The Thrill Is Gone

The Boyfriend had to see the Raffles Hotel once. So on an afternoon when I was struggling with a cold and jet lag, a lovely restored hotel seemed just the amount of sight seeing I could muster. We arrived about a half hour before they started serving afternoon tea. I thought we would walk around the hotel and work up an appetite for another meal.

Off we went:

I enjoyed the Leica shop, the APC shop and we both enjoyed the Raffles Hotel Museum. There were some lovely old memorabilia and letters from the hotel's heyday. Photographs of the restoration work really showed how much the building had deteriorated and needed the work. Funny that the museum was the only part of the hotel in which I could feel what a lively place the hotel had been. A model of the hotel also showed that there was now a rooftop swimming pool. I imagined the hotel guests lounging around or splashing about in the pool as we padded quietly around the museum.

After the museum visit, we were just not ready for another meal. I wanted to leave. As soon as possible. As we wandered the galleries all afternoon, there was barely anyone else around. I was sad that the restoration had done away with all the bustling life I remembered of the old hotel.

Raffles Hotel

1 Beach Road

Singapore

(6337 1886 / fax 6339 7650)

Mannequins

The Boyfriend spotted this great fabric shop in the Arab Quarter. The fabrics are really beautiful. For whatever reason, this reminds me of Mario Bava.

Night Time Skyline

Taken on the night we went for a walk along the Marina Promenade with our friends, D and C.

Tranquility

Our friend, also D, lives in a house with a koi pond just off the front sitting room. After a stressful day at work, he finds it soothing to sit by the pond with his fish. Each fish has a distinct personality. When he feeds them, one or two will come and eat out of his hand.