Cavalry & Guards Club Elegance in London

 

Notice the lid on the sugar bowl and the sugar tongs.

Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The grand staircase. Upstairs. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

Upstairs to the formal small or vast dining rooms for lunch or dinner.

The front upstairs room and the adjoining reception room have views over Piccaddilly near Hyde Park.

Place card for Angela at Cavalry & Guards Club, London, England, UK. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Useful website

https://cavgdsclub.co.uk/

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Jumbo Seafood Restaurant Ambience - See The Sea And See Fish Food In Tanks

East Coast Seafood Centre sign. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

I went to Jumbo seafood restaurant in Singapore in the early days when it first opened and there was only one Jumbo. We were taken there by local Chinese Singaporeans. In those days the East coast - actually on the eastern half of the south coast - seemed far away to the Brits and American expats who had been enticed to Singapore on generous packages which kept them living in the expensive centre. The inaccessible East was inhabited by Australian expats who shunned the city centrer and liked wide open spaces, nearness to Changi airport to hop back home, only four hours to Perth or seven to Sydney, and a view of the sea.

Jumbo seemed to describe the size of the fish pulled out of the tanks beside the indoor tables, and the vastness of the premises, the size of an aircraft hangar, like being at a wedding.

On my most recent visit an English visitor was boarding a cruise in Singapore on her way to Sydney Australia, a retirement era treat. Again, Jumbo was our choice, because both the location and the food would  be a novelty for her. She was staying two nights in a city centre hotel surrounded by skyscrapers and enclaved marinas.  We arrrived early and stopped to look over the railings towards the ships in the sea surrounding us. 'Where is my cruise ship?' she wondered.

We looked down at the sand. Imported sand? My memory of one long ago visit was of sand flies as we supped drinks at a bar near the sands. We discussed whether the sands were imported. I had taken the precaution of showering in citrus scent shower gel and wearing long sleeves and a long skirt and covering exposed areas with insect repellent and checking somebody had packed Stingose sting relief. My fears were unfounded. This time we ate indoors and not a fly in sight. Maybe flies are seasonal. (But fogging takes place weekly to kill mosquitos in local condominiums.

Our seating was far inside. No matter. We had already enjoyed the view. Best of all was being beside the fish tanks. Like a trip to an aquarium at the zoo.

Big fish, grey fish, were swimming around urgently. Smaller pink ones had large mouths and eyes like cute toddlers, looking at us visitors questioningly. I felt it was quite worrying to think they were about to be killed. Should I smile, act friendly, deceiving them?

Anxious fish in seafood restaurant. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

Was it kinder to smile, giving them false friendliness and false hope? Should I act like the firemen who reassured the desperate people on the top of the tower block inferno, Grenfell Tower, in London, that hope was on its way, knowing that it wasn't?

In the next tank were vicious looking claws of black and red lobsters. I was glad they were behind glass.

Other white creatures were still, motionless. Why? On closer inspection I could see why. They were tied.

Why tie them up?
One diner suggested, "If you don't, two of them, in an enclosed space will fight each other."

Later, I realised another reason why, when I saw a human hand coming down into the water to grab seafood intended for the next meal.

I watched, mesmerised, to see the hand descending two or three times. Then the scenario changed. Down came a green net on a dark stick. The hand was at a safe distance.

The net made two waves - at the eluding seafood. The net made it easier to grab. Finally, success for the net. Failure for the food-to-be.

When I first came to Singapore, live fish in tanks in restaurants were a novelty. In London fish was frequently frozen, chopped into neat squares and oblongs, or bought in big packs, without heads.

Fish tanks in restaurants are no longer a source of amazement for their very existence. But watching the living fish in constant movement is still eye-catching.

How do other diners feel about looking at living fish and shellfish about to become dead fish?
I asked another diner.
I got a shrug, "It's fine."

Jumbo Restaurant Branches
Jumbo has branches in several areas of Singapore as well as other countries. For convenience, you might choose a central location or one nearer you. Next time I would take a visitor to the branch at Jewel in Changi Airport to see the giant waterfall. Steps from the subway trains, the MRT. To come back from the East Coast branch of Jumbo we had to walk back to the pickup point and wait for our booked taxi.

However, I still reckon that the East Coast branch has a marginal score over city centre restaurants. You are aware that you are on the island of Singapore, standing looking out to sea and the ships before your meal.  Whether you are a visitor or resident, being on the shore contributes to part of the Singapore experience.




Flag of Singapore.

You can find six branches of Jumbo in Singapore including one in Jewel shopping mall attached to terminal 1 at Changi Airport, Ion shopping mall, on the corner of Singapore's centre, Orchard Road.


Several are in China. Three are in Shanghai, one in the capital, Beijing, and one in Xi'an, famed for the teracotta warriors.

Morea around Asia: in Taipai, capital of Tiawan, in Ho Chin Minh, capital of Thailand, and Seoul, capital of S Korea.

If you can't reach any of these soon, you can buy sauces for a DIY dinner online from their eshop.

,

Useful Websites
https://www.jumboseafood.com.sg/en/home
https://jumboeshop.com.sg/eshop/

About the author, Angela Lansbury.
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark your favourite posts and share links with your friends and family.

Learn Ten Easy Words and Names In Spanish From Place Names

Spanish is useful in Spain, South America, Mexico and in the USA where many places names in the south are Spanish and many signs in cities are in both Spanish and English to help communicate with Spanish speaking immigrants. I am going to look at the names Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Cerro Gordo and Buena Vista.


The flag of Spain.
Horizongal stripes of red and yellow, a Spanish sandwich of red and yellow, with a cymbol in the middle containing a crown.


The flag of Mexico.
Green, white and red, vertical stripes, with a symbol in the middle containing an eagle.

Spanish is the most popular language learned on Duolingo. It is also one of the easiest if you speak or know English.

A quick way to start learning Spanish is to pick place names you already know or can easily recognize and list their translations. Here are two examples.

Los Angeles
Los Angeles means the angels. Whilst you will not often need to use the words together except in the place name, los, meaning the (plural) is very handy. You could also use Los Angeles to describe people who have been generous or to thank them.

For example, two kind Spanish speaking people walk back the opposite direction to the way they were going when you asked the way to the train station, the bank, your hotel, the toilets.  You wave goodbye and bow slightly and point to them and address them as "Los Angeles".

San Francisco
San Francisco means Saint Francis. Other cities with names: San Antonio.

Santa Cruz means holy cross. Santa Cruz is a city in California.

Cerro Gordo
I read an online newspaper story about Cerro Gordo which means fat hill. The words taken separately, I checked in Google translate, taking each one separately, typing Cerro first, then Gordo below it, read hill fat.

So now we know two words and a grammar rule. Cerro is hill. Gordo is fat. The adjective comes after the noun in Spanish, the same as the French who say Moulin Rouge for red mill (windmill).  You can remember Moulin Rouge to remind yourself to put adjectives after the noun in French. Remember Cerro Gordo to remind yourself to put the adjective after the noun in Spanish.

I find it easier to remember Gordo is Fat than to remember cerro is hill. So let's start with gordo. I recognize gordo as fat from hearing a talk by a Spanish member of a Toastmasters Club in Harrow, England. At Christmas time she gave a speech in which she told us about how the Spaniards spend Christmas. One feature is the lottery. The one at Christmas time has a big prize and is known as the Gordo, El Gordo, the fat one (or big one). El is the.

So now we can remember that the adjective is second, after the noun, and that the word gordo means big or fat.

If you like to learn by sounds: Cerro is hill. Cerro Gordo rhymes. The last adjective is the same. Cerro Gordo.  (The letter c sounds like s. The cerro, hill, has a summit. We row past the hill.

If you like to learn visually: The initial letters C and G look similar. The letter r is in the middle of both words, the third letter. Cerro Gordo.

If you like to learn by repetition, we shall repeat it three times:
cerro - hill
cerro - hill
cerro - hill

Spanish - English
angeles - angels
cerro - hill
cruz - cross
gordo - fat (big)
lo - the (singular)
los - the (plural)
San - Saint
Santa - holy

English - Spanish
angels - angeles
cross - cruz
fat - gordo
hill - cerro
holy - santa
the - los
Saint - san

Names
Spanish - English
Francisco - Francis

What would you find at the top of a hill? Preseumably Buena Vista, good view in Spanish. Many places are called Buena Vista in countries including the USA.

Not to be confused with the Italian Buona Vista, a railway station (MRT-mass rapid transit) in Singapore. The Spanish word for good has an e, is buEna - yes.

Useful Websites For Travellers
MEXICO
https://www.visitmexico.com/en/
SPAIN
www.spain.info
https://www.spain.info/en/
https://info.info/newsroom/spotlight/spain-tourism-board
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Christmas_Lottery
LEARN SPANISH
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language
To learn Spanish for free on the internet
duolingo.com


About the Author
Angela Lansbury, the author, is not related to the actress of the same name, nor another 13 people with the same name on LinkedIn.
Angela Lansbury, the author, is a speaker and a teacher of English and other languages to schools, colleges, Toastmasters International speakers clubs, and businesses.

How to choose a flat overseas, comparing Singapore

Singapore flag hung from balcony on National Day.

Singapore
A friend of mine in Singapore lives on the 25th floor.

I asked, "Do you like that?"
He replied, "I love it."
I asked, "You mean the view?"
"No the breeze. We don't need the aircon."

I have lived in the UK, USA, and Singapore.

USA
In the USA rooms are larger. Near Washington DC we had large rooms and walk in closets for hanging clothes. Our main problem was noise from neighbours. The building construction was flimsy, with wooden floors meaning your footsteps were heard by the people below. Even walking normally, your steps were heard. If children ran up and down, the problem was exacerbated.

Points to consider:
View
Size of rooms
Noise from outside
Noise from neighbours and below and above
Likelihood of neighbouring land being built on
Cost of heating of aircon
Nearness of swimming pool or gym or on site

Advantages of Swimming pools

In Singapore most residents lived in the government run HDB housing blocks. An expat who has married a Singaporean may be eligible for an HDB house. You can usually find a public swimming pool nearby. 

An expat with a reasonable income will be expected to rent, or buy, in the private sector, where condos such as this one have a central shared swimming pool.

Noise

You are likely to want to have your windows and patio doors open (unless you can afford to run the air conditioning all day). You will probably hear echoing from swimming pool (even parents, grandparents and the swimming instructors shouting across the pool to children learning to swim). You might also get noise from the playground, people enjoying barbecues, nearby traffic, nearby schools.

I met one family where the wife went home to her country because the buildling work noise adjacent to her block was intolerable and the water was cut off for thee days. She had children and sleepless nights from a baby and wanted to take afternoon naps. If you are at home all day, or working from home, and cannot tolerate noise, this could be a nuisance.

The short-term solution is to go out for the day.

On the other hand, if you are the sort who sleeps through a thunderstorm which wakes everybody else, and are working away a lot, you could get a good deal of low rent on a block which other people won't take.

In the early days in Singapore, we lived right in the centre. Our employers' package included a car and we had a tiny flat, a brand new block, poor outlook, with only cold water in the kitchen taps, and no windows in the brand new kitchen, just grilles. I hated it.

We then moved to a huge old-fashioned top floor flat, stifling hot with a magnificent view over Singapore in both directions with balconies both sides.

We were shown all sorts of time-wasting places. One flat had no blaconies and high horizontal slit windows so as not to overlook nearby VIP government minister housing. Another flat with no balcony and small windows reminded me of a prison cell. Despite reasonable sized rooms it was claustrophobic.

Although we had asked for a flat near a station, we were taken to see suburban house just in case we liked it. It was built against a near vertical hillside, with only just room to walk around the back and the view straight into the hillside yards from your face from the windows in dark rooms. Big and cheap, fine for a single parent or couple out travelling or entertaining every night in restaurants, leaving behind small children and a maid, not for us.

Australia and Australians
In Singapore, Australians like to live on the East coast near the beach. You can run along the shore and have sundown parties at seafood restaurants.

Singaporeans like Australia because it is a chance to buy, with freehold. In Singapore large numbers of freehold properties are only 99 years. In the second half of the term, the re-sale value of the property can drop a lot, maybe as much as half, because you can your children can live there but you have nothing to leave to your grandchildren, neither the place to live nor the financial value.

Singaporean companies run by the Chinese tend to work longer hours. The Singaporeans will work evenings and weekends and expect you to work late and work Saturdays or Sundays.

Similar work ethic to East coast America, New York and Washington, DC.

In Australia, you are more likely to leave work at 5 pm for a drink or a swim.

Success!
In Singapore we moved into a remote suburb where the local railway station was still being built. Scheduled for six months later. We got a reasonable rent, after hunting all over Singapore for something we could afford. In purely financial terms, the cost of taxis was offset by the saving in rent. I spent part of the first six months in the UK anyway. When we finally settled in, we loved out new place and the rent was fixed for two years.

TRANSPORT
Nearness to bus and train
Being on the line to work or social activities
Near the airport if you travel - but what you save on living further out could pay for a lot of taxis.

In the USA being on the route and near the stop for the yellow school bus service.

Your checklist:
First make your one must have factor. With me that is a swimming pool.

1 Location
2 Bedrooms: Number of bedrooms - visitors, study etc.
3 Facilities: gym, swimming pool, social activities.
4 Shopping - nearness to shops, shop on site.
5 Heating or aircon.
6 Cost - does the agent say it's negotiable. Maybe the householder asked a high price because there was a chance somebody would take it; also they were afraid they would get lower offers than their asking price so they raised the asking price. A huge block may have two or three units at different prices. See them all before deciding.
7 Noise. Ground floor or low floor is better in a fir or when lifts (elevators won't work). High floors are above traffic noise and give better views.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer

Helpful hotel and restaurant serving staff and how dare you staff!

Some hotels and restaurants have staff who are there to stop inconvenient guests causing trouble. They aren't there when you need them But as soon as you move a chair an inch, they magically appear and tell you that you can't do that.

Fortunately not everybody is like that. The bad ones remind you how good the good ones are. Being good might come naturally. Or it might come fron the top, picking staff who are naturally friendly, or training them to smile.




Other hotels have staff who think its their job to keep visitors happy, help when asked, and offer new suggestions - do anything to keep the customer happy and coming back  to the hotel. They run to get spare glasses. They move the fragile glass and unwanted ashtray out of the way. They fetch another spare chair just in case your group expands.

They suggest you sit in a place with a better view. They tell you their name or the name of the person they are calling to help you.

They might say, please give us a good write-up on TripAdvisor. They might hadn you a card saying so. They might have a reminder on the hotel entrance. They might have their ratings at the entrance - obviously proud of their reputation.

They might be thinking it but not saying it. They might be hoping for maybe you will give a tip. The hotel or restaurant might hjave a feedback form asking you to name any member of staff who was helpful. I find it annoying to fill in the form on the last day and not know the name of the person who was so helpful on day one. So I try to remember to write their name in my diary, or take their photosgraph with their name tag so I can look it up later.

Staff Awards
You may have or commend the hotel staff with a name label so they get this month's helpful staff bonus. Occasionally you see a wall of staff photos with the person's name, how long they have been working for the company and the month's awards.

They might be bored. They might be chatty and love talking. They might want to look useful so the manager doesn't sack them as being surplus. They might just be jollly, jolly helpful types, who love to do favours and see you smile.

Remember to thank them, ask where they are from, how long they've been working here. Praise the hotel and service.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Why Pleasures Outweigh Problems at Pestana Casino Park Hotel, Madeira

A hotel dining room with stunning scenery - a panorama of the bay. If we had been couples, instead of a group of 35 spread across three or four large ten-seater round tables, I would have had breakfast and dinner on the patio outside enjoying that view. I twice changed tables in order to enjoy the view.

Several hotels along the front have equally stunning views. So do the Funchal restaurants along the front. So do the hilltop hotels and restaurants. When you think about it, most of the hotel or restaurants are either on the flatter lower coast road, or the top of the central mountain ranges. A few small former farming cottages are perched on ledges the hillside.

Wonderful buffet. Fresh fruit salad. Fresh salads. Nuts at breakfast. Olives at dinner time.

Little round Portuguese custard tarts and similar circular-shaped pastries, almost flaky outside, with shredded coconut filling and a glace cherry or two on top, or treacle filling with crunchy nut knibs on top.

Problems
Minus 1 The outdoor pool is too cold.

Minus 2 No tea and coffee making facilities in bedrooms. (As several people on Tripadvisor noted, many one and two star motels and hotels offer free tea and coffee making facilities and free refills.)

Minus  minus 3 No free jugs nor glasses of tap water with dinner.

Minus 4 High prices for bar drinks and coffee and tea.

Minus minus 5 Car hire booked through the hotel was much higher than through other bookings at airport and online.

Minus minus 6 Our group had booked half board. We were told no refunds if we decided to take the meal elsewhere. Two of our members ran their own 'hotels', with accommodation and food for guests, one in Portugal and one in Indonesia. They were not prepared to let this go without argument.

Answers
1 The first day I climbed straight out, then thought, now I'm cold, I might find it less cold. I did a few feeble splashes and got out and went downstairs.

2 I drink too much coffee at home. I didn't miss it.

3 This caused a major upset, a constant distraction and debate. One of our group got out his own bottle of water to make a point. He then had a confontation with a waiter who came to whisper that the manager had said we were not allowed to bring in water from outside.
Afterwards, another guest said to our member, 'Don't blame the poor waiter for keeping his job by passing on the manager's message. Ask to see the manager.'

On the last night, our fourth evening meal, I had a drink outside the restaurant. During dinner in the hotel I did not order another drink because I felt too much alcohol and no water was not a good idea. I would be either sleepy or sick.

Water
At breakfast the buffet had a water urn but beside it was a big notice telling you not to refill your bottle or cup and take it onto the terrace.

The buffet
I loved the meats, fish, nuts, salads, and above the wonderful pastries. I was not overly thrilled by the Madeira cake, a heavy fruit cake with the island's so-called honey. I don't know how this 'honey' gets past trade description as everybody admits that Madeira 'honey' is cane sugar.

Bedrooms
Only one chair for two people and not enough room to the right of the TV for two laptops. Impossible for two people in a room for two to sit at laptops. (A common problem. In some hotels you can ask for another chair, or another high side table. The low side table does for a drink but you cannot read or look at any text such as an email nor the news nor booking local events and restaurants.

Minus Corridoors were very dark but I had a room by the lift so this did not affect me.

Minus /Plus VIEW
I was not pleased to have a room with a partial sea view but two cranes, one either side.  Slightly to the right of centre was the Savoy hotel building site. I would have preferred the port view overlooking little boats coming and going. This will change after this autumn and next spring if the Savoy is finished on the time the outside hoarding claims is the aim.

By day two I had discovered that the upstairs Jacuzzi and that the downstairs pool had Jacuzzi jets. Great fun for children.

Plus
Beside the tennis court was a hidden children's play area with slides and so on but nobody seemed to be using it. The kids were all shouting and splashing in the pool.

Other adult swimmers complained that the indoor pool was a curved shape and full of children jumping in so you could not swim in a straight line nor without fear of being bumped or hit.

Building is badly designed. You cannot get to the downstairs pool except by a long staircase, not ideal when you are in wet shoes from the outdoor pool - which you have left because it is too cold.

The outdoor lighting by the poolside upper deck changes colours which is amusing, but it gets distracting and annoying to see your friends' faces going green, purple, blue, grey, every thirty seconds.

Receptionists do not smile hello or goodbye, only notice when you are right next to them. I think you either need a bowing doorman or a pretty girl or handsome man at the end nearest the door to wave goodbye and smile hello every time you walk into and out of a four or five-star hotel - in fact any hotel.

By the end of the week, the staff were smiling at me, and I was approaching them, deliberately smiling, and giving my room number, and they smiled back and said, 'Enjoy'.

The casino is outside in a separate building, much better than Las Vegas hotels where you walk through a lobby of slot machines to get anywhere. One of our members went to the caino and said it was smoky so she came back. Another member went on another day and said their was a meal cheaper than at our hotel.

Thinking about it later, yes, casinos often have low priced food, either to lure you in, or keep you on site.

On balance, a wonderful hotel. Poeple at the nearby Pestana hotel, the other side of the Savoy site, seemed even happier than our group.

One of our group went to visit the famous Reid's hotel. She liked it. She prefers traditional hotels to modern hotels. Having looked at the photos, I think our modern hotel was better, and nearer to the city shops, walking distance.

If I think of the hotel, I think of that panoramic dining room sea view, through a wall of glass which you enjoy descending a circular ramp every morning and every evening.

Useful Websites
pestana.com/hotels
visitmadeira.com

Author
Angela Lansbury

The Longest Day, and Latest Sunset affecting the English, Jews, Muslims

Problem
When do I get long days and late sunsets?

Answer
July 21st, today, Thursday in 2018, is the longest day. However, that does not necessarily mean the latest sunset.

Why does the sunset time matter?

1 VIEWS OF SCENERY VERSUS PEOPLE
If you want to eat outdoors at a restaurant you might want to book an outside or inside table. You might want more light, especially for photographing a view over London.

When dating you might want bright light to get a good look at your date. You might want less light if you have a fabulous voice but not much in facial department. You might want to hide your bald head or wrinkles in the more romantic candle-light indoors.

2 Jewish groups or couples might want to book a Friday or Saturday meal when kosher restaurants are open, which is different in summer and winter. In winter in the UK, in an area with kosher restaurants such as Golders Green, you will notice that the restaurants have closed earlier when it gets dark on Friday evening. But the restaurants are opening earlier on Saturday evening when it gets dark. By contrast, in summer the restaurants will close later on Friday, but won't open early on Saturday evening because it is still light and the Sabbath.

Opening and closing times are also going to be changing gradually throughout the seasons all year.  So check diaries or Jewish newspapers or signs on restaurant doors or websites.

If you are visiting a Jewish host who is observant, they may be using the traditional method of judging sunset by when you can see three stars. In a city where it is so cloudy and polluted that you cannot see any stars, you will have to go by the calendar. Ask your hosts what time you should arrive and what food or drink would be appropriate.

3 Moslem groups observing Ramadan, which last a month and has just ended, cannot eat or drink in the daytime all month. However, they can eat and drink after sunset. If you are providing food and drink for a group which has Muslim members of visitors, they have not eaten all day and will be very pleased if you have halal or vegetarian food they can eat.
The evenings and weekends at the end of Ramadan you will have big celebrations in the Muslim restaurants and areas eg in parts of Singapore and in Muslim countries with a Muslim majority or a large Muslim minority or restaurants and shops and residences area.

UK light nights
Travelling from Singapore to the UK, the long days are lovely.

Useful Websites
visitsingapore.com
vistibritain.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset

Author, Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Keemala Resort and Spa in Thailand and Marina Bay Sands

Keemala Resort and Spa in Thailand is another amazing place with infinity pools. I watched a video on Facebook. I love the circular balcony style swimming pools like giant tubs, and the surrounding green vegetation. I must admit that watching people walk along the edges of the infinity pools was a bit scary.

The ininitiy pool in the Skypark. Photo by NSAA in Wikpedia article on marina Bay Sands.

If you can't get to Thailand, or it's too expensive, look for Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. We went there last New Year's Day. We spent more than you would pay for a normal pizza on one pizza and two drinks. However, it was less than the cost of most New Year's Eve meals - and a fabulous view for about two hours.

The deal is that you pay about $22 per person on the ground floor, shoot to the top in the lift, and get a voucher towards food and drink. That's slightly more than the price of the cheapest drink, slightly less than the cost of the cheapest pizza.

Check whether the venue is closed for a major event. If so there's plenty more to do in the area, talking around the bay at ground level admiring the skyscrapers, the boats, the palm trees and the people. Take your camera and your friend with a camera.

Keemala Cost?
It's pretty pricey as you might expect. I went onto their website and was quoted prices in Thai baht. The currency converter websites weren't working for this currency. At least they gave the cost per baht but not the total. So I went onto TripAdvisor to see what tye would give me in pounds sterling. Obviously, if you are looking in from the USA you will get US dollars. The result I came up with was £446 for a villa for one night, for two persons. That seems beyond my budget. However, if you were a family of four, for example, which sleeps two to four persons. If you were four adult wage earners, the price seems much more reasonable.

However, looking at TripAdvisor, I found perfectly gorgeous looking hotels with swimming pools, as little as under £50. That gives you plenty of money left over for a meal out and one of the interesting hotels.

Useful Websites

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore city, Singapore island
marinabaysands.com
https://wikitravel.org/en/Singapore/Marina_Bay

Singapore
visitsingapore.com/official/website
Singapore Airlines
singaporeair.com

Keemala Resort and Spa, Phuket, Thailand
https://www.keemala.com
https://www.instagram.com/keemalaphuket/

Thailand
https://uk.tourismthailand.org/home
https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/thai-visas-americans/

Author
Angeal Lansbyur, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Hong Kong Restaurants I visited in date and ranking order

Hong Kong has dozens of options in every street. I tried six restaurants or eating places of very different styles.
Best Restaurants:

1 *****Mijas Spanish Restaurant
High price but high everything. Fabulous food, strolling band plays requests; seven course meal, choice of indoor air-conditioned or balcony with view over the bay. (We started indoors, discovered the balcony, moved to the balcony, decided nearby drunks were too happy and loud and moved tables a second time to finish coffee indoors. The sign outside suggested a three course meal for about £14 but that must have been lunch time because when we asked for the set meal we ended up being presented with a 7 course meal (including coffee) which cost five times as much. However, we treated this as a one off treat and were very pleased with a delightful evening.

2 ****Very Good Seafood Restaurant
Elegant and steps from the MTR station. Note that it is downstairs so look for steps leading downwards to the left of the mall entrance. I had chicken encircled by broccoli, colourful and elegant.


3 ***Starbucks
On the ninth floor of Times Square, a huge indoor shopping mall in Causeway Bay. If you are fed up with chewed up, cut up and minced up mixed meat in gloopy sauces with no vegetables, and being offered Colas and sugared, caffeinated drinks, here's a healthy option. A solid piece of fish, a whole or half egg and salad, and green salad, not cooked to tastelessness. Coffee comes decaff if you want it. Self-service. Also cheaper than most meals in proper Chinese restaurants, however decrepit they look because in local restaurants the idea of meat and two vegetables or even one seems foreign and you often have to order a second dish to get vegetables and a third to get rice or potatoes or pasta.


4 *McDonalds
24 hour restaurants beside Sun Yat-sen Museum (20-45 minutes walk above Central MTR and another branch also 24 hours near Times Square. The one beside Sun Yat-sen Museum has 24 hour delivery.

Opt for the four pieces of solid chicken. I must remember next time to avoid the nuggets, because the meal deal includes Cola and fries, both of which ruin any calorie or healthy plan I might be following. Solid chicken: it's not a meal deal, but that's the real deal.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer, photographer, author, speaker.

Hate Heights or Love Views? Pros and Cons of High Level Hotel Rooms and Homes

This week I was on the 12th floor of a building where the power was off for upgrade of electrics around the complex. The letter to owners and occupiers was to minimise foods in fridges and backup data. Our first thought was to stock less food in the fridge. I thought of adding lots of ice inside.

The night before I put out a pill on a saucer above a cup of ice cold water so I did not need to worry about opening the fridge, nor the pill being exposed to too much heat. If I had kept the air conditioning on all night it would have been cooler in the morning.

The first reminder and update in the morning was when I went into the bathroom and the light would not go on.

What happened on the day?
I had thought that because my laptop has a battery I would not be affected. Wrong.

My laptop would not connect to the internet. No business. No social messages. Not even reading the news. I could not write and upload my blog. Could not even log into blogger and save for upload.


I ate apples which had been left outside the fridge and drank tap water from a jug.

Maybe I should go out for a swim. I should have gone down earlier. It later occurred to me this would not be a good idea. The lifts were not working. I would be in a swimsuit and flip flops. Twelve stories walking down. Twelve stories walking up. A good thing I was not travelling to or from an airport with three suitcases, and not in a room on floor 16.

I was in the bathroom when the light suddenly came on. So I knew the power was back. I got to thinking about living high and low. In an emergency such as a fire you are not supposed to use lift. The power supply could stop. You could be trapped between floors. You might spin down into the fire or smoke. People trying to get in could overload the lift. Start a fight with those inside trying to repel those trying to push in and then the overloaded lift not moving.

Firemen unable to use the lift to bring up firefighting equipment, do room to room searches, bring oxygen and stretchers.

Waiting too long for a lift when you could already be two floors below if you were running down the stairs.

It's a hard decision, whether to take a higher or lower hotel bedroom or rental apartment. The top floors may offer better views and command higher prices. The lower floors offer quick exit in an emergency, and quick exit when the lifts are being repaired or cleaned.

A power outage, or maintenance on lifts, would be a nuisance if you were planning a business meeting for several people. The longer you are staying, the greater the chance that one day you will find the lifts not working. This might be fine for a young couple, less good when you have a baby asleep in a buggy, a load of shopping or when granny comes to stay.

Advantages of the ground floor. We have friends who just married and ranted a ground floor flat with a patio overlooking the pool which is floodlit at night. They eat every meal on their balcony surrounded by pot plants and the poolside greenery. Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Living like every day is a holiday. Their modern block has tiny rooms. But they love it.

Balance that against a top floor flat with a wonderful view over the city. Any high floor, typing with a view of the clouds, rooftops, the swimming pool far below.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Managing your own travel blog

View

Useful - because often if you make your photo large it slips outside the borders of the column or covers text.

Preview - lets you see post before you put it up without correction typos and adding essential phone numbers

Privacy settings

Handy before you've got permission from somebody to display a post about them.
This site  tells you what to do.
https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/42673?hl=en
Look for BLOG READERS section
Go to Settings tab -
click on edit -readers: click on e.g.
any (i.e. all),  or
blog authors or
Blog readers
click on +
add specific people to include (e.g. members of your family, those you wrote about when you are asking their permission or for them to proofread spellings of the family name, their business name)

Glossary
http://www.google.com/goodtoknow/web/jargon/