Singapore - The final chapter..

With our unexpected journey to Singapore coming to an end I just thought that I would bring you up to date on Bill's time 'in hospital' as well. As you can imagine, especially in the early days, he spent most of the time waiting beside the bed for me to wake up. As I improved he was able to venture out a bit mainly to try to find something to eat and to find coffee. Something I didn't taste for about 12 days. I only managed to drink a half cup the first time but my goodness it was wonderful. So with me on the mend there was no need for Bill to stay indoors and go stir crazy so I sent him off on missions to photograph bits of Singapore and come back to entertain me each night.

The first day he spent the afternoon at the Botanical Gardens. Lots of tropical plants, very colourful tropical birds, lizards & little squirrel things. The pictures were great and it was so good to see them. The day after next he went off to the Bird Park. We had been there last time so he had an idea of the bits he wanted to see. Another very productive day with the most amazing birds you can find. Some are so colourful you think they can't be real. Two days later he went to Fort Canning. An historic park dating back 700 years it is a green oasis in the middle of one of the busiest shopping areas. Lots of old buildings and once the home of the first botanical gardens, it now managed to keep Bill entertained for the afternoon.

Sunday morning dawned and after being free of tubes for over 24 hours now, the Dr said that as I was going home the next day that I could be given home leave and go out with Bill for the afternoon. Yippee, freedom! I signed my temporary release and headed off downstairs to catch a taxi to see Singapore's newest attraction. We went to the Sky park. When we were here last time a huge complex was being built. Now finished the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is a 3 tower hotel 56 stories high and joined across the top by what looks like a huge skateboard. This rooftop is a Sky park with the most amazing views of Singapore you will ever see. It was raining when we arrived but we just sat inside for a while and waited and finally we were rewarded with some fine weather. As it is only new it is not all finished yet but still it was well worth the cost of admission to go up and see the view from the top of the world. I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or not but once we arrived at the counter to buy our tickets the lady took one look at me and offered Bill the Seniors price for me. How rude! As it turned out we were both Seniors, over 55, so it was a good thing really. Our first Seniors Discount.

Once back down on the ground we took a walk through the arcade that is full of shops and restaurants and finally settled on a nice little bar/coffee shop for the hot chocolate. Wow, so big and very nice. Such an amazing venue and just so many people there the whole time. On the other side of the road is the new Casino and Exhibition Centre. And as we discovered as it was being built last time it is all on reclaimed land as a lot of Singapore is. It truly is a amazing city. Still I was quite happy to head home to my little ward after an afternoon of excitement.

Monday morning gave us the news we were waiting for. Flights were booked and we could go at 3.00pm. Got my final instructions from the Dr who was very happy with my progress, said goodbye to all the nurses, signed my final release and we left for the long ride home. At the airport we were able to check in early and spend the next couple of hours in the lounge. We left on time and had a comfortable trip home. I can recommend Premium Economy as the way to travel. Being used to disturbed nights in hospital I was able to get a few hours sleeps between toilet stops. Bill not so lucky spending most of the night awake.

We had a bit of a wait for our luggage in Melbourne but it wasn't long before we had cleared customs, such a cute little beagle, and were on our way home again. It was so good to see our little apartment after so long. A quick unpack and then we both crawled into bed for a few hours. Over the next couple of days we have got everything washed, dried and put away again. I have a followup with my Dr tomorrow so will have a better idea of when I will be sent back to work. Probably 2 or 3 weeks.

So once again my tale comes to an end. A slightly different holiday adventure to what we were hoping for but we are both home again, safe & well once more. I will talk to most of you over the next few weeks and just now want to thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers over the last couple of weeks. We both appreciate how kind you all are to us.

Nothing left to say now except until next time.............