Xīn nián kuài lè

Every year since 2016 Garry and I have travelled to Europe for business in late January. We fly to London and Germany to attend two major toy industry tradeshows. Over two intense weeks we reconnect with existing suppliers, keep abreast of emerging industry trends, and secure new products for the year ahead.

Thanks to the COVID pandemic, it’s been three years since our last trip to Europe. Hence, this year’s journey was strategically important. While we’ve worked hard to remain connected remotely, nothing beats quality time face-to-face. With so much riding on this trip Garry and I wanted to ensure that we arrived fresh and ready to hit the ground running. This objective became even more important when we agreed to a breakfast meeting hours after landing at Heathrow.

Garry suggested we break our flight to Europe with an extended weekend in Singapore. It’s been 20 years since we last spent any time in the city. Since then, much has changed. It didn’t take much convincing for me to agree. By chance, we later discovered that our stopover coincided with the Chinese New Year. This meant that beyond the usual sights and sounds, we’d get to experience a few festive activities.

Our recent vacation in Fiji bumped my loyalty status with Accor Hotels up to Platinum level. We took advantage of this and booked ourselves into an expansive suite at the Sofitel in central Singapore. Our specially discounted room was impressive. Each morning we were greeted by to floor to ceiling views of Singapore’s colonial red-roof Chinatown district.

While in town we took time out to visit the River Hongbao Festival. This was a special Chinese New Year art installation event hosted in venues throughout the city. Along with thousands of others, Garry and I joined bunny mascots Prosperity (福儿) and Longevity (寿儿) for (and I quote the brochure), “an amazing Chinese New Year experience at Gardens by the Bay.” It certainly was something different.

We also spent an evening wandering around the colourful night market in Chinatown where all manner of festive paraphernalia was on offer. Definitely not a great time of year for those suffering from Leporiphobia.

However, the most eclectic experience we had was probably sitting among giant teddy bears scattered around the lobby of our hotel. I suspect it’s an Instagram draw card for the locals. No doubt you can drink with them, hug them and, after a few beers, potentially get a little fresh with them.