Thursday, March 3, 2011
Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Helped decorate the hall we rented for the American Women's Club Thanksgiving dinner. We had exactly 100 people attend and it was really nice. A great raffle with lots of American foods and products, and the food was quite good. Turkey here is incredibly expensive so most people don't bother cooking their own, and for $65 each it was actually cheaper for everyone to join with the other Americans from the AWC to celebrate.
Request for funding from AWC
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Some of our animals:
I attended the AWC board meeting today to request a donation for Kanyana to install a sprinkler system for the educational animals in case of fire. They agreed and made a generous donation of $2000 to have the system installed. The overhead sprinklers can also be used to cool the animals down on unusually hot days, and the fire danger this year is the worst ever, since this has been the hottest, driest summer on record.
Some of our animals:
Baby boobook owl
Jock the joey
Kookaburras
puggle (baby echidna)
Wedji, our emu
Flight from hell
Monday night, November 15, 2010
Well our plane left on time, but the pilot soon announced that we would need to land in Bali to refuel, since we had to divert around the volcano ash. She assured us it would only be a 20-30 minute stop, but she forgot to request clearance to land, and once we did, the Balinese airport officials refused to allow us to leave. There was speculation among the passengers that Jet Star most likely did not want to pay the fine, and attempted to negotiate a settlement. We were stuck on the tarmac for well over 5 hours, with a pilot that kept announcing that "Clearance is on the way and we should be leaving in 10 minutes." After about 3 hours of this they finally allowed us to get off the plane, as long as we stayed close by. Well there was certainly no where to go because we were off at the far end of the runway with no buildings in sight in the middle of the night. However, a whole lot of guards suddenly showed up and ordered everyone back onto the plane. There were a dozen or so people that refused to get back on board, and things got rather ugly. But they did eventually get back on the plane and once again we listened to the pilot continue to tell us we'd be leaving in just 10 more minutes. People started booing her every time she got on the intercom and in all this time the only thing we were offered was a half full glass of warm water. Finally the guy next to me demanded that the flight attendant bring him something to drink, and he pretty much exploded when he was told he'd have to wait, since we were "leaving in just 10 minutes." He told the flight attendant, "Your idea of 10 minutes and mine are very different, and I demand you bring me something to drink now, because I'm getting dehydrated." The flight attendant immediately brought him a soda, and amazingly did not charge him. However, as soon as we finally did take off, they began serving food and drinks at full price.
We finally landed at 6:30am, so Bill got 2 hours of sleep before he had to be at a meeting. Truly the flight from hell, and yet as we landed the flight attendant went into her usual cheerful spiel of "We hope you enjoyed your flight…" There was a LOT of booing at that point.
Well our plane left on time, but the pilot soon announced that we would need to land in Bali to refuel, since we had to divert around the volcano ash. She assured us it would only be a 20-30 minute stop, but she forgot to request clearance to land, and once we did, the Balinese airport officials refused to allow us to leave. There was speculation among the passengers that Jet Star most likely did not want to pay the fine, and attempted to negotiate a settlement. We were stuck on the tarmac for well over 5 hours, with a pilot that kept announcing that "Clearance is on the way and we should be leaving in 10 minutes." After about 3 hours of this they finally allowed us to get off the plane, as long as we stayed close by. Well there was certainly no where to go because we were off at the far end of the runway with no buildings in sight in the middle of the night. However, a whole lot of guards suddenly showed up and ordered everyone back onto the plane. There were a dozen or so people that refused to get back on board, and things got rather ugly. But they did eventually get back on the plane and once again we listened to the pilot continue to tell us we'd be leaving in just 10 more minutes. People started booing her every time she got on the intercom and in all this time the only thing we were offered was a half full glass of warm water. Finally the guy next to me demanded that the flight attendant bring him something to drink, and he pretty much exploded when he was told he'd have to wait, since we were "leaving in just 10 minutes." He told the flight attendant, "Your idea of 10 minutes and mine are very different, and I demand you bring me something to drink now, because I'm getting dehydrated." The flight attendant immediately brought him a soda, and amazingly did not charge him. However, as soon as we finally did take off, they began serving food and drinks at full price.
We finally landed at 6:30am, so Bill got 2 hours of sleep before he had to be at a meeting. Truly the flight from hell, and yet as we landed the flight attendant went into her usual cheerful spiel of "We hope you enjoyed your flight…" There was a LOT of booing at that point.
Botanic Garden, Singapore
Monday, November 15, 2010
We took over 500 pictures here, absolutely an amazing place, especially the Orchid Garden. Although we spent over 4 hours, we still didn't see quite everything, but we had a flight to catch.
We took over 500 pictures here, absolutely an amazing place, especially the Orchid Garden. Although we spent over 4 hours, we still didn't see quite everything, but we had a flight to catch.
Canceled flight, Singapore
Sunday, November 14, 2010
While checking in for our evening flight back to Perth, we were suddenly informed that the flight had been canceled, but no explanation was given. The 30 or so passengers all came to the conclusion that more than likely Jet Star decided it simply wasn't worth it to fly with so few passengers, so they put us up in a hotel and told us to return at the same time the following day. That actually gave us the chance to see the Botanic Garden, which we would have otherwise missed. Bill had no meetings scheduled for Monday but I had to miss my shift at the animal hospital. But the hotel was nice and they gave us meal vouchers so it could have been worse. That is until the flight back, but I'll get to that in the next blog.
While checking in for our evening flight back to Perth, we were suddenly informed that the flight had been canceled, but no explanation was given. The 30 or so passengers all came to the conclusion that more than likely Jet Star decided it simply wasn't worth it to fly with so few passengers, so they put us up in a hotel and told us to return at the same time the following day. That actually gave us the chance to see the Botanic Garden, which we would have otherwise missed. Bill had no meetings scheduled for Monday but I had to miss my shift at the animal hospital. But the hotel was nice and they gave us meal vouchers so it could have been worse. That is until the flight back, but I'll get to that in the next blog.
Sentosa Island and Night Safari, Singapore
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Our friend dropped us off here to spend a few hours - lots of shops, restaurants, a casino and amusement park.
Then on to the Night Safari, located right next to the zoo. Lots of nocturnal animals doing their thing, hard to get any decent pics though in the darkness. Very worthwhile - you can walk, take a tram, or do both. Lots to see.
Our friend dropped us off here to spend a few hours - lots of shops, restaurants, a casino and amusement park.
Then on to the Night Safari, located right next to the zoo. Lots of nocturnal animals doing their thing, hard to get any decent pics though in the darkness. Very worthwhile - you can walk, take a tram, or do both. Lots to see.
Singapore Zoo
Friday - November 12, 2010
Went to the zoo, it was awesome. Animals have lots of space, open enclosures, and the orangatans swing back and forth in the trees right overhead. Seems like they could get out but the trees around the perimeter are equipped with spikes and wires so they can't get down to the ground.
Went to the zoo, it was awesome. Animals have lots of space, open enclosures, and the orangatans swing back and forth in the trees right overhead. Seems like they could get out but the trees around the perimeter are equipped with spikes and wires so they can't get down to the ground.
.
The white tigers seemed pretty happy, lying in the shade.
These flying foxes were close enough to touch, and were all busy eating the fruit that was stuck in many of the trees.
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