on the Go with Bo!

Hotels in Singapore

Where to sleep?

Friends always ask, but where can I sleep in Singapore? Well, if there's no room at our place ... Singapore really has no shortage of five-star hotels, with service that will impress even the finest of you out there. For a truly luxurious experience, try one of these hotels:

> Grand Hyatt

> The Fullerton Hotel

> The Sentosa (a Beaufort Hotel) - not centrally located but a great hotel

> Raffles Hotel

> St. Regis

> Capella Hotel - Sentosa Island

> Fairmont Hotel

> Four Seasons

> Shangri-La

> The Mandarin Oriental

> The Ritz Carlton Millenia

> Pan-Pacific

You may also want try out some of the boutique hotels that are around town. There are not many of them, but the few that do exist are well worth the visit:

> Majestic Hotel

> Scarlet Hotel

> Naumi Hotel

> Quincy Hotel

Click on the Agoda banner above for more details on the hotels ...

Night Safari

Have you been to a night safari before? Have you even heard of this concept before? I haven’t! So when we went, it was a pleasant surprise. After all, many animals are nocturnal, and seeing them out in the open at night just gives you a whole different experience.

With over 900 nocturnal animals of 130 species inhabiting 40 hectares of dense secondary forest, Night Safari is the world’s first wildlife park with a night view. There is a 3.2 km tram ride that takes you throughout the whole night zoo, along with 3 different walking trails which will amuse you, your kids and the kid in you.

What can you expect to see? Bats from up-close, lions, elephants, leopards, owls, big fat hippos and many other exotic animals. It’s a great thing to do at night and as you would expect from Singapore, it’s super organized!

One recommendation ... try and avoid going there on the weekend. It's a zoo ... literally!!

Dempsey Hill / Rochester Park

Dempsey Hill: I love this part of Singapore. What once were army barracks have now been converted to restaurants, galleries, furniture and art shops. Coming here for a stroll or for a meal feels very colonial. The restaurants that you should definitely check out are the following:


> Prime Society for that great steak ... 'dedicated to the upper cut', as they put it!
> Margaritas for some Mexican salsa
> Jones for a quick breakfast or lunch, or to buy some food supplies
> Oosh for a spectacular outdoor dining experience
> Culina: perfect for a casual brunch/lunch. You also have a great selection of wines to go along with your meal. Like Jones, Culina also has a store inside the premises.
> La Forketta: wonderful Italian food ... especially loved their pizza.
> Jumbo Seafood Restaurant:  fantastic prawns and chili crab
> The White Rabbit:  a new restaurant located in an old church with fantastic food

Rochester Park: of course if there were army barracks, there also had to be generals. And where did they live? You guessed it, Rochester Park. The old black & white houses have been converted to fantastic indoor/outdoor dinning places. The following restaurants are the ones I've tried and recommend:

> Cassis:  fantastic new restaurant!  More upscale and pricey than the others, but worth it
> Graze
> De Paolo Bistro Bar
> One Rochester

Bollywood Veggies

You wouldn’t expect to come across an organic farm in the countryside of Singapore. Actually, you wouldn’t expect Singapore to have a countryside! That’s why a visit to Bollywood Veggies will prove you once again that Singapore has more to offer than just shopping malls and great restaurants.

Bollywood Veggies is located by the Kranji Reservoir, on the north western part of the island. As you drive down the PIE (pan island expressway) and then onto Lim Chu Kang Road, you slowly distance yourself from the urbane environment and move into the Singaporean countryside. HBD’s and highways give way to small roads and large fields. The large sky gives no sign of urban civilization close by, for not one high-rise is in sight on the horizon.

On the way to the organic farm you will pass the very large Choa Chu Kang Cemeteries. It is a vast cemetery situated in a beautifully green and calm part of Singapore, divided into Muslim, Chinese and Christian areas (at least those are the ones I noticed). I’ve always known Singapore as a multi-cultural society, where people live happily side-by-side, on a very confined land mass. In true Singaporean style, the after life is no different. Due to a lack of space, the different cultures live harmoniously together even when they cross over. This is very well represented by this cemetery.

When you arrive to the Bollywood Veggies organic garden, I highly recommend you have a meal at their restaurant (we had a delicious breakfast on a very hot Sunday morning) and a walk through their garden. You will find all sorts of plants, herbs, vegetables and fruit trees. But most of all, make sure you meet Ivy, who together with her husband runs the place. She’s a feisty, vocal and opinionated (in a positive way) Singaporean woman of Indian-Chinese origin. On her business card she refers herself to ‘gentlewarrior farmer’. Somewhere else on the farm I noticed the name ‘Poison Ivy’. Hmm! Ivy is also one of those people that you can’t help but listen too. She said ‘my opinion counts, after all my mind represents a third of the world’s population’ referring to her ancestry. She’s entertaining, interesting, with a lot of stories and is the antithesis of what the Singaporean stereotype is.

Miami - USA (Dec 2007)

Bienvenido a Miami!

Miami is a hip city, especially South Beach, where most of the tourists go. It’s the only place in continental US that has year-round sunshine and warm/hot temperatures. A T-shirt and shorts is all you really need. Then again, if you want to fit into the South Beach crowd, you will need a buff body to go along with that, as well as a Cadillac Escalade SUV, a mansion on the waterfront and a hot babe in your arms! Glitz and glamour is dejour.

If you don’t fall into the category of hot babe or buff dude, you can simply let your eyes go on a visual pasture. Observe all the eye candy that continuously strolls itself up and down Ocean Drive. Miami is a people-watching place for a lot of people come here to be seen and to become famous … or infamous as is likely to happen.

Want to have a rocking time in Miami? ...

Phoenix - USA (Dec 2007)

Phoenix is a vast, expansive city. You will see what I mean when you land there. The lights go on for an eternity! The only way to truly enjoy this city is by renting a car. And preferably a convertible. The distances are so far that if you take a cab everywhere, it’s going to cost you just as much, if not more.

There is one thing that I have to mention about Phoenix, or Arizona for that matter. The light! Seeing the magnificent sky, with the barren mountains in the background, at any time of the day is magical. There is something about the desert sky in this state that emits light so soft, yet brilliant, that it is quasi transcendental. And wait till you see the sunset. The shades of orange and blue, the soft browns on the mountains, the long shadows from the cacti … I’ve never seen quite anything like it. Completely surreal!

How to enjoy your time in Phoenix?

Las Vegas - USA (Dec 2007)

So … last night as I was flying from Miami to Las Vegas, I sat next to this girl with unbelievably large breasts, tight mini-dress, fish-net stockings and boots with high heels! We started chatting … it was inevitable! She told me she was a go-go dancer in Vegas and that she had gone to Miami for the weekend with her sugar daddy, but that things didn’t work out that well! The sugar-daddy spent $34,000 on her (clothes, first-class air ticket, hotel, etc) and consequently expected something in return. On Saturday night though, she had decided that she wanted to go out dancing and have some fun although her sugar-daddy wasn’t that interested in going clubbing. His idea of a great evening was to stay in the hotel room with her, start of with a dip in the hot-tub and then let the evening progress. They had eventually decided that she was to go out for an hour or so and then come back to the hotel room, while he was going to set-up the jacuzzi, light the candles and put on some romantic music.

Read on to find out how this story ended, as well as how to have a blast in Vegas ...

San Diego (Nov 2007, Aug 2008)

I’ve been to San Diego several times. A good friend of mine lives there so I enjoy coming over for a visit.

I’ve done the walk through downtown, I’ve down Sea World and I’ve seen Balboa park. You should see all of those. They’re worthwhile.

But what I love most about San Diego is the beauty of the town and the ease of life there. You get into your Benz convertible and tour around and life feels just wonderful. You stop for breakfast, you drive to the beach and you sit in the afternoon sun drinking coffee and chatting with friends. Leave San Francisco and LA to give you the big city feel and attitude, San Diego is where the true laid-back Californian experience exists.

Going to San Diego? need some tips on where to go, where to eat?? Read on ...

Bali - Indonesia

It’s the last day of 2007 and we’re flying back home to Singapore after spending four magical days in Bali. I’m sitting on the plane now pondering what makes Bali so special? Why is it that when you leave Bali it feels like you’ve left paradise?  Could it be the endless smiles, it’s spirituality, focus on details, music everywhere, craftwork, rice paddies, offerings at shrines and temples, weather, volcanic island, … find out.