Singapore

an extract from my book project Chapter 2 Singapore: 

....I was just slightly nervous as I stepped out of the chilly hotel lobby into the boiling heat and extreme humidity. More than anything, I wanted to be punctual. I couldn’t use the lame excuse that I missed the office building or Beach Road on the way from my hotel. The Gateway twin towers were right there, so close I could almost touch them from where I stood. Beach Road is host to two icons. Firstly, the Gateway twin buildings, not only an architectural masterpiece with their sharp edges, but also my new place of work. Secondly, the Raffles Hotel, a prominent must-see for every Western tourist, especially the British. On December 1, 1887, when Singapore was under British rule, the colonial-style five-star Raffles Hotel at Beach Road Number One opened its doors. The ten-room hotel had a reputation for high standards and comfortable accommodations, and it quickly became popular with a wealthy clientele. The hotel became known as the “Savoy of the Orient” and the local newspaper The Straits Times reported that the island would be a poorer place without it. I must admit that the Raffles Hotel was among the rare places I had indeed visited on my first trip to Singapore, not knowing that I’d be working five hundred feet down the road in less than two years’ time......