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Saturday. Where did it start and where did it end???? I’m amazed at the people who fall asleep before the plane has even left the Airport and wake just prior to landing, can only imagine they have discovered the ideal travelling drug. Alex did manage to fall asleep and missed take-off from Singapore. It’s astonishing that there isn’t total chaos. I watched as our plane moved away from the terminal and other planes came past from the right and immediately in front then eventually we moved into the line. It seemed a very long distance until the actual take-off runway and once again we waited as a plane took off then we moved up a bit as the next one went. It was like a line of ducks taking off from a pond with just minimal time between each one.

The flight was fine, I saw an amazing “Light Show”. I’ve never seen lightning like it before, instead of zigzags coming down it seemed to be explosions coming up from the ground. All silent, of course, apart from plane engine noise. We had just the two seats on a window side which was fine but the person who was able to stretch out across four seats must have had their best flight ever. Both of us managed some sleep but I needed to listen to music, estimating the number of tracks that would make each half hour pass, Alex watched a movie. The Flight Path screen is great and I was very happy to see we had a tail wind, at times 222kph! 2 hours exactly from our estimated arrival time the lights were abruptly switched on, no nice gentle use of the dimming switch this time! We were fed and watered offered Duty Free etc then just watched the arrival time count down.

This time I was the one who sailed through Immigration, past the multitudes with my Smart Pass, passport. At the Customs Check, Alex must have kept his Smugglers’ Smirk hidden this time because we were allowed  to go down Aisle 1 and straight out the door, I didn’t see anyone else do that! Matt’s face was a very welcome sight!

Now I remember when Saturday ended, it was at 4:00 in the afternoon when exhaustion swamped us and we HAD to sleep!

Here endeth the tale, hope you’ve enjoyed the blog.

Dawn through the plane window.

I know I’m home, there’s a Sturt Pea in the garden!

Singapore Airport

Have just landed in Singapore and the sun has gone down, midday UK time. The flight was much better than previous ones, no busting ear drums and be both managed to get some sleep. The worst part of it was probably the guy sitting directly in front of us who would have set off the gas alarm in a Sewerage Plant.

The shades were down the whole flight to simulate night and in a few hours we’ll begin the next leg and it really will be night, I wonder if we’ll nap again. There are people up here on the 3^rd level sleeping in Banana Lounges but we’ve decided to just sit in the big chairs and walk about to stretch our legs. Alex has a Tiger beer so he’ll be content. (Tiger Beer at Changi Airport café S$13, The Sidewalk in downtown Singapore S$5.20)

Holidays are exciting, illuminating and really enjoyable but there’s nothing quite like going home!

Banana Lounge sleepers.

Waterfall in the Butterfly House.

Should have looked during daytime!

Lots of pupae in a glass case.

Vertical garden.

London Too

The shower in the Hotel was superb, even had two heads, an overhead one as big as a dinner plate and the usual off the wall. Wonderful volume at a perfect temp. No wonder everything looks new, they’ve only been reopened for a few weeks so it’s quite likely no one has ever used the room. The only thing I found annoying was the stiffness of the doors, it took quite an effort to open them, even after I had pushed the green button to unlock it.

We sorted what we needed to for the luggage and left it at the Hotel then went across the road for some breakfast in the St Pancras Railway Station Arcade then we caught one of the Big Buses which do circuits of London. The first bus just had a recorded commentary but the second one had a young girl doing her best to involve passengers eg. Shout DRAGON every time you see a dragon. About 12 o’clock we went into Hyde Park and were immediately visited by Grey Squirrels that thought we had food for them. They’re very cute but not beautiful like the Red Squirrels which have lovely feathery hairs on their ears that glow in the sun. We also saw lot of different birds, horses  being taken for an outing along the Hacking Track or whatever it’s called and a squad of soldiers doing almost the same. We really enjoyed a pizza at a place in the Park. After that we went back to the Big Bus Stop and went past some of the same places as before until we reached the Tower Stop and from there we walked down to the Boat Landing. We were very lucky with our Tour Guide this time, either a Cockney or an actor but great to listen to either way. By the time the boat reached Westminster stop it was time for us to get off so we could walk back to a particular Big Bus Stop where the “Green Bus” would take us back to Kings Cross. All of the buses are actually double decker red ones with just a logo that tells you whether it’s going the red, green or blue route.

Cockney taxi driver was a very cheery chappy, blown away by the thought of a flight to Orrrstraalya. We’re promising ourselves we’ll never again overload our luggage. Had a nice surprise when we boarded the plane, a vacant seat next to us!

Someone’s home, Canley Canal.

Modern sculpture -Station goodbye, girl is texting!

Modern sculpture at St Pancras Station, everyone rushing.

Imp

Hackers? in Hyde Park.

Lunch spot in Hyde Park -The Serpentine Bar & Kitchen

Hyde Park is in the background.

What? No tucker???

The Optimist

Whee else but London?

Rebuilt Globe Theatre, paid for by Zoe Wannamaker’s father.

Window cleaner on The Shard.

Tower Bridge

Head is apparently electified to deter pigeons – Winstone didn’t fancy a pooed head.

View from top of a Big Bus.

A DRAGON!

London traffic is mad!