Welcome to the UK!

Am safe and sound in the UK.  It was so lovely to be met at the airport and picked up. I've never had that before - its always been public transport or transfers - or my own car.

We are staying for a short time with my cousin Chris and Roy in a gorgeous little Hampshire village outside of Andover, called Smannell.  They have a wonderful farmhouse with a well kept garden, along a cute little laneway.  In the summer, there are horses and cows in the fields beside it; and we hear plenty of horses being ridden down the lane.

So - have slipped into something comfy and grabbed a drink with Chris.. cheers!!

The kids are still getting used to how chilly it is and how to manage going outside with jackets etc, and then taking them off for inside - but we will acclimatise soon I am sure.  We are all pretty excited to be here.

Universal Studios- Singapore

Oh my goodness!! Aussie mates who know Movie World.. Think that.. But triple the size, triple the stores positioned to take your money, triple the merch... But triple the amazing special effects and budget for awesomeness.

First shot is infamous position in front of the Universal Globe.  pretty awesome to be just standing there.

Once in, the glitter or wow factor of hollywood blows you away. everything is bigger, brighter and more dazzling than you can imagine. The walk around characters costumes are intricate and the detail good enough for the most discerning fan.

Its hard to pin down the favourite spots - but as we were big Shrek fans - the "far far away' kingdom was hard to tear ourselves away from. 

I got a bit emotional when we headed into the Ancient Egyptian section. That particular trip ( to Egypt and touring all the ancient sites) was so mindblowing. I was so impressed at the detail and effort put in to recreate the Temple of Karnock; I'm still shaking my head and saying - oh wow...  My poor kids had ot put up with me rabbiting on about the different Gods and the set up of the temple.  The ride itself was amazing.. incredible... and I went on it four times....

Morgan will argue that the Transformers ride in the Science Fiction area beat them all.. but I beg to differ.. we all agree the top three are the Egyptian one, the Jurassic Park water ride ( where we all got completely soaked) and the Transformers one.

To say we stuffed in a HUGE day is an understatement.  We went to most of the shows - the Waterworld one was brilliant ( pity the movie was so crap)

Anyway - just a quick check in on our day at Universal studios.. it was brilliant.. though prob not a great plan for a relaxing day just before a 17 hour flight. Eventhough it was mid week, there would have been a billion people there and line ups for rides were up to 80 mins long - worth it - mind you - but far out the waiting started to really drain the life our of us.

Singapore - first impressions

I've only ever used Singapore as a quick stopover- place to walk round the airport or shower and have a quick kip before heading off to the next spot. So its pretty awesome to stop, breathe and actually see some of the city.

First impressions have been very favourable. I've always understood it to be a clean and tidy city.. But far out! Pristine would be closer to the truth. I know our driver took us around the beautiful parts of the city first- the parklands near the sea didn't have a leaf out of place. The entire way to our hotel on Sentosa was lined with beautiful flowering shrubs and hanging baskets bursting with flowers.

I do know enough to understand there is a much seedier and grimmer part of Singapore, but was delighted to be shown its gorgeous side all the same.

Our hotel is on the resort and pretty lush. I'm glad we took a longer stop over, but am still faced with an ugly flight time of 6 am.. Just means we have a comfy bed for those night hours rather than to hang out at the airport for an 8 hour layover.

We are off to the zoo on a night safari shortly.... And then spending the day at Universal studios - a huge theme park I am imagining to be like MovieWorld.. But on steroids..

For those of you with iphones and imessage, I'll be able to exchange sms with you a fair bit..as my phone still works here.

The kids and I are doing great.. Thanks..

oh - go an check out instagram for heaps of photos I took today of our wanders.