The plane got in to Changi Airport at 7:30am. Two tired, bedraggled, jet-lagged Hams were collected outside the baggage claim by our trusty driver and conveyed to the Hotel Chancellor. During the 30-minute drive we caught sight of a few of the sights we would be visiting during the next couple of days.
Arriving at the hotel just after 8:30, we were informed that the check-in time was 3pm, and that they had no lounge or anywhere we could relax. The foyer itself was bedlam, as it seems this hotel does a roaring tour-group trade, and there were five busloads of noisy Chinese, some coming and some going, crammed into a space more suited to one third the number or even less!
We went out for a walk down Orchard Street, one of the world's best shopping streets. We were too jaded to appreciate it properly at this stage, until we found a park bench and got a bit of shuteye.
Somewhat refreshed, we went into the Centrepoint, and Orchard Gateway, two shopping malls on Oxford Street. They are full of clothing shops, and plenty of restaurants. They are also air-conditioned, which is refreshing when it is 31C and 70% humidity outside!
But one part of Orchard Gateway that took Warren's fancy was the library@orchard. It's a niche library, targeting young adults. Its whole downstairs level is reading rooms and the fiction collection (mainly English, but with significant Chinese and Malay collections), and the upper floor is entirely non-fiction. The layout is sinuously attractive, and there are varied reading areas set around the library, including some unexpected little niches! And if you like a particular book, they have made it easy for you to bring it to the attention of others.
We walked past the Singapore Visitor Centre in Orchard Road on our way back to check in to the Hotel, an hour early, at 2pm. Luckily our room was ready, so we thankfully went up to it (on the 8th floor) and collapsed on the beds for a couple of hours.
A couple of hours later, considerably refreshed, we re-emerged and went back to the parts of Orchard Street we had visited earlier in the day. Total change! The whole place was buzzing. People everywhere. Birds twittering loudly in the trees! Eateries packed. We went into one, the Noodle Place, and had our first Singapore meal — Warren with Pork Rib Hor Fun with black bean sauce, and Suzie with Egg Foo Yong (she has always been partial to her omelettes!)
On our way back to the hotel, at 9:30, we passed al fresco food stalls in Koek Road, just round the corner from the Hotel Chancellor — they were packed! But our mission at that hour was ... BED!!!
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