Eleventh month, 'tis the season to be rainy, tra la la la la la la la la

This month, we have mostly been:

- Enjoying the advent of Christmas in Tiong Bahru.



Please note the complete absence of any season's greetings. The only signs around the base of the tree read: Danger - HIGH VOLTAGE. Nothing like a good bit of Christmas cheer!

- Experiencing life in deepest darkest China.

- Learning about an architectural wonder planned for 2010: Marina Bay Sands - two thousand five hundred rooms spread across three fifty-five storey towers topped by a magnificent 1.2 hectare Sky Park, employing more than ten thousand people and setting its sights as one of Asia's most iconic, spectacular, original and breathtaking venues. It is hoped the hotel will throw open its doors in April and the Sky Park will be ready for strolling, running, and kite-flying in June. Along with Universal Studios and Resorts World on Sentosa, Singapore's entertainment offerings are about to receive a much-welcome face lift in 2010. We can hardly wait.

- Booze Cruising in Singapore waters. Grab 99 of your favourite buddies, ask everyone to bring a bottle of their favourite poison and set sail from Marina South Pier aboard a diesel-powered vessel for the Singapore Straits.


Giving new meaning to the word "shots"

Add thumping tunes, pirate costumes, a vat of dangerous cocktail, super soakers filled with vodka, moor the boat off the Southern Islands and watch as young adults throw themselves in the water for an afternoon's alternative entertainment.



- Enjoying a quick hop to Auckland, New Zealand.

- Feeling Zouked Out. The tradition is to rent a hotel room in one of the Siloso beach resorts, start drinking at 4 pm and hope that you can still stand by the time any of the good DJs grace the stages (around 1 am). We, thankfully, were invited to substitute a delicious home-cooked Thai meal for the liquid dinner chosen by some of our friends and arrived on the beach around 2 am (after waiting in the longest traffic jam in the clubbing universe) in time to enjoy some drinks before the beginning of Richie Hawtin's set an hour later. Sadly, some of the hotel-goers didn't even manage to make it out of the rooms and on to the beach (a mere five minute walk).


Where are your friends now?

We had never seen so many train wrecks in Singapore, all gathered together in one large space, covered in sand, revelling in the fact that it was the one night of the year that the police turn a blind eye. Despite that, the atmosphere was electric and exploded when the main man of the night, Armin Van Buuren arrived to trance it up. At this point, being techno-lovers, we had to make our excuses and decided to embark on the one-and-a-half hour trek back to Harbourfront MRT. We watched the sunrise over the Universal Studios building site, admiring the twists and turns of the soon-to-be opened rollercoasters and were content that the moon was still smiling on us:



Next up is Christmas Day and all the trimmings, New Year in Thailand and our one year anniversary of being Sin City dwellers. Bring on the party season! Let the drinking games begin.