Singapore

So, I've not been able to blog quite as much as I thought I would, simply because we've been so busy all week. I haven't really had time to do much apart from work.

My main impressions of Singapore revolve around the weather, the food and the people. The weather is very hot and very humid. I guess that's not surprising when I'm 1.5 degrees north of the equator. I haven't really done too much walking, but when I have, it's been very hot and sweaty stuff.

Eating seems to be the number 1 pass-time in Singapore. There is food from everywhere available, and it's all fantastic. I've been eating buffet style virtually the whole time, breakfast, lunch and dinner. I get the feeling that I would be huge if I stayed here for very long.

The Singaporeans themselves are fantastic. They're so welcoming, and polite, and the service ethic is quite simply the best I've experienced in the world (yes, Americans, I said the best!). Granted I've been staying in five star hotels, and paying heavy prices for drinks, but even still - I've done that before and received sub-standard service.

I can't praise The Oriental hotel highly enough, and strongly recommend it to anyone travelling to Singapore. As I write, I'm sitting in the Oriental Club Lounge on the 19th floor, looking out over the city, enjoying a complimentary coffee, and (literally) having my needs aniticipated before I even think of them. If you're travelling on business, and can stretch to it, the Club is fantastic: the breakfast alone is awesome, but everything about it is well designed, and the staff bend over backwards to help you out.

We didn't do too much drinking, but I must mention the New Asia bar on the 70th floor of the Swisshotel. It has a super view of the city, and the club itself is great fun. "Brash excess" was how an Australian colleague accurately described it.

I'm off to do some shopping, and then to prepare for the onward journey to Frankfurt.