Singapore: Near the Bay, Never Get Bored

Never get bored with Singapore.. Probably, most people will be saying those words... Let's see, the flight from Indonesia continue to grow, the access also develop, not only from Jakarta, but also from Bali, Bandung, Medan, etc... What so great about Singapore is the infrastructure, which make it as one of the most improve country in the world.  And of course, the people succeed to develop.. Its advance very fast...

Nowaday, with cheap fare for flight and 90 minutes away from Indonesia, makes Singapore as one of main destination for holiday.  The food, the weather, the environment, is just nice... Never get bored with the merlion country, eventhough for already several times.

One of the "never get bored" spot is everywhere near the bay... The Marina Bay Waterfront surround by The Merlion, The Esplanade, The Fullerton, Singapore River, the view and the park around the Asian Civilizations Museum, and many others...

To go to the bay, there's duck tour or hippo bus, or just using taxi.  If taxi chosen, then stop at the Merlion Park.  From there, we can walk around to several spot around the Marina Bay Waterfront.

The amphibi "duck", duck tour for street ride or water ride... ---  (source: private)

Boating on the river ---                                        (source: private)

1.  The famous Merlion
Stand big inside the Merlion Park faced forward the Singapore River... The white lion is stunning...

Merlion Park ---                                                   (source: Rizwan)

Stunning Merlion ---                                                                    (source: Rizwan)

2.  The Fullerton Bay Hotel,
Behind the Merlion Park, there's Fullerton Bay Hotel.  The Fullerton Building, built in 1928 and was the centre of Singapore’s commercial, social and official life, once home to the nation’s General Post Office, The Exchange, Chamber of Commerce and The Singapore Club - all of which played a pivotal role in the history of Singapore, was turned into a 400-room luxury hotel after a S$400 million makeover. The hotel officially opened on January 1, 2001. The hotel today is a perfect blend of the old, wired with the new.  The building’s heritage and classic architecture make it eminently suited as a grand hotel. With distinguished Doric columns and monumental porte cocheres, The Fullerton Hotel represents the height of Palladian architecture in Singapore, with only two other buildings in the city that share the same architectural grandeur – the City Hall and Supreme Court. 

Heritage building of Fullerton Bay Hotel --- (source: private)

Statue of children jump to the river near Fullerton --- (source: private)

3.  Asian Civilisations Museum,

Old Parliament House turned into museum ---                                (source: Rizwan)

Colourful building ---                                          (source: Rizwan)

4.  Esplanade, Theater on the Bay
Awesome architeture of esplanade.. That's what I thought when I first saw the building which look alike durian fruit..

Teringat tahun 2005 lalu, sempat menikmati kemegahan theater on the bay ini, pengalaman saat menonton kabaret musik ”Dim Sum Dollies”.  Terang benderang Esplanade, atau yang dikenal juga dengan sebutan ”gedung durian”, menunjukkan kemeriahan acara Sabtu malam itu (20/8/05).  Acara kabaret yang dimulai pukul 20.00 waktu setempat, mengakibatkan padatnya lalu lalang pengunjung.  Esplanade yang juga merupakan pusat perbelanjaan, tampak dipenuhi berbagai kalangan, dimulai dari yang muda sampai yang berusia lanjut.  Bahkan acara kabaret ini juga dihadiri pasangan muda yang sedang berkencan. 

“Dim Sum Dollies” berisikan sindiran-sindiran tajam ditampilkan dengan halus melalui cara yang mengundang tawa.  Daya tarik luar biasa yang ditampilkan ”Dim Sum Dollies” juga didukung tampilnya tiga bintang terkenal Singapura; Selena Tan, Pam Oei, dan Emma Yong.  Tidak heran, penonton bertahan sampai akhir acara.  Penyelenggaraannya pun minim dari kesalahan.  Kualitas akting para bintang Singapura tersebut memang memberi nilai jual lebih, ditambah keamanan yang diawasi dengan baik. 

Bahkan kenyamanan saat menonton pun terjaga, tepat pukul delapan malam gedung ditutup, sehingga tidak ada pengunjung terlambat datang yang menghalangi pandangan.  Dering suara handphone pun tidak terdengar karena bagian dalam gedung teater Esplanade dirancang untuk tidak bisa menerima sinyal handphone.  Megahnya interior Esplanade yang terdiri dari tiga tingkat tribun mendukung kenyamanan saat melihat acara kabaret tersebut.    Sayangnya, keramaian pertunjukan ”Dim Sum Dollies” tersebut tidak bisa didokumentasikan secara pribadi karena saat acara tidak diperbolehkan mengambil gambar meskipun tanpa blitz.

"Durian" building of Esplanade ---                                               (source: private)

Theater on the bay ---                                        (source: private)

5.  Sky Park Building and Singapore Flyer from across

Sky Park ---                                                        (source: private)

Flyer keep spinning at noon ---                              (source: private)

Marina Bay Waterfront ---                                    (source: private)

"The boat" landing on the 3 buildings ---                                        (source: private)

6.  Other scenery near the bay

The river near the quay ---                                     (source:Rizwan)

"Manly" building ---                   (source: private)

Pedestrian walk ---      (source: private)

The bridge ---                                                     (source: private)

Getaway with the boat ---                                      (source: private)

Green park ---        (source: private)

Hang out spot, listening to live music ---                  (source: private)

Sparkling  bay ---                  (source: private)

Shining night ---                                                  (source: private)