's the worlds fastest lift). Our table which Antoni booked for us was right in the window and the view was spectacular! You can imagine how many photos we took! We spent time taking in the view of the city and beyond and just watching the sky get darker as the sun went down with all the buildings lights being turned on - amazing! 

 

 

We ordered cocktails (mojito and a strawberry daiquiri) our classic holiday drinks of choice with some nibbles (nuts and olives). We both enjoyed the most magnificent Steak we'd ever had for dinner previously (good job it was given the price) and we received a complimentary desert and box of chocolates as a celebration for our engagement which was a lovely touch (man points to Antoni for sorting it all out). The famous fountain show was on every half hour so we got a birds eye view of this right from our seats. 

 

After dinner we made our way down to the bottom and back towards the Dubai Mall - that lift is soooo fast! We went to watch the famous water fountain show from eye level - again amazing ....... dancing fountains and lights along to the music 'time to say goodbye' - found this pretty moving - it cooled us down a little too with the spray from the water although it was still hitting 36 degrees. We took some more pictures of the Burj Khalfia from here too. 

 

We headed back into the air conditioned mall and decided to go to the Dubai mall aquarium ........... The tanks were huge with so many sharks, stingrays and all sorts of fish. We went on a glass bottom boat and got to feed some of the fish. By this point it was 1am and despite knowing we were up early we were tempted and decided to go into the famous Cheesecake Factory opposite the aquarium and have some cheesecake woohoo! 

We only managed a few mouthfuls - the pieces were huge and it was washed down with strawberry and raspberry lemonade and of course a cup of tea as the portions were mega we asked them to box it up and we took it back with us. We didn't get home until after 2am so after a crazy busy day we finally made it to bed ........... now we just have to be up early for Carol's skydive .........

So with alarms blaring we were up at 6.30am (Thursday 17/07/14) to head out towards 'Skydive Dubai' on the coast on Jumeirah beach. This is something Carol has always wanted to do and Antoni booked this for her birthday. As expected despite a late night and early start Carol was super excited and giddy ..... Not nervous at all ...... We just wanted more sleep! We arrived at the skydive dubai centre and was given lots of paperwork for Carol to sign her life away! Carol then had a camera launched at her with the cameraman Alberto asking her questions and got set up with harnesses for the sky dive and a mini practice of what she needed to do when jumping out of the plane. All training done in about 45 seconds - it wasn't like this when Antoni did it in the UK!

Carol had a crazy Italian guy called Mas for her tandem - I think he knew Carol was feeling pretty chilled about it all (surprisingly) so he was trying to wind her up about the harness being too loose and failing but she wasn't having any of it ...... 

Carol was too excited to get nervous - I think she surprised herself to be honest - she thought she'd be pretty scared. Next minute she was whisked off on a buggy which took us to the runway to meet the plane. Carol went onto the plane first which meant she was jumping last. 

During the flight up the tandem guy Mas was yet again trying to scare Carol and make her nervous but it didn't work - the girl opposite looked soooo nervous and wasn't saying anything and looked like she wanted to back out whereas Carol was chatting and having a laugh and felt super excited! 

The view was amazing over the palm ........ I kept trying to look out of the small windows of the plane to see. Once we got up to the correct height the other 4 people with me in the plane did their jumps. As we were edging towards the door I thought I'd be feeling pretty nervous and think 'OMG what am I doing' but I didn't get any of that and next minute we were free falling .......... truly amazing!!!! 

I've never felt a feeling like it ........ It was the best feeling ever........as he pulled the parachute we could then fully see the full view over the whole of Dubai and the famous palm with the 'world', sky scraper buildings and dessert! Mas let me steer the parachute too because he said I seemed confident so I was spinning us around in circles which was ace ........ I got us going really fast as we came down to land I just had a feeling of amazement ....... I just wanted to go again!! I even think I said that on the video at the end! I was on such a high. We waited a little while for my photos and video of the skydive which we got to watch on the huge TV screen in the centre! 

 

 

 

(I've uploaded the skydive video and pictures for all to see on Facebook.)

Following this we headed to the metro and then went to meet the big bus to carry on with a tour of the older side of the city - the Red Tour. As part of this trip we stopped off at Al Hamriya to go on the Arabian Dhow Cruise down the river.

After a couple of hours around the city we decided to get the metro back to the hotel to catch the last few hours of sunshine by the pool where after a swim we promptly fell asleep on the sun loungers.
 

We did plan to go on the evening bus tour to see the light show in wafi but after a quick dinner and lack of taxis to get there due to Iftar we decided against it and decided to meet up for a few drinks with Johnny over at the Movenpick Hotel to a bar called Moroc. We met his friends Ashley and Simone and the five of us had a few drinks together and caught up. The bar also had shisha so the boys ordered apple. We eventually ended the night in a local take away where we found chips cheese and gravy - the Isle of Man lives on!

 

 

So after a late night we got up later than planned on Friday morning (18/07/14). We went down for breakfast and then came back to the room to pack everything as it was time to check out of our hotel. Thankfully the hotel were happy to keep our bags for us until the evening so we headed over to the Atlantis Hotel on the palm to head to aquaventure water park. We had a great time on the amazing water slides and lazy river. We bumped into Simone there which was cool but don't think Johnny made it due to the previous nights exploits! After waiting until after lunch it was time for the Tower of Poseidon ride which is a near vertical drop - Antoni nearly bottled it (in my defence there were loads of blokes much bigger and more masculine looking than me bottling it) but in the end the true Manc came forward and we both went on it! Adrenaline rush! Skydive one day, Tower of Poseidon the next - Carol is turning into an adrenaline junkie

 

Following the water park we went into the lost chambers aquarium in the Atlantis hotel to see more massive fish tanks and sea life (when it comes to fish the Arabs don't mess about). We could both sit there for hours watching but eventually left and had a wander around the rest of the hotel. 

 

Johnny come to meet us and picked us up from the Atlantis. He then, after taking us to pick up our bags from the hotel, took us to a bar on the beach at the marina called Barasti where we had few drinks and some food together. We then went back to his house and chilled for a little while. Carol called her grandad to wish him a quick happy birthday and then we chilled together for a little bit before having to head to the airport. 

Our flight was at 03:05 am. Upon arrival at the airport we were informed that the flight had been overbooked (something they always do on Emirates flights) and we now weren't on the flight despite pre booking our seats! They offered us to go on the next flight but as it was their mess up they would put us up in a hotel for the night and give us a free flight ........ we had to wait until the flight was closed for a decision but we wanted to travel on that flight as we'd made plans in Singapore - luckily they found us two seats on our planned flight so after racing through security and to the gate we got onto our flight - we got emergency exit seats with extra leg room so that was a bonus ........ pretty much slept the whole flight on and off and after 7 hours we arrived in Singapore.........

We just want to extend our thanks once again to Johnny who looked after us and showed us about - it was really nice to spend time with you and see your new place - We look forward to meeting up again soon, take care mush Xx

 

Until then .........

PS .... apologies for the crazy detail - we did do a lot in dubai in a short space of time ..... I'm sure these blogs will get shorter as time goes on but we want this to keep as a long term memory for us both so if you're still reading this and not got bored we're well impressed ......... and if you did get bored then get back to work ;)