AS AN archaeologist who travels to digging sites, Lim Chen Sian does not often check into your usual hotel chain.

He has stayed in anything from a tent to a room in a remote village in the name of work.

The 32-year-old Singaporean, who studied archaeology in Boston University, is single and travels every two months to places like Hong Kong, Macau, Java, Bali, Sumatra and Egypt.

Affiliated to the National University of Singapore, he does either excavation or laboratory work.

He says the most interesting excavation sites he has worked on are those in Singapore as he can relate to the familiar surrounds.

One of these, Fort Serapong in Sentosa, will be featured in Invisible City, a documentary about people attempting to leave their mark on history. It is directed by Singaporean film-maker Tan Pin Pin and will open on July 22 at The Arts House.

Which are the best hotels you've stayed in?

I like small quiet establishments, most of which may not even be considered hotels. They include the Horus House Pension and the Long Champs Pension, both on the island of Zamalek in Cairo, Egypt.

You just can't beat the little places - staying in an old Empire-style building, having a drink over the balcony of the tree-lined neighbourhood and out of the Cairo smog, plus the thrill of riding up and down the coffin-like elevator that only works half the time.

These hotels look like they are family- owned. I was told that some of the people working in Horus House have been there before the 1952 Revolution. Prices are about 50 to 75 euros (S$103 to S$155) a night.

Which was the worst hotel?

There are just too many. They have all the pretensions of a five-star establishment but, upon closer inspection, are really only equivalent to a one-star place. I won't say that they are bad experiences, but just economically unjustifiable, although most experiences are certainly amusing.

So what amusing experiences have you had?

While working along the Red Sea coast in Egypt in December last year, I stayed at a diving resort called the Coral Gardens Safaga, which was about 1km from our excavation site. Safaga is a popular diving area 60km south of Hurghadaany city,

Now, by archaeological standards, it is first-class indeed as you get hot water in the room. You need it because it's 10 deg C at night.

However, when I arrived, they had run out of hot water for my room. It took several days for them to sort that out and when I finally got it, the unit upstairs lost theirs.

Then there was the matter of the doors. I locked myself in for the evening, and the only way to get out in the morning was through the window and then unlocking my door from the outside.

Then the window handle broke and they fixed it by replacing it with a window which they had removed from another room.

One evening, I returned from the excavation site to find one of my blankets missing. Apparently, one of the girls in an Italian archaeological crew felt really cold and had asked for extra blankets. The whole place was just hilarious.

What's the best hotel restaurant you've ever eaten in?

I don't usually like dining in hotel restaurants but one of the most amusing and memorable events was in one of those big hotels in a provincial town in Sumatra.

I don't remember its name but it had a grand lobby with chandeliers and cost US$200 (S$305) a night. We wanted to take the old Sultan of a small sultanate out for dinner, and he enthusiastically suggested this hotel restaurant.

He ordered a steak while I wisely stuck with nasi goreng, and for the entire evening, I had to hold down the wobbly table as he sawed through the steak which looked more like Goodyear rubber.

As an archaeologist, have you stayed in any hotel worth its weight in historical significance?

Most of the memorable hotels were serendipitous finds.

I checked into a service apartment in the heart of Chelsea, London, last year, only to realise that it was a front for the Eastern European mafia.

The rooms were dank and, needless to say, I didn't spend 10 minutes there. I walked out to look for another establishment.

Two streets away, I stumbled on the Cardogan in Knightsbridge and stayed for a week. This was apparently the favourite rendezvous of King Edward VII and his mistress, and where the famous Irish poet, Oscar Wilde, was arrested.

frankiec@sph.com.sg