Day 2 - Friday 6 January 2017
Fragrance Hotel........Google Map. I can’t say I’ve slept too badly and at least I can make a coffee in the room but there’s no breakfast except what we picked up last night. As regards the hotel itself the rooms I've paid for are a bit small but probably typical of what’s available in Singapore for the class and I probably had the best deal when I booked several months ago. But that has given me a problem. A friend of Katoon wanted to come on this trip and I booked two rooms. Unfortunately the hotel policy is to receive payment in advance with no options for cancellation. The booking was for two nights but ideally we wanted to stay for three. When Katoon's friend cancelled and I entered into negations with the hotel about an option to amend the booking, it seemed I was talking with Martians. I therefore thought it best to try to sort it when I arrived at the hotel: No joy. They simply referred me back to head office. The long and the short of it is that I lost the second room. The good news was that I managed to get my money back from the friend who cancelled but leaving it this late now I’ve no booking for the third night. The whole process has left me thinking that Singapore has invested heavily in technology and physical infrastructure but customer service hasn’t changed since Victorian times.
Change of plans........With the hotel fully booked tomorrow night I need to make arrangements. Given that I’m feeling out of my comfort zone in Singapore, I decide to leave prematurely. I manage to get a decent room in Johor Bahru just across the Johor Causeway for tomorrow night. That means I can still have the best part of two days in Singapore by crossing into Malaysia in early evening tomorrow. On the negative side all this is wasting time at the moment but it’s likely I will end up saving money on accommodation and food. Feeling, if anything, more relieved I must now concentrate on the sightseeing I came here for.
Tourist Pass........more. There are a number of ways to enjoy the sights in Singapore but hotels don’t get involved in tour operations as they do in other S.E. Asian countries. Basically you’re on your own. Not used to booking city tours at least not in advance I opt to get a tourist pass which gives one, two or three days unlimited travel on buses and the MRT but even this turns out to be a hassle. When I make my way back to Adjuied MRT station I’m told that only certain stations issue tourist passes. I need to travel downtown to Bugis MRT station to get one. That’s more time wasted as it’s now heading towards midday. Fortunately we’re now pretty close to some of the city sights but it still leaves us a few bus stops away as we find ourselves next to Suntec City shopping complex
....more. For once I don’t mind venturing inside a shopping centre as respite from the heat. That opens up the opportunity for lunch after we locate the food hall which is at basement level. I select a meat and two veg Chinese dish which is a big improvement on yesterday evening.
Marina Bay........Google Map. Despite having the tourist pass it’s almost impossible to locate bus stops in the high-rise, densely built-up area and it proves more effective to walk to Marina Bay from Suntec City. Marina Bay is actually the harbour which played an important part in Singapore’s history. Settlers from around the globe came here in the 19th century, eager to take advantage of free trade or avoid persecution or poverty. Many would depart from here in some of Singapore’s darker days in WWII. But today with the advent of container ships, the port here is too small and has been converted into a retail and leisure complex of some grandeur surpassed by few. Here you get glorious views of the Singapore flyer, the Merlion, Marina Bay Sands, the Float and the high-rise business core with Fullerton Hotel looking rather out of place in front. This is the downtown area that everybody talks about
....more.
