Mt Lofty House - Accomodation on High

Mt Lofty, the high point of the Adelaide Hills also has a great older converted house as up market accommodation, very close by.

Actually, on the east, below the edge of the hills, so you miss the westerlies, although when there are southerlies or sou' easterlies, well they do come up the valley.

It is a rebuilt old established estate house, originally built in the mid 1800s, but burnt down in bushfires a few years ago, and rebuilt and converted to accommodation.

Just up the freeway from the Cross and Portrush Roads / Glen Osmond Road intersection, and about 35mins to the airport. A great place for a weekend with some great views and options to do a few walks around the grounds or at the adjacent Botanical Gardens annex or even hit the bicycle [ for serious cyclists though- it is a bit hilly, so be prepared].

We have only been there in cooler months, and it can be cool,VERY cool at night during the winter.

It is well known as a restaurant for dinner, and even for breakfast they do a great muesli with yoghurt and fruit coulis [ I really like these - very addictive for a second one!]. Have not had dinner there but reputation is excellent.

They seem to have had a few specials on some of the accommodation web sites eg www.wotif.com over the past few months so check those for a good deal - and they have been!

Recommended, as something a little different. Their website is here - http://mtloftyhouse.com.au/ lots of photos

Radiator Wrecking

NOT a good afternoon.........the trusty Subaru Outback blew the top off the radiator - literally, pieces of plastic everywhere, when about 70km out of town, on a reasonably isolated road. just as the vehicle arrived on location.

Meant a very tricky limp back into town. Had 6L of water, but had to fill up water bottles quite a few times at various places along the way.

This sort of event can really put a major hole in a road trip, of any length. Especially tricky if in the remote parts of Australia.

You can plan for blown radiator hoses, loose clamps, but to literally blow the plastic top off the radiator is a bit odd to me. Maybe the older cars mostly had metal tops on radiators.......and hence rarely, if ever, actually broke.

This will mean several days off the road and a costly repair, and no doubt parts will have to come from interstate. Removing and repairing the radiator will have a high labour component - so will be costly.

The Joys of Airline Travel -NOT

The Joys of Airline Travel – NOT

Fellow passengers can be friendly, pesky or just downright awful, annoying and a menace.

A recent flight delivered one of the latter into the middle seat in the row in front of us. As usual, the plane was very near full, and it was a Friday evening after an especially stressful week for airlines with volcanic ash disrupting flight schedules, and the subsequent delays often annoying to passengers.

BUT........you can do little to solve the issue, and safety does come first.

However, the male [ cannot describe him as a gentleman] seemed to be a little more than well charged as he got on the flight, which had been delayed well over two hours – time seemingly spent imbibing at the bar.

He was raucous, calling to a fellow passenger who was known to him a few rows in front and generally a bit disruptive to those around him. He was a large framed guy, and with waving his arms around and bopping to music it seemed a bit chaotic in the row in front of us.

But wait.......there is more!

Soon we were airborne, and out came a pizza along with about a dozen oysters. The latter were consumed promptly in conjunction with a citrus liqueur as oyster shooters, and the pizza also promptly was eaten. Then the airline meal, all the while hopping and bopping in the seat with the headphones on and loud.

We then had some clear air turbulence for a while and I wondered if his bopping in the seat was causing some of it......he was that vigorous. That incident slowed the meal service for a little while but as soon as service resumed, he was after more beers.

About three hours into the nearly five hour flight........he promptly passed out, rather than went to sleep. Peace ensured.

Prior to landing it was a major effort to wake him to raise the seat back for landing. Very bleary eyed it seems. But awake enough to call for the steward and hand her the bag of oyster shells – she looked absolutely stunned. That was priceless and almost worth the previous annoyances!!

As the guy next to him in the window seat said..........lucky it was only five hours and not a sixteen hour flight to north or south America.

There have been quieter evening airline flights.

Seeing the Sites in Singapore……….by Bus – VERY DOABLE

No, it is NOT a spelling mistake.

As a tourist you need to get around the place and the tourist sites easily, cheaply and quickly. Often that may be on foot, especially in a city area.

In Singapore the MRT and the associated light rail in some suburban areas provides a great way to travel around. But for comfort, avoid morning and evening peak hours……….they get very crowded. Quite a normal experience really. The various MRT stops and interlinked lines are mostly convenient around the main city tourist spots. BUT……..you are underground and really see little.

Although, like many underground systems around the world [Mexico City and Moscow come to mind immediately] they do have quite a bit of art work on the walls and tile art on the floor, especially at Dhoby Ghaut in the interchange walk areas. Singaporeans usually rush past……….take some time and have a look.

But buses around the city are also worth discovering. First principle………assume you can get very close to where you need to go, even if there is a bus change part way. Buy and use one of the current and easily obtained bus and train annual guide books put out by the authorities. You can easily work out the how to get there from where ever quite easily. You can also obtain verification of the routes and bus stops at the actual bus stop itself. It is very common to see locals also checking out this while they are waiting.

Buses are usually reasonably quick for journeys around the main downtown city core areas and within a few kilometres from the central areas. Often they allow you to board at a very close by stop, avoiding the walk to the MRT Station. For some areas eg Parkway Parade / Mercure Roxy Hotel and East Coast area buses are it……….there is no MRT [well not yet anyway].

There are some special tourist buses that offer “get on / get off” passes for a day. Compared to the local buses they are VERY expensive, so do not dismiss the local buses in Singapore. Mostly air-conditioned too.

It is generally possible to get to and from most tourist sites by public transport, with buses offering a reasonable option. Whether it be Changi Point or Changi Chapel or Woodlands Interchange or Woodlands Checkpoint [crossing to Johore Bahru] you can get there by bus.

Try it …………you might like it. Remember that the “touch and go” multi journey stored value MRT / Bus ticket means you do not need to know the fare, just use it on the bus. Makes it very easy.

There are some late night routes that offer a slightly different route to daytime, often combining a few bus routes into one. Not always as convenient, but usually cheaper than a taxi.

Singapore is NOT a late night city for urban public transport, with the MRT having last trains around 1130 pm, and buses around midnight for normal routes. But these night bus routes do offer some extra travel a little later into the early morning.

Do NOT Despair

The new buzz term for old fartz goes something like this:


Fabulous, fit and fifty.


But under no circumstances forget the next one - svelte, sexy and sixty

Christmas Dinner at Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur

Just as we were arriving at the restaurant for our Christmas Eve Dinner, the carollers arrived at the entrance, providing the right ambiance for the evening. They sang quite a few traditional carols and then moved on to entertain other guests in other venues. We were settled at our beautifully decorated table, which was placed right beside a window so that we could enjoy the night lights of the city. We were brought a very nice glass of wine and invited to help ourselves to the buffet. Well, it was more like buffets; as there were several “live kitchens” set up around the edge of the restaurant with chefs to prepare your requests. Separate areas for Malay, Japanese, Chinese, Indian and European foods were set up plus seafood, salads and the largest dessert buffet I have seen in a long while. Death by chocolate is a phrase which flows to mind.

All the while we were entertained by a wandering minstrel group singing carols and other music from around the world. They were ably assisted by a small group of children who were delighted to be asked to be part of the entertainment.

The presentation was magnificent and the food tasted excellent too. Any apprehension we may have had about celebrating Christmas in a non Christian country was definitely dispelled.

For some photos of the dinner at the Le Meridien Hotel click on the thumbnail photo below.


by oldfartz99

Singapore Lights up for Christmas

Our return to Singapore is in time to see the Christmas in the Tropics lights of Singapore.

“Christmas in the Tropics is one of the key tourism drivers for Singapore, being a season that our overseas visitors look forward to,” said Ms Joycelyn Ng, Deputy Director of Leisure Marketing and Events Management, Singapore Tourism Board. “With a programme packed full of shopping, dining and entertainment options, it’s little wonder that one in five visitors surveyed last year planned their trips to coincide with Singapore’s Christmas celebration. We hope that this year will be no different as we create for visitors their most memorable Christmas experience yet.”

A key favourite of the annual Christmas in the Tropics celebration is the Christmas Light-up, themed “A Fairytale Christmas” this year. Scotts Road and the Orchard Road stretch from Tanglin Road to Plaza Singapura and the Marina Bay area from Hotel Rendezvous to Raffles Avenue will be transformed into a bewitching Crystal Forest decked with magnificent chandeliers, magic harps, glittering jewels, dazzling lights in red, gold and white, and even a magical carousel. Conceptualised by Mr Dick Lee who is the Creative Director for the second consecutive year, this fantasy land is the setting for the unfolding of a fairytale inspired by the Nutcracker Suite, which tells the story of handsome Prince Noel who goes in search of his missing true love, Princess Ballerina, through the Crystal Forest.

For the 17th year running, Hitachi is the sponsor of the Christmas Light-Up along Orchard Road. “The Hitachi Group is delighted to support the Christmas Light-up for the 17th year, raising funds for those in need of help with the hope of lighting up their lives as well. Our commitment to the community demonstrates our corporate philosophy to contribute to society through technology wherever Hitachi is located.” said Mr Shunsuke Ohtsu, Hitachi Ltd’s Chief Executive for Asia.

We take a trip by MRT to Orchard (at the intersection of Scotts and Orchard Rds) and as we exit the underground station the lights are really in your face. Immediately you see the display up high right across the road. Wooden soldiers in their turrets high above the road, beautifully lit and turning slowly on a turntable so that everyone can see them. Yes, the advertiser does have his name prominently displayed but we will disregard that little bit of commercialism for the moment and enjoy the display.

Walking down Orchard Rd there are beautiful displays on just about every shop. What appears to be a waterfall of lights down the full height of Tangs, discreet, classy displays in front of Prada and Yves Saint Laurent (the real bling is inside), huge white candle castles complete with Princess, large white moving doves at Robinsons and lights as far as you can see the full length of Orchard Rd and down Bras Basar Rd to Raffles Hotel. Christmas sentiments other than commercialism along with the lights are evident in many of the displays. Outside Raffles City shopping centre there is a huge tree, which continually has people being photographed in front of it. I stop to join the photographers and notice, right on the edge of the footpath, with the traffic whizzing past within centimetres, a couple of rickshaw drivers, would you believe, catnapping in their machines, resting between customers! They must have nerves of steel to even consider stopping there, let along sleeping!
For more photos click on thumbnail below


by oldfartz99