The last few days before leaving were hectic, and I finally closed my backpack just a few hours before leaving. Sleeping was obviously out of the question… Had I forgotten anything crucial? Had I seen everyone I wanted to? What lay ahead ??? I was lucky to have my father drive me in the middle of the night to the Brussels train station, to take the first train heading to Paris CDG. I had wanted to spend one last night at home, but that meant arriving just in time at Charles-de-Gaulle to check-in for my first flight. The goodbyes felt odd; what do you say before going on such an adventure as this? No hugs can feel enough… At the airport, I met with 3 other winter-overers: Paul, Sebastien and Pol. Claire from IPEV would also be traveling with us, as well as two French astronomers.
The first flight, from Paris to Singapore, was uneventful if long. We had a whole day to spend in transit in Singapore, and apart from visiting the renowned airport butterfly greenhouse, decided to take advantage of the free tours organised by the airport society. It turned out to include a perhaps slightly biased account of the creation of the city, but we still managed to get a good glimpse of the best sights. Although it was sweltering hot, no one complained, as we knew it would soon be over!
75 Degrees South 