The Long Trip Home

The last pub

It started at an insanely hour of taking a bus to the airport at 3.30am (which I nearly did not get off at as was half asleep) from town after taking the Laus at 12pm from near Kate's. All this so I can take a 6:30am flight as public transport is not 24hrs and a taxi would be over 35 Euros. It did however allow me to go to a pub and have my final pint of Guinness and get a dance or two in. It felt strange though going into a crowded pub with a large pack on my back and dressed in travelling clothes. This however was not enough to stop guys coming up and talking to us both.

Stadel Museum Campin Throne Of Mercy (Painting)
My 2 hour flight to Frankfurt from what I can remember was fine. I successfully managed to sleep through both take off and landing. This consequently meant my cell phone was on for nearly the whole flight. Once at the airport it was surprisingly fast through security and passport control and before I knew it I was on a train into the city. Managed to get myself to the river where I consequently turned the wrong way and was confused for the next hour. Though with time on my hands and the views nice I didn't mind too much. Once back in the right track I was walking past the many,many museums and being a tourist and taking lots of pictures. Took my last chance at the Stadel Museum to be cultured and see outstandingly amassing paintings from seven centuries. Though being overly tired and on a semi time limit I have to admit I didn't fully appreciate it or take it all in to an extent I normally would.

From here it was a continual wonder down the street where the place started to really come busy. Before this, I wondered where the six hundred thousand people of the city all were as I only was seeing scatters of people out running on cycling along the river. Everyone was out looking for a bargain at a street market which sold everything from second hand goods to new t.v's and pushchairs. Once back over the other side of the river again, the crowds continued at the fair and I went to see an amassing church (actually a cathedral) that had been taking up the view in the distance for miles. Right next door was Roma which is an area and also ruins. Afterwards it was a walk through central Frankfurt to try and get back to the train station. After 40 minutes I admitted defeat and got some help. This lead me to an underground station where I had to fail to pay to get on as didn't know of the station I needed to get to just how many stops it was. Then it was a confusing time of climbing up and down stairs trying to find the right platform and then metro to the airport. Thankfully it all worked out in the end and I easily got back in time to get on my plane to Hong Kong.

This plane ride sucked. The five day airline strike finished 15 minutes after departure. This meant we only got one meal on the plane. It was not vegan let alone vegetarian. The two salads were still frozen which included the piece of chicken. Needless to say I came off the 10 hour flight very hungry.

Once in Hong Kong my plans of going to explore the city disappeared as I was too tired to go through the hassles of all the extra security checks involved. It was weird being caught up in all the Olympics hype (there was promo stuff everywhere) and also police walking around with their fingers on the triggers of large AK riffles and having smaller guns on their belts. My eight hours there was spent either wondering the large terminals, reading, eating, dozing and yeah and trying to sort of the business of my wallet being stolen out of my bag with licence, credit card and lots of Euros inside. This turned out to be complicated getting sent from one place to another and in the end because my flight was departing they (lost and found people) over the phone from the Air New Zealand Lounge assured me they would email me the report. It however has yet to arrive.

I then had my 11 hour flight back to Auckland. Thankfully the service was good, the food was nice and the NZ wine was fantastic. I however was unable to sleep at all and managed to watch 6 episodes from last sessions Outrages Fortune among other things. Once in Auckland, unlike last time returning back into the country customs and bio security was a smooth and easy process. I then had a two hour stop over before flying back in a tiny bumpy plane back to Palmy and reality again.

The Beginning

Well as you can see I have made it and are now about to leave Singapore. The trip here was okay. Sometimes its good to be travelling alone as there is perks. Ie changing to a better seat cause the people you are sitting with (which are ignoring you) tv does not work so they want to sit where you are. Customs and Immigration were a bresse to get through. They even give you a lolly as you go through. Undrstanding the public transport system can be hard at first especially if you get on the wrong bus. but hey its all part of the experance right. Plus it only costed $3.80 instead of the taxi which was $12.50 each when i shared it with someome. Anyway please enjoy the read. Sorry for there not being any pics. Time is of a premimum and I dont have time to do that.

Singapore

My first blog is dedecated to the letter "S" as it appears from my 48 hours here this is truly what the place is all about.

S is for Sun. Not surprisingly there is a lot of it here. with the sun comes heat. I landed at 6:30pm into 30 degree heat. While there has been lots of rain today I think i have started to get the first stages of a tan.

S is for shopping. This is truly an understatement. only a place like this can have mall after mall for km's on end. These mall's are also about 8 story's high and are always busy, especially on Orchard Rd. I truly believe shopping here is a national pass time for the locals. So much so I wonder if they ever work. Oh and there is every type of shop here that you could ever imagine. They go right from the super cheap to the stores I did not even bother to go in as new could never afford. Ie Prada, Tiffany's etc

S is for Sales. Well this kind of links with the S above. It is officially Sale period here which means every retail shop has some sort of discount. Sales are such a big deal here that in some shops people cue to get into the store. Discounts can be as big as 70% off, though normally is around the 15-50% mark. I have to confess that I could not help but get sucked into the wonder of the sales.

S is for Shoes. There is a national obsession here about shoes. Well is the number of women's shoe stores is anything to go by and also the women you see on the street are always in the fancy shoes. I swear if my luggage and my wallet allowed it I could have spent in the thousands on shoes. There is ever type and every price. Me being constrained have only brought 5. Though 4 of them being heals, I am not too sure what I am going to do with them for the rest of the trip. Though how could i resist when i was able to get two pairs of shoes for less than NZ$15. Also the girl I was shopping with got more.

S is for safety. I managed to be walking the streets with my luggage once getting on the wrong bus and then off the right bus too early at 9pm at night. I was completely safe and people were only to happy to help me. Don't think there are too many places where you can do that. I am going to connect this letter with honesty. For example today I brought a drink for $2 with a $50 note. I was in such a hurry that i did not realise that i never got my change back. It was not until 30mins latter when i went to buy something that I realise I did. I went back for what i thought would be a futile attempt to get it back. To my surprise even though they did not remember me, I got all the money back and an apology.

S is for sky scarpers. They are honestly everywhere, or at lest they are high apartment bocks. They start right from the airport to every direction. Some how though they don't seems intrusive. Must have something to so with all the palm trees and other greenery that is everywhere. The school's even look like sky scarpers.

S is for Santossa Island. Its an Island for tourist pretty much. There is overpriced food and things to do. I however was cheap and just looked around and took pics. I did however go on the gondella to get there which was fun. Also to my surprise got to choose my own clam which was opened to reveal a pearl for free. (Mish I dont want to hear anything about me being Veggie/Vegan and this please)

S is for Sushi. There is a really cool but kinda expensive Sushi chain here. You simply sit down in funky booths and the sushi comes to you on a covayer belt. You simply take the plate that you like and eat. Each time you take a plat it registers on the computer just sitting above from you and it is added to you bill. All the sushi (except those on the red plates) are the same price so it makes it easy..Even for a fussy semi vegan like me there was a lot to choose from.

Well I think that is enough for the letter S today. Who knows the next entry might be all about the letter B as I am off to Budapeast.