Singapore: What I will miss

Singapore has some amazing scenery- both natural and man made.  The natural beauty makes me think of a prehistoric jungle.  There is a tree down the street from me that drop leaves that are the size of 3 of my sneakers.  We also have these huge trees that are a multitude of small trunks all clustered together.  I had my friend take a photo of me in front of one so you could see how large the trunk actually is.

 

The tropical, humid weather makes it incredibly green and lush here with unique tropical flowers. I love walking and looking at this amazing scenery.

The man made scenery downtown provides one of the most amazing skylines I have ever seen.  The Marina Bay Sands hotel with the boat/surfboard like structure on top of 3 towers is the picturesque icon in the downtown area.

Just behind this amazing building is a garden area that has these steel "trees" with vegetation growing on them and a suspended walk way around the gardens.  

Finally, occasionally I get to see this turquoise blue bird.  With a little research, I think they might be called Kingfish, but I just think when I see them I'm super lucky since they are so pretty.

The hot humid weather is a bear to deal with day in and day out, but it provides some beautiful natural scenery that makes my sweltering walks more enjoyable.  I will definitely miss this, but I know wherever I am you can find natural beauty if you take a moment to look around and appreciate it.

My neighbor took this video and it gives you a nice sense of peaceful mornings in Sembawang Singapore.

Our final Adventure from Singapore- Austalia

The girls and I headed out on our last trip to explore beyond Singapore.  Being only 8 hours away, Australia was a must do and we decided to make sure we fit it in before moving from this region.  We spent 4 days exploring Sydney.  We stayed at the Holiday Inn at the Rocks, which was the first settled area in Sydney.  Our hotel had a rooftop deck where we could get some great views overlooking the Sydney Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

We decided to splurge and do the Sydney Bridge Climb.  You walk up the bridge arch and at the top cross over to the other side to walk down.  I had actually done this walk before.  In 1999, I had gone to Australia to meet Fred's ship with another spouse and we decided to share all our meals so we could afford the Bridge Climb.  It was a unique experience and the views from the bridge are amazing.  I thought it would be a memorable thing for the girls to do and we can forever have this fantastic photo of the 3 of us.

We spent most of our 4 days touring around the city, including a bus out to Bondi Beach where we enjoyed an afternoon watching surfers withstand the cold water temps. It is winter in Sydney during our summer.  We also made it to the Sydney Fish Market and enjoyed lunch filled with fresh seafood. Seeing sights and shopping seem to always be a highlight of most our trips.  We took advantage of good prices on Ugg boots while in Australia, bringing home boots for each of us.  We had a fun photo session one evening out by the Sydney Opera house.

Following the cooler temperatures in Sydney we next headed up to Cairns for a 3 day stay that included a night on the Green Island Resort located on the Great Barrier Reef.  We had a fantastic day riding out to Green Island.  After arriving we took a snorkeling trip to see the beautiful coral and colorful fish.  I was amazed how clear the water was and how many different colors we saw.  I felt like I was in an aquarium swimming around.  The coral and fish we no more than 6 feet deep at some points.  If only we had brought an underwater camera I could have shared this spectacular sights.

For me seeing the Great Barrier Reef was an amazing experience and I'm so glad we made sure we fit in this final trip before departing South East Asia.  We've had great travel opportunities from Singapore and I now return to the US having been to 10 countries in 2 years.  I never anticipated having an opportunity like this and am grateful I experienced so much more than just Singapore.