Goodbyes and Singapore

And so the crazy journey of the Fully’s Down Under moves on. We are on the move again and looking forward to all that the next 12 months will bring.

Back in 2014 when we decided to move back to NZ it was under one strict proviso from Holly: “as long as we don’t go to Christchurch”. Well it looks like we conquered that one and are all the better for it. The last couple of weeks have been tough, saying farewell to friends and colleagues who have been a part of us achieving so much during our two years in Canterbury. We arrived with a baby, a pre-schooler, a stay-at-home mother and a trainee gastroenterologist. We leave with an incredibly cheeky and beautiful pre-schooler, a flourishing primary schooler who will be deeply missed by his friends, a successful mother/wife/baby sleep consultant whom the whole community will miss, and a fully-fledged gastroenterologist ready to embark on the rest of his career. Pretty successful times if I do say so myself. And so every good journey begins tinged with sadness at what we have left behind, and with massive thanks to everyone who has made the last two and a half years so special. But as always (especially in the Facebook era) it is never good bye, only until the next time (ore the next post, like, emoji……)

And so I write this from a hotel in Singapore, a bit more luxurious than many of the venues on the One Big Skive, but as ever, our accommodation is here for sleeping whilst we get out and explore, and in 48 hours here we have perhaps had two of our favourite days as a family and re-invigorated Holly and my sense of adventure as to what we can achieve as a family before the kids get to grumpy to come on holiday with us. 

Today was Singapore Zoo, which comes with an outstanding reputation, and fully lived up to it – from the free ranging tamarin monkeys and lemurs just inside the front door, to the beautiful aviaries and an outstanding kids play area. The kids managed five and a half hours despite being up at the crack of dawn, and walked most of it, even though we had the buggy for Ellie. I did 8000 steps, you can probably double that for the kids! Freddie managed to get on-stage during the Animal Friends Shows and informed the handler that he was Freddie from New Zealand “with an I E, not a Y!!” – Brilliant, what a star! Ellie’s favourite animals were definitely the giraffes.

Yesterday was equally spectacular, I did >10000 steps and again, Freddie might have done double. We spent the morning at the Gardens in the Bay – slightly underwhelmed by the tree-top walkway but absolutely amazed by the cloud forest dome which charts the ecosystem as one moves up the sides of a tropical mountain in incredible detail, whilst delivering environmental messages on the fragility of such habitats – without any doubt one of the best man-made exhibitions I’ve ever been to. 

Cue the obligatory charging around the water play area to cool off and then onwards to the Marina Bay Sands Mall and the DC Superhero’s Café that Freddie has been looking forward to for weeks – his Batman themed chocolate desert did not disappoint.

In the afternoon/evening we had the pleasure of catching up with a friend from the One Big Skive. We met Taran on our African overland trip and have stayed in touch through the dreaded FB, but again its proved its worth. When she heard we were visiting she offered to take us for an explore and out for dinner, which was fabulous, and such a joy to show the benefits of travelling, and meeting all those people along the way, to the kids. 

She took us through the markets and stalls of Little India, where our own “Little Princess” demanded a new dress from Daddy – the sign of things to come. We visited the local temple, where the kids sat entranced at the ceremony taking place and into her family home to meet her beautiful daughter. Then out to a local street food market for Singapore Chilli Crab, Sting-Ray Sambal and many other delights - such a treat. And throughout all of this, despite the lack of sleep the kids have been excited, polite, entranced and energetic as ever – two very proud parents.

Tonight we go out with other friends, John and Becca, to prove once again that time and distance are never a barrier to friendships and that there is a wonderful bond between ex-pats who will often go above and beyond to see each other. Ultimately, it’s fair to say, that it has been a pretty good start….

Onward to the UK on tomorrow for family, friends, weddings and adventures. Always looking forward but never forgetting the those we’ve left behind…..