A Boxing Day Treat

Well, the one and only sort-of sightseeing we managed to do in Singapore was the obligatory visit to the legendary Raffles Hotel. We jumped in a taxi outside our hotel (in itself a treat - we usually had to be content with the shuttle bus) and were whisked off through the pouring rain to the very glamorous and historic hotel. It looked very luxurious, from the quick glimpse I got through the front doors. We were pointed around to the side of the building with the other non-millionaires to the famous Raffles Long Bar, a bar straight out of The Great Gatsby where the Singapore Sling cocktail was invented. Andy braved the sickly sweet Sling while I stuck to my tried-and-tested Bloody Mary. After two drinks it suddenly seemed like a good idea to stay for dinner. The steakhouse attached to the long bar has itself an illustrious history, for which the diner pays around 4 times the normal price for a very good steak. Lubricated by a couple of glasses of wine however, we didn't care about the cost, and managed to have a very lovely evening out.