Well here I am - nice and safe and tucked up at home again.
We had a great trip, shared with good friends from NZ - Karen and Carl (an awesome couple we met on the cruise the previous year).
The laughs, giggles were voluminous and I'm certain I only wet my pants once. When reading through this, you can click on any image to see an enlarged version of it.
Clicking HERE takes you back to my main blog page, for other adventures (thanks for visiting).
Here is my idiot moment caught on Video
Now about that holiday, ... It all started when ...
That afternoon, we picked up Carl and Karen from the airport. We were all sooo excited and had been counting down the trip for some months.
I was determined to play a trick on these guys and was going to dress up as an Abo with the whole war paint thing on and all and go into the airport to collect them. As you all well know I'm a very sensible and mature person so I opted against this idea - and beside it was hard to park the car to enable it anyway.
Tracey headed inside to collect them and I pulled up the car a few minutes later.
They had loads of bags, not much would be needed in Phuket so we assumed they were full of blow up sheep and the like. (its a kiwi thing).
That night we had a few drinks, some dinner and headed into see the Riverfire Brisbane festival. It was much better that last year, but it took a while to get going.
A few more drinks ended a late night and big day for all.
In the afternoon ... (cant remember)
That evening we went out for dinner at Tracey's favourite ribs restaurant in New Farm.
Yum Yum.
We ate ourselves silly and looked forward to a big day the next day knowing full well that when in Phuket we may eventuate into a state of multiple runny bottoms and should make the best of a good solid motion following dinner while we still can enjoy it :-)
Early start tomorrow...
It would have sucked staying at the Gold Coast airport for two weeks !
We dropped off our car and got there nice and early.
All went well, and despite the dodgy company I was keeping we all got through customs and were ready to go.
Soon we were underway. A reasonably good flight .
To break up the boredom from time to time we got up for a walk and a look out the windows. It seemed to take forever to cross Aussie.
All was good until I got chatted up by a female German tourist whom it looked as though someone had been playing skin graft origami with her face. Managed to escape and get seated next to Tracey as soon as I could - phew - a close call - it was a long way to jump.
All in all - for the price I found Scoot to be a good deal. Would fly Scoot again.
As I recall, it was that night we arrived in Singapore - it must have been about 4 in the afternoon.
We grab some train tickets (EZLINK) at the airport and head for the hotel (Fragrance/Riverside) to check in and drop off our bags.
The next plan is to head to the Bayside Marina Hotel.
I had planned to propose to Tracey on this trip. Initially I had planned to do it on the back of an elephant (symbolic of our marital pasts I suppose).
However due to email communication difficulties with the Thai people to try and organise this from Brisbane, and the inability for the elephant to stand in as a translator, I eventually opt to to 'the deed' at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (well know for its spectacular views).
This was to be a total surprise to Tracey, I had been hiding this massive boulder of a diamond for some time, and now was the time to off-load it.
We got told by the people at the desk that we were not allowed up to the lookout as we were not guests of the hotel. After spending my earthly fortune on "the rock" I opted to find an alternative to booking into this hotel for just this occasion.
Walking though the lobby we find some jewellers shops, one having a ring in the window for $597,000, Tracey made a joke of the fact I could get her that one day. I spotted some Gondola boats downstairs and thought this would be a perfect way to do this.
Carl and Karen had been in on the whole thing as was able to lure Tracey away while I paid up and negotiated with the "paddle blokes" to organise for a couple of these close together as I needed Carl to take a picture when I surprise the hell out of her - or she pushed me into the shark invested waters. Fortunately it was not the latter and all went to plan.
I casually slipped the ring on as no doubt she was thinking about the best way to push me overboard. The boat sure was wobbly so it would have been very easy. As shown below Carl and Karen got some giggles out of it all :-)
From there we head to Chinatown to check it out. Carl and Karen only have this short period in Singapore so we leave it to them largely as to what we do. Once I had done "the deed" we were free agents.
We find a great little spot not far from the Chinatown train station to have some Chinese food and more than a few large Tigers which went down like a choirboy. Bernie (Carl and Karen's travel mascot) was on hand to help us out - he is in the photo below.
This place was humming, There we people of asian descent everywhere, it looked like the whole population of Auckland, Invercargill and Sydney was in one street !
We waited while Bernie finished off his Tiger Beer...
.
.. Then weirdly after enquiring for a cigar to celebrate our arrival, the successful capture of Tracey and the also fact our plane did not ditch in the Ocean ... we are led out the back and up a mystery staircase to a hidden cigar show/room. This place was amazing.
It was full of Ciggys with up to several hundred $$ each. We decide to splash out $27 to buy one to share.
It is here that we name our shared Cigar "Frank" (frankfurter)
I think that from the photos below you can see how much this was enjoyed ...
then ... after ensuring that my Drug Cartel is in order ...
... we then proceed casually back to our hotel ...
... and a good nights sleep was had by all.
On the far side of Sentosa there are many bars. Just jump in any pool and order a drink. Great to relax, read a book and avoid the heat.
The Gondola ride costs about $29 each and is a loop ride, so we catch it over to the island, and later we catch it back again. Quite an amazing set up - and a spectacular view of the Port and Sentosa Island.
... from here a casual trip to the hotel, collect our bags and head to the airport by train for our Jetstar flight to Phuket for the next week of adventures.
After the week in Phuket Carl and Karen were planning to head back to Bris-vegas for a few days and Tracey and I will return to Singapore for about 6 days before flying home.
Singapore Airport really is quite spectacular, I could safely say it wouldn't bother me much staying a few hours there. We had dinner at Astons (yummy ribs again!) at the Airport.
The usual juggling to get the bag weights right .... and away we go.
We arrive safe and well at Phuket International airport. Its about 9PM as I recall. We negotiate with a couple of dodgy taxi guys and within seconds Im getting flashbacks of the touts I encountered throughout my India trip.
Phuket Airport however seems to be better then Mumbai in that it has people who are not asleep at customs and I don't feel the need to take a dump in the airport carpark upon arrival (see http://indiapartone.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/india-backpacking-jan-2008-part-1.html).
We eventually find the Hotel shuttle so thats a safe bet .... we assume we should get a fair price and get taken directly to the hotel ... ummm wrong - Darren you duff head !
The driver takes his time, gets lost a few times and then takes us to his mates place who proceeds to try and upsell some tours to the Islands, Elephant Treking, a photo opp with aLadyboy and some shows which may involve Ping Pong balls like you have never seen before etc ... dirty little bugger (but clever!!!).
I wonder if I could do that to my clients...
Me : Hey do you want to buy this IT System?
Client : Yeah?
Me : Great ... would you like to ride an elephant and have a photo with a lady-boy or visit a ping ball show first?
Client Response ...
.... mmmm maybe I need to work on my pitch??.
Long story short, I think it took nearly 1:45 to complete that supposed 45 min trip. We arrive close to 11pm-ish I recall. We check in with all the usual difficulties one can expect in such a country.
A dip in the pool to cool down and I crashed like I was dead
We all seemed to wake a bit late, so Tracey and I start the day with a walk. ..
I think it was today I ran into Tony Gilligan. What a freaky chance meeting.
We have booked and start to head out on our trip to Phi Phi Island (Ko Phi Phi Don) .. First we cross the Island by bus to the Port in Phuket Town, then wait forever for the boat. Eventually the last boat in the entire world is ready to take us and we get underway ... See below
We had a great trip, shared with good friends from NZ - Karen and Carl (an awesome couple we met on the cruise the previous year).
The laughs, giggles were voluminous and I'm certain I only wet my pants once. When reading through this, you can click on any image to see an enlarged version of it.
Clicking HERE takes you back to my main blog page, for other adventures (thanks for visiting).
Here is my idiot moment caught on Video
Now about that holiday, ... It all started when ...
29 - Sept 2012 - It all begins here ...
That afternoon, we picked up Carl and Karen from the airport. We were all sooo excited and had been counting down the trip for some months.
Tracey headed inside to collect them and I pulled up the car a few minutes later.
They had loads of bags, not much would be needed in Phuket so we assumed they were full of blow up sheep and the like. (its a kiwi thing).
That night we had a few drinks, some dinner and headed into see the Riverfire Brisbane festival. It was much better that last year, but it took a while to get going.A few more drinks ended a late night and big day for all.
30 - Sept - Tracey's Birthday ...
The next day we had a look around the city with Carl and Karen. We went into the city, drove up Mt Coo-tha for a look around, walked along the river jumped on the ferry and caught up for lunch with Carls relatives for lunch.In the afternoon ... (cant remember)
That evening we went out for dinner at Tracey's favourite ribs restaurant in New Farm.
Yum Yum.
We ate ourselves silly and looked forward to a big day the next day knowing full well that when in Phuket we may eventuate into a state of multiple runny bottoms and should make the best of a good solid motion following dinner while we still can enjoy it :-)
Early start tomorrow...
1- Oct - Hope the plane is there ...
Well we had booked ultra cheap flights on an Airline few people had ever heard of so when we embarked about 5AM toward the Gold Coast I must say I was relived to find that the airline 'actually existed' and was ready and waiting to take us on holiday.It would have sucked staying at the Gold Coast airport for two weeks !
We dropped off our car and got there nice and early.
All went well, and despite the dodgy company I was keeping we all got through customs and were ready to go.
Soon we were underway. A reasonably good flight .
To break up the boredom from time to time we got up for a walk and a look out the windows. It seemed to take forever to cross Aussie.
All was good until I got chatted up by a female German tourist whom it looked as though someone had been playing skin graft origami with her face. Managed to escape and get seated next to Tracey as soon as I could - phew - a close call - it was a long way to jump.
All in all - for the price I found Scoot to be a good deal. Would fly Scoot again.
As I recall, it was that night we arrived in Singapore - it must have been about 4 in the afternoon.
We grab some train tickets (EZLINK) at the airport and head for the hotel (Fragrance/Riverside) to check in and drop off our bags.
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| You are here |
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| We found a MAP of the MRT - yay ! |
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| Hotel Pool |
The end of my free life ensues ...
The next plan is to head to the Bayside Marina Hotel.
I had planned to propose to Tracey on this trip. Initially I had planned to do it on the back of an elephant (symbolic of our marital pasts I suppose).
However due to email communication difficulties with the Thai people to try and organise this from Brisbane, and the inability for the elephant to stand in as a translator, I eventually opt to to 'the deed' at the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (well know for its spectacular views).
This was to be a total surprise to Tracey, I had been hiding this massive boulder of a diamond for some time, and now was the time to off-load it.
We got told by the people at the desk that we were not allowed up to the lookout as we were not guests of the hotel. After spending my earthly fortune on "the rock" I opted to find an alternative to booking into this hotel for just this occasion.
Walking though the lobby we find some jewellers shops, one having a ring in the window for $597,000, Tracey made a joke of the fact I could get her that one day. I spotted some Gondola boats downstairs and thought this would be a perfect way to do this.
 |
| Boy ! - Have I got a surprise for you |
Carl and Karen had been in on the whole thing as was able to lure Tracey away while I paid up and negotiated with the "paddle blokes" to organise for a couple of these close together as I needed Carl to take a picture when I surprise the hell out of her - or she pushed me into the shark invested waters. Fortunately it was not the latter and all went to plan.
 |
| The deed is done ! |
I casually slipped the ring on as no doubt she was thinking about the best way to push me overboard. The boat sure was wobbly so it would have been very easy. As shown below Carl and Karen got some giggles out of it all :-)
From there we head to Chinatown to check it out. Carl and Karen only have this short period in Singapore so we leave it to them largely as to what we do. Once I had done "the deed" we were free agents.
We find a great little spot not far from the Chinatown train station to have some Chinese food and more than a few large Tigers which went down like a choirboy. Bernie (Carl and Karen's travel mascot) was on hand to help us out - he is in the photo below.
 |
| agggggh! |
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| Crowded Chinatown |
This place was humming, There we people of asian descent everywhere, it looked like the whole population of Auckland, Invercargill and Sydney was in one street !
We waited while Bernie finished off his Tiger Beer...
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| Drink up lads !, time to move on... |
.
.. Then weirdly after enquiring for a cigar to celebrate our arrival, the successful capture of Tracey and the also fact our plane did not ditch in the Ocean ... we are led out the back and up a mystery staircase to a hidden cigar show/room. This place was amazing.
It was full of Ciggys with up to several hundred $$ each. We decide to splash out $27 to buy one to share.
It is here that we name our shared Cigar "Frank" (frankfurter)
I think that from the photos below you can see how much this was enjoyed ...
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| The Cartel gathers ... |
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| Having a serious moment ! ... |
then ... after ensuring that my Drug Cartel is in order ...
... we then proceed casually back to our hotel ...
... and a good nights sleep was had by all.
2 - Oct - A full day in Singapore ...
This say was a relaxing one, but a lot of activities squeezed in also.
Mainly this was to be Sentosa Island and Little India (Mustafas)
Mainly this was to be Sentosa Island and Little India (Mustafas)
Some of the photos of our crazy activities in this day at Singapore are below...
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| The Gondola Ride over was awesome (once we turned off the Angry Birds music !!! |
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| Luge Racing |
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| WTF ! - Elmo from Sesame Street photo-bombs my Bird Photos - this was soooo funny ! |
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| Carl finds a better way to get Karen around the Island |
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| I love snakes ... honest ... its just this one I don't like |
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| This place was quite neat |
On the far side of Sentosa there are many bars. Just jump in any pool and order a drink. Great to relax, read a book and avoid the heat.
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| It didn't take long for these piss-heads to find a pool-bar ! |
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| Great times (smile chuckles) lol |
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| Awwwww |
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| Awwwww (again) |
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| View from the Gondola |
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| Far Side of Sentosa Island |
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| One of the free Buses on the Island |
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| Didn't get on this, but the Wave-rider looked like fun |
... from here a casual trip to the hotel, collect our bags and head to the airport by train for our Jetstar flight to Phuket for the next week of adventures.
After the week in Phuket Carl and Karen were planning to head back to Bris-vegas for a few days and Tracey and I will return to Singapore for about 6 days before flying home.
Singapore Airport really is quite spectacular, I could safely say it wouldn't bother me much staying a few hours there. We had dinner at Astons (yummy ribs again!) at the Airport.
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| Sorting bag weights - preflight - I am reminded why we brought the gals :) |
The usual juggling to get the bag weights right .... and away we go.
2 - Oct - Oh crap ! - Arriving in Phuket ... I'm in India again ...
Phuket Airport however seems to be better then Mumbai in that it has people who are not asleep at customs and I don't feel the need to take a dump in the airport carpark upon arrival (see http://indiapartone.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/india-backpacking-jan-2008-part-1.html).
We eventually find the Hotel shuttle so thats a safe bet .... we assume we should get a fair price and get taken directly to the hotel ... ummm wrong - Darren you duff head !
The driver takes his time, gets lost a few times and then takes us to his mates place who proceeds to try and upsell some tours to the Islands, Elephant Treking, a photo opp with aLadyboy and some shows which may involve Ping Pong balls like you have never seen before etc ... dirty little bugger (but clever!!!).
I wonder if I could do that to my clients...
Me : Hey do you want to buy this IT System?
Client : Yeah?
Me : Great ... would you like to ride an elephant and have a photo with a lady-boy or visit a ping ball show first?
Client Response ...
.... mmmm maybe I need to work on my pitch??.
Long story short, I think it took nearly 1:45 to complete that supposed 45 min trip. We arrive close to 11pm-ish I recall. We check in with all the usual difficulties one can expect in such a country.
A dip in the pool to cool down and I crashed like I was dead
3 - Oct - Oh crap ! - I'm alive in this place ...
We all seemed to wake a bit late, so Tracey and I start the day with a walk. ..
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| Shouldn't have any power cuts here! |
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| Catch dinner here later. One customer at a time tho |
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| Mental Note : Don't eat here |
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| This is more like it. You can trust me with your drink sweetie !... honest ! |
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| Fish Spa - ewwwwwww |
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| A wild Phuket Puma ! |
I think it was today I ran into Tony Gilligan. What a freaky chance meeting.
4 - Oct - Phi Phi Island ...
We have booked and start to head out on our trip to Phi Phi Island (Ko Phi Phi Don) .. First we cross the Island by bus to the Port in Phuket Town, then wait forever for the boat. Eventually the last boat in the entire world is ready to take us and we get underway ... See below
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| Our trip to the Malacca Island Group |
Our host "Jennifer" is a lady boy and quite a laugh.
Very good entertainment. Not all on board appreciated the humour ... right "Mr Chinese" ???
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| Our crew gets freshened up to take us out for the day... |
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| Jennifer??? ... I think??!!! |
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The Blokez
|
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Awwww
|
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| The Galz |
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yay - looks like we are the only ones on the beach.
Should be a blast ...
|
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| Move over Brooke Shields ... |
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| What a "Stud Muffin" |
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| Awesome colours in the water |
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| We'll just squeeze the boat into that small gap... |
We have a blast and a good look around a few of the Islands. We do some snorkelling - not that impressed with the clarity or variety of fish really - we found Vanuatu much better for both.
We see monkeys hanging off rocks and it seems off the boats :-) ....
Phi Phi looks like a nice place to catch a water taxi over too and stay max two days next time here we think. More if you want to just lay on the beach. The township seems fairly busy tho. On that note, back on the mainland - Patong Beach would be worth missing next time. Certainly the rest of the Island looks quite interesting.
We see monkeys hanging off rocks and it seems off the boats :-) ....
Phi Phi looks like a nice place to catch a water taxi over too and stay max two days next time here we think. More if you want to just lay on the beach. The township seems fairly busy tho. On that note, back on the mainland - Patong Beach would be worth missing next time. Certainly the rest of the Island looks quite interesting.
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| A shot from Phi Phi in front of the Market |
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| Enough Said ! |
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| Oh Look ! - A beach with a lot of space !, and a small charge to take a whizz ! |
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| A rather special moment with Jennifer |
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| Frank is going strong and enjoying his Holiday |
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| Anybody know where I can buy a tee shirt? |
5 - Oct - Laxing out ...
After our big trip out we take the next day fairly easy. Pool, Explore town a little. Not much else.
Once we get back to Patong Beach we meet this odd character which Carl kind of takes a liking to (the feeling appears mutual) ... hence we obtain this photo for the princely sum of 200 TB
One of the odder signs I saw that day ....
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| What ! - You need a sign to tell you not to pick up a shit ???? |
6 - Oct - Exploring ...
Tracey and I spend much of the day poking around Patong Beach
We need to start looking at booking an Elephant trek and some of the shows, so we start to look into some of these. Pretty much you can book these things anywhere you like. We opt for a small stall on a street.
Some of the photos from that day ...
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| Our room cleaners leave a message on our bed. Im unable to translate it :) |
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| We may do this tomorrow.. |
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| Or... hire one of these? |
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| What road rules bro? |
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| No shortage of Taxi cabs ! |
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| A shopping mall near where we stayed |
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| Who the fuk is this?????, I wouldn't trust him .. would you? |
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| Booking our Elephant Trek, Monkey and Snake shows |
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| ummm.... I didn't see a thing. Tempting to spray a no parking sign on his arse tho ay !? |
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| Room for one more sparrow ! |
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| One of the bars in Bangla Road |
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| This guy was running away from the cops with a Slow Loris (named Kevin?) under his arm |
Later, that night we decide to head out and check out the night life. I get a foot scrape and Tracey heads for a Thai massage. We all meet later at the Aussie Bar to watch the rugby.
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| Now thats a mystery dip if I ever saw one |
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Yummy - you can see I love these things - would love a chaser of Ice Cream right now !7 - Oct - Elephant Trek, Monkey Show and a snake encounter ...
Today we focus on our Tours. We do the Elephant Trekking, Monkey Show and Snake show. Following this we visit a the white buddha, a temple and get blessed with "good luck" by the monks.
A few Photos below...  
Here we are at Karon Point Lookout. Having a blast with another big day out ahead... Awesome sharing this with Karen and Carl - we are giggling ourselves to bits ...
Karen sweet talks to the "driver" or Mahout and gets to take the steering wheel.
Its a manual transmission and has a wobbly wheel, so the right down is a bit shaky.
 
Yep, Just another snake photo :-)
These Cobras were awesome and very fast snakes.
This show was quite cool, and I got to have a go in the ring also.
We all were a bit disappointed with the way this monkey had been treated and trained. It really looked like it did not want to be there. It was sad really.
mmmmm bugs mmmmmm
There is something not right about this picture above
of Tracey ... I can't pick it... can you ?
"'Take be home and get rid of that boffin with the camera chick!"
A big White thing ....Well two of them actually
We were bless with Good Luck - we must have
looked like we both needed it ! lol
    
"Now look here you two !, Ive told you before about that biting stuff ! "
Happy People with the Queen on holiday lol
8 - Oct - The great scooter trip around Phuket and up into Thailand mainland ...
Today we hire a scooter we ride up the coast ... As shown on this map, We did the Red section all the way up to Mainland Thailand, Then came back via the Green and later that afternoon the Blue Roads.
We stopped when we felt like it, or saw something of interest. The road signage was a bit less than fantastic and we only really got lost 60 times.
One of the highlights was stopping to talk to a guy who was resting his Elephants by the Laguna Resort. He really cared for his animals - as opposed to much of what we saw over there.
 
Looking back to Patong Direction
WTF - I don't even know your name
Awww - This animal was gorgeous
We come across a religious festival where they have
blocked the road and throw fireworks around .. cool
Is this really Buck Rogers in the 21st Century !???
Here, Tracey is either lost or has pulled over this farmer for
driving in-toxicated and is asking for a glass of wine.
We had nothing to do with this - honest !
 
One of the nice beaches up north and to the left (RED) line on my map above
  
Stuff you have to write when your missus is glaring at you :-)
Midway on this trip we crossed the Sarasin Bridge into mainland Thailand. Just enough to say we had been there. The guards at the border control could not understand english so we basically sailed through on our almighty scooter. (I never was one for authority anyway).
 
Yes, Even in this remote part of the world - we find an Ice Cream Sundae - God is great!
This was at (cant remember the name)
Again - We are innocent - Heading back on the GREEN road
we pass this poor Thai lady who has crashed her
scooter. I stop to help her get is back on the road again.
I got a photo first tho ! ... priorities people... priorities !
 
Some idiot posing by a lake as the person taking the
photo hopes for a good shot as a croc leaps out at him !
Chuckles - with her Chuckles a-glowing
This was a bit sad. When we stopped to look at
this elephant the owner came out and started hitting
and mistreating the elephant to get it to do stuff
for us (ie money), we decided to leave as it was only
encouraging it. The poor thing had torn ears from where
they had hooked it with a gaff hook etc.
I prove that I can take a photo while riding a scooter through
rush hour traffic with Tracey on the back reading the map !
Above, Please observe her total concentration and the complete lack
of fear for the traffic and high speed moving death traps surrounding us :-)
 
Karon or Kata Beach. had a swim here also, then walked around
and found a backstreet market to explore
   
No - thanks .. now Im really not hungry !
While Tracey was enjoying her deep fried fish//chicken meal thing I heard a woman scream with terror around the corner, When I rushed around I saw three kick boxing guys beating up her boyfriend. I yelled out and rushed in just as they broke it up and went their separate ways. I did not ask what it was about nor ever find out, but it looked pretty damn unfair to me. Anyway no probs - we all moved on. Above is a photo of them standing by a cab rank afterward.
The whole day trip was quite a haul for our poor little scooter (which all up incl gas we figured cost under $20 Aussie for the day), but it was the best day we had had in Phuket.
The upper left part of the Island has some very nice beaches. The whole southern half is full of tourist crap (literally).
9 - Oct - Early flight back to Singapore ...Much of today is involved in getting to the Airport, Getting on our JetStar flight and heading back to Singapore ... a few more laughs here ... see this photo ... then later Carl breaks his Jandal and they wont let him on the flight (very funny)  Bit sad, Once back in Singapore we have to say our goodbyes to Karen and Carl. We've all had an awesome time until now. We spend a few hours in Singapore with them before they head off to the Airport and back to Brisbane to visit family.
That evening Tracey and I find a street only one back from the hotel which is littered with Old English Pubs etc. Sitting by the river we enjoy a good meal and watch the nightly Singapore Laser show over the water.
I manage to sneak a few quick snaps of the building and water on the short walk (bout 5 mins) home.
     A shitty rushed and blurry photo, but you get the idea. I'll have to get out one night and spend some time on this area for some better photos. 10 - Oct - Funan Digital Life Mall and the Singapore Zoo ...
Today I strike out and head straight for the Funan DigitalLife Mall. This was effectively an electronic orgasm .
Wow !! ... it was like millions of Dick Smith stores. All kinds of weird things.
For example, I saw a toy microscope you could plug into your computer via USB - So that what ever you examined appeared in hires on your screen. All kinds of funky things. I soon established that even with the 5% GST rebate at the airport, Electronics did not appear to be much cheaper than in NZ or Australia from what I could ascertain at least.
  
After this "man-buzz" ... I head off to meet Tracey near Orchard Road. From there we head for the zoo. We had purchased tickets to do the Zoo, Bird Park and the Night Safari for only $58 each.
A great deal. I recommend it highly. It is at least two busy days entertainment and very awesome also.
We start with a full day at the Zoo. We catch the train to a station then jump on the 138 bus.
What an awesome Zoo. This and the Bird Park were the highlights of our trip to Singapore. We love the way the animals can wander around above you without cages (apes etc). Very cool Zoo the way it is laid out.
I wont bore you with the millions of animal pics I took, But here are a few Zoo pics anyway...
 
They have an awesome environment where the primates can
climb over the pathways etc. Very cool
    
Here Tracey has either decided to pick up a deadly
snake or show of the huge rock on her finger !
I'm watching you buddy!
Huh - Whats happened to the colour ! lol
 
Don't mind if I scratch my arse here?
"Nikon!??? ... Im more Canon kinda Ape myself !"
After getting back to the Hotel, I decide to go for a wander to spend a little more time on the photos of the buildings and waterway just around the corner.
Though still a little less than perfect, I was a little happier with these photos. These shots will give you an idea of how spectacular it was there (this is 5 mins walk from our hotel).
      
Slept very well this night ... we were completely knackered !
11 - Oct - Jurong Bird Park, Marina Bay Sands Hotel Rooftop
People - this is a MUST DO !!. .... Again it can be a long day, but a bit of a once in a lifetime.
Some of the birds at this park were incredible colours.
We start the day by catching the train then jump onto the 194 bus to get out there.
 
Some of the birds had incredible colours. We walked around for a good few hours and eventually an afternoon thunderstorm forced us to take shelter. We just managed to finish the park in time, got soem food and sat in the back of the underwater bird house in the dark to eat. (it was air conditioned!) lol
Just as we went in we saw this really grumpy bird. It looked really pissed off. We called it a few names and walked on.
  
Above is a photo of the "African Waterfall exibit. This is over 10 mtrs tall man made and inside a massive bird avairy (one of many).
It was very spectacular. It was sooo humid, I really wanted to dip in the water. Howver at these zoo things you never know there may be a "crocodile bird" or something lurking in the water. lol 
Always was a bloke for the birds.
Chuckles loved it in here.
  
The above couple of photos were taken in the Lorikeet aviary, a very spectacular setup where you can walk around in the tree tops and be shit upon by thousands of birds.
Later that day we head for the Marina Bay Sands Hotel for a look from the top.
Given it had been nearly an hour since we had broken the law and working on my principals that "its only illegal if you are caught..." - we decided to do it here. (my god he is a good looking bloke... !)
We decide to stay and get some photos after dark. You are not allowed to SIT anywhere up there, and the restaurant is fully booked (I guess they prefer to move people through). It costs us $20 each, which was a fair price. Tis a shame you cant sit while you wait for dark tho as we were there a couple of hours early. You also cannot have access to the pool area unless you are a hotel guest. So we made do like the poor people we are ...
 
Crappy after dark photos below :-) - I was a little surprised and disappointed at the smog/heat haze in Singapore. It was a real photography challenge as the light was just bizarre !
   12 - Oct - Back to Chinatown for some souvenir Shopping, Authentic Lunch, Night Safari
We after a huge day yesterday, we plan another one today ! - lol - We are soooo stupid !
We always get a small souvenir from everywhere we holiday, so we seek out something from Singapore. Given we got engaged here we look for a small gondola boat type of ornament. It takes for ever sorting through the deals, but finally we find something that will do the trick and buy it.
Here is a few photos from Chainatown during the day ...
Deals to be had everywhere. If you want to buy lots of cheap arse rubbish that will break or look really stupid in your house, or be painted shitty fake colours, or in the case of clothing not fit you and break up in the wash - then this is buy far the cheapest place to buy it ! lol
Send no money now !
Buy your colourful and useless bling here now and we'll throw in this same-same deal on the other eight things we want you to buy.
We relocated the infamous Cigar bar that captured our imaginations the week before. You can see this to the right.
We decide being in Chinatown we would have a nice authentic lunch and find a restaurant with a few chinese in in. Was quite yummy.
 Lol - We found in the back streets a TIN TIN shop ! - WTF ! ...  ... even Tin Tin was seen trying to escape from this oddball shop... 
After spending a little time in Chinatown we need to start making our way out to the Zoo to see the Night Safari. On the way we decide to grab some snacks in a supermarket and then ...
I find a hidden Marmite stash in Singapore !!!
   Knowing there is world shortage ... I quickly buy one and decide to smuggle it back home :-)
Then in accordance with our plans .. we catch the Train to Ang Mo Kio, and then the 138 Bus
to the Night Safari (next door to the Zoo)
Despite what many people had told us we thought the Night Safari was a little disappoint really. It was hard to get photos, and it was a bit "animated" in the fact you could really walk around with Lions and Tigers in the dark - I suppose there is a good reason for that - I just couldn't put my finger on it. I guess if you are the sort of idiot who may jump over a fence to get a photo of yourself wrestling a lion at feeding time - it is justified to some degree - needless to say I missed out on my photos.
... Opps how did this photo get in here ... perhaps Chuckles was tired and I captured a shot of her snoozing on the bus home :-) ... I thought it looked great with a FISHEYE effect.
Actually here she reminds me of a lemming ... a cute one that is.
 13 - Oct - Back to Sentosa (winding back)
Well - we have over loaded ourselves in the last few days so we decide to lay back a bit.
From what we have seen thus far, one of the pools on the far side of Sentosa Island seem like the best place to do this.
Firstly tho, I need to grab a 32GB Memory card for my Camera. For this I head back to Little India and Mustafas (who also sell cheap mint chocolate incidentally)
Tracey heads out to look around for clothes and girly stuff and we meet late morning at VivoCity near BayFront
Then we head for a walk around the Gardens by the bay.
I apologise in advance for popping a few extra photos in here (and I've left them large-ish), but this recently opened place really was quite different and spectacular. We stuck to all the outside (and free) stuff, but you will get the idea. Well worth a look around...
  
A great shot of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel
 
That brown curved line through the middle is a sky walkway to give you a sense for the size of these things. There are restaurants up the top etc also.
Now thats Tricky - how did he do that !
     Well , that was all kind of all a little bit breath taking.... we then walk across to Sentosa
Basically the rest of the day we sit in the pool and relax, while we wait for the Sentosa Fire and Laser show at about 7PM that evening. Again not too many photos, but you get the idea ...
     
Again, A show worth seeing...
14 - Oct - Back to Sentosa, Investigate Resort World (laxed to the max)
Again ... We headed over to Sentosa via travelator to relax for the day ..
  
... and Relax we did ...
 
.... ummmm .... Until I lost my beer in the Spa pool of soap bubbles ...
 Aggggh.... There you are my baby .... 
After this stressful event we make our way firstly by monorail back to Vivicity, then train to our Hotel were we had our bags stored. Then its back onto the Train toward the Airport.
At the Airport - we seek Astons resturant in other terminal, only to find there is a 30 person queue and a one hour waiting time on meals. Deciding we would need to get one "one day" we opt for a fine KFC meal and a couple of sleeping pills. Our flight was at about 10PM, so we wanted to sleep the flight away for when we arrive in Brisbane at about 8AM the next day. I had a good 5 Hr sleep for trip home. You can see below that at Singapore Airport poor Chuckles had a head start on me :-) So... to wrap it all up... this photo and the following says it all..
Best Thing
Well the Engagement of Course (if I don't say that I'll get a serous slapping)
Other Best Thing (like a back up best thing that is !)
I enjoyed the scooter bike trip. Getting out the back roads, meeting the elephant guy near the Resort was quite neat.
Funniest Thing
Carl after buying zillions of Jandals, he breaks one at the airport and they wont let him on the plane. I swear this is the time I pissed myself !
Scariest Thing
I was a little worried when I rushed in to break up a fight between three Thai Kick boxers and a Aussie bloke. Fortunately I did not need to get physically involved but that could have been nasty.
Yummiest Thing
I think Carl had that pick, the deep fried pork belly was pretty good. I did not like the Thai food as much as that at home personally (you will note that the deep fried insects did not make this list)
Worst Thing
Well other than being over touristy ... I was disappointed to see how the Thai's treat their animals (the elephants, monkeys and Slow Loris in particular), and the way they (with the help of tourists) are exploiting their beautiful country and surrounding islands (Phi Phi etc).
The End |
