Singapore Fun Fotos 7 plus Pulau Ubin

We will be leaving Singapore soon, so I have kept my phone camera handy for the sights I see nearly every day.  Some places I have covered before, but they are still amazing sights.

An early morning jog showed me dawn on Marina Bay:

The Louis Vuitton Store before opening:

The lotus-shaped Art Science Museum

The downtown skyline 

A VERY rare sight, just near the Chanel store:

After winding my way past the skyscrapers, these sculptures near Raffles Place fascinate me:

A sky-high mural depicting the world in living plants:

Part of a wall mural of glass fish.  You just want to touch it!

This Dali Sculpture "Homage to Newton" is permanent, near Boat Quay:

And this one, "Horse Saddled with Time,"  is part of a temporary exhibit on Orchard Road:

Later that day I cleaned up and visited an Art Exhibit of the Singapore Watercolor Society.  Here are a select few (yay, they don't mind if we take pictures!)  Here is an artist from Beijing with her painting of Cock's Comb blossoms....her daughter wanted to take a photo the artist with me

The Marina Bay view:

Tiong Bahru:

Horsecart:

The David Elias Building that I have included in an earlier blogpost:

Most amazing is this student 2nd place winner...I would definitely buy this if I could:

I stopped into the lobby of the Fullerton Hotel (had to dodge a Maserati on my way in...) and saw this "bouquet" with teddy bear driver, celebrating the upcoming Grand Prix race. Imagine the fun they had making this!!

Next day, took a trip to Pulau Ubin, an unspoiled island off the Changi coast.  You take a bum boat (fare is $2.50) over to experience what the islands all used to be.  Years ago, we took the kids there and rented bicycles to see the old quarries.  It still looks the same except there is now a boardwalk to enjoy the wetlands.  My camera didn't take very good photos, so I will just give you a taste:

The bumboat view:

The boardwalk:

A famous critter that lives here is the Fiddler Crab.  He is a little guy who with that big claw that attracts mates and scares off rivals.

Mudflats...all the black spots are little fiddler crabs, waving their claws:

Spot the lizard!

Some beautiful vegetation - the seed pot of the Attap Palm. These seeds are used for the local Malay dessert called Ice Kaching.

And the special treat, a sighting of the indigenous wild pigs that roam the island.  Despite their wil look, they are extremely tame and came close, hoping to be fed.  But all of us hikers that day were god citizens and kept our snacks to ourselves.  There were about 5 adults, several juveniles and 2 little striped babies:

One last glimpse of an old quarry:

And the trip back on the bumboat:

That's all for now - A few more posts coming soon!

The Singapore Flyer

Like many cities in the world today, Singapore has a gigantic ferris wheel.

From the brochure:

"Singapore Flyer is the world’s largest observation wheel. Standing at a stunning 165m from the ground, the Flyer offers you breathtaking, panoramic views of the Marina Bay, our island city and beyond."

After getting your tickets and going through the "museum" that tells how they built it, you que up and take your family photo.

You enter your "pod" which holds up to 30 people. There are 28 pods.

The trip takes 30 minutes - you can opt to take the special pod where they serve you drinks and snacks.  It is a popular spot for marriage proposals.  We rode with a few other families - so fun!

We timed our visit so we could watch the sunset on our ride.  

Enjoy the views of Marina Bay from above!

As we walked away this was the view over our shoulders:

We crossed the "Helix" bridge to Marina Bay Sands:

Walked past the shops and Venetian "canal" (yes, this is a picture taken in the daytime, not that night, but you get the idea)

And then tuck in at the Food Center (we skipped the 4 and 5 Michelin Star restaurants...saving that for another day...) with Satay, Kway Teow and Tiger beer:

Formula One Arrives

Race Car Fans!!  Formula One is arriving in Singapore this weekend!!!  The race will be held at night beneath the gorgeous lit-up skyline of Singapore's newest attractions!  Watch our for:

Marina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino

where we had an anniversary toast on the 57th floor "Koo Day Ta" bar

just above John's hand is the Esplanade Concert Hall (Maroon 5 and Katie Perry are headliners this weekend) and just below his hand is the lotus-flower-shaped Art Gallery, dedicated to Salvador Dali.  Right now there is a special Andy Warhol exhibit.  

Near the bar and on top of the hotel is the infinity pool, which looks like it is rolling right off the edge...yikes.

A view of the Singapore Flyer at sunset. You can just make out the stands for the race just behind this ferris wheel, which is 42 stories high, a height of 541 feet, the tallest Ferris whee; in the world. (It is 98 ft taller than the London Eye, according to Wikipedia.  Each car holds 28 people and takes 30 minutes to make a revolution. (Just below the right side you can see the viewing stands for the race.)

 We are waiting to take visitors along on our first ride.

The Merlion, the symbol of Singapore. 

All of these, plus the financial district skyscrapers, and a brand new huge garden, surround the marina bay where there are nightly laser shows to delight visitors.  I hope it will be telecast wherever you are - have fun and enjoy the view!

Next up:  a quick trip to Thailand.