We have just returned from a wondeful holiday to one of my favourite countries, Singapore. It was my 8th trip there. This time was a little different, as we travelled with a diabetic child, which was challenging at times. I had already booked the holiday before my son's diagnosis and could not get a refund, so we chose to still go ahead with the holiday. Also, it was a big morale booster for him, and something to look forward to after all the horrible diabetic stuff he had been through.
We decided to try out the new Scoot airline, which is a budget airline and flies direct from the Gold Coast to Singapore. You choose how much legroom and luggage you wish to pay for. I chose the longest legroom option, which I think is worth the extra cost. The food was, well, how can I say this tactfully...horrible. I suggest you eat before you fly, and just have a cup of tea on board. You know you can always top up on yummy food when you get to Singapore airport. But other than that, it's just your stock standard budget flight - perfectly acceptable to get you from A to B with more money left over for shopping and eating out.
Flying with an insulin pump is a little challenging. Firstly, the pump must be removed from the body for the first 1/2 hour of the start and end of the flight, as air bubbles form in the line. When we arrived at Singapore airport, we had to sit in a public area and refill our son's insulin cartridge whilst attempting to keep the whole thing in a sterile environement. After a while, you just don;t feel self conscious about doing such things in public. Also, we had 3 different pieces of cabin luggage filled with all his medical supplies, just in case one bag became lost. It takes alot of planning and organising to travel with diabetes.
As we were hungry from not eating the airplane food, we ducked into Toast Box for a snack. Toast Box serves yummy kaya toast and drinks. Then, we took a taxi to our accommodation; the Far East Plaza Apartments. We normally stay in hotels in Singapore, but I discovered we could rent an apartment for the same cost as one hotel room. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, loungeroom, dining room and large kitchen with a washing machine. There was also LCD TV, Foxtel and free WIFI. I would definitely stay here again rather than a hotel room to have the extra facilities and room. It's located on Scotts Rd, near Orchard Rd, so it's in a perfect position for tourists who like to shop and eat.
The first thing one should do when arriving in Singapore is to eat! So we tried out the Food Opera food court in the ION shopping mall, which is all completely underground I think.
I chose char siew pork, noodles and wanton soup. Only $5.00! Singapore has a really refreshing lime juice drink which I always have with my meals when in town. The food courts in Singapore are absolutely fantastic. So much more appealing than Australian ones. The variety is huge and most meals are cooked up fresh for you. My kids think it's hilarious that I take photos of my food. After dinner, we did a quick circuit of the mall before collapsing in bed and falling happily asleep.
After the stress of our son's diagnosis, we were really looking forward to our week in Singapore to spend some lovely time together as a family.
We decided to try out the new Scoot airline, which is a budget airline and flies direct from the Gold Coast to Singapore. You choose how much legroom and luggage you wish to pay for. I chose the longest legroom option, which I think is worth the extra cost. The food was, well, how can I say this tactfully...horrible. I suggest you eat before you fly, and just have a cup of tea on board. You know you can always top up on yummy food when you get to Singapore airport. But other than that, it's just your stock standard budget flight - perfectly acceptable to get you from A to B with more money left over for shopping and eating out.
Flying with an insulin pump is a little challenging. Firstly, the pump must be removed from the body for the first 1/2 hour of the start and end of the flight, as air bubbles form in the line. When we arrived at Singapore airport, we had to sit in a public area and refill our son's insulin cartridge whilst attempting to keep the whole thing in a sterile environement. After a while, you just don;t feel self conscious about doing such things in public. Also, we had 3 different pieces of cabin luggage filled with all his medical supplies, just in case one bag became lost. It takes alot of planning and organising to travel with diabetes.
As we were hungry from not eating the airplane food, we ducked into Toast Box for a snack. Toast Box serves yummy kaya toast and drinks. Then, we took a taxi to our accommodation; the Far East Plaza Apartments. We normally stay in hotels in Singapore, but I discovered we could rent an apartment for the same cost as one hotel room. The apartment consisted of two bedrooms, two bathrooms, loungeroom, dining room and large kitchen with a washing machine. There was also LCD TV, Foxtel and free WIFI. I would definitely stay here again rather than a hotel room to have the extra facilities and room. It's located on Scotts Rd, near Orchard Rd, so it's in a perfect position for tourists who like to shop and eat.
The first thing one should do when arriving in Singapore is to eat! So we tried out the Food Opera food court in the ION shopping mall, which is all completely underground I think.
After the stress of our son's diagnosis, we were really looking forward to our week in Singapore to spend some lovely time together as a family.
You went to Singapore and back already?!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more posts on your trip there. :)
No, but this post is too short! More, please! :)
ReplyDeleteScoot? Lovely name. I wish there were budget airlines to SA, but it's just too far.
I'm glad to hear it went well for your son. Another step towards a fulfilling, independent life as a diabetic.
I will do posts on each day of our holiday. We went to some fantastic places!
ReplyDelete