Slings and peanuts
(Singapore Sling: Raffles Hotel, Singapore)
This is just one of those things that foreigners do in Singapore; have a Singapore Sling in the Raffles Hotel. I had never heard of the Raffles until I told my mum I was going out with a boy from Singapore – “Oh, yes, I’ve been there. The Tiger Balm Gardens and the Raffles Hotel”. It was similar to her response when I mentioned the Glasgow School of Art (that I had never heard of) when I was halfway through Sixth Form.
Ying, his sister and her husband took me there one evening to enjoy its delights. It is clearly a haunt for all nationalities as the famous long bar was stacked with Japanese, Chinese, English, Germans and all manner of other tongues. A man of Indian descent sporting a headdress and white linen outfit handed us our menus and left a box of monkey nuts on the table. I felt like a colonial memsahib dropping in for a refreshing spot of Darjeeling. As if to cement my position as a colonial master, I was allowed to throw the peanut shells all over the floor. When we walked out, it was over a crunchy layer of empty shells that you can see in the bottom image. Above us, the fans flapped gently, aerating the room somewhat, but these are no ordinary fans. I’d like to imagine that although now attached to a pulley system as flapping independently of humans, that they used to be in the hands of servants, fanning men in khakis as they wiped sweat from their brows with handkerchiefs. The Singapore Sling itself was a smart affair in a rather dated printed glass. I enjoyed its tangy taste, but not the enormous price tag. I think one has to limit oneself to a single beverage in this bar at S$28 (almost £13) per drink.
I am now firmly back on Chinese soil as of today, and Ying is already (unfortunately) back at work. To receive a seven-day holiday from work, many Chinese (including foreigners working in China) must work the following weekend to earn it. I suppose it is the equivalent of working overtime just after Christmas to make up for extra days off.
By a strange coincidence, 2 of my friends were there the other day! They’ve emigrated to Australia, and stopped off at Singapore for a few days over the weekend!! He said it was VERY expensive.