Koala&Kiwi

Our first full day. After a good rest and sleep we were ready for the first full day of our holiday. We awoke at 8.00am to rain, but this soon disappeared and the day proved to be bright, sunny and hot. The view from our hotel room was overlooking a busy dual carriageway, hotels, the Singapore River and the Alkaff Bridge. This bridge is shaped like a tongyang which was an early boat that was used to transport  goods along the river. Alkaff is the name of a prominent Arabian family who were amongst the wealthiest in Singapore at the start of the 20th Century. With only a short time in this hot, humid and bustling city decisions were made in advance about what we would like to do and places that we would like to visit. This first day was to be Sentosa Island and a Night Safari at Singapore Zoo. Sentosa  Island is an array of themed attractions, a deep water harbour, sandy beaches and resort hotels. It is accessible via a cable car which runs the whole length of the i...

At last, after all the planning and armed with guide books and medications it was the day to set off on this big adventure. Friends collected us and took us to Newcastle Airport for the early afternoon flight to Singapore via Dubai.  I had booked wheelchair assistance on all the flights both, outbound and inbound, and this worked extremely well and something which I was grateful for. I kept the time on my watch set to UK time so I could keep track of when my tablets were required. The first leg to Dubai seemed to pass quickly and the cabin staff were extremely efficient and attentive to all the passengers on board. Snacks and drinks were offered frequently and I took advantage of the soft drinks and water that were on offer.  The meal was chicken in mushroom sauce followed by crumble and cheese and biscuits. We had a short lay over in Dubai and were taken to a quiet passenger lounge that was showing football on the tv!  A member of the airport staff collected us when ...

In 2015 our youngest son had the opportunity to go to Sydney on a  three months secondment with his then current employer. His wife visited during that time and it was probably then that they made the decision to live there. He returned in August and it was just a waiting game until his Visa was received allowing them to  move on a 4 years working visa.  From receiving the necessary paperwork by email to actually moving took only a matter of weeks.   All rather sudden and not much time to comprehend the big changes that would follow.  During their first year Down Under, family and friends visited but we had decided to visit and see as much as we could, hence a period of saving and planning. I pondered over maps and guide books and trawled the internet for information and my son and I had devised a weekly timetable which we blocked in as trips were booked and organised as we had decided to go for eight weeks -  quite literally the trip of a lifetim...