Saturday 26 June 2010

Swissotel Merchant Court

It's staycation time! This time round, we are celebrating our 2nd anniversary at Swissotel Merchang Court. The accomodation and dinner were planned by YQ. No matter how I coaxed YQ into divulging clues of where we will be staying, he just doesnt buy it cos he told me that it's a surprise. In the end, I had no choice but to oblige and wait patiently till today.

YQ booked the Great Singapore Sale package at S$200++ which does not include breakfast. Furthermore, the check-in time is 3pm. I thought that the check-in time at most hotels in Singapore is 2pm but maybe Swissotel Merchant Court is an exception. 
Swissotel Merchant Court
Lobby
Waiting to check in

I mentioned in my Penang trip that I dropped my camera and was spoiled. After doing research on camera, I decided to buy a prosumer camera instead of a digital camera since I travelled quite a lot and is keen to learn on those manual functions. A prosumer camera is a stepping stone to DSLR camera and I was spoiled between Panasonic LX3 and Canon S90 (both highly recommended prosumer cameras). In the end, I bought Panasonic LX3 after our intensive research.  I'm really satisfied with the photos took using LX3 and is still learning in process on those manual settings. I like the sharpness of the photos hence I purposely display extra large photos here.
Me & my new camera - Panasonic LX3
Lift Lobby
Even Crossroads Bar caught the 2010 World Cup craze

We were given a room on the 6th floor as YQ has request for a nicer room view and we shall see how nice is the view in a short while.
Our room number
Alley leading to the bedroom
Minibar

We were given a classic room with king size bed. The size of the bedroom was alright with sufficient space to move around. It would be better if there are 2 chairs in the room. Even though the bed is King size, we still find that the bed at Fairmont Hotel is the largest, maybe as what YQ said, there is even sizes for King size bed.
Bedroom
The bathroom is decorated with rose petals which was requested by YQ. I love the 3 mirrors in the bathroom and the massage showerhead. Hmm.... I would like to have these in my future home, hehe...
Bathroom

The bathrobe here is unique as it is not those normal bathrobe but a yukata bathrobe! I asked YQ to request for additional bathrobe as there is only one hanging in the wardrobe without realising that another was hanging behind the bathroom door.
Yukata bathrobe
Happy anniversary, dear!

I was surprised when I received a bouquet of 12 black roses from YQ. I mentioned to him before that I had never received black roses before. YQ told me that he searched the florist shops in Singapore and none of them sell black roses and have to be ordered in advance from overseas. He managed to get his friend, a florist to spray black colour on the roses, haha...
Thank you dear for the black roses.

I was a bit disappointed when I saw the view from our room. It's wasnt nice at all. But nevertheless YQ surprises make up for everything. We rested for a while before going out for our dinner at 5.30pm. YQ was so tired that he doze off while I keep myself occupied by reading the Newpaper.
View from our room

At around 5.30pm, we left the hotel and took MRT to Esplanade.  There is no direct train from Clarke Quay to Central hence we changed train at Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station. Although the station name is Esplanade but it's not near to Esplanade at all. It's nearer to Suntec and we have to walk through Citylink before reaching Esplanade.

YQ had make a reservation at Orgo which is located at Esplanade roof terrace. As we are still early, we walked around the roof terrace and we were in  time to catch the NDP preview ariel display. I didnt know that YQ has purposely arranged the dinner at 6.30pm which coincide with the ariel display. I thought he's hungry that's why he make the reservation so early. Thanks for the detailed planning, dear!
Overlooking Marina Bay Sands
Ariel display of NDP
I like this macro view which makes the background looks a bit blur

The business hours of Orgo is from 5pm - 2am. I doubt people would come here in the afternoon with the sun blazing at them. The restaurant has a magnificent unblocked surrounding views of CBD. Moreover the price is reasonable.
Waiting to be usher to our seats
I like the colour combination of the grapes served
Chandelier below the table
Ariel display of NDP
Didnt manage to snap a shot of F15

YQ has done research on which dishes are nicer but the restaurant changed their menu recently so some of the dishes are not longer available. We ordered Brushcette, Baked Potato & Ham, Braised Pork Belly and Grilled Kurobuta. The first two dishes were so-so, I still preferred Brushcette from My Secret Garden and Baked Potato & Ham from Brewerkz. The Braised Pork Belly is delicious, they sprinkle a bit of salt on top which brings out the flavour of the dish. We also order a glass of Erdinger since it's cheaper during Happy Hour.
Our delicious dinner
Daytime CBD skyline
Night time CBD skyline
Private room at Orgo but aint it open with the glass facade?
Fireworks
Singapore River Festival Boat Parade
This is ART!
Merlion with Marina Sands Bay at the background

Due to the NDP preview, roads around the Padang were closed. Hence we make use of this rare opportunity to snap on the roads.
Miss Esplanade Drive
I like this shoot which I took for YQ
This road is closed for my photoshoot. =p
Light trail
Fullerton Hotel
Asian Civilisation Museum
Who's the odd one?

As the distance is not far from the hotel, we decided to stroll back along Singapore River. We walked pass Boat Quay and saw a huge crab. I quickly took a photo before the owner has the chance to pester us.
 
Such a huge crab, even bigger than my face.

We took a short rest after we reached our room and watch Power Sunday. We had a quick bath and had a mini celebration. I turned in early as I'm feeling a bit sick while YQ went to Level 1 Crossroads Bar to catch the World Cup match. By the time he returns, it was already 12plus and I was woken up by the sound of the television. I dozed off again shortly after that.
Happy 2nd anniversary!

It was raining heavily when I woke up at 7plus and I went back to sleep. I woke up again at around 9plus and YQ called MacDonald delivery. We ordered two set of deluxe Big Breakfast.
Our breakfast

I had a soak in the bathtub since I didnt get to use it yesterday. We rested until 12plus before checking out.

Thank you so much dear for planning everything to make it such a memorable day!

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