Day 7

A late start after our late night. Corking weather again, we took a walk through Hyde Parks to the barracks. The building houses an exhibition about convict life and the prison ships they arrived on.

Had delicious lunch at an Italian then headed back to hotel to prepare for New Years eve.

By the time we arrived on Circular Quay, the public areas were already full and it was only 5 p.m.! Drinking in public areas was banned for the day but people were sitting around with picnics and parasols as it was so warm .

After several unhelpful instructions from stewards we found our way to the Opera Bar queue and managed to bag the best seats in the house, right on the harbour wall when the doors opened.

Started drinking immediately (as you do) and chatted to all sorts - Danes, Scots, Americans and Kiwis. Great camp entertainment as per the disco theme with plenty of cheesy tunes we'd not heard for years. Drag queens, girls on roller skates and guests dressed up in lairy 70's get up.

The family fireworks started at 9 p.m. followed by more eating and drinking.

At midnight the main event commenced with five million dollars worth of pyrotechnics going off from the bridge, tops of skyscrapers and barges, watched by a million and a half people. The boats in the harbour were all illuminated and it was pretty stunning.

Finally safe to leave our privileged position by the wall and put on our dancing shows for a couple of hours before stumbling back to hotel about half two in the morning. A memorable night!

Day 6

After waking later than usual, we had a complimentary breakfast since our room safe wasn't working then caught the open top bus to Circular Quay. Really warm day and no shade where we were sitting. Still can't complain having heard the weather in Blighty.

Booked ourselves on the 1.30 p.m. Sydney ferry sightseeing cruise and took a stroll around The Rocks for an hour beforehand.

Ferry left half an hour late since a member of the crew must have been having a lie-in but we went as far east as Shark Island and as far west as Goat Island (but saw neither goats nor sharks!). Some of the waterfront houses were fantastic especially the glass fronted modern ones.

Following the boat trip we bought tickets for the 5.45 p.m. Sydney Opera House backstage tour and had some time to spare so walked through the botanical gardens. Saw some unusual wildlife including cockatoos and trees full of flying foxes which are like big scary bats.

Both sat in Lady McQuarrie's chair for a peaceful view of the Opera House and the bridge. Walked back through the gardens to commence our SOH tour.

Had a sit inside both major concert halls and an impromptu performance from a comedy band warming up for an event.

Went and (eventually) found the location of the Cafe Sydney restaurant so we knew where it was when we needed it on a future date.

Walked all the way from Circular Quay to the cinema in George Street to see the 'Australia' film. Somehow seemed more appropriate than seeing it in Cardinal park, Ipswich.

Finished at 11.30 p.m. and grabbed a slice of pizza on the way back to hotel after a long day.

Came back to several texts telling me that Paul Jewell the Derby manager had resigned following another embarrassing defeat against Ipswich. How apt.

Day 5

Woke at 6 a.m. as all this travelling is playing havoc with our body clocks. We were out by 9 a.m. to catch the city sightseeing tour, staying on the bus for a 90 minute full circle.

Got off at the Town Hall and walked the short distance to Darling Harbour for a nacho lunch and then joined the ques for the Wildlife World and Aquarium.

Saw many native species such as kangaroos, koalas, reptiles, sharks fish and a dudong which is like a sea cow. Unfortunately the platypus was having a lie in (probably had jet lag too).

Back to the hotel for a quick change and then to Sydney Tower for dinner. Amazing views from the revolving al a carte restaurant, we felt dead posh!

Walked back to The Stellar via Hyde Park and saw several possums.

Day 4

The next part of our adventure begins.

Left for the airport at 6.45 a.m. for our flight to Sydney.

Arrived at 8.20 p.m. and found The Hotel Stellar and went for a walk and a massive burger before bed. Not much to report today.

Day 3

Woke up to a bright clear blue sky. Took the City sightseeing bus and toured the city. We saw the Singapore Flyer (the world’s largest observation wheel) on the ‘city route’, before doing the ‘heritage route’.

Hopped off at Chinatown for lunch. Sue had the most delicious laksa and the whole meal was less than £7. Hopped off again at The Esplanade to see the ‘wish balloons’ on the water. People wrote messages on the balloons, thousands of which were floating on the water waiting to be released on New Years Eve.

Onto Clarke Quay for a riverboat tour in the sunshine, stopping briefly for a disgusting Turkish ice cream (or so it was described to us. More like play dough!)

Returned to the hotel for a brief rest before setting off in a coach to the ‘Night Safari’ where we saw elephants, deer, giraffes, lions, tigers etc all in dim light to view their nocturnal activities.

We made sure we were back at the meeting point on time but our rep and the rest of the coach party were nowhere to be seen and the bus was gone!

Managed to get a public bus back to the city but there were no seats left so had to sit cross legged on the floor for 45 minutes.

Dropped us off at the hotel and Orchard Road was spectacularly illuminated by the Christmas lights.

There was a Tapas bar next door so we had a drink and nibbles before collapsing in bed after an eventful day.

Day 2

The start of our Asian / Australasian adventure.

Arrived in Singapore at 8.00 a.m. after what felt like a very quick 12 hour flight due to the great in-flight entertainment!

Checked into The Orchard Hotel and wandered along Orchard Road while we waited for our room to be prepared.

Singapore very humid but overcast. We slept for a few hours before returning to the city streets for the afternoon and evening.

First stop was The Raffles Hotel, a handsome and tranquil colonial building which commanded a real sense of respect. We went to the Long Bar and sat on a sofa drinking the obligatory Singapore Slings while munching on monkey nuts. The shells of these littered the whole floor giving a crunchy effect when you walked!

After paying the outrageous but not entirely unexpected bill, we left t explore further.

Visited Bogis market and bought a cheap watch each before going to Little India for dinner. A hot curry was in hindsight not the best idea in such warm conditions.

We’d heard about the Mustafa Shopping Centre but it was full of cheap, tacky products and far too many people so we left and took a taxi back to the hotel.

Day 1

Christmas Day like no other!

Departed Heathrow at 11.15 a.m. and arrived in Singapore Boxing Day morning.

You would never have known it was Christmas Day on the flight - Santa wasn't flying the plane, there were no sprouts and the Queens speech wasn't shown on the TV. Perfect (well apart from the lack of sprouts).