Kaz & Phils Blog

We arrived back in Singapore late evening and were once again back at the Merchant Court. We just about had enough stamina left to go for a walk before needing sleep.

We decided to spend a day on Sentosa Island so caught the mono rail over.It was so nice to sit by the beach in the sun and then do a bit of sightseeing. Back in town we went to Raffles for a last Singapore Sling and then just made it back to Clarke Quay before getting caught in a thunderstorm! Fortunately by the time we went out to dinner it had stopped so we were able to enjoy drinks and dinner al fresco.

The Merlion Centre - The Merlion was first designed as an emblem for the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board  in 1964 the lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves quickly became Singapore’s icon to the rest of the world.

Imbiah Lookout

Sentosa Beach

When in Singapore it has to be a Singapore Sling

We sat in the warm evening talking about our trip and how much we had enjoyed it and how we just did not want to go home!

We don't want to go home!

Next morning it was up and out back to the airport for our flight home.During the short time we had been in Australia a new terminal at Changi had opened and it's even more spectacular T2 which we had been using T3 is an eco friendly building and quite stunning with what seems acres of shopping and relaxation areas not to mention restaurants, bars , leisure and gardens.

After breakfast in the Hard Rock Cafe we did a little duty free shopping before boarding our flight back to Heathrow.

Just twelve hours later we were back in Londonto be greeted by yet more rain! The transport we had arranged was waiting and by 21:00we were back home wondering if it had all been a dream!

We arrived in Melbourne around lunch time after yet another flight to find Eileen (Phil's cousin) waiting for us as soon as we cleared arrivals. Although we had seen her just a year ago when she came to the UK we had not been to Melbourne for eighteen years so we were eager to see some of the family. Eileen had organised a barbie so we caught up with Phil's cousins and their children all of whom had been born in those intervening eighteen years. The sun was out in Melbourne and no hint of rain!

Our stay was short so the next day we went out for a quick look round and then in the evening Frank (another cousin) and Nell (who had come to the UK with Eileen) plus Nell's friend Maureen all arrived for dinner. It was a fun evening with a lot of chat, food and wine. Poor Saffie (Eileen's dog) was busy all night lookng for treats!

Our last day was suddenly on us so Frank, Eileen, Phil and I took a train into Melbourne and made good use of the tourist tram ending up on the docklands for lunch in the sun. We spent a quiet evening with Eileen sat in the garden soaking up the last of the sun.

Saffie

Frank, Eileen, Nell, Maureen and Phil enjoting a pre dinner drink or two!

We arrived in Sydney mid afternoon and checked into our hotel in the Rocks area. We had requested a harbour view not quite expecting to get it but for once our luck was in. I opened the balcony doors and there was the view, I couldn't get over it and felt like a child whose dreams had come true. We decided the best restaurant that evening was our room and that view so ordered fish and chips from room service and raided the mini bar for wine. We just sat on the balcony drinking in the view

Next morning we jumped on a the Bondi Explorer bus which took us around the coast with stops to look at some beautiful scenery along the picturesque path through Sydney’s affluent Eastern suburbs, out to Watson’s Bay and on to cosmopolitan Bondi Beach passing through Sydney Harbour’s beautiful bays and Tamarama, Bronte and Coogee Beaches. We left the bus for a while at Bondi and wandered along the beach area before jumping on another bus back to town. Once back in town we got on the Manly Ferry and on our way across the harbour had some great views of the opera house and bridge. Over in Manly we walked from the ferry through the town to the Beach and found a nice bar by the beach for lunch just as the rain came down, yes it even followed us to Sydney!

We rounded off our short stay in Sydney with a very nice meal at an Italian on the wharf and a farewell to Sydney drink outside a nice music bar still drinking in the views.

We arrived in Noosa reasonably refreshed after a good sleep on the plane. Once we had cleared customs I called Ray who was parked just off the airport and in a couple of minutes he pulled up and we were on our way. Once clear of Brisbane and on the freeway it took us around an hour to get to Noosa. It was just so good to finally see my little brother after two years.

While Ray & Viv finished working we unpacked and headed out to the deck to sit in the sun. Their new home is in a lovely location and the complex they manage much larger than I imagined. Once work was over for the day we all went for a walk on their local beach (which is only minutes from the house) and then to the surf club for drinks overlooking the beach, such lovely views and I forgot to take my camera!

I could go on for pages about our stay in Noosa but suffice to say it was fantastic so what follows is a quick precis and some photos.

The coast line is quite spectacular and we saw most of it during our stay although the weather wasn't kind to us due to a cyclone up in the North of which we had the tail end. It was enough to close the beaches to swimmers although the experienced surfers were fine. When it rained it was torrential but still very warm so we just armed ourselves with umbrellas. The local council run free buses for a week after Christmas so we made good use of those up and down the coast. We also saw some of the hinterland and surrounding towns, in particular one place (Eumundi) hosts a huge market several days a week and we also went to Montville where the views across the mountains was spectacular. We also saw some Kangaroos in the wild although Viv and I were politely asked to leave as it was private property!

Coolum Beach

Hastings Street Beach

Mooloolaba Beach

Kangaroos

Our preferred method of transport!

This was a really fun pub!  We had a few laughs looking around inside at the cartoons on the walls

Christmas day was great as we were all together, no mean feat as we live in three different countries. Natalie & Shaun arrived from Auckland during the evening so we saved our presents until then. It was good fun opening them in the dark on the deck enjoying a glass of wine or two. Boxing Day was a little wet so we went shopping in Hastings Street and bagged a bargain or two in the sales.There is also a beach there so we had a walk until a shower drove us into the surf club for a drink, we needed little or no excuse for a lunch time tipple.

Christmas Day on Sunshine Beach

Den (our Step-father) had given us some cash in lieu of Christmas presents so all eight of us went out for dinner at the Sunshine Beach Surf Club  We booked the free bus and arrived in pouring rain and a high wind. We couldn't show Natz and Shaun the view to great effect as the furniture was flying around! We sat down at our table and just as we were about to order the power went down. Not to be deterred we sat it out and managed to order a little later. After dinner Viv and I decided to have our daily dollar on the pokies and departed to the casino only to be joined minutes later by the rest of the party. Just as we had left the rain literally came in through the side awning and our table was under six inches of water. It was certainly a night to remember! Did Viv and I win on the pokies, well I was 5 dollars up so quite happy as it fed our habit for the next few days

Family night

Ray & Viv

Ray Jnr & Violet

Natz & Shaun

On New Years Eve the kids had all departed for an evening at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast leaving us oldies to party at home with the addition of Brian & Marjorie who live not too far away. We had last seen them when they came to the UK last summer so it was good to catch up. The evening just disappeared in a blur of food and drink and very soon we were wishing each other a happy new year.

We have very happy memories of spending long evenings sat up on the top balcony chatting, catching up on each other lives, playing cards and listening to music some of which forced us to relive our youth! 

Mornings were always good too with a view from the balcony and our daily chat with the Lorikeets (there are seven different species in Australia) who seemed to know when we were up!

As with all holidays departure day arrives far too soon and we were packing again before heading off to Sydney and Melbourne. We left early in the morning and as always it's a tearful time saying goodbye even though we know we will make the trip again soon.

After what seemed the longest year awaiting our trip we finally arrived in Singapore on 17 December after a good flight from London. It felt like coming home as we have been there en route so many times!

Within an hour of landing we had cleared customs, collected our luggage and were speeding off to our hotel in a very nice Mercedes limo (a bargain at £16 from the desk on the arrivals concourse. Very soon we were checking into the Merchant Court Hotel and in a short time were in our room overlooking the hotel garden and pool area.  Within minutes we had changed and were out of the door to do some exploring. We spent the evening over the bridge at Clarke Quay which has a large number of restaurants and bars. It's a very popular spot and was full of locals and tourists all intent on having a very pleasant evening.It was so good to sit outside eating on a December night! We wandered back to the hotel taking in all the sights and sounds and marvelling at the abundance of Christmas lights and decorations everywhere, quite magical.

The next day was Phil's birthday and he had money to spend so we headed off to Raffles City for a spot of retail therapy, you can shop for days in Singapore and never run out of shopping centres. Phil was feeling in need of a birthday drink so we popped into Raffles for a cold beer and spent an hour or so chatting to people who were on cruise stopover for a day. Small world that it is we discovered that the ladies father had been sent to Southampton to do war work so we were able to tell her that the road etc still stands as do the docks!

In the evening we jumped into a taxi and headed back to Raffles There is nothing quite like pulling up outside this wonderful hotel at Christmas time with the lights blazing and a warm welcome.We went through to the Courtyard Bar and enjoyed a couple of Singapore Slings and a little people watching. We then returned to Clarke Quay for dinner at the Lotus Grill where we had a table on the boat.Eating out in Singapore is quite reasonable but the wine is expensive, however the bill came to roughly the same as a pub meal here and the view was amazing.

The next morning we decided some exercise was in order so we went to the Botanic Gardens and walked around the lake not quite believing we had to keep diving for shade as it was so hot.All too soon it was time to head back to the hotel and pack for our overnight flight to Brisbane.

Raffles all lit up for Christmas

The Botanic Gardens