Singapore Day 3

Singapore is in the process of creating a miracle. Making itself bigger by reclaiming land.

We decided to go down to the Marina Bay area and check out what was being built on land 

that wasn't there a decade ago. In 2008 the Marina Barrage was built to create Marina Bay, a

freshwater reservoir. This was to help with the drinking water of Singapore and to help prevent 

floods in the Chinatown region. Singapore had always been hostage to neighbouring countries for 

their water supply so trying to become self-sufficient in water has always been really important. 

Around the bay has sprung up an incredible collection of hotels, office buildings and recreation 

facilities. On the water front is the lotus shaped Art and Science museum.

 We had lunch at Sky on 57, a restaurant on the top of tower three of the Sands Casino.

The view is extraordinary and gives a great idea of the importance of Singapore as a seaport 

as there are container vessels as far as the eye can see. And there are stunning views down 

into the port area where the ships are being unloaded.

 

 Although a lot of the area is still a building site some hotels and office buildings have 

been completed on the sea front of the Marina Bay area.

 The Gardens at Marina Bay will be a huge attraction when they are completed. The Gardens 

were designed by architect Wilkinson Eyre and landscape architects Grant Associates.

The Gardens are made up of large conservatories and a forest of super-tall solar trees. 

The trees range in height from 25 to 50 meters and are designed to collect enough 

rainwater and solar energy to run the conservatories. The tallest tree will house a bistro and 

two of the trees are joined by an elevated walkway to give you an over-view of the gardens. 

The trees will be planted with ferns and vines. They will supply shade in the heat of the day 

and help modify the temperature of the surrounding gardens. 

The Gardens are expected to be open in June 2012

 In 2002 the Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay was opened. The shape of the buildings with their 

aluminium sunshades have lead to the nick-name, "The Durian", after the scaly tropical fruit

 

 The architectural jewel of the Marina Bay area is the Sands Casino. It was designed by Moshe 

Safdie and Associates and cost $8 billion, including the land. Joining the three towers is the 

world's largest cantilevered platform. On the platform are two restaurants, a swimming pool 

and an observation platform. The swimming pool is only open to hotel guests. The viewing 

platform will cost you $S20 or you can just go to one of the restaurants and have a drink 

while taking in the incredible view.

The three towers are joined with a huge atrium area that has numerous eating places and shops. 

I found it all a little cold and over-whelming in scale. It's lost that human feeling.

Attached to the hotel is the casino and shopping precinct. The shopping mall is enormous and 

contains all the usual international brands. Most of the shops seemed empty.

That night we went to the Singapore Night Zoo. This was my third visit and it is one of my 

favourite zoos. The concept of walking around in partial darkness to watch nocturnal animals 

was always going to be a winner. Like everything else in Singapore the entrance, which used 

to be quite simple, has been over-touristed with shops, cafes and fire-eaters.

 But the animals more than made up for it.

Back to the hotel to look at what to visit tomorrow.