New Asia Bar: A touch of Vertigo on the 72nd Floor

As we had Dan and Heinz in the office from NY and Zurich and it was Clinton's farewell, we had Monday night drinks at New Asia Bar. It's a groovesome bar on the 72nd floor of the Swisshotel (the tallest in Singapore http://www.equinoxcomplex.com/newasiabar/index.html ), with a floor that slants 20° giving a vertigo feel. Heady stuff with a mojito in hand. Loved the view, and had good intentions of staying for 'only two drinks'. Well, we all know how that turns out.. Feeling fine but decidedly unhealthy, so it's carrot & ginger juice for me this morning.

Phang Nga & Phuket, Thailand

It was a rather early Saturday morning start, as I boarded a Tiger airways flight from the Singapore Budget terminal bound for Phuket. When I arrived I was so glad to see the sun shining and a blue sky, after all the haze in Singapore caused by the fires in Indonesia. The entire weekend was like that, except for the regular evening torrential downpour which occurred at 5.55pm exactly and lasted about 25 minutes.


Having booked a room through latestays.com for the princely sum of GBP15, I was amazed with what I ended up with. A deluxe suite, at a resort situated at the end of Karon beach, 5 minutes walk from Kata beach. Both of which I spent some time on the first day. I savoured that first walk in the sea, the sand under my feet and just laying back and reading a book. Feels like ages since I had a chance to do that, as when one heads off to a European destination for a weekend, sunny beaches and R&R is not the norm.

After relaxing for a bit I headed off for an hours Elephant trek through some jungle like terrain in the middle of the island.

My Elephant's name was Mela and after about two miniutes on her, my guide jumped off as he had decided that she liked me (hmm..). He ambled along in front of us singing some lullaby type tune, while Mela and I strolled along after. I thought of Roz when I glanced into the bushes and saw a snake slither past, and for a few seconds I said a Thank you that you were not around. Calmness, Roz and snakes are not three words that go together!

After a relaxing hour spent with Mela, I headed back to the hotel and hit the beach to try and regain some colour and dose up on Vitamin D. Once I'd finished my current book (Amanda - thanks for suggesting I read "Tipping Point" - good stuff!), I took a dip in the sea and headed back to the hotel for a shower before my 3 hours scheduled in the spa. One body scrub, Thai massage and facial later, I was so relaxed, I virtually slid out the door. That night I joined up with some Australian girls I'd met at the Elephant camp for rum cocktail served in a coconut and a few Singah Beers.

The next morning, although an early start, found me feeling rather refreshed. The 48 hours I was there, actually felt like 4 days. After breakfast, I was picked up to head off on a days outing with 12 other people. We hopped on a speedboat and headed out to Koh Kai Noi for 2 hours of sitting on the beach, exploring and snorkling in the crystal clear waters. Rather theraputic to float in the water and watch fish swim by! Next, we headed North to Koh Pan-Yi and Phang Nga Bay (which includes the island from the James Bond film, "The Man with the Golden Gun"). After lunch at the Gypsy sea village, we jumped back in the boat to cruise amongst the islands. Absolutely breathtaking to see these majestic limestone mountains which just rise up out of the ocean and there are 181 of them in the area. All that was missing was Sean Connery...

One Nite Stand

When you head off to a comedy evening at a place called 1 Nite Stand (http://www.the1nitestand.com/) down at Clarke Quay, and the resident house band is 'Six in the City', you know you're in for an interesting evening. Especially when it's in the same neighbourhood as Ministry of Sound and Hooters. What started off as a small group of 6 people, organised by Oliver, quickly grew to a table of 13. The comedians were ex-Australia and Canuk, now living in the UK, and there was some hilarious comedy about foreigners in London and Singapore. The night looked set to go into the wee hours, however I let the boys move along and I hopped into a cab as my taxi pick up for the airport was 4.40am and I didn't want to sleep through my Thai massage later today. Although you never quite know with some of the places in this town.. some men enjoy a hybrid version of the Thai massage on the dance floor or elsewhere.. but you get the distinct impression that there may be money left on a coffee table somewhere along the line.

People watching is a whole new hobby here. Women approach guys in pairs, effectively tag-teaming. Common pleasantries forgotten, initial questions may involve, 'Which hotel are you staying at?', 'How far is it?', 'You buy me drink.', leave one with a rather dubious impression that the women are after the chap for his personality, wit and charm.

The flip side is the number adolescent looking girls one sees clinging to the side of a Western chap who looks like he's seen better days but has a sizeable bank balance to show for it. I've often had the notion to shake a few women around here and tell them to have more respect for themselves. But hey, if adoring arm candy is your thing.. What ever makes you happy. My time here has already left me with a new found appreciation for men who like women with personality.

Old Brown Shoe

Wednesday nights are quiz nights at the Old Brown Shoe, and although this last Wednesday was fairly quiet due to the public holiday this week, it was a really great night. Apparently it's a tradition for the locals in the area to head down to this nearby public house (I only recently discovered that 'pub' is derived from the term 'public house') and by locals I refer to a rather Anglo Bravarian mix of the local expat community.

There were 4 teams in contention and the questions weren't a walk in the park. The News round comprised things like, "The Headline was..., what was the story?". Whoops. Luckily Roger had been listing to BBC news all week long. Fish and chips, a few drinks and a great deal of thinking later, our team of 6 eeked out the competition to claim our prize of $65 SING and a bottle of wine. A novelty for me is the fact that we could leave the bottle of wine behind the bar and drink it next week when we head back for round 2! Nothing surprises me here anymore.

Off to Thailand tomorrow and can't wait - a Thai massage and my book on the beach are just what the doctor ordered.

Say "Yes" to Life

I saw a saying the other day that I loved, 'Say "yes" to life. So I decided that for the next week I am not going to say No to anything and see what happens.. could be fun! Speaking of doing things, I thought I'd post my movements for the next few weeks on here and if any of you happen to be in the area for business and are keen to hook up, give me a shout. This is my apartment block at Treetops:

Plans for the next few weekends:

• 27-29 Oct: Phang Nga and Koh Pannyi islands, Thailand (Dad, think James Bond, Man with the Golden Gun) (http://www.phuket.com/island/phangnga.htm);


• 3-5 Nov: Hong Kong;


• 10-12 Nov: Bangkok;


• 17-19 Nov: Siem Reap, Cambodia;


• 24-26 Nov: Koh Samui (http://www.matlangresort.com/accommodation.htm);


• 1-3 Dec: Bali (http://www.meliabali.com/index.php);


• 9-16 Dec: China trip from Beijing, Xi'an to Shanghai.

Crowded House & Chinatown

Well, it's Monday again and I it feels longer than the week I have actually been here. Thursday night, Irene, Roger, Dave and I headed off to the night safari. All very well and good, but after Tshukudu in South Africa I think most things will pale in comparison. The most entertaining part was Dave's nervous twitch at the slightest animal noise or movement. Friday night was department welcome drinks at Ink bar, which moved on well into the night at Bar None, which was conveniently 100m down the road from my apartment block. Very convenient for making an easy escape when the live band's Ozzie renditions of Crowded House started to wear thin. The rest of the weekend was fairly quiet as my body demanded sleep, so I resorted to a bit of bartering in China town (glad to know I have not lost my touch as I got the chap down to half price with a few Chinese medallions thrown in to the bargain) and people watching at Takashimaya.

I restrained myself from any major shopping at Takashimaya as the fact that a Gucci bag has dropped from $1200 to $1100 is not my idea of a bargain. Charles & Keith and their $38 SING shoes(GBP12), here I come...

'me love you long time'

So much for a quiet Tuesday night. Luke, Bomber, Roger and I headed to Balaclava for a drink or two after work. It all started to go wrong when we arrived in the midst of happy hour (buy one, get one free) and realised that for one diet coke it cost $8 SING, versus $11 SING for two whisky and sodas. Economics got the better of me. With a cheesy Carpenters cover band playing in the background and an ever efficient waitress, whom Dave kept calling 'Ling Ling' (her real name was Cassandra), things started to unravel. Luke, who was trying to save money after his Monday night $300 SING eight course Japanese meal, didn't even have a Coke, but hung around in the hopes that he may pick up a juicy tit-bit of gossip after we'd had a drink or two. He eventually left us at 11pm in search of food, but not before he had educated us in the concepts of Sarong Party Girls (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarong_Party_Girl) and the infamous Thai Lady Boys. Apparently more than a few unsuspecting foreigners have been caught out by the gorgeous.. um.. men.

As Balaclava started to wind down, we tottered off in search of a cab to head up to Orchard Road. We stopped first at the Orchard Road Harry's Bar for another couple of drinks and we were eventually kicked out at 2am, after much protesting from the 3 of us, as the sign on the door said 'Open til 5am'. Clearly our powers of persuasion were suitably diluted at this point as our arguments held little sway. After being shown the door, we stumbled around looking for a loo, while Dave started asking strangers where the lady boys were and Roger was in search of a casino. As if we hadn't spent enough cash at this point. Final tally the next morning was $712 SING between three. Still not ready to go home, we headed for the infamous Crazy Horse at the top of 'four floors' in Orchard Towers. After ascerytaining that both the clientele and entertainment were of the seady variety, we decided to leave and headed down a floor or two to Epanema. Slightly more respectable than the 4th floor, I still had a good chuckle at some sad old American men who were trying to boost their egos with 2 or 3 Asian women. I wasn't sure who to feel sorry for.

At about 2.45am, I decided to leave the guys to their fun, which included some pole dancing, Bombers power nap in loo, etc.. Roger has an ability to get into conversations with absolute strangers, who feel compelled to reveal the most arbitrary details of their lives to him. During a cab ride home, he found out that his taxi driver was a gang member and on ordering room service at 5.30am and engaging in a conversation with the room service person, who revealed that he slept on a single bunk bed with his brother and was dating an older Thai woman. I generally say thank you and sign the bill, but then that's just me.

Sleepless in Singapore

Lying awake in bed at 3am this morning is normally a pretty good indication that one is suffering from jet lag in one form or another. The light headedness today and numerous cups of coffee consumed before lunch time confirmed my diagnosis. Such is life on my third day in Singapore. Since arriving and unpacking in a cute little apartment, I’ve gone exploring the infamous shopping district of Orchard Road (50m from my apartment block); indulged in a little shopping; hopped on the MRT (Mass Rapid Transport) to get around town (oh the joys of air conditioned public transport when the temperature is an ever constant 32 degrees Celsius and humid) and managed a few necessities like grocery shopping. Last night, I met up with Roger, Luke and Bomber from the London office who are out here on audit and we headed out to Jumbo Seafood at East Coast to sample some of the infamous chilli and black pepper crab. Scrumptious stuff and I was even persuaded to try frogs legs. Let me tell you, from the size of those little leg muscles, I can see why frogs are such good jumpers.. and they do taste like chicken. Thereafter, we headed to Boat Quay to find Harry’s Bar. Roger had a yen to visit after finding out that it used to be one of Nick Leeson’s old hangouts before Barings went bust.

So in between a late night last night, minimal sleep thereafter due to my 3am awakening and starting work in Singapore today, I am really looking forward to my giant King size bed this evening. Although not after a stop off at the food court for some traditional Singaporean Chicken Rice (only $3 Sing = 1 GBP). Good thing I went to gym this morning!

Leaving on a Jet Plane..

As I leave tonight for my 9 week secondment to South East Asia and in an effort to save mailboxes still accessed by dial up, I thought that this would be the easiest way to stay in touch. I'll be based in Singapore for the first eight weeks, staying at http://www.treetops.com.sg/ and thereafter travelling to China from 9-16 December (http://www.kumuka.com/TourPage.aspx?tourid=ASCH11). Should be an interesting experience however nomadic, and I plan a bit of travelling on weekends too. A spa retreat in Thailand never hurt a girl! Stay in touch..