We did go and see Coldplay perform in Singapore Indoor Stadium yesterday. Some of the many highlights were “Yellow”, where a flood of yellow balloons in different sizes was launched into the audience, “Lovers in Japan” where literally millions of (paper) butterflies were released into the crowd and obviously “Viva la Vida”. The audience was amazing as well, majority of expats I assume. But the mobile phone Mexican wave at the break I think can only be as successful as it was in Asia.

We had the 3rd best seats in the house, row 8 at the east-side of the stadium only meters away from one of the 2 extensions of the stage. The only better seats in the house were probably row 8 at the west-side of the stadium, where Coldplay decided to play one of their numbers intimately gathered around a piano on the far end of the other extension of the stage and some seats in the South East corner of the stadium, high up on the stands, where an other number was played in the middle of the audience. Absolutely amazing.

No matter what people say, this was one of the best concerts that I have seen!

A night in Singapore to remember… Now let’s go and see who plays here next!

Today exactly 10 months ago, Olivia and I arrive din Singapore! As for me, I can say this adventure has turned out a lot better as expected. I have not regretted leaving Melbourne and the project over there for 1 second. Although with this milestone we potentially passed our half-way point in Singapore and we’re already exploring where to go next, I am looking forward to part 2 of our stay in this great city.

Bukit Timah is the highest point in Singapore at 163.63 meters. It’s a Nature Reserve and is covered by thick tropical forest, it has a visitors centre and several tracks and paths going up and around.

We were definitely not the only ones with the idea and it’s a popular exercise for a lot of locals and visitors. I don;t think I have ever seen such a weird amount of different exercises on one hill or anywhere for that matter. Obviously we know the locals like to “slap” themselves to keep the blood circulation going (I can only guess), but I have never seen so many people walk up or down a steep incline backwards. You can believe me, although the website classified our route as “easy” (see the red track on this detailed map), doing it backwards is no joke. People in the physical shape that we are in, combined by extreme high humidity, will struggle reaching the summit.

But the feeling afterwards when you get home, are satisfying! Do it again in a few weeks time?

During our 3 nights stay in Capetown, we were lodging in one of Capetown’s new hotels on the waterfront. The Radisson SAS Capetown is a great hotel, which has a real cruise-liner feeling to it. It’s right at the marina and waterfront, near the new stadium for next years World Cup Soccer and the Harbour front Alfred &Victoria Warf with lots of shops and great restaurants. We had a business suite with bay views and beautiful sunrises. It has a great location for breakfast outside at the water. In the evenings we dinner in the nearby restaurants like Balducci’s.

The Radisson SAS Capetown:

Balducci’s Capetown:

The last 3 days of our holiday, we spend in Capetown. As with the safari, in Capetown we were also treated to luxury and personal attention. We had a private driver (Wilmot) for the 3 days we were there. Wil took us to all the sights of the Cape Peninsula. We went up Table Mountain in Table Mountain National Park with beautiful views on Lion’s Head and the City Bowl, went down to Cape Point (Cape of Good Hope or Kaap de Goede Hoop), saw some townships and the famous Beaches of Capetown and Simon’s Town, as well as the wine region of Stellenbosch and Franschhoek.

On the first full day, the views from Table Mountain were spectacular. You can see 360 degrees around Capetown and the Cape peninsula. Cape Point, the most southern point of Africa was very windy as always. We had lunch in the lovely little town of Simon’s Town and saw beaches like Clifton and Boulders Beach. We were very lucky with the weather, it was actually quite hot. While we were tasting wine in Stellenbosch (vineyards of Boschendal and Anura) on the second day, the mountains behind us were burning in wild bush-fires. We had a nice lunch pick-nick on the vineyard in the shade of some trees.

Our hotel was located near the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, which is a new mall with lots of shops and great restaurants.

This whole holiday was planned to perfection. On every airport there was somebody to help us either check in for the enxt flight or drive us to the hotel. At every location, the service was top notch, just as I like it. If you ever plan to travel to South Africa from Singapore, I can truely recommend Country Holidays.