Relaxing at Raffles

One place that is truly synonymous with Singapore and a place that just has to be visited was the world famous Raffles Hotel. Forget about those big name hotel chains with their modern generic designs, this is a hotel that is a throw back to the grand old days of exotic travel and the experience staying in lodgings that oozed class and sophistication. Such is it’s stature in Singapore that in the surrounding area there are a myriad of streets, plazas, shopping centres and offices that have all adopted the ‘Raffles’ name, yet there remains just one ‘Raffles Hotel’. It is simply one of the most famous and visited hotels in the world!

Heading down Orchard Road, we came across the famous white colonial building and entered it from the side entrance, however to fully appreciate the grand facade in all its glory, you really need to head around to Beach Road. From here you can truly appreciate the impressive Victorian architecture and the leafy circular driveway that has welcomed the rich and famous since it’s opening in 1887. Indeed, Raffles has attracted many a visitor over the years, including Charlie Chaplain, Noel Coward, Jean Harlow and Rudyard Kipling, not to mention heads of state such as Queen Elizabeth and George Bush Snr. Not surprisingly this historic hotel has become a Singapore institution, having witnessed the cities development from remote colonial trading post to a modern economic powerhouse. Considering its iconic status and its exclusive clientele, I was amazed and thankful that tourists were able to walk freely around the grounds to appreciate the hotel as a living and working museum. In the courtyard, the bar staff were mixing cool drinks under the glass and wrought iron gazebo while in The Tiffin Room, white-jacketed waiters were preparing settings for lunch. In the billiard room, where reputedly the last wild tiger in Singapore was shot in 1902, the green felt was racked ready for a game, while the ornate fountain in the courtyard provided a soothing cascade, much as it did over a hundred years ago.

Of course, no visit to Raffles is quite complete without a visit to the Long Bar to enjoy a ‘Singapore Sling’. After all, it was behind this bar that this world famous drink was invented (around 1915) and on a 32 degree day in Singapore, there was simply no better place to be. Sitting high on a bar stool with the pink liquid concoction in hand (although a little sweet for my taste to be honest), I imagined the stories that these walls could tell. Looking overhead, traditional rattan ‘punkahs’ (broad fans) gently moved back and forth providing us with a gentle breeze. Today they run on small motors but back in the old days, ‘punkah-wallahs’ (fan men) would have stood there manually pulling them back and forth as ‘well to do’ patrons sat back and sipped their drinks … a very different era! On the bar we are provided with a large box of peanuts, harking back to yet another Long Bar tradition of strewing the empty shells on the floor, something I couldn’t quite bring myself to do although looking around, it was clearly the expectation.

Much like The Windsor in Melbourne and The Empress on Vancouver Island, Raffles is a gem of a hotel that is delightfully rare and unique. Over the years, places such as these have often been torn down and replaced with slick high-rise accommodation more intent on profit rather than character. Thankfully, Raffles has been acknowledged as a significant place that is well worth preserving. It’s architecture, history and contribution to the wonderful world of food and beverage has certainly been recognized worldwide and its survival is assured. For a visitor to Singapore, such as myself, it was a must see spot that provided a unique insight into a bygone era, even if it was just for a refreshing hour or two.

Getting Beneath the Gloss of Singapore

If you were asked to design the perfect world-class city, a vision not unlike Singapore is probably what might emerge. It is modern, clean and combines the built and natural environment perfectly. It remains culturally diverse and celebrates its historical past, while also conveying the impression of constantly looking forward. Yet despite its global reputation as being a truly great metropolis, like many other travelers my only experience of this great city had been during the occasional stopover at the airport en-route to somewhere else. Therefore, this week I was more than pleased to be attending a Visual Arts conference and to have the chance to get to know this impressive city a little better.

Driving in from the airport, I couldn’t but be immediately impressed by both the visual aesthetic and sheer scale of the city skyline. In one glance it seemed to encapsulate most of the major developments in high-rise architecture over the past thirty years. One of the most recent designs is the spectacular Marina Bay Sands Resort designed by renowned Israeli architect Moshe Safdie. Looking much like a futuristic cruise ship (referred to as the ‘Skypark’) that has been beached on top of three 55 storey towers, the $8 billion dollar building is said to be the worlds most expensive casino property and understandably dominates the picturesque marina. It towers over the smaller but no the less impressive ‘ArtScience’ Museum (also designed by Safdie), which he based upon the form of an unfolding lotus flower, although our driver had his own interpretation of the building by simply referring to it as ‘the five fingers’. Its delicate design is particularly unusual in a city that prides itself on its high-rise development (around 4,300) and in particular its skyscrapers (standing over 140 metres), which at the last count numbered 49 in the downtown area.

I have on occasions heard criticisms of Singapore as being too sterile and lacking the ‘grit’ of a big city. To be honest, it didn’t really give me that impression, particularly when you balance the slick corporate centres against the diverse cultural areas that lay within the city boundaries. Over the years, three major cultural groups, Chinese, Malay and Indian, have established their own distinct precincts that have added to the cultural fabric of Singapore and provided a rich historical, ethnic and architectural contribution to the city. On a balmy evening and accompanied by colleagues, we ventured into the bustling precinct of ‘Little India’ to find vibrant commercial streets filled with people and the scent of exotic spices. With Indian immigration harking back to the colonial days of the 1800’s, here there remains a flourishing community that continues to celebrate it’s culture through a myriad of shops selling jasmine garlands, silk saris and ethnic jewelry (particularly gold). The next night it was Chinatown, with its beautifully conserved colonial buildings and traditional religious temples. However, it was the famous outdoor food market that we had come to experience. Here, some of the best food in Singapore can be sampled at a bargain price. This includes the popular Laksa (spicy noodle soup), which certainly fulfilled our expectations along with several other delicious dishes. Both in Chinatown and little India, we were welcomed into their community with a smile, suggesting that their happy nature was not only a reflection of their pride in their city, but also their own cultural acceptance within it.

Of course, like most major cities in the Asian region, Singapore has no shortage of high end shopping, much of which is to be found on Orchard Road. We spent a few hours walking down this 2.5 kilometre homage to retail therapy, which is said to have the largest concentration of shopping malls in the world. It was certainly difficult to avoid them, as when crossing the street by overhead or underground walkway, you are led directly into a mall. Much like being caught in a spiders web, once entering it was often very difficult to escape. Back on the street, we came across the jewel in the crown of Orchard Road, ‘Istana’ (meaning palace in Malay), which is the official residence of the President of Singapore. It is a gracious white Victorian style mansion built in 1867, set against a manicured half an acre of grounds. Like the beautifully restored Singapore Art Museum and Raffles Hotel, which are on the same road, the care and maintenance of these 19th century buildings suggest a healthy respect for the cities colonial past as well as their historical relevance to its ongoing development.

It’s clear that modern Singapore represents more than just the trappings of big business. If you are prepared to scratch below the glossy surface, its history, culture and traditions suggest that it’s a city that has indeed far much more to offer.