Singapore, City of the Future - March 14

Singapore is a mix of a bit of the old and a tremendous amount of the new, the modern, the ultra-modern, and high-tech and edgy construction. It may be the most modern city in the world. Incredible architecture. A modern, fast, clean, air-conditioned and efficient Metro with driverless trains following each other just minutes apart, covering the whole city.

We would come back in a heartbeat if it weren’t so far away.

We started with little bit of the old: Singapore Slings at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel. We’ve wanted to see the Raffles ever playing “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” when John was growing up.

Here is the $5.5 Billion Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino Complex from a couple of angles around the Bay. It is a non-trivial engineering feat to support a common 57th floor roof and garden, the Marina Sands Sky Park, on top of three hotel towers like these, because they tend to sway, twist and torque independently in any wind. This can create tremendous stresses. True 21st century technology.

Nevertheless we decided to have cocktails and dinner on the restaurant way up on top, SkyOn57. Here is Joani in front of the rooftop bar; and the rooftop bar as seen from the ground:

Here is Joani at our table with the lights of downtown seen through the window:

Other buildings in Singapore were just as stunning as the Marina Bay Sands. Some we saw from the ground, some from the Sky Park, and some from the Singapore Flyer, a 575 foot “London Eye” type pod Ferris wheel.

The Singapore Art and Science Museum, above

The Harbour Place Marina and Condominium Complex. The condos are finished, beautiful, and very expensive; the look is intentional and created with different reflecting surfaces. Yes, the walls curve.

The downtown business area as seen across Marina Bay from the Flyer. Note the floating soccer field and the helix pedestrian bridge.

One downtown office complex up close:            

To close for today, we had told our server at the restaurant that our cruise was a celebration of our 40th anniversary; and after dinner they surprised us with this desert, which would have certainly violated US fire codes:

Well, we were in Singapore for two days and there were more amazing buildings and so as tomorrow is a day at sea, more Singapore pictures tomorrow.