Day 29 - Singapore
Stopping over here means, that you are supposed to shop until your credit card gives in. Kristin wanted to look for clothes, so we went to Little India first. Got some sarees and a lot of impressions of the hustle and bustle in that place. Too many tourists, though.The afternoon was all mine: Funan DigitaLife Mall. Nerd Heaven. Came that close to buy a new mobile, however having no support in Europe then sucked in the end. Got a number of bits and pieces like a new battery for my iPod quite cheap and in the end Kristin did win the prize by getting a laptop bag “designed by women for women”. And another laptop bag for free.
Met up with a friend of Kristin for Dinner who moved to Singapore some two months ago. Yummy “Asian Fusion” (whatever) food, some interesting talk about working in Asia. Had too much beer and started to fall asleep on the way back to the hotel.
australia funan digitalife mall little india singapore travelDay 28 - Sydney to Signapore
Not much to write for today. Packed our stuff early and caught our plane out of Sydney to travel to a place that is clean, safe, quite rich and very, very small. No, we did not end up in Switzerland but in Singapore. The temperature and humidity gave it away.
Went for a stroll in the evening and some good thai food at Chijmes. End of day.
australia singapore sydney travelFlat Kevin
Let me introduce you to Flat Kevin (That is the one on the left). Flat Kevin is part of a school project to teach american schoolkids about the fact that there are other countries in the world besides the U.S. of A. If you have seen the “Amelie” movie, you already know about the concept from the garden gnome sub-plot: The small figure which has been made by the schoolboy is then given to a friend that travels a lot, they make images in front of famous buildings and landmarks and send the images or postcards back to the school kid. After about six months, Kevin (and his journal where he keeps the photos) should return to the school class. So far Kevin has been in the U.S., Europe, Dubai, Australia and Singapore.
Day 27 - Sydney and Manly
Our last full day in Oz. This month really flew by. Kristin already complained that she wants to stay here and not go back to work. It still seems that we will be boarding the plane tomorrow but if we do not show up at home next week, then we just applied for citizenship here in Australia and never come back. I heard that they are looking for doctors and I.T. persons.Anyway, first thing today was the Opera house tour, this building really seems to be the cornerstone of our time here. Very nice and one could also shoot some photos inside the big halls which was not allowed during the opera yesterday, so the total number of photos taken now has passed 1,000.
Afterwards we took the ferry towards Manly, one of the tourist spots around the bay and met with Malcolm Edgar, his wife Leah and daughter Mia over lunch (we four had lunch, Mia had a great time putting her lunch all over the table). They suggested that we should walk along Manly Beach for some great views (That beach is in my opinion much nicer than Bondi, not that crowded and more spectacular waves). The little bronze penguin is one of many small figurines of Australian animals along the way.
Later we actually managed to get to the botanical garden by Kristin suggesting that “she really does not need to go shopping”. Imagine, a woman suggesting that she does not need to shop. The world seemed to stop for a second or so. (Kristin is keen on changing that impression when we reach Singpore…).
Took the evening harbour cruise, which offers some spectacular views of the city and all the iconic sights and landmarks.
Finally went for our “Aussie farewell dinner” to the Cafe Sydney (which is not a cafe but a fancy restaurant at the top of Customs House in the middle of Circular Quay). Sort of a best-food-in-town place, but they still let us in in T-Shirt and Jeans.
And now it is back to Europe… 
Day 26 - Sydney - With Blondie at Bondi and a night at the opera
I got some feedback to the blog that it lacks pathos. Well, it seems that I’m still a techie, not a writer, but I intend to work on that in the future.Onwards with the heroes! After a dark and long night, we rose to the first light of the new day to get what is known to some as Breakfast Of Champions, to others as a Grand Latte at Starbucks (ok, enough pathos now?).
Anyway, afterwards we took one of the bus shuttles that travel all around the city to go to Bondi beach. Even though there are other lovely beaches and probably Bondi is not even the most scenic, it is definitely the best known. Stayed there until it started raining early in the afternoon.
And then… to the opera! I do admit that I do not really care for plays where people do not talk to each other but sing in strange languages and most of the time I am sound asleep in the middle of the second act.
This time however, the opera was … subtitled. Yes, really. Actually surtitled but you get the idea. Sounds funny but is a good thing for people that do not really speak the language of the opera (italian in this case). In my opinion this should be mandatory for all operas in the future.
We saw “La Traviata” which basically is about sex, honour and sick people. There is lots of pathos as well (it is italian!), so I might just steal some for later blog entries.
And if you have some idea what is happening on the stage it is a blast. So in the end, this turned out really well for me (I know that Kristin was concerned about that) and we really had a great time (I still do not understand how Violetta could sing that well with tuberculosis but then again it might just be me).
australia bondi beach la traviatta opera house sydney travel