We have lost almost a day with travelling and losing hours flying east. Plus it’s been crazy busy catching up with our New Zealand Clan. The flight from Changi went without a hitch. We were up late as we knew we had a long days travelling ahead. Backpacks packed and checked we set off once more into downtown Singapore. The flight wasn’t until the afternoon so we had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport. We caught the metro EW line which took us all the way to Pasir Ris. A residential community close to the airport. No beaches as such but a beautiful park looking out over the South China Sea. We have never been here before so we were unsure what to expect. We alighted the metro at its final station and went outside to the main car park. It was a fairly nondescript kind of place with no real signage to inform the lonely traveller where to go or which direction to head to reach the seaside. Fortune smiled on us in the shape of the worlds smallest security guard. No more than four feet tall and at least 80 years old. She wore a yellow security vest that fitted her like a tent and she should have been unable to stand upright with the amount of equipment that was hanging from her meagre frame. She was fantastic. Smiling and fast as a whippet, she virtually ran to our assistance. The arsenal of Equipment jangling at every step.
She soon informed us where we needed to be and made sure we understood. She then directed us to the nearby hawkers market to make sure that we had something to eat before going to play on the park. It wasn’t a suggestion it was a command. She wasn’t going to allow us on the bus till we had “something proper to eat”. We dared not refuse because she was gorgeous. Imagine the worlds smallest granny crossed with the terminator. The hawkers market as always was fantastic and we loaded up on rice, noodles and a few gluten free snacks before going back to ask granny if we could get on the bus. Suitably assured that we had followed her advice she allowed us on the free downtown bus. 10 minutes later we were at the beach park.
It was a very pleasant way to kill a few hours before the airport.
When our time was up we again caught the free bus back to the metro. Granny smiled and escorted us to the entrance before waving us off like long lost family members. It must have been an effort for her with all the radios, batons, firearms and handcuffs dangling from her oversized waistcoat. I think she has won the award for our most favourite person we have met whilst travelling. I wish I had taken her photo but she might have wrestled me to the floor had I attempted. I’m not messing with a loaded granny. She was well hard.
Back on the metro to Changi and once more into the airport. Changi is huge. A city within a city. Three Terminals connected by sky trains and monorails. We were lucky as our flight to New Zealand departed from the same terminal that the metro arrived into. We were a little early for check in so we spent an hour exploring the new shopping centre, the jewel, adjacent to the terminal. It’s a huge 5 level glass dome built around a central atrium that houses a waterfall. It’s truly an architectural marvel and definitely a must see if you are passing through Changi. On time we checked in and boarded the flight for Auckland.
10 uneventful hours later we arrived in Auckland. LynNZ and Kev met us at arrivals and whisked us away home.
It’s four years since we were last here and a lot has happened. LynNZ is now truly madly deeply in love to Kev. They get married on Thursday and that is the major reason for the trip here. There are two new kids on the block that we are desperate to see. Cole and Odelia. And of course LynNZ,s amazing daughters and their partners, Anna and Lockwood. Katie womble and Alex.
It’s going to be great to catch up with them all. Crispy is in her element
Bare and Crispy signing off Auckland, New Zealand
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