Day 1 - On our way

So we thought we were well organised and well planned and had this great idea that we would stay at an airport hotel the night before our flight to Singapore so that we didn't have to get up at sparrows fart to make our way to the airport. Kaia though had other ideas and decided that 5am was a good wakeup time, proceeding to make her bed (the top bunk) at 5 in the morning with the quite clear statement, "Well I can't go back to sleep now I've just made my bed..." Needless to say it was an early start to what was to prove a very long day.

We'd also planned on making the 20 min trek from the hotel to the airport for our 10am flight, however Auckland weather just wasn't going to play ball, so a quick trip on the yellow bus and we were sorted. The flight over while long was pretty uneventful, movies and games being the kids entertainment pretty much the whole way, once we got to Singapore airport however, that was another story. Serena had managed to do the Singapore Arrivals Electronic Passenger Declaration while we were back in Auckland and while the email confirmations weren't particularly clear a quick chat with one of the helpers in the airport and we were on our way through. It turns out though that from 6 years up kids are expected to self process through the automated gates where you put you passport in and then have your photo taken with the slight added complexity of then having to have the fingerprint of your right thumb recorded as well. Zach and I managed to get through ok, but Serena and Kaia got separated, with Serena then forced to go on through and watch from the other side. We were told in no uncertain terms by the Customs Officers to get back behind the line no matter our protests about a 7 year old girl who had tried once then had to go back out and had another couple of people push past her. When we asked whether we could help or at least tell her what was going on, we were pushed back behind a line about 10 meters past the machines and told that someone would help her, not that the ever did. Eventually with the help of a couple of other travellers also making their way through the gates she did manage to get through, but not before her parents were pretty wound up about the whole thing!

Singapore itself is full on, but seems to run like clock work. Very hot and humid outside of airconditioned buildings, but a very nice change from Auckland heading into winter, can't wait to start exploring more tomorrow.