Singapore: 22-Apr-2019 Munich 23-Apr-2019

Catching up on the last four/five days… (and struggling with the font manager (and HTML editor) on "Blogger"!)

Friday: 19-Apr-2019

Our plan was to be “travel ready” by early on the evening of Friday, 19^th. However, a trip to Waikanae to deliver the HR-V to it’s new owners (from Palmerston North), combined with Easter / ANZAC day traffic, inserted a 3 hour delay into our plans... but by the end of the day – all that could be done was done!

"Our Esprit 88 - or at least an image of it."

• House cleaned;
• One last piece of email for the Met Office;
• HR-V sold;
• Tiguan tyres inflated to 60 psi – so they won’t get “flats” while we are away;
• Bags packed;
• Neighbours alerted to a change in Oli’s servant;
• Car rental in Germany booked;
• Oli’s inoculations updated (only a few puncture wounds to show for this small service)… etc.
• And finally – the consignment of a large number of $$$s to Zion Motorhomes Trust  Account – for a motorhome (for which we now have photographic evidence).

At this point, an absence of 6 months was starting to seem like a very long break.

Saturday: 20-Apr-2019

But Saturday morning came and we departed Wellington, conveyed to the airport at the unfriendly hour of 5.45am by a kind and generous friend.

And so, a few hours later, after a couple of flights we “alighted” (as you do in Singapore) from our Air NZ 787-9 at Changi Airport. 

As a touch of luxury… we had booked into the Fairmont.  The lovely lady at reception said she had “booked us into a very nice room”… which I (Michael) took to mean – no particular room, as at such establishments, all rooms are considered to be “very nice” so the words were likely meaningless.  I

was wrong! It really was a very nice room – 23^rd floor, corner “signature” room with balconies on two sides, and an entry foyer.

A view from "one of" windows in our Hotel...

It was quite warm... and humid,… so a swim seemed in order – but not in the rain, which is what it started in earnest to do (tropical convection etc.), as we arrived at the pool (they are concerned about lightning – human interactions). Considering the likely life time of a Cb… we waited for it to clear - which as expected, it did. So not quite the same temperature as Lake Taupo, but an Easter swim nonetheless.

Sunday: 21-Apr-2019

Singapore is a country / city that does really understand the value of a rail-based transportation system (right, Phil?) – even when really rather empty on Easter Sunday morning!

MRT: Green Line (East-West) - not such a busy day...

Easter Sunday – and something different from our traditional “Taupo Baptist” attendance… this year we went to New Creation Church’s (ncc, https://www.newcreation.org.sg/ ) "Resurrection Sunday” service – where we  were two among 5000, rather than among 300 (or so). ncc is one of the “mega churches” in Singapore. Friends of Jonas (from whom we have bought our motorhome) acquired  “tickets” (QR codes) for us to attend, to ensure that we had guaranteed seats. 

We were not really sure what to expect – but in reality, it was a delightful experience.  We felt Blessed, and the songs and hymns had an unadorned simplicity to them that allowed the human voice to be the expression of worship – rather than the rendition of sound from a “band”. One of the songs chosen even dated back to the 1970s when we were at Spreydon Baptist – a nice touch of nostalgia for us. Of course the hymns date to an even earlier period!

A full auditorium, at the Star Performing Arts Centre.

While there was lots of technology on display - it did not overwhelm, and while the service was delivered to “show-like” standards of professionalism – it didn’t feel like we had attended a “show”, but instead that it was an inclusive service of worship to a God that has provided a way by which we can be Saved. 

The exterior view of the building holding the Star Performing Arts Centre... and Karilyn!

Not easy to top that off…. And while our time here in Singapore is not really focused on visiting lots of places of interest, or indulging in new experiences – we did go for a spin on the Singapore Flyer… a very slow spin it must be said (30 minutes to turn once!).  A delightful experience – even if finding the ticket office was less straightforward than we might have expected!

The Singapore skyline, the product, it would appear of investment by the banking and insurance industries in themselves – does make for an iconic skyline… and a reminder of the “value” of the largely weightless “service sector” in the economy of this nation state… and most others today, it would seem. Amazing what “turning a dollar” can do – if you know how!

Marina Bay and the Singapore Skyline (from the Singapore Flyer).

Monday: 22-Apr-2019

I was determined to finish off the “book” from the Routeburn Trip… else it might never get done. So with reasonable WiFi at the Fairmont – this seemed like a reasonable thing to try and achieve – before heading off to Sentosa Island, and the SEA Aquarium.  All that was needed to complete the task was to finish off the design of the covers, verify the photos, review the text for “correctness” and spelling mistakes, render the book… and upload to Blurb for printing. Shouldn’t take long at all. And if 3 hours is “not long”, then it didn’t take “long”… except that the morning was gone by the time it was done, and more dollars had exchanged hands. 

Unfortunately, while walking to the MRT station, enroute to Sentosa Island… I had a thought about the spelling I had used for one of the “party”… sadly, upon return, and following review of the text of the front cover no less, my worries proved correct! As did the appearance of yet another spelling “mistake”… - the "Font" cover...so either I have generated something of rare value( think stamps with spelling mistakes!)… or more likely I have simply demonstrated the consequences of “haste” – but one that can be fixed through the exchange of additional "$$"s.

Sentosa Island, with the SEA Aquarium in the foreground.

The SEA Aquarium on Sentosa provided for an amazing experience… with displays including a tank filled with sharks, another with the biggest moray eels a nightmare could conceive, and others that show the beauty of coral reefs through to the beauty of a Purple Striped Sea Nettle, and much more.

A Purple Striped Sea Nettle

And on Tuesday, 23-Apr-2019, from row 61 (the last row) in an Airbus 350, we safely arrived in Munich, to refreshingly 10C… no humidity air, and sunny skies.... and a free upgrade to a larege 7 seater style people mover... so transporting bikes, and the results of our provisioning trip to IKEA tomorrow should not cause any transportaion-space problems!