R and B Travel Blog

The festival of Rakhi is soon approaching. It is an everlasting bond between a brother and sister which is one of the most popular celebrations in every Indian home. It is celebrated every year on ‘Shravan Purnima’ (Full Moon Day of the Hindu month of Shravan), which generally falls in the month of August. It is symbolised by sisters tying the sacred thread ‘Rakhi’ on their brother’s wrist and brothers promising protection for a lifetime against all odds which again fortifies the bond between them.

There are different versions of evidence in history which glorifies this festival.

• The ancient one when Indrani tied a thread around her husband Lord Indra’s wrist given to her by Lord Vishnu to protect him from demons during the war between the gods and demons.
• The promise of protection by Lord Krishna when he cut his finger and was bleeding profusely. Seeing this, Draupadi tore…

This is a guest post by John Hannen.

You wouldn’t give crossing a bridge a second thought, it’s just something we do to get from one place to another, but it is a unique privilege that we have. High above the water or the ground, a beautiful view of the city sprawling out before you — it’s a pretty underrated experience!

Although your local bridge may not be as impressive, there are some grand designs elsewhere. From a bridge that the Devil himself is said to have helped build, to a bridge that curls up, structure analysis software providers Oasys cast an expert eye on these unique structural successes.

Germany: Rakotzbrücke (Also Known as Devil’s Bridge)

Photo: A. Landgraf

The water beneath this bridge mirrors perfectly, creating a mesmerising circle from afar. The bridge is said to have been commissioned by a knight in 1860. But the rocks and stones…

Hotel breakfast area

We woke early this morning as a result of jet lag, so we went down to breakfast at 7.30 am.  We sat out on the covered terrace which was kept cool with large ceiling fans.  The breakfast spread was a good selection of Western and Asian dishes, fruit, pastries, noodles, etc. and much more choice than one would expect from a Holiday Inn Express.  After a leisurely breakfast and a look at our iPads we set off exploring.

Chinatown

Chinatown was a short walk from the hotel so we spent the morning looking around the lantern decorated streets.  We arrived at about 10.00 am which was a little too early as most of the shops and stalls had not yet opened.   Still, we enjoyed our tour of the area and as it was so close to the hotel we could pop back later in the week…

Marina Bay

After quickly showering and unpacking we headed back out into town taking the MRT to City Hall station. From there we walked to the iconic Raffles Hotel, named after Sir Stamford Raffles who founded Singapore and established the East India Company in 1819.

Marina Bay

Whilst there, we looked in the famous Long Bar where Singapore Sling cocktails set you back $29 each. I loved the colonial style of Raffles with its tall palms and large rattan cooling fans.

Next it was time to eat, so we studied our map and walked along to the Esplanade where we found Makansutra/ Gluttons Bay Hawker Stall.

Raffles Hotel

This is an outdoor food court seating 550 people with 12 food stalls offering a large range of street food from chilli crabs to noodles. In one corner there is a kiosk selling drinks to accompany the food. As it…