21-22 August -Singapore

21 August (Flight to Singapore)

This morning we wandered around our local area of Rome (Piazza Republica) to fill in few hours before we left for Singapore via Frankfurt. Maurie was keen for Leigh to buy a couple of racy little dresses he had seen on our first day, so we left them to it and wandered off own the road for an hour and met up for coffee.

We returned to our rooms about 1.30pm, said goodbye to Maria, our host, and then set off to Rome Airport. As our flight did not leave until 6.30pm, we had a few hours to kill in the very hot lounge area.

Flight to Frankfurt went well and connection to Singapore was almost immediate. From Frankfurt to Singapore was an 11-hour flight that seemed endless, very little sleep, and Lufthansa lanes definitely have less room between seats than Air NZ.

We arrived in Singapore around 4.00pm and caught shuttle to our hotel, Park Royal in Beach Road. Nice hotel, but we were given a smokers room, so arranged to move out the next day. The smell in the room made it difficult to sleep, so both woke feeling sleep deprived. In the evening we went to a local restaurant that was strongly recommended by an ex-pat sitting with a friend outside (sounded Australian) who said he had been coming to this place for ages. He was right. The woman running the place was very helpful with menu selection and the food was a delicious mix of Chinese dishes that we all shared.