獨樹一格 M Social 酒店／李明熙
今年才落成的 M Social 酒店，出自法國設計大師 Philippe Starck 手筆，以 Democratic Design （親民設計）的概念玩轉傳統酒店風格，令新加坡的潮區 Robertson Quay，潮上加潮。
我們入住的是 The Big Room，一打開房門，第一樣看到是 5 米高的落地大玻璃窗，往上一看，原來有道樓梯通往 Loft，上面有張特大梳化和 40 寸大電視，感覺像有兩個房間。室內設計以暖色為主調，配合太空金屬感元素，面積不算大，但 5 米高的樓底給予我們一種說不出的舒適感。尤其早上醒來，打開窗簾，躺在床上看著高高的天花和藍天白雲，客房被天然光照亮，朝氣滿瀉。
M 
Social酒店的前線員工都是年輕人，穿上 Uniqlo 的制服，手持iPad，非常有活力地為客人奔波。而就早餐時段所見，入住的客人都是二十出頭的青年情侶居多，新潮物還是年輕人接收得較快，相信 M Social 酒店亦是年輕人為目標巿場。
以 Check-in 為例，酒店大堂只有自助 Check-in 系統，客人只需在電腦登記訂房資料，電腦會即時打印電子匙卡。對於我這類習慣職員服侍的住客，見到這種機器便立刻叫職員來幫手。最後職員亦只需在旁說明，因為步驟異常簡單，非文盲的一定可以應付。或許年輕人喜歡對著機器獨自處理問題，但去旅行住酒店，我還是享受多跟當地員工交流。
黃昏時段從酒店出發，沿著新加坡河散步，經過熱鬧的 Clarke Quay，走進國會和藝術區，穿過 CBD 去 Merlion Park，這短短的半小時路，是我們在新加坡最快樂的時光。到達 Merlion 雕像，亦為我們這趟東南亞背包遊的寫上句號。
Eating Through Singapore/Kimberlogic
Singapore has many attractions for tourists; theme parks, casinos, gardens, a zoo, but we skipped most of them. The thing that stood out the most for us was the food. The hawker centers located within apartment complexes or just on their own were the highlight of our time in Singapore. The food was delicious and different depending on which center we visited.
The first hawker center we tried was Hong Lim Complex on the outskirt of Chinatown. It was late in the evening and we were hungry but upon entering the center, we were overwhelmed by all of the choices. The best way to ensure you get a tasty meal in Singapore is to queue. So, we found a stall with a queue and waited our turn.
Our first meal was curry chicken soup noodles. Living in Asia I have had all kinds of curries and all kinds of soup noodles, but none like this before. The coconut and the spice were so powerful, yet balanced and the noodles were of quality. From the first bite, we knew that we would be happy just eating our way through Singapore.
The next day we toured the city and realized how small it is. We must have passed Chinatown five times that day and when we walked to find a bus stop, by the time we found the correct one, we were more than half way to our destination already.
That evening we met friends for dinner by the Gluttons Bay and tried the Makansutra hawker center. Of course the prices were inflated for tourists, but the food was still really good. Being with five people, we were able to try more dishes such as; lobster, stingray, prawn, and satay pork. We ended the night by going back to Chinatown to have dessert. Here I got to try my first taste of Durian. Being the only Westerner with a group of Chinese, all eyes were on me for my first taste of this stinky fruit. I found it very strong and creamy, yet tasty, although one piece was enough.
Our last day in Singapore, we visited the Haw Par Villa, which was a bit out of the way, but so weird that it was cool. Ming Hay was able to fill me in on most of the Chinese stories that were depicted in the crazy sculptures. After the villa, we felt pretty satisfied with our Singapore visit except for one thing; I was determined to have a good Indian meal once I realized how large the Indian population is in Singapore.
We never made it back to Little India because we were too hungry, but we managed to find a Lau Pa Sat hawker center in downtown with many Indian options. I’m not exactly sure what we ate, but it was so flavorful and yummy that we were happy. We split a large platter and were satisfied for the rest of the day. Although we did some sightseeing, we both would have been happy just going from Hawker center to Hawker center.
