2025 Adventures

A last day in Singapore - no blue skies this time but still very hot and humid. My flight yesterday was stuck in a traffic jam in the sky due to thunderstorms and I got to the hotel fairly late. Today I visited some places I missed last time including the National Museam of Singapore, where I learnt some history, Raffles Hotel (though not the famous Long Bar as there was a 30min wait to get in the door!) and the Merlion statue. The merlion is a mythical beast invented by the Singapore tourist board in the 1960s!  I also went to the Flower Dome, supposedly the world's largest greenhouse. There are several permanent gardens but the best bit by far was the temporary display of sunflowers set in Jaipur. I've always associated sunflowers with France rather than India but there you are! There were plenty of marigolds thrown in for good measure and it reminded me of my trips to Nepal. The Gardens by the Bay are under construction for an upcoming Winter Wonderland (Christmas decoration...

I dropped the hire car off at Melbourne Airport, always a bit of a stress but I managed to get into the right lanes in the right time. I stashed my bag at the airport (for a fraction of the price UK places charge!) and took the bus into Melbourne to enjoy my last day in Australia. I visited Queen Victoria Market and some shops and areas I didn't see before. I even rode the trams but unfortunately could catch a heritage one. Then I found myself back at the river where I enjoyed watching the rowers, reading and soaking up the sun before I return to a Yorkshire autumn. I counted nine rowing clubs next to each other, all looking very nice and meaning lots of activity was going on.  Before heading back to the airport I popped back into the art gallery as I enjoyed it last time and there was far too much to see in one visit.  I'm staying at Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn which is much nicer, and cleaner, than last night's accommodation and you can actually walk to the terminals. I...