Singapore

New Zealand is a long way away. To get there, one has to fly via somewhere else. In our case, this happened to be the city-state of Singapore. Amazingly clean and even more incredibly safe (the guide book says it's ok to walk around alone at night, even for women - a bit of a shock after the experience of Latin America).

We got a great deal on the flights through Singapore Airlines, which meant a long break between flights at Singapore airport. We got an even better deal though on a stopover hotel through the airline - just NZ$1 each for a pretty nice hotel right in the middle of Singapore! Just enough time for us to freshen up and head out for some food in famously multicultural Singapore.

There are many 'classic' Singaporean dishes to choose from, such as Laksa soup or Chicken Rice. We headed to the Lau Pa Sat Festival Market near Chinatown to sample a vegetarian version of Rojak (made with a peanut/chilli sauce and tofu) and a delicious Indian Masala Dhosa (a savoury pancake filled with spicy potato and served with curry and coconut chutney to dip it in). Yummy!

Our fleeting visit was just long enough for us to get a few hours sleep back in the hotel then return to the airport for an early flight. Next stop Auckland!

Rob