Philippine Travel Notes

HIE for short. But people in the industry would normally call it "HIE Clarke Quay" to easily differentiate it from its (many) sister hotels, all in Singapore alone, such as at Orchard Road, Serangoon or Katong. Why here? Ah well, why not hehe! Let me just say that, of the so many choices in all of Singapore, this was nearest the place/s I needed to be at or 'go to' during this visit. Yes, nag-regression analysis ako! For those not familiar, HIE is still Holiday Inn. This "express" group are different as they have just the basics (not grand) in hotel accommodation and amenities. Budget Hotel? No. Business hotel, maybe! Let's go see my room for you to understand more of what this 'express' thing really has to offer! It does look like a normal 5-star, right? Well, I suppose, foremost of the differences, is the room's size. Look at the picture above and this one below, the bathroom's wall even gets in the way of my camera! Compared to

Six kilometers in four and a half hours, how's that? That is an average of about 1.3kms per hour haha! For reference purposes, a turtle walks an average of 3.2 kms/hr! Ano laban ka? Eh I usually walk brisk, diba? Anyare? Actually this was a "stroll, tambay, photo-op, sight-seeing, beer, kain, walk" combination! It was just 8PM when I returned to my hotel after an early 'dinner with friends'. It was not time to sleep yet, of course, and I felt like walking around nearby places, at least for some while, instead of going up to the roofdeck (again), swimming or sitting, viewing whatever could be seen from there, alone. Gosh! So, I went out to walk about - I 'generally' already know these places anyway. Just across Holiday Inn Express (HIE) is a 'curiosity' by itself called 'Central Mall' (do not confuse with the nearby "The Central at Clarke Quay" or "Clarke Quay Central"). I headed left towards the river that has a f