Walking in Sydney

A Jacaranda in the Heart of Sydney

Up and out! I have a feeling that is going to be our motto for much of this trip. A good morning walk left us feeling, if not healthier, certainly self-righteous. And what a beautiful morning it was with the sun shining and the Jacaranda in glorious bloom.

Walking is always so much more interesting when you are in a city. For example, we walked down Clarence Street and just opposite the site of what was once the old Wynyard Military Barracks, almost crushed between and dwarfed by larger buildings and current construction we found a gem of a small building dating from the 1880s. With a frontage less than three metres wide, it is now a shop and, unfortunately, time was not available to find out more about it. Continuing our walk up Clarence Street and nearing the approach to the Harbor Bridge, we passed St. Philip's Anglican Church which was started in the 1840s. It has lovely gardens around it. In fact, the Sydney CBD is blessed with numerous little garden areas and long may they flourish. They keep the city from being all glass, stone, steel and concrete.

In all fairness, there are some pretty awful buildings in Sydney as well. One example, in York Street, is what was once a neo-gothic building on top of which has been added a number of very modern stories. It always makes me think of a really bad wedding cake!

As always we got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. There has obviously been a lot of work done recently on the airport and it is better than it used to be. I mention this simply because later today we will be in one of the great airports of the world at Changi in Singapore. One particularly interesting thing at the Sydney airport is a "play" wall; a wall which contains several large-scale play boards for small children such as those made by Fisher-Price which parents frequently hang on the sides of their children's cots.

As usual we flew with Singapore Airlines which has become our airline of choice in recent years. We like the level of service and the quietly unobtrusive way in which the cabin crews work. We also like the fact that there seems to be a "toilet fairy" on board since it doesn't matter when, during the flight, you go to the toilets, they are always spotlessly clean. After about five hours of flying over Australian territory, we were out of the country and on our way to Singapore. Three films, two meals, a couple of drinks and a couple more hour of what seems like interminable boredom and you touch down in Singapore. Oh Well, better a boring flight than one that offers too much excitement and, after all, we consider ourselves only in training for the marathon flight yet to come. It is a question of, as the French say, "patientez".

In Singapore we usually stay in the Ambassador Hotel which is situated in the Transit Lounge.  This means that our bags go on to London and all we have with us is our hand luggage. In the morning, after a night's rest, we can walk down to our departure gate and aboard the plane.  No immigration, no customs -  bliss!! Changi airport is remarkable.  Every year when the airline industry selects the best terminals Changi either wins or is second.  It is composed of three huge, multi-level terminals with all the "mod cons." A fourth terminal is currently under construction.  The terminals are beautifully decorated with fresh flowers and there is even a butterfly garden in Terminal 3.  Filled with wall-to-wall shops, you can find all of the great labels without leaving the airport.  Indeed, we sometimes wonder why people go into Singapore to shop when they can get just about everything at the airport.  Do you need a Doctor?  Each of the four terminals has a medical clinic with links to major Singapore hospitals.  Do you want a new computer, or a new suit, new luggage or some high-end-label clothing?  It is all available in the airport terminals.  And, as elsewhere in Singapore, the name of the game is "service."

We had two clear examples of Singapore service.  Imagine, if you will, that your mobile phone has run out of power and needs a recharge.  There are free recharging machines throughout the terminals.  Not only can they recharge mobile phones, they can recharge MP3 players, cameras and a range of other devices.  The other example was when we walked out of a shop and we were asked by a member of the terminal's staff to answer a few questions about our shopping experience.  We were happy to do so since we knew we could answer almost any question with "excellent."  Nonetheless, we felt as if the answers to the questions would be followed up with some discussion with any merchants who were not providing the level of service that was expected. Whilst all of this is great for us as tourists or as people passing through, there is a distinct sense of "granny state" mentality in Singapore.

Changi Airport Terminal 3

And so to bed...