Day 1 - Singapore

Well, it's official! The trip has finally begun! It seems like we've been counting down the days forever now, and then suddenly, it's time to go. Everything began again at the Adelaide Airport, with Tracey and Milla waiting to herald our arrival by jumping out with wide grins as Martyn and I stepped off the elevator. Apparently they had inadvertently managed to scare a few strangers with this excited welcome before they spotted us - I'm guessing they won't be up for the position of airport ambassadors anytime soon, although if there are points for enthusiasm, they may be in with a chance *grin*.

Note: imagine a picture of the girls at the airport here, sadly lost to data heaven due to the faulty memory card I was given as an extra when I purchased my camera...thanks Teds Camerahouse!

After saying goodbye to Martyn and Marc (the lovely boys who happily escort us to the airport each time we go away), we were off. As always, Singapore Airlines was a joy to fly with - warm face cloths, blankets, service with a smile - it was heaven. Well, as heavenly as a long metal tube packed to the gills with an uncomfortable human mass can be of course.

After a fairly uneventful flight (well, except for the turbulence right before landing, during which Milla insisted on singing 'Roller coaster, roller coaster, heading for the wall...SMASH!' over and over again, much to my delight), we made our way out into Singapore, a place that has thus far failed to impress during any of the numerous stop-overs I've experienced there. I'm fairly sure this isn't due to any sort of traveller snobbiness on my part - usually just point me in the direction of something novel and I'm happy, but the visual monoculture of Singapore is, well, disturbing - it's just soooo clean and orderly. I need some chaos, something to prove to me that humans actually live there. Thankfully, although I was still not overly charmed this time around, the place finally managed to instill a small glimmer of hope...

Let me explain.

When booking our hotel, we had unwittingly chosen the seedy part of town - Singapore's equivalent of Hindley Street for my Australian friends, Hollis Street for my Canadian friends...nice sense of continuity there hmm? It seems everywhere has a seedy side. But because this was Singapore, even the seediest of places is still fairly safe and clean, so rather than feeling nervous, we headed out in an air of excitment, and joy of joys, were treated to the very lively side of Singapore - colour, atmosphere, music, laughter, it was all there.

It began with a very friendly taxi driver who gave us a bit of a tour of the sights on the way to our hotel, telling us the different histories, housing arrangements and neighbourhoods, and continued with our arrival at The Fragrance Hotel (slightly scary name admittedly) - $105 a night for the equivalent of a slightly luxurious jail cell. Then, in the space of only an hour we managed to spot thirteen feral cats, be served by one rude lady and two lovely men, eat the spiciest fried rice known to man, send Tracey to heaven on a bowl of noodle soup, meander through a market, buy some cushion covers, see more 'short shorts' than has been seen in one place since the 1960s, and get hit on by two fairly questionable men - one of whom blew me a kiss.

Eventful hmm? Well done Singapore.

And now, as I write this, we have arrived back at the hotel, ready to fly to Siem Reap tomorrow and officially start our holiday! Can't wait!!