We had an earlier start today because Samoa's must win match against Northern Ireland was the first game of the day.
We decided to get breakfast at a plaza just up the road from the hotel, next to the MRT station. We found a good feed at a good price - tea and French toast for $2 and tea, toast, sausage and egg for $2.50. I think we will be going back there again. We even managed to pick up some sandwiches for lunch for $1.50.
After our hearty breakfast it was down to the serious business of the netball. Samoa had to beat Ireland to make the top 8 playoffs. I think the Samoan girls may have been feeling the pressure of situation and made a slow start. Even though we were trying hard to cheer them on they were never able to catch up. The team were disappointed with the result, but now have to pick themselves up for a playoff game against Malaysia tomorrow. Meanwhile the Irish team were delighted, this is the first time they have qualified for the top 8 at the World Camps.
Next game was an equally tough match between Fiji and Wales, which Fiji managed to win. Then it was time for the Silver Ferns final pool match, against Trinidad & Tobago. The Ferns tried a few different combinations and T&T were quite rough, so the game never really flowed as well as the previous game against Wales, but the Ferns still managed a comfortable win, with a few smiles just for Norma Plummer!
We then needed a break from Netball, before the evening games, and have found a nice restaurant under the stadium. We have been enjoying wagu steak, pizza, boutique beer and Jack Daniels by the riverside. It even has free wi-fi, so we are taking advantage to make this post from our tablets while watching State of Origin, pretty cool.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Netball Day 3
We had another great day at the netball. First up was a very close and tough game between Fiji and Trinidad & Tobago which Fiji unexpectedly lost.
Next up was Samoa against Sri Lanka, a game that Samoa had to win if they were to have any chance of making the quarterfinals. We met up with all the other Samoan supporters, all decked out in our blue Samoa shirts, to cheer the team on. It turned out to be a much closer and tense match than most of us were expecting. Sri Lanka had a very tall, skinny shooter that the Samoans struggled to shut down - the height mis-match between her and the Samoan defenders was quite funny to see. In the end the Samoan team managed to hang on for the win 57 - 53.
Our Samoan cheer squad must have been doing something right, we caught the attention of the Sky TV camera crew and they recorded a "Talofa" cheer from us. Then after the game the two of us were interviewed by a reporter from one of the local newspapers.
After our media commitments were finished our next game was NZ against Wales. The Silver Ferns came out firing and poor old Wales were a bit shell-shocked, behind 28-2 after the first quarter. As expected the Ferns went on to score an easy win 91 - 21.
After the game the Silver Ferns were signing autographs and we managed to get the entire team to sign a Netball World Championship shirt. They were all pretty relaxed and happy to chat a bit. We learnt that Laura Langman has got her crucial supply of crumpets sorted out, according to Irene van Dyk there are so many crumpets that they can't eat them all. Irene also sends a hug out to Dad. Paula Griffin's tattoo up her arm is a quote that inspires her. Casey Williams was hungry and reckoned that it was time for dinner and Jolene Henry and Temepara George weren't completely satisfied with the game.
There have also been plenty of stories floating around about Australian coach Norma Plummer. She seems to be a total control freak, paranoid about everything and full of conspiracy theories, usually about how New Zealand is trying to manipulate things to their advantage or how Australia have been disadvantaged. She even complained that the Silver Ferns were smiling and laughing too much during their game!
Next up was Samoa against Sri Lanka, a game that Samoa had to win if they were to have any chance of making the quarterfinals. We met up with all the other Samoan supporters, all decked out in our blue Samoa shirts, to cheer the team on. It turned out to be a much closer and tense match than most of us were expecting. Sri Lanka had a very tall, skinny shooter that the Samoans struggled to shut down - the height mis-match between her and the Samoan defenders was quite funny to see. In the end the Samoan team managed to hang on for the win 57 - 53.
Our Samoan cheer squad must have been doing something right, we caught the attention of the Sky TV camera crew and they recorded a "Talofa" cheer from us. Then after the game the two of us were interviewed by a reporter from one of the local newspapers.
After our media commitments were finished our next game was NZ against Wales. The Silver Ferns came out firing and poor old Wales were a bit shell-shocked, behind 28-2 after the first quarter. As expected the Ferns went on to score an easy win 91 - 21.
After the game the Silver Ferns were signing autographs and we managed to get the entire team to sign a Netball World Championship shirt. They were all pretty relaxed and happy to chat a bit. We learnt that Laura Langman has got her crucial supply of crumpets sorted out, according to Irene van Dyk there are so many crumpets that they can't eat them all. Irene also sends a hug out to Dad. Paula Griffin's tattoo up her arm is a quote that inspires her. Casey Williams was hungry and reckoned that it was time for dinner and Jolene Henry and Temepara George weren't completely satisfied with the game.
There have also been plenty of stories floating around about Australian coach Norma Plummer. She seems to be a total control freak, paranoid about everything and full of conspiracy theories, usually about how New Zealand is trying to manipulate things to their advantage or how Australia have been disadvantaged. She even complained that the Silver Ferns were smiling and laughing too much during their game!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Netball Day 2
We had a bit of a slow start to the second day of the netball. We are still suffering the side effects of our colds and were a bit worn out after all of the shopping, so ended up having a bit of a lie in and a big breakfast.
We made it down to the stadium in time to catch the end of the game between Jamaica and South Africa, which Jamaica won 72 - 45.
Next up it was Samoa taking on Australia. Of course we were cheering for Samoa. They did alright, but as expected the Australians were too strong and ran away with the game, finally winning 82 - 23.
We then got our first look at the Silver Ferns and they looked very flash in their new shiny uniforms. Fiji played well and the Ferns had a few rough patches, especially after Maria Tutaia went off, but they came right in the end to record a comfortable 80 - 25 win.
The stadium is really impressive and everything is running on time, but we are finding it cold in there! We can't survive the entire day without heading outside to warm up every few hours.
We also got to see some games between Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland, Trinidad & Tobago and Wales, England and Malawi, and Barbados and Malaysia. A day full of netball - only six more to go!
We made it down to the stadium in time to catch the end of the game between Jamaica and South Africa, which Jamaica won 72 - 45.
Next up it was Samoa taking on Australia. Of course we were cheering for Samoa. They did alright, but as expected the Australians were too strong and ran away with the game, finally winning 82 - 23.
We then got our first look at the Silver Ferns and they looked very flash in their new shiny uniforms. Fiji played well and the Ferns had a few rough patches, especially after Maria Tutaia went off, but they came right in the end to record a comfortable 80 - 25 win.
The stadium is really impressive and everything is running on time, but we are finding it cold in there! We can't survive the entire day without heading outside to warm up every few hours.
We also got to see some games between Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland, Trinidad & Tobago and Wales, England and Malawi, and Barbados and Malaysia. A day full of netball - only six more to go!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Netball World Champs Opening Ceremony 2011
Sunday was the start of the netball, but that wasn't until later in the day so there was time to hit the gym and pool in the morning and fit in another trip to Orchard Road before heading to the Netball.
We are starting to notice a bit more a netball vibe now. There were plenty of Black and Green & Gold shirts on the train to the stadium and a few famous netball faces around the place.
The opening ceremony was really good. It had drummers, lion dancers, rhythmic gymnastics, light show etc and then the march past of all the teams. The kiwis got a good cheer from the large group of NZ tour parties. We then had the usual round up of speeches, including us all singing Happy Birthday to the President of Singapore.
After that it was time for some netball, with Singapore taking on Botswana. Singapore started off well, but in the end Botswana spoilt the party for the home crowd eventually winning 43-36.
We are starting to notice a bit more a netball vibe now. There were plenty of Black and Green & Gold shirts on the train to the stadium and a few famous netball faces around the place.
The opening ceremony was really good. It had drummers, lion dancers, rhythmic gymnastics, light show etc and then the march past of all the teams. The kiwis got a good cheer from the large group of NZ tour parties. We then had the usual round up of speeches, including us all singing Happy Birthday to the President of Singapore.
After that it was time for some netball, with Singapore taking on Botswana. Singapore started off well, but in the end Botswana spoilt the party for the home crowd eventually winning 43-36.
Singapore Electrified
Saturday saw us hit the shops. The shopping here is amazing, but rather overwhelming after Samoa! So many malls full of shops and people. Our first stop was the Funan Centre, 6 floors of electronics shops! After starting at the bottom and working our way through 5 floors of laptops, mobile phones, tvs etc we finally found the cases and keyboards we were looking for.
After this we headed up Orchard Road starting at the new Ion centre. As it was Saturday night the place was buzzing and there were people everywhere. It was also very noisy with lots of sounds competing against each other. Phew again!! The amount of shops in this place is completely overwhelming. Life exists above and also below ground where there is a rabbit warren of tunnels full of more shops and food courts. It is at times impossilbe to know where you are and you get completely lost and disorientated! Overall though everything is sparkling clean, there is no rubbish lying about and people are polite and courteous going about their business. YOu can get everything you could possibly need and want - oh apart from crumpets apparently which is what Laura Langman is craving before taking the court against Australia!!
Here is a photo of the Ion centre
After this we headed up Orchard Road starting at the new Ion centre. As it was Saturday night the place was buzzing and there were people everywhere. It was also very noisy with lots of sounds competing against each other. Phew again!! The amount of shops in this place is completely overwhelming. Life exists above and also below ground where there is a rabbit warren of tunnels full of more shops and food courts. It is at times impossilbe to know where you are and you get completely lost and disorientated! Overall though everything is sparkling clean, there is no rubbish lying about and people are polite and courteous going about their business. YOu can get everything you could possibly need and want - oh apart from crumpets apparently which is what Laura Langman is craving before taking the court against Australia!!
Here is a photo of the Ion centre
Friday, July 1, 2011
Samoans in Singapore
We have now arrived in the humid tropics of Singapore and feel more at home as the temperatures are very similar to Samoa. We took off from Brisbane in the middle of the night and flew Emirates with great in flight services. Continual drinks (the non alcoholic variety!) and on board entertainment. Managed a couple of hours sleep around movies.
Arrived in Singapore in the early morning and was surprised that there were no little boxes to tick about what we were bringing into Singapore with regard to food or animal and plant products and no bag scanning unit either for that matter so we let ourselves in! Singapore airport is huge so it was a nice hike from the plane to customs and no queue when we got there probably because everyone else got distracted by the shops and eateries on the way through.
Got ourselves on a shuttle to our hotel after changing some currency and using the ANZ machine which kept talking to me. I kid you not! Was pretty impressed it knew who I was by name and could give me funds from our Samoan account.
We are staying at the Carlton which is on Bras Basash road at the bottom of Orchard Road and right next door to Raffles. This is a great area of town. Cant remember where I stayed last time I was here 15 years ago. The hotel is great. We have a lovely room and it all feels very luxurious with a beautiful shiny reception area complete with fountain and chandellair of sorts.
As we couldn't check in straight away we opted to go exploring. It was hot out of the comfort of our air conditioning but we made it up as far as the Dhoby Ghaut train station via two different shopping malls. Things were very quiet and we were amazed that none of the shops opened until 11am!!! We were feeling pretty weary however some frozen yogurt with fruit soon refreshed us enough to explore a bit more. We discovered Marks and Spencer and Dorothy Perkins from the UK and it was great to have a look around and reminisce about the good old days of shopping in London! Might pop back some time to poke about at leisure without husband in tow! So far things have not been very Asian as all the top Western influences are here including food. We even found a store where you can choose, stuff, dress and name your own teddy bear! What next aye? Anything to get money out of you. We went into a sports shop and 1 running outfit later were still trying to convince the shop keeper that it was not worth us paying $49 to join their club, even with the free sports bag, as we are only visiting!
Managed to pick up some interesting packets of chips and nibbles to try after looking through the fish balls and dried fruit on offer. Also picked up our Netball tickets from the stadium. We were pleasantly surprised at how we could purchase these online from Samoa several months ago, turn up to the box office and be presented with tickets with no dramas or problems what so ever. Hmmmm maybe we have been living in Samoa too long as we are certainly noticing the customer services here! Saw the Wales and Malawi teams at the stadium training and checked out the restaurant options for the coming week.
We have sussed out the MRT and got ourselves a card which we top up with credit as required. The tube is efficient and can get us everywhere we need to go this week so will be making the most of that.
So after all this we headed back towards the hotel, passing 3 of the England team members along the way who stood out by their accents and height! Obviously some down time for them as they were out exploring. We went in to check out the Chijmes center across the road from our hotel and collapsed onto a chair in the lovely court yard where we were brought a Tropical and a Peach Sangria. After a couple of these we also decided to order up dinner and chose the vegetarian set menu as it had mushroom, babycorn, asparagus and cherry tomato dishes all of which we miss in Samoa! Dinner was delicious and finished off with a lovely cheesecake and icecream.
After a bubble bath, another one of those luxuries we miss in Samoa, we crashed . . . . .
Arrived in Singapore in the early morning and was surprised that there were no little boxes to tick about what we were bringing into Singapore with regard to food or animal and plant products and no bag scanning unit either for that matter so we let ourselves in! Singapore airport is huge so it was a nice hike from the plane to customs and no queue when we got there probably because everyone else got distracted by the shops and eateries on the way through.
Got ourselves on a shuttle to our hotel after changing some currency and using the ANZ machine which kept talking to me. I kid you not! Was pretty impressed it knew who I was by name and could give me funds from our Samoan account.
We are staying at the Carlton which is on Bras Basash road at the bottom of Orchard Road and right next door to Raffles. This is a great area of town. Cant remember where I stayed last time I was here 15 years ago. The hotel is great. We have a lovely room and it all feels very luxurious with a beautiful shiny reception area complete with fountain and chandellair of sorts.
As we couldn't check in straight away we opted to go exploring. It was hot out of the comfort of our air conditioning but we made it up as far as the Dhoby Ghaut train station via two different shopping malls. Things were very quiet and we were amazed that none of the shops opened until 11am!!! We were feeling pretty weary however some frozen yogurt with fruit soon refreshed us enough to explore a bit more. We discovered Marks and Spencer and Dorothy Perkins from the UK and it was great to have a look around and reminisce about the good old days of shopping in London! Might pop back some time to poke about at leisure without husband in tow! So far things have not been very Asian as all the top Western influences are here including food. We even found a store where you can choose, stuff, dress and name your own teddy bear! What next aye? Anything to get money out of you. We went into a sports shop and 1 running outfit later were still trying to convince the shop keeper that it was not worth us paying $49 to join their club, even with the free sports bag, as we are only visiting!
Managed to pick up some interesting packets of chips and nibbles to try after looking through the fish balls and dried fruit on offer. Also picked up our Netball tickets from the stadium. We were pleasantly surprised at how we could purchase these online from Samoa several months ago, turn up to the box office and be presented with tickets with no dramas or problems what so ever. Hmmmm maybe we have been living in Samoa too long as we are certainly noticing the customer services here! Saw the Wales and Malawi teams at the stadium training and checked out the restaurant options for the coming week.
We have sussed out the MRT and got ourselves a card which we top up with credit as required. The tube is efficient and can get us everywhere we need to go this week so will be making the most of that.
So after all this we headed back towards the hotel, passing 3 of the England team members along the way who stood out by their accents and height! Obviously some down time for them as they were out exploring. We went in to check out the Chijmes center across the road from our hotel and collapsed onto a chair in the lovely court yard where we were brought a Tropical and a Peach Sangria. After a couple of these we also decided to order up dinner and chose the vegetarian set menu as it had mushroom, babycorn, asparagus and cherry tomato dishes all of which we miss in Samoa! Dinner was delicious and finished off with a lovely cheesecake and icecream.
After a bubble bath, another one of those luxuries we miss in Samoa, we crashed . . . . .
Nephews in Brisbane
Have had our stop over in Brisbane and spent time with the new baby who has a lovely mop of hair and played many hours of Thomas the Tank engine interspersed with blowing bubbles! Also managed to catch up with friends who have moved over to live in Brisbane and are working on the house they have purchased in Manley. Of course in the 5 days there we managed to both pick up colds which seems to be the norm whenever we leave the tropical temperatures of Samoa!
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