Chapter 7
Festivities, fatter tummies, and farewell 2012!


Laura and Trent flew off to Kota Kinabalu for a week to meet Trent's Mum, cuddle an Orang-utan or two and relax in the sun.

Quick change of linen, and Chris and Sal arrive!


We decided to go to a Japanese restaurant for our Christmas Eve celebration.  Sangokai was a short cab ride from the apt.  Great meal and just what we all felt like. A reasonably light meal, in anticipation of what was to come, on Christmas day.

Each cab driver that transports us either to or from the apt, delights in telling us that we live in a red light district!  On one occasion, I had to ask what the going rate was, and this is what this particular cab driver told me..........
Under 25 yr old was $100, 25-30 yr old was $80, and over 30 was $60. Seeing as I was over 50, I assumed I would be $1.50, and Philip too readily agreed! Ouch!  Accommodation is on top of this!

Well, Christmas day arrived..........
We had fresh fruit and Mince Tarts for breakfast (Marks & Spencer's) and opened gifts around our 30cm tree.
Then we set about the task of getting "glammed" up for our lunch.
Frocks and heels were selected (by the girls), and off we trotted.
We thought we were under-dressed when we arrived at the hotel and boarded the lift with a guy dressed in a suit resembling a dead Friesian cow - 3 piece suit and all!  Sal had to touch it to see if it was real.  Felt like a dead cow too, but we were reassured it was a copy! 
Lunch was on the 70th floor of the Swissotel at a restaurant called Equinox. It was a feast for the eyes (food and view), as well as the stomachs. 
One metre-high ice carvings with seafood, a great mix of traditional and local foods, and a separate room just for the vast array of desserts. 

I think we did about a dozen trips, so figured we had had a workout while eating.
The four hour lunch was a "free flow" Moët, white and red wine affair...........we indulged.  There were magicians, balloon artists, a choir singing Singlish carols and of course Santa.......!  

We all thought it was superb food and very good value. (Thank you to Shirl for her kindness in paying for our lunch).
To round off the day, we took a cable car ride over to Sentosa and back. 
No dinner tonight!
Decided on a leisurely day on Boxing Day, so we ventured back to Chinatown to show our guests this interesting area. Philip was taking emergency calls from his team throughout the day, so did not completely relax!
The Botanic gardens and the Orchid gardens were the next day's choice of exploration.  We were a bit late starting, so first port of call was the restaurant called Halia, set in the lush central part of the gardens. We chose the outdoor terrace area, under the fans. Squirrels jumping through the foliage were entertaining, as were the beautiful butterflies dancing in the leaves. The orchids are a sight, and I am sure everyone that visits Singapore makes this a must on their destination list.

Even the exhibits had a familiar look about them...

We caught up with some family, (Sydo's cousin from Rye and his wife and daughter), who were passing through Singapore on their way back to Australia from Hong Kong.  Seemed odd to have a group of 7 people at the table, as it has been a table for two for a couple of months now. Had an Italian meal, which all got the thumbs up. A noodle in another cuisine!
Well, New Years Eve arrived, and we had the day all planned out.
I had spent many hours researching on-line and on-foot to find the right place.  We wanted a mix of location, cuisine and price. We were told Marina Bay was the place to be to view the fireworks. So, "One on the Bund", a restaurant on the water with a private deck, was selected. 
We are not very good at "lasting" till midnight, and have been known to wind our watches forward, do a mock countdown, and head to bed! Not this year.
We booked Gold Class seats to see Les Miserables, in the afternoon.  Good time-fill-in as it went for 160 mins.  Back to apt to get changed and have a glass of bubbles, before we headed into town.

The restaurant went to a lot of effort, with a selection of party items on the tables. 

The food was very "fine dining" Chinese, so portions were not large, but very tasty. We had pre-ordered the Peking duck, as suggested, and it was well worth it.  Here's a piccy of them being cooked in the wood-fired oven...

Our table was right next to the rear deck which had speccy views of Marina Bay Sands...

We called Sasha and Tim a few minutes past 9pm, which was 2013 in Australia, to say Happy New Year.  We had to SMS Laura, as communication to Kota Kinabalu is not wonderful.  She sent a photo back, of their celebrations.
Well, the fireworks were well worth it.  

Unfortunately not great for pics, as there were so many let off that it was quite smoky. We hot footed it home and I think lights were out by 1am. A memorable night for the four of us!
So........Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We hope 2013 brings much happiness, and something off your bucket list!
Love 
Annie xxxx