It was a lovely sunny morning here so I wondered why I could hear foghorns. Just before 10 o'clock a sea mist rolled in and the end of the breakwater disappeared.
During our 2 hour tour of Stockholm this morning our bus was stopped to allow a parade to pass. It is the 40th birthday of Crown Princess Victoria and there will be a larger parade later. Today is also the 14th birthday of Max the wonder dog, and the 17th birthday of mischievous Miki and righteous Riki. Coco also gets to celebrate today because we don't know his real birthday. This will be our last night on the ship. We were at the farewell do last night when a large contingent of the ship's crew paraded past.
Oh cursed jet lag! Sleep for 3 hours then awake from 1am. Consequently we slowly eased ourselves into the day. Breakfast at our hotel was uninspiring but edible. Caffeine was essential to be able to explore the shops along Orchard Road. Again we were lucky missing a couple of downpours since we had not taken our umbrellas. After a session in the shops and lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant, we returned to our hotel for a quick swim - quick because the water was cold compared to the warm water in the hydro pool on the ship. The hotel has a sauna, steam room and gym, but I doubt we will use any of them. Anita enjoyed a Singha beer with our Thai dinner. The glass was so cold it must have been stored in the freezer. Alcohol is expensive in Singapore because of high taxes. One local beer at the restaurant cost $9.50 Singapore (about $9 Australian).
On our last full day in Latvia we caught a train from Riga to Sigulda which is a resort town in a national park. Hiking is a favourite activity with many trails through the park. There are also some extreme sports venues such as bungee jumping and a luge run. A cable car crosses the river. I avoid these but went for a look to see the nearby scenery. I was astounded to see two people hanging from the cable in slings that allowed them to lay face down to see the view below as the cable moved them across the river. I thought it would be scary to cross the river in the gondola - but to hang from a sling is positively insane! This area has been in records since the 12th century. Some famous people have passed through such as Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. There are castle remains but a lot of restoration work was being done so we didn't go inside.
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