I'm slowly returning back to civilization. Or at least home. I'm in Singapore, which is fairly Westernized. This time, we're staying at the St. Regis at the end of Orchard Road. This has to be one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at. The lobby has a huge, real Christmas tree in it. They have a cozy bar with an automated wine refrigerator/pourer with free wine tastings in the evening. When they check you in, they do it behind a desk -- the lobby is very large and spacious. The room itself is full of fancy gadgets. There are day and night drapes that open by buttons by the bed. There's a Bose surround sound system built in. The bathroom has an enormous freestanding bathtub in the middle with a tv built into the mirror! We didn't wait around, but they said that the butler would come up to explain the room to us! Very posh, indeed!
Orchard Road is an amazing homage to commercialism. There are countless malls interspersed with large hotels. The malls all contain high-end Western stores (Hermes, Louis Vitton, Prada, etc.), but what's more is that you'll see the same store a block down the street. It's hard to imagine how much business they do. We did a few spot checks of items we knew the US prices for and we found the prices to actually be a tad more than in the US. So I won't be likely to buy that Coach leather wallet here!
For dinner, I was very excited that we went to Din Tai Fong to have xiao long bao, steamed dumplings filled when soup and meat (or truffles in one case). I'd been to their outlets in Taipei and Shanghai, but this was the first time I went without a Chinese-speaking person. I did perfectly fine. XLB is one of my favorite things (up there with sushi and a good steak, of course).
Today, we're off to meet a friend from Hong Kong who happens to be visiting. We're thinking of visiting Little India and Chinatown.
Interestingly, even though we're in civilization, it's harder to find free wifi. So this post might not make it out until I get home tomorrow!
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