The rest of Aussie and Singapore
Trip Start
Aug 21, 2007
1
8
25
Trip End
Jun 2008
Singapore, Singapore
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Put the pics up yesterday; below is a write-up of what we've been up to.........
Our last week in Aussie was a good one, although somehow it managed to rain most of the time, despite the fact the east coast is in a massive drought and never gets rain like that! Oh well, we were actually able to sleep at night as the temp. cooled off, so that was a good thing.
Our last week was spent in Surfer's Paradise, Byron Bay, Nambucca Heads, Port Macquerie, and Sydney. SP was pretty nice, great shopping, much bigger city than I thought it would be, great beaches of course. Byron Bay (many people we know have been here) was an awesome place, really laid back, definitely a hippie vibe. Too bad it poured and we couldn't even hit the beach...........
After Byron Bay, we drove down the east coast on our way to Sydney, stopping in Nambucca heads for a few nights, a town where the ocean flows into a beautiful green river. Here, thousands of tourists have painted rocks along the pier over the water, so of course we had to do the same! (see pics) Not a lot to do otherwise in Nambucca, just relax by the river, and watch the pelicans eat fish that are far too big to fit down their throats.
While in Port Macquerie, another holiday came and went without us really noticing- halloween! About the only thing that made us notice it was Halloween was ONE 15 (or so) year old kid trick-or-treating with a werewolf mask on..........what exactly is the cut-off age for trick-or-treating? Maybe he was just a REALLY tall 10 year old......
After a few more days in Sydney preparing for SE Asia, we were on our way to Singapore. We made it through Aussie without so much as seeing a snake, spider, shark, jellyfish, nothing poisonous at all! In fact, the most deadly animal/insect we encountered in Aussie were the black flies--- they are everywhere, and they fly either right in front of your face for minutes at a time, or they actually go in behind the lens of your glasses to drive you even more insane. Seriously, its worse than you can imagine. All over Australia, people are walking around waving, and you think, "What a friendly country!", only to realize they are just trying to get rid of the fly who is stalking them.........
After a truly luxurious flight aboard Singapore airlines, we arrived in Singapore at about 2:30 pm, not having a clue of what to expect. The country is famous for its tough laws (fines for spitting, not flushing the toilet- even chewing gum was illegal until 2004). Singapore is a city/country/island below Malaysia, of about 4-5 million people, 3 million of which are Chinese, and the rest of the population is made up of Malaysian, Indian, and MANY westerners. English is spoken everywhere, the city is extremely modern and clean, and it was very easy to get around, making it a perfect first stop in Asia for us. We spent our few days shopping, as Singapore has CHEAP electronics- noone escapes Singapore without buying something they don't need, and we weren't an exception as we had to buy an IPOD!
We stayed in a real interesting area of town called "Little India." While we were there, "Deepavalli" (Festival of Lights) was on, making the area not only beautiful, but also EXTREMELY busy. A little taste of what India will be like I think..........
We also got to visit a Hindu temple, as well as see many beautiful mosques. Singapore seems to be a very multi-cultural and religiously tolerant country.........
From Singapore, we took a 7 hour bus ride, complete with air-conditioning and reclining (all the way back!) seats, for only 8 dollars each! Kuala Lumpur has been great so far, but I'll save that for the next blog!
Later. And Scott Fischer, if you are reading this, I am guaranteeing the Oilers beat the Flamers tomorrow night!
