A couple of weeks back I was railing about the lack of spatial understanding of Bangkok displayed by several of the major guidebooks.  The upshot of that, to my mind, is some rather weird recommendations as to where you should stay, places not necessarily well-placed to use either BTS or MRT rail systems.

That got me to thinking about relevant alternatives; and the canal ferry services came to mind.  Sure enough, although these are usually used by Bangkok commuters, they did rather hit the button for getting you around particularly the Klong Toey administrative area of the City.

Using the canal ferries also gives an additional dimension to your holiday, including that it is another way to meet ordinary Thais going about their everyday business:

Notes on Boat Service in Saen Saeb Canal
Piers: 27 Piers
Tickets: 5-15 baht by distance

1) Phan Fah Leelart (terminal, a bridge to Bangkok City Center)
2) Bo Bae (Garment market – second only Pratoo Nam and Pahurat [Bangkok Little India])
3) Wat Phraya Yang – (a temple near Yotse)
4) Saphan Charoen Phon (to Charoen Phon neighborhood)
5) Ban Krua (a Muslim community – the backbone of Jim Thomson’s silk business)
6) Saphan Hua Chang (with connection to National Stadium Skytrain Station)
7) Pratoonam (major BKK Garment Market, not far from Panthip and WTC, an interchange for Saensaeb Boat, used to have a water gate in the time of King Mongkut to feed the Royal lotus pond (the root of Pathumwan District), hence got the namesake from that thing)
8)Saphan Chidlom – near Central Chidlom, Siam City Bank HQ, Siam Commercial Bank (Phetburi Office)
9) Saphan Witthayu – near Vanich Building, in Wireless Road
10) Nana Nua – near Bumrungrat Hospital
11) International School – near Rueanruedee International School
12. Saphan Asok – near Japanese Embassy and Phetburi Station of Subway
13) Prasarn Mitr – in Sri Nakahrintharawiroj University (Prasarn Mitr Campus)
14) Watmai Chonglok – in New Phetburi Road
15) Phrom pak – a lane to Phrom Phong Station of Skytrain, and not far from  Thai-Italian Pier can be a substitute
16) Thon Lor – a road to Thong Lor Station – not far from RCA
17) Charn Issara – Charn Issara 2 Building
18) Saphn Klong Tan – near Klong Tan Intersection – used to be an interchange for Lad Phrao boat until 2000 (the year Boat service in Krung Kasem city moat and Lad Phrao canal went out of business)
19) The Mall 3 – (ram Khamhaeng Branch) near New Rama 9 intersection
20) Ram Khamhaeng 29 – near the defunct Welco
21) Wat Thep Leela – the main road from Ram Khamhaeng to Thai Cultural Centre
22) Ramkhamhaeng University – the biggest open university in Thailand
23) Saphan Mit Mahardthai – near Huamark Stadium – and can connect to Lad Phrao Road
24) Wat Klang
25) The Mall – the shopping center rival to Central (the main branch in Bang Kapi)
26) Bang Kapi – near bang Kapi district office, and Bang Kapi Market
27) Wat Sri Boonruean – terminal near NIDA

Mark Azavedo

http://www.2bangkok.com/ferries.shtml

Psirri reminds me of the Marais in Paris when it was a zone of transition – traditional workshops mixed with new bars, restaurants, yoga and dance studios.  The dissimilarities lie in Marais’ history as the Jewish Quarter of Paris, and its latter day association with the gay scene.

So bowled was I with Marais’ heady mix that it was my first choice for a fashion shoot.  Though, at that time, I spent most of my working life in Greece, I never remotely considered it.

I can barely believe my words when I now say Athens would be my undisputed choice. Psirri and nearby Gazi are so of the moment, so fascinatingly emergent, the first a major working class district of Athens, the latter the old gasworks.

Get to Psirri quickly before all the character goes. It will become ever more characterised by bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.  Also, some nice modern speciality shops.

It is still the talk of Athens that Psirri became designated as an entertainment zone, so pushing up property values and rents, making them unaffordable to the traditional trades.  The chatter is of corruption as a major property owner and landlord in Psirri was a government minister.

For the casual visitor, Psirri simply feels like the next step, a natural development from overdeveloping Monastiraki. In fact, ever onward and outward, development is moving into Thissio.

A great thing to do is an evening stroll in the park by Thissio station, under the watchful view of the Acropolis. There is a small handicrafts and collectables market to browse.

Gazi was much less contentious, acclaimed a wonderful use of the old gasworks. It is an exhibition and media centre, and, more particularly, an entertainment zone. Perhaps the most achingly trendy entertainment zone in the world? This is where you find Athens’ beautiful people or, to be more precise, Athens’ beautiful young people (the older ones focus on Kolonaki).

I am, of course, trendy beyond even Gazi, having so many allergies that eating out is near impossible. But, consistently recommended for all Athens are two Gazi restaurants, The Butcher’s Shop (for meats) and Sardelles (for fish). Hoxton is the usual bar recommendation.

In screaming the case for Athen’s new areas, I have to admit that on a spring evening, without the tourist crowds, Monastiraki was beguiling.

I stayed in the wonderfully affordable Hotel Aristoteles, chosen through our site.

Mark Azavedo

I love Berlin; and had a very happy commute a couple of weeks back, reading Alison Grinter’s article “Trend Setting” in TNT magazine.

The article focuses on the new East/West divide in Berlin, the East being capital of cool in a super-cool city.

Alison and TNT magazine have kindly given us permission to link to this not to be missed article. Please click here.

Wine lore has it that wines can only be produced either 30-50 Degrees North or South of the equator. Thailand, along with Brazil, India and Indonesia, is disproving that.

In the Thai case, as so much development, the starting point was a Royal Project, under the patronage of H.M.King Bhumibol, this in conjunction with Kasetsart University.

The first commercial planting of vines was at Chateau de Loei, in the Phurua Highlands, in 1991. The wines are produced under the guidance of Australian and French oenologists, with a Shiraz varietal the estate’s flagship wine.

Khao Yai, only two hours out of Bangkok, has the greatest intensity of vineyards, Chateau des Brumes Village Farm and Winery, PB Valley Winery and Granmonte Estate. You can visit on a day trip, but the National Park is worth a couple of days stopover.

Chateau des Brumes is an 80 acre property, specialising in French-style wines. They are made under the tutelage of Jacques Bacou, a French winemaker.

PB Valley, Khao Yai’s oldest winery, is an 800 acre estate planted to Shiraz, Tempranillo and Colombard. Since 2002, PB Valley Wines, made with the assistance of German Wolfgang W Schaefer, have been served by Thai Airways.

This estate is a particular favourite of mine for its extensive leisure facilities, as well as the wine. There is a large restaurant, with fabulous views, under the management of the lovely Nana, as well as produce and souvenir shop, together with simple, but attractive, on-estate accommodation.

Granmonte is PB’s neighbour. The property is set in 40 acres planted to Shiraz and Chenin Blanc, but also table grapes. Unusually, given the predominance of reds in the Thai offering, a favourite from Granmonte is the Sakuna Rose.

Winemaking at Granmonte is under the direction of Nikki Lohitnavy, Thailand’s first Thai female winemaker. Nikki (Visootha) is a graduate of University of Adelaide.

Granmonte is another winery with good leisure facilities by way of the Montino shop and VinCotto restaurant. The restaurant runs under the watchful eye of Sakuna Lohitnavy, Nikki’s mother.

Probably Thailand’s most ambitious and well-funded winery, coming out of the Red Bull fortune,is Siam Winery. The winery also, perhaps, boasts Thailand’s most known vineyard, the so-called floating vineyard at Samut Sakorn on the Chao Phraya delta, only 60km from Bangkok.

This vineyard harvests local grape varieties White Malaga and Red Pok Dum. The vines are planted on islands, separated by canals, Grapes are taken to the winery by boat.

Siam Winery’s main seller is Monsoon Valley. The grapes for this wine are now grown exclusively at Hua Hin Hills Vineyard. Again, Siam Winery has a talented overseas oenologist, Kathrin Puff, from Germany.

A visit to Hua Hin Hills Vineyard is a must for anyone staying in Hua Hin. You can stay in the hills area, but you will find yourself continually commuting into Hua Hin. The opposite commute makes more sense; and can be arranged at Hua Hin Hills Wine Cellar at Hua Hin Market Village at B200 for the round trip.

Hua Hin Hills is planted to Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, Shiraz, Tempranillo and table grapes. The Sala Wine Bar and Bistro has fantastic views out over the vineyard and great food at sensible prices (my lunch is in the picture).

The vineyard also has a nice shop. I did, though, balk at the elephant-back tour of the vineyard (though it was an elephant corral). That got me pondering the arguments that have raged in the Napa Valley, California over the balance of agriculture and leisure facilities.

Something that particularly excited me at Hua Hin Hills was the soil samples, loamy and slate. These are good vine soils; and particularly the slate must add character. This said, it must never be forgotten that these early successes for the Thai wine industry have been based very much from Thai pragmatism in welcoming overseas oenologists and technological innovation, particularly around irrigation and fruiting control.

My main worry for this embryonic industry is that the 200% excise duty will preclude a substantial bedrock demand for Thai wines in the home market.

Please contact us at marktimetravel@yahoo.co.uk for vineyard accommodation, accommodation in vineyard areas, wine and other Thai agritourism itineraries.

Mark Azavedo

Since 2008, George Town, Penang has been a World Heritage Site, along with Melaka, both port cities of the Straits of Malacca.  This dual award was the first for Malaysia; and contains a large part of both cities.

Penang’s citation speaks of two aspects.  The built environment is fabulously rich in colonial architecture, specifically British colonial architecture of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  The old town is a wonderful tapestry of different cultures, living happily side-by-side, constantly adapting, accommodating and influencing one another.  The mix has variously been Asian and European, with the Asian part of that being Chinese, Indian and Malay.  There has been genuine cultural exchange, arising, initially, out of maritime trade.

I spoke lengthily to a taxi driver who was fearfully proud to be Malaysian, fearfully proud of Malaysia’s achievements.  He was equally proud of his Indian, and specifically South Indian background.  He was unimaginably proud that the different ethnicities get along so well (implying that there was a model for other countries) and speak each other’s tongues.  He regarded Malaysia’s state educational system as a key achievement in this.

Little India is certainly a key area in Penang, if only as a place to take lunch!  It is a melange of street hawkers, small restaurants, Indian jewellery and music shops.  It has a different feel to most Little Indias and certainly a different taste, as the migrants here were mostly South Indian.

I was able to indulge my South Indian vegetarian tastes.  Firstly , I ate at a restaurant, a tasty meal for just over £1.  In fact, the idly were so good that, now in the mood, I indulged in more from a street hawker at 10p each.  Heaven!

Whereas Little India is always vibrant, busy, Chinatown is often rundown.  Specifically, it is very sad to see the rundown state of many of the shophouses.  This was commented upon by UNESCO as an area of concern.

Should you want to see the opposite, good conservation practice, not a hint of over-restoration, visit Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.  In 2000, the Mansion won UNESCO’s Asia-Pacific Heritage Award for Conservation.

Cheong Fatt Tze was a highly successful Chinese trading entrepreneur who came to Penang in 1890, completing the construction of his opulent mansion in 1904.  The mansion is both lavish and well-considered.  The ambience just can’t be described.

There are two public tours of the premises daily.  But, better still, why not stay there?  Don’t expect corporate slick – the service can be quiet variable.  But staying in this wonderful building, amidst its lived-in antiques, is simply something unrivalled.

You must stay here at least a night or two.  By local standards, prices are quite high, but this will be among your lifetime’s best expenditures, even given heavy noise intrusion from the entertainment at the night restaurants next door.

I include an image of my room, Towkay.  Given very lengthy pre-warning, we can sometimes book rooms in Cheong Fatt Tze.  There are only 12 letting rooms; and the place is immensely popular.  Contact marktimetravel@yahoo.co.uk

At the other end of the scale, backpacker cheap, there are numerous hotels along Love Lane.  As the name implies, this was George Town’s red-light district; and these the by-the-hour joints.  Now my memories are of relaxed backpackers happily taking a coffee and fruits for breakfast in the sun.

To step-up the tempo somewhat – but Penang is never going to be Bangkok – go to Upper Penang Road in the evening.  This is George Town’s charming nightlife district. 

Finally, some words on navigating George Town.  The city is small.  You will be able to cover everything in the historic centre on foot.  Penang Heritage Trust, a hugely knowledgeable and important lobbying organisation, produce the best maps; and these are available free.  Additionally, the Trust has established a number of heritage trails, again with free guides.

Mark Azavedo

I guess Bangkok has the reputation for making you feel different about yourself through the surgical option. I found something cheaper than Bangkok’s bargain basement surgery rates. Something I could afford. Something I was more inclined to. Something equally effective. Bangkok tailoring.

That said, not any old Bangkok tailor, but Jesse and Victor Gulati, the father and son team of Rajawongse at 130 Sukhumvit, by the Landmark Hotel. Assuredly not tailors to the tourist trade. More tailors to the diplomatic community.

Jesse and Victor work very closely with the US Embassy, dressing ambassadors down to marine guards.

These have recommended the Gulati’s tailoring to visiting politicians, though the recommendation to George W Bush was from Dad, George Bush. Other famous names from the USA political community that have been dressed by Jesse and Victor include Sen.John Kerry, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and Nancy Reagan.

For Nancy Reagan they also produced a fabric backdrop for a television appearance that matched her dress and earrings.

She must have been one mightily persuasive lady. I don’t see Jesse and Victor often deviating from their brief of classic quality tailoring. They precisely give off an air of doing what they do best, doing it to perfection and in an atmosphere of measured calm (quite something in the freneticism of Sukhumvit).

Tailoring is a very serious issue at Rajawongse, though Jesse and Victor are happy to laugh and joke about other issues, discuss their travels, give recommendations. At all times you are addressed by your first name; and that is remembered.

When it is time for a measurement or fitting, a hush descends. The attentiveness made me feel good, the results even better. I literally felt different about myself. Silly really, as I hadn’t changed. Presumably the underlying thought was I can’t be so odd that I can’t be accommodated!

I had shirts made. For my big collar size, the arms are always too long. The body billows, unless I buy slimfit – then it’s too tight!

With Jesse and Victor I received perfection, and in the finest Egyptian cotton. Victor allowed himself a moment of wry humour at the fitting: “It could have been made for you, Mark”.

And the cost of perfection, of feeling good about myself, 1000Baht (approximately £18). A lot cheaper than surgery, even at Bangkok rates!

Mark Azavedo

http://dress-for-success.com/

Having spent the umpteenth hour of my life browsing in the food hall of Central Department Store, Chidlom, I decided it time to announce it as a tourist destination in its own right. The place is truly fantastic, an oriental Harrods food hall; and you can have an extraordinary self-service lunch there, very cheaply, too.

Alternatively, around the nearby Ploenchit/Wyatthu intersection, down Wyatthu and between Ploenchit and Chidlom there are many very good stalls for lunchtime street food. This is an office workers area.

Why not take your spoils to nearby Lumphini Park for a picnic lunch. Lumphini is one of the world’s great urban parks. Walk through to Silom , including walking on to Surawongse. These streets and the Sois between them are a major shopping area. You’ll also find the infamous Patpong here (boy do I hate that market – go to the real thing at Chatuchak at the weekend BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line Mo Chit). You can walk on down to the river.

A quick cut down to the river is by taking BTS Skytrain down to Saphan Taksin. If you are flush you’re hopefully staying at the (Mandarin) Oriental or the Peninsula. If not, it’s still a lovely area with OP Place my favourite place for a coffee and antiques browse. If you get off two stops before Saphan Taksin at Surasak, the Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School is right there.

At the opposite extreme to all this loveliness, for a huge Tesco, available without a car, take BTS Skytrain Sukhumvit Line to On Nut. Why go to Tesco on your holiday? Well, truth is that it’s often massively cheaper than elsewhere. Also, you don’t have to haggle prices.

I know what prices should be but, frankly, can’t be bothered to haggle down to the minimum. I just go for a token first round to not look too stupid. It’s not that Thais are great at haggling either, it’s just that they can handle the heat. You’ll find being cool well worth the lack of negotiating effort.

If you use On Nut Tesco, there is a night market there too.

If my references to street food are not to your liking a very cheap restaurant, where you can eat for around £1 is Santa’s in MBK Centre BTS Skytrain National Stadium. Another cheap place I found recently, where the food is very good, worthy of dinner, is C Cup on Sukhumvit Soi 8. 

A suggestion for the Bangrak area (Silom, Surawongse, etc) is the basement of the Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Tower, 322 Surawongse (or Surawong) Road, again an extremely cheap place for all the local office workers, but not way off the tourist track.

In all this super-cheapness, don’t forget the sheer value of the lunchtime specials at the (Mandarin) Oriental.

Finally, in all this discussion of food and drink, a plea. I’ve noticed an increasing number of foreigners eating and drinking on BTS Skytrain. This is banned. Thais obey the ban, regarded rather quizzically at first. It is disrespectful to do differently. The superb condition of Skytrain 10 years on is testimony to the value of such rules.

PS: Suan Lum, Bangkok Night Market/Bazaar is still there, contrary to some reports. It is next to Lumphini MRT; and is, in fact, expanding.

Mark Azavedo

Thailand Beach Resorts
Pattaya and Hua Hin, one either side, just over 2 hours from Bangkok

Pattaya and Hua Hin are the two top resorts in Thailand, but their attractions differ. Hua Hin appeals to a more sophisticated clientele, Pattaya draws the fun-seeker.

Thai Royal Family and High Society in Hua Hin.

Just off Hua Hin lie two gunships. Are we at war? Has ex-prime minister Taksim Shinawatra finally mounted the counter coup? Should we pack our bags and decamp? No, the King and Queen of Thailand are in residence and the naval vessels are just the outward display of their presence in the beachside Royal Palace at Hua Hin.

The fact that the Thai royals plus the elite of Bangkok society, the so-called “hiso”, choose to holiday here has transformed this former fishing village into a smart beach resort.

Despite the loss of most of its traditional wooden housing, and the fact that the squid hung stands along the beach have been replaced by guesthouses, Hua Hin still manages to retain much of its Thai charm.

Hua Hin, Spa Capital of Thailand

Nowadays it is known as the Spa capital of Thailand, each Spa taking their cue from the world famous Chiva Som Spa which was the first to offer holistic treatments in the area and offering a wide range of holistic activities including massages, exercise regimens, facials and body polishing, as well as medical programmes and stress management. One of the best is the Deverana Spa in the Dusit Thani Hotel, Hua Hin.

Golf and Elephant Trekking in Hua Hin, Thailand

There are those who claim that playing golf on one of the six international style golf course around the town is stress management enough, and others who will recommend a day spent elephant trekking with the gentle giants who once worked in the jungles of northern Thailand.

Dining in Hua Hin, Thailand

Off Naresdamri Road are many narrow sois lined with cafés, restaurants, bars, tailor shops and guesthouses. The multilingual menus displayed testify to the international clientele now attracted to the town. The “catch of the day” is available at all restaurants and at the night market on Dechanuchit Road where tiger prawns, crab, crayfish and pancakes can be sampled. This can be followed by home made ice-cream served from an old-fashioned freezer on wheels, ice-cream which, it is said, is delivered to the Palace once a week as it is a favourite with the royal family.

Pattaya, Thailand, night-life and other diversions.

Across the Gulf of Thailand lies the brasher Pattaya whose risqué diversions attract quite a different clientele. The neon-lit nightlife for which it is famous has totally transformed what was once a fishing village as quiet as Hua Hin until it became an R. & R. resort for Americans during the Vietnam War. Nowadays, South Pattaya is full of bars, beer gardens, pubs, discos and transvetite cabarets, many of which have earned the town a reputation for sleaze.

Dining in Pattaya and other entertainment

But sleaze is only one side of Pattaya. The other side is a range of excellent restaurants offering some of the best food in Thailand and PADI licenced Dive operators offering the best water-sports facilities in the country. However, the main beach is noisy and crowded and the vendors who patrol the narrow stretch of sands can be persistent. The few who come here in search of a bit of peace and tranquillity usually head for nearby Jomtien Beach.

Hua Hin or Pattaya – Thailand offers a choice.

Hua Hin is short on malls and top class shopping in shopping plazas as befits a quiet, tranquil resort but numerous side trips can be made to scenic areas and historical palaces. Pattaya offers parasailing, windsurfing, diving, offshore islands, an orchid farm, several theme parks, golf, tennis and archery.

To sum up, Hua Hin attracts an older, polyglot group of people whose main thought is to relax while still having fun, whereas Pattaya attracts a group who want to play hard and who eschew relaxation in favour of fast living.

This article is reproduced by kind permission of Mari Nicholson, its writer. Mari is a well-known travel writer, who specialises in Thailand.

We say that when in Hua Hin you must visit Hua Hin Hills Vineyard, especially on a jazz day.

A visit to Yaowarat, Bangkok’s famous Chinatown, is sometimes better made after the Chinese New Year, as during the celebrations for that festival, the streets are crowded and restaurants are full. Like Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival, the revelry in the streets continues, but quiet places for contemplation can still be found hidden away in side streets. And, of course, food from every province of mainland China is on offer in Yaowarat.

Chinese Temples in Yaowarat
There are Chinese Temples that pull in devotees, especially on the occasion of the Chinese New Year. The Year of the Pig doesn’t promise all sweetness and light and perhaps this is why the air is so thick with smoke from joss sticks. Wat Mangkorn Kamalawat, Wat Kalayanamit, Chao Poh Sua Shrine are all busy with people praying and making offerings to their ancestors and holy spirits.

On Trimit Road is the Trimit Temple which houses the famous shrine of the Lord Buddha cast in gold, a metal that has always held a special place in the hearts of the Chinese. Called simply the Golden Buddha, it supposedly weighs five and a half tons and is the heaviest Buddha statue in the world.

Surprisingly, the Golden Buddha was hidden inside a plaster cast for several centuries until 1954, when workers trying to remove the heavy sculpture found a code on the base of the statue relating to its contents. They broke the plaster cast and this unveiled the statue.

Gold Shops in Chinatown, Bangkok
In Yaowarat Road lie the Chinese gold shops for which the area is famous, and if you are of a mind to buy some gold, then this is as good a place as any. The gold is sold by weight which can be found in the daily paper, but there is the added value of the workmanship which is the extra charge. It is expected that you will barter and you should sttart by offering half the price asked and then settle for three quarters, or whatever you feel you want to pay. Buy what you like, pay what you can afford should be your motto.

Visit the museum on the upper floor of the first gold shop to open in Bangkok 130 years ago, Tang Toh Kang,but an appointment may be necessary (02-224-2422) In the downstairs shop, they still use many of the tools used in the early days of the shop, while embracing some of the more technically advance tools as well.

Yaowarat is an island of Chinese culture in the modern city that Bangkok has become, and should not be missed.

This article is reproduced by kind permission of Mari Nicholson, its writer. Mari is a well-known travel writer, who specialises in Thailand.

In the old days - just a few years back – a guide to Singapore was a really simple (and short) affair. Orchard Road was covered for shopping, Raffles Hotel was suggested for a Singapore Sling, Bukit Timah (Nature Reserve) was suggested to get out of the City, Haw Par Villa was mentioned (I wonder what happened to that), and a final suggestion was the Singapore Zoological Gardens.  As the years went by, Sentosa was added.  And that was about that!

Now a very different Singapore presents itself to visitors, one that positively celebrates its massive, vibrant, ethnic diversity.  One that lets you where you weren’t previously encouraged. Come to think of it, one that lets you where Singaporeans weren’t encouraged!  There is a new liberalism.  The air is positively different, lighter, exciting, particularly by night.

Mostly, I see any visit to Singapore as focusing on its various ethnic areas.  That said, there are one or two stragglers that don’t fit the pattern, notably the Singapore River area, which you must visit, particularly by night.

The areas I’m thinking of are Clarke’s Quay and Boat Quay, areas of old riverside warehouses that have been restored (some would say over-restored); and are now restaurant and retail areas.  In the evening there are hawker stalls too.

The whole environment down on the Quays is totally gorgeous, very upscale in appearance.  Don’t, though, be put off the restaurants and bars.  There are cheaper in Singapore, but prices are by no means crazy.

For cheap, fun, nightlife, a grittier, but never threatening, atmosphere, go to Geylang.  This is the ethnic Malay area of the City.  It is an entertainment zone, but, note, it is also a red-light district.  There are sights that would make Bangkok blush!  But, that is actually refreshing in previously uptight Singapore.

There is a great choice of restaurants, many Ma and Pa or family-run businesses.  Food is good (though never great); and I seem to remember paying about £6 per meal with water in 2008.

I appear to have developed an accidental theme of entertainment and dining by price, though this also fits with my ethnic areas view.

Singapore’s mid-range is clearly Chinatown, though there is much diversity.  The area is never down-at-heel, but parts, around Duxton Road, are creamy smooth.

Keong Saik Road is also a particular favourite with its wonderful yoga studios (Whatever – it also has healing spaces, cafe and bookstore) and simply the best cookery bookshop in the world (25DegreesC – it also has a test kitchen, guest speakers and a small cafe).  Keong Saik, originally Chinatown’s red-light district, also has a number of wonderful boutique hotels, such as Hotel 1929, Royal Peacock Hotel, Keong Saik Hotel and Regal Inn.

More central in Chinatown is Pagoda Street, famed for its night market.  Closeby is Spring Street, better known as Food Street.  At night the street is made over to outdoor dining, with a huge number of restaurants competing for your custom.

I seem to have talked a lot about nightlife areas.  My recommendations for day are Kampang Glam, Singapore’s Arabic area and Little India.  Both do what they say on the can, providing a maze of ethnic eating spots and speciality stores.

So, you’ve had a few days of serious city buzz.  My problem has always been, what next?  With Bangkok, you make easily for a few days at a beach resort, such as Hua Hin.  With Hong Kong, you simply go to an Outlying Island.

The obvious focus from Singapore is Indonesia’s Riau Islands, notably Batam, only 45 minutes by ferry.  But, I’ve always been dubious, the island being essentially industrial.

Then I found theTuri Beach area of Nongsa.  Heaven.  Specifically, I adore Turi Beach Resort – you don’t even have to change your Singapore dollars!

See our pictures, then contact us straightaway in London(marktimetravel@googlemail.com, +44 (0)2089852161).  Through our partners in Singapore, we can offer very special rates at Turi Beach Resort and packages to include ferry and taxi transfers (the Resort is 5 minutes from Nongsapura Ferry Terminal).  We can also add spa treatments and meals.  This place is so relaxing.  Perhaps a honeymoon?

Mark Azavedo