Asia Trip January 2010

Calgary-Vancouver-Hong Kong-Singapore

(28 hrs journey time)

After all the hype about Cathay Pacific, we had high expectations. Well, it's OK, but nothing special. The steerage seats were small and crammed in, same as all the other airlines. Food was very average, maybe because it was standard Vancouver airplane meals, although you could ask for a cup of instant noodles anytime which they happily served with chopsticks.

Anyway, after 14 grueling hours we finally reached Hong Kong, only to get on board another plane for a 4 hour flight to Singapore. We had booked a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel right in Terminal 3 and boy were we glad to see it!

It It it was an amazing room, as you can see, with a big soaker tub in the huge bathroom and a 42 inch flat-screen TV. Not that we were in TV watching mood. Actually we were more in the collapse in a heap and sleep forever mood, but we resisted that and headed off to check out Singapore.

That's when we fell in love! We had heard that it's a fantastic city, but you have to experience it first hand to really appreciate how great it is.

It's Asia Lite, everone is Asian,but it's clean & orderly, and British English is the official language

There's a high speed MRT (Mass Rail Transit) system that whisks you wherever you want to go straight from Changi Airport (more about Changi coming up).

But mastering the automatic ticket purchase machines is not easy.

We started out in China Town. It was about 30 degrees at 2 in the afternoon (Daylight until 6:30 pm in this part of the world) and we were pretty much the tallest, fattest, whitest folks around. Not that anyone seemed to care.

after China Town it was back on the MRT to go to Little India to look for the Banana Leaf restaurant that had been recommended by a friend & featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations". We didn't find the Banana Leaf, but ate good Indian food at a curbside table of another restaurant, then asked directions from our waiter and walked past the Banana Leaf on our way back to the MRT station. No worries, the food we'd eaten was excellent and more importantly perhaps, there was no "repercussions" rom that meal. Back to the hotel early for a good nights sleep thanks to a Walmart sleeping aid.

The next morning after a great breakfast at the hotel we walked across to the airport to check in for our Phuket flight.

What a great place Changi Airport is, it had everything except a golf course! It was so interesting that we were almost sorry to leave and get on the next short flight to Phuket.

After the flight I (Tony) promised my ass that I wouldn't force it to sit on another airplane seat for at least 2 weeks!!!!

Picked up our rental car & made the short trip to the Marriott condo's