The Raffles doorman is the most photographed person in Singapore. He told me himself. He also told me that he lived briefly in Manhattan and worked as a doorman at the Drake Hotel. He returned to Singapore, because it was too expensive in New York.

From the 26th floor of the Carlton Hotel in Singapore, I looked directly down at Raffles, the world famous colonial-style hotel. Raffles claim to fame is the Singapore Sling, invented in 1915 by bartender Ngiam Tong Boon. At the Long bar, where the sweet concoction is served, you will find yourself ensconced in surroundings from a bygone era. It's also an escape from the hectic pace of the city. This is the same bar where Somerset Maugham, Rudyard Kipling, Noel Coward and other writers downed the famous drink. Ingredients: gin, cherry brandy, sugar, lemon juice, bitters, and topped off with a Maraschino cherry.

Raffles other claim to fame is the reputed and infamous shooting of the sole surviving tiger in Singapore. According to legend, in August 1902, the tiger was chased underneath the Bar & Billiard Room and shot to death. Another version of the story places the event up in the Long Bar. There's a good possibility that there's an element of truth to the story, since roaming tigers killed 300 citizens on the island in 1857.

The hotel was built in 1887 and named after Singapore's founder, Sir Stamford Raffles. At the time, the front entrance of the hotel was a beach, hence the name, Beach Road. Due to land reclamation, the beach disappeared a long time ago. Now, what lies diagonally across the street from the historical landmark, is Southeast Asia's tallest hotel -- the Swisshotel-Stamford, and connects to Raffles City Shopping Center and the MRT station.

The MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) in Singapore is equivalent to London's Underground.