Singapore

Wednesday/Thursday.
Flight uneventful and transfer to hotel went according to plan.
Walked around shops local to the hotel in evening and visited Raffles Hotel-very colonial. We had Singapore Slings in the Long Bar which was a must despite the cost. We later ate at a street cafe for under £2 each.
Ben bought his binoculars and then we set off to go on the Singapore Flyer (equivalent to the London Eye). It was very hot but there was a downpour on the way – see the pic which is apt given the mode of transport! We were ‘befriended’ by an Indian and his wife who insisted we shared their Singapore Flyer pod and took photos of us. We will probably be famous now throughout India! We had great views from the ‘flyer’ of Singapore City and it’s skyscrapers. Afterwards, we went on a Singapore River boat cruise and saw the statue of Raffles where he first landed in Singapore. We had our first ever iced cappuccino and caught the hopper bus, which travelled the length of Orchard Road, before dropping us near our hotel. We have just got back from China Town, which is still celebrating the Chinese New Year (metal tiger); everything is decorated and awash with colour. It was very busy and great to be a part of. We ate in China Town and had Peking duck and chilli Singapore Crab (as recommended by Patricia). We leave tomorrow evening for Auckland via Sydney and will update you when we next get hooked up to the internet.