FIRST TIME IN SINGAPORE
Usually we spend 5 hours at a time in Singapore and that is in the airport. This was my first real trip to Singapore, and I was impressed. A great place to visit, I will definately make the effort to leave the airport when passing through next time. The Night Safari is a must see!

Not that pleasant to play here though from a weather perspective. Too close to the equator! 35 degrees plus, and 100% humidity! Then it storms, heavy rain, thunder and lightening. We saw it all this week. The referees aren't too sympathetic, always trying to get us to hurry up. The rule is 12 seconds between rallies, but in that kind of heat, we need more time. Not to mention the sand sticks to you like cinnamon on a doughnut. :-)

We had a tough 3 set loss to the Austrian sisters (1 hour and 14 minutes), which threw us down into the losers brackets. A 1pm match (did I mention yet how hot it is...the middle of the day was yuk) We played a new team from the Phillipines (who played all of their volleyball in the USA) an won convincingly in 2 sets.

Day 2 of competition, 3 games to get through....the first against the number 1 Greek team. We had our backs against the wall, losing the 1st set quite easily and being down 14-7 in the 2nd, we dug our hells in and fought (HARD) to win teh 2nd set and then nail it in the 3rd to win 15-7.

Next - Norway (the team we beat in China) and we were successful again in 2 sets playing some great defense (Tams block was a big factor, and I think the heat got to them) This advanced us to play another Norway team (this team finsihed 2nd in China) and we battled with them for over an hour to lose narrowly in the 3rd set. It was a great marker for us, we know we are very close to the top teams and it is an exciting time for us as our partnership is evolving rapidly.

This meant a 9th place finish for us. The highlight was the fight back against the Greek team. These wins are always memorable.

So back to the training court, and the gym...and the shopping mall!

See ya next week!

Yours on the sand,

PS - If is too hot, the shopping malls are a great getaway! Technology
city over here...so much fun!