We are now well and truly in Singapore but it's worth a recap of our takeoff at Sydney as the weather was interesting!
We boarded the flight and after only a minute or so the captain said that the air conditioning was not working properly and since it was 42C outside he was suspending boarding until the aircon was fixed. This only took 10 minutes or so and we were very comfortable. Boarding recommenced and completed with perhaps only 15 minutes lost. However!! The captain was back on the intercom very soon after all had boarded to announce a further delay. The wind had suddenly changed direction to a southerly and the temperature had dropped to 26C in a matter of minutes. (southerly winds come straight from the Antarctic in this part of the world). A queue of aircraft readying for takeoff now had to taxi back the full length of the runway to prepare for takeoff in the opposite direction. We were not yet in that queue so no extra taxiing needed but we just had to wait until all others were in place. All in all we lost about an hour but made up half of that on the flight to Singapore. Takeoff was very bumpy as we headed straight into gale force winds but after about 10 minutes it calmed down and the huge Airbus A380-800 rumbled on its way to Singapore.
We arrived at our hotel just before midnight local time, which was 3am Sydney time, so there was no hesitation in heading for bed.
Breakfast was leisurely and we had decided to spend the morning at the Gardens by the Bay and wow were they spectacular.
Part of the gardens were the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome, both of which were blissfully air conditioned and well as awesomely beautiful. It was now 32C and very humid which made walking around the gardens, and anywhere else for that matter, hard work.
The hotel we are staying in, the Fort Canning Hotel, is really lovely and the staff are impeccably efficient and charming but there is one drawback and that is a 1 km walk to the nearest station. Under normal circumstances that would be a doddle but in this heat and humidity and including a number of steps it is quite hard work.
We need a short rest back at the hotel before taking the metro to Clarke Quay and wandering along the river quays and having a very good Indian meal right by the river.
We boarded the flight and after only a minute or so the captain said that the air conditioning was not working properly and since it was 42C outside he was suspending boarding until the aircon was fixed. This only took 10 minutes or so and we were very comfortable. Boarding recommenced and completed with perhaps only 15 minutes lost. However!! The captain was back on the intercom very soon after all had boarded to announce a further delay. The wind had suddenly changed direction to a southerly and the temperature had dropped to 26C in a matter of minutes. (southerly winds come straight from the Antarctic in this part of the world). A queue of aircraft readying for takeoff now had to taxi back the full length of the runway to prepare for takeoff in the opposite direction. We were not yet in that queue so no extra taxiing needed but we just had to wait until all others were in place. All in all we lost about an hour but made up half of that on the flight to Singapore. Takeoff was very bumpy as we headed straight into gale force winds but after about 10 minutes it calmed down and the huge Airbus A380-800 rumbled on its way to Singapore.
We arrived at our hotel just before midnight local time, which was 3am Sydney time, so there was no hesitation in heading for bed.
Breakfast was leisurely and we had decided to spend the morning at the Gardens by the Bay and wow were they spectacular.
Part of the gardens were the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome, both of which were blissfully air conditioned and well as awesomely beautiful. It was now 32C and very humid which made walking around the gardens, and anywhere else for that matter, hard work.
The hotel we are staying in, the Fort Canning Hotel, is really lovely and the staff are impeccably efficient and charming but there is one drawback and that is a 1 km walk to the nearest station. Under normal circumstances that would be a doddle but in this heat and humidity and including a number of steps it is quite hard work.
We need a short rest back at the hotel before taking the metro to Clarke Quay and wandering along the river quays and having a very good Indian meal right by the river.
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