During our trip for the Singapore Blog Awards, in addition to the hotel where we were staying, the sponsors arranged for our group of 16 overseas bloggers to visit two other hotels within the same group. This was quite a rare experience for the average person, allowing us to compare the features of rooms at different levels all at once. Among the 16 of us were bloggers from Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines, and we were each accommodated in different hotels.
On the first day, after dropping off my luggage at the hotel, I took a pre-arranged minibus to another hotel, the Landmark Village Hotel, for a welcome dinner by the pool. Landmark Village Hotel is situated in the Bugis district of the city centre, close to Arab Street and Little India with their rich Middle Eastern and Indian flavours, and is also right next to Bugis MRT Station, which is really very convenient.
▼I arrived at the hotel just after six, a bit earlier than expected, so I was able to enjoy the romance by the pool all on my own. The organisers had laid out some fruit for us, so naturally I grabbed a young coconut straight away and sat by the pool splashing about XDDDD
▼The organisers had arranged two little activities for everyone. One was traditional Indian henna art. I didn’t take part at first because I knew I wasn’t very good at it, but my friends were having such a brilliant time that I ended up getting one done too. My friend said the one on my hand looked like a hairy spider. I don’t dare show it to anyone 🙁
▼There was also a body scan; I didn’t take part in that, but I saw the photo posted by that lovely Singaporean blogger, and it looked quite impressive.
▼Apart from the event itself, the rest of the time was spent socialising, getting to know each other and discovering the best places to eat and things to do in each other’s cities, as well as chatting about the current state of the blogging scene. This was the part I valued most, and it was the most rewarding few hours of the trip.
▼The organisers had thoughtfully arranged for some durian for everyone to try. Although I love durian, I was worried that not everyone might like the taste, so I didn’t have any, to avoid things getting a bit awkward during the chat. I heard it was the D24 variety, imported from Malaysia to Singapore, and incredibly rich and fragrant. What a shame! What a shame! Next time, I’ll just go ahead and eat it, regardless of what others think. XDDD
▼After a bit of a chat, the hotel manager went on to explain the itinerary for the Singapore Blog Awards to us, and then began showing us around the rooms in each category. I willLoves travellingWe’ll cover the hotel’s room facilities in a separate post.
▼By the time we’d finished our tour and returned to the poolside, it was already quite late. Everyone was already tucking into the buffet dinner, so I didn’t wait around any longer; I simply took in the beautiful scenery whilst I ate my fill.
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