England at last!

It was a grey, overcast morning as we headed from Heathrow back to the south-eastern suburbs of London, and, as Luke and I talked, we missed the correct turn off and found ourselves in unfamiliar territory. One sign gave the impression that we could find ourselves in Wales if we didn't turn soon! What would happen if secessionists were successful while we were on the Welsh side of the border? Would secession open a great, gaping gulf between Great Britain and Wales, which we might never be able to recross?

Fortunately, the question never arose. With a small diversion through the new industrial park of Winnersh Triangle, we were soon pointed in the right direction again, and, by the time we reached our destination, the household was awake and ready for the grandfatherly incursion.

I... was more than ready, with his boomerang clutched in his hand ready to be shown, by a real Australian, how boomerang throwing is done. T... was ready just to get out to a park as soon as possible.

After lunch, we all went to the park. Here are some photos of children at play.

I didn't get any photos of boomeranging, as I was either demonstrating as much of boomerangcraft as I could remember from kids shows on TV or protecting life and limb.

Post park we pottered off to the seaside, but that's a different post...

A long night's journey into day

So we were ready to get off.

I had noticed that the airport had both napping lounges and hotel rooms, and I eventually opted for the napping lounges, which were like shaped sun-lounges. The photographs shows people comfortably lounging in them, either sleeping or reading their books and Facebook pages.

The reality was a trifle different, mainly because, at 1.78m, I am apparently taller than the average bear, if not necessarily any smarter. I just didn't fit the lounges. Nevertheless, I plugged in several seriously depleted devices to recharge, and settled myself in the hope of doing much the same. I did manage to sleep, mainly out of exhaustion, but awoke with one foot and one hand asleep, and a stiff and sore neck.

As my laptop and phone were now sufficiently charged, I went out in search of beer and beauty -- well, something cold to drink and a comfortable place to drink it at. I got an iced coffee, which was essentially a black coffee with ice in it. But it was wet and cool. I sat in a chair to drink it until a group of some 6 Netherlanders travelling in a pack arrived. I moved so they could all sit together, finished my drink and headed for the check-in area.

It wasn't long before I was on the aircraft for the next leg of my journey, this time an Airbus A380. Again I had a seat near the rear of the section (upstairs economy) with only one seat beside me. This was occupied by Geoff, a Filipino with a southern English accent and now resident in Singapore.

I didn't get a photo of the A380, but did get the shot above through the window once I was seated.

One thing fascinated me. It was misty, hot and humid all at once when we took off, and vapour covered the wing like a gossamer shroud; but, every now and then, it would transform into a stream that arced over the wing almost as though it were being hosed across the wing.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at around 11:30 pm and arrived at London's Heathrow Airport at 5:30 am the next morning after some 17 hours of darkness. As we were travelling westward, we were travelling in constant night, which I found somewhat boring. I did watch the aircraft's progress on screen, as I couldn't really get interested in the in-flight entertainment.

There was allegedly a 110 volt socket somewhere near the seat, but I couldn't see it, though there was some kind of indentation under one seat arm which might have been a socket. I didn't bother to try, anyway.

At Heathrow, because I was early, I had to wait a little while for Luke -- perhaps 10 minutes. Customs was very trouble-free, and my bag was about 6th on the belt, so I was off straight away. If it had been more like when we came to England in 2007, when a very pleasant lady quizzed us at greater length about whether we had any intention to join a drug-smuggling cartel of plant bombs on aircraft (well, perhaps not quite those topics!) before wishing us the very best of holidays, Luke would have had to wait as long for me to get out.

The Border Protection officer asked me when I had last been in the UK, and, a trifle flustered, I answered, "1 April 2007 and for about 4 weeks thereafter", but then corrected myself, as we had left Sydney on 1 April, but arrived in London on 2 April, I think.

The Merlion

Singapore gets its name from the Malay Singapura, meaning "Lion City." Legendarily, the founder met a lion there and was much impressed; though it is more likely that he met a tiger. After all, singa is from the (Indian) Sanskrit singh, suggesting that the Malays of the area had no native word for a lion.

Singapore, at the time, and until the later 19th century, was largely a fishing port, though it is much more of a financial and technical hub these days. To celebrate the lion legend and the fishing history, a statue fountain has been erected of a fish-bodied lion.

Our city journey took us to the famous Merlion Park, which is on a body of water once the mouth of the river, but now a fully enclosed reservoir.

Here are some photos:
(1) The Park and its surrounds

(2) The Merlion fountain and Mini-Me(rlion)


(3) Interesting patterns in architectural and engineering design

Finally, a trip through the Indian quarter before returning to the airport...

Many Indians are Catholics, as witnessed by their magnificent church building in the Indian quarter

Above: The airport sponsors local artists

Left: It was Social Media Month at Singapore Airport.

City tour begins

Although the guide to get us to the bus was almost as reluctant to divulge information as the other women concerned with the bus tour of Singapore, it did gradually become clear why we needed to be ready to leave so long before the advertised tour began. Customs and the vastness of the airport were the two major factors.

The trip began with a long walk, perhaps 10 minutes or so, across the airport to the "Skytrain." Nothing is close at Changi.

The Skytrain is a narrow gauge elevated railway system using remotely controlled two carriage trains between the three different parts of Changi airport.

Above is a view through the front window of the train from Terminal 3, where tours are organised, to Terminal 1, where the trip departs.

The skytrain covers enough open land that you can see large swathes of the city before you reach that part of the complex.

Eventually, though, we reached our destination, were ushered through Customs, and made it to the bus.

Here is the bus, and some of the passengers.

It wasn't long before we were underway, and very aware of the smog covering the city. Our guide informed us that it was due to burning off of forest in nearby Indonesia. It was a pall over the entire place, and gave the city the faint smell of distant barbecue preparations. This is the world's problem, not just that of Singapore or Indonesia.

There is no escaping your environment in the high-rise flats where most Singaporeans live. And the smog at the weekend shrouded the most iconic features of the city-state.

I wish I had some more publishable images of the road into the city. Singapore has pursued a positive tree-planting policy, including an annual tree-planting day. Roadside planting is dense, and sometimes approaches what we would see as forest, if not as jungle. Unfortunately, you rarely get good shots from the side window of a moving bus.

Here are some other shots of Singapore, including of the notable fountain at Suntech City.

The cathedral, glimpsed behind a tree. You don't get second shots from a moving bus!

Next... the Merlion.

At Singapore

At last, the descent began. Singapore was ahead. After the emptiness of the sea, and the vastness of the Australian desert, it was a startling contrast to see Singapore's towers jutting towards us as the final descent took place.

Changi Airport is a vast place, but sadly lacking in seating facilities, at least in the departure lounge area.

When I last passed through Changi, in May 2003, security was tight and obvious. Armed soldiers patrolled, every item of luggage was scrutinised.

To add to our difficulties, both my wife and I were recovering from upper respiratory tract infections as we headed towards London, and still suffering intermittent fevers. This was in the time of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which had hit several Asian countries hard. As we entered the country, we had to pass through a body temperature scanner, and were afraid of being diverted to hospital. Fortunately, paracetamol saved our day.

The airport has an interesting arrangement whereby you can take a bus tour of the city while waiting for your flight. I had an 11 hour stopover, so I opted to take this tour -- 4 pm to 6 pm the lady at the kiosk told me. She also cheerily told me in delightful accents how tired she was and how she glad she would be not to have to deal with any more travellers who didn't speak English.

This tour arrangement had an interesting plan, whereby as little information was given until travellers were actually on board.

My flight had arrived at around 12:30, and, although I had done little more than call family to say I was safely there, I was surprised to learn that I had already missed the 1 pm to 3 pm (I think) tour. I could handle that fact, though. Perhaps it was already fully subscribed. Or perhaps there were administrative details to attend to before they left.

So I booked in. I had three hours to explore the airport, get a coffee, check out the shops. Not too bad. I would return around 3:45 pm.

"No: you be here 2:45," the woman told me. If I wasn't there in time, I would miss out.

Fortunately I decided to return early, although I still hadn't had my coffee. I thought I would announce my presence, get the coffee and then come back ready to board.

This was not the idea, according to the two ladies now doing a shift at the same kiosk. Before the 2:45 start, I had to formally book in. I had about 5 minutes to order and drink my coffee. They stuck a label to my shirt to show that I was one of the tour. I decided that, with a 2 minute walk across to the distant coffee shop it wasn't worth my while to take the chance that a coffee could be ordered and delivered in one minute.

So I stood around waiting with other bewildered folk, watching tourists like myself being turned away from the 4 pm tour without any explanation, other than, "You too late now. 6 o'clock tour next."

An information sheet posted at the kiosk would make things so much easier for all participants.

Over land and sea

I had a window seat with only one person beside me to climb over, a particularly satisfactory arrangement in most respects. I was able to peer out the window and take photographs.

I found it fascinating to see the ruggedness of the Australian terrain, the dryness and the remoteness of everything. Yet, in the middle of nowhere, there will be a little cluster of buildings on a road seeming to go nowhere. One such structure is just to the right of the downward bend in the road across the photo below.

I was also fascinated by the large areas where it seemed that water must lay in wetter seasons.

As we approached the coast, somewhere north of Derby, WA, the browns of the desert suddenly gave way to the richer greens of coastal plains and, perhaps, swamps. Unfortunately, everything takes on a blue tint in my photos!

Over the sea, I was also startled to see two large greenish ellipses, perhaps not yet formed coral atolls? Something to check out...

It seems to be months since I posted my previous comment about technology choices. Now I am at Changi Airport and also thinking that it seems to be days since I set off on this adventure.

These photos are from the beginning of the journey, from the airport to Marrickville.

I had the company of a nice Vietnamese student, Chloe D, who lives not far from me, it turns out. She was on her way to her big brother's wedding.

She hadn't slept last night, so she did a lot of sleeping during our flight.