…as and when…

It’s been a long journey home and, finally, we are back in the UK in sunny old Wales. Unfortunately, the weather is really poor so we haven’t been home yet…

Having said our “thanks” and “goodbyes” to John, Meg and Chris, we left Perth, WA, in the early hours of this morning and flew towards Singapore on the first leg of the flight home. We knew the weather back home was poor (some of the worst weather in decades) so we weren’t exactly relishing the thought of a return to sub-zero temperatures! The flight to Singapore wasn’t too bad; the plane had many empty seats and, luckily, Lyn and I had a block of seats to ourselves – which meant we were able to stretch out a little and make ourselves more comfortable. As on the flight out back in November, the passage was straightforward with only a little turbulence to contend with. The in-flight meals were good (as far as airline food standards are concerned) and the staff professional and ‘easy on the eye’. The in-flight entertainment system was a bit glitchy but it didn’t stop us from watching a few movies, listening to music and following the plane’s progress on the flight plan screen.

The landings are always a bit uncomfortable (both Lyn and I suffering with the effects of the pressure change) and we arrived in Singapore some 5 or so hours after leaving Perth. It was just past 7am as we wandered off the plane and into the terminal. We now had 6 hours to kill whilst we waited for our connecting flight to Heathrow. It was going to be a long wait (or so we feared). However, Singapore airport is a bit different to your average ‘run of the mill’ airport; for a start it is very peaceful and relatively quiet. It is easy to relax should you be so inclined. Secondly, there is much that one can do to pass the time. Huge screens air the latest movies free of charge, audio booths allow you to listen to a variety of music in comfort, hundreds of free Internet access terminals allow you to browse the web and get your ‘Net fix. Numerous shops are within the terminal – from Armani to Gucci to Sony, all offering various items and many at good prices. In among the stores are coffee shops and eateries that catered for all tastes in cuisine so it was unlikely you’d get hungry. SkyTrains would take passengers freely between terminals so that they could explore different areas of the airport – for example, kids would flock to the Entertainment Deck and jump on the free Xbox360 and PS3 video games systems whereas those stressed out executives were more likely to enjoy the spa and health facilities.

As we walked around the terminal, Lyn remembered her last visit to the airport some 9 years prior and mentioned about the Koi Carp. These magnificent fish are beautiful (and expensive) and were to be found in water features around the airport. Sure enough, it didn’t take us long to find some. Photos were taken as we relaxed and simply watched them swimming around lazily. (Later they would be fed by a staff member as we watched).

Lyn and I wandered around further and decided to take in some of the gardens, starting with the Butterfly Garden. This garden was wholly contained within Terminal 3 and provided a climate controlled area in which visitors could walk around among various species of butterflies and moths. It was humid in there… but quite special, complete with spiral staircase and waterfall. The creatures flew freely around the area and many photographs were taken (surprise, surprise!) In a special cabinet within the area, butterflies and moths could be seen emerging from their coccoons before taking their first ever flight. We spent quite some time in there.

An airport information booklet told of other gardens within the airport (across the 3 terminals) so we made use of the free SkyTrains to move between the terminals and to track down the features. Sadly, we were unable to visit the Cactus Garden and the Sunflower Garden was closed for renovation work. However, we were still able to visit the Fern Garden and the Orchid Garden as we walked around the huge terminals. We probably walked miles in hindsight!

With all the activites available, and much to see and do, the 6 hours absolutely flew by and we didn’t even stop to rest and/or eat. One minute we had just arrived and, before we knew it, we were boarding the huge A380 Airbus for the long haul flight back to Heathrow, London. We were hoping for good seats so that we could relax for the forthcoming 14 hour flight…

We sat down in our seats – Lyn having an aisle seat and myself, well, an empty seat next to me! We had got lucky again it seemed. But then the whole illusion of a peaceful flight was shattered when a young mother with two very young children sat down on the aisle adjacent to Lyn… and they immediately started screaming and crying. Hopefully they would soon tire and relax as they made an awful lot of noise for their tender age! Of course, it was not their fault and there wasn’t much could be done about it; so the in-flight entertainment system headphones had their volume levels cranked up once we had taken off!

The flight back to London was long and we didn’t get any sleep. We watched movies, stretched our legs, listened to music, stretched our legs, ate meals, drank water and fruit juice, watched more movies, watched comedy, played video games, stretched our legs… you get the picture. Again, the flight was good with minimal turbulence and Singapore Airlines cabin crew did a great job in serving us. There’s not much more to be said about the flight to London as it was as boring as it was long…

…but it was bloody cold when we landed! Only a day or so earlier we had been in the hot 40 degrees C temperatures of an Australian summer and now we were plunged into the sub-zero temperatures of a particularly harsh British winter. To make matters worse I didn’t have a coat or sweater so, my own fault, I was in a t-shirt. Thankfully, Ann and Malc were not far away as they were kindly collecting us from the airport. Soon enough they arrived, and we quickly threw the luggage into the car and started the journey back to Wales. Everything was so… er… white. And cold. Ann and Malc had brought along many coats, jackets and gloves so I made use of those whilst I started to acclimatise! Lyn had her fleece but was still shivering; more so than I.

A handful of hours later and we were across the border into Wales. The roads were already covering with fresh snow and the temperature was dropping. Fog was also lingering like an icy cold blanket around us. We decided to head straight to Ann and Malc’s and we would spend the night there rather than going home. It was late and made sense to do so (rather than running the risk of going into the hills of Caerphilly). Tomorrow would be another day.

January 12th, 2010 | Category: General, Photography | Subscribe to comments | You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed