Farewell Singapore, hello Autumn.

We (well, Jen and her Tetris-powers) packed our belongings into our travel luggage first thing, and checked out of Fraser Place. The lovely folk there allowed us to store our baggage there for the day - handy, as we'd be spending it at Universal Studios - Sentosa Isand. Negotiating the MRT like pros, we disembarked at HarbourFront Station and once again made our way across Sentosa Boardwalk.

Sentosa Boardwalk with what the kids
described as 'giraffes' (shipping cranes)
in the background.

Getting my Google on, it turns our Sentosa used to be known as Island of the Dead - welp, that's certainly a chipper title. Singapore once again turned on a Sauna of a day, after threatening rain earlier in the morning. 

Hollywood Boulevard - bestrewn with selfie-sticks.

Much to the bigger kids' chagrin (mine, not so much), the Battlestar Galactica ride was closed for repairs. The imposing roller coaster structure now no more than an overly-enthusiastic art installation. We took consolation that the Transformers - the ride exhibit was still available in all its 40-minute air-conditioned queue glory. The ride was fantastic, and set the bar for the day. 

Who's just been down the virtual
gullet of a robotic nightmare?
We have!

The ambient temperature went from Sauna to Strangely damp blast furnace as we rounded the bend and arrived in Ancient Egypt. Compared to the predicted 40 minute waits at other rides, the Revenge of the Mummy ride only had a wait time of 10 minutes. Initially figuring it was but a 4D filmic experience, we soon discovered the ride entailed not only animatronics, but also being hurled around at terrific speeds in a very real sense - often in complete darkness. Our minds were blown. 

I'm not sure what we did, but
the Mummy sure did have its revenge.

Ancient Egypt rolled seamlessly into an area of the park overrun with dinosaurs - as well as girls with selfie-sticks and guys with practiced, non-selfie stick poses of their own. 

Jen and the older two kids jumped on the Canopy Flyer, while Josh and I minded the bags *cough* down on terra firma.

Fortunately, Lily's footwear remain attached to her,
and not flung deep into the Lost World.

We back-tracked to Ancient Egypt to clamber for some Slushies. I opted for the very naturally coloured and flavoured Blueberry. 

Far, far away Land is - as it turns out - just up the road from The Lost World. We tried out Puss in Boots - Giant's Journey, a ride that was deceptively fast - at least in my books!  During the queue, a fairly pushy yet diminutive Mum and her boisterous son kept boucing off me from behind. Cute. Fortunately, the impacts were so faint, I didn't even need to resort to the frown. 

Far Far Away - not really.

From here, the kids lined up for a standard roller-coaster, while Jen, Josh and I beat a retreat into the air-conditioned comfort of Shrek- 4D Adventure. This was more interactive than I had figured - and I'd heartily recommend it to anyone with an aversion to spiders :)

Puss in Boots - Giant's Journey. 

The sun was fairly beating down as we circled past the Madagascar zone, forcing us into a souvenir shop just to get a brief A/C reprieve. All the way around in the Hollywood zone (completing a full circle of the park), we made our way into Mel's Diner, where we purchased black-bunned burgers (it's a thing over here), as well as onion rings, fries and shakes. 

Obligatory pose.

We were a hot mess once we made it back to HarbourFront - and picked up more drinks, dutifully consumining them before making our way onto the MRT. We disembarked at Fort Canning Station (we'd begun to think of it as our own), and collected our bags from Fraser Place reception. On our way back to the station, one of the Concierges (now off-duty) happened to be catching the same train as us. He wished us well with a genuine hand-shake. Lovely man.

We managed to score seats and rode the Downtown Line to its conclusion at Expo Station, before changing lines to Changi Airport. The rain finally started coming down in earnest outside as we checked our bags in. Our seat designations initially had Lily sitting across an aisle from the rest of us, and next to a random stranger. I volunteered to swap spots - and inadvertantly struck gold. There was no random stranger seated next to me - just an empty seat. I still didn't manage to sleep a wink, but Lily managed to have both the person seated behind her and across the aisle be fairly demonstrably ill.

There was a genuinely cool breeze blowing as we left the Sydney Airport Arrivals terminal - a world away from the 'Feels like' 40 degrees of downtown Singapore. Hello Autumn.

Touchdown at Sydney Airport - either 7am or 5am,
depending how you looked at it.

Just in time for peak-hour, Jen and I swapped out driving duties multiple times on the way back from Sydney (it had been 25 hours and counting since my last actual shut-eye). Much energy drink and sugar was consumed to assist us. The kids were strangely silent...

We arrived home, with all plants and animals looking in tip-top shape (the contents of the fridge, on the other hand - not so much due to a power outage). The dogs' exuberant attentions (toward me in particular) had absolutely nothing to do with someone wearing the same socks for approximately 28 hours straight.

Memories of Singapore:

• Powered scooters and Renta-bikes absolutely careening through pedestrian areas.
• Jen's observation of a lady with very long, very manicured - toenails. What?
• The Cantonese/Singlese translator lady on the MRT PA system (advising to 'mind the gap'). To our untrained ears sounding very much like, "Happy, happy - you go on the platform".
• Speaking of the MRT - the public service videos shown in the carriages themselves. Over-acting and human drama are featured prominently.
• Breaking into a sweat standing still both before breakfast and even around midnight.
• Devotion to hand-held devices, commuters walking by bouncing off others - dodgem car style.
• Pokka's Sparklin' Fuji Apple Juice Drink. So, so good.
• The entire island being one, big, tropical garden.
• The absolute diversity of the Singaporean populace.
• The diversity of Singapore itself, from the dizzying heights of Marina Bay Sands, to the earthy / SE Asian Changi area, to the good-natured elbow-rubbing of fellow gastromes in Lau Pa Sat.
• Reaching the half-way point on the second escalator down to Fort Canning Station. The welcome coolness washing over you like a dip in a moistureless pool.

Art, history and ferreting about in the dark.

This morning was particularly steamy from the outset (my weather app described it as 33 degrees with the 'feels like' hovering above 40), so our plan to visit some museums and then the Zoo at night appeared to be a wise choice.

We caught the Downtown line to Marina Bay Sands at around 9am - a broad section of local business folk jumping the train at this time too (it looks like a commonly-followed business practice is to open at 10am). Team Martin rode the surge of well-tailored humanity out the ticket gates and into the Marina Bay Sands shopping mall. To describe the place as up-market would not do it justice, watches (sorry - chronographs) the price of homes, and clothing styles that defy trends abounded.

...but on the up-side, it's hideously expensive.

The ArtScience Museum was located just outside the ground level of Marina Bay Sands, and was still closed - naturally. Some workers were de-gooping the lily-ponds outside, with some supervisors hovering over them with clipboards. I was breaking a sweat just watching them - no, really.

The ArtScience Musuem

The one shop that was open nearby was a Gelato shop. Gelato just after 9am? Why I don't mind if I do.

One sparkly-fresh Lily-pond.

The kids were keen to see the Marvel exhibit, but were informed that it wouldn't be exhibiting until June. The nice lady was keen to promote a potential ticket discount for us if we wouldn't mind popping back....in a couple of months... We instead wandered about one of the permanent exhibits - Future World. In essence, it was an interactive, digital art gallery. The first piece - Crows, was by a Japanese artist, and depicted a three-legged crow from mythology. It involved a darkened room with projected brush strokes, creating the illusion of floating in space - and then leapt into a vertigo-inducing ride through the cosmos. A little staggery, we made out way on to the rest of the displays.

The glowing balls were a hit. No local kids were skittled
in the creation of this 

The next display consisted of symbols drifting downwards that would explode into animated images when interacted with. Josh was a fan.

Marina Bay Sands - because every mall
should have an interactive art installation.

...and a canal.

Descending a series of escalators, we made our way onto the MRT to Dhoby Ghaut Station.

The Martin kids striking the standard
Singaporean pose on the train.

As we emerged from the station, the heat slammed us with conviction, and we hurried over to the National Museum of Singapore (after grabbing a snack at an air-conditioned multi-national coffee store). The building itself was stunning, and inside told the history of Singapore. I had thought the UN-like blend of demographics had been a more recent thing, but it turns out Singapore has been a mixing pot of humanity for a long, long time.

Josh, clambering on a seat/prop in a cinema room.

The kids on a see-saw under a Banyan tree.

We had tickets to the Night Safari - adjacent to Singapore Zoo. Thinking to save time on our journey, we disembarked at Khatib - thinking we'd jump an express bus to the zoo. Turns out that bus did not accept our tourist passes, or cash. So we got back on the MRT, retreating a couple of stations, before jumping on the same, all-stops bus route we had on our first visit to the Zoo.

Fire twirlers at the entrance to the Night Safari,
because of course you do.

We attended the Creatures of the night show. full of nocturnal animals (and not undead thankfully), before we set off down a host of winding pathways in semi-darkness.

Suffice to say, trying to take photos of still-shy animals - in the dark, is not particularly fruitful.

Flying fox about to get into an argument
with his sibling.

A mouse-deer, although of the greater variety.
....not exactly sure how great this little guy is though.

As it was 9pm by the time we set out on the walking trails, we decided not to spend too long trying to discover critters not only hiding in the undergrowth, but critters hiding in the undergrowth in the dark. We made pretty good time around the park from that point on. We did see some animals that were a little more lively (hello Sloth Bears), but on the main - I'd recommend the main Singaporean Zoo if you had to choose.

We grabbed a Maxi-taxi on the way home, and the driver stuck with the profile of being highly-judgemental (albeit in a cheeky way), yet full of questions. The kids were in hysterics as he made a running commentary on our work (somehow - I managed to insult his wife) as well as car-choices, and even what our favourite colour was.

Tomorrow will see us depart our apartment, spend the day at Universal Studios before boarding our overnight flight back home. Will be quite the day.

Bay revisited, Chinatown, shops and a show.

The weather was a little kinder this morning, so we thought we'd have another attempt at Gardens by the Bay (the 15 minute trip on the Downtown Line was just a smidgen quicker than getting there by foot). Due to the lack of imminent rain, we paid for a stroll across the OCBC Skyway, which thrilled me no end.

Walkway suspended off over-zealous metal trees?
What a splendid idea.
*sigh*

We took the elevator up with a German couple, with the lady taking one look outside and then clamping on to the inner rail. I fared better, and was able to enjoy the view from above the Gardens.

Hamish demonstrated the same level of fondness for
heights as his father does.

Supertrees with the dome of the Cloud Forest
in the background.

Your time on the Skyway is limited (to avoid sending up too many people for the cables to cope with - I applaud their conservatism), with people gradually making their way to the other end.

Hamish is thrilled to make it to the down elevator.

We entered the lift to head down and were followed in by a couple, then a group of Chinese ladies - who then proceeded to beckon in a fairly large gathering of people. The elevator was not much larger than a cupboard, so the OVERLOAD light came on (not what you want to see) - prompting a few members of our can of sardines to depart. We made it safely down once again. 

We moved on from the Gardens, and entered the Flower Dome (slightly less intimidating than the Thunder Dome). We were hit with an environment several degrees cooler than outside and of substantially reduced humidity. Many people were just standing around grinning at each other. There were several of the world's regions represented, including arid and European sections (the tulips on display were ridiculous). Scattered throughout the Dome were a variety of sculptures formed from what appeared to be driftwood or tree roots.

Wooden horse, wooden go (yes, I went there).

Hayfever guy is wondering what on
earth he's doing here.

From the Flower Dome, we walked through to the Cloud Forest (located in a dome - try to keep up). There was an enormous waterfall, which misted all over selfie-takers and reluctant Team Martin photo subjects alike.

The kids were domed out, and we made our way to Chinatown (which had been but one MRT stop away from us all along). Chinatown was awesome - everything we were hoping Little India would be to be honest.

Walking through one the of the markets, our confused indifference was viewed as shrewd negotiation by a couple of sellers - who frantically reduced their initial prices for their wares. There was one gent who asked me in a fairly bantery way, "Hey man, do you want to buy some jewellery?!!". His tone cracked Hamish up. Lily made several purchases, and we walked away with some clearly genuine brands...

Durian Stall - a vague plastic/off-meat smell.

We farewelled Chinatown and made our way to Orchard Road once again. The kids were keen to try Popeye's, which marketed itself on its genuine Cajun spiced chicken and fish. I don't know about you, but when I'm after serious Cajun flavours, I head to a mall in Singapore. Lily and Hamish took this to another level and ordered a fried chicken and waffle burger. 

This burger bit back.

After wandering the multiple levels of the multiple shopping precincts along Orchard Road, we chilled back at the apartment for a while (Lily making the most of Fox Sports on the TV). For dinner, we made our way back to Lau Pa Sat - this time purchasing the Chilli Crab. To be honest, there was a lot of chilli and not so much crab (the sauce was very nice though).  

Saucy crustacean.

Fortunately, we also picked up a mound of satay skewers while the boys opted for bento boxes. Speaking of the peanuty-meat on a stick, we arrived at the satay stalls just before 7pm, and the busy city traffic was still careening past (inches away from the stalls).

As soon as the time clicked over to 7pm, dozens of vendors swarmed the street - armed with collapsible tables and plastic chairs. It was time for satay.

While we had only 20 minutes to spare, we thought we might risk a dash over to watch the Marina Bay Sands light show (a sound and light extravaganza!).

Due to the wonders of the MRT - we traversed a couple of stops along the line and up several floors of shopping centre with 5 minutes to spare before the commencement of the light show. It was fairly spectacular, and the (spoiler alert) water spray misted over the crowd - which noone was going to complain about.