Singapore 07 - Day 5

Wednesday was hump day, although this time I was glad I wasn't at work! Today was a pretty lazy one. We jumped on the train again and headed to City Hall where we worked our way through the underground shopping malls and over to Suntec City. Five towers of shopping on quite a few levels! We were at Suntec for hours and hours just checking out everything. Robin spotted a little shop in the corner of a mall with heaps of skate gear - here we bought a few tees and shorts. Very funky and original designs!

Even after the shopping had ended, the day was going to continue to be one of the best nights in Singapore... We went around the towers and checked out the Fountain of Wealth. We then headed back undergound to check out more shops when I heard an announcement along the lines of:

We currently have a situation in the building. Please remain calm. We are investigating the situation and the possible outcomes. Thank you for your attention.

I immediately sensed something wasn't quite right. Robin said he didn't hear the message, wasn't listening. I don't think many others in the mall had heard the announcement either. I suggested we head up to street level "in case". As we emerged, about 1,000 people lined the streets between the towers of Suntec City. "What the f*ck?" Turn out the earthquake tremors from Sumatra were felt in the building.

We didn't really know what was going on at the time so we just kept walking and headed to the Raffles hotel for the famous Singapore Sling cocktail. There's that "to do" list again!

We sat down at the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel where again the tourists pay premium. SGD68 for two cocktails, plus tax, plus service charge. One thing they know how to do very well in Singapore, is plus plus plus.

It was a very elegant bar, made me feel like I should have been taking photos in Sepia mode, 1930's style. There were boxes of peanuts everywhere and the aim is to crack them open and throw the shells onto the floor. I also spotted a 50kg sack of peanuts used to refill the small boxes! The cocktails themselves were very nice and went down a treat.


I hadn't mentioned it yet, but most of the things on the "to do" list I've gotten from the Lonely Planet Singapore book. Another one of these items it to have drinks at the New Asia Bar. What better night to get on the piss than a Wednesday? After the Raffles Hotel, it was back to the villa to freshen up, sexy up and strut to the 70th floor of the Swissotel. Being a Wendesday, crowds were down (apparently) but it was still packed, there was no cover charge, the tunes were cranking, the food was excellent (I picked a winner with the Dim Sum banquet) and the views were... well... stunning.