Blogs from Boat Quay, Singapore, Asia - page 2

What's the weather like? HOT. DAMN HOT. Landing in Singapore at 10pm, we stepped outside to wait for our shuttle bus and felt a brick wall of thick heat whack us in the head. Deciding this was not a good move, we go back inside the airport to wait for our shuttle. Repeat this experience several times over the next 24 hours and this kinda explains Singapore for us...but, not to be deterred we did see some cool stuff. We were taken on a tour of a vibrant area with tiny streets karaoke bars and many many food places bustling with people at 11 on a Monday night, before arriving at our hotel - The Scarlet, which is a small and gorgeous boutique hotel near the Chinatown area. BED! GOOD! SLEEP! Even better! In the morning ... read more

Singapore came from the Malay word 'Singa' which means Lion and 'pura' meaning town.... lion town. In 1965 Singapore became independent from Malaysia so this year was their 50th anniversary... and boy did they celebrate it in style! "Majulah Singapura' means 'Onward Singapore'. It is also the name of their national anthem. And it is a phrase what was hard to miss last weekend. Apparently they spent millions on the celebrations, which included; the Black Knights doing incredible flybys, a free symphony concert in the Botanical Gardens, a parade which was televised on large screens around the city, fireworks every night during the 3 days, free transport, free phone calls and much, much more. I really got a chance to see how proud the Singaporeans are of their city and what independence means to them. Sitting, ... read more

We had a VIP send off at Laamu island, said goodbye to Regina and management and took a bouncy speed boat back to the airport on Kadhdhoo island. The airport was very small and operated by no more than 5 staff. Had bags searched for coral and then we sat in a room waiting for the plane to Male and then onward to Colombo for flight to Singapore. The Bubble has burst, back to normality. Arrived in Singapore after a 3.5 hour night flight and have to make our own way to hotel by taxi. Our room is not ready so we wait in the foyer and Fran falls asleep. Finally get into room and refresh ourselves before stepping out into Singapore streets. Very cloudy, cannot see a blue sky but temp is 32 degrees. We ... read more

We had our first adventure as we checked in at the airport. Joan's bag got bumped while being weighed and went flying off down the conveyor before it got its tag. Luckily the person serving us spotted it and sent somebody to grab it. So we avoided loosing a piece of luggage. Whew! After a lovely flight with Singapore Airlines we got through immigration and waited for our bags. Some bags came out but then no more. Then came the announcement that bad weather had delayed baggage by 30 minutes. Eventually we did get our bags and next we wondered if the shuttle to the hotel would still be there. We found a man holding a sign with our names. He apologised for being so late - the bad weather had delayed him as well, so ... read more

The flight from Bali into Singapore’s Kranji Airport went smoothly and our bags were the first off the conveyer belt – there’s a first time for everything! Our Chinese taxi driver merrily chatted away to us throughout the entire twenty minute ride into town although I couldn’t understand a single word he said. I didn’t want to appear rude so resorted to strategically nodding or laughing as I thought appropriate – he seemed happy enough. Soon, we arrived at the Merchant Court Swiss Hotel (www.swissotel.com/singapore-merchantcourt) located in the bustling heart of Clarke Quay, the popular leisure area built high up around the Singapore River. We’ve stayed at this hotel before as its location is great – not too sure about the concierge though. When we first checked in, we asked if the tap water was drinkable ... read more