We did a quick 3 day trip to Singapore to obtain our new 60 day social visa. For those interested in obtaining one, see the previous blog. Before we left Jakarta, I had been in contact with a friend back in Oz who is coming up this way to visit another friend of ours. I thought we might be able to meet up in Singapore, but this was not going to happen as our travel dates didn't mesh. However, he did tell us that a good friend of ours, who we hadn't seen for years, was visiting her daughter in Singapore over the time we were going to be in town. Jackie Ayres and her husband Dave and their family were in Butterworth Malaysia with the RAAF when we were there in 1979-80. One year we both took our families on a joint holiday for a couple of weeks to Phuket in Thailand.
Before leaving for Singapore, we got in contact with Melissa, Jackie's daughter in Singapore, and made contact and plans to meet up once we had arrived. We had often talked to Melissa in Townsville in the past when she was living there, but hadn't had the opportunity to meet up with Jackie again. We really were looking forward to the reunion.
Libby and I caught a taxi to Melissa and her husband Michael's house prior to walking to a nearby restaurant for lunch. I guess we have all grown a bit older, but as is often the case with good friends, the conversation took off as if we had only seen each other the day before. that set the pace for the rest of the afternoon. No pauses or breaks in the conversation that ranged from our past memories together, our lives since, and our hopes and plans for the future. Lunch was at the 'Wine Connection' located just down the road and was delightful. After lunch Melissa and Jackie gave us a tour of the condominium complex where Melissa and her family live. Wow is an understatement. The rooftop gives 360 degree views of downtown Singapore, pools decorate the complex, and the landscaping is amazing. Later in the afternoon after coffee, Melissa and Michael's 4 children arrived home from school. They are a delight!! Hopefully we can catch up with them on our next visit to Singapore and get to know them better. We left Melissa and Jackie about 5.00pm and we promise it won't be another 30 years between meets.
Libby and I decided to walk back to our hotel in Chinatown. We wandered along the river and came to a lovely establishment called The brewwerkz. A little boutique brewery and heh, it was happy hour!! A pit stop with a couple of pints and then on our way again. We continued to wander and finally got back to the hotel around 7.00pm. We had to do some quick Skype-ing back to Oz and then out again in search of food. last visit I had promised to take her to a little area off North Bridge Rd where we had found a small food court area that looked promising. That's where we headed. the spot has outdoor tables and several food vendors. The people eating there were all chinese and the noise was incredible. The boys had been putting away a few coldies by the time we arrived and they were all very happy by then and raucous laughter was the dominant sound. Most of them were in their later years and so it was a really happy and enjoyable spot to be sitting. The food as we hoped was superb and the beer was ice-cold. What more could we want?? We decided an early night would be good as we had a lot of tasks the next morning.
As expected, next day was out of control with me running all over Singapore in search of boat parts and Libby doing her thing in Chinatown. 3.00pm saw as back at the Indonesian Embassy to collect our passports and visas, a couple of hours shopping, then to the airport to catch our flight back to Jakarta. A very busy but totally enjoyable trip