Wednesday 15 May; Singapore Sling...
Once we checked in (3 hour international check in requirement) we did a loop walk around Remarkables Park and then back along Frankton Beach before getting back to the airport in time for boarding our Auckland bound 5:30 pm flight.
11:55 departure for Singapore on an Air New Zealand flight that wasn't quite full so that Noel scored an empty seat beside him... bonus. Didn't bode well initially as flight was delayed as they couldn't push back the aircraft due to mechanical issues, but was soon remedied without them asking for volunteers to help push.
Didn't delay the other end though with our arrival in Singapore 6:50 am, with 16 hours to fill in. We had deliberately asked for a decent break between flights in the hope it would keep flight effects on our ageing bodies less (well, anything to try and lessen ageing effects even if only psychological).
A free, pre booked, tour took up some 3 hours. These tours are put on by Singapore (Changi) airport and a great way of escaping the airport for a little while. They are very popular however so the option (out of 3) that had availability when booking is the Changi Precinct Tour which suited us fine.
The tour was bussing to the Tampine New Town area, a whole area of apartment buildings then a large shopping, recreational, sports area which included eating, swimming, health facilities and also government departments. A one-stop shop for the locals of the area. Some rooftop vegetable/produce gardens. Very impressive.
Back on the bus and taken to Changi Beach Park, relatively deserted at noon on a weekday but can imagine it would be packed at the weekends. Although it is a "beach" it isn't really a swimming beach. Interesting places to see however including overhead, very close, planes coming into land.
Once dropped back at Changi airport we had lunch in the huge Jewel complex which adjoins the actual airport. A very popular mall with Singaporeans as well as the thousands of air passengers who pass through Changi daily. Centrepiece of the airport is the huge man-made waterfall feature. The mall seemingly is largely food/restaurant shops.
It was then a bit of a struggle, we must admit, to keep ourselves awake for our 11:30 pm flight so that we would hopefully sleep on the 13 hour flight to London.
A Singapore Airlines flight which was full, so no such luck as empty seats beside us… but no complaint as we had requested the aisle seats (once again… ageing… 🙂).... and luckily no turbulence!!!
A movie each while we had our meal then sleep time… Noel was successful, Caro not so much but still some shut eye was achieved. Although on an airbus the seats seemed tighter space-wise than the previous Air NZ flight.
Movies watched during the flights included:
The Great Escape… old chap going back to D-day landing reunion
The Holdovers… a boarding school student over the Xmas break
American Fiction… black writer purposely writing a stereotypical novel
Priscilla… the Priscilla side of the Elvis Presley history, very interesting
All very good movies
a reminder of the direction we are going...
another passenger just waiting around Changi airport
Friday 17 May; London calling, and I don’t wanna shout…
An early morning arrival, 6 am, but a very smooth clearance through customs etc at Heathrow. A nice relaxed collection of our bags, after being slightly concerned they may not arrive given our self imposed delayed time in Singapore and the thought our bags may have gone before us.
Grabbed an underground “tube” train direct to Kings Cross Station which was right beside our hotel for the next 2 nights. Similar to our 2019 visit to London it all seems immediately familiar and comfortable which must stem from our “pre-ageing” days living in the city (Editor note: we were ageing at the time but didn’t realise it, or should I say being reminded of it, in our then mid-20’s).
Dropped our bags at the hotel and off exploring until we could check-in to our rooms mid arvo. Plan for the 3 days we have in London is to explore some more “off the beaten track” sights.
The afternoon was spent walking. Hotel was very close to Granary Square and from there we followed the canal path to Camden Town and market, around to and through a very pleasant Regent Park and then back past Euston Station to Kings Cross and our hotel. Although we were only 30 minutes before official check-in time we were happy to pay 10 GBP for an “early” check-in as the post long flight feeling was hitting and a shower was beckoning! (Editor note: the writer is not saying the travellers were smelly… but … )
The evening was fun as we met up with our nephew Evan and partner Becky nearby for a meal. Lovely to catch up with them although our company might have been a battle given we were starting to feel pretty shattered after the long flights.
A cow by the canal... as they do...
Guess we are in London then!
Saturday 18 May: Not sure what to do in the mean time....
Had a relaxed start after a sound sleep for us both which was great for keeping the jet lag at bay. Breakfast at our hotel, which was very good and reasonably priced... a busy budget level hotel in a great location for our stay.
We set off around 11 am and headed to Greenwich area by tube, selecting a different arrival station and then walking through the pedestrian tunnel under the river Thames. A fun experience with the entry and exit being in the original 1800's spiral staircases within imposing brick roundhouses.
Once over the other side of the river it was evident it was Saturday with lots of local families enjoying the fairground atmosphere in the area around the Cutty Sark ship display and the National Maritime Museum as well as the quaint Greenwich village area. There was also a Caribbean immigrants celebration/history festival for the day in the large grounds surrounding "The Queens House" which was originally built by Elizabeth I... original construction of which commenced in 1616, which as a "young country" resident takes a bit to get your head around :)
We went through the house, principally to see a staircase (which sounds a little strange, but we are always trying to reach new heights!) but were subsequently overwhelmed/bamboozled/confused by the many portraits of various royals through the ages.. time to move on...
Wandered up, through the quintessentially English grounds, to the Greenwich Observatory... The home of Greenwich mean time derived from the meridian line. The meridian line represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero. Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line. Since 1884, the Prime Meridian has served as the reference point for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
Very interesting obviously but now it is somewhat overwhelmed by tourists all trying to get their photo on the line and causing huge congestion issues. Still... times change we guess.
We then caught one of the quite large Thames River transport boats which run on scheduled bus like timetables. A great trip, albeit short, down the Thames further... which we think intrigued the friendly boat staff as 99.5% of the tourists utilising the system do not go past Greenwich. Alighting near Thames Barrier Park we wandered beside the river and a stylish residential apartment area and viewed the Thames Barrier. The Barrier was put in place, able to be closed by raising gates that will hold back high tides, to save Greater London getting wet feet... and worse.
Then we grabbed a train back to Tower Bridge... the place was heaving with tourists so we soon beat a hasty retreat. Visit to St Dunstan in the East church garden which is a ancient church shell now set up as a peaceful garden area. Onto Leadenhall Market.. which was utilised for the Harry Potter films as the setting for some Diagon Alley scenes... but didn't buy any broomsticks.
Literally stumbled upon a traditional British pub in the middle of the city, which still has a "locals" feel to it and so we grabbed a great meal there before heading for the theatre district. Once again another spot that was absolutely jam packed with tourists and Londoners, not comfortable to negotiate through but with a mission in mind it made it easier.
We had booked tickets this morning for "The Book of Mormon" musical, this is a show that seems to be making a mockery of both the Mormon religion but also a few other targets as well. Definitely not for the easily offended, with quite blunt and at times crass humour. Caro actually struggled to stay awake during the 2nd half (so not a great recommendation from her as she missed a lot of the punch lines!) whilst Noel thoroughly enjoyed it.. possibly due to his taste in humour as well.
Quick tube trip back to the hotel and quickly to sleep.
A tourist under water...
A lost tourist?
Sunday May 19: Watching the sunny day drift by...
After breakfast we grabbed a bus, double-decker (as they are!) but didn't score the front row "view seats", great method to see the city all the same. Headed to Colombia Road flower market, which was just a blaze of colours and stalls jammed together and packed with all sorts of plants and flowers. Lots of people out buying, and the market closes off a whole street with the shops opposite a mix of antique and boutique retail. Very cool vibe to the whole place.
From there we walked through to Brick Lane area, also a very buzzy area full of street art/graffiti and quirky shops. Makes for easy retail viewing for us as we have no show of buying anything even if we happened to see something... 3 months travelling ahead on bikes limits our storage capacity somewhat!
Crossed the city by tube to Notting Hill area, a drink in the Churchill Pub which is covered in spring flower baskets and has a very traditional interior. It is obviously in more travel blogs than the one we are using as it had lots of foreigners calling in... Noel overheard one of the bar staff "If it's this much more busy than normal in May what's it going to be like in summer!"
We enjoyed a wander through some of the streets with the palatial homes, exotic cars parked etc... quite a contrast to the east end housing areas we walked through this morning.
From there we clocked up a lot of km's, walking through Holland Park, Kensington Gardens/Park, Hyde Park and Regent Park before retracing our steps of Friday by following the canal via Camden Town etc back to our hotel to collect our bags and dinner at a Thai restaurant near there.
Bus to Euston Station where we were entertained by large groups awaiting trains after obviously having been at a football match. Lots of singing, good-natured banter etc before a mad rush to catch their trains.
Easy way to fill in an hour as we wait for our Inverness bound overnight train.
Cheers!
Londoners out in force, in front of Kensington Palace, on a beautiful summer day
