Is It Really Any Of My Business?…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In yesterdays post I mentioned that Himself and I have a surprise that we hadn’t told the kids about:  it’s the news that we’ve accumulated enough Frequent Flyer miles with Singapore Airlines to be able to get a free upgrade of our tickets and fly Business Class on the last leg of our journey home.

It’s probably wasted on the kids since this is a night flight and they probably will sleep most of the way, but on the other hand it’s also nice to have them stretched out in their own seats and not draped  heavily over Himself and I, which is their usual mode of sleeping in the cramped seats in Economy.

I could totally get used to flying Business Class… alas my bank balance has other ideas and so we were strategic when we planned this into the trip. We figured that since two of our flights were 14 hours each and two were 10,  that it would be wise to  use this perk on the longest of the flights. Also starting out the trip in luxury and then reverting back to squeezing our long Dutch legs into Economy thereafter would be painful both physically and psychologically so the longest leg on the way home was the wisest choice.

Little Mr. fell asleep as soon as the plane had climbed to cruising level and his seat could be reclined, and soon passengers all around us were doing the same.  It’s a pity I didn’t take a photo of the seats in the reclined position, the back rest slides downwards and there’s a leg rest that rises up so yes, you can stretch out far further than can ever be possible in Economy, but that said these recline to a level that is still far from flat so you find yourself attempting to sleep on a downwards slope.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The kids fit perfectly into the space, they can stretch out fully if they want so they curl up and sleep,  but I could use being a little shorter as my feet fit awkwardly under the seat in front.  This is partly due to the fact that I’m limited in positions that my sore foot is comfortable in, and partly because the ideal position for sleeping in one of these seats seems to be on your side, whereas I usually find sleeping on my stomach most comfortable.

I opt for a half-doze but that’s not terribly successful because one of  the middle aircraft seats in our row was occupied by a stout gentleman who made himself comfortable, fell sleep and  promptly began snoring very very loudly. I ask the flight attendant if it’s possible to get ear plugs but they didn’t have any.

It also seems like they are unwilling to wake the man in question to let him know that he’s keeping other people awake.

Himself is so tired that he manages to sleep regardless of the din so eventually I give up and drown out the noise by putting on the headphones and watching a few movies. Later Kiwi Daughter stirs just in time for a meal, I’m not sure if I should call it dinner or breakfast but it’s  a good step up from the usual aircraft fare.

There are kid treats as well as fresh fruit to enjoy after her main course which is nice because both of us have Special meals due to allergy issues and I’ve noticed that if a child has a Special meal than all the sweet “treats” and snacks have been removed, much to her extreme disappointment.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

So far this trip all of her flight meals have looked more like adult meals than kid ones so Kiwi Daughter hasn’t found any of them particularly appetising until now.

The gent in the centre row continues to snore loudly for most of the flight home, so I watch movies rather than frustrate myself trying to unsuccessfully sleep though the noise. The flight attendant raises her hands apologetically, it seems that it’s luck of the draw, you pay Business Class prices to be able to sleep, and therefore you get to sleep on,  apparently even if that means keeping your fellow passengers awake.

If I had paid this ticket out of my own pocket and needed to sleep on the flight, say for an important meeting  after landing then I probably would have gone and woken the man and politely told him that his snoring was disturbing other  passengers but since Himself and the kids were sleeping soundly I let it go as not to make any disturbance. Truth is,  I don’t know if it would be my business to wake up this passenger or not?

In spite of the snoring gent, this is still a very comfortable way to travel, but to be honest if  this was a ticket I’d have to pay for myself and if I were to add to up the cost of a family of four flying Business Class to New Zealand and back then my conscience would be heavy.

That kind of cash could easily feed the more than one hundred kids at the Kiribati School for the Disabled  with one warm meal a day for more than a year ….so whilst this is a lovely one-time perk,  flying Business is too serious a business for my conscience.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Car, An Aeroplane and Streaky Coloured Lights…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In this page of our retrospective travel diary we are in the process of leaving  Singapore and flying back to The Netherlands. It’s past eight p.m. when we head to the airport, it’s dark and we have a long long night ahead of us.

Little Mr. is already cuddling up in the minibus… we hope that the excitement of the airport will wake him up and keep him awake at least until we get through the security checks and with any luck, until we board the plane and then he can sleep for the full 14 hour flight if he wants.

I try to photograph the Singapore Flyer from our moving vehicle in the dark… the giant wheel has lights on it that change colour constantly so is beautiful to look at at night, buildings flash by, most of them in a blur and we arrive at the airport before we know it.

The control tower is also lit, busy presiding over constant flights arriving and departing. As our bags are unloaded I’m reminded that whilst it’s still roughly 30 C  (86 F) here, it most certainly won’t be once we land at the other end.

There’s a surprise coming later that neither kid knows about, but more on that tomorrow…

Since Singapore’s Changi Airport consists of multiple terminals over a seemingly endless area we have already figured out that I will never be able to cover the distances on crutches, so organised wheelchair assistance when we booked out flights and after checking in our large suitcases we sit to wait for the wheelchair to arrive.

Every time we visit Singapore, Changi Airport  has a different display for us to marvel over… this time there’s a massive mechanical fan in the departure hall,  it looks like half-fan half-flower and it tips and tilts in different directions. There’s also a massive Mer Lion and other decorations to admire on our way to the gate.

We board the plane and at roughly five minutes to midnight push off from the gate and begin the long taxi to the end of one of the runways. I try to take photographs of the airport, other planes and  the landing lights and mostly end up with abstract arty displays of wobbly coloured streaks…  art form airport style. One especially “fluid” photo is actually us rushing past the airport and control tower during take-off, even though I’m not really a fan of abstracts I kind of liked it because it’s recognisable if you know what it is and probably not if you don’t… unintentional surrealist photography.

When we get a good view of Singapore below us I keep taking photos but only one of the pictures turns out recognisable in any shape or form… it’s my last glimpse of one of my favourite cities and I can’t wait to be back here again.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

More Monkey Business On Our Last Day in Singapore…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It’s our last morning in Singapore, we wake up early and head off to breakfast, the sun is just up and there’s a hazy tropical mist enveloping the harbour.

I can just make out the forms of ships, but as the sun rises the haze begins to evaporate so after sorting out most of the bags in the room we leave the room to bright sunlight: Himself and the kids heading  for the the pool and me for a little walk around as per my physiotherapists instructions, camera in tow of course.

All of a sudden I become aware of movement on the balconies to my right… monkeys! … and lots of them too, and they appear to be making their way to one specific area.

Someone has put food out on their hotel balcony table and word has apparently travelled fast in the local primate community that breakfast is to be had on the fifth floor.

I watch in amazement as the monkeys appear to defy gravity as they move with ease from one floor to another, even a very young monkey, considerably smaller than the rest makes a leap upwards from the floor below covering a space more than double it’s body length and with nothing apparent to grab on to.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It disappears from view for a split second into the small space between the balconies and emerges by the railings of the balcony one floor higher before scaling the wall to include himself in the breakfast party going on on the balcony next door.

The rest of the day is quiet, the kids opt to spend as much time in the pool as possible. Our flight goes almost at midnight so we’ve arranged for a later checkout than normal and will even have time for an early dinner here at the hotel.

We’ve learned from past experience that the kids will be tired when we leave for the airport and that eating at the airport when it’s their usual bedtime will not be a success (Little Mr. having fallen asleep by the time his order arrived).

Both will be fast asleep on the plane before the first meal arrives so a relaxed early meal at the hotel will make a smooth start to the long journey ahead. Both kids opt for the  pizza Kiwi Daughter had here before, Himself and I go after our favourite dishes.

All too soon our bags are being loaded into a minibus and we are getting inside to go to the airport…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

From the Roof You Can Hear It… and Probably In the Helicopter Too…

It suddenly occurred to me that even though we’ve stayed at the Rasa Sentosa five times now over the years, I’ve only been up  to the top floor of the hotel on one occasion: the  night when the Zoukout Festival was on.  http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/new-531/

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Today is a beautiful day so whilst the kids and Himself hang out in their favourite place (the swimming pool) I take the lift to the top floor of the hotel and take in the views, this time in daylight and with clear skies.

One thing about my DSLR camera lens perplexes me;  I appear to be able to bring objects that are far in the distance right into view up close, but for instance, when photographing the peacock the day before yesterday I had trouble zooming in really close even though a birdie was just a few metres away.

Since I’m a bit of a technophobe I think it’s fairly safe to assume that the problem probably lies with me rather than the camera, but that’s why I was rather amazed that the close-ups that I made of the ships in the harbour came out so unexpectedly well.

Something funny happened too… whilst I was taking photos, two helicopters passed overhead very close to the hotel.

All of a sudden the noise of a child’s screams of excitement drift up to my viewing post from somewhere down by the pool area… then it dawned on me, I  recognise  that high pitched squeal…  yep that is my own seven year old Little Mr. notifying the entire hotel that a helicopter is passing overhead.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I mean, it’s not like helicopters are stealth bombers or gliders, but somehow my besotted-by-emergency-services-and-all-things-in-flight little dude seems to think he’s the only one who can see them and it’s his duty to inform the world in case they missed this amazing event.

In fact he gets so excited that I wouldn’t  be entirely surprised if somewhere at this point of the flight on the helicopter’s black-box flight recorder there’s a pilot’s voice asking if anyone else can hear a strange noise ?

I’m half tempted to yell over the rail’  ”Sorry everyone for the noise, yes he’s one of mine!” but decide that I’m a coward and that saying and admitting nothing is the better course of action. The ecstatic squealing stops once the helicopters have gone away anyway.

The ships in the harbour are amazing, there are so many of them, not just the ones you can see clearly by the shore but also the ones so far behind in the distance that they are just fuzzy grey smudges in the background of the photos.

At the end of the photo series I also attach some of the night photos I took of the Rasa’s entrance, there are strings of Christmas lights on the driveway and entire trees lit up with fairy lights galore…  just a few days after I make this journal entry these views will just be memories…  but until then I’m enjoying the views and loving the tropical weather. Let’s check it out…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Mother Nature’s Tattoos…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

If you have been following my blog for any length of time at all you will know that I like to take photographs of very ordinary things, extraordinary things (when the opportunity presents itself) and everything in between.

I’m a detail fanatic, possibly to the point of perversion on occasion (Yes, I did draw a portrait built up entirely of minuscule dots from a 1 millimetre fine-liner black pen once many moons ago) and I’ve been known to embroider on 120 count  (that’s the number of threads to the inch) silk gauze too.

Small is often very beautiful… so it’s no surprise that I’m the idiot photographer who, when there are stunning views to be had within Singapore’s Rasa Sentosa hotel, is the one who’s pointing my camera lens towards the floor.

There’s a good reason for this… (well in my little tiny mind there is at least LOL)… the paving stones in the floor have fossilised plants in them and I find them stunning, intricate and beautiful.

These little plants may have had the misfortune to get trapped in layers of mud instead of falling from their trees and contributing to natures compost but their mud pack served to keep them preserved for millions of years, or at least if the organic contents is long gone, the detailed outline of what they once were remains.

Whilst some resemble what the Amazon river must look like from space, I think others look like Mother’s Nature’s tattoo’s … this is rock formation  ’body-art”,  the detailed artwork that adorns the greater body of nature for millennia and in the kind of tiny detail that human tattoo artists can only dream about achieving.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

An Arty Lunch On The Beach…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The trolley-bus that we are taking to the beach has now completed it’s journey after our unexpected stop to take photographs of the monkey’s that appeared on the hotel driveway on the way down.

Usually we are at Trapizza for dinner, but this time we are here for lunch so I’m busy taking photos in the brighter light than of other visits.

Once again I take an interest in the making of our pizzas, but there are also some “arty” photos to be found on the beach, zooming in on the ships in Singapore Harbour, the palm trees and beach between us and the hotel, in the checked shadow patterns  made by the chairs on the beach, and on our table in the colours of our glasses of cold drinks.

The mood today is very relaxed and lazy, Little Mr. alternated between polishing off slices of pizza and playing with the plastic kid toys on the sand out the front of the restaurant.  He was however (strangely enough LOL) almost glued to our table once the ice-cream dessert arrived.

Once we finished our long relaxed lunch we call the trolley-bus to collect us again and after a trip  to our room to get changed, the kids and Himself are off to the pool, and I’m ready to put my foot up and have a siesta. Sometimes when travelling you just need a lazy day off to recharge your batteries.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Monkey Business Probably Stinks Sometimes…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In this blog you get to turn the pages of my journal and read all about our families adventures at home and abroad.

Earlier this year we we visited New Zealand and I’ve been blogging about our adventures ever since.

Yesterday I got a rare chance to photograph some of the local wildlife when a peacock turned up on our patio to take advantage of the old bread I’d put there, other birds joined it and I got some photos I was really happy with.

We live in an apartment and have no pets due to allergy issues so I don’t really get to take animal or bird photos much, so imagine my surprise when we take the little trolley bus from the Rasa to our favourite pizza place Trapizza on the beach and on the drive down the hill suddenly we spy monkeys!

The driver asks if we would like to stop and take photographs and our excited “Yes, pleeaase!!!” was received with a smile… one monkey was very close immediatly to the left of us and another  five or so monkeys were further down the drive on the right.

The monkeys on the right began to follow the one on our left so came right up to the low wall next to us that ran along the driveway so we get to see the at very close range.

Two walk off, one of the “pack” sat down on the wall, another joined it and started a detailed investigation of the first monkey’s rear end… all of the sudden to our children’s delight the second monkey puts it’s hand up to it’s face as if  to say ‘phrrr ewww ”  whilst the first monkey stalks off…  Little Mr. is certain that the first monkey farted in the second monkey’s face and is in muffled hysterics.

We watch the monkeys until they move behind us out of camera range… with kids giggling in the back of the trolley bus we continue our journey down the hill. Two ‘ wildlife” catches in one morning!  I’m buzzing…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m as Proud as a Peacock!

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Another page of my diary where at the moment I am documenting our travels to New Zealand and back earlier in 2012.

Now we are on our way home to the Netherlands but since we have a friend here in Singapore our stopover’s here have gradually gotten longer and longer.

After a brilliant day-trip to Melaka, Malaysia yesterday everyone is feeling tired and lazy today so a little while after breakfast the kids drag Himself to the pool for a swim and I do a bit of cleaning and tidying in the room.

There’s a washing machine available in the hotel (that I posted about here: http://kiwidutch.wordpress.com/2012/01/16/new-572/) so I’m sorting dirty clothes so we can do a load of laundry and cleaning out the little refrigerator in our room because we put some bread in there for Little Mr. the day before yesterday and he didn’t eat it.

He hadn’t been hungry at breakfast but has an annoying habit of declaring he’s ravenous about an hour after we’ve left the hotel breakfast table so I’d packed some bread rolls and a croissant for him and put them in the fridge and half of it was still there two days later.

Now I’ve got some fruit I want to put into the fridge, and the bread’s gone rock hard so I broke up the bread and put it on the table outside our room for the birds.

About fifteen minutes later whilst I’m tracking down discarded kid socks on the floor around the pull-out bed in our room I catch a movement outside in the corner of my eye and look up just in time to see a peacock  flying up onto the wall between our patio and the next room.

Forget the socks, I’m now reaching for my camera as slowly and as swiftly as I can, scared that any sudden movement will frighten the bird away but also if I move too slow that the window of opportunity will be lost. My first shots are taken through the glass window but as both the bird and I grow more confident with each other’s presence I summon up the courage to ease the sliding door open  just enough to poke the camera lens out …

Bracing myself on the bed I attempt to try and zoom in as much as possible… a little drama unfolds as a little bird with a bright yellow beak and matching  knee socks joins us, then another, until peacock decides that three’s a crowd on the table and that the supply of bread looks like disappearing a little too quickly at this rate and shoo’s them off in no uncertain terms, but not before the interlopers had stolen some breakfast to take with them.

Peacock tolerates my presence at close quarters but then all of a sudden begins a song and dance that involves much feather ruffling and fluffing up of it’s rear end… did I startle it?  No… the song and dance turns out to be for the mate who turned up to see where the party’s at.

I get to see a full feather display but these peacocks have their bright colours like jade necklaces at their necks rather tan on their tails, very different from their European cousins. Wildlife photography is a bit of a hit and miss affair with me so far (actually if I’m really honest it’s usually “miss”) so I was delighted for a chance to  practice a little with an obliging and somewhat  tame model.  Here are the results…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m going to call this next shot the “Vogue Cover Shot Pose’ …

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

And the shot I like best of all? …This one…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Pippy Pizza Anyone?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We’ve had a long day visiting Melaka but now it’s evening and we’re back to the Rasa Sentosa.

Everyone is starving hungry so the kids are even willing to fight their tiredness for the treat of a mega quick dip in the pool before dinner.  We hadn’t realised it before but the Silver Shell restaurant also has a Children’s Menu.

Kiwi Daughter spies that there is Pizza available so is instantly happy and for Little Mr. we ask one of the chefs if it’s possible to get some plain boiled spaghetti with a little cheese on top and a few chicken nuggets on the side.

The chef was most happy to oblige and soon both kids were  tucking into their favourite dinners. (Little Mr. especially thought he’d won the lottery because  I severely disapprove of commercially prepared chicken nuggets at home, preferring to make my own so that I know what’s in them).

He was so hungry that he didn’t really want to wait for his food to have it’s photograph taken, covering it with his hands… so I did the old “Oooooh look over there!” trick and he fell for it and I got the one and only shot I needed.  Ah ha… a full ten second delay before he was happily eating.

Kiwi Daughter had a giggle when her pizza arrived, it’s the same mega thin crust that we love from Trapizza a little way down the beach (the Rasa own Trapizza too) but she thought it looked like it has “Pippy Langkous” (a.k.a. “Pippy Longstocking”) pigtails sticking out on each side.

This discovery caused the kind of hysterical giggles that kids ( and probably especially overtired ones) are famous for, you know the sort, way too much laughter in proportion to the joke… but never mind, we were dining late and were sat in the corner so I don’t think we offended other diners.

Dinner this evening ended up being more of a business than leisure affair as we raced to get Little Mr. fed before he fell asleep in his food. The inevitable happened just after Himself bought our desserts from the buffet to the table… Little Mr was awake but wanted a cuddle in my lap when Himself left the table and had nodded off before he came back so he slept in my arms during dessert and Himself carried him back to the room after dinner. A happy end to an excellent day…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

 

 

 

Really Less of a Border Crossing and More Of An Obstacle Course…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Now that Indonesia has been stuck off the travel list for this trip, there is only one practical alternative  left for our next adventure: Malaysia.

Last evening we made plans and with the help of Reception were lucky to secure a place on a bus trip, but it leaves very early in the morning so we kick ourselves out of bed bright and early (ok, perhaps a little less of the bright…) take a shuttle bus from the Rasa Sentosa to the Casino on the other side of Sentosa Island, change to a larger shuttle bus and then to our tour bus, one of several parked in the carpark of the  Singapore Flyer.

We sort out our tickets, climb aboard a large air-conditioned coach and a short while later are heading north.

Sentosa island is fairly well at the central southerly point of the island State of Singapore and the place we are headed towards first is pretty well right at the central top of the island of Singapore.

On the Singapore side of the Johor Strait is Woodlands, on Malaysian side is the city of  Johor Bahru, which  is usually abbreviated  by the populations on both sides to “JB”.

Our Singaporean friend “Velvetine’  is not only a mine of local knowledge but also an excellent travel companion and friend. We met in person some six years ago for the first time after meeting several years previous to that via the cooking website “Recipezaar”(now called “Food.com”) so have known each other since about 2003 or 2004.

We are living proof that total strangers on different sides of the world of the kind who were often first dubbed as   “oh,  one of your  imaginary internet friends?” can turn into a fabulous and lasting friendship that apparently only gets better with time.

Her internet nickname has always been “Velvetine” and mine naturally enough is “Kiwidutch” and we discovered that we share a passion for not just cooking and all things Foodie, but also for travel, photography and to Himself’s astonished delight, for the small remote Pacific  island nations, namely Kiribati.

Velvetine is the biggest reason that our Singapore stopovers have grown over the years from 12 or 18 hours to five days, and the time always flies by too quickly and there are always sniffles and handkerchiefs at the airport when we say goodbye.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Today however we are going on adventures together… and this starts with the leaving of Singapore.

Unlike a bus trip I did as a teenager from France to the uk, where a stack of Passports were collected  by the driver, handed to a customs agent who came on board to check that the faces matched the names and we never left our seats, this is completely different.

We are required to not only exit the bus but also to join  throngs of people streaming into the border crossing building, and on crutches I’m struggling to keep up.

We also have to take a slightly different route to find the lifts and avoid the stairs and to be honest on the Malaysian side it’s not intuitive or brilliantly marked.

We’ve been warned that if we don’t find the bus at the other end it will leave without us because they have a schedule to keep and Velvetine is worth her weight in gold at this moment because she has done this crossing many times before and has a good idea where we could find the lifts and how to get back the the main route again once we had negotiated border control.

Even so we are rushing like lunatics, quicker people in a hurry are weaving around us in droves.  Himself  is herding the kids like little sheep so that they don’t get lost or bowled over, Velvetine is helping us both and even my now strong arms from a year on crutches are aching and feeling like jelly.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

All in all it’s an awful of lot of bus hopping  and walking through the checkpoints of both countries and seems like a lot of hassle, but clearly I’m spoilt by the ease with which we can cross borders within Europe.

Velvetine warns that it’s probably not a good idea to try and take photos inside the customs areas as they may take a dim view for security reasons, so I have no photos of the route inside, but eventually we end up in a basement area where our bus is now waiting in a queue of some twenty others and on the Malaysian side we negotiate the final obstacles which consist of  massive curbs and no ramps down to get to the bus.

Luckily Himself  is on hand to help me negotiate these.  How a wheelchair user would negotiate this terrain and experience I have no idea, except to say  ”with great difficulty”.

If there was an easier way to do all this, certainly no one offered to show us  how,  nor were there obvious signs that would help us, so my first impression of Malaysia ended up being that people with disabilities or mobility impaired are not made to feel particularly welcome.

For an exceptionally new building on the Malaysian side it seems unreasonably complicated to negotiate  your way though, is this yet another case of the designer getting a brief for a building but having no contact with the people or experience needed to take place inside it? Who knows? Either way it’s the most tiring, exhausting, rushed and frustrating way I’ve ever had experience to enter a foreign country.

We all flop into our seats on the bus and grab our water bottles out of our backpacks… we’ve successfully crossed the border, let the adventures begin.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)