This is: Far East 2009
There was no particular need to be up and about early. I think it was about 9am when I went for breakfast in the excellent second floor Club Lounge. Once again, especially after a five-year gap, I decided that there was no harm in spending most of my first day re-familiarising myself with what one might call the 'standard sights' in Singapore's central area. I set out on foot and, within a couple of blocks, was able to take a quick look around the Raffles complex. I then spent a few hours just strolling around, seeing St Andrew's Cathedral, City Hall, the old Supreme Court, Victoria Theatre, the parliament building, Boat Quay and the riverside area. I eventually had a nice lunch at one of the Boat Quay places, before continuing round to the most predictable sight of all, the famous Merlion, symbol of Singapore.
By this time, I realised that I had been on my feet in the equatorial heat for quite some time and decided to return to base on the MRT. I had a few hours to relax before setting out on foot again for the Paulaner Microbrewery to meet up with some of the FTers in town, over a somewhat incongruous (not to mention extraordinarily expensive!) half-litre of German beer.