Alpine lakes and bellyaches

Friday 8 May

Well I survived my 12 hr flight from Singapore to Munich surprisingly well after being able to sleep for at least half of it, and arrived slightly dishevelled into the airport at 6am.

Met my friend Astrid at the airport and travelled by train to the apartment she has with her fiancee Bernd in Unterhaching, about 20 mins from the city centre. They both had to work that day so I managed to occupy myself by having a nap and then catching the train into the city and having a walk around. The buildings in and around the Marienplatz are really impressive, so I took a ride to the top of the NeuRathaus (the New Town Hall), which has a great panoramic view over the central city. 

I went for a wander down through the Englischergaden, which is one of Europe's largest inner city parks, while trying to avoid getting run down by the scores of bikes being enthusiastically pedaled all around. The Englischergaden looks beautiful in spring, with  bright green bursting out everywhere from the trees lining the pathways, and huge expanses of lawn spreading into the distance. Spotted some of the locals carrying out their traditional naked sunbathing beside the river, but they were mostly old men, so nothing much to write home about.

That night I went out to see Glasvegas, an little Scottish indie band tipped as the next-big-thing by the British music press, play in a small packed club in the middle of Munich. It was fun hearing a band who sing in thick Glaswegian accents rock out in front of a crowd of Germans who probably didn't understand most of the words but I was feeling drained by the end of it as it'd been a VERY long day!

Saturday 9 May

Today I went with Astrid & Bernd to see two of the castles built by 'Mad' King Ludwig II, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. They're located very close to each other in a stunning area of the Alps and attract hordes of tourists. Neuschwanstein, which is supposedly the inspiration for the Disneyland castle, was never fully completed before Ludwig's death, but the 17 rooms that were finished are each themed around one of Richard Wagner's operas. The decoration of the castle is decidedly gauche, but is a great example of what can happen when money is no object and a project gets driven by one man's obsession!   

The beautiful lake that the castles overlook turned out to be a little too inviting, as I decided to taste a couple of handfuls of 'pure' alpine water. Later that day I started feeling a bit queasy and proceeded to throw up beside the path coming down from Neuschwanstein (classy) and on numerous other occasions on the way back to Munich. Not such a great end to an awesome day unfortunately.

Made it to Singapore

Well I made it to Singapore in one piece, finally. By the end of the flight I was feeling pretty out of it, to the point where I had a mini "I've lost my passport!" panic upon unloading my gear from the overhead lockers on the plane. Needless to say it was found in my bag, rather than my jacket pocket where I thought it was, although I've still got no recollection of putting it there.

Got in to Singapore at about 7pm last night, checked into my hotel and had a quick walk along Orchard Rd. Lots of flash-looking buildings, neon lighting and people zipping around on motorbikes.

Today I tried to cram as much in as I could by going to the Singapore Zoo & Jurong Bird Park. Feeling a bit worn out now and have blisters on both feet from all the walking. Ideally I'd have spent a day at each, as I didn't really do either of them justice by zipping around as quickly as I could, but they were both well worth going to.

At the zoo I got a neck massage from an old Asian guy at the same time as a 'fish spa'. That's where you take off your shoes and socks and put your feet in a pond full of small fish from Turkey. The fish then proceed to nibble the dead skin from your feet and ankles, giving you some natural exfoliation and a strange massage experience at the same time. Felt very weird and tickly but worth the experience!

Caught a couple of the shows at the Bird Park, one of which featured birds of prey like a bald eagle and vultures swooping around the audience. It was very impressive, especially when you've got hawks whizzing by a few inches from your head!

A few observations from the day I spent here:

• The urinals all seem to have an automatic sensor so you don't have to flush them manually. Like the Asian guy on the ad says "Just spray and walk away!" Very convenient.
• There seem to be a lot of signs telling what you're not allowed to do. Eating or drinking on the MRT gets you a $500 fine, and if you stick notices around bus stops 'it will be reported to the police for prosecution'
• The whole place is very clean and tidy, although the river underneath Orchard Rd is pretty smelly and I did spot a mouse scurrying over the footpath!
• The taxis all have notices saying that you must buckle your seatbelt as it's the law. Yet travelling on the motorway at rush hour there are numerous flat-deck trucks with half a dozen or more labourers happily sitting in the back on the way home from work!

Right now I'm typing this at the airport while waiting for my 11.15pm flight to Munich. Not exactly looking forward to 12hrs on a plane, but here's hoping that I can sleep through a decent portion of it. That's all for now but I'll try and update once I hit the Continent.