17/1/07
The flight to Singapore was great! We got premium service because we had a baby with us – we skipped the line at the baggage check-in and the air steward came around often to see if we needed anything. He was very extraverted, talking to us non-stop about babies, our plans, everything. He had a 4 month old boy himself so he unashamedly cooed over Toby.
Toby was good on the plane. He rarely whinged and he’d sit quietly on our laps and bang a toy on the tray. I gave him his first introduction to the Simpsons on my TV screen and he was fascinated. (Tee hee – another indoctrination).
James watched two documentaries (the dork): one about Andrew Denton interviewing TV Evangelists and another about the electric car. I decided to multicultural and watched a Bollywood adventure/ fantasy flick which was quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the impromptu songs throughout the film and managed to find an Indian radio station on the headset. James just rolled his eyes when he saw me bopping away in my seat to Bollywood movie tracks (at least I wasn’t singing along).
I got a thrill when we had crossed the Arafura Sea and were flying over Indonesia. We had a flight tracker on the TV that showed us where we were so I checked it whenever we passed over land to see what country we were flying over at the time.
The turbulence was unmentionable – literally. There wasn’t any. I was hoping for some rough bumps (just for kicks) so I was cheering when the captain asked us to be buckled up for some rough turbulence… nothing! And this happened twice! I’ve felt worse traveling the highway to Coona in our Lancer. The steward seemed quite mystified as to the absence of the turbulence. All he could say was, “It was there a minute ago.”
I saw this awesome jetstream of air coming off the wingtip as we were lowering through the atmosphere to Singapore. I wish I’d taken a photo of it but it probably would’ve been blurry anyway because my forehead and breath had oiled and fogged up the window.
Singapore airport was nice but I wasn’t radically impressed as James said I would be. There were guards with machine guns that I really wanted to stare at but didn’t in case they flipped out on me. Our medical kit had broken a zip on the way out so some of the contents were spewed all over the luggage belt. We hastily collected them and were mourning the loss of some pieces when we saw a box on the belt containing the missing pieces. With much rejoicing James fixed the zip and we trundled off to customs.
Singapore customs came as a huge shock. We were expecting a rigorous inspection, especially since we had such a large medical kit. We walked through the doors marked “Goods To Declare” with great trepidation and stopped in utter shock when we realized we had reached the outer area of the airport. After milling around in disbelief we finally accepted that no one was going to inspect our bags and we were free to leave.
Oh the air! As we stepped out of the air conditioning into the muggy, steamy, humid air that had to be swallowed as well as breathed we knew we had really left Australia. Rebecca Wetherton had come to meet us and we packed into her car. Poor Toby was so tired he fell asleep on my lap as we traveled through the city. There are no rules about baby seats here!
As we cruised along I noticed that all the taxis were quaint, square Toyota Crowns which I’ve never seen in Australia. We saw some utes and trucks drive past with people sitting on the back tray but I sadly learnt that only foreign labourers from local countries were allowed to do so. Boo hoo.
James and I were staying at David and Judy Twine’s which is an apartment in a lovely, posh condominium. We were so exhausted that that we went to bed after an hour of chatting and didn’t wake up till twelve hours later!
18/1/07
James and I decided to go for a leisurely stroll down Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping area (akin to Queen St in Brisbane), only a couple of streets away from the Twines’ place. The air definitely smells different from Australia and the vegetation is impossibly green! Fake green, lurid and exotic.
I took a photo of some labourers laying down on the job. Please note that the fogginess is not bad photography nor is it pollution. The air was simply so moist that it condensed on the cold lens of my camera.
We stopped by Violet Bouneparte’s shop which was filled with lovely antique Chinese furniture and decorative pieces. I saw a solid bronze lamp with a base shaped like a Samurai horse that I would have very much liked to bring home (among other things). We had a brief chat with Violet then left.
As we were browsing through an Apple computer store (checking out the MacBook for James) we heard a voice calling James. To our amazement it was an old schoolmate of James’, Matt Sills! He is the guy in the middle. He flies planes for Jetstar Asia and, had we been on the Thursday flight to Phnom Penh (which was an option) he would have been our pilot! We had a long chat with him and his friend about life, our plans and (funnily enough) their recent trip to South America. Funny because James and I are going there at the end of the year.
We just managed to avoid the afternoon downpour by hurrying back to the Twine’s. People in Singapore turn their air conditioners onto quite cold settings so it’s a shock to come off the muggy street into the shops and houses.
Tonight we walked down the street to meet the Bounepartes and ride together to the Wetherton’s for tea and the Bible class. We bought a roast chicken on the way to contribute and it was much smaller than Australian ones. It’s as if they are too impatient to let the chooks grow to full size. Or maybe it’s because they don’t stuff them with hormones and proteins.
John Bouneparte is an amusing and genial guy – a bit of a rogue all round. We rode on the bench seats in the back of his van (which we found out later was illegal). James, Miriam and I felt quite at home at the Wethertons’ and with the Singapore ecclesia as a whole: we chatted long over the dinner table then did the Bible readings and had discussion. We didn’t leave till about 10:30pm. Rebecca went out onto the street in front of their house to hail a cab and within 10 seconds called out “Got one” as if she had plunged her rod into a stream and immediately hooked a fish. This necessitated a scurry to get ready, say farewell and be out the door.
We nodded to the security guard as we caught the lift upstairs at the Twine’s. Another late night for the Rasmussens.
19/1/07
We slept in again today though not as late as yesterday. Judy Twine and her younger daughter, Hannah, were out and about and brought Miriam and Toby plus paraphernalia to the apartment. After sitting around chatting for a while and eating lunch, we went down to Orchard Road to look for some cloth nappies (which only come in useless muslin form). It was a hot day and by the time we had walked all the way o a huge central shopping centre we were so weary that we caught a taxi back.
John Bouneparte and his daughter, Sam, came to take us to the airport. We barely fit ourselves and all our gear into his van. James, Sam and I were crammed into the back with the multitudes of luggage. We were surprised at how slow the Singapore baggage check-in was. Sure, we had stacks of belongings but we think the clerk must have been a trainee because she kept needing instructions and took sooo long! Toby got a bit whingy and had to be entertained. We were more easily amused by the ease and nonchalance by which the service desk girls strolled all over the moving luggage conveyor belts.
After checking in, we had some time so we wandered around the vastness of Terminal 1. Although weary, we walked for miles trying to decide where to eat. I definitely sank into the seats with gratitude.
When we were sitting waiting to board, a girl from Vietnam on our flight took one look at Toby and raced over to stroke him and coo over him and eventually ask to hold him… all while Miriam was trying to feed him. She then proceeded to kiss him all over while I managed to snag one of the free internet computers that I had been keeping a beady eye on. I didn’t get long to check my email before people traveling with babies were called to board. Jetstar is a budget airline: no inflight entertainment, no bassinet for Toby and the food cost money. I did a crossword till we landed.
Phnom Penh is not a big city. It takes about 30 minutes max to cross and contains a little over 1 million people (which is tiny by Asian standards). The airport is small but tasteful – definitely not shabby. After descending and ascending several stairs we came to the visa registration counter. The applications took ages to fill out and needed a passport size photo, many details (some of which we had to make up), cost US$25 and last for a mere month.
Our visas then had to be scanned by customs, a webcam photo taken and the many papers signed and stamped. Talk about rigmarole! We were stumbling by the time we collected our luggage, past through “Goods To Declare” (again unchecked) and met Michael out in the carpark.
Once again the Asian heat and smell tried to stifle us. Thankfully, Michael had hired the hotel’s minibus to fetch us so we let the porter stuff our bags in and off we went. I couldn’t look enough places at once. Everything over here is so different to Australia. Most of the vehicles on the roads are motorbikes, hardly anyone wears helmets and nobody seems to obey any road rules besides:
- honk your horn if you want people to move out of the way
- the biggest vehicle has right of way
- weave around any obstacle in your way even if it means crossing into incoming traffic and
- expect others to weave around you if you are crossing traffic.
The streets are dusty and, although mostly clean swept, have little piles of rubbish everywhere. Cambodians string up a hammock anywhere, plonk a shrine wherever it fits and set up shop anywhere it seems profitable. The sidewalks are used as carparks, shops, eateries, bedrooms… anything but actually walking on. People just seem to wander the streets.
Everyone is very friendly. Already I’ve had lots of people on motorbikes smile, wave and laugh as they drive past us. A group of four boys on a single motorbike drove past grinning multiple times all the way into the city proper where they peeled off through incoming traffic onto a side street. Even little children ride on the motorbikes held in their parents’ arms. Women tend to ride sidesaddle which Miriam and I intend to try out once we get comfortable on the back of a moto (motorbike taxi).
Michael reported his many trials, triumphs and amusing tales on the journey and during the small meal we had at the hotel. We then flopped onto Michael’s bed to chat until fatigue drove us like lemmings into bed.
Miranda
The flight to Singapore was great! We got premium service because we had a baby with us – we skipped the line at the baggage check-in and the air steward came around often to see if we needed anything. He was very extraverted, talking to us non-stop about babies, our plans, everything. He had a 4 month old boy himself so he unashamedly cooed over Toby.
Toby was good on the plane. He rarely whinged and he’d sit quietly on our laps and bang a toy on the tray. I gave him his first introduction to the Simpsons on my TV screen and he was fascinated. (Tee hee – another indoctrination).
James watched two documentaries (the dork): one about Andrew Denton interviewing TV Evangelists and another about the electric car. I decided to multicultural and watched a Bollywood adventure/ fantasy flick which was quite amusing. I especially enjoyed the impromptu songs throughout the film and managed to find an Indian radio station on the headset. James just rolled his eyes when he saw me bopping away in my seat to Bollywood movie tracks (at least I wasn’t singing along).
I got a thrill when we had crossed the Arafura Sea and were flying over Indonesia. We had a flight tracker on the TV that showed us where we were so I checked it whenever we passed over land to see what country we were flying over at the time.
The turbulence was unmentionable – literally. There wasn’t any. I was hoping for some rough bumps (just for kicks) so I was cheering when the captain asked us to be buckled up for some rough turbulence… nothing! And this happened twice! I’ve felt worse traveling the highway to Coona in our Lancer. The steward seemed quite mystified as to the absence of the turbulence. All he could say was, “It was there a minute ago.”
I saw this awesome jetstream of air coming off the wingtip as we were lowering through the atmosphere to Singapore. I wish I’d taken a photo of it but it probably would’ve been blurry anyway because my forehead and breath had oiled and fogged up the window.
Singapore airport was nice but I wasn’t radically impressed as James said I would be. There were guards with machine guns that I really wanted to stare at but didn’t in case they flipped out on me. Our medical kit had broken a zip on the way out so some of the contents were spewed all over the luggage belt. We hastily collected them and were mourning the loss of some pieces when we saw a box on the belt containing the missing pieces. With much rejoicing James fixed the zip and we trundled off to customs.
Singapore customs came as a huge shock. We were expecting a rigorous inspection, especially since we had such a large medical kit. We walked through the doors marked “Goods To Declare” with great trepidation and stopped in utter shock when we realized we had reached the outer area of the airport. After milling around in disbelief we finally accepted that no one was going to inspect our bags and we were free to leave.
Oh the air! As we stepped out of the air conditioning into the muggy, steamy, humid air that had to be swallowed as well as breathed we knew we had really left Australia. Rebecca Wetherton had come to meet us and we packed into her car. Poor Toby was so tired he fell asleep on my lap as we traveled through the city. There are no rules about baby seats here!
As we cruised along I noticed that all the taxis were quaint, square Toyota Crowns which I’ve never seen in Australia. We saw some utes and trucks drive past with people sitting on the back tray but I sadly learnt that only foreign labourers from local countries were allowed to do so. Boo hoo.
James and I were staying at David and Judy Twine’s which is an apartment in a lovely, posh condominium. We were so exhausted that that we went to bed after an hour of chatting and didn’t wake up till twelve hours later!
18/1/07
James and I decided to go for a leisurely stroll down Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping area (akin to Queen St in Brisbane), only a couple of streets away from the Twines’ place. The air definitely smells different from Australia and the vegetation is impossibly green! Fake green, lurid and exotic.
I took a photo of some labourers laying down on the job. Please note that the fogginess is not bad photography nor is it pollution. The air was simply so moist that it condensed on the cold lens of my camera.
I smiled at everyone we passed, as is my custom, and noticed that only westerners and labourers smiled back. There is a huge variety of Asian, Pacific and Indian people in Singapore. This is reflected in the types of food one can get. I ate my first Asian meal in an Asian country today! Roast chicken noodle with cabbage and barley water to drink. My stomach definitely identified the food as of non-Australian origin – it didn’t feel the same going down. We ate with chopsticks and a spoon and managed quite well. James was right about the smells… potent, fishy, spicy and permeating the air. Apparently Vietnam is ten times as potent!
We stopped by Violet Bouneparte’s shop which was filled with lovely antique Chinese furniture and decorative pieces. I saw a solid bronze lamp with a base shaped like a Samurai horse that I would have very much liked to bring home (among other things). We had a brief chat with Violet then left.
As we were browsing through an Apple computer store (checking out the MacBook for James) we heard a voice calling James. To our amazement it was an old schoolmate of James’, Matt Sills! He is the guy in the middle. He flies planes for Jetstar Asia and, had we been on the Thursday flight to Phnom Penh (which was an option) he would have been our pilot! We had a long chat with him and his friend about life, our plans and (funnily enough) their recent trip to South America. Funny because James and I are going there at the end of the year.
We just managed to avoid the afternoon downpour by hurrying back to the Twine’s. People in Singapore turn their air conditioners onto quite cold settings so it’s a shock to come off the muggy street into the shops and houses.
Tonight we walked down the street to meet the Bounepartes and ride together to the Wetherton’s for tea and the Bible class. We bought a roast chicken on the way to contribute and it was much smaller than Australian ones. It’s as if they are too impatient to let the chooks grow to full size. Or maybe it’s because they don’t stuff them with hormones and proteins.
John Bouneparte is an amusing and genial guy – a bit of a rogue all round. We rode on the bench seats in the back of his van (which we found out later was illegal). James, Miriam and I felt quite at home at the Wethertons’ and with the Singapore ecclesia as a whole: we chatted long over the dinner table then did the Bible readings and had discussion. We didn’t leave till about 10:30pm. Rebecca went out onto the street in front of their house to hail a cab and within 10 seconds called out “Got one” as if she had plunged her rod into a stream and immediately hooked a fish. This necessitated a scurry to get ready, say farewell and be out the door.
We nodded to the security guard as we caught the lift upstairs at the Twine’s. Another late night for the Rasmussens.
19/1/07
We slept in again today though not as late as yesterday. Judy Twine and her younger daughter, Hannah, were out and about and brought Miriam and Toby plus paraphernalia to the apartment. After sitting around chatting for a while and eating lunch, we went down to Orchard Road to look for some cloth nappies (which only come in useless muslin form). It was a hot day and by the time we had walked all the way o a huge central shopping centre we were so weary that we caught a taxi back.
John Bouneparte and his daughter, Sam, came to take us to the airport. We barely fit ourselves and all our gear into his van. James, Sam and I were crammed into the back with the multitudes of luggage. We were surprised at how slow the Singapore baggage check-in was. Sure, we had stacks of belongings but we think the clerk must have been a trainee because she kept needing instructions and took sooo long! Toby got a bit whingy and had to be entertained. We were more easily amused by the ease and nonchalance by which the service desk girls strolled all over the moving luggage conveyor belts.
After checking in, we had some time so we wandered around the vastness of Terminal 1. Although weary, we walked for miles trying to decide where to eat. I definitely sank into the seats with gratitude.
When we were sitting waiting to board, a girl from Vietnam on our flight took one look at Toby and raced over to stroke him and coo over him and eventually ask to hold him… all while Miriam was trying to feed him. She then proceeded to kiss him all over while I managed to snag one of the free internet computers that I had been keeping a beady eye on. I didn’t get long to check my email before people traveling with babies were called to board. Jetstar is a budget airline: no inflight entertainment, no bassinet for Toby and the food cost money. I did a crossword till we landed.
Phnom Penh is not a big city. It takes about 30 minutes max to cross and contains a little over 1 million people (which is tiny by Asian standards). The airport is small but tasteful – definitely not shabby. After descending and ascending several stairs we came to the visa registration counter. The applications took ages to fill out and needed a passport size photo, many details (some of which we had to make up), cost US$25 and last for a mere month.
Our visas then had to be scanned by customs, a webcam photo taken and the many papers signed and stamped. Talk about rigmarole! We were stumbling by the time we collected our luggage, past through “Goods To Declare” (again unchecked) and met Michael out in the carpark.
Once again the Asian heat and smell tried to stifle us. Thankfully, Michael had hired the hotel’s minibus to fetch us so we let the porter stuff our bags in and off we went. I couldn’t look enough places at once. Everything over here is so different to Australia. Most of the vehicles on the roads are motorbikes, hardly anyone wears helmets and nobody seems to obey any road rules besides:
- honk your horn if you want people to move out of the way
- the biggest vehicle has right of way
- weave around any obstacle in your way even if it means crossing into incoming traffic and
- expect others to weave around you if you are crossing traffic.
The streets are dusty and, although mostly clean swept, have little piles of rubbish everywhere. Cambodians string up a hammock anywhere, plonk a shrine wherever it fits and set up shop anywhere it seems profitable. The sidewalks are used as carparks, shops, eateries, bedrooms… anything but actually walking on. People just seem to wander the streets.
Everyone is very friendly. Already I’ve had lots of people on motorbikes smile, wave and laugh as they drive past us. A group of four boys on a single motorbike drove past grinning multiple times all the way into the city proper where they peeled off through incoming traffic onto a side street. Even little children ride on the motorbikes held in their parents’ arms. Women tend to ride sidesaddle which Miriam and I intend to try out once we get comfortable on the back of a moto (motorbike taxi).
Michael reported his many trials, triumphs and amusing tales on the journey and during the small meal we had at the hotel. We then flopped onto Michael’s bed to chat until fatigue drove us like lemmings into bed.
Miranda
Comments
Cant see the photos.
And i've asked michael to send me the xml link for Google Earth but he hasnt yet... so if you get a chance... either post the xml or even the longitude and latitude...
I had a quick look round Cambodia on GE... looks nothing like what i imagined.
Love you to you both from the Rossows.