Singapore

Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple

Exotic fish at Singapore's aquarium

Arriving in a taxi at Raffle's Hotel

Singapore's Sentosa park

Many colorful leaves waited until we were home to fall to the ground

The day finally arrived that we had been dreading and looking forward to at the same time. Singapore, day 53 of this 53-day extravaganza was the time for us to bid farewell to our many onboard friends…and head for home to resume our normal Woodinville existence with family and friends (and to vote). It proved to be a very trying, yet comforting day.

Jerry had pre-packed all his camera gear, so there are no photographs to share with you about Singapore (outside of some from a previous cruise to this city). Our entertainment in Singapore consisted of several hours spent with Nick and Gayle Carter, our newfound Aussie friends. They had lived in Singapore for five years so knew their way around town. We enjoyed lunch with them at the Tanglin Club, an exclusive club for expats that they have belonged to since the early 1990s. The entire facility was fabulous! They gave us a tour of the club, where we saw tennis courts, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a huge outdoor lawn bowling facility, gymnasium, three restaurants, beautiful spa and even a gambling casino.

Following lunch, Nick and Gayle took us to a local shopping area that they frequented when they were Singaporians. Gayle flattered Jerry by asking his camera advice at a great store called Parasilk (a must for electronics). Only Gayle bought anything…a very nice Panasonic 18X digital camera. She said it was so that she could take photos like those Jerry had been taking on the cruise. Their favorite market was a treat: many of the fruits, vegetables, and “meats” were new to us.

Lim’s was a wonderful eclectic store above the market that Jan would have bought lots had Jerry not reminded her that all 7 suitcases were at their limit of under 50 pounds each (just barely. . . 48.9 to 49.6 pounds on the digital readout scale from http://www.magellans.com/ that we carry along). Every airline is now different about international suitcase weight, so be careful! Excess baggage on United was $155 per bag as long as each bag was less than 50 pounds. Singapore Airlines, on the other hand, charged $50 if your suitcase exceeds the 50 pound weight! United’s weight is based on the amount you paid for your airline ticket. So, although we used miles to upgrade to business class where the bags can weigh 70 pounds apiece, we were limited to 50 pounds because we purchased economy class tickets. And we had many extra pounds due to our hosting duties; and too many purchases (like half a suitcase filled with 6 silk lanterns purchased for $21 U.S.). So we had to buy the new suitcase to put all our newfound extras into!

When we left the Carters, we took a taxi back to the Regent Hotel and the extensive rebalancing packing that we still had to tackle. Before we ventured upstairs to our room, however, we made one last visit to the Regent Cruises’ day room, where we said farewell to Lou and Bonnie Kravitz and Gloria Gilbert…all of whom we have cruised with before. They were just about to leave for the airport where they flew to Frankfurt, Germany, and then onto New York. That itinerary seemed strange to us, but… When we finally made it back upstairs to our room, it wasn’t too long before we discovered that the day’s purchase of another suitcase was, indeed, a wise decision. This time, we had bought a larger, hard sided version. Even with our extended packing space, we needed to shift things around for several hours before we managed to reach the required less than 50 lbs. in each case. We were finally fully prepared at around 9:00 p.m., and quickly slipped under the covers in anticipation of a 3:45 a.m. wake-up call.

At 4:10 sharp, we boarded a mini-van, while our bags were loaded into a small truck…and six of us were headed for the Singapore airport and our return trip home. It was to be a long journey, first heading to Tokyo’s Narita airport, then on to home in Seattle. The flights were all on time with an early arrival into Seatac Airport where our son, Greg, was waiting with open arms…and an empty SUV for all our suitcases.

Jan was especially happy to see that fall had not totally been missed. The leaves were red, yellow, and orange from the plane. It looked like a postcard. Our cameras were still packed away, but Jan did ask Jerry to take a couple photos the next day showing the end of fall in Seattle.

Thanks for traveling along with us the past two months. Beginning January 25th, 2009 we hope to blog again here about our trip to Antarctica and Iguazu Falls. Until then, ciao!