Visited Singapore back in 1993 or so with my friend Steve. We kept getting kicked out of Raffles – first because Steve was wearing flip flops, then because he was wearing a tank top.

The last time we went he had a bottle of chinese gin in his bag – we’d gotten into the habit of spiking our soft drinks in expensive bars to keep travel costs down. As we came out of the subway, Steve accidentally swung his bag against the stairs and smashed the bottle, splashing us both with the gin, so that we staggered into Raffles reeking of cheap booze. Oddly, we made it through that time.

The highlight of the trip was definitely the food. Curries served on banana leaves, drunken prawns cooked at our table, and a genre-defining brunch at Raffles.

We stayed at a cheap hostel with a pet boa constrictor, which was unfortunate for Steve, who is deathly afraid of snakes.