Yikes it's been a long day!
Woke up at 3:30 this morning Aussie time for the drive down to Sydney Airport. Traffic's a whole lot easier when you drive through the Sydney Harbour Tunnel at 5am!
All went well at the airport, aside from having to pull my shoes off at Customs because they've got those metal clips on them. Perhaps I should've gone with my original plan of thongs...but after the walks through the terminals both here and in Sydney, I was glad I didn't.
Flight left on time, we did encounter some turbulence over western NSW & SA and then again over Java & Sumatra, but I have to say I've had much rougher rides when I've been driving.
The onboard GPS system was awesome! It doesn't feel fast on a jumbo jet...it certainly doesn't feel 900km/h! We were flying at 40,000 feet and what do you think the outside temperature is at that height? Give yourself a pat on the back if you said -55 degrees Celsius!
The reasonably new international terminal here in Singapore is massive. I said to the transfer bus driver that you could play cricket in there and he laughed...local authorities may not be amused if you decide to roll your arm over however!
Walk out the doors of the terminal and...ughhhhh. I'm sure I'll get used to it pretty quickly but it is a shock to the system walking out into 32 degrees and humid.
Riding in on the main road from Changi Airport to my hotel in the city, there were a few things I noticed. Green and lush, that's pretty obvious! But they've planted masses of bougainvilleas in all sorts of colours. As my driver explained, it's a good first impression and a good last impression.
Also the cars here are quite new - not too many old ones driving around. It seems here you pay double in car tax if you have a car that's 10 years old or more.
And it would be remiss of me not to mention the weather again. Driving in you could see dark clouds over the city, but it hasn't really lived up to its potential so far...it is raining steadily but not heavily. I'm just glad we haven't had weather like over in Seoul the last day - 295mm according to CNN!
The road in from the airport takes you over the main straight of the F1 track. Looked like a bit of activity there in pit lane already, all the teams were there. That doesn't surprise me though, they like to get here a couple of days early and set everything up. Including the motorhomes...take a look at this photo I found on the net of McLaren's "Brand Centre". Keep in mind this is a temporary structure!
While I'm getting all photographic on you, this is the view I have of the city from my hotel room - nothing special, but hey I'm just over a block to Raffles. 20 odd bucks for a cocktail - no thanks!
Well it's raining a bit heavier now and I have no idea where I'm having dinner. One thing that is guaranteed - an early night! Life works on a different timetable here because of the constant heat, so I'll probably be out of step with everyone else!
Plans for tomorrow? The sequel of "Wall Street" starts in cinemas, so I'll try and find one nearby and beat the heat. I have a ticket on the Singapore flyer and I'll probably head over there at night for some spectacular photography. Heading to the Flyer will take me past the F1 track and also my grandstand, so look out for pics of those!
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