Back in Singapore for a few days before heading back to Australia. Arriving in Singapore from Vietnam one can’t help but wonder if you have travelled into the future. The differences are stark, in architecture, technology, comfort and probably safety. (Although we felt completely safe whilst in Vietnam). But on a couple of fronts Vietnam more than holds its own. Food and people. I wouldn’t be able to argue that anywhere we have been has had more delicious food or friendlier people than Vietnam.
Anyway, back to the future, and after the disappointment of our last Singaporean hotel I decided not to risk upsetting the better half and booked us into the Rendezvous Hotel. Super convenient for Orchard Road shopping and the MRT stations and a fancy pants 4 stars. The room was spacious, well equipped and clean with a toilet from the 22nd century. I may not be a connoisseur of bathroom facilities, but even to my untrained eye this was state of the art. Being a guy I spent way more time than I should have playing with the options. Upon reflection, this was rather foolish as from now on any visit to the bathroom will be a disappointment. Once you’ve been finished off with a rear rinse and blow dry, there just isn’t anything else that can compare.
The Rendezvous offers guests access to a ‘Club Lounge’ for an extra fee. The lounge includes drinks and canapes each evening and I figured we would get our money’s worth by abusing the free drinks. It just about worked out worthwhile because the food was a little disappointing, but it did include access to a lounge at the airport which was very comfortable, again with complimentary food and drinks.
The Marina Bay Sands is a magnificent building. I can’t believe I said magnificent because it usually sounds so over the top, but in this instance, it is the only word to use. Wherever we were in Singapore, if there was a view of this building we would stop and take a moment to look at it again from a slightly different viewpoint. So, it is no surprise that we just had to see what the view was like from atop ‘the boat’. There is a viewing deck at the top, with a ticket office on the ground floor. However, we had read an online tip somewhere that said you can go to the rooftop bar and restaurant for free and enjoy the same view. Always eager to save a dollar we took the lift to the roof top bar and sure enough the view was just as good as the viewing deck. You are obliged (not forced) to buy a drink, but even then it is cheaper than purchasing the viewing deck ticket.
Singapore has several rooftop bars to enjoy the magnificent night skyline. We found ourselves at the Lighthouse bar which is in the Fullerton Hotel. We planned to have a drink and admire the view, and soon found a nice seat and settled in to marvel at the skyline. Luckily the service was awful, and after sitting there for 30 minutes and taking in the view we still hadn’t been approached by any of the wait staff, so left without purchasing a drink.
