Silversea Water Cooler: Welcome!

For those interested - Clive writing on thew above.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/10/aftab-bahadur-death-tragic-perverse-pakistan

A stormy day here in a very humid 32 degree Singapore.

Jeff

:)

Hope there are interesting things to do on a stormy humid day there Jeff. Maybe curl up with a good book? :)

Hi there ...

Well ... it cleared very quickly and so off we went for a mooch. We headed of for Little Arabia and then across to Little India, and in between I saw a hawker centre starting to open. So we had a Tiger. It was early but a man was making his fresh meat balls and I noticed an enormous vat of freshly boiling broth bubbling away behind him that looked delightful so I asked for a bowl of noodle balls and broth and we shared it. We were half way through and I remember Terry asking for more piccies so this is the simple bowl of soup. Beside it was a little bowl of fresh chilli to liven it.

We passed through a couple of housing estates on the way to Little India and all of these have little shaded sitting out places and as it was very early we sat for a while and watched the locals idle and doze.

We then wandered to the Tenka Centre which is the large food and market hawker center in Little India we enjoy. The only people there that seemed to be boarder were us. We had some lovely mutton byriania and a chicken one as well which we both tucked into. Didn't photograph it as we've done so many times before.

This is the soup / pho whatever we had yesterday.

.... and some stuff we had late last night ...

Well Jeff, you have forced my hand! :) I have had to add food explorations to our must-do list for Singapore. These dishes look so amazing! Would they work with a "Sling"? HeHeHe! I hope I did not just blaspheme. Thanks for the pics!

Well Jeff, you have forced my hand! :) I have had to add food explorations to our must-do list for Singapore. These dishes look so amazing! Would they work with a "Sling"? HeHeHe! I hope I did not just blaspheme. Thanks for the pics!

YES, YES, great pictures from Singapore by Jeff. Appreciate these postings. Getting hot here in the Midwest. Will be around low 90's F here. Keep it coming with the good pictures!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 199,803 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Hi all,

Glad the food pictures have hit a spot ....

This afternoon we had some storms and we sat outside in the little garden outside of our suite and watched the storm. It's lovely. It is very small garden .. not a garden just a few inches ... but enough ..and the table and chairs are under cover but the rest of the garden is open. I have taken some ipad piccies of the garden and a short movie of the rain noise which I do not know whether it works. But I tried.

.... and with sound I hope ....

http://s612.photobucket.com/user/sparkyguts/media/SingaporeJune2015/7A30FE66-7E46-4889-BBD4-246CF476893E_1.mp4.html?sort=3&o=5

This evening we have just returned from a lovely few hours in the Club Lounge where my favourite bottle was placed in an ice bucket beside me, exactly as I like with ice, water and salt all up to the brim. And the atmosphere was so nice it was a two bottle night. And none of the faffing around with other lovely and over-enthusiatic staff pouring for me which I hate with a passion and a twitch. I hate fuss.

The management team all popped by this evening one by one and wifey was amused by the reaction of other people in the lounge whilst this happens which do not see but I'll relate as she saw it.

The GM of this property is an Oz lady who I adore. We have observed her career over many years and we have maintained a jaunty email and christmas card contact with her over her move up the slippery career ladder both out of and back to this proerty.. Now she manages this hotel directly with a sort of GM reporting to her but she is also the regional director of the group and manages all hotels within the brands ie all Intercontinentals, Crowne Plazas and Holiday Inns and the contistuent brands within that for this part of Asia. So she now has more titles than the Duke of Edinburgh on her emails ... which I told her this evening and she hooted with laughter. The Ozzies have just given the Duke of Ed a new title so she understoodc the joke. I asked to see her medals. I was treated to a double Oz kiss and she sat with us for a while followed shortly afterwards by her GM who is a lovely man who banters with us. I reminded him that I still need to get out of bed to turn the bedside light off in our suite which I know irritates him so I continue tov remind him. She has ove the last year or so been dieting and getting fit and so every time I see her there is less of her and I told her that I felt cheated as I wanted more rather than less of her when we visited.

What I of course do not notice but wifey does is the effect this attention and banter and laughter has on other punters. It really seems to put their nose out of joint as the team beeline to us spend time with us but then head on out. It I think in ship terms they see it as a bit like dining with the captain on ships which in fact I never do. I really do not understand why people feel so competive about that and why they think it some sort of badge of honour and recognition. It's either friendship or duty. And there is the differnce. I don't think they can understand why someone as scruffy and inelegant as me get's attention from the hoi polloi and also why I so cleqarly adore the staff so much.

Anyway it was a lovely evening.

Nutcam again show no cashews ... still ...

Now for a bit of UK TV via the slingboxes ... Nighty Nighty,

Jeff

Jeff, the rain video was almost like being there. I could feel the warm moist air frizzing my hair. :) Your garden is a wonderful spot. Thanks for sharing that piece of heaven. And it is kind of amusing to see people's reactions to attention that they don't get to share in. It does seem to turn people green.

Seems that there is a need for a little "food porn" here on this varied and interesting thread. These pictures were only done with my iPhone, as we are down in Charlottesville, Virginia, to spend fun time with our two grandsons, etc.

Below are some highlights from our dinner last night. Was it all good? YES!! Is the proof verified by this "evidence" from the photography below good enough?

The below link goes to our 2011 Med adventure that has just gone over 200,000 views. Lots of visuals on this live/blog from Barcelona, Venice, Dubrovnik and other great areas of Italy, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 200,128 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

From Rhett's River Grill and Raw Bar just outside of Charlottesville, Va., (http://www.rhettsrivergrill.com), here is some proof that we enjoyed dinner there last night. First, my wife is using my iPhone to capture me using my margarita to toast and start enjoying the calamari rings with a ginger manis sauce. Next is a picture of my wife's catfish dinner with a grits item and her green veggie. I had their Seafood Etouffe that was Cajun spiced with red tomato sauce, bell peppers, gulf shrimp, sea scallops, clams, mussels and andouille sausage served with jasmine rice. Then, dessert! It was pecan pie with ice cream. Very good!!:

Good morning cooleries,

We had a nice day mooching around the bay yesterday and largely grazed ie as we saw something we fancied we bought a single and shared. We had one of those electronic chilli pho type bowls again - we were there a few months ago - so as you see two spoons - and also some curry elsewhere by the Fortune Fountain. Free flow papadoms is a novel idea ...

There is a storm currently ebbing which I filmed for musty ... ;)

http://vid612.photobucket.com/albums/tt210/sparkyguts/SingaporeJune2015/36B3CF97-7D63-43AB-94DD-BE1D91CF894C.mp4

Terry ... lovely food pics ... so nice to see you enjoying the food. I wish I were elegant and smart like you and I really will try harder. But whatever I do my kids say I will always look like a bleedin' scruffy mad prof with hair in the wrong places and shirts hanging out etc. I have just introduced a new exit procedure of checking that my flies are done up before I go out ... a new idea introduced by special request from wifey who feels that people might be offended if I allow a bit of air circulation. So progress albeit slow - and your preened elegance is always going to be something I will have to aspire to but never actually attain.

My wife still develops a twitch when we go through security and they ask me to take my belt off and raise my arms at the same time ... a fatal combination of convergent demands leading to a possible unexpected consequence and will one day end up in tears and no doubt an arrest and charges. This is why I think she insists I always wear new underwear when we travel. Just a theory of mine.

Terry, Terry, Terry .... all this fretting continual about your view count .... ! I have this vision of you pecking away at your enter key to try and keep a safe margin above the cooler bunch here. ;) The thing is that your thread has real proper content on which you should be proud whereas this is the square root of b%gg£r all! People go to your thread to read lovely things and see great pictures and be educated. They olny come here out of morbid curiousity and s you know most people that view here tell their friends that they don't and this is all below them....

So don't fret about page views other wise you will wear that finger out .... :D

Today if the rain stops we're off for a wander around Little Arabia. I'm keeping off ll booze for a few days. Free booze isn't a good thing on balance.

See you soon all.

Jeff

Terry ..... just for our Ozzie friends who sometimes drop by .... can you please confirm once and for all with all these TV appearances and everything - that you are not the one and same Sir Les Patterson ... the Culteral Atteche to the Court of St James ... travelling icognito ...:eek:

The similarity is eery .....:D

https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=sir+les+patterson&biw=1080&bih=625&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIyenIj_iNxgIVQ368Ch1i7wCZ#imgdii=by1FHYe9iAUkiM%3A%3Bby1FHYe9iAUkiM%3A%3Bd9eFn0MUD4q_1M%3A&imgrc=by1FHYe9iAUkiM%253A%3B0JpxghQ4LOmYyM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fscopefeatures.files.wordpress.com%252F2012%252F03%252F06013266.jpg%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fscopefeatures.wordpress.com%252Ftag%252Fsir-les-patterson%252F%3B381%3B473

Jeff

:)

Thanks so much for the storm video jeff! Kind of you to think of me! Mysty dear lad, not musty! :). And please don't claim autocorrect. I did notice the tongue filling the side of your cheek! :). And I think you owe me a story of a supposed misunderstanding with some venerable hotel staff there. Enjoy your day!

Thanks so much for the storm video jeff! Kind of you to think of me! Mysty dear lad, not musty! :). And please don't claim autocorrect. I did notice the tongue filling the side of your cheek! :). And I think you owe me a story of a supposed misunderstanding with some venerable hotel staff there. Enjoy your day!

Hello musty, oh .... ok ... but it will be uncorrected .... so be forgiving ... :)

Well it all seemed quite simple really. Or it should have been.

I was thinking more ahead of our next trip here when we're staying for over 4 weeks over Christmas and how sometimes we might not go out. It might be nice to have some food delivered. In the UK I have a food delivery ipad app and it only shows one place that delivers to us ... but here in the evening there are close to 200 .... so it is something I want to try if the hotel doesn't mind. I feel you should always ask first and not just "do it". This is where I went wrong. And every time I tried to put things right it got worst.

I think the problem is that I have over estimated how much we are understood by Singapore staff. The warning was there, I simply didn't see it. I don't understand quite a lot of what they say to me but I just nod in agreement. They are convinced that what they say is clear and fully understood but neither wifey not I grab most of it. So it must be the same in reverse.

I asked the lounge manager whether they would mind whether I used my app to have some food delivered at some notional day in the future. I was asked what was wrong with the lounge food. I said it was lovely, but obviously after a week or so of that and some days not wanting to go out ordering a curry in our private garden might hit the mark, but I didn't want to "just do it " without asking whether the hotel minds first. She said she would go away and ask.

As we went off for a walk we left through the rear entrance to the hotel which is heavily manned and only allows hotel residents in. As these were concierges I though they might be good to ask. This simply question then took a turn towards "what will be the background of your caterers ...."

Later in the day we were having tea in the lounge and I thought I'd try another girl. I asked the same. Her brow furrowed in confusion. I tried to break it down to make it clearer. "Imagine you were staying in a hotel ... for a long while ... you wanted a change of food ... and you went out and saw a sandwich in a shop you like and you wanted to bring it back to the hotel ...."

"I always eat local food - never sandwiches. You don't like local food?"

"Yes I do ... so imagine that I wanted to have a curry delivered ..... and eat it in my small garden"

"I always eat out ..... "

So I gave up.

Later the first girls boss came over and said "I understand you wish to hold an event in the hotel and bring in outside caterers. We might be able to do this as long as you sign release forms so that if anyone dies or has food poisoning the hotel isn't held responsible .... but your small garden will not hold many " (all of this in "Singlese") I asked that the whole question be forgotten as it was a complete misunderstanding.

Anyway ... roll forward to the evening in the lounge with wifey and me supping our wine. The Food and Beverage director arrives with three full cheffed out chefs with hats and everything who are introduced to me individually with their qualifacations, experience and specialities. Each was introduced by name and nodded respectfully to me. Forgive .. .I cannot remember their names and won't make it up. One was the head Thai chef, the next a North Indian senior chef and the last was from Bangladesh. The F&B director explained that he understood that I wanted a change from the food this evening and he was going to have it preparfed for me and that he wanted a curry made especially to my requirtements and that as he didn't know what sort of curry I wanted he had brought up three chefs to discuss it with me ....

It took me some time to unravel this one ....... and I wish I hadn't asked.

:D

Ok Jeff, episode 2 of Fawlty Towers! I am doubled over with laughter here! I'm babysitting my grandsons who are asleep so I have to swallow my giggles! You are forgiven for musty just don't abuse the priviledge! :)

sparkyguts.. your link no longer works…

Pretty good entertainment (on a few levels) on this thread….

Remarkable bloke Barry Humphries

Thanks .... I have logged out and back and all still should be there .... the film takes a moment to start. Sorry ...

Still raining here ....

Jeff##

Hello coolers - wow, that is a very big margarita, Terry!

Jeff - love the bits about trying to get food delivered without being 'rude' to the hotel management - perhaps you could arrange for the deliverers to stop under your balcony, and you could lower a bucket down and no-one would know? Today's S. Times travel has a piece on Singapore; mentions Tiong Bahru market for food. No doubt you know it if it is worth knowing.

We know the experience of people being miffed and jealous when you have dinner with the Captain - some we met for the first time a few years ago lived quite near us. Did we know the so-and so's, etc. (Rich neighbours). When we had a private dinner with the Captain, who we had known for 20 years, in the dining room near them they did not speak to us again. (Thank goodness)

Hi LL,

Yes I'm afraid that the article in the ST appears to be an "armchair" job by someone who didn't actually do what they said they did as to me too many facts were completely wrong. So many travel articles these days are from writers googling rather than travelling.

It is Lau Pa Sat that attracts office crowds rather than Tiong Bahru which is in a housing estate. LPS is in the middle of the CBD. The article also said that the number of hawker centers were getting less, when in fact there are dozens of centers if not hundreds and they are increasing the number annualy.

They implied they walked from Orchard Road to Chinatown which isn't likely true. It is a convoluted and torturous route only taken by bus, taxi or MRT. There is also no such thing as char sellers walking around Little India. There are really no street hawkers on wheels. The picture of Song Kee is a very very old picture that has been carfelessly lifted from the web without checking as Lau Pa Sat has been renovated for some time and the stall now looks like and has looked like for some time ...

They also talk about stalls being grubby but actually they are the complete reverse and all pretty spotless and regularly and rigorously inspected and all have to by law display their latest hygiene rating. If you don't display the rating ... or fail an inspection ... you arwe closed. No warnings - that's it. We use only A and B ratings. I am by far the fussiest of eater and cook you will ever meet and I promise you Singapore and in particular hawker centers are the safest places to eat in the world. All food by law for example is handled in polythene gloves .... and of course everything is prepared fresh in an environment you can see every inch of unlike kitchens in reastuarants.

We were at Chinatown Food complex on Tuesday and we couldn't eat because it was closed for two whole days for it's regular deep clean by an Environment Agency army that goes round and does them all very regularly. Nothing at all exists like this in the UK. I read yesterday that the Environment Agency that owns most hawker centers on a non profit basis is opening around 60 new centers in the next few years and is currently employing old hawkers to teach young ones. By law each new hawker must provide at least two meal dishes for from recall less than £2.

We stay at Bugis and our suite overlooks on the non-garden side the pedestrian area talked about and the temples are a couple of minutes away.

She also described some of Singapore CBD as bland whereas she clearly didn't go "underground" where you can walk most of the city out of the heat and it is all shiney vibrant, exciting and brand new with lot's of exciting places to eat and shop.

Anyone interested in the article can read it hear ...

http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/travel/article1567131.ece?shareToken=d1f885c269fd9200f7b24c70c1470601

Apart from that .... it was accurate .... :rolleyes:

Anyway .... today we were rained in so I went down to the supermarket in Bugis and I made us a picnic in our little garden ..

Your comments about "competitiveness" hits a home run. One of the reasons why wifey keeps me away from others for their own sake. I love hearing about what other people actually do but hate boasting and particular the stuff you can sniff out a mile away vicarious and totally invented stuff for people that wish to look important. Puffed up idiots. Don't like boasters and show offs. That's why I have much more in common to talk about with the the staff than fellow punters. Some of those Cigar Room stories from SS I recall were a hoot with those bleedin' boasts and enormous cigars and me feeling completely out of place and wanting to go for a walk with wifey ..

I hope Terry like the Sir Les piccy ..... only a joke Terry! :D

Jeff

I hope Terry like the Sir Les piccy ..... only a joke Terry! :D Jeff

YES!! Being compared next to that "face" makes my visual image not looking quite as bad. Busy this am getting ready for more time with our two fun grandsons in Virginia. Lots more pictures to share!! Much more later.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 109,517 views for this posting.

Jeff, on the subject of Y fronts - Is it only a Y for the wearer looking down? Off topic I know but interested people (like me) want to know. :)

This may be the cooler, but I think this underwear discussion is better had between the two of you offline.

Sorry spinakker2! My bad!

Jeff, on the subject of Y fronts - Is it only a Y for the wearer looking down? Off topic I know but interested people (like me) want to know. :)

Nothing is off topic in the cooller because that is the whole idea isn't it. To keep all the prisoners in a single place ....:eek:

With respect to Y affrontery, I think for these things beauty is in the eye of the beholder rather than beholden. :D

Sorry spinakker2! My bad!

NO! I am not having anyone sanction anything said on the cooler or anyone apologise for being off-topic - unless they are a bona-fide-Dan-mod or unless we are responding to nastiness or hurtfulness. There is insufficient chat anyway isn't there without anyone using their bleedin ' foot on some.

:)

And yet Jeff, I did not mean to offend anyone! That is not who I am! If I crossed the line then I want to acknowledge that and apologize to offended parties. I am fairly new here and I don't want to alienate anyone. And Canadians are known for apologizing. We grow up learning how to do it. :)

And yet Jeff, I did not mean to offend anyone! That is not who I am! If I crossed the line then I want to acknowledge that and apologize to offended parties. I am fairly new here and I don't want to alienate anyone. And Canadians are known for apologizing. We grow up learning how to do it. :)

Perfectly understand. :D

Personally, I have a simple rule. The only thing that can be offensive is something intended to be offensive. How can anyone be offended by someone not intending to offend? All nice people perfectly understand this don't they? :)

This new craze of trying to be controlling of what people say by claiming to be offended has to be stamped out. It is a very dangerous direction that actually leads to very serious consequences some of which we now see. Everyone is now claiming to be offended by something or other in order to take control.

You may have gathered I am for anyone being able to say anything unless the intention is to cause offence. My view is that if we all lived by that rule we would all understand each other better and learn more about tolerance. We should force anyone who cannot understand that simple idea to "deal with it" and "get a life" ... don't you think?

spinkins meant it light-heartedly I'm sure. I think she thinks that because there's only two of us chatting that it is private. :eek:

I am far from a prude or a censor. I leave the censorship to Dan, who apparently already did his job.

Nor am I stepping on anyone so that personal attack was not well taken.

As this is the cooler, and nothing is off topic, I can certainly voice my opinion.

Sorry that I don't find the underwear conversation or innuendo cute, but again, I am entitled to an opinion.

Keep calm and carry on.