Hello everyone,

I'm now back home and recovered from the jet lag! I had an awesome trip, so i think I'm going to have to start saving to go away again!

My final day away I spent in Singapore. I woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep til 7am (which was midnight in London) so as a result I woke up 15 minutes before I had to check out of the hostel I was staying in. I just made it and set off to explore Singapore.

My plan was to go to Changi and see the museum and chapel there commemorating the civilians and POWs who were imprisoned in Singapore during WW2. On my way to the MRT station I saw some great shops which made me realise I was back in Asia. It was exciting because the last time I was in Asia was 11 years ago when we lived in Jakarta. So it was fun to see the tailors, wood workers and other shops again, and even to smell the cigarettes, which smell different to Aussie cigarettes!

I caught the MRT to Changi. The MRT is the underground train service and its fastidiously clean. I couldn't work out why everyone was staring at me when I ate a snack for breakfast, until I later discovered it's against the law to eat or drink on the MRT or in the stations (fine 500 dollars). Oops.

I made it Changi and saw the museum as well as a Chapel they have made up to represent the chapels that were made by the prisoners of war. This one was outdoors, with just a shelter over the front part. It was weird to imagine the soldiers sitting outside in the hot steamy environment for their church services. Many would also have been weak with dysentery, malaria, even cholera as well as malnutrition.

I caught the bus back to the MRT station and on the bus were an Australian couple who had taken the flight after mine on Sunday night, which left at 10:30pm. They were considering changing to my flight to get out of London, but their flight ended up landing in Singapore before mine did! However, they all got evacuated in Heathrow because of a suspicious bag, so were lucky to have left on time!

After Changi I headed back into town and jumped on a bumboat ride around the Singapore river. We saw the Merlion statue and got a history of the city, which was interesting enough. Then I went for a wander and headed to this massive Chinese department store. It's always fun looking at what people in other countries buy. I keep seeing skin whitening cream sold in chemists etc. While people here seek the perfect tan, there's people in other countries looking for whitening cream!

I headed back to the hostel and was chatting to various people there before deciding I had better head for dinner before I left for the airport. When I told the receptionist I was dying for BBQ pork, she told me exactly where to go and get it. I found the place (it was so cheap- $3.50 singaporean, which is maybe $2.50AU!) and sat down at a table when a Chinese lady asked if I would mind if she sat there. I was quite happy and so she sat down and we tried to chat (her English was good, but her accent was a bit tricky to understand). She ended up offering me half her food to try everything she was eating. I refused, but she ended up putting it on my plate! It was delicious. I offered to buy her some more to replace what she had given me, but she wouldn't hear of it. Then she disappeared for a few minutes and came back with something else for me to try! In the end I had to leave, to head to the airport, but she was so friendly.

I made it to the airport with plenty of time for duty free shopping and got on the flight ok, which actually ended up landing early! Mum, Dad and Elissa were there to meet me and so we had a coffee and headed home. I managed to stay awake until I fell asleep on the couch in the afternoon (I had gotten no sleep on the plane). It was good to be back, but it's so cold here! The power went out Wednesday night and there were massive storms!

Anyway I'll try and put some more pictures today, but this will be my last post. I've had a lot of fun remembering things to add on here and writing it up and I hope it's been fun to read it! I hope to see you all soon, and anyone who's brave can sit through 1000+ photos!

Anneke