Days 1 & 3 - Time Travel

12/28/2004 & 12/30/2004

Location: Newark, NJ --> Singapore --> Sydney
Weather: Warm upon arrival


Let me start by saying we’ve barely seen the light of day for 2 days now … and somewhere along the line, Wednesday disappeared on us. After Mom & Dick dropped us off at the airport, we checked in at the ticket booth and my carry-on was too heavy. Apparently, I was still paranoid from our last adventure to Portugal where our luggage was lost. :(
We went through security; put all of our stuff through the x-ray machine, etc … when we heard over the loud-speaker, "Will Jason & Hilary Victor please report to the ticket desk?" So we left the secure area and went all the way back to the ticket counter. The woman behind the counter paged us because the Singapore Airlines lounge was still under construction, so we got passes to the Virgin Airlines first class lounge!
We took advantage of the open bar (Gray Goose Vodka) and waited for our boarding time. We had a moment to email friends and family, too!
We got on our first flight from Newark to Singapore and it only took 19 hours! We slept for a good portion of the flight, but for the other 9 hours, we had the <TA DA!>… in-flight entertainment system. I just laid back in the space-bed and saw so many movies and sitcoms, that I don't have to go to Blockbuster ever again! I saw "The Runaway Jury," "The Forgotten," "Dodge ball," and tons of T.V. shows like, “Whose Line is it Anyway,” “Frasier,” “Monk,” “CSI,” etc …
When we landed in Singapore, we tried to use the bathroom. Luckily, I didn’t have to “squat” just yet. The airport was nice!
There was a free movie theater, fern garden, sunflower garden, and coy pond.

We bought a few souvenirs, took a step outside (in the sunflower garden) and it was warm and humid! I didn’t realize how close Singapore is to the equator!
We had some more time to kill, so we headed to the business class lounge and had some native cuisine and posed with the fish. After our three and a half hour layover, we got on our second plane to Sydney. This one was only seven hours long. It’s amazing how short a seven hour flight feels after being on an eighteen hour flight. They had the best food! I had the beef! (no pictures, sorry) :)
After landing, we hit an ATM, took a cab to the Central Park Hotel, where we promptly crashed for the night. We might try calling family tonight, as well. Tomorrow, we’ll have more to tell. I’m excited about our New Year’s plans!