We were meeting my sister and her family (also in town for the wedding) to catch a shuttle bus to the Singapore Zoo for breakfast. Not just any breakfast – breakfast with the orangutans. Yep, you get to eat a buffet breakfast while apes frolic nearby. Have I mentioned that Singapore is the land of ... [More]
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Our destination today was Little India, which we reached via MRT of course — the hotel is closest to City Hall station, but only slightly further to Clarke Quay, which is just a few stops from Little India. The Lonely Planet book we had recommended a specific walk, so we set out, admiring the historic ... [More]
All Singapore holiday posts. Click on pictures below to zoom. Our hotel booking didn’t include breakfast, and while I like a hotel buffet, we decided to look elsewhere for a morning feed. Being downtown, there should be plenty of options, and after some walking around we found a bakery in the Raffles Centre shopping mall ... [More]
(This post backdated. See all Singapore trip posts on this link) As I previously mentioned, we were invited to my cousin’s wedding in Singapore, so we decided to go for the week. Why Singapore? A distribution of family between Belgium, Singapore and Australia. It was very cold when setting out — only about 3 degrees ... [More]
This is not the first time I’ve spotted something like this: real estate agent signs blocking bike lanes. I’m not sure why anybody who thought about it for more than a second would think it was a good idea to leave signs there. Cyclists would either be forced out into traffic, or if they didn’t ... [More]
After about a year of construction, the Burke Road (Gardiner) level crossing was finally removed in January. One of four train/tram crossings (tram squares), it had long caused delays to both, as well as pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicles. I went and had a look a month or two back. The design isn’t outstanding. In ... [More]
I hate to say I told you so, and I hate even more to see enthusiasm and investment defeated, but it’s looking that way with the Wyndham to Docklands ferry. After much anticipation from some quarters, it kicked off this week in a blaze of publicity. Just to recap here’s the deal: The ferry departs ... [More]
Melbourne’s rainy season is upon us. It’s been a few years since my blog post about good strong compact umbrellas, so here’s a quick update. A good umbrella is vital for a dedicated walking/PT person. The brief: an umbrella that, folded, can fit in my work bag (eg a maximum length of about 35cm) and ... [More]
I’d been reading this article about the proposal to narrow a section of Mountain Highway through Bayswater when the level crossing is removed — from 3 lanes in each direction down to 2. Bayswater state Liberal MP Heidi Victoria has submitted the petition against the plans to State Parliament and urged the Government to intervene. ... [More]
Another in my series of photos from ten years ago. The Nicholas Building in Swanston Street. Glorious, and fortunately (unlike some of its neighbours) not to be demolished for the metro rail tunnel. The T&G building on Collins Street. Apparently T&G stood for Temperance And General, an insurance company that amalgamated with National Mutual in ... [More]
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A day in Maldon
A day (and night) in the countryside began by heading out of Melbourne in the car. I learnt a lesson on the way, somewhere near Sunshine: if you’re going to try and overtake (well, “undertake”) a truck on the left from a standing start, be at the front of the queue at the lights AND ... [More]
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A week in Singapore
In a couple of months I’m going to Singapore for a week, for my cousin’s wedding. Any recommendations? Things to see and do? (The wedding itself is on Sentosa Island, at one of the resorts.) It’s been ages since I’ve been overseas. What’s the best way to organise mobile/data coverage? What’s the shopping like? Is ... [More]
Another in my series of old photos from ten years ago… One night while driving across town I decided to snap some pictures around the docks. It was only after I stopped the car and took a few photos that I realised how dodgy it probably looked. A panoramic view along Spencer Street, outside Southern ... [More]
I used to love The Bill, way back when it was a cop show with a sense of realism, rather than a full-on soapie. The episodes I enjoyed the most, season 4 (from 1988) are currently airing on the ABC, in the middle of the day (around 3pm, and again the next morning around 5am). ... [More]
If ever you want to see what the priorities really are, look at the resources they’re given. At this tram stop — Bourke/Spencer Street westbound — the few in cars have clearly been prioritised over the many in trams. While passengers are squashed into a narrow pathway, motor vehicles (if any turn up) are given ... [More]
Star Wars episode seven is officially out today on DVD and Blu-ray, but I managed to buy it yesterday — some shops with a name starting with Big and ending in W jumped the gun, as did some with the initials J and B, apparently, though the large W establishment is selling it for $23 ... [More]