We booked an "excutive bus" from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore and left on the Thursday. We only paid 30 Singapore dollars (15gbp each) and the bus was brilliant. There were only about 15 seats on the bus in total so we had a seat that reclined fully, our own tv, we were served food and even given hot towels - it was like being in 1st class on a plane! We hit a problem when we went through the boarder at Singapore. We had bought a lot of cigarettes in Indonesia as we had been told they were very expensive in Malaysia and Singapore. It was just one of those things that we never thought about but on scanning our luggage we were taken into a side room and asked why we had not declared our cigarettes, the customs official (who was being very official) asked us to pay 600 Singapore dollars as a fine. Thankfully the next official was a lot more understanding that we have never travelled to a country where you have to declare even a single cigarette being bought in. He allowed us to just give them in to customs and proceeded to cut through each box of 200 (there were 3!) with a stanley knife - heartbreaking! We were pleased when we finally got back on the bus, having learnt a very useful lesson!

We were dropped off at the bus station and took a taxi to Emma's. Her and Matt have been in Singapore for about 2 years now and Matt works for UBS. Him and Emma had bought our tickets to see qualifiying, practice and the race a few months ago. With UBS being one of the main sponsors of F1 Matt got a great deal and we are really thankful - thanks guys!

It was so nice to see Emma when she came and met us at the pool (we couldn't get in without a keycard!). Emma and Matt's apartment is wonderful, on the 21st floor with great views of the city and they were so welcoming. We were like pigs in muck for the whole weekend with aircon and a hot shower, proper bread, marmite and peanut butter, fantastic! That night we met Matt and his work mates and had food and drinks, great for Gem to catch up with Emma and Matt enjoyed some male company for once too!

The next morning was practice day and Emma and Matt were both at work so we went off to explore the city. As soon as we left Emma's apartment we were impressed with how easy it was to get around everywhere, very modern, clean and well organised. Completely stress free and Singapore has one of the lowest rates of crime in the world so for the first time in a long time we felt safe too. We walked around the famous Marina Bay area and caught our first glimpse of the F1 track. We went to China town and Matt bought his Grand Prix hat - see pics. That night we went to practice with Emma as Matt had gone to the airport to pick up his sister, Nic, who was also coming to stay and watch the GP. On the way there Emma mentioned that she wanted to buy some earplugs. We've been to a few races in the past and never warn earplugs so we just let her carry on thinking she was a bit of a wuss. When she came back from the shop with some for us too we thanked her and popped them in our pocket thinking we were not going to need them. It wasn't until Emma led us to our seats that we realised just how much they were needed!!! Our seats were in the Penang Stand and were 4 rows back from the track. The noise was brain rattling - we both have never heard anything so loud. So, earplugs in we settled in to watch the practice. It was exciting as some of the cars didn't take the corner very well to our right so we saw about 3 cars have to do a 360 to get back on the track!

Singapore at night is something of a spectacle in itself. With the stage just behind our seats where we were going to be treated to bands like Bananarama, Marroon 5 and Noel Gallagher in front of a backdrop of massive skyscrapers and the beer tents and puppets etc, it was amazing.

On the Saturday Emma, Nic and Gem went off for some gorgeous sushi and Matt and Matt went for a McD's - typical! We enjoyed the rest of the day together and Matt and Gem went off to qualifying early to walk around the track a bit more and soak up the atmosphere. Qualifying didn't disappoint, it was so exciting and finished with Lewis on pole and Jenson 4th - a great Saturday! Between Q2 and Q3 we saw Bananarama, one of Gem's favourite bands from the 80s. They were good (considering) and their songs were being sung by all of us for the rest of the weekend! After Q3 we saw Marroon 5, enjoyed singing along and drinking more beers from the beer tents then we made our way home on the train.

RACE DAY!!!

We spent the morning together going round a shopping centre across the road from Emma and Matt's called the Mustafa Centre. Only one shop but it took nearly an hour to walk from one end to the next and it has 4 floors. Our conclusion was that you could buy ANYTHING you wanted there, from crutches to makeup, gold bullion to spaghetti. Much fun was had walking through there and it was free, lol! Emma and Matt treated us to Dim Sum for lunch which neither of us have tried before. It was very very nice and definitely something we will have again. Before the race Emma and Nic wanted to go and see the Proclaimers but it clashed with Noel Gallagher so Matt, Matt and Gem went to see Noel. He was great, we were supposed to see Oasis at V festival a few years ago but they broke up the night before so we were very pleased to have the opportunity to see him and he didn't disappoint, He played lots of old Oasis tunes and it was a great start to the evening.

We met up with Emma and Nic in our seats. The race started with no issues but just as Gem had gone for a toilet break Lewis' car broke down, very sad as by that point he was way ahead and was looking 99% likely to win the race, but that's F1 - rough with the smooth and all that. It was nice to see Jenson on the podium as he finished 2nd and just being there for the 3 days was absolutely brilliant. After the race Katy Perry played but I don't think any of us have much of a memory of that, we were too busy chatting!

On Monday and with a heavy head we headed off to Little India (Emma and Matt were back at work and Nic went to Chinatown) and found an English Pub with a funny owner so we spent some time there. On the way back we stopped in for some curry and had tandoori chicken, daal and puri - best curry we've had for a long time. That night we cooked for Emma, Matt and Nic as a thank you for such a wonderful weekend. They made us feel so welcome and the 5 of us had such a laugh, it was an incredibly enjoyable weekend - Thanks so much guys x x x

On the Tuesday morning Emma dropped us off at the bus station, our next stop is Tioman Island back in Malaysia.