Singapore - hotels

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Because of the JetStar mess in Darwin, instead of arriving in Singapore around nine, we didn't get in until 11 PM, then had to clear immigration, retrieve our luggage, clear customs, and find the hotels transfer bus.  We had an unscheduled tour of Singapore at night as we dropped other passengers off at their hotels on the way to ours.  A couple of them were in Chinatown, which was so busy with people eating in every single restaurant we passed that it might as well have been noon instead of nearly midnight.  Even the food markets were still open, and taxis were rushing around everywhere.  The first two hotels we stopped at were seedy at best, but eventually we arrived at the Intercontinental, which turned out to be a five star hotel in the heart of the business district.

Our room is on the second floor of the old section, which we could reach only by climbing a long flight of stairs from a beautiful lobby.  Our bags arrived shortly after we did, so I suppose there is a service elevator tucked away somewhere.  I was apparently so excited when I took this picture that it's blurry, but the lobby is truly lovely with lots of orchids everywhere.

Our room is wonderful.  I don't usually photograph hotel rooms, but really, this is charming.  FIVE floor to ceiling windows, attractive furniture that doesn't look like a hotel, and a bathroom with mosaic tile that gives it a sense of history you really don't see in modern hotels.

This is the old part of the hotel.  There is a modern tower attached, but I am so happy to be here.  There is nothing sterile about this hotel room.

  Our room is in the old part of the hotel and faces a busy street, but the powerful air conditioning system provides excellent white noise, so we could almost be in the country. In bed by two or three in the morning, and sound asleep minutes later.

Since I'm on the subject of hotels, I suppose I might as well mention Raffles, probably the most famous old hotel in Singapore.  We stopped in Raffles after our first-day bus tour in a drizzling rain.  We hopped off the bus to take some photos and check out the Long Bar where the Singapore Sling drink was invented.  Raffles is the shortest hotel in town, and behind it is the tallest.  I'm not sure if the building in the photo is that tall hotel or something else, however.

They don't let you into most of this hotel unless you are staying there.  The lobby, for example, is off limits to all but "residents" of the hotel, as is the place where they serve their famous hgh tea.  But they do let the riff-raff (people like us) see and use the bars.  This one is in an interior courtyard and was nearly empty because of the rain.

Their little historical display.  Raffles gets its name from Sir Stanford Raffles, the British "founder" of Singapore.  

Just outside the famous Long Bar. 

Inside.  I love the ceiling fans.  It was too dark and already sort of crowded to get a very good picture.

The Singapore Sling was invented here.  

Raffles rambles all over a large city block and contains several restful outdoor spaces.  This fountain was lovely, even in the rain.

This sheltered gazebo was delightful.

  Raffles was only a couple of blocks from the Intercontinental, so we enjoyed an easy walk home.  

Come back tomorrow for more of Singapore.