Euro Travel & More

The River View Hotel in Singapore is located in Havelock Road – about 15 minutes away from the business district and – that was the only reason why i put my boss there to stay in – when he came to Singapore for the first time.  I don’t know if they already renovated – but the pictures I saw on the net – are not what I had seen about 15 years ago.  But I wasn’t really disappointed with the hotel – just that the rooms were very small and it’s a very old hotel.  So if you are in Singapore – you may want to check out the newer hotels instead.

The Grand Copthorne Hoel was like a second home to me – many years ago – why?  because my boss was staying at the Grand permanently – for 2 years.  Yes!  they do have long staying guests at this hotel and the rates are awesome.  I love the grand entrance at the Grand – and believed that the ball in front with water features is due to feng shui reasons.  I think the Kwek family owns the Grand Copthorne if I am not wrong.  One thing I also loved about the Grand are all their lighting fixtures especially their bathroom lighting fixtures , in fact I liked it so much  – I tried to find the same supplier they got to get the same lighting fixtures for my bathrooms at home.

The rooms were pretty nice – and they had good restaurants at the hotel – and a very grand lobby with very pleasant hotel staff.

And I’ve eaten at the Cafe Brio for so many times – I can memorized the menu – but I think I loved most is the cold cut bar – with oysters and salad and fruits.   So if you are looking for a place to eat or stay in Singapore – try the Grand Copthorne Hotel – because the locality is just great.

(Photo: elitechoice.org)

Why am I not surprised to read that Singapore Airline has one of the best in-flight services, in terms of food, movies, quality, comfort and check in process?  No wonder the ex-boss only chooses to fly Singapore Airline during long hauls.  They ex-boss was saying to me the other day – that he believed they play blu ray movies on their in flight movies.  I know that if you fly business class on long haul – you can pull out your chair and make it to be like a bed – and you have your own private corner – shield away from others if you wish to – but look at that screen there.  The next time we fly back to Singapore – i bet the spouse would asked to fly business class just because of the blu ray movies and the huge screen – hahha!  one can hardly blame him either – because I’ve flown long haul on economy before and yes – suffered  all the way!  cup noodles!!! yaks!!!

I haven’t been back home for 10 yrs and every now and then – i get pictures from family and friends of the recent changes in Singapore to entice me to go home for a holiday.  I so wanna go – but because of our business – and no extra help or trustworthy ones – we have no choice but to stay put for now.  I hope in the later years to come – i can go home for a long visit.

This is the famous durian building – hahah!  actually it’s not called that – it is actually the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.  Some 30 years ago – the Esplanade didn’t look like that – and about 10 yrs ago – when i was leaving for Canada – they started building this.   600 million SGD it cost and it was completed in 2002 – i never had a chance to visit the new Esplanade yet – but you can be sure i would when i visit home.

The Merlion hasn’t changed much – still same looking but it seems like there are more building in the central business district now.    But there is more in Singapore – to tell you about – tell you about the awesome food next!  look forward to it – because like Hong Kong – we have yummy food home!

The girlfriends from Asia were invited for the soft opening in April and had shared these pictures with me.  As we all know – if it is a 5 star hotel in Singapore – it has be a  good hotel.   The Marina Bay Sand  owns by Las Vegas Sands is complete with a casino, conference/exhibition hall, business center  and shopping center in its 55 storey high hotel.  2650 room later – the hotel costing i heard $8 billion – excluding the cost of prime land.  Grander than the Westin Hotels when it opened in the 90s – if you are in Singapore – its a must see place.

The big business center/convention/exhibition hall.

Interior of the hotel

Entrance to the hotel – more about the stay at Marina Sand Bay Hotel in the next post.  Did i tell you they have a food court in this hotel too?

For those who don’t know this Singapore is my home and me being in Canada doesn’t mean that I don’t know a thing or two about the happenings in Singapore.  The niece who was invited to the launch recently sent me some beautiful pictures of her and her friends – the beautiful people of course – during the launch party.  I asked her if i could use a few of her pictures for this blog – to show you all what a beautiful and amazing place Singapore is.

This is an outdoor pool i think – and the rates are at USD $400 a nite.

Feeling a little nostalgia and also mostly because I’m missing home a lot lately – the cousin sent me some recent pictures of Chinatown from home.  And home is not in China – where most people here in Canada thinks i am.  I guess – when they see a Chinese – they just assume we are all from China – hahaa!  but just like the Westerners thinks we all look alike, the Westerners look very much the same to me too – unless they are people I know very well.  So when i was reading about  herbal phentermine one day and a customer walked in asking about something – i had mistaken her for the spouse’s cousin – hahah!

Truth be told – i rarely go to Chinatown when i was home – i never really appreciate the beautiful and restored buildings but as you can see – they are very beautiful building and the government of Singapore tried to make every inch of Singapore look as beautiful as possible for both the tourist as well as the residents in Singapore.

Some people only goes there once a year for Chinese New Year but many older folks i know goes there every morning for a brief walk – a – bout and then coffee in the clans near the temple.

It is very interesting to see the many temples in Singapore – but i never go – because my mum wasn’t a believer and she never really allowed us to go into temples.  How i wished i could turn the clock around and won’t take these beautiful statues for granted.

The inside of the temple as you can see – is very beautiful as well.  In Chinatown, they not only have temples for the Chinese but mosques as well for the Muslims.

I’ve walked this passageway before – i hope soon – i can bring my kids home with me.

Ahh! Pulau Ubin ! kinda nostalgia for me – you see when we were going to school as a kid – so carefree and no need for prevera times – our school would bring us to Pulau Ubin for class trips all the time.  In fact, I think we go for a class trip every now and then to Pulau Ubin but I’m guessing that it’s only because it’s darn cheap to go there.

Pulau Ubin is an island near Singapore – and you can make a short trip with a bum boat for less than $2.50 or hire the whole bumboat for $30 with friends.  Is there much to do at Pulau Ubin ?  not really that much if i remember correctly but it was fun for it’s like bringing you back to another era.

Very quaint right?  Sure brings you back to the 60s in Singapore – the mainland i mean.  But what else can one do in Pulau Ubin I hear you asking? cheap bike rides – cheap seafood – but make sure you get out before 4pm because the last bum boat goes off then.

Life in Pulau Ubin is pretty simple as you can see.

But getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city is kinda cool once in a while – although the kids may not like it that much.  But where would you get to rent a bike for the entire day for $2 eh.

Don’t forget to get to CheK Jawa – where you can go for nature walks and do all sorts of sight seeing too – check out the 21 meter Jejawi Tower.

the broadwalk

Don’t forget to bring your sunscreen and most importantly – BUG SPRAY!!

With the Universal Studio in Singapore officially opened – the Casino resort is also up and running from what I hear.  My reading up on joint health supplements had to hold because someone commented on a forum that Singapore was working hard on increasing the amount of tourists that comes into its country.  For someone from Singapore – it’s a really funny comment because isn’t Singapore full of tourists already?   Anyhow – coming back to the Singapore Casino resorts – i am wondering if they are anything like Las Vegas where rooms are not that expensive to entice the people to come gamble?

The Crockfords Tower is also home to Resorts World at Sentosa’s Casino, where private gaming rooms, lavish suites and a sweeping designer gaming floor offers guests the chance to live the high life and enjoy pampering hospitality and the city’s finest cuisines.

I’m a very proud Singaporean living overseas (Canada) today – why? because there is a Universal Studio in Singapore!!!  woohoo!! the next time I go back home – you know where my kids and I will be heading to.  I know if I do return – I would be needing  some good diets for quick weight loss because of all the good food but the Universal Studio is definitely a plus for enticing the kid to fly 28hrs on the plane.

My best friend was invited for the soft opening in February – therefore I had a sneak peak of what it looked inside.  It’s pretty amazing eh .. such a small tiny weeny country – a red dot – has a universal studio.  When Disneyland opened in Hong Kong – I felt quite sad that they didn’t choose Singapore .. but Universal Studio is just as good if not better.

They looked exactly like the ones I’ve seen in Australia and Orlando but now Asian kids don’t have to travel to USA to see what Universal Studio looks like.  While the Japanese and Hongkies have the DisneyLand – we have the Universal Studios to call our own.

I don’t think it is going to be cheap.. but you definitely save on the airplane tickets eh.

Check out the Princess Belle’s castle is a must for my kid.

Some souvenirs anyone?

A taste of Egypt anyone?  Going home is looking more and more enticing these days.