FOUR MONTHS HOLIDAY
Time to reflect on our very long holiday that took us around England,Scotland,Wales,Hong Kong.Germany and Norway.The time went so very quickly and I,m sure days are shortened when on holiday ! We have ventured to world famous places including a drive from Lands End to John O groats taking in iconic castles,towers,gardens,Stone Henge,the Norwegian Fjords and The Rhine.We met up with lots of my relatives plus a few of Annies. Thanks to my remaining brother Brian and his wife Tresha for putting up with us,to the very lovely wedding of my niece,the rare occasion of meeting up with my granddaughter and her dad,my eldest son Geoffrey,seeing my grandsons growing into fine young men and way too many nephews and nieces that would take a full page to write down.Meeting up with my son Michael in London was a trip highlight and too all those that made us very welcome a HUGE thanks,Jenine & Darren for so many dinner parties,nephew Brian and his wife Liz for inviting us to their Preston Pub and giving us such a good laugh (He’s a top cook too !) To those I didnt mention Humble apologies there are SO many of you that I glad to know as friends ! I will put highlight photos on in 2 blogs ! And how could we forget magnificent Singapore on our last leg of the journey,a very magical place !
Mobile Scooters of Hervey Bay and the Guinness World Record 2012
This blog was going to be a brief look at our 4 month holiday BUT last weekend here in my home town of Hervey Bay a world record was broken by the people who use mobile scooters ! Until this event Denmark held the record but a brilliant showing of locals here have now earned the right to be champions.To achieve the record ALL entrants must complete a 3 kilometre journey as part of Guinness Book of Records rules.The turn out was magnificent with all sorts of dressed up characters joining in,from Dame Edna to Cobb and co.The weather held and the resilience of those taking part was legendary.A free sausage sizzle was held at the end of the session and each participant was piped on the outward journey and piped back back a group of Scottish bagpipe players.At the back of the mobile was a group of carers pushing their residents the whole 3 kms without any signs of not wanting to be there (this was the kind of work me and Annie did in Perth) Of course the residents loved all the attention.This new home town of mine grows on me by the day I will do a brief of our holiday next
Final Days in Singapore
Just to remind me of the great time we had in Singapore with a few left over pics..On my last visit here nigh on 20 yrs I wasn,t impressed with the place BUT 20 yrs on has seen a brilliant transition and I will hopefully get Bach here again.The weather was atad warm but dry.The hotel FURAMA was magnificent except foe extra food and drink prices (around $15 a pint !!)Sights and scenery are awesome especially the futuristic Avatar garden looking area.This is the last leg of our 4 month brilliant holiday and I will put a few pics on my next Blog depicting the best places to visit…Next adventure starts in October when we attend our very first Motor home Raleigh in Boonah
Orchids in Singapore and our last day
We had time on our departure from Singapore day to have a very brief look at the enormous Orchid Gardens.The gardens are HUGE ane would take at least a full day to see all it had to offer,however in the 2 hours we spent there we managed to see quite a lot (just a fraction of the pics taken I have put on this blog) Annie s favourite pastime is looking at and admiring Orchids,although not my scene I have to admit they were extraordinary viewing !! Singapore is a place of the future and if possible I would definitely return
I should have put a name to all these BUT…………..
Singapore and Senosa
Next day we opted for the Senosa trip and was a full on 7 hour trip BUT well worth it we took the cable cars to the island resort and were treated to a Dolphin/Seal sea show and a 10 storey trip to the top of the legendary Merlion (cross between a mermaid and a lion) after which we were taken to watch the firework show.The area boasts a wind sky diving tube apparently yhe biggest in the world!!and was fascinating to watch people being blown around as if if sky diving ! We made it back to the hotel with 5 minutes to spare to enjoy the last happy hour drink (2 for 1) We were shateered at days end and have to be up early for our last morning in Singapor
The trip included a look around Little India and the Chinese markets with us finishing at the Orchis gardens and they were an absolute delight !Arrived back at the hotel 2 pm and after a quick nap and shower headed for Changi airport (and it is without doubt THE best airport departure area I have seen) We are awaiting our flight to Brisbane then the connection to Hervey Bay concluding our enormous 4 months holiday around Europe ! Thats if for now WE are HOME!! and ready to recharge afore we set off again in October !!
Leaving UK onward to Singapore
I can picture flying Dragons
Futuristic
SINGAPORE…my last visit here a few years ago wasn,t all that impressed BUT how times change !The Hotel FURAMA is great with a pubs happy hour from 5pm to 9 pm (2 for 1) I asked for a light evening meal consisting of a mini burger and was presented with FOUR !! vever the less very tasty.We got out of bed at 9 am on the Saturday and booked a few trips.We made our own way to Garden by the Bay and what an awesome place !! Giant shaped metal tree have been erected and plants have been intertwined around the metal structures and in years to come the Metal will be completley hidden by plants !!! (two with a lift to take us around the tree tops on a magnificent walkway) the views were incredible especially the 3 tiered hotel and the HUGE ferrris wheel that is 165 metres high and built on top of a shopping centre, that takes 30 mins to rotate (like,but bigger than the London Eye) After our draining walk we ventured into the 3 tired hotel that even has a canal running thru it and row boats can be hired !! A comic convention was in full flow and the kids all dressed as characters (anime and hentai are very popular with Asians) and were fantastic ! Annie wouldnt let me go into the convention tho !! Taxis are fairly cheap here too In the evening we had a river cruise with a meal the cruise was good the food wasnt great , we met up with a Sydney couple Debbie & Michael who are doing a 60 day around Asia trip !! We were treated to a 5 minute firework show and a musical fountain in the distance< Laser beams were shot into the night sky and the city background view was magnificent .This day has been full on and very tiring BUT well worth the effort !
Annie loves gardens
The garden metal trees are like a scene from Avatar !!
Will soon be covered in foliage
Bye Bye Blackpool hello Singapore
Blackpool my home town,and the best youth time anyone could ask for.When we were growing up as nippers we earned money by carrying peoples suitcases from Train Station to Hotel (very lucrative too !!) only on a saturday tho when people seemed to arrive and depart on that day.Penny machines were easy to get pennies from by simply lifting the wooden cash drop with a hacksaw blade and scooping the money from within ! The Pleasure Beach and all of the promenade was our Playground and we NEVER got into trouble (Graffitti was the name of Italians in those far off days ) we used to run donkeys for 6pence a go on the beach and the 3 piers provided me with lots of fun !!This b;og signifies the last days in Blackpool and we treated most of my family to a Thai Banquet in Poulton Le Fylde.We had a great that led us nicely into the next day ready for departure at 11 am bound for a few days in Singapore afore heading off home to Hervey Bay Thanks to ALL my family and friends for making us SO welcome !
Watch me play Didgeridoo
Geoffs Life After Work ! 