Our last stop in Asia was Singapore. A little confusion over our flight dates meant we only had 24 hours here, rather than the two days we were initially expecting. That said, since we were both reaching the point where the thought of another bowl of noodles was making us vaguely nauseous, this was perhaps no bad thing.

The highlight of our trip was undoubtedly the accommodation. Thanks to a very generous birthday gift from Swills, we enjoyed a night of 5* luxury at the Four Seasons. I don't think they knew quite what to make of us when we rocked up in shorts and backpacks, but they were consummate professionals throughout our stay. Nothing was too much trouble – I honestly don't know why A-list celebs (who practically live in places like this) ever have cause for complaint in life, since our every whim was catered for.

Our room was amazing, on the fourteenth floor with views over the city, a deluxe king size bed, 42 inch plasma and DVD player, his and hers bathroom with walk-in shower and L'Occitane toiletries. I was in heaven – I just about resisted the urge to squeal until after our 'usher' (whose job it was to show us to our room) closed the door behind her, but I am sure she heard me down the corridor. After 4 months of hostels, I was in hotel heaven.

As a result, it was very difficult to leave the hotel at all (especially with the swimming pools plural, gym and complimentary use of the tennis court), but we managed an afternoon of sightseeing, cramming in the best that Singapore has to offer.

We made the obligatory pilgrimage to Raffles Hotel during a wander around the old Colonial District. It's a beautiful place, lovingly restored, albeit slightly incongruous compared to the concrete and glass giants all around it. We ordered Singapore Slings, but we couldn't quite bring ourselves to drink them in the Long Bar (where the cocktail was created) because it would have meant sitting surrounded by all the other tourists doing the exact same thing. Apparently Raffles makes up to 2500 Slings EVERY DAY. I say 'makes,' but it's a little-known fact that the drinks now come ready-mixed - it would require just too many man hours to shake each of those drinks by hand!

Two observations about the Singaporeans:

Number 1: Shopping appears to be something of a national pastime here, and it shows – Singaporeans are very well dressed indeed. Orchard Road, near our hotel, is a legendary mecca for the shopaholic, with mall after mall of designer brands. Even I couldn't resist the urge for a little retail therapy. Plus we spent a happy and nostalgic hour browsing Borders, which appears to still be thriving here.

Number 2: Singaporeans also seem incredibly patriotic. We stumbled across the sound check and dress rehearsal for what we discovered was the National Day Parade. This will be a star-studded event in the town centre, featuring films about how awesome Singapore is (especially its military – there were lots of shots of tanks and marching soldiers). I accosted a sound check guy to find out when the event was happening:
“Is it tomorrow?” I innocently asked.
“No miss,” he replied, eyeing me sceptically, “It's on August 9th.”
So a month's worth of preparation then, necessitating working late on a Friday night. Let's hope it's good!

And so, this is it, the end of our Asian adventure. Here's to the next chapter.....

Hoi An is fast becoming a popular tourist destination – the old town was designated a World Heritage Site some years ago, and the tourist industry here has since exploded. There are many excellent cafes and restaurants, and even a wine bar with decent (foreign) wine. Down by the beach, new 4* hotels are being constructed with alarming rapidity. Coupled with the fact that Hoi An is the premier destination in Vietnam for cheap tailored clothes, I am sure it won't be long before this becomes another Thailand for week-long getaways from Europe. For the moment, it's still a place in transition.

We spent a day visiting Cham Island, actually a series of islands about an hour off the coast of Hoi An. This was one of my favourite days of the Tour so far – it's a relatively pricey trip ($40 each!), which means there were next to no tourists in the bay, just local fishermen. We did a spot of snorkelling, a chance for me to see the underwater world for the first time. Visibility was pretty good, and we spotted shoals of brightly-coloured fish and a couple of angel fish, as well as blue starfish and lots of coral. One of the women saw a sea snake, which apparently carries enough venom in a single bite to poison 50 people. Very glad we all emerged unscathed. We then whiled away the afternoon on our very own desert island, lunching on the beach and napping in hammocks, avoiding the 41 degree heat.

We also decided to spend a morning doing a cookery course, where we learnt to make 4 traditional Vietnamese dishes, which we then get to eat. A delicious way to spend a morning. At the end of it we were presented with the recipes, so hopefully we can put our new-found skills to good practice when we return to the UK. Food was definitely a focus of our stay here – we sampled so much delicious seafood, including our first-ever king prawns which were caught that very day by the restaurant owner's dad.

There are not masses of sights here, and so we gladly use the rest of our time to relax and soak up some sunshine. We headed to Cua Dai beach for a late afternoon swim, passing lots of burnt-to-a-crisp westerners who spent the day in the sun (mad dogs and Englishmen...) Whilst we were there, the beach was transformed from a western sun-seeker's resort to a local paradise – apparently (and very sensibly) the Vietnamese avoid swimming during the day at all, heading to the beach either between 5 and 8am or 4 and 7pm. Even then, many of the kids are still made to swim fully clothed, just in case.

We also made time for a bit of shopping (at last!), although we had to ignore most of the tailored stuff – the world of work seems far too far away to contemplate ordering a suit or a shift dress right now. James was also further put off when he discovered that the Next catalogue provides the basis for most of the male tailoring! Instead, we opted for a bit of traveller wear, although avoided the baggy harem pants which appear to be this year's gap-year item of choice.