Singapore update by Stephanie

It certainly is a very full boat here with Alyssa and me as the recent additions to Maverick Dream! Alyssa arrived on the 9th and I arrived shortly after on the 10th. My initial reaction to Singapore was the heat! It hits you like a brick wall when you leave the air con it feels like breathing through damp cotton wool. We have had a busy week exploring parts of Singapore including drinking Singapore Slings in the Raffles Hotel;

Our days are mostly filled with visiting the swimming pool, morning, lunch and dinner without fail. I am going a lovely brown colour but Lys with her uber fair skin tone is going red. Or burnt. Either way people were stopping to look at her in the street.

(Pre-burn)

Yesterday Lys and I visited Chinatown and Little India towards the evening when it is much cooler here. We found that Little India was the more interesting of the two with more smells and little stalls wheras Chinatown was much of a muchness with similar shops and places to eat. It was in Chinatown that Lys decided that one nose piercing wasn’t enough and in a single, spontaneous move found a tattoo shop that would do it for her. The fact that the woman could speak barely any English should have been an indication to run for the hills, but no, they looked clean enough so Lys decided to go for it. Well. I shouldn’t laugh but it was a little amusing when she emerged with a huge stud in her nose…along with the sunburn she looked like the ultimate tourist. However I shouldn’t laugh too much as I am suffering from mozzie bites. I should take pride in the blood that I am producing as no-one else seems to be bitten at all!
The food here can only be described in one word – interesting. There is a mix of Thai, Chinese and a little Indian but a large amount of it is fish. Lys and I visited a huge food court with tiny stalls where you buy the food you want and then sit in a communal eating area. It is an experience but I’m sure my palate will soon adapt. Lys in true Ozzie fashion shovels everything down with little complaint. She does cook exceptionally well though. I sampled her french toast earlier today…mmmm!
We have also been let loose on the cinema in Vivocity which is a huge shopping mall. The adverts are the best bit… “My name…is Nicole” Snigger. “Turn it off or she’ll chop off!” Enough said.

Well…we are disappearing into the midday sun tomorrow to sail up to Thailand, dodging all of the cargo ships and oil tankers…so will update when we get there, but some pictures for now, the Aisian signs keep us amused!

(Lys, Helena and me!)

(Riiiiiiiight…)