I'm leaving on a jet plane..AGAIN

How remiss of me not to retell the tale of leaving Singapore. I had a private driver booked and despite Tricia calling them the day before and me nagging in her ear, I had a feeling he wouldn't turn up as requested and indeed he did not. The company had argued about the pick up time and Tricia was equally adamant that I wanted to shop at the airport. I guess the customer is never right.
I gave up waiting for the driver and caught a cab and made it through check in with less than an hour until boarding. I was mightily ticked off as I had a list from the "girls" about the shoes and handbags required from Charles and Keith.
I think I resembled a "Grab a shopping trolley" competition winner. I flew through that concourse looking for the shop of dreams. Roughly 30 minutes later I had purchased 7 handbags and  3 pairs of shoes. Boys and girls the duty free Charles and Keith is the fachizzle.
A small problem arose as I already had 2 large carry on bags that were heavy and unwieldy. Add to that 4 very large bags containing the shoes, handbags and M&Ms Anita had said were worth buying.
A small trolley later and I made it to the boarding gate with a few minutes to spare but had to go through another security point, now laden with 6 large bags and unable to take the trolley.
No one helped!!!
I had to go through in stages and come back to collect the bags. I looked like a drug mule as I was sweating, anxious and unsteady on my feet.
When we were called to board I was dead. Several people had asked if I had a business and was on selling. No joke.
Flight attendants are not there to assist passengers. Please disabuse yourself of this notion immediately. I did get a laugh when I announced loudly that under no circumstances should parents ever agree to go shopping for their daughters and daughter in law.
Eventually an older Pakistani man came to my rescue and as we were struggling up to the plane he took a couple of bags. "You realise they will think that I am the one who has too much luggage and they will send me back to check in my bags," he laughed. 
On the plane I had the audacity to ask a flight attendant to assist. It nearly bought the airline to a halt. Singapore airlines are not equipped to assist. In the end it took 3 attendants and 4 overhead lockers to house the bags. Awesome. I had them queuing in the aisles because no one could get past.
Now dear friends I can see the permeatations of your minds; how will I get the stuff off and through customs?
I lovely gruff Aussie block helped me to the customs point and then I had to do the bag relay again. Once again I was hot, sweaty and looking really guilty.
In the luggage hall I secured 2 trollies. Not a problem until I realised that the handles lock unless you push them down and that getting 2 trollies through a narrow aisle for baggage examination just doesn't work. I am proud to say that I held up about 100 passengers as the trollies locked wheels, until a lady behind me could stand it no longer. She put her bag on one of my trollies and wheeled her way through the traffic jam with me. Bless. I don't think I was seeing the funny side at that point but it really was worth it.
Then into the loving arms of Anita, Graham and Lilly-Jay who looked a little reluctant to claim me. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Hello whanau. Hello Perth.

RAFFLES and our last day in singapore

I decided that wake up time was 4am. No matter how much I tried it was wide awake and ready to go time. Sadly I was physically exhausted but my mind just didn't get it. The plan was to do a quick foray to the shops to find an extra bag for me to pack all of my shopping and try and persuade the airlines that it was all a big mistake, and that I couldn't possibly have so much luggage.
We decided that the acres of malls might be the place to start and indeed it was. Not only did we find a bag but we found pearls. I hade a double string bracelet made for a ridiculous price because in chinese tradition the first customer of the day is considered very lucky. I explained to the assistant that my friend was the second customer of the day and that made her most auspicious indeed. I chose a string of pearls and they were made into a double string bracelet within the hour. Most pleased.
Then it was time for Raffles and because Tricia was staying there it was royal treatment. The Rolls Royce that collected us was complete with a lovely chauffeur, moist cold hand towels, iced water etc.
Tricia's room was one of the personality suites so we sat where James Michener once sat and because I had the camera we posed in the bed, on the couches, in the bath, in the shower and at the desk. Sad to say the toilet wouldn't be one where he sat as it was too modern.
On the verandah we drank our iced lime drinks, which I must say, are now my bestest refreshing drinks especially with fresh mint.
Then I not very discretely photographed everything I could find to photograph at Raffles. Pretty crass but I just had to take advantage of being the common person what I am and get a memory of being there in every possible way. Tricia butler was just lovely. I just couldn't get up the nerve to ask the divine fellow at the entrance way to pose with me. He was such a flash back to colonial Britain.
The day was very hot as the smoke had begun to clear and the sun was blazing through.
Arab Street was hot but we were on a mission. We retraced our steps and brought something's that we had noted the day before and not paid dollars for. I was in a shopping frenzy because I knew what I wanted. It coincided with Muslim holy day so the big mosque was alive with the calls to prayer and hundreds of people going to worship. Interesting. When the mosque emptied out it was like being in the middle of Cairo.
We stopped at a lovely little cafe where we had eaten the day before and they make the best lime juice. The lady recognised us and was. Why chatty. While we ate tabouli, humus and flat bread we planned for the return to Raffles for Tiffen.
That was such a special experience as we ate our way through the tiered plates and from the buffet and listened to the harpist who was seated next to us. I don't think I could ever be part of that life but it was a very special treat thanks to Tricia.
Tricia and I parted company as she was staying there and I was leaving early the next morning.
Tricia was a lovely interlude after weeks on the road. I am so grateful that she knows how to bargain, find her way in the general direction around Singapore and knows all of the great places to shop and visit. She cannot figure out escalators however and does insist on getting off escalators at the wrong side and taking the scenic tour to the next one. She handles superior shop assistants in designer stores with a staggering sense of aplomb that has them falling over themselves to make the sale. It is a fool who gets ms munro's dander up. We laughed, and laughed and laughed over so many things that we did and saw; unfortunately we often think or say the same thing at the same time.
Back at the hotel Mandarin Orchard I didn't bother with dinner as Raffles Tiffen had done me in. And so to bed, with the intention to arise at 4.45am. I woke at 12, 2.44 and eventually gave to and got up at 3.15.
Singapore is a wonderful place to visit. The people were so friendly and helpful. Taxi drivers told us all about their naughty neighbours who light forest burn offs every year and have no respect for them and they chatted about anything else that they thought we would like to know.
The Muslim section was also very friendly and fun to be in. Not so Mustafa Centre and I'm glad to say I didn't contribute a dollar to their economy. Rude people are everywhere and I think it crosses cultures into just people being uncaring.
Photos will follow when I can solve the problem of overloading the iPad. Farewell. Singapore and thank you Jesus for blessing and keeping me safe and giving me such a fantastic time with amazing people.

Raffles Tiffin Time

view from Tricia's balcony from the James Michener Suite

Arab Street, Mustafa Centre in little India and Bugis Street.

What would you do on a hot day in Singapore? Hit the street markets with thousands of others of course. The city is full of smoke from the fires in Indonesia and the locals are mightily ticked off as it makes life difficult for them and happens annually despite protests.
Tricia knows her territory and she knows how to bargain.
Arab Steeet was such a lot of fun. They have the most beautiful fabrics; things you would never see in NZ and you would pay a fortune for if you could get it.
The vendors wanted our money but they were helpful, friendly and polite. We watched a young Arab girl buy her fabric for her two wedding dresses; one for the formal ceremony and one for the reception. Her friend was sketching the dresses in the store and the merchants calculate the material required. The people were friendly and happy to chat. One older Muslim man knew all about our earthquakes in Christchurch and was very concerned for us. He said he felt very sad when he heard it on the news.
It was hot and I was a little troubled about the availability of the eternal bog. One of the merchants let me use his loo which was clean and a proper toilet. Thank you God. Probably saying ""hallelujah" to him was not the best.
We taxied back to the hotel to drop off Tricia parcels mainly!
The next plan of attack was the Mustafa Centre in little India. Quite a different experience. They had a huge gold and silver section with mainly Indian style jewellery and it was in the thousands of $. Not my style so no gold envy. It was packed with hundreds of people shopping for food, houseware, bags, jewels . Anything you could imagine. Many of the  men there were arrogant and rude and mostly chose to ignore us when we asked questions. Tricia is great at standing her ground and letting them know that she is not putting up with nonsense. It was funny to watch. The attitude to women was noticeably different. It put me off buying anything although I may have to swallow my pride and go back to buy a bag. Dang.
We walked form there to Bugis Street which are the Chinese Markets. It was stinking hot and a long way. Many of the streets were less salubrious than the uptown parts so we saw the other side of reality.
By then I was knackered and thanks to the blood pressure meds my shoes were baking bread. I looked hideous with fat feet and canckles which caused us great mirth. Had we been caught in a famine I'm sure my feet would have provided 2 fine loaves of bread. Gross. Actually my toes looked like 10 fat sausages. Gotta laugh. At least my feet were clean. The day before, Tricia went to try on some lovely shoes and took her sandals off to discover very black feet. The girl meant to be serving her visibly paled. Wet wipes to the rescue and a very happy young man attended to her feet without once heaving.
Bugis Street was a lot poorer and a bit grubby. I couldn't be bothered looking at any more shops and as I had threatened to kill Tricia if she even suggested it we headed back, but only to hit more shops in the city.
I saw a lovely Indian shirt in British India and wondered about that for Daniel. $639. I think not. My lovely Tricia gets the "hangries" when her blood sugars drop so it was most amusing when she encountered people who couldn't give helpful directions. I think the laughing kept us going.

Singapore

The flight from Frankfurt was a bit bumpy but passed quickly. Amazing how 13 hours of your life moves on. I do love premium economy.  Thank you doctor Paul for the help of chemicals. Bless. I've seen about 8 movies I think on all of the flights and I've forgotten which ones I've watched so repeats happen. I'm now into watching Bollywood with subtitles.

Tricia was waiting for me at Changi Airport and it was lovely to hug her and get on the road together. She knows her way around Singapore which is such an advantage.

The city is full of smoke from the fires in Indonesia so at times the views are blocked out. Today is really really Baden Tuesday night we caught a cab to the marina and wat he'd the light and sound show and ate dinner at a local bbq/ satay area which was fun and delicious. It was hot but bearable. We walked around for a while but I had the speed wobbles and needed sleep.

Yesterday we caught a tourist bus and sat on the top deck in the open air. The conductor assured me it returned to the pick up point but as we passed the same place for a second time and it was no where near Orchard Road we figured all was not well. We swapped buses and spent another hour plus sightseeing a different route back. It was fantastic as we saw so much. There is still plenty of evidence of the British colonial era. It's a superb way to see any city and as we repeTed the route with slight variations we had a fantastic orientation.We passed Raffles a number of times and that's where we are having high tea on Friday. How posh.

Much of Singapore is reclaimed land and built multi story to conserve space. Shopping areas go for blocks and blocks underground with one area linking to another. Many of the stores are big brand, big name. Cartier, tiffanys, Versace. Just my thing

The aircon is great and the heat sure hits when you resurface. So we tried not to resurface and went shopping instead.

I found the shoes and handbag place Charles and Keith that Anita recommended but I'll shop at the airport to get duty free. No idea where I will carry the stuff as my bag is full and over the limit.

Tricia booked a guided tour to Changi prison where Graham's dad was a POW with the Japanese. He spoke about it once to me when I was doing a university paper and interviewed him. Sadly a few days before he died he flicked back in his mind and was once again a prisoner of war. He was terrified and fighting for his life in his mind.

The tour was disappointing. I'd forgotten that Changi is currently a high security prison where they still carry out the death penalty once a week at lunch time. Hanging seems to be the dish of the day.

All we saw of the original was one watch tower and the original gate which has been shifted. You can only see it from a distance but they are instantly recognisable from movies and photos.

The Singaporeans have not maintained the original sites of mass murders and burials and records are sketchy.

Changi airport has been extended from the original beach and there are thousands buried there somewhere. Changi Beach is also a mass murder site and there is a tiny plaque there which you can easily miss. A little way on is a small hill that is also a mass burial site. It's overgrown and unmarked. -at least 80000 chinese were slaughtered and thousands of locals as the Japanese took control.

Fred's name is not recorded and I felt quite sad about that. The records are so sketchy and the memorials are barely noticeable.
It poured with rain for a while but with our 7eleven umbrellas we soldiered on. It was still hot.
The Changi museum has very few artefacts and stories and as most of the prisoners of war in Japanese internment camps never talked about their experiences, much will be lost to the next generations. Lest we forget is already partly forgotten.
Tricia worked out the underground train route so we joined the homeward bound masses and jammed onto a couple of trains.
We treated ourselves to a lovely buffet dinner with genuine food from different ethnic chefs. The shock came with the $95 each bill.
I still can't upload the photos but I will do it in Perth so there's a sequence of things we did and saw.
Tricia can shop. We have walked the length of Singapore.  She has a great habit of walking off an escalator and then turning the wrong way so we walk miles before we get on the next one. Now I wouldn't exaggerate.
Singapore is a great city and its even better being with someone who knows their way around.
Such fun.by the time we got back to our rooms we were very Miranda Moist.

Frankfurt

The Hilton Franfurt was a nice hotel but wifi was pretty poor hence the no posts.
It took me several attempts to get to Alter Oper on the first day and get onto a tourist bus. Once that was complete with a set of earphones that kept falling out of the socket, I got a good idea of where everything was . The next day I spent all day in the city and the shops as I realised how close the hotel was to everything.
It is the district of Rolex, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel etc. a lot of Middle Eastern women were carrying bags of goodies labeled Dior etc. oh for the euro. I hadn't seen TV for weeks so was really shocked to catch up with the appalling state of refugees trying to get into Germany from Syria and other places. Poor people.
Just down the road from the designer label shops were the ones more for me. I found Diechmann and happily bought shoes then realised that my suitcase was full and on the weight already. To be honest I knew that before I bought the shoes but what the heck.
I took lots of photos but until I sort out the overload on my iPad I shan't upload them from my camera so any pics will be retrospective.
The hotel was interesting and reminded me of the old Park Royal at home with the central atrium and glass lifts. There was even a grand piano in the lobby but no one played it whilst I was there and I figured chopsticks probably wasn't a goer.
There was a lovely kind concierge who followed me for a while both days as he figured I was an airhead and would get lost. His look of consternation was hilarious when I took off in the wrong direction was lovely. He reminded me of manual on Fawlty Towers.
I was surprised at how much garbage was in the streets and what people left behind at outdoor cafes etc They let their garbage fall to the ground. Not what I would have thought of Germany.
I had a  private driver in a flash Mercedes to drive me to and from the hotel. The one who took me back to the airport was polite but a bit of a trick. He had no aircon on in the car and clearly had an upset tummy. It was 25 degrees in a confined space and when he passed wind I thought I was going to pass out. It was nasty.
He did 160 in an 80k area and when he picked up his phone to answer texts again I told him not to. Middle Eastern gentlemen are not used to being told what to do. He was most affronted but by then I didn't give a toss. He got my bags out of the car and stood hopefully with his hand half extended. I had put the euros back in my wallet so I knew his tip wasn't going to happen. He was most put out when I said thanks and have a good life. Tough I'm not paying to breathe in someone else's farts and hang on for grim life while he txt and speeds.
Franfurt was lovely. I regret not having the time to visit the museums and particularly the Jewish one. Maybe next time.

Frankfurt Hilton

LOBBY of Frankfurt Hilton

great mall on severallevels

Milwaukee to Chicago to Frankfurt

I had no idea that it was only a 20 minute flight to Chicago. Chicago is a big airport and that was my first real challenge. Fortunately the Lufthansa terminal was in the same airport just a long way away. There's no passport check and I was expecting customs and the usual how's your father. My bag was checked in from Milwaukee and it arrived in Frankfurt as requested. So far no lost bags.
I have gotten used to premium economy thanks. Leg room and service although not as good as ANZ. The flight was 8 hours and I chose not to sleep but to watch movies. I'm shattered and so far have managed to throw my shoe across the security section while 4 or 5 security persons looked astonished,  drop the contents of my bag for the passport control, lose one hotel room key and misunderstand the hotel porter who chased me up the street because I went in completely the opposite direction to where he sent me for a tourist bus. I feel pressure.
Frankfurt is another big airport but things are marked well. However after you have walked right across one terminal and down another in the opposite direction, upstairs and then downstairs and then on 3 travellaters you do begin to wonder if someone is having a laugh. Eventually I found the baggage claim and a policeman to do the passport check. At the entrance door was a little man holding a sign that read " Maarrienne Langton" bless he'd covered all the bases and could speak Italian, German and a little Spanish but NO English. Made for a fun time when I thought I had to tip him. I think he thought I was offering him an indecency and he looked most perplexed.He came into the hotel to get help to get me off him I think, but he still took my euros when he got the gist and realised I was cray cray but harmless. The Hilton Frankfurt is nice. I'm sure I was meant to be a millionaire.
The tourist bus tour was great when I finally found where the bus stopped. I looked at many beautiful sights and have no idea what they were because the headphones didn't work. I have seen where the judïche museum is but I am not sure I can find my way back to it. I would like to see that and I know I'm missing heaps. It's cold here and I froze today because I left without a jacket.
There was a beer and wine drinking street set up today and once again I could not explain what I wanted or even interpret what the dishes were so I ate a pastry that had wasps on it. I figured it must be good if they couldn't leave it alone
Not being able to speak German is a handicap for certain. I point and wave money about and so far have had foul food because I can't explain what I mean. I point and they say," oh. Da hochenstrudelfabenhusen. " I nod like an idiot and end up with something that looks like boiled cabbage in a trifle, with a butter filling.
So here I am at the cafe bar in the hotel trying to find something I recognise that doesn't sound like Offenbach mit der breihmen und schwarzthausen mittenherfen. I went for fish and chips because I recognised it on the menu. How sad is that. I hope I don't faceplate in my dinner and go to sleep.