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Raffles Hotel stands in all its splendour surrounded by its own shopping arcade which houses boutiques and shops like Tiffany & co and British India. It started to rain as we arrived so we ducked into the arcade and browsed in the shops hoping that one day we could shop here for real and maybe even check in. Its many guests over the years include Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Noel Coward so adding me and James to its list of distinguished guests would be the icing on the cake. In 1989, the hotel closed for a restoration project to return Raffles to its elegant look of the 1910's 1920's. A couple of evenings later we went to the famous Long Bar for cocktails and it is like something out of an Agatha Christy novel with its wicker fans and furniture, wooden, spiral central staircase and nut shells scattering the floor. The ambience suits it perfectly too. Here you can order a Singapore Sling, a cocktail developed and made famous by a Longbar Bartender before 1915 but still the most popular drink at the bar. It is made up from gin and pineapple juice amongst other things and not my cup of tea so i opted for the mimosa and James a long Island iced tea. it really was a brilliant evening even if we only stayed for 2 drinks as the prices here are like the hotel - for the rich.
After a look around the outside of the hotel as you are not allowed in unless you are resident there, we went for a walk around the riverside district where a lot of ex-pats work and play. River cruises go daily from here and there are many riverside bars and restaurants to choose from along the walkway. Next to Riverside Quay is Clarke Quay which again houses many eateries but is done out in all different colours. We stayed down this area until evening by which time it was bustling with the workers from the surrounding banks and offices. We decided to head back to our own area which had suddenly come alive with nightfall and had dinner before going to bed. Singapore so far is one hell of a city.
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