Last day... Last day in Singapore. Last day of the trip.

We're looking forward to going home, but last days are always a bit sad, such a pale, wishy-washy reflection of first days, when all is excitement and anticipation.

Last breakfast was a no-brainer. Back to Little India. Komala Vilas this time. The idlis there come with three chutneys and a gravy (saw the film), and are wonderful, especially when accompanied by ginger tea.




Our next moves needed careful strategizing:

-- Time we're required to check out = 1100
-- Time we're required to be at the airport = 1745
-- Possibility of spending any time outside without getting sweaty = 0

-- Solution = spend the day at Jewel Changi Airport, an indoor nature-experience-cum-mall.

It is very, very impressive. The centrepiece is the Rain Vortex, the world's tallest indoor waterfall. And all round the sides of the atrium are trees and greenery, so you can (and we did) tour all the floors, and then climb down the steps through the "forest", and sit for a while amid the bushes, with the waterfall dwarfing the chatter of the waves of photographers:







What with all that walking and sitting, plus eating noodles in the food court, and drinking iced latte, and indulging in a "blackout brownie" from The Backyard Bakers, the hours rolled past.

Next, the airport, just a few paces from Jewel.

No problems, except that my thumbprints seem to have worn off... Or at least the machines at Changi Airport had terrible trouble capturing them... Finally, after multiple attempts at three different stations, they were recorded, and I was through.

An uneventful flight. It takes fewer than 90 minutes to reach Kuching. A bit of a shemozzle at the airport, where Grabs seemed unobtainable, and we had to resort to haggling with real taxi-drivers, just like in the bad old days.

Finally, home. Which smells a bit musty, and will need a good clean.

But the main thing is that the bears have adopted Taggart, the new Manx kitten, and the fridge magnets have gone up:



Once we get a breather after the getting-back frenzy, we will be able to think how wonderful it was to do this journey, and how fortunate that nothing turned to custard en route... And our 100 days will keep on giving, in the form of productive memories and reading-list additions and inspirations for future itineraries.

In that sense, it's not over yet.