China Townでたまたま通りがかった中国式の寺院。
Traditional Chinese style temple in China Town.
マーライオンで有名なマリーナ地区の散歩風景。有名なマリーナベイサンズも見えます。
A walking view of Marina area who is famous for Marlion, and famous hotel Marina Bay Sands.
マーライオンと摩天楼、マリーナの風景。
Merlion and skyscrapers and marina.
マリーナ地区にある最高級ホテル、フラトンホテル。
The luxury five star hotel, The Fullerton Hotel.
マリーナ地区にあるもう一つのフラトンホテル、フラトンベイホテルのロビーの様子。
Another Fullerton hotel in marina area, The Fullerton Bay Hotel and its lobby.
フラトンホテルのバーでコーラライトを頂く。一杯9SGD(約千円)。
A glass of Coke Light in the bar of the Fullerton. 9SGD/glass(about 7USD).
フラトンのバーは洒落た作りかつ落ち着く雰囲気。
The bar is luxury style with wide and high ceiling with quiet atmosphere.
シンガポールは清潔で整理された緑の多い都市。マリーナ地区や植物園は観光地として有名で、チャンギ空港はそれ自体で観光地となりうる魅力的な場所。しかし一人当たりGDPで日本の2.5倍を稼ぐ実力がどこにあるのかはよくわからなかった。金融、物流、ITのハブになっていることは理解できるが、如何せんこの国からは工業というか生産、産業の香りがせず、サービス業だけの街に見える。そういえばシンガポール発の製品やサービスについて未だかつて耳にしたことがない。コンビニで飲み物を2泊分ほど買ったが、会計は６千円を超え、生活物資の値段も日本の軽く三倍だ。店員の態度も横柄で、シンガポールでしか通用しないような激しい訛りの英語で、外国人に対し発音を正そうとせず、ただ自身の英語が通じないことに対して私が悪いとでも言いたげで偉そうだ。ホテルやレストラン、コンビニなどのサービスのレベルはタイやベトナムなどと比較してもはるかに下だ。ただ物価と所得が高いだけの国で、実力の伴わない所謂バブルエコノミーの経済を地でいく国家であるという実態を思い知らされた。圧倒的な地の利があることは認めるが、そもそも経済というのは生産抜きでは語れず、そのほぼ全てを他国に依存しているのにも関わらず、閉鎖的な都市国家として先進国気取りであるのはいささか疑問。
Singapore is a city of cleanness, tidy organized, with so much green. Marina area and Flower Green Garden are famous for tourists, and Changi international airport is unique and vast that can be a destination itself. However, for my opinion, I can not understand how they can earn such a high level income 2.5 times higher when compared to Japanese average per capital. Though I can understand Singapore is an Asian center of finance, information technology, and international logistics, but there is no heavy manufacturing area in this county, just focusing the service industry. As I insist, I have never heard about new goods or technology which comes out from Singapore. By the way, I purchased some drinks for my hotel stay two nights, it costs 62SGD (about 45USD) and it is three times expensive compared to Japan such as daily goods, The attitude of shop clew was extremely rude, talking to me only in Singlish with a heavy unique accent that is only available English in Singapore, and never try to improve their accent into right English, only are arrogant acting like my English accent and listening ability is really low level. The average level of service of hotels, restaurants, shops of Singapore is below to other south eastern Asian country like Thailand and Vietnam. I recognized that Singapore is a country just with high income and high price of goods, without real ability of developed county, which people call it as babble economy. I understand Singapore has a geopolitically extreme high advantage in this region, however, in the first place the national economy is basically based on manufacturing in any means, and we can not talk about economics without thinking about manufacturing. Though, in this regards, Singapore is depending on other countries 99% about real production, however, their self esteem as a highly developed and closed city-state is too high.
日本人というか私もずいぶん舐められたものであり、ホテルは一泊４万円の自称五つ星ホテルに泊まったが、それは観光客向けの予約確定料金であり、売れなかった部屋を当日半額程度で売り捌いている。それでは予約をキャンセルして当日料金で宿泊すればいいと思うところであるが、ホテル側も商魂逞しく返金不可条件となっている。試しに６月の料金を見てみると確かに一泊4万円となっているので違法にぼったくられたわけではないが、当日半額で売り出すのは正規料金の宿泊客にいささかというかかなり失礼であると思う。部屋も清潔で悪くないがただそれだけであり、エントランスにはきちんとしたロビーもなくラウンジもレストランもなく、全体として貧相な設備であるという印象。ビジネスホテルとして一泊２万円を取る実力しかこのホテルにはないと断言できるし、４万円は事情を知らない海外インバウンド客から節操なく荒稼ぎした結果としての価格にすぎない。中の上のビジネスホテルとして三つ星しか付ける権利はないと思うし、五つ星などと宣うのはもってのほかであり、他の全てのホテルに対して失礼であると思う。これは私が以前ホテル業界にいたことから強く思うことである。
I do not know that is because of being Japanese tourists or just myself, but I felt deeply insulted by the hotel. The hotel is five star costs 280USD per night, but this price is for the customer duly booked well in advance, and unbelievably they are selling their rooms at a half price which are left over. Well then I thought cancelling my booking and book new rooms again with a halved price, but booking conditions is no refundable. For the testing I checked room price rates of this hotel in June, it is duly sold in USD280, and this fact is that they do not rip off from my account, but I strongly insist that I think that it is very rude things to sell in half price to first time customer for the customers who pay the standard fee well in advance. The room is clean and facility is not bad, but it is the only things as good side, in fact there is no lobby and lounge and restaurant on entrance, the facility is very poor as a five star hotel. The booking price must be 140USD per night which is half of an original price level, and that is truly reasonable level as that the reality shows that so many rooms left over for the day of staying even the price is in a level of 140USD. The booking price 280USD was too high and they are just making a good money from foreign customers who do not know about this hotel and situation, The hotel real ability is three star hotel for business simple use, and they can not say that the hotel is five star themselves. This five star rating is an extremely too high self esteem that is too arrogant and rude to the hotel industry all over the world, and I can insist this as I used to be in a hotel industry.
本当に腹が立ったのは、なぜか突然ルームキーが使えなくなり、目の前にいるスタッフに声をかけたところ管轄外だと言ってフロントに行くように促され、渋々フロントに行って事情を説明したところ、カードキーを他のカードや電子機器と重ねていないか？と言われてしまった。そんなことは口は悪いが馬鹿でもわかることで、私はそんな愚かなことはしていない。客を疑う前にまず自らを顧みるのがサービスの鉄則であり、結果事実として自らのホテルのシステム不良で顧客を締め出したのであるから、先ずは謝罪をするところから始めるというのが事の道理であろう。そもそもサービスのポリシーが人の道から外れており、ただ都心で不動産ホテル事業を行い利益を上げたいだけであり、客の事情など目もくれない事業者であることは部屋の作りなどを見てもすぐわかる。バスルームが石造りであり滑りやすく大変危険であるにも関わらず、浴室内に手すりが一つも見当たらないのだ。健康体である私がなんとか細心の注意を払いなんとか転ばずに利用できるレベルのもので、お年寄りや子供や健康に問題を少しでも抱えている人は、転倒による大怪我どころか石に頭を打ちつけて死亡するリスクもあるのではと思わせる。そこにあるのは掃除のしやすさだけであり、客に対する思いやりなど微塵もない。そんな金の亡者の成金箱物事業者に3泊で12万円をはたいたことに、深く後悔させられている。より多くのお金を出してでも、ブランドが国際的に認められているホテルに泊まるべきであった。他にも多数の具体的な問題がこのホテルで起きていますが、ここでは長くなるので割愛いたします。
The worst experience in this hotel is that my room key went suddenly unavailable and I was locked out in the hall, so I asked the clew in the hall to solve the problem but he told me that he is not person in charge and and told me go to the front. The clew's attitude was really bad requesting me not to involve him in trouble. After that I went to the front and explained the situation and his first reaction was ''Didn't you put the card on the door key system with other cards or electronic devices?'' and I think it is extremely rudeness of this front staff because that phases is based on doubt for the customer's behavior. He did not understand I am a person living in a good society and easily understand that the room key should be put on only itself to the door as a very primitive common sense. Before doubting customers he must think himself if there is a cause of trouble on hotel side, or not, and that is a world standard basic way of thought of service industry. According to the simply real facts that hotel system causes me in a trouble, their first thing to do was to apology to the customer, and solve the wrong situation. In the first place, I can't avoid but doubt the hotel service policy is out of human being, and not only that they just want to earn a good money easily through the hotel business in the central of Singapore, and they are business operators who do not pay attention to customers' circumstances, and I believe this is the fact that I mention through seeing the bathroom picture below. This is made from stone and so slippery and there is a major risk of falling down but there is no bars to grab which I insist this is an extremely dangerous situation. There is no care for older people, children, and people with health problem where I, health young man is almost facing a serious injury by slipping off. The top priority is just for easy cleaning which is matter of hotel side, not customer. I paid 840USD for such a dead of the gold business operator, and that is totally wasteful expense and it is better to switch to the hotel with international bland which is trustful if I have to pay more. I deeply regret to choose this hotel. I had other problems with this hotel, but it will be too long so I do not write about them.
概して私のシンガポールへの印象は悪いし、今後ビジネス以外で関わりたくないというのが本音のところです。この都市国家の清潔さと、金融センターとしての価値だけは事実として認めます。
the impression of Singapore for me in general is quite bad at this moment through staying 4 days, and I confess that I do not want to be involved in this country any more without business matters. But I recognize the cleanness and the importance as a business center of certain areas in Asia of this city as a simple fact.
令和6年4月11日
太田裕人
11th/Apr.'24
Hiroto Ota