Singapore was something of a shock to the system: physically, in the constant temperature in the low 30s C, comfort was found in the air-conditioning of the car and whichever building we were heading to, and also culturally. It was tight-laced, with lots of rules and regulations, but because of this it worked incredibly well, in a consumer paradise sort of way. My heart felt more at home in Vietnam, but now we were R's guests, and he wanted to show us around.
First stop on the tour was Sentosa Bay - a huge amusement facility/park, with indoor and outdoor attractions and a foot-searingly hot sandy beach. The beach felt a little incongruous and man-made, with huge palm trees shading the food-outlets, and a view across the lagoon to the container shipping lanes.
R took us to the iFly - Singapore's indoor skydiving place, which is not something I'd ever considered doing, and under normal circumstances would have avoided like the plague. I'm not known for stretching my comfort zone, and as I also suffer from vertigo the idea of sky-diving is not something that appeals to me. However, when presented with the opportunity to try one of the largest wind tunnels in the world, and putting myself under pressure by not wanting to 'wimp-out' in front of the children (what impression would that give them?), I found myself saying, yes, let's get a family ticket.
The experience on the whole was positive, it was well run, with a thorough induction and 20 minute training talk and video before the time came for us to put on our iFly overalls, goggles and helmets, sign the disclaimer paperwork, promise not to take photos (oops, I gave R my camera....) and then we were next.
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| In the training session |
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| Not certain I'd ever done that position on my front before |
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| I'm only smiling because I don't know what's coming |
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| This is a look of sheer panic on my face, as I don't know what I dislike the most, the noise, the breathlessness or the disorientation of being in a wind tunnel |
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| Dad has 3 goes |
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| Phoebe had 3 goes |
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| Tom had 3 goes |
All I can say is... I did it, and I don't want to do it again. I had one go and let my second ride go to Simon as I really didn't enjoy it. Predictable I know, but there you are.
We then went to the beach - which as I said before had very hot, quite coarse sand, clear water, and a disconcerting view of container shipping on the horizon.
After the beach Tom got an airbrush tattoo, which he hoped would last longer than the one he got in Vietnam...
Then R took us to the Luge - a concrete track down the hill for kart racing with your group. Having had too much fun in the iFly, I decided to give this a miss, and took photos of them as they arrived at the bottom of the run.
After all this fun, we retired to R's home which is situated in a gated community with an inviting swimming pool in which to cool down at the end of the day...
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| Now, this part of Singapore I could get used to... |
More about our Singapore experience next time.
Kat.
