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port douglas

This former fishing village is the closest town to the Great Barrier Reef. Just to say at the end of January/early February this area of Australia is very, very hot!

This is looking out from the inlet watching the boats and cruisers returning to the marina village from trips out to the reef. Port Douglas is a very pretty location with lots of lovely boutique style shops and a supermarket which was great for buying snacks, chocolate, ice-creams etc! There is a great coffee shop, the name escapes me, where we'd go in the evening after our meal, and many traditional bars where J would enjoy a schooner of beer, or two!

We stayed in a very nice self-contained apartment with a lovely swimming pool (which we had all to ourselves), really clean with all the home comforts. A lady whose accent reminded me very much of Barry Humphries, Dame Edna to you and me, greeted us at reception who was very informative and helpful, giving us a map and recommending a few places to eat.

The first night we sat outside of a local haunt and had the best fish and chips served with a very nice side salad, very English. Well we had been away from home for quite a time!

We wished we had booked more nights in this lovely place, and if the opportunity arose we would definitely love to visit again.

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aboriginal graphic symbols and meanings

On our half-day afternoon tour of Alice Springs, we visited the Mbantua Aboriginal Cultural Museum. I am really quite interested in these graphics, and would like to investigate further, at some stage.

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footsteps of raffles

This is the souvenir I brought back from Singapore, and no I didn't steal it from the tearooms, I bought it in the giftshop!

We had tea at Raffles. We did not have great expectations of this, as in the past we have been seriously let down by these sorts of hyped up experiences, featured in glossy brochures, to get tourists to spend yet more money! Not ones for pomp and ceremony, we probably wouldn't have done this if it hadn't been as part of a trip, the footsteps of Raffles.

This was what we read in the brochure:

'This tour starts from where it all began, at Raffles landing site, where Sir Stamford Raffles is believed to have first stepped ashore in 1819, before progressing to an Exhibition that traces the history of the Singapore River.

Next stop is Raffles Hotel, where hives of activities were held for the high-society in the 1800s. Here, enjoy either an afternoon tea buffet, with English/local delicacies, or light refreshments.'

We decided to choose the option for the afternoon tea buffet, just expecting a few dried up cucumber sandwiches, or a small cream cake? Well we were in for a pleasant surprise of a huge, as it had been described, buffet, and there was more than enough for all the visitors who were visiting that afternoon, not only the ones in our tour group.

We were shown to a table by a very well dressed waiter, and we had to share with another couple. I find it hard to start a conversation with someone I don't know, and I always feel quite nervous, but this couple, who came from Southport, were very amiable and easy to get on with. We were poured a cup of tea from an antique silver teapot, and it was really too weak to come out the pot! I didn't say anything as I accept this. I am quite biased, and think there is nowhere in the world who can do a cup of tea, quite like they can in England! Anyway, the husband of the couple, did say something, and the waiter kindly carried away his cup and saucer, to come back with another cup, which looked just as the first one did. After another attempt, and letting the tea stew a little in the pot, the cup which he finally accepted, looked really no darker, but I think he was so thirsty by this time, he decided to surrender!

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hong kong by night

As darkness falls this is how the skyline of Hong Kong looks, as seen from Kowloon. As you can see the buildings are illuminated with coloured lights and most evenings an amazing laser light show takes place.

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spider

This little beauty was staying in the same accommodation as us in the rainforest. Luckily for us it had already found it's meal for the day!

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a rock wallaby

At dusk every evening rock wallabies would come down from the rocky slopes (part of the MacDonnell Ranges), in search of food. We didn't, but you could buy food for them, and they were quite happy to be handfed!

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downtown Singapore

Most of the skyscrapers in Singapore can be found in the Central Business District. The maximum height that buildings may have in Singapore is 280 metres (919 feet), due to air traffic regulations.

Singapore has expanded by 20% of it's original size due to land reclaimation. More reclaimed land is to be built on, for many more new skyscrapers of all sizes, in front of the Central Business District area.