Round the World Holiday - Part Two

9^th February - 3^rd March 2014

Itinerary: Melbourne - Singapore - Penang - Dubai

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12 Feb. Melbourne. Took the cheap $5 HOHO bus. As it was a single decker I didn't take any photos, because of the dirty windows and reflections. After that, I took a cruise on the river to Williamstown and back. Then I went up the Sky Deck on the 88th floor of the Eureka building. Whilst I was there, I paid extra for the Edge. This is a glass box that juts out from the building. First I had to leave everything in a box and put on bootees over my shoes. When I went in, I was disappointed, couldn't see a thing. Then they closed the door and there was a lot of grinding and graunching noises. The box then slowly moved out from the building until it was totally exposed and we had glass on 5 of the 6 sides, the only one that hadn't, was the one with the door. We were out for about 5 minutes, then came back in. As I was over 60, I got the concession rate! They have a night market on Wednesdays in Victoria Market. So I went there for dinner. It was packed and full of hawker stalls selling food. Not as cheap as I was expecting, but great fun.

13 Feb. Melbourne. My birthday and unlike last year, it wasn't stolen! I'd brought two cards with me, one from Jan and Pete and the other from three of the ladies who are in my body conditioning class. Javon had sung a happy birthday message to me on WeChat, which I picked up when I woke up. Started the day in a prosaic way, by doing my laundry. Then I travelled the free City Circle tram. After that I went to the Melbourne Museum and saw the James Bond exhibition. As I'm old, it only cost $20 instead of $24, there is an upside to knocking on, after all. Then it was off for a gelato and the Old Melbourne Gaol. This is where Ned Kelly was hanged. I saw his first cell, his death mask, the scaffold and looked in many of the cells. I also had a tour round the Police Watch House, which is where you were taken and processed before court. There was a padded cell there. Just after I got back to my room, some chocolates and a bottle of wine was delivered, courtesy of Richard, the Executive Lounge Attendant. He didn't know it, but it was like a birthday present. Went to the casino this evening. I was looking for the $1 minimum roulette tables, but their minimum minimum was $2.50. Hey what can I say? I'm cheap! I spent $30 and won three times, so I doubled my money. I was happy!

14 Feb. Melbourne. Strolled past Parliament House and the Old Treasury Building. Then I took the free tram to Harbour Town, where I went on the Melbourne Star, a big wheel. After that I walked along the Dockside, past the 100 metre Dockside Dragon (a Chinese dragon) and walked over the Watt Bridge to the South Bank and on to Parliament House. If Parliament isn't in session, free tours are available. I took the tour. Unlike most other Parliaments in the world, you can sit in the actual seats that the legislators use. I saw both Houses and the Queens Room. I was even allowed to hold the mace, something that would be sacrilege in London.

15 Feb. Melbourne. Went to Queen Victoria Gardens and through there to the Shrine of Remembrance. I walked back along to Southbank and by the river. I was fed up with walking, as I'd done nothing but for four days, so I went to a local park, sat on a bench and read. Just as I left, it started to rain. One thing that has surprised me about Melbourne, is the number of flies. They are everywhere. You can't walk 5 steps without being pestered by one.

17 Feb. Singapore. Last time I was here, I lost my camera. So I once again went to the Sky Deck at the Marina Bay Sands hotel and took some photos. After this I walked across the bridge to the Gardens by the Bay. These are enormous and quite pretty. There are two domes, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. The former is quite cool inside and has lots of different gardens inside, Mediterranean, Californian and so on. Lots of pretty flowers. The second one is a lot taller and the first thing you see on entering, is a high waterfall. This dome is also cool and quite damp. Up on level 7 there is a walkway that's interesting. In the evening I went to Chinatown. I was expecting there to be lots of food hawker stalls, and there weren't.

18 Feb. Singapore. I went to Universal Studios today. It's a bit like HK Disney, quite small, but still fun. I did all of the rides, apart from a couple of ones for small kids. The longest I had to wait was 20 minutes, and that was on a ride which claimed the queue was 35. I met James at his hotel. He has way better views than me, he could see over Marina Bay, the cricket ground and St Andrews Cathedral. We had chilli crab for dinner and it was delicious, but very messy.

22 Feb. Penang. Off to the Bat Cave Temple, with Javon, which is built by a bat cave(!), which has a few white bats in it. Then we went to Kek Lok Si Temple which I had seen from Penang Hill last time, but never got the chance to visit. Then we drove into Georgetown and walked round Little India. Went to another temple, Hock Teik Cheng Sin, then we walked on to Chew Jetty, which consists of houses and shops built on concrete piles.

25 Feb. Penang. Went into Georgetown and visited three temples. Two Thai and one Burmese. One of the Thai temples had a huge sleeping Buddha. They were also renovating a couple of the dragons outside, and it was amazingly intricate work. There was a small statue inside one of the temples and you had to lift it twice. If it felt lighter on the second lift, you would have good luck. We also had a small yellow string bracelet tied wround each of our wrists, also for luck.

28 Feb. Dubai. Friday. Holy Day. Nothing open until late afternoon. I could hear planes during the night. When I opened the curtains this morning, I could see the airport! My hotel is in Deira, the older part of Dubai, but very close to a Metro station. The Metro that didn't open until 2pm! Being Friday, nothing opened until late afternoon. I went to see a friend and his apartment overlooks the fountains by the Burj Khalifa, a stunning view.

1 Mar. Dubai. Today I finally managed to go up the Burj Khalifa. I booked my ticket whilst I was in Melbourne and I'm glad I did, as all the slots for today and tomorrow were gone. The building is over 200 stories, but the viewing platform is on floor 124 at 452 metres. The view was amazing and got clearer as I was up there. In some ways Dubai reminds me of a cruise liner. All the people doing the hard work and serving you are foreigners, especially it seems, Filipinos and Indians