Blogs from Raffles Marina, Singapore, Asia - page 8

We awoke at 3.21 am as we were in the wide awake club, an electric storm was illuminating the sky which was spectacular, but no rain. When we ventured outside from our air condition bed room, the humidity and heat at this time in the morning hit you like a comedy frying pan in the face. An hour later came the rain, and boy does it rain. We dozed off to sleep at around 6.00 am, and re awoke at 10.30. We set off in to Singapore for breakfast, (thank god for Starbucks) and had the pleasure of engaging in to conversation with a Singaporean Guy (Jackson Teo 26) who had lived in California for 12 years and had come back to Singapore to complete his PhD. We talked and talked for two (2) hours about ... read more

Hi all, its 1.58 am British Time, and we got to the Marina Mandarin Hotel about 20 minutes ago, so door to door from Romsey was 19 1/2 Hours. The flight was good, the Airbus A380 was just fantastic, I believe Singapore Airlines was the first airline in the world to take delivery of such a beast, and now they have 6 in the fleet. Compared to 747 (Jumbo) is just looks larger, a 747 can seat 375, and the 380 can seat 471, in the configuration, of economy, Business, and Premier (Suites), though overall it is advertised that it is capable of seating 800 people. The cabin crew are beautifly dressed in a type of Sarong and the food was excellent, with proper cutlery which was nice. When we got off the plane, it was ... read more

A trip to Singapore is not complete without a visit to the tourist overrun Raffles Hotel, visited by many famous names in its time. The bar is famous for its Singapore Sling... Type: Mixed drink Primary alcohol by volume: Gin Brandy Served: "Straight up"; without ice Standard garnish: Maraschino cherry, pineapple Standard drinkware: Highball glass IBA specified ingredients†: 4.0 cl (8 parts) Gin 2.0 cl (4 parts) Heering Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy) 0.5 cl (1 part) Cointreau 0.5 cl (1 part) DOM Bénédictine 1.0 cl (2 parts) Grenadine 8.0 cl (16 parts) Pineapple juice 3.0 cl (6 parts) Fresh lemon juice 1 dash Angostura bitters Preparation: Pour all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into highball glass. Garnish with pineapple and maraschino cherry. It's a killer! The bar is covered in ... read more

Rumoured to be one of the hippest places in Singapore, Clarke’s Quay is the place to visit for bars, restaurants and ex-pat mingling. Established in the 1900’s this area was once the heart of trading and commerce. A century later, this bustling area was one of the few places you could go clubbing, enjoy up scale eating and just let loose. Clarke’s quay is an amalgamation of colourful restaurants and shops with outdoor patios and ferry lights. It reminds me very much of my visit to Copenhagen. The Singapore River runs through area and you can go across to the other side via a bridge. Many ex-pats come to this area to party, relax and let loose. Now with Marina Sands opened up the area is getting a run for it’s money. When we had gone ... read more

Hello from Singapore! Well i am a couple of Singapore Gin Slings down so excuse any typos!!! So i reluctantly left Cape Town yesterday having had a wonderful time with the boys and took the very long flight over to Singapore. i have to admit i was dreading the long haul flight and went fully prepared with a bottle powerful sleeping tablets! I did not however have to worry at all. if any of you have ever flown with Singapore airlines you will know what i am talking about. It was fabulous! now i know what you are thinking, did i manage to get an upgrade? i did not. HOWEVER, the flight was half empty and the space was surprisingly HUGE! luckily i had the whole 3 seats to myself, along with 6 pillows 3 blankets ... read more