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I got the text message (and email) telling me that Freyja and my flight had been delayed by two and a bit hours while Stephen and I were waiting for the bus back to the hotel on Saturday afternoon.

At least the delay didn't happen once we had boarded!

So instead of rushing to the hotel, grabbing our bags and hotfooting it out to the airport, we went back, collected our bags and sat in the foyer for a while. Freyja ate some of the stuff she had bought at the vegan deli. Stephen had a pizza from the bakery. I had one of their sticky buns.

Then we went to the airport by train. Taxi is, of course, quicker but costs around SGD 30. The train cost us each around SGD 2, using out travel passes. And we were now in no hurry.

We delivered Stephen to the calm, collected and civilised Terminal 3, where there was a brass band playing Christmas songs, where he checked in to his Singapore Air flight and ambled through into Departures. Freyja and I went to the chaotic, busy and frenetic Terminal 1 for our Jetstar flight. No brass band for us!

We were still very early for our flight so had a wander around airside. We had a drink. Freyja had another wander. Then we boarded and headed back to Oz.

We had no trouble getting back into Australia. We used the machines to go through immigration. We went to collect our baggage. Freyja's bag came through in no time. Mine did not! It was one of the last bags to come through. This wouldn't normally matter, but we still had to tackle the very long queue for customs, and if I didn't make the 12:45 shuttle bus back to Ballarat, there wasn't another one for two hours. I was very tired of sitting around and waiting for things!

Fortunately, we got through quite quickly. I had 15 minutes to get to the shuttle bus departure spot. It's about a 12 minute brisk walk! Stephen had arrived well before us and he and Simon were waiting in a coffee shop. Simon had bought a coffee for me, which I grabbed as I dashed past (belated thanks to Simon for the coffee) and walked as briskly as I could to the bus stop. I got there just as the bus was pulling up!!!

Lindsey met me at the station and took me home.Were the cats pleased to see me? Hard to say. They said hello, and then went out through the patio door, which I opened as I came in, to lie in the courtyard in the sunshine. Rupert and Hugo were pleased to see me when I came up to Hill House yesterday. Normal life has been restored!

Oh - and my uncharged Fitbit held up until five minutes to midnight, Melbourne time, when the weekly step challenge ended. I came second on the leaderboard. This was quite an achievement - which I do not expect to replicate this week!!

Not as tropical, green or warm as the
garden at Lyf Farrer
but a perfectly adequate spot
for an evening tipple