M Hotel Singapore /Formerly Copthorne Harbour View

... food & loved a sweet called Onde Onde that was filled with brown sugar syrup. Sat & ate at this cafe next to an elderly couple who had about 6 dishes to share between them. They were locals & this is how they live & eat.




Eating & shopping is just so cheap. This ...

My mom came to visit for about a week and I made sure she stayed busy! The first day was a bit rainy so we had a crash course of Singapore's history at the National Museum. We introduced my mom to the hawker foods at the center right behind our house. During her stay I made sure she tried all the local food that she saw at the museum.

We shopped Orchard, Bugis and Vivo City. Yet, my mom wanted ...

Hello to all food and travel enthusiasts!

A huge travel and food writing contest has been launched, in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair (the world's largest) ... the winning titles will be showcased on the fair, and the main prize is a personal trip to the fair, so that you can meet up with publishers from all over the world ...

... traveled on to Harbourfront which is where the cruises leave from and also the Cable Car to Sentosa Island. The MRT station is underneath another monstrous shopping precinct - this one is Vivo City - and the place was packed with people. Most Singaporeans only get one day off a week and Sundays must the big day out because everywhere we went the shops and malls were full - no sign of the recession here!
We saw the Virgo ...

... in Singapore. Drug trafficking will result in a death penalty. Overall the city is an interesting mix of modern and old architecture. Some of the buidlings look quite futuristic. People are overall nice. The city is remarkebly clean and the public transportation system is excellent.

The hostel we stayed in was fairly clean, however, the room had no windows. Shower and toilet are combined here and so far this seems to be quite common.

... of the incredible Dosai.

We caught up with James and Taiita at Raffels Hotel for a quick drink - was great to see them before we all headed off in different directions.

The next day began with shopping for camera goods, and essential headphones, followed by strolling the streets of Singapore City and China Town. We then took the MRT to East Coast. The different districts of Singapore are so diverse. At East Coast we saw families enjoying the outdoors with ...

... out of the 12 hours spent at the lab, I think I spent 9 of them washing things. Everything has to be washed, mostly first in water, then in acetone; unless it's being used for something that is extrememly reactive in water, in which case you use only acetone. How much acetone did I use yesterday? Enough to melt your fingernails, I'm sure. I am also permantently smelling acetone, I think it has burned all my noes hairs off. Oh well, "so it goes"........

It took 4 days, 1 tuk tuk, 1 taxi, 1 plane, 2 trains and 4 buses, and across the equator, but I'm finally in the southern hemisphere, and in Singapore. The trip wasn't really as bad as it sounds, it all went pretty smoothly, and I was really lucky. I started on Wed by taking the bus from Vang Vieng to Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. From their I blaged a trip on the Bangkok bus, which was waiting, to the border, so I got their pretty quickly. Then I had to take the local cross ...

... the neon lit streets of this famous city. Instantly we like the feel of the place. The streets are massively wide and well lit, there is no litter, no beggars and no chewing gum! That's what capital punishment does for a country... We do the sights over the next two days, from sipping Singapore Slings in the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel to eating at the trendy waterfront bars. Obviously we fit in well with the young and rich of Singapore! The staff at ...