Wow, all I can genuinely express is gratitude. We are so beyond blessed to be able to do this. That’s not to discount the effort that has gone into obtaining the resources to achieve this and the countless sacrifices we have made, only for inflation and greed to chip away at our prudent spending over the years.

Life is all about progress, and once you start to acknowledge certain truths, you can move forward. That moment is now.
We planned this trip to Singapore rather abruptly, as we were initially scheduled to head to Kuala Lumpur. However, we had to opt for Singapore instead due to airport staff shortages and obscene prices. A country which fascinates so many and a country we knew very little about. We had to take this opportunity.

It was a long flight. We had barely slept the night before as we were so giddy to be heading back to the far east. A place we last explored when we visited Nepal in 2017 for 16 days. This time we would stay 88 days, and our trip is scheduled to expand across five countries, including a couple of countries we have never visited before but are so so SO excited to be able to. Both countries are vastly different and offer up experiences rarely found elsewhere. We hope you join us.

Upon entering the first plane, we were seated next to a passenger from Pakistan. We had to strike up a conversation and learn about our new friend, but we also discussed Pakistan’s current political state, one he, like many Pakistan nationals, is not happy with. A certain Mr Bhutto was discussed, and I brought forth the point, rather abruptly, that his assassinated mother, Benazir Bhutto (RIP), would be deeply ashamed of her son’s actions. Everything he stands for, she fought so hard against, and it ultimately cost her her life. Deeply saddening. A viewpoint our new Pakistani friend shared with us.

On the second flight, we were seated next to a well-travelled swiss man who used to work in Asia and headed to Singapore to meet up with old colleagues. Politics were not discussed.

As we descended into Singapore, an announcement was made over the tannoy, which overwhelmed us with panic; we had not filled out the necessary online health forms. All sorts of questions and irrational thoughts entered our sleepless minds. Are we allowed to enter Singapore without this form being completed ahead of time? Would we be sent back? Is there a processing time? What if we’re too late!?

As soon as we left the plane, we switched on wifi, hoping we could connect to something. Singapore has the best airport in the world; surely they would have free wifi? We were lucky and could complete the forms relatively quickly before getting to immigration. Here, we saw hundreds of others who didn’t fill the forms in before landing in Singapore frantically on their phones, just as we were mere moments before. Turns out, we needn’t panic, but a sleepless mind cranks up irrational thinking tenfold.

Upon leaving immigration, we calculated that we had been travelling for over 24 hours. It was 1 am UK time, and we were shattered, but we were at a man-made marvel, Singapore Changi Airport; we just had to check it out! Plus, we could only check into our budget Singapore hotel at 3 pm. We had six hours.

We inquired into a bag drop-off service, but the cost was too high, we rejected the notion of spending £18 to hold our bags for a few hours. Instead, we proudly rolled them across Singapore’s airport; many others had the same thought.

When Natalie and I entered the jewel, the fountain was off, but our luck changed within twenty minutes. We were beyond tired at this point, but we committed to a new way of filming and wanted to be quicker with our YouTube content, so we summoned the courage to start filming in front of people after a long hiatus. It was a challenge, but I’m immensely proud of what we captured and incredibly proud of Natalie for filming the B roll and being the day’s main presenter. Natalie overcame a lot that day.

After we wrapped up, we wanted to look around the world-famous Singapore Changi airport. We stumbled around for an hour, catching multiple lifts up and down to find food. We settled on a Thai restaurant twenty metres away from where we started filming, we need have walked so long.

After our food, we headed back down to the basement and stumbled upon a lovely selection of food stalls across the cinema. That was when we knew we were back in Asia. It brought back so fond many memories of travelling across this amazing continent. Still, for now, we had just entered our 45th country: Singapore and we were eager to explore! Making our way to the local bus, we were finally headed into the city and onto our hotel. You’ll know what calamity strikes at the end if you’ve seen our YouTube video. Our name is a suitable adjective.

Toodles