Raffles

TODAY in Singapore I had afternoon tea in the famed Raffles Hotel Tiffin Room.

The Raffles Hotel was a prime destination for the globe-trotting well to-do of the turn of the century. Somerset Maughm penned several books while ensconced in the luxe colonial-style hotel. The original Singapore Sling was invented in the Hotel's Long Bar. The Tiffin Room was where ladies had tea and scones and discussed the fashions of the day, often led by local seamstress Ms. Geddes.

Walking through the hard-wood bannistered, high ceilinged, plushed carpeted lobby is like walking into another time. You can imagine the parties that were held behind the white plantation shutters or in the outdoor courtyards. You can see the men sitting in the library smoking pipes and reading the newspaper brought in from Britain. You can feel like a lady who walks with a parasol through the lush gardens of the hotel smelling the fragrant flowers and admiring the mature shade trees- rain trees they are called.

All in all, a visit to this iconic hotel is full of romance and imagination.