Damn I Wish the Weather was Better!!!

Friday morning a late start and one of my better choices - pool for an hour because from that point onwards pissing down with rain.

I track down a new Buffet at Edge at Pan Pacific which was amazing seven large stations with 7 different styles of food: International, Thai, Malay, Chinese, Singaporean, Japanese, Indian and Dessert. Chefs were freshly cooking anything you wanted - awesomely good.

On to Orchard Road amid the panic of scurrying people avoiding the rain. Went to the preferred shopping centre with heaps of small traders. The only purchase was watch batteries - I brought some of my watches to get new batteries and as expected less than 50% of the Sydney prices.

Before I knew it was 17:00 when we got back to the hotel. Had a "Fast Food Style" dinner followed by a show called the Bootleg Beatles which was a band totally impersonating the Beatles and quite frankly they were great. Listening to all the Beatles songs in Beatles style was great fun.

 
Alberto went clubbing with a guy he knows while I went back to the room for an early night interrupted at 07:00 with a very drunk Alberto stumbling to bed - in fact he claims it is the most drunk he has ever been - must be related it was on Vodka!!!

Not surprisingly next morning was a late start but again the weather is poor (GRRRR!!!). A coffee and cake at my newly discovered (thank you NOT Lindy) lobby shop patisserie and off to Bugis Market and the Electronics Mega-Centre.

 

It is probably a sign of my saturated ownership that yet again I bought nothing nada nix and I would have to say that prices here are comparable with Sydney and there doesn't seem all that much that isn't universally available.

We finish at the shops and head for our dinner at Dolce Vita at the Mandarin Oriental. The venue was delicious sitting alongside a beautiful pool oasis watching the sun setting with our hotel nearby.

The food was excellent as judged by my Italian friend. He started with Beef Carpaccio with Truffle Oil then Mushroom soup and finally a Risotto while I opted for my preferred three appetizer option - pan fried foie gras (superb) lobster bisque (superb) and a 'timbale' of fresh crab with avocado mousse and salsa. Quite outstanding and not outrageously expensive especially as Alberto who actually doesn't drink much at all has sworn off alcohol for the foreseeable future :-)

Anyway back to the hotel for me while Alberto goes clubbing again and I can report he returned at 03:00 alcohol free!!

Next morning and a few hours poolside enjoying the rarity of harsh burning sunlight. After this hard work a light Asian lunch and some more relaxing pool time in what has been the most extended sunshine since I have been here.

 So tonight is my last night and I think I am having dinner with Alberto, his Malaysian Friend and Girlfriend something light and simple.

I have a full day here tomorrow with 19:00 checkout for my 02:40 flight Tuesday morning and the only things I haven't done that I would like to have done is Malaysia and the adjacent Gardens so I will see maybe one or both tomorrow.

As is normal I probably wont blog my last day. Look forward to seeing all on Tuesday or soon thereafter
XD




 

Chillaxing in Singapore

Wednesday night and off to Robuchon's L'Atelier. Fitted out not dissimilar to New York we had bar seating looking right into the kitchen. The full degustation in the more subdued less bustling restaurant was $A250 (non per me) so i opted for the $A90 choose four courses from a limited menu. That proved a great choice with White Anchovies starter, Eggplant with Chorizo and Porcine Volute, Salt Cod and Pannacotta dessert.

Next morning up early to move hotels to the awesome Marina Bay Sands and off to Indian Cooking Course. It was held in a rustic single storey cottage with the backyard converted into a series of butane wok burners, benches etc. All well fitted out in a way to make the cooking easy.

The food was amazing - Spinach Paneer, Ginger Cabbage and Peas and a Green Chili Prawn. I have always feared Asian and Indian cooking but its all in the readiness, i.e. having all the ingredients totally prepared and ready to go. Have decoded to make the Paneer as the vegetable for my forthcoming BBQ especially as it can be made the day before.

After being dragged to the gym for a short treadmill session spent the afternoon by the pool with the lightning alarm going off intermittently but with it being finally spoiled by rain.

Relax before dinner and then a slightly down market experience at the Carnivore Restaurant - you guessed it Brazilian Churrascaria with me sticking to the salad bar while Alberto passed me small samplings of excellent tasting meat.

All in all am having a very relaxing time albeit with too much work arriving by email but there you have it. Am surprised how expensive Singapore is rating it to be on par with Sydney in most regards. Many of the locals drive an hour north and cross the border into Malaysia where the petrol and groceries are apparently 50% less than Singapore.

Anyway nothing much else to tell except doing what I planned not much with a bit here and a bit there.

Singapore Break

My original plan was a cheap airfare to Singapore and a four day break. However when I had to cancel my USA trip and with upcoming surgery I extended to 7 days.

At the airport I was offered a $139 upgrade to Business Class and was guaranteed an empty seat next to me - just perfect.

Surprisingly it was a brand new Boeing 777 plane and the seat was very comfortable while the food wasn't even too bad considering it is a budget airline.

I watched four movies of differing quality and landed in good shape in Singapore, waited 30 minutes for immigration, a prompt bag collection and taxi to the Sentosa Spa and Resort Hotel Unusually for me I rejected the first room which was the furthest room (maybe 600 metres) from reception and overlooked a service driveway. Anyway second room just fine, some room service and a good night's sleep.

Next morning woke early (05:45) and watched US election banter till 08:00, showered and dressed catching a bus and monorail to the Vivo Centre for some breakfast and 3 hours of walking around shops buying only some ....... yes babywear.

Back to the hotel and Alberto, my friend from the cruise arrived from Dubai arrived. We had lunch at the hotel and went down to the beach club and a long walk catching up since we met on the cruise in January.

His recollections of life in Riyadh and Dubai are very enlightening. Interestingly almost all the young women and men he meets there hate the life and would like to leave for what they regard as a better life.

We head back to the hotel to freshen up and head to the Bugis market where we eat at a cheap noodlery and do some shopping not that there is much there that interests me.

Next morning I wake early and watch the US election unfold to the obvious and easily predictable Obama win. We head off for breakfast where this is my breakfast companion.

Head off to the Singapore Observation wheel which has amazing views of Singapore.

 

After that we do a flight simulation. Alberto did Macau and the two Hong Kong Airports while I did Newark and JFK then back to Newark. The simulator is one that they actually use to train pilots. I have a new found respect for pilots!!!

Lunch at the Hawkers Market which was quite amazing the variety and number of stalls - settled for Indian. Back to the hotel for a relax by the pool and some small time on business and emails.

Thats all for now
Love to the pregnant ones and all others
XXD