Day one

So... we're here in our hotel in Singapore. Our flight was OK - it was initially was quite exciting as we were on one of those new planes the A380 which (according the resident plane-buff aka Mark) is quite a big deal. It was pretty flash and the in-flight entertainment was pretty cool - pretty much every kind of music you could want, movies, TV shows (inc. a series of The Simpsons which I've not seen) and a "sky-cam" which shows the view from the tail of the plane. We could actually see the curvature of the Earth. Anyway, the excitement soon wore off after 3 hours and I began to wish I hadn't let Mark have the window seat as I was left sitting next to a fat smelly guy with the inter-personal skills of a gnat. He obviously had a bladder of steel too as he only went twice in 13 hours and gave me evil looks everytime I had to go. Well, matey, if you don't like getting up then don't sit in the bloody isle seat.

First impressions of Singapore are definately good. It's so hot here it's unbelievable - cloudy and muggy but still over 30 degrees. The humidity is like nothing I've ever experienced before. My hair isn't a big fan, it has to be said. We got here too early to check in so we left our bags and went for a wander around Chinatown and had some pretty good chicken noodles - which I ate with chopsticks (go me!). It certainly seems to be a beautiful city and everyone is very friendly. We found a row of massage places which do 60min foot massages for $30 (approx. £13) so we shall definately be going there after a hard day's shopping.

Our hotel is like something out of an acid trip (albeit a very good one) - imagine a concrete block with acid yellow perspex all over it with a spangly marble floor and flouresent pink reception. Our room is orange, green and grey and the bathroom is tiled floor to ceiling in orange and lime green - certainly not good for being drunk in. It's actually pretty cool - google Hotel Re! Singapore if you're interested. Aaaaannnddd the best part is that we got upgraded to a deluxe suite which means we have dressing gowns and L'Occitane freebies :-). We made friends with the Concierge who was absolutely fab and showed us where to go and where not to go. Rather than a subtle handshake though, the poor guy got a very un-subtle "here you go mate" $10 bill shoved in his face. Mark may need to work on his casual tipping style.

Anyway, after a 24 hour day - we're going to have a sleep then hit the town later this evening.

Hope you're all well,

Love Siobhan and Mark xxxx