Singapore and pedicures

Hi again

We have been in Singapore for the last three days. What a place. A whole country which seems just like a city crammed into about 26 miles by 12 miles, much of it including our hotel on re-claimed land. Such a huge contrast to where we have been in Indo-China which was for the most part is so poor compared to this country, which for the most part is so rich. It is however a fascinating place and we have visited in our short visit some wonderful places including the famed Raffles Hotel where we of course had a Singapore Sling in a blistering 32 degrees on December 5th surrounded by Christmas decorations and santas and fake snow, and as phileas has just reminded me Christmas carols. Not bad for a country which is mostly Buddhist and does not often go below about 25 degrees, ever! We fly today to Sydney and a quick transfer and hence on to Auckland when we will Blog again. It is proving already to be an outstanding venture although from Foggs point of view will be quite happy to chill for a short while to catch breath and break out the sketch book!. I have however already taken about 400 photographs. Mostly in Indo-China. So, this is Fogg signing out. Very best wishes to you all. Will be in touch again soon.

Three cheers for tourist buses which show you the main sights when you are only in a city for a short space of time. I am hanging on to our ticket which will give us a discount at when we next want to ride in Great Yarmouth or Sydney or Los Angeles!!

The ride took us to the Botanic Gardens, much recommended to us by our fellow travellers in IndoChina. They were right, a beautiful place, not cool unfortunately, but great to be away from the noise and shops. A beautiful Orchid collection too, an extraordinary range of plants.

On then to Orchard Road, Singapore's equivalent of Oxford Street. Great for the air conditioning!! No purchases.

In Hoi An I had a pedicure from a tiny Vietnamese girl called Ha. She was from the country and have moved to the town to be near her fiancee. It was lovely to talk to her and hear about her wedding plans - no party, they want a honeymoon if his parents will allow. It wasn't a brilliant pedicure so today I took myself off to the hotel spa where I was pampered (reflected in price). My girl this time was from the Philipines and had been in Singapore for 6 years. Work is hard to find at home and so she works to send money home to her family. She only sees them 2/3 times a year, but she is paying for her son to go through college. I had told her about our journey but I told her too that I thought that she was much braver than me. I could go home whenever I wanted.

So we leave this amazing part of the world this afternoon. We are sorry to say goodbye to some delightful people but are looking forward to completely unpacking our suitcases at least for a few days!!

Phileas