Festival of Fifty – Chapter 6: Europe

This is the influencer boulevard of trees at Marina Bay Sands...

And so we arrive at the final chapter of the Festival of Fifty 

This one takes us to Europe: a week in the Dolomites followed by a Croatian coastal voyage aboard Club Med 2. The travelling party is small but well tested. There's Mal, who by now requires no introduction, and joining us are Richard, one of our university friends, and his wife Ali, who I've known even longer, having first met her at age 15.

The story of how Richard and Ali ended up on this trip deserves a brief detour. Mal and Richard, in a remarkable display of life admin coordination, happened to be booked in for colonoscopies on the same day last year. In the post-anaesthetic haze that followed...that brief window of pharmaceutical goodwill where everything seems like a fine idea...Mal made a very persuasive case for an expensive European holiday. Richard agreed. After all, if not now, then when. Points flights were available. It was a sign. He then went home and, still riding the same wave of chemically-induced joy, booked himself a Wimbledon hospitality package for afterwards, because if you're going to have a big day, you may as well commit.

So here we are.

The plan is simple enough. A week based in the Dolomites exploring mountain trails, cycling paths, alpine villages and whatever local delicacies we can justify after a day of exercise. After that, Richard and Ali will head for London and Centre Court, while Mal and I swap hiking boots for deck shoes and board Club Med 2 to sail our way down the Croatian coast.

But before there are mountains or yachts, there is the small matter of getting there.

The journey begins with a flight to Singapore and a layover long enough that sitting in the airport felt like an unacceptable waste of time. The trade-off was humidity and sweat, which we accepted. Changi, in collaboration with Singapore Airlines, offers free city tours for transiting passengers — there are criteria to meet, and when we plugged in our details, exactly one option came up: the Singapore River and Marina Bay Sands. So that was that.

The tour was perfectly fine. It chewed up the hours adequately. And when we were dropped back at the terminal, we were very glad to be back in the air conditioning. Up to the lounge for a shower, some food, and the grim task of staying awake for another four hours until our flight to Munich finally boarded — sometime well past midnight.

We made it through immigration this time with no instructions from the immigration officer like "your eyes open big ok" at the automatic passport booths

The group size was  33

The bus was air-conditioned

Clarke Quay, our first stop

If I was paying attention I would know why I took this photo

Sir Stamford Raffles, the English guy who basically founded modern Singapore. And our guide TC, who was enthusiastic and friendly, but overly shared personal stories

Boat Quay

Original landing spot of Raffles

Oldest building in Singapore, ex parliament house, currently a theatre

The old Supreme Court

"pit" test

LV anyone?

Travel party

STAY AWAKE!

Goodbye Part 2

Soursop jelly and ice. I hadn't eaten this in decades!

It was my last day to spend time with my parents.

I declined a proposed trip to the Malaysian border, and we settled on a compromise instead: Bukit Panjang. A part of Singapore that still feels decidedly local, with no Western or expat gloss. Old HDB buildings I remembered from childhood. A non-air-conditioned hawker centre. Men drinking kopi o and playing Chinese chess, unhurried and deeply unconcerned with the rest of the world.

We wandered through the loud and busy markets where my parents bought things for their grandchildren. Chines New Year paraphernalia were out in force. My father ate more durian. And, naturally, we ate again.

Somewhere in between meals, I managed a short nap. The past week had been utterly exhausting in the way only constant eating can be. Then it was time to shower, pack, and head to the airport.

My parents, who were ever so sweet, took public transport with me so we could spend a little more time together. And also, of course, eat again. It’s never too early to celebrate Chinese New Year.

My dad ordered yusheng, a raw fish salad traditionally eaten during Lunar New Year, where everyone gathers around the table and tosses the ingredients high into the air while calling out wishes for prosperity, health, and good fortune. The higher the toss, the better the luck. It’s chaotic, symbolic, and oddly joyful. A fitting note to end on.

My flight wasn’t until just after midnight, so we said our goodbyes at the airport. I lingered for a while longer, drifting through duty-free, then into the lounge, where I did what I’d been doing all trip.

I ate again.

An entirely appropriate way to end this chapter of the Festival of Fifty.

Exploring Singapore on public transport like pros. This is my parents hobby when in Singapore

Local market at Bukit Panjang. Prices are still good here

And...its time to eat...again

When in Rome...

Everyone has their marketing red packets ready!

More local fruit. Jambu. I still don't know what the best English translation is

This sight is becoming less common with all the public spaces and hawker centres "modernising"

Otak otak (Singapore style not Indonesian just to be clear! They are very different...) another childhood favourite

Eating yusheng. Each ingredient has its own saying with associated meaning when poured on. 

The extra long chopsticks for tossing

Lets go!!!

Goodbyes

Sadly, our time in Chiang Mai came to an end.

Verdict on the trip? We all had a good time. But then again, we usually do as a family. Was it the most exciting or memorable trip we’ve ever taken? No. But that wasn’t really the point.

It was a short break that did exactly what it needed to do. Time together. A change of scenery. Space to slow down and step away from the everyday rhythm of life. And as an added bonus… it was cheap. Which never hurt! There were many more chapters to go in the "Festival of Fifty"...

We flew back to Singapore on the same Scoot flight, then parted ways at Changi airport. Mal and the boys stayed overnight at an airport hotel, opting for an early morning flight back to Sydney rather than the age-inducing overnight option.

Lara, my parents, and I headed back to the family apartment. Which of course meant one thing.

More eating.

My parents know how to play this game

The tiny Chiang Mai airport

Lounge was not bad

Came with free 15 min massage

Elliot lounging in the tiny Yotel

The view out of the family apartment

My parents knew what I liked. Sar ho fun

Can you guess what major annual event is coming up

My parents bought this for me as must try. Have never seen this in Australia

You eat it as is. SOOO sweet

Chocolates we had to have

I mean who doesn't need Chinese New Year kitkats

Sawasdee

Transit day. Which means I’ll keep this mercifully brief.

One of the quieter perks of The Key was a sit-down, à la carte breakfast in the main dining room on disembarkation morning. No buffet chaos, no jostling for toast. Just coffee, eggs, and a civilised farewell to the ship.

We ate around 8am and disembarked at about 8:45. Nothing in the process itself was slow, but the line snaking off the ship certainly was. One crew member commented that the morning had been unusually quiet until suddenly… it wasn’t. Everyone, it seemed, had chosen to leave at exactly the same time. My guess? A high proportion of locals, none needing to catch flights. I do have to mention here that Royal Caribbean has done a great job of moderating the Asian tendency to queue jump...

My mother had arranged for the same driver to collect us at the port and take us to the airport. From there, we boarded Scoot for our flight to Chiang Mai. Thank you to our Amex cards which fed us all breakfast number 2 as well as an early lunch at the lounge.

This leg of the trip was always meant to be economical. With several other adventures on the calendar, restraint was required. When we started brainstorming affordable, short getaways that would work across generations, Southeast Asia was the obvious answer. Chiang Mai won out for its food, familiarity, and the fact that the kids had never been to northern Thailand.

Scoot was… Scoot. No frills, no fuss, exactly what we paid for. The cabin crew were friendlier than many full-service airlines, and we landed fifteen minutes early, which in budget airline terms feels like winning the lottery. Immigration at Chiang Mai airport was efficient, with luggage coming out quickly as well. We did have a minor snafu when the children noticed that Opa was being taken away into some small interrogation room! Thankfully the immigration officials were friendly and helpful and let me back into try and help. Minor problem of the Thailand Arrival card somehow not attaching itself properly onto his passport. Phew!

Hello again Singapore

For those who love details...the menu for breakfast at disembarkation

Crab benedict. Tasty

For those who are still enamoured with the Dubai chocolate craze. The OG Fix had a pop up at Changi Terminal 1 until 30 Jan

Decent food offering! Hainanese chicken rice was one of the made to order choiced

Sticking with the no-middleman theme, I’d once again organised things directly through a local travel agency. It was inexpensive, so expectations were appropriately calibrated. First impressions were solid. Communication was clear, airport pickup was on time, the van was clean, and the driver friendly.

Our base in Chiang Mai was the Duangtawan Hotel. And honestly, it perfectly reflected the overall tone of this part of the trip. Well-located. Four-star on paper. Right near major hotels and the night bazaar. Very much “Asian standard,” in the sense that nothing was actually wrong… but everything was a little tired.

The rooms were spacious, the air-conditioning worked beautifully, and the facilities were extensive — including a surprisingly enormous gym with every machine imaginable. But everything was old, and the décor had seen better decades. The hotel was full, largely with Asian sporting groups, which gave it a very specific energy.

Would I recommend it to clients? No. Especially not Western clients.
Would I recommend it to friends? It depends.

For my parents, it was perfect. Clean room. Good location. Easy access to shopping and food. Tick. Tick.

We’ll reserve final judgement until the sightseeing begins.
For now, it was time for sleep.

Day 5 – Goodbye Ship, Hello Chiang Mai

Our private transfer at Chiang Mai airport

Duangtawan Hotel lobby

Room definitely looked better online than in real life

So long as there was no mould in the bathroom, I'm happy

Welcome fruit punch. So so...tasted almost like fake orange juice crossed with yakult

Evening stroll to find food

Dessert time

When you're tall staying in an old Asian hotel

The big gym

All the gear...even if they were only Gen 1

There were even classes if you were that way inclined!

Even the scales looked old school. And no I did not hop on