Friday 22nd April
We must have looked a sight for sore eyes at 5am, four of us walking up towards Hyde Park from the Travelodge making our way round to the Museum Metro Station for our early morning rendezvous with our Virgin Australia flight back to Perth.
We were leaving behind a Sydney that was preparing for Anzac Day on 25th April, I would have been thrilled to be part of those commemorations in person but our schedule had us in Singapore on that day.
It wasn't all that far to the airport on the Metro, in fact we had spotted it the night before from the Sydney Tower, our Opal cards held out also with just enough credit on them to open the barriers to let us through at the airport. It was just over four hours flying time, plus we gained with the time difference and were sitting in James and Clare's house just after lunchtime. That evening we were booked into the local golf club for dinner. We met Clare's mum and dad who have also emigrated to Australia and a few more of their friends. It didn't seem like a holiday in this relaxed company, everyone was so friendly and of course I shared the link to this blog so we have a few more people tuning in from Oz.
On Saturday we were let loose on our own as James drove us to Manduragh station to catch the train to Perth and Freemantle but not before my very own St George's Day celebrations in the pool. We completed the same journey as the previous Sunday, getting off at Murdoch and taking the circular bus into Freemantle using one of those family tickets that only cost us £6 for the whole day's travel.
The bus conveniently dropped us off at the market which wasn't as manic as the weekend before giving us time to browse the many stalls and eateries without the jostling we'd had previously. We plumped for a German Bratwurst and Currywurst to eat. Well, Australia has many diverse cultures living in it, why not go for a bite of Germany, or anywhere else for that matter!
A beer was required now and the perfect place to get one was the Sail and Anchor, just outside the Market, where, to my amazement they had a cask ale on. Sadly, Challenger by Mash Brewing was a 5.8% IPA. This would have knocked me for six on such a warm day, and well, I wouldn't have been able to have just one. I went for the quirkily sounding 150 Lashes beer coming in at 3.8%, one that I'd come to like over the past week.
Freemantle is such a cool and chic town to explore with its colonial style buildings immaculately preserved and used commercially. There are old tramcars to amble round in slow time in but our destination was the train station built adjacent to the docks for our onward journey to Perth, a mere 25 mins away.
After getting a bit lost, consulting the map and the nearby Tourist Info office on William Street we found ourselves waiting for the bus that would take us up to Kings Park. The city planners sure knew what they were doing when they positioned this place, the view over towards the Perth commercial city skyline is stunning. So stunning that we clocked three wedding parties rolling up in stretch limos and American classic cars to have photos taken, we had our eyes scanning for another photo opportunity.
After having a refreshing drink. a wine for Lynn and the aptly named Memorial beer for me we made our way to the War Memorial. The whole area of the park that houses it was being prepared for the forthcoming Anzac Day, the place was buzzing with not only tourists but TV film crews who were busy erecting commentary gantries and lighting rigs - the televised service is at dawn.
I met one of the wardens that explain the memorial to visitors. William Wilson, an ex-soldier, was a rum old bugger who no doubt had a few tales to tell - good luck to him!
We caught the bus back down the hill to the waterfront and strolled around enjoying the late afternoon sunshine, eating in one of the pier side establishments and then taking the train back to Manduragh. Our plans had been to go out that night but after Sydney and that day we decided to call time on anymore pubbing it, anyway, Leicester were playing West Ham when we got back - priorities and all that.
The next morning we packed our gear and made ourselves ready to leave after a good old fashioned Sunday Lunch. Earlier in the week we'd stopped at a farmers market on the way home from Bussleton Pier. Clare and James had bought a joint of beef and we were now eating it, cooked to perfection I might add plus all the trimmings, what a great send off. Before that, James had driven us both to the war memorial in Manduragh, a collection of standing rectangles with one side starting in the bay and the other end buried in the ground. A water feature runs through the centre - a fitting memorial to a brave nation.
We were driven to Perth International terminal by James, Clare came along too. James had sussed out a cheap flight from Singapore Airlines low-cost carrier Scoot, I think it cost £170 for the two of us.
Soon we were saying goodbye to our great hosts. To be honest we wouldn't have been able to do what we had without them. They have an open invitation to stay with us in Spain - anytime!
Perth international departures is a bit strange. Before you get to the security bit there are many eateries and shops but unlike let's say Heathrow, once past, there is very little else. Eventually we came across a bar and cafe near gate 55, three away from ours, just time for a bottle of Carlton Dry before departure at half past six in the evening.
The flight to Changi Airport was about 5 hours and with there being no time difference we landed at a rainy but sultry Singapore - what a change from Oz where it had been cooling down for their Autumn.
Unfortunately we were too late to hop on the Metro to travel to our hotel, so, a taxi it was.
Our view of Singapore, even this late at night was of a clean and well ordered city. In fact, Singapore is a City State, a completely different place to Malaysia but still home to many different races and cultures.
Eventually, after the driver got lost, we arrived at our hotel. It all looked closed when we pulled up outside the Hotel 81 (Premier Star) just off the Geylang Road, however the doors opened automatically and we were greeted by a smart looking receptionist with a quiff Jedward would have been proud of. We had actually arrived too early so had to pay a walk in charge until the next day. We didn't care, it had been an extremely long day (travelling is very tiring) and all we wanted to do was get some sleep.
In our very clean and tidy room we ditched all the bags on the floor, got undressed and were soon in the land of nod - tomorrow, well, that would have to wait.
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