Results tagged “Friends”:

And continuing onto Tuesday ..

Had a bit of a sleepin on our last day - til 7:15am!

View from our hotel room
View from our hotel room

I did photo and blogging stuff then headed out for a walk around the Gardens by the Bay.

Dragonfly Lake
Dragonfly Lake

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

Supertree Grove
Supertree Grove

Supertree Grove
Supertree Grove

Supertree Grove and Marina Bay Sands
Supertree Grove and Marina Bay Sands

Supertree Grove
Supertree Grove

Floral clock
Floral clock

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay
Marina Bay

Singapore Flyer
Singapore Flyer

Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

Dragonfly Lake
Dragonfly Lake

Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay

Supertree Grove and Dragonfly Lake
Supertree Grove and Dragonfly Lake

Dragonfly Bridge
Dragonfly Bridge

Water lilies in Gardens by the Bay
Water lilies in Gardens by the Bay

Walkway between Bayfront MRT station and Gardens by the Bay
Walkway between Bayfront MRT station and Gardens by the Bay

And got some morning photos from the roof

Marina Bay Sands infinity pool
Marina Bay Sands infinity pool

Sands SkyPark Observation Deck
Sands SkyPark Observation Deck

Downtown Singapore from Observation Deck
Downtown Singapore from Observation Deck

Singapore from Observation Deck
Singapore from Observation Deck

Singapore from Observation Deck
Singapore from Observation Deck

Victoria Theatres
Victoria Theatres

National Gallery of Singapore
National Gallery of Singapore

The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand
The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand

The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand
The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand

The Durian
The Durian

Sands SkyPark Observation Deck
Sands SkyPark Observation Deck

People in the infinity pool
People in the infinity pool

View of Singapore over infinity pool
View of Singapore over infinity pool

Came back and got ready, then headed down to Rise for the buffet breakfast. It was a lot bigger and the hash browns were actually hot (they hadn't been anywhere else this trip), but also a lot more people so a lot more craziness. Plus I was stressing about getting everything done before we checked out.

After breakfast had a final swim in the infinity pool to have it under morning light. We watched a rainstorm come closer and got out just as it hit.

Stu and Kaz having a last swim in the infinity pool
Stu and Kaz having a last swim in the infinity pool

View of Singapore and incoming storm from infinity pool
View of Singapore and incoming storm from infinity pool

View of Singapore and incoming storm from infinity pool
View of Singapore and incoming storm from infinity pool

View of Singapore and storm over infinity pool
View of Singapore and storm over infinity pool

Then back to the room to repack all our bags, and we managed to checkout right on 12pm.

Left our bags at the Concierge then went for a wander through the Shoppes. Stopped and had some ice tea and macarons, and wandered around for a bit. But The Shoppes is a really awful boring mall. Unless of course you're into the high end super expensive watches and handbags. Boring boring boring.

Stu with his tea and macarons at TWG Tea
Stu with his tea and macarons at TWG Tea

I couldn't stand being there for another hour or two, so we jumped on a train and went one station to Downtown and had a bit of a wander around there. Stu stopped for coffee and I wandered, and even found an outside bit to get a view of the bay from another angle.

View out the window on the train to Downtown
View out the window on the train to Downtown

Dream sign and Marina Bay
Dream sign and Marina Bay

Marina Bay panorama
Marina Bay panorama

Marina Bay panorama
Marina Bay panorama

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

ArtScience Museum and Singapore Flyer
ArtScience Museum and Singapore Flyer

Finally headed back to the hotel to pick up our bags. Then three trains to the airport.

Singapore Air Traffic Control Tower
Singapore Air Traffic Control Tower

Had some noms and some bubbly (and a shower!) at the Qantas club before boarding. Our boarding passes must have been checked at last half a dozen times. Security was only at the boarding gate, not any earlier.

A330 for this flight - up near the back on the left. Took off to the north so no interesting views (other than the airport).

Airbus A330-200 VH-EBV at Changi Airport
Airbus A330-200 VH-EBV at Changi Airport

Had the beef goulash for dinner.

Dinner on the plane - Slow braised smoky beef goulash with mashed potato and steamed vegetables
Dinner on the plane - Slow braised smoky beef goulash with mashed potato and steamed vegetables

Watched The Walk first up which I really really enjoyed. I'd seen a documentary on it relatively recently, and this was a sort of a docu-drama. Very cool. All CGIed of course. Although even if the towers were still there, they'd have had to CGI a lot of stuff *out* of it.

Then watched The Hangover which was actually ok.

It was midnight by this point so attempted to sleep. Failed.

Thinking I had time, I put on Boyhood, but the time listed was wrong and I was still watching it right up until arrival at the gate in Sydney, so missed the end of it :(

(They turned the cabin lights on at 1:30am, and got a bit of breakfast at about 2am. Landed at 3am, which was 6am Sydney time).

Breakfast on the plane - sour cherry pastry
Breakfast on the plane - sour cherry pastry

I was feeling about anxious about everything actually (mainly missing the end of the movie), and I thought this set off an upset belly. But in actual fact I just had an upset belly which was making me feel queasy. Stuff came out both ends which was fun. Not. Luckily all at Sydney airport and not on a plane! And felt better after that. Stu was feeling a bit delicate too.

Then our last flight to Canberra. A fairly empty Dash8 in the back row on the right. Took off from half way down 34L and were airborne by the time we passed the east-west runway. Rain and clouds all around Sydney though, so not much of a view.

Qantas Dash 8 VH-QOC at Canberra Airport
Qantas Dash 8 VH-QOC at Canberra Airport

Chrissie picked us up at the airport which was lovely of her.

At home we snoozed for a couple of hours then started tackling the mess that is our house.

So pretty good holiday. It was spoilt a bit by the rainy weather in Hong Kong and the unbearable humidity in Singapore, as well as not having much of a plan for what we wanted to do. But we did do some cool stuff and eat lots of good food, so pretty good in the end.

Another approx 6am wakeup. The bed here is a lot more comfortable. Pillows ok. Worst thing is temperature control. Too hot with the doona on, too cold with it off.

Got up and had breakfast at the executive lounge. Not quite as fancy as the Hong Kong hotel, but perfectly adequate.

Breakfast bar at the hotel
Breakfast bar at the hotel

So then we headed out. Into the hot wet blanket that is Singapore air.

First stop was the Raffles Hotel to get a photo of it in the morning sun. Except as soon as I took my camera out it instantly fogged up :( Next time I'll need to give my camera a good long hug to warm it up before heading out.

Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel

Raffles Hotel
Raffles Hotel

Then a long slow walk to the Singapore Flyer.

Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation and Raffles City
Memorial to the Civilian Victims of the Japanese Occupation and Raffles City

Park under Benjamin Sheares Flyover
Park under Benjamin Sheares Flyover

This place hates pedestrians. Apparently nobody walks here. At least not outside. Every other intersection you're redirected to the other side of the road or to an overpass or underpass. Now I'd be happy to walk through malls and passageways *if* once you got into them you could get out again. Malls are completely evil - once you get into them it's impossible to find your way out again. Super frustrating.

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth (ok maybe just an awful lot of sweating) we made it to the Flyer. $33 each. Which would be fine. Except. People. I hate people at the best of times, but when you're sweaty and exhausted from a whole hour of being in Singapore heat I was ready to murder people. Especially those super annoying ones with the selfie sticks who don't just take the odd selfie to show they've been somewhere, but dozens and dozens of them. Get over yourselves people!!!!  Hate.

We had ok weather for the ride. It had been a bit sunny earlier, but had clouded over by the time we got there. Not thick cloud so it wasn't too bad.

Singapore Flyer
Singapore Flyer

Singapore Flyer sign
Singapore Flyer sign

One of the capsules of the Singapore Flyer
One of the capsules of the Singapore Flyer

Marina Bay Street Circuit for Formula 1 racing
Marina Bay Street Circuit for Formula 1 racing

Marina Bay Street Circuit for Formula 1 racing
Marina Bay Street Circuit for Formula 1 racing

View south to Gardens by the Bay
View south to Gardens by the Bay

View south to Gardens by the Bay
View south to Gardens by the Bay

Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage

Marina Barrage
Marina Barrage

Moet and Chandon capsule at the top of the Singapore Flyer
Moet and Chandon capsule at the top of the Singapore Flyer

View northeast to National Stadium
View northeast to National Stadium

Singapore buildings looking northwest from the Singapore Flyer
Singapore buildings looking northwest from the Singapore Flyer

The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand
The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand

The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand
The Float @ Marina Bay Grandstand

View south to Gardens by the Bay
View south to Gardens by the Bay

View south to Gardens by the Bay
View south to Gardens by the Bay

View southwest towards Marina Bay Sands and Singapore city
View southwest towards Marina Bay Sands and Singapore city

View southwest towards Singapore city
View southwest towards Singapore city

View west
View west

Marina Bay Sands
Marina Bay Sands

Sands Expo and Convention Centre and ArtScience Museum
Sands Expo and Convention Centre and ArtScience Museum

Top of Marina Bay Sands
Top of Marina Bay Sands

View west to the Durian and National Gallery
View west to the Durian and National Gallery

The Durian - Theatres on the Bay
The Durian - Theatres on the Bay

Fullerton Hotel
Fullerton Hotel

Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure
Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure

View southwest to Marina Bay Sands and Singapore city
View southwest to Marina Bay Sands and Singapore city

Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure
Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure

Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay

Gardens by the Bay
Gardens by the Bay

Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure
Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure

Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure
Looking into the Singapore Flyer structure

Afterwards stopped for another drink so we could decide what to do next. Decided to find the nearest MRT station and head to Chinatown where we were meeting Kit's friend (and our former neighbour) Audrey for lunch. We didn't have very clear instructions (the ticketmaster booth) so it took us probably fifteen minutes of wandering around, including through dreaded malls, to try and find it.

Trying to find the MRT station
Trying to find the MRT station

Once again this city hates pedestrians
Once again this city hates pedestrians

No durians!
No durians!

Once we found the meeting spot, we still had about fifteen minutes, so walked up through the street markets and even through a Tintin shop!

Looking down Pagoda Street
Looking down Pagoda Street

So Audrey found us and we went to have lunch in a big indoor food court place. Had some "chicken rice" which is rice with some chicken. I thought chicken rice might have had the chicken mixed through it somehow.

Chicken rice
Chicken rice

Stu, Audrey and Kaz
Stu, Audrey and Kaz
Photo by Stu

It was also good to chat to Audrey. I'm not sure if we'd met before or not. She lived behind us for a year or so about five years ago, so we probably saw her in passing. We chatted about Singapore and travel and of course Kit ;)

After lunch (it was probably nearly 3pm by this point and some rainstorms had passed through) we trained it back to the hotel with the idea that we'd go for a swim. Except the rain closed in and didn't go away again. So I spent a few hours in the hotel extremely frustrated. Bored in the room, but not able to go out without getting soaking wet (from either rain or sweat) and/or hit by lightning.

Pool in the roof of Bras Basah MRT station
Pool in the roof of Bras Basah MRT station

Pool of the Carlton Hotel
Pool of the Carlton Hotel

Carlton Hotel, Singapore (this was our building, our room was on the other side)
Carlton Hotel, Singapore (this was our building, our room was on the other side)

Had drinks and food at the hotel then spent more boredom time before giving up and going to bed.

(Blogging on the same day for a change!)

Best sleep in so far - 6:50am!

Also! Sun!!

View from the hotel pool floor
View from the hotel pool floor

View from the hotel pool floor
View from the hotel pool floor

View from the hotel pool floor
View from the hotel pool floor

View from the hotel pool floor
View from the hotel pool floor

View from the hotel pool floor
View from the hotel pool floor

Pool at the hotel
Pool at the hotel

Pool at the hotel
Pool at the hotel

Got ready just a little bit earlier, but then we tried to find the laundry man we went to last time, but he was gone, so called Chris and he recommended another laundry so we went to that instead - and it worked out a lot cheaper - only $61HKD for our bag of washing. So it was about 9:45 before we managed to get to the station. And of course that meant we missed the 10am ferry, so took our time and caught the 10:45 ferry.

It had already started clouding over by then too. But it was still a nice ferry ride out to Peng Chau. There's not a lot to see and do on the island. We did go on the "northern" walk around the edge and middle of the northern half of the island. We debated doing the "southern" walk as well but we were a bit tired (had already done 10000 steps!) so didn't. Hacked a few portals then caught the ferry back to Central.

Sea Success arriving
Sea Success arriving

Hong Kong Island buildings
Hong Kong Island buildings

Kowloon buildings
Kowloon buildings

Hong Kong Island buildings
Hong Kong Island buildings

Welcome to Peng Chau sign
Welcome to Peng Chau sign

Tin Hau Temple, Peng Chau
Tin Hau Temple, Peng Chau

Tin Hau Temple, Peng Chau
Tin Hau Temple, Peng Chau

Kam Fa Temple, Peng Chau
Kam Fa Temple, Peng Chau

Kam Peng Estate - we got stuck in this trying to make our way north
Kam Peng Estate - we got stuck in this trying to make our way north

Tai Lei island
Tai Lei island

Pier at Tai Lei island
Pier at Tai Lei island

Boats in the harbour
Boats in the harbour

Pier at Tai Lei island
Pier at Tai Lei island

Beach on Tai Lei island
Beach on Tai Lei island

Beach on Peng Chau island
Beach on Peng Chau island

Beach on Peng Chau island
Beach on Peng Chau island

Beach on Peng Chau island
Beach on Peng Chau island

Beach on Peng Chau island
Beach on Peng Chau island

Looking east towards Hong Kong
Looking east towards Hong Kong

Jackfruit growing on Peng Chau
Jackfruit growing on Peng Chau

Farm on Peng Chau
Farm on Peng Chau

Beach on eastern side of Peng Chau
Beach on eastern side of Peng Chau

Looking east towards Hong Kong
Looking east towards Hong Kong

Pagoda on Peng Chau
Pagoda on Peng Chau

Peng Chau Ferry Pier
Peng Chau Ferry Pier

Kowloon buildings and Discovery Bay 19
Kowloon buildings and Discovery Bay 19

Hong Kong Island buildings
Hong Kong Island buildings

Our ferry back from Peng Chau - Sea Splash
Our ferry back from Peng Chau - Sea Splash

At Central we walked up to go to Dim Sum Square.. CRISPY PORK BUNS!!!! So awesome. Also some turnip cakes and beef and parsley rice rolls.

Pan-fried turnip cakes at Dim Sum Square
Pan-fried turnip cakes at Dim Sum Square

Minced beef and parsley steamed rice rolls
Minced beef and parsley steamed rice rolls

Crispy pork buns!!
Crispy pork buns!!

Then caught a tram back to the hotel, arriving around 4pm.

Des Voeux Road Central
Des Voeux Road Central

Des Voeux Road Central
Des Voeux Road Central

Des Voeux Road Central
Des Voeux Road Central

Trams on Yee Wo Street
Trams on Yee Wo Street

On the way to the laundry to pick up our clothes, Stu started getting a migraine. So back to the hotel to dose him up on painkillers, and I washed some underwear. Another nice thing about this hotel - even though they don't have a guest laundry - they have big bathroom sinks, with plugs, and a retractable clothes line in the shower. Epic win!

Then I met up with Chris and Anne and Bronte and Marg and we went to Din Tai Fung for dinner. Got some shrimp xiao long bao, some mushroom dumplings, some spicy shrimp dumplings, a noodle with peanut sauce dish, some greens and some wonton soup. All delicious.

Dinner at Din Tai Fung
Dinner at Din Tai Fung

Headed back to Chris and Anne's, and we went up to the roof and saw the Symphony of Lights from their rooftop - just lovely. Then borrowed some lightweight pants off Anne, because I stoopidly forgot my own lightweight long pants - and I wanted them for Singapore evenings. So that was good.

Walkway in Victoria Park
Walkway in Victoria Park

Symphony of Lights from Chris and Anne's building
Symphony of Lights from Chris and Anne's building

Symphony of Lights from Chris and Anne's building
Symphony of Lights from Chris and Anne's building

Then picked up some snackages for the sweetie's dinner and back to the hotel.

After waking up at 4am the first morning, this time slept through til 5am!

Spent the dark hours blogging and doing photo and gps stuff. Eventually Stu got up and we went down for breakfast. We didn't really have a plan for the day which is always dangerous. We struggle to find a good balance when travelling. Stu is happy to take things slowly, but I feel like a caged animal just sitting in a hotel room. The other problem is the rain. I might have gone for a wander by myself, but anything I'd normally want to do requires no rain. So I ended up in a pretty bad frame of mind before we'd even gotten out the door. Which was at 10am again.

Pool in the hotel
Pool in the hotel

View from the hotel pool level
View from the hotel pool level

View from the hotel pool level
View from the hotel pool level

View from the hotel pool level
View from the hotel pool level

Stu did come up with a plan for the day though. We took the MTR all the way out to Kennedy Town. We wandered down to the waterfront (nothing much to see except grey) and around the park.

Happy seats
Happy seats

Inside a Hong Kong MTR train
Inside a Hong Kong MTR train

Green Island
Green Island

Kennedy Town waterfront
Kennedy Town waterfront

Buildings at Kennedy Town
Buildings at Kennedy Town

Kennedy Town waterfront
Kennedy Town waterfront

AGA-200 Acetylene Gas Operated Lantern
AGA-200 Acetylene Gas Operated Lantern

Pacman sign
Pacman sign

Then we hopped on a tram at the Kennedy Town terminus and rode it alllllll the way along the island to the North Point terminus. This was actually quite fun, and we had the top front window seats the whole way. Took forever though heh.

Interior of the tram upper deck
Interior of the tram upper deck

Catchick St
Catchick St

Des Voeux Road West
Des Voeux Road West

Des Voeux Road West
Des Voeux Road West

Des Voeux Road West
Des Voeux Road West

Western Market building
Western Market building

Des Voeux Road Central
Des Voeux Road Central

Des Voeux Road Central
Des Voeux Road Central

Chater Road
Chater Road
Photo by Stu

Queensway
Queensway

Queensway
Queensway

Another tram
Another tram
Photo by Stu

Hennessy Road
Hennessy Road

Hennessy Road
Hennessy Road

Looking into the tram in front
Looking into the tram in front

Johnston Road
Johnston Road

Another tram
Another tram

Johnston Road
Johnston Road

Hennessy Road
Hennessy Road

Yee Wo Street
Yee Wo Street

Yee Wo Street
Yee Wo Street

Kaz on the tram
Kaz on the tram
Photo by Stu

Causeway Road
Causeway Road

King's Road
King's Road

Chun Yeung Street
Chun Yeung Street

Chun Yeung Street
Chun Yeung Street

Our tram at North Point
Our tram at North Point

At North Point we had a bit of a wander through the markets, and even found a bakery to get a pineapple bun. It wasn't as fresh as the one we had last year though.

Pineapple bun!
Pineapple bun!

Then things started to fall apart a bit. Stu wanted to go see a movie, which was fine, except it meant we had time pressure. We thought we'd maybe get some lunch first. We went to find Din Tai Fung, but missed where it was so had to backtrack. And it was crowded anyway. And Stu accidentally trod on my achilles tendon so I was in pain. That bad frame of mind came back. We decided to go get the tickets and just find something to eat around the cinema. Except we only had half an hour left at this point, and didn't want to go into any of the restaurants in case they took too long. So thought we'd go outside. Except there were no food places around. Eventually found one but couldn't get any service so we ended up getting a sandwich from 7-Eleven. Yay. I was grumpy which made Stu grumpy so it was just bad all around :(

Olympic stairs at Causeway Bay
Olympic stairs at Causeway Bay

Yee Wo Street
Yee Wo Street

Pearl City Mansion shopping centre entrance
Pearl City Mansion shopping centre entrance

Anyway, we went to see The Big Short, about a few groups of fund managers who bet on the housing market crash in 2007-2008. It was really interesting and quite well done.

It was 5pm now, which actually turns out to be a really good time to go to Din Tai Fung - no queues! So we got a few different sorts of dumplings.

Xiao long bao
Xiao long bao

Stu at Din Tai Fung
Stu at Din Tai Fung

Then we walked back to the hotel. It was only about 6pm now. I messaged @Chrispycon and later (after watching a bit of tv) we met up with Chris and Anne and her sister Marg, had an over-priced drink at Guay, then came back to the hotel.