Singapore

From Gili Meno we took a boat back to Denpasar and then flew from there to Singapore. Getting off of the plane in Singapore provided us with another round of culture shock. We went from a country where just having a car was a luxury to a place where having anything but a luxury car was hard for people to accept. It is not totally surprising because Singapore has built its entire economy around buying and selling. Nothing is grown or produced in Singapore, but the country has still managed to become wealthy by acting as a middleman for a huge variety of goods that are shipped all around the world.


We spent our time in Singapore shopping, enjoying the incredible variety of food and checking out Sentosa Island. The number of shopping centers in Singapore is absolutely astounding and the number of Louis Vuitton stores was enough to boggle the mind. That was before we discovered and got lost in the six floors of electronics at Sim Lim Square.


To get a view of the whole city we went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and marveled at the number of ships anchored in the harbor.

Sentosa Island is connected to Singapore by a walkway and cable car. It is covered in resorts and theme park attractions. It is not the type of place we usually visit, but since we were there we decided to go all out and buy a day pass. It let us experience most of the attractions on the island besides Universal Studios and we had a blast feeling like a couple of kids without parents to slow us down.



We felt incredibly safe in Singapore and enjoyed riding the amazingly clean and orderly subway system, but also felt like we always had to make sure we were following the strict rules. These include being careful about chewing gum (no gum is sold in Singapore), making sure we did not litter (even accidentally) and being careful to make sure that any public toilet we used was flushed cleanly (it’s a caning offense if you do not). It’s a strange dichotomy that was good to experience.

Gili Meno

From Darwin we flew to Denpasar on the island of Bali in Indonesia. After our time in New Zealand and Australia the taxi ride from Denpasar to Ubud was an assault on our senses. It was hard for our eyes to focus as our taxi weaved through the scooter traffic using the oncoming lane as well as our own. The constant honking of horns filled our ears while the smells of sewage and delicious cooking completed the sensory overload. We were so entranced that we did not say anything to each other until the taxi stopped moving. We had a delicious meal that was a nice change from the fare we had become accustomed to over the last year and spent the evening wandering the streets trying to get used to all the new sights and sounds. 


The next day we took a boat to a small, nearby island called Gili Meno. It is an island that barely rises above sea level and is a perfect place to enjoy some sun on the beach. Most of our time was spent snorkeling, reading, relaxing or eating. The island is small enough to walk around in under two hours and it does not take long for the locals to get to know you. From our beachside bungalow on the southeast corner of the island we had a great view of the sunrise and watched pods of dolphins swim by as we ate breakfast. Except for the occasional stomach problems that came along with eating the local food it fit our definition of an island paradise.

Cairns and Darwin

From Brisbane we continued a little further north to a stop on the Sunshine Coast. We enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and incredible beaches there before continuing on. Our next stop was in Rockhampton. It is touted as the beef capital of Australia and has the rural, farming town feel to match. Another long day of driving through cane fields brought us to Townsville. It is a beautiful town with an incredible white sand beach, an active nightlife and a wonderful hill in the middle of town that provides beautiful vistas of the surrounding country. A final long day of driving through banana plantations brought us to Cairns. Townsville was definitely worth a visit but it is hard for us to recommend the drive. As one website we read said, “take a look at how long the drive from Brisbane to Cairns is and then buy an airline ticket.” 

Cairns is the stopping off point for most tourists who hope to see the Great Barrier Reef. We were no different and as soon as we got into town, tried to find a boat that would take us out to see it. Unfortunately for us it was the end of a long Easter weekend and the boats were already full. We were disappointed, but managed to have some fun by going to a BBQ where we met other travelers and tried emu, crocodile and kangaroo meat. Cairns does not have a beach for relaxing and swimming so they built a large pool called The Lagoon in a waterfront park so that people can enjoy swimming near the sea. We certainly learned a good lesson about checking holiday dates and making bookings in advance. 


We were ambitious enough to drive up the east coast, but driving to Darwin was way outside of our timeframe so we hopped on a plane. The first thing that we noticed when we landed was the incredible heat. Temperatures neared 40C with humidity over 80% and I started sweating almost immediately while Jenni glowed. The city of Darwin is pretty small without much going on in the CBD, but in the surrounding country there are some incredible national parks and an amazing variety of wildlife. We were hoping to visit Kakadu National Park but found out that the minimum time for a tour of the park was three days. We only had time to do a day tour of Litchfield National Park. The tour included a visit to see crocodiles on the Adelaide River, the magnetic termite mounds and some beautiful waterfalls.