Monday, April 11, 2011

Counting my lucky stars

My first memory of my own room was the one I shared with my sister. It was spacious, the walls were pink and being close to my sister was something I loved. The day she said she wanted to have her own room, I cried uncontrollably. But because it was her idea, my parents decided it was her who had to move to the room next door. It was smaller and the walls were yellow – clearly I had the better end of the deal. Ever since, I have had my own rooms and with the exception of a short blue-phase, the walls were pink.


In Singapore, I share my room once again. This time, my roommate is not family, the room is everything but spacious and the walls are definitely not pink. The only color that can be found is on the curtains. Leave it up to a lovely shade of brown to truly light up the room. I can also jump from one bed onto the other, even though both are pushed back completely against the walls. Anyone who is familiar with my athletic abilities can now guess how narrow the rooms must be.


So now I find myself on the other side of the deal, it is me who wants to leave this room. Luckily, I play my cards a little better than my sister at the time and trade this room for stays in Indonesia, Malaysia and so on. It was not until this weekend, though, that I got to spend the night at a luxury hotel: The Marina Bay Sands.


How does one end up in the most well known hotel in Singapore, you may wonder? Well, spending a night – or at least a dip in the infinity pool – at the Marina Bay Sands is on the things-to-do list of many exchange students. This was no different for Carmen and Cass, my partners in crime, who have some impulse buying tendencies. So before I knew it, they booked a stay. A plan that started with sneaking me up for a swim ended with them shoving the beds together and inviting me to sleep over. Who am I to refuse a slumber party at the Marina Bay Sands hotel?


We slowly but surely gathered all ingredients for a girls’ night: chocolate, Jennifer Anniston, cheese & bruschetta, fluffy pillows, gossip sesh.. Topped by the complimentary macarons that we devoured within minutes. Of course, the highlight of the evening was swimming in the infinity pool overlooking the Singapore Skyline by night. A magical moment.


There’s no question about the Marina Bay being a luxurious and fancy hotel, so we tried our best to blend in with the crowd. I wore my silk maxi dress, Carmen brought along her sunhat and Cass brought her million bikinis to choose from. However, keeping our cool was a little too much to ask for and it only took a matter of seconds before we were running in the hotel corridors and taking pictures on every possible corner of the pool. When bedtime came, we were still too happy and excited to actually fall asleep.


Thank you Carmen and Cass for a lovely girls night,


Emma