Day 5– 7 June, A day in Staines

Now in England and so much further north, when I first awoke at 5 AM the sun was shining through the curtains. I tried to go back to sleep, but with symptoms of a developing cold, I didn’t have much success.  After a shower, I was down for breakfast a bit after 6:30 AM. A full English breakfast with an egg on fried bread, sausages, mushrooms, bacon, and baked beans something the Poms can do exceeding well.

After filling in time reading until 9 AM, I wandered downtown, less than a kilometre from the hotel. First I went to Debenhams them Marks and Spencers looking for a windproof jacket. Eventually, after a bit of too-and-froing, I bought a jacket and shirt from M&S. While there I couldn’t resist going into their food section to buy a 6-pack of miniature Melton Mowbray pork pies, another thing the Poms can do well.

Back to the hotel bar for a pint of local beer and fish and chips. That was lunch sorted. By now my cold had developed, and I spent the rest of the day resting.

Looking up the Thames and the hotel's garden bar.

The other end of the hotel looking down the Thames.

I thought, possibly half of John Buchan’s 39 Steps.

Day 4, 6 June Flying to Heathrow

An early departure from hotel to Changi Airport to catch my 9 AM flight to Heathrow.

Up at 5 AM, showered and packed and checked out by 6:15 AM. A taxi ready to take me to the airport and by 7:10 AM I was through immigration and in the shops and cafes in the departure area. This was different, no security checks after migration. Maybe they do it differently in Singapore. So I took the small liquids out of the transparent container then grabbed something to eat. After reading for awhile in walked down to gate A5, and guess what there was the security check, so out with the liquids and back into the transparent bag. Through security and I got caught with my braces again.

While waiting I took a photo of the two-decker A380-800 aircraft in which I was going to fly to London. The plane was huge and had economy, premium economy, business, and suites classes with three separate entrances. The Premium Economy (PE) seats had reasonable spacing and were configured 2-4-2 across the plane. The seats were not as comfortable as those in the AirNewZealand’s 787 and there did not seem to as much room. I was lucky to have no one sitting beside me so I could spread-out a bit. I was to find out the service was also different. On AirNewZealnd we had dedicated cabin staff while on Air Singapore we shared the cabin staff with the Economy passengers and got the same meals and everything served at once , from a trolley, and in plastic plates.  On AirNewZealnd the meal was special to PE, presented on china plates, with the entrée, cheese, and desert served first first. Hand delivered, not dished up from a trolley. Then the used plates removed before the hot main course was hand delivered.  Maybe the difference was due the price of the ticket, Air Singapore was cheaper.

The A380-800 was a better aircraft to fly in. A smooth take-off, no push back into  your seat, no bumping along the runway, and a gently lift off into the air even though the plane was climbing at steep angle. The flight was extremely smooth, and though we seemed to have the same number of seat-belt warnings for turbulence, the shaking of the plane was much smoother and not near as sharp as on the 787.

The flight was good and the landing as smooth as the take-off. Once through immigration and customs my Minicabit driver was waiting for me, holding a large sign with Webster on it. Off we went for Staines and the Mecure hotel. An older hotel sitting on the backs of the upper Thames. Here I checked in and found my room had disability features which I found quite useful.

Day 3, 5 June, all day in Singapore

Up about 6AM and it was still dark. The light didn’t come for another half hour. Went down for breakfast about 8.30 PM, I am on holiday after all.

About noon took a taxi down to the Lucky Plaza and strolled around there for an hour or so. It hasn’t change much, except the jewellery shop were Maureen spent so much time isn’t there anymore. I circulated around each floor and then rode the escalator up to the next. Repeating the process all the way down again. While there I brought a better shoulder bag.

After stepping outside into the heat I took another taxi back to the hotel where after checking out all the facilities there I rested.

Day 2, 4 June Arrive in Singapore

Early in the morning, just after sunrise, we flew past Singapore to the east, did a left U-turn, slowly losing altitude and landed at Changi airport at 6:30 AM. The weather was fine, hot, and humid--we were in the tropics.

Once the seatbelt sign turned-off I tried to stand and was thankful that my legs were working. I'd been worried that I would have to slowly exercise my legs and wait until most others had got off the plane before I was mobile. I believe the well-designed seat had a lot to do with my legs working. Thanks in New Zealand.

I was glad to find a luggage trolley inside the terminal as this made my walk to immigration much easier. The queues at immigration were not too long, but sod’s law was in full swing. My queue was slowest, and it took ages before I was at the desk and handed over my passport. Here the man was pleasant, efficient, and I was through very quickly. I had no idea why this particular queue had been so slow.

Once through the first luggage carousel was our flights. I waited for three complete rotations, and my bag wasn't there. I saw an official and a pile of suitcases at the far end of the carousel, so I went over to report my lost bag only to discover that all premium economy bags had been taken off and neatly stacked for us. My bag was there.

Now out to the arrivals concourse, I headed the Singapore Airlines desk to pick up my hotel vouchers. Then outside and grabbed a taxi to take me to the Concord hotel in Orchard Road. Here I had to queue again, but this time progress was fast, and the queue was inside, so I only had a short walk in the heat to the taxi. Pleasant ride in an air-conditioned car and by 9:15 AM I was laying down on my bed and room 710. Not much happened for the rest of the morning except for a little unpacking, some reading, and several bouts of sleeping.



Blair, you are right this hotel was the one we stayed in, and you drove Geoff's radio controlled car along the balconies overlooking the atrium. This time there are no orchids hanging down from the balconies.

About 1 o'clock I went down to the main restaurant and partook of their Asian smorgasbord. Many of the dishes I tried I couldn't pronounce the names, but most were enjoyable although, I didn't try the chicken feet.

After lunch walked down Orchard Road a little popping into a few shopping malls, didn’t buy anything.  Feeling tired from the flight and suffering in the heat I headed back to the hotel, and did some reading and resting in my cool room. About 6 PM I ordered room service, dined in and had a early night.

Day 1- Fly to Singapore

My journey started today, Sunday 3 June when I flew out of the Palmerston North airport at 6:45 pm for Auckland and after a four-hour wait, I would hop on to Singapore where I expect to arrive at 6:40 am. That was the plan, but like all good plans, this one went awry. I got to Singapore at 6:30 AM on 4 June, but there were a few hiccups on the way.

Blair arrived from the 5 PM on a large Toyota Hi-Lux. I checked that everything was turned off and the windows closed then we loaded my cases, and I climbed into the Hi-Lux with some difficulty. An excellent trip to the airport, the Hi-Lux drove like a big luxury car. Blair dropped me off, and I wandered up to the check-in kiosks where a kind gentleman asked me if I needed some help. I said yes please, and luckily I did because the system checked my bags okay but didn't produce a boarding pass for the Singapore flight. After several cancellations and re-tries, the man eventually got my two boarding passes. Now all I had to do was wait one hour until the Auckland flight took off at 6:45 PM. Unfortunately one of the external lights on the plane stopped working. They brought in an engineer and finally we got airborne from Palmerston North at 8:20 PM.

Arrived in Auckland about 9:30 PM and took the bus across to the international terminal. Here I rushed up the escalator and looked for the Premium/Business class entry to immigration. No way could I find it they are rebuilding significant sections of the international departure area at the airport. Eventually got through immigration after a long queue only to get on the tail end of another long queue to get into security. Just as I got to the security desk about 20 people and airline uniforms jumped ahead of me. Eventually, I got through and started filling up the trays with all my belongings to go through the x-ray. I asked the man do I have to take off my braces and he said no. So I walked through the sensors triggering all the alarms and had to stand there with my arms out horizontally while another man walked around me with a handheld probe.

Now through security, I headed for the Strata Lounge. I knew where it was, but most of the area was boarded up because of the alterations. Finally, I arrived there at 10:30 PM. The lounge was very comfortable good food and plenty of rooms I set off for gate 9 and once there I managed to board the plane immediately.

From now on everything went as planned. The plane took off on time, and after a couple of periods of turbulence, we landed at Changi airport in Singapore 10 minutes ahead of time. It was now 6:30 AM on June 4.

The seats in Premium Economy were extraordinarily comfortable, and I had plenty of leg room. I slept at least six hours and when we landed my legs were OK and managed to get off the aircraft with everyone else.

Travelling Again

Today Wednesday 23 May I turn 80 and come Sunday 3 June I am travelling overseas again. This time to England and meeting up with my daughter Jane and husband Gary who would have left New Zealand on 1 June. We are spending the first week in a Cornwall cottage at Flushing, just across the bay from Falmouth. After this, we head for Oxford and meeting up with Brian and Jan Coulter and spending some time on a narrowboat cruising the Oxford Canal. After this Jane, Gary, Brian and Jan go across to France while I head for Cambridge to spend a week at a readers desk in the archives of Scott Polar Research Institute. This time I shall be experiencing a Cambridge summer. A change from my previous visits which had all been in the winter. I can remember walking from my hotel to SPRI in temperatures around zero, with all the puddles on the footpath frozen solid and thinking this was good conditioning for a study of old Antarctic diaries.

On the way to and from England, I will be spending two days in Singapore. A place I've not visited since the early 1990s. On the outward stopover, I am staying in Orchard Road while on the way back  I'll be in the Raffles Hotel area--not at Raffles. I picked this area and selected a hotel close to the Funan Centre, a large multi-storey building housing hundreds of computer shops. Unfortunately after booking the hotel I discovered the Funan Centre has closed down for two years while the building has an upgrade. However, there are plenty of other places of interest handy. Finally, flying back and arriving home in Palmerston North on 7 July.

A day of trains 24 July

Monday morning I am off to Kingston The days was to be rain, trains, and trains.

I checked out of my hotel, walked through the automatic doors, turned left, down an escalator, and onto the platform for the monorail to Terminal 1. After short, quick, and silent trip on the driverless monorail I stepped out at Terminal 1 and walked to the end of the platform and straight through the doors of UP train. Placed my luggage in the loading racks  and I settled into a seat. Less the five minutes the door closed and I was off to Toronto’s Union Station.

The view from my seat and the end of my carry-on bag in the luggage rack, followed by view out the window while travelling the first elevated section of the trip with the hotel I spent the previous night.

The UP train is a relatively new direct link from the airport to Toronto’s Union Station. A twenty minute ride with just two stops and trains leaving every 15 minutes. A quick comfortable ride that cost $12 return.

At the end of the UP ride  it was a short walk and I was in the main foyer of the Union Station.

From the foyer it was a short walk down a sloping floor to a lower level to the area where my ticket was checked and I headed up an escalator to the platform. I found carriage number three  the guard help load my bags, I found my seat and I was soon off to Kingston some two hours away.

Before pulling out I lent over and took this photo of the inside of the carriage.