Marina Bay

After visiting Chinatown, I went to Marina Bay; Singapore’s newest district.  Once a basin where the Singapore River spilled into the Singapore Strait, Marina Bay began life as reclaimed land in the 1970s.  Back then, bumboats and Chinese junks were often anchored here.  The Marina Bay of today took shape in the early 2000s.  Marina Bay Sands, The Float, the Merlion, etc. all call home here now.  The area even now plays host to the Formula One night race every September.  But the centerpiece of the area is Marina Bay Sands casino, hotel, and convention center which just opened two years ago.  The Marina Bay Sands absolutely dominates the skyline and now has become a symbol of Singapore with its ‘surfboard’ on top of three towers.  It has become one of the world’s iconic buildings and among its most audacious. 

The Merlion (pics below), a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, is used as a mascot and national personification of Singapore.  Its name combines "mer," meaning the sea, and "lion."  The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village.  The lion head represents Singapore's original name — Singapura — meaning "lion city" or "kota singa".  The statue is 28 feet in height and weighs 70 tons.

I went to Marina Bay Sands to go up to the ‘surfboard’ which is called Sands SkyPark.  It’s one of the world’s largest cantilevers and offers views from 650 feet in the air.  Admission was $20 SGD ($16).  There’s a swimming pool up there (the world’s largest elevated outdoor pool) but was available to guests only.  In the pic below, you can see some people standing near the edge – that’s where I would be going.

The pic below is a nice shot of part of the city.

The two pics below are from a different angle.  If you look at the 2nd pic (a zoomed-in shot), you’ll notice The Merlion in the lower right corner.  Also, when looking at the second pic, you’ll notice the Singapore River in the background.  If you look at the far side of the river, you’ll see a series of shop houses with red/orange roofs; that is Boat Quay.  I’ll mention Boat Quay probably in my next post but that is a cool little area along the river with bars, cafes, and restaurants.

The next two pics show a good look at The Float or floating stage where River Hongbao is located.  The concrete (road) between The Float and the grandstand is part of the Formula One racetrack.   Cars zip past that narrow area in September.  

The next two pics show a little souvenir and concession area atop the SkyPark.  The area with the umbrellas on the second floor is a restaurant.

In the following two pics, you can easily see the Singapore Flyer; a 500 feet-tall observation wheel modeled on the London Eye is no less than the world’s tallest.  Also, particularly in the second pic below, you can see another part of the Formula One racetrack.

Some more aerial pics below.

The rooftop swimming pool can sort of be seen in the pic below near the trees.