Raffles Hotel in Singapore is once again for sale.I've never been there. I've fantasized going there, lots of times, although I am not certain it really exists. It may only be a state of mind.
My memories though are locked in the teens, 20's and '30's. Somerset Maugham in the Palm Room idling his morning away. Noel Coward or Rudyard Kipling and Joseph Conrad in the billiard room. Beautiful actresses tossing back Singapore Slings. Bette Davis in the 1940 classic, The Letter, white linen and khaki. Explorers, adventurers, soldiers of fortune, planters and missionaries all spent their time here.
The hotel has a glorious history. The last tiger in Singapore was shot under the billiard room. 300 Japanese soldiers committed suicide in the lobby when when Singapore fell to the Americans near the end of WWII.
A modest $450 million will transfer ownership to your name. You get to keep the memories, but the future will never match the past. Sadly, it will never be the same.
Should you happen to buy it, let me know. I'll come.
Toad
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