One of the catalysts for this whole adventure of ours was my 50th birthday. I wanted to escape all the fuss and Darryl wanted an excuse for a great time. Well this birthday certainly achieved both objectives and will never be forgotten.
Friday 24th March 2017 saw us waking to muesli (again) in our um… interesting hotel Johor Bahur, Malaysia. The occasion was marked by two cups of coffee this morning – rather than the normal one. Being quite a stingy hotel we only ever got one sachet of tea and coffee each, no bathmats or hand towels unless asked for and luke warm showers.
After downing our muesli and coffee, opening my (one and only birthday card) from my sister Michelle and it was time to jump into our Uber and head back to the border bus station where we would again catch the (very cheap) bus back to Singapore. A long protracted 3 hours later (a Malaysian public holiday slowed Singapore customs down) and we were back at the Peninsula Excelsior Singapore. From the moment we stepped out of our second Uber for the day “welcome back sir” to the “oh its your birthday – here are your birthday chocolates” the day was only getting better.
Fast forward 20 minutes and the day became unforgettable once we stepped into our hotel room. Not the room at the back of the hotel overlooking the fire station this time. Not at all. Rather – one of the most amazing views from a hotel room we have ever seen. With the iconic Marina Bay Sands directly in front of us, flanked by Singapore’s other architectural wonders – the courthouse, entertainment centre, ferris wheel, cathedral and city skyscrapers we were totally mesmerized.
Whilst it was hard to tear ourselves away from the view – our stomachs were complaining so it was off to Raffles city where a great French restaurant (slightly over noodles) satisfied our hunger pains.
A birthday is perhaps the one occasion where a girl can say “lets go shopping now” and not get any complaints from her husband. So being the shopaholic I am – I used this excuse and that is what we spent the afternoon doing. Or else – Darryl was parked in a coffee shop whilst I undertook serious retail therapy.
One happy birthday girl later and it was back to our room, champagne in hand, to watch the Singapore cityscape light up. Marina Bay Sands turns on a laser light show each evening and one could not get a better view than ours. Having washed and ironed all our good clothes in readiness for our cruise the following morning – we preferred to avoid getting dressed up and instead ordered in room service.
So all – that was my 50th birthday – certainly one that will never be forgotten.
Tomorrow – its back onto another ship which we will call home for the 5 weeks it takes us to reach England.
