Not sure what happened here.. this should have been attached to post 16!

Our last day on Cocos was spent doing the wonderful Canoe safari with Kylie and Ash. We had motorised canoes and 10 of us set off to explore the uninhabited southern islands of the atoll.

The first beach stop saw us literally surrounded by hundreds of advancing hermit crabs as our champagne breakfast was unpacked!! We hadn’t seen that in the advert so it was a nice surprise! An impromptu hermit crab derby was set up, in which my crab scored a notable second place!

Then on to the next island, seeing turtles swimming in the clear water as we went. A walk on this island to a former military lookout, where the birds were within a few metres of us, and there was no land between us and Antarctica. Beachcombing turned up some stunning shells.

More exploring and into a crystal clear beach where sharks about 1 metre in length were swimming in the shallows. This coffee stop… well, wine and beer stop, included lessons in speedy coconut husking! Finally the highlight..even for me! Snorkelling between 2 islands. Finally, after 7 weeks, my swimsuit was required! Ash stayed with me and, despite my fear of deep water helped me experience snorkelling through a drift between the islands, letting the current carry me along. So many pretty fish of a myriad of colours shapes and sizes, an underwater cave full of large yellow fish and lots of sharks and different species of sea cucumber. An awesome experience.

Next morning we waited both sadly and anxiously for our flight. Today we had 3 flights to catch. The first to Christmas island where hopefully Steve would have our passports. However this flight frequently fails, because if the cloud comes down, the pilot cannot land, and heads straight to Perth!! Aaaagh. Our confidence wasn’t helped by a massive tropical storm which broke just as we taxied to the runway , and delayed our departure by 20 minutes! The second flight was to Jakarta Indonesia which was notoriously tricky for immigration and customs, which could delay us for our flight to Singapore!

Phew.. sunny on Christmas island, passports waiting. Hurray! Thank0 you so much Elaine and John.😀Jakarta flight on time. Brand new deluxe terminal in Jakarta, and we sailed through (if you can sail in an airport). They did have some rather strange products on sale… this is supposed to be one of the most revolting tasting fruits in the world!

Flight to Singapore bumpy due to thunderstorms, but that was the least of our worries. We made it. We stayed near the airport at Changi cove. Lovely spot, so did an enjoyable early morning coastal boardwalk.

This was in stark contrast to its former life as the site of the British army barracks which then became a Prisoner of War camp when the japanese invaded. It was where Carol’s father was stationed when he was captured and subsequently sent to work on the notorious Burma railway.

Finally, off to Changi airport for our flight. This huge airport is amazing. Fully carpeted, playing soothing jazz music, it is full of beautiful sculptures and areas to explore. Even the car parks are bedecked with flowers!Highlights are the butterfly gardens, orchid garden and sunflower terrace!

So much decoration everywhere for Chinese year of the dog!

Now onto tropical Borneo!