Greetings from Singapore

Hi everyone,
The safari at the zoo went well however the dinner served was made from local ingredients and was under the themes of Asian and Indian. Today I have been paying the price. Burning sensation and discomfort, as it passes through my body. Local food here is very rich and my body obviously cannot handle the spices. IT has coped well in Europe, USA and UK. I am having a complete break from this type of food and found an Irish pub for lunch and an Australian themed restaurant for dinner.

The zoo trip was very good. I find the tour guides here very firm and everything has to be structured. I feel they need to let lose and perhaps are in need of a holiday. I just keep quiet and do as I'm told. They certainly wouldn't cope in New Zealand.

Last nights tour was very good, but very rushed. I think if I came here again I would catch a bus to the zoo.

Today I visited Sentosa Island. I took a morning tour. It is famous for having pink dolphins. We watched a dolphin show and went to the under water world. A bit like Kelly Tarltons. As I was leaving they had a snake handler. For $6 I paid to hold his enormous this snake. It was very long. It was one of those snakes that eats its prey whole. Got about four photos.

Then this afternoon I did another hop on and hop off tour. I went to the Irish pub that I spotted yesterday and then headed to the Art and Sciences Museum where they had an exhibition on the American Artist Andy Warhol. It was brilliant. I love his art works.

Then came back to the hotel and spotted this Australian restaurant. I honestly don't think I could handle a dinner at the hotel. There is a horrid buffet smell with the ethnic foods being cooked. They have an a la carte menu that I have been ordering from. Very limited westernized food menu. The Australian restaurant is a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The menu is fantastic, lots to choose from. I might come here for breakfast tomorrow. The hotel has free breakfasts and is buffet. I think if I have a break from their breakfasts tomorrow I might get quality elsewhere.

Greetings from Singapore

Hi everyone,

It has been very hot here in Singapore. I have been making the most of my mornings by doing conducted tours and then spending the afternoons and evenings at the hotel. Yesterday the jet lag got to me. Spent the afternoon sleeping.

Yesterday I did the city and sites tour that I did around the city. We went to the Merlion fountain, the temple in China Town, the Botanical Gardens-orchids area, Little India and back to the City Flyer (a bit like London's Millenium Wheel). The tour lady was very strict and tended to have a rude disposition when it came to walking in front of other tour group photos.

Today I did the Hop on and Hop off tour around Singapore. It was a great service and it did pick ups and drop offs from the Hotel. I stopped off at Orchard Rd. There were lots of retail shops but I thought the prices weren't cheap for clothes-I think I would do better in the States. Meals prices are about the equivalent to NZ.
I then stopped off at the Sands Hotel and Marina Bay area. I had lunch at the water front area. Then I had a look round the mall and decided to do a forty minute harbour cruise.

After this I went back to the hotel. Tonight I have got a dinner Safari at Singapore Zoo. Looking forward to it.

Greetings from London

Yesterday I caught the train to Kensington Palace. It was a small palace but had interesting content such as royalty clothing from Queen Victoria, Princess Diana and guards.

Met Mark after visit and bought two pairs of black shoes. Got to have retail therapy. They were around 52 pounds each. One pair was a slip on type shoe and the other pair had the borock pattern on them. Very common over in England. I have to say there is a lot more variety here than back at home. I bought a pair from Clarks shoes and the other pair from Top Shop in Saffridges- posh store in the UK.

Greetings from London

On Saturday I went to the Tate Modern Art Gallery- just at the Embankment/ river side area. I spent a number of hours there on my own. I really loved the forth floor of artworks. These artworks were abstract but kind of got lots of ideas that I could use on my class. The artworks were very geometric and I felt I could integrate Maths into art easily. I took lots of photographs.

Then in the afternoon I met up with Mark and he showed me this interesting market that sold all sorts of food: great for the chef/foodie. They sold rabbit, kangaroo, pheasant, sweets, and other home made things. I tried some lemonade type punch and a fruit smoothy. After this he took me to another market and I bought a black tailored coat for 60 pounds but battered down to 55 pounds. It is made here in England. A great bargain.

After this Mark took me to Veda and Patricks place for dinner-his future in laws. Had a great night with them.

Greetings from London

Well it's been an action packed couple of days in London. On Friday I went on my day tour to: Warwick Castle, Stratford upon Avon and Oxford. It took about 2 hours to get to Warwick Castle. Warwick Castle was the traditional English Castle. We went inside it and saw armor on the walls, a wax works of Queen Elizabeth, wax works of Henry VIII and his wives. Then we went outside and climbed round the viewing points. After this I went to the peacock gardens at the castle and there was a bird prey demonstration. We had 1.5 hours there.

After this we went to Stratford upon Avon. Stratford upon Avon was very quiet and beautiful-just like it is on TV. We went to Shakespeare's birth place Museum, that looked at his birth, marriage, etc. After this I went to get some lunch. As I was about to leave the cafe, it started to rain. I wanted to walk to the river area but it was too wet.

After this we went to Oxford which is famous for it's university. We went to Christ Church college, part of the university of Oxford. This university if famous for the people who studied there such as: JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, David Cameron, Margaret Thatcher.

It was a great day out.