hello! I'm alive.... IT'S TOO HOT HERE

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was mainly making the most of my remaining time in NZ last week! Had a couple of days in hospital, then as my supervisor was going to a conference in Australia, we decided I should spend the rest of the week doing educational things like go to the zoo.

I did get to see open heart surgery - an aortic valve replacement - on my last day which was pretty cool!

A summary of the last few NZ days:

* went to the zoo with Emilie, took about 200 photos

* made lots of crepes as I was rapidly running out of all other food

* went to the Auckland Art Gallery, quick look at the Goldie and Lindauer portraits of Maori chieftains, pretty interesting stuff

* SAW HARRY POTTER with subs!!!! alone but for the 3 other people in the cinema at 10am on Thurs morning. So deeply cool. Also the subs didnt come on for the first 10 mins leading to a small RozRage, but once I got into the film I forgot to be annoyed - it was EXCELLENT.

* went and looked around the Viaduct and harbour for cocktails with Emilie

* went for a last meal with Bee and Emilie, the dormmates - it was very merry as we had a bottle of wine, having had cocktails before!

* panicky packing

Rather brief updates - will put photos up at some point (once have filtered through the 200 from the zoo). Also I am suffering EXTREME lassitude due to the ridiculous humidity in Singapore. IT hit me like a wall as soon as I left the airport and I was sweating in my jeans by the time I got to my hostel.....had to immediately change to shorts and even then was still too hot. Would like to "take off one's flesh and sit in one's bones" to quote Isabella Bird, some redoubtable travel writer who visited Singapore in 1879. (I read my Rough Guide cover to cover on the plane over. And the Tenant of Wildfell Hall. and wrote a list of all the food I have to try in Singapore).

I got here last night at about 11.30pm.... rather tired but wired. Also completely confused over time zones, as my plane left Auckland for Sydney at 12.45pm on Saturday (3hr 30min flight), then after a couple of hours tooling around Sydney airport, I left for Singapore at 4.10pm. That flight took 8hr 20mins... I managed to stay awake for the whole day, but ended up feeling all wired when I got to the hostel....

Still a bit discombobulated which is why this blog entry reads like a pile of elephant dung.

Today I hooked up with Marit, a lovely Dutch girl my age who I met at the door of the hostel last night. We've been into town to check out Chinatown (a bit soulless after the government cleanup, but the museum was excellent). Also bopped around the harbour and central business district - as much as one can bop when every step makes one break out in sweat!!! Had some tasty chicken satay and pineapple rice at a nice waterfront restaurant; with the breeze blowing it was slightly less hot and almost bearable!

Gave up soon after lunch though and came back to the hostel to drink more water and just chill for a bit, feeling very drained.

Back in again later though for hopefully a Singapore sling! and maybe a ride on the Singapore Flyer...

will quit spouting drivel now though and go watch Grey's Anatomy to chill for a bit ;)