Day 38 Singapore to somewhere between Singapore & Auckland

Cam had a good sleep but mine was the worst of the trip. I finished the blog at 2am & still felt wide awake. At 4am I decided I'd better set the alarm in case I didn't wake before checkout. 

We checked out soon after 10am leaving our bags at the hotel. We went to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station & bought something for breakfast.

Mine was called a golden triangle, but was basically a cold ham & egg toasted sandwich with a slight sweet aftertaste. Cam selected a Hokkaido - having no idea what it was - it was a sweet bun with custardy filling.

 We then caught the train to Raffles Place & navigated our way to Merlion Park, to view the Merlion statue that is iconic to Singapore.

There were masses of Asian tourist here posing for selfies, so we didn't hang around. Instead we headed over the double helix walkway again to the gardens.

We wanted to go on the skyway walk between the supertrees. It only cost $5 for 15 minutes . You got up in a lift to 22 metres above ground & can walk along the suspended walkway getting panoramic skyline views.

 I wanted to do this but was gripping the rails a fair bit as you could see through the walkway to the ground below & the walkway moved a bit. Nothing like a swing bridge but I would have preferred no movement at all.

I didn't muck around up there & focused on the views rather than looking down.

Today is another stinking hot day with more sunshine than yesterday. Cam is hating the glare & the sweatiness...is looking forward to cooler windy Wellington. We walked past the giant baby again

& along the lake walkway with the dragonfly sculptures.

Then happily retreated to the air conditioning of the nearby mall food court. 

Lunchtime was difficult with so many wonderful choices. I got an Indian set meal with chicken curry, dhal, 2 vege dishes, rice & freshly made naan.

Yum! 

Cam chose an excellent Singapore chicken laksa & was now a very happy boy.

We finished with our favourite icy smoothies. 

Once we were properly cooled down we caught the MRT to the Arab St area. Cam wished for rain & as we were wandering around this area he got his wish with thunder & the start of rain.

We looked at the traditional shopfronts around Arab St with the many fabric shops & eating places, but were disappointed to find the big mosque covered in scaffolding, so a missed photo opportunity there.

It was so warm that any rain on us seemed to dry instantly  & it was slightly less muggy than earlier.

We then caught the MRT back to our hotel (didn't want to risk getting lost in our final hour) & collected our bags & ordered a taxi. 

The taxi ride was hair-raising at times as our driver did a lot of lane switching & aggressive moves, but it was effective & we got through the traffic jams relatively quickly...made more hazardous by the continuing thunder storms & now torrential rain. We got to the airport nice & early so checking in was a breeze. We wanted plenty of time here to relax & check out the butterfly garden....which wasn't too bad. There were plenty of butterflies.

We had a snack of a prata with chicken curry

& tried a durian prata as well ( not to our taste)

in the Singapore food street area of the airport. Then off to spend our remaining Singapore dollars on assorted junk food at the airport supermarket. 

Will end this blog now, just before we are due to board waiting at our gate. We keep getting offered free Changi Airport lollies & free tea or coffee at the gate. This is a very friendly airport....could teach the Germans a thing or two! 

We only have 90 minutes in Auckland to clear immigration , get our bags & transfer to the domestic terminal, so hope our flight is on time. 

We have just looked up TripAdvisor on the Internet for things to do in Lower Hutt & we're not certain there will be enough to keep us interested...it lists the I-site visitor centre as number 1 & the only other excitement is the Dowse & Petone Settlers Museum....oh dear!