14th – Flew to Manila to catch a connecting flight back to Boracay, Philippines for some R&R. Owing to a hectic schedule where we extended time in SE Asia and reduced the time we will spend in Oz, we were, quite simply, knackered! So, since we loved the Philippines so much and it is reasonably cheap, we returned to recuperate. So much for topping up our tans though – the weather was crap. We met Nonito Donaire though, aka the Filipino Flash, a World Champion boxer. Bonus.
20th – Flew to Kuala Lumpur via Manila to catch a bus to Melaka, the old capital, which was named after a tree. Plenty of colonial buildings and structures to view due to Dutch, Portuguese and British rule over the years. Took a one-hour tour with a tricycle tour guide, which turned into a full-on, three-hour history lesson complete with text book. We thought about ending it all during the last hour but as he possessed dual citizenship with Her Majesty’s Kingdom, through a long service in our Royal Navy, we thought it unpatriotic not to oblige a top man.
22nd – Bus to Singapore which we explored in an open-top, hop-on, hop-off tour bus. Very impressive, innovative and livable city, which is tiny in comparison to other major worldwide cities. Interestingly, Singapore was once an island of marshland foolishly rejected by Malaysia and is now a thriving city with a booming economy, whereas Malaysia is yet to receive its developed nation status and will not until at least 2020. Left the bright lights of the city for a day to visit the city’s playground of Sentosa, an island off an island where Singaporeans can go to the beach. Visited continental Asia’s most southerly point, topped up our tans and stood outside Universal Studios wishing a single entrance fee didn’t cost more than our entire daily budget. ‘Don’t care, it’s fake anyway. The real one’s in Florida.’
Where else should one partake of the Singapore Sling? At Raffles Hotel of course! Awareness of a dress code to get into the famous Long Bar ensured we dug out our glad rags. We actually looked smart, uncrumpled and worthy of a seat at the bar, but incredulity soon set in upon witnessing some of the naffly-dressed riff-raff patrons. Our conversation became fitting of the moment as we sipped our slings and threw our peanut shells on the floor, which, incidentally, is actively encouraged.
“By jove old chap, they’ll let anyone in here these days.”
“They’re probably French.”
“Long live the days of the Empire I say.”
25th – Flight to Adelaide, the start of our Australian Crusade and the end of our Far Eastern Odyssey.
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