Blogs from Singapore, Asia - page 16

If you have been following along, you know that I like Singapore. I like Singapore a lot, to the point where I’ve visited Singapore just about every year since 2007. Over time, I’ve developed a bit of a routine: the first morning in Singapore I usually walk down South Bridge Road past the mosque and the Hindu temple, to Nanyang Old Coffee, for an iced coffee and a slice of pandan cake. Then I skip to the next block and visit the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, where I drop a few coins into the offering box in front of the Buddha dedicated to my birth day. I’ll wander through the little stalls that line Sago Street, and stop into the Chinatown Visitor Centre. At some point during my stay I’ll walk along the river, visit Merlion ... read more

We left Kolkata on our flight to Singapore. It was uneventful . After arriving at the airport we changed our Indian rupees for Singapore dollars and I was about to order coffees while we waited for our flight. Instead we were called to the Singapore Airlines desk. Our flight was overbooked and as we had a connecting flight in Sydney to Canberra they asked us if we would like to be moved to the direct flight leaving later that night. The compensation would be an upgrade from Premium Economy to Business, access to the Business Lounge, accommodation and meals at the Crowne Plaza airport hotel for the day. We decided to say yes as we had been awake for over 24 hours ( not counting small naps on the plane). We also asked for our bags ... read more

Friday 2nd February 2018 Awake a little earlier today to finish off the packing and enjoy a leisurely breakfast before we head off to Da Nang airport for the next and final leg of our south east Asia adventure. We have loved our time in Hoi An on this our second visit. It’s a place that has so much to see and do with a beautiful old town, great countryside and a nice beach not far away. We will be sad to say goodbye to this special place. Also we will be sad to leave the Camellia Homesta, it’s been a perfect place for us. A family who really do care for their guests and want them to enjoy their hospitality. The rooms are big, facilities great and the breakfasts are huge with a great selection ... read more

Today's plan was to use the hop on / hop off buses to get us round to where we wanted to go. We went to the bus stop as directed by the hotel only to find that it was the yellow route where we wanted the red route, which means we had to walk to another bus stop. The C.O. Is flawed. She cannot read a map. However she thinks she can. We had a free and frank exchange of views but I insisted that we went to where I said in order to catch the bus to Chinatown. We found out the correct stop, bought tickets and journeyed to Chinatown which was our planned destination. I tried to remain impartial and keep the smugness off my face. I am not sure I achieved this as, ... read more

Firstly, a big thankyou to everyone who read the last entry on the blog and a bigger thankyou still to those who added a comment or two - fortunately none of them fell into the 'offensive or rude' categories and were, therefore, automatically blocked by the site!! Now, that would have been something! So, let's move on to the next blog entry and with this in mind, many of you may know that Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, a man already heavily involved in the British Empire's expansion into South East Asia, including into Malaysia and Java, Indonesia. However, before someone looks to get a petition together to tear down his statue in Westminster Abbey, it should be remembered that he was a fervent supporter of abolishing slavery and his name ... read more