Singapore to Mersing

We left our hostel at 8 this morning to catch the 9 a.m. bus to Mersing. We were both a bit tired but I was soon perked up by a carton of orange juice and some honey dew melon. We were booked on the bus as 'executives' and the seats were pretty comfy. We even managed to watch some Peep Show with our headphone-splitter!

The scenery in Malaysia is interesting. Many of the fields seemed to contain palm trees that had no trunks. We got a bit too used to the air-conditioning on the bus and were blown away by the heat when we got off at the port after a 4 hour journey. However, it seems a lot less humid here and we've met a French couple who seem to know what they're doing. Mike got into a bit of hot water with the travel agent after he told everyone on the bus that they were about to be fobbed off and should get their tickets elsewhere! The travel agent retorted with a moving speech about how he was used to this rude behavior and was quite upset that we were starting rumours about him. Good start!

We are just waiting for a ferry to Tioman Island, which leaves at 2. We're both still getting our heads around the time difference - what simpletons! From the pictures we've seen on the internet, Tioman Island looks amazing - white sand and clear water. Apparently there is no ATM on the island so we're hoping that we'll have enough money to the last the 5 or so nights we're staying out there. We're not sure if they'll be any internet either so the blog might slow down a bit!

"I don't even like the jam!"

Singapore Zoo

After a pretty restless nights sleep of getting acclimatised to the humidity in our 12-person hostel, we headed to the world-famous Singapore zoo. The variety of animals there was amazing, even if their lethargic nature was a bit disappointing. They literally had every type of animal you could imagine, including the Proboscis monkey, which wouldn't turn around for a picture but did look incredibly like a TinTin villain...

I won't put lots of pictures of animals up as it would take forever, but I was amused to find out the reason that Kangaroos are called Kangaroos.

And here is me posing with one of the little fellas. This particular chap stood incredibly still...

Tonight we are going to check out some of Singapore's shops, as this is our last night here. Tomorrow we've got an early start...catching the bus to Mersing at 9am which should take around 4 hours and then catching a ferry to Tioman Island. Both of us can't wait to get to a beach as the heat in the city is a bit intense! Updates to follow...

Little India

We got into Singapore at about half-five local time. Mike reliablly informed me that it is regualarly voted as the best airport in the world and it was clear to see why. Chewing gum is a illegal in Singapore, which is one of the reasons why the airport was amazing. We hopped onto a rather lengthｙ train and then found our hostel; Fernloft. Walking into the lobby was like hitting the wall of an igloo. Despite arriving at 6 in the evening, it was still 33 degrees, so AC was essential.

We headed out as soon as we could and tried to embrace the local culture. Apparently all the locals have Sunday off, so we were told it might be a bit manic. That was something of an understatement! The whole area was a market stall, with hundreds of people bustling around, haggling for the cheapest international sim card. After getting our feet, we managed to find a bar which was showing the all important Chelsea game and we had some black bean chicken with rice for $2. The great value wasn't repeated for drinks, Tiger lager was $5.50 a bottle，however it was served ice cold, so you can't complain. Later on, the bar had a power cut which resulted in utter confusion for the locals; none of them seemed to know what an AV button was on a remote. We then decided to dawdle home. Tomorrow...the zoo!　

The flight

The 13 hour flight to Singapore went a lot faster than expected. Mike and I were booked in as Leisure Travellers, so we were a bit disappointed to find that the BANGING first class cubicles that we walked past when boarding the plane weren't actually intended for us. Instead, we begrudgingly took our seats in row 34. We shared our row with a Scouse lad who was tremendously excited for the Liverpool game tonight (well done Chelsea). He was 27 and had been working for DHL since he could remember it seemed. We both felt sorry for him due to the fact that he faced an additional 9 hour flight so Sydney after we left him, but he was thoroughly excited to be living in Oz for a year (at least).

We had our own TV screen each, which allowed us to watch all sorts. I watched Creation, a film about Charles Darwin. It was really good and I thoroughly recommend it. The lead actor (his name escapes me) was in A Knight's Tale. I also watched a couple of episodes of The Simpons, The Mitchell & Webb look and a program about bears. Classic. I started watching A Serious Man, as well as A Single Man and concluded that they both deserved a bigger screen than the 6" one I was presented with.

We had two meals on the plane...I went for a Yellow Chicken Curry first and later had an omelette for breakfast (pictures to follow!). It wasn't half bad.

eugh......

And we're off...

This is our flight itinerary for the next 3 months. We were planning on flying into Bangkok but a little group of people called the Red Shirts mean that we've had to divert to Singapore. Our plan is to fly into Singapore tonight, stay for a couple of nights and then head up to Maylasia; maybe diverting to Bali on the way. Stay tuned for updates!