Singapore Slung

Well isn’t this exciting. I am writing today’s blog at 40,000 feet, from the upper deck of possibly the biggest plane I have ever seen while drinking a Singapore Sling. We decided to get a couple of Singapore Slings on the plane so we knew if we liked them before forking out £12 each for them at the Long Bar in Raffles. I have to say, it’s quite nice, although it does taste like it’s fairly potent. I reckon Kelly will have to carry me to the hotel tonight as it’s only 13:45 and I’ve already had a beer and a cocktail…….

So, as you have probably worked out, we’ve left Japan and are now on our way to Singapore. We had a good last day in Japan, we looked around Kyoto in the morning, and then got the train to Narita airport mid-afternoon. We were staying at a really nice hotel next to the airport, which Kelly got a great deal on because she booked it in advance. We had porters to carry our bags to the room, we were on the top floor (12th) overlooking the airport and city and our room was MASSIVE compared to the hostels we’ve been staying in. I think the walk in wardrobe (which Kelly instantly made her own) was bigger than some of the rooms we’ve been in! See pictures below:




So last night we just relaxed, we went to the pool for a swim and Jacuzzi, and then had a sauna and Japanese bath. I walked into the Japanese bath room (naked!) to find a few Japanese men washing and shaving etc. (also Naked!!), so I had a shower and then got into the bath. There was one other guy in there, a young Vietnamese air host called Ted. Now Ted was possibly the campest guy I’ve ever met in my life (if Simon is reading this, sorry if that steals your thunder!) and our conversation went something like this:

Alan: Do you speak English?
Ted: Yes, I’m from Vietnam.
Alan: What are you doing in Japan?
Ted: I’m an Airhost and flew in tonight. Where are you from?
Alan: Scotland…..
Ted: Ah, where the men wear skirts *Ted now does a sort of flouncing action*
Alan: erm, yeah, that’s right.
Ted: And you do not wear anything under the kilt??
Alan: No, no real Scotsman wears anything under his kilt.
Ted: Ooooo, so, what happens if, you know, your ‘baby’ wakes up? *Cue some inappropriate Japanese bath actions from Ted…….
Alan: **Alan then proceeds to talk at length about being on holiday with his girlfriend!!**

Ted was alright actually, seemed like a good guy, however before I get any comments from the usual suspects, no I will not be seeing him again. ☺

So I left the bath and met Kelly outside. She wasn’t happy with me as she’d been waiting ages outside because she’d decided in her wisdom that getting into a bath with a bunch of old, naked Japanese woman wasn’t her thing. I think she cheered up a bit though when I told her about Ted, seemed to suit her warped sense of humour.

We then got ready and went down to the bar and sat and had a few drinks for the first time in a week. Was nice to sit and relax after all the tourist things we’d been doing. And it also prompted one of the funniest things of the holiday so far. We got back to the room and about 2 minutes after Kelly went into the toilet I heard screaming. I went to investigate, and Kelly in her tipsy condition had decided to press one of the buttons on the side of the toilet that we had been too scared to press when we were sober. Essentially what had happened was she had pressed the button and then stood up, but while she was standing up the toilet was preparing its assault on her. I walked in to find her half dressed with water all over the back of her shirt and hair and all over the toilet door!! Let it be a lesson to those going to Japan, when pressing the buttons, remain seated. To her credit, she did press it again just to make sure that she was thoroughly drenched.

So the first leg of our journey is over, Japan is finished. It feels like we’ve been away for more than a week now. We both agree that Japan is a lovely place, it’s very clean and tidy, the people are quite but extremely friendly also. The don’t speak much English, however they try their best when we try and talk to them – think how you would talk to a cat or child, very slowly but still saying the same English words that they didn’t recognise the first time we said them. Haha. I would definitely go back and spend more time there as despite being incredibly busy and rushed, there is a sort of serenity about it too. Just as busy but totally different from a lot of other big cities I’ve visited.

So here is my roundup of our week in Japan in pictures:


There’s the food:






The castles and temples:



The immaculate gardens:



And finally, cities and the people that make them the way they are:




I hope you have enjoyed reading about our time in Japan. We are now going to spend two days in Singapore and then we’re going to Malaysia for a couple of weeks.

I’ve had lunch now and a glass of wine with that, so it’s not even 3pm and I’ve finished off a beer, a cocktail and a glass of wine. If you don’t get any updates from Singapore you’ll know why!!

Until next time, take care.

Alan & Kelly.