Singapore Sling

A short trip to Singapore for emergency knicker buying and such like pursuits which didn't interfere too much with the main purpose of eating.

I've got a better hang of Singapore now and used the MRT to travel most time, it saved money and time leaving more of both for the important things (see above).

There wasn't too much picture taking but I leave you with a few images of things that tickled my fancy:

This reminds me of the " the internationally acclaimed Holistic Nutritionist and presenter of You Are What You Eat " Gillian McKeith but is in fact a dentist in Little India.


Lion dancers were all over the place ushering in good fortune for the year ahead, my camera wasn't up to capturing them particularly well, either that or my photography skills are still in need of a massive overhaul but here are a few of them anyway.



And a light up version



Lights were a bit of a theme and Clarke Quay's were pretty impressive.



On the subject of themes Clarke Quay takes it quite seriously, here's the first picture of a theme bar, The Clinic.



Drinks are served in intravenous bags on wheeled stands. I didn't see any wheelchair shenanigans but I expect they do happen.

The Highlander Bar is predictably Scottish



Their menu includes haggis, stovies and tattie scones but I don't know if there are any Tunnocks Tea Cakes or Irn Bru available.

Elsewhere it's seafood with impressive tanks of live fish for diners to choose from.

At least at the start of the night they look impressive, this shot was taken of Jumbo Seafood at the end of the night and there are a lot at the bottom of the tank which look like they're going to be getting served first the following day.



We stayed at the Swissotel Merchant Court where there was a sale on rooms. We didn't spend much time in the hotel so there's not a lot to report on it except that it's the first time I've checked into a hotel that matched my shoes and bag.



Flying: Singapore Airlines
Eating: Satay, Nasi Lemak, Curry, Curry, Curry and Kulfi
Returning: Overweight in both baggage and person

A good trip.

Christmas Cheer

As once again Saigon gears up to celebrate all things Santa and Baby Jesus related I find myself hanging outside places making "oooh" sounds and pointing stupidly at things. If I have a camera handy to point stupidly with I'll take a picture.

Last year the May Hotel went all out for a tin foil theme but this year not a scrap of it in sight. A mistake as far as I am concerned but still, they did provide us with a Baby Jesus in a sequined play suit nestled in a huge twinkling star.



Nice.

Phuoc An, Hoi An

During our last trip to Hoi An we stayed at the Phuoc An Riverside hotel. I was stunned by some of the very individual decorations.





Be honest, how often have you looked at a marble statue and thought "You know, that would be so much better with a sarong and a pedicure."



The wall lamp verged on criminal but the comfortable rooms and view from the roof more than made up for the kitsch decor.

In The neighbourhood

Down our way we don't have very much, no supermarkets or restaurants,bars or bookshops, although we do have a couple of temporary cafes which are good for an iced coffee. But recently I noticed that the area is up and coming. We appear to have a fairly upmarket knockin' shop. I've seen ladies ply their trade, quite discretely, along the National Highway and they need somewhere to take their customers.

For around £1.50 at the current rate of exchange you can get an hour in this local hotel. A bit extortionate for a ten minute stay but it seems popular, it looks like an extension is being built and it IS airconditioned. These types of hotels are also used by couples seeking a bit of privacy together and a more comfortable platform for their activities than a Honda Wave parked under a tree.

What I did on my holiday

Laos, a lovely country for a holiday and the Beer Laos is damned fine at about 50p for a 650ml bottle. Here's our first bottle:

Beers, dry grilled beef, papaya salad and sticky rice for under three pounds on the river front in Vientiane on Christmas Eve.

We stayed in a nice guesthouse, incredibly clean and at £10 for a room including breakfast and airport transport very good value for money. We had a standard room for our first stay because there weren't any superior rooms available at Aroon Residence and particularly enjoyed the room decor. It reminded me of the painted hotel in Priscilla Queen of the Desert.


And now unobstructed by furniture:


We returned to Aroon Residence for our last night and got a superior room without murals, very tasteful.

Just a few dollars more.

It's a guesthouse, not a hotel so no bar, but there are no restrictions on bringing your own in. The manager is very efficient and responds to emails quickly.

Deck the hotels with miles of tin foil

I found a place that was just too awsome to capture in a single shot. The My Hotel, on or near Cao Ba Quat.

I'd passed it a week ago near the end of the work night out which included Karaoke in a fried chicken shop. I was mesmerised by the sheer shininess of it and had to be dragged away. I'd had several lemonades so was pretty impressed that I managed to find it again. No small thanks to Stephen who responded swiftly to my squeals of "Shit stop the bike, there it is". I jumped off and ran down the street Anneka Rice style while he had to find a way back down a one way system to pick me up once I satiated myself.



One third of the frontage, here you can see the compulsory Creepy Santa, this one gets extra points for having no hands, just streams of tinsel spewing from his cuffs.



Inflatable snowman atop the stairs covered in aluminium foil, visitors can still get into the hotel but no more than two abreast. Even the entry and exit to the underground parking is lined in tin foil.



Finally, Baby Jesus in tinfoil nestled in a manger lined with tinsel. It doesn't get any more Christmassy than this.