Day 21. Homeward bound.

 Sat 29th April.

Today we have to pack up and get ready for the long flight home. But we have the whole day to fill in as the flight doesn't leave till 11.45 pm.

The girls had enjoyed the hotel pools, so we let them have a good time there for the morning, they will have to sit still for a long time tonight.

Our bags were stored at the hotel until we would come back later to pick them up, before heading to the airport.

We went over to the Vivo mall for some lunch then off to the Marina Bay Sands building, hoping to get to the top.

That was no problem, just say you want to go to the bar, and you are able to get to the 57th floor  and the Lavo bar.

There were fantastic views.

As luck would have it - it was Happy Hour 😊

Dancing Queen

Off again, this to have a look at the super trees down in the gardens in daylight.

It was getting a bit late to visit the Cloud Forest or Flower Dome, so we took the kids to a playground there instead.

It was really hot and humid (again) after a while we noticed that there were dark, threatening clouds closing in. We made the wise decision to get ourselves back to the hotel before we got wet. We would have quite a bit of time before we needed to leave for the airport at 7 pm.

We got a taxi back to the Vivo mall. We needed to hand in our MRT cards and get our refunds, then it was the last ride on the Monorail. 

By the time we left the mall it was persisting down, a right proper tropical downpour. We hung around for a bit, hoping it would lighten up, but after a while Nik decided to sprint back to the hotel and get an armful of umbrellas for us. Great work Nik !!

We were nearly up the step to a covered walkway when there was a huge clap of thunder, it felt like it was right on top of us. Poor Hollie, she got a real fright !!

Then the fun began.  We had plenty of time to order the prepaid taxi and get to the airport, but no! It took well over half and hour, and more friendly persuasion from KJ to get a suitable one sent. We ended up with only just enough time to go through all the check in proceedure etc.

It was still raining, but probably not so hard as earlier, and the plane took off on time. A long 10 hour trip. Arrived safely in Auckland at around 12.30.  

We got though the re entry formalities and all caught the shuttle bus to the domestic terminal.

We completed the check in to Rotorua and had a last goodbye to KJ & family.  Arrived back in Rotorua by 5.30pm 30th April. 

There was Rowan, Sonja and the kids to meet us !  Livvy and Ben had drawn a lovely big sign to welcome us back.

Adventure over. It has been a fantastic trip, and can recommend to anyone a guided tour in India. So many places, sights, colours, and foods to explore. Indian people were all friendly, polite and eager to help. Also keen to know where you are from - they all know a few Blackcaps names  😄