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Sunday, November 28, 2004
Singapore Trip-Full narration with pics!
After two consecutive nights of sheer madness (i.e. working non-stop from 8a.m. to 11p.m.) I was "handsomely" rewarded with an all expenses paid official duty trip to Singapore. For 3 days.
Sorry I can't elaborate on the work done, but I can share with you more interesting stuff, i.e.the hotel I stayed in, how I managed to squeeze in 2 hours of brisk walking along the Esplanade, Empress Place and one and a half hours' instant shopping at Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Orchard Road. I arrived at Singapore at around 7pm, no thanks to "efficient" MAS who kept us in suspense by announcing that our flight was delayed for an hour and then ushering us to board the flight within the next 5 minutes! Well thank goodness it was Airbus 300 so the journey was reasonably comfortable. Upon arrival me and my colleague were greeted by our designated driver who of course, tried hard to impress us with his Singaporean hospitality. Well his car was impressive anyway. Mercedes Benz Kompressor E200. Very nice, I thought to myself... a nice car for a change. Upon checking in at the Fullerton Hotel, we immediately had a quick change of clothes and were whisked away to another hotel for dinner. The name of the restaurant is Mortons I think. Mortons steak house. The Bengali waiter entertained us with his heavy Indian accent while he gave a short presentation on what food was served. Well basically if you are a meat lover, you'll love Mortons. They serve steaks in portions large enough for three hungry men! I chose salmon instead because I wasn't too keen on the meat... Work began almost immediately after the heavy meal. Small group discussions began at around 11.30pm which lasted until 12.45am. (Horror of horrors look) Went to bed at around 2am. I will spare you the details of what I did the next day because it was mainly work and nothing else. Ahha... when it came to the afternoon, I was not required to attend the meeting and I quickly took the opportunity to walk around the area of Fullerton hotel. A few quick facts on Fullerton Hotel. This Victorian style building was originally a Post Office building for more than a century. It was renovated and reopened in 2001 as one of the poshest hotels in Singapore. Basically... everything is expensive in the hotel. As you will see from the pictures that follow... a 1 L bottle of Evian water costs $12, internet access at the business centre costs $10 per 15 minutes, room rates start at $300-$400, etc... definitely not a place I would consider staying in if I am paying out of my own pocket! Hahaha...  This is the main entrance of Fullerton Hotel. Note the revolving door at the back... it has a sensor and starts revolving automatically when you approach it. Just don't trap yourself between the glass doors :P I digress... now, let me show you where I went during the limited 2 hours of leisure time that I had. Firstly, I walked across the Cavenagh Bridge. There were decorations being made for a garden wedding. This is the picture of the bridge. You can see some waiters decorating the bridge with tables wrapped in luxurious white material.  Hmmm... I wouldn't mind a garden wedding myself, provided the weather is not too hot! You can see the Anderson bridge on your left as you walk through Cavenagh Bridge into Empress Place. Anderson bridge is open to vehicles and pedestrians.  This is the Anderson Bridge. Next I walked into Empress Place where the parks are very well maintained, with pedestrian walks and lush greenery. Everybody is so relaxed and suddenly it reminds me of England in summertime. The Victorian Theatre is located nearby, so is the Asian Civilisation Museum as well as the Museum Shop. All three buildings are of Victorian Architecture, which creates a very quaint atmosphere. Perfect for an afternoon stroll. 
This is the front view of the Victorian Theatre with a statute of Sir Stamford Raffles. I took the underground walkway and walked towards the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay.  This is the view of the two theatres from a distance. Rather unique don't you think? Some people associate it with durian shells. The last time I visited the Theatres on the bay, the rooftop garden was closed. Therefore this time round, I had the opportunity to visit the rooftop garden.  This is the picture of the rooftop of the theatre. You can see the Merlion and the Fullerton Hotel from a distance. I managed to get a picture with the Merlion.  Isnt she magnificent? There's actually a smaller merlion at the back... but I did not bother taking a picture of it since I had the big one! After taking a picture with the Merlion, I went inside the Fullerton Souvenir shop and bought some key chains... all with the merlion on it. I decided to explore Empress Place later and entered the Victorian Theatre. There was an afternoon concert going on... I could hear the orchestra playing. Unfortunately all tickets were sold out and therefore I could not enter the theatre hall. What a pity. Would have loved to attend a concert... away from work, even for a few hours. The Asian Civilisation Museum was next to the Victorian Musuem. They were having a Turkish treasures exhibition. Admission costs $7 so being "lokek" I decided to forgo the exhibition and went inside the Museum shop instead. The shop does have an impressive collection of ceramic ware, paintings, clothing and other ancient artifacts but nothing in particular which suggests that it is a museum... which is kind of strange really. Did not buy anything because well, nothing caught my eye really. And photography was prohibited so sorry guys, no pictures of the goods in the museum shop. On Saturday my colleague and myself managed to go to Takashimaya at Orchard Road for some last minute shopping before we left for the airport.  This is the one and only picture of me at Takashimaya! The Christmas decorations are really lovely... I heard that the whole of Orchard Road is brightly lit at night. Too bad I did not have the opportunity to see it... I came to Singapore in Dec 2002 and I remember how beautiful the streets were... And basically... that ends my trip to Singapore. Very tired but still happy. Ciao! Anyway... after all that typing, I think I will let the pictures do some talking... here are the pics of the hotel room and goodies... have a look. :)  The luxurious bathroom with a separate shower cubicle. In case you were wondering... yes, I bagged all the toiletries.:P  Something I discovered when exploring my room! A full set of liquor, including Jim Bean, Jack Daniels and ors... complete with coasters, napkins and wine glasses.  The bed that costs $50 everytime you change your sleeping position. That's how I view it anyway. Bed linens were ok... the bed was a tad too tall for my liking. I had to climb onto it. Literally.  An overview of the room.  Very important...especially when you don't want to spend an exorbitant amount of money at the hotel restaurant.  The most expensive mineral water in Singapore-$12.00.  This is the front view of Fullerton Hotel.  This is the back view of Fullerton Hotel. The swimming pool is located at the open area in the middle section of the building. Thats it folks! by miracle8 at 09:59 pm
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Profile Right... four years exactly into working life and suddenly I found the urgent need to ramble about my not so interesting life...here goes:
I am: Liberal and radical on paper only. This is the basic description I would give myself. I am a good listener and usually offer sensible advice. If I don't sound like myself, its must be my evil twin at work :P I am passionate about: Music and Arts. Can't imagine what this world would be like without these two essential elements. When I'm not working my head off I like: Meeting new people from all walks of life and listening to their life experiences. I take things with an open mind (albeit not completely Zen like) and always remind myself not to take anything in life for granted. And I wish: All my friends, my family and everybody else who will somehow cross paths with me, a fulfulling life, in terms of work and relationships. And remember, you only live once. So make the best out of it. :) Tag Board Calendar
Links Affiliations: SARAWAK BRITISH ALUMNI ASSOCIATION The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn Alumni Association, Malaysia Be a part of the blogger's community!  I read them: Bk's Homepage updated! January 2007 Matty Benji Firestorm's Portal Lily aka Helibely Songie The Angelic Grace Tony Pua 5xMom Competitive Malaysia The Cooking Engineer Dodoro May's Bloggie Kenny likes whisky and Cognac Rojaks Daily Gentle Ethereal Musings Xes Marita Paige Chets Corner Wilson's Digital Memory Wena's Mum-mum Kuching Kayaking Fish fish's blog Bujang Lapuk Abroad Nadai Nama Nama Jasmine Mikel Lian Dr Chen's Ramblings Benjamin the Violinist Ah Mok's blog Kent's blog Kenny Sia Joyce Lee Parisian 15 Kris's Memory Stick Irene's Sweet Surrender Pink Cotton Kawaras Andrew's da man Benjamin Sew cracks me up Jay So Rules Robin Wong Allen Kenneth Ivan Ann Kuching Fest I blog here too The Cook Blog Useful links on education and other youth programmes China Synergy Program for Outstanding Youths TinKosong.Com RECOM Educate, Deviate by Tiara Shafiq Up With People Doctorjob.com (Malaysia) Support Bolehland Read Blogs Malaysia Chinese blogs Estelle Xu's Journey With Good Friends Willis Double Happiness My other blogs My Nano '05 (archived) My Piano Diaries updated! My 2005 Nanowrimo Novel (By Chapters) Chapter 1-Memory of Fallen Petals Chapter 2-The New Landlady Chapter 3-The music room Chapter 4-A look into the past and some girly talk Chapter 5-The beginning of it all Chapter 6-The Proposal and a sea of memories Chapter 7-A story untold My Article Index-where you find links to my favourite articles! UPDATED December 06 online Online Casino  Credits |
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