Although this is a travel blog, it does not seem to fair to be just blogging about other countries, except Singapore. It is a tourist destination after all. Singaporeans have imprinted on their consciousness that this is such a boring place. That’s why it’s possible to sell S$57 million worth of travel packages at the NATAS fair 2009 (Travel Fair). Whether or not, this reflects how “rich” Singaporeans are or how “desperate” we are to get out of the country. But with a little exploration, there are lots of beautiful places here.
I deem the Singapore Flyer(it’s the world’s largest observation wheel, which stands at 165m from the ground.) as a tourist attraction that every Singaporean has to go once in his/her lifetime at the pricey entrance fee of S$29.50, but definitely not exciting enough for a second round. Same goes for the London Eye which I visited years back. If you haven’t been up there, it will be like,”Huh! You haven’t been to the Singapore Flyer? Which “ulu” mountain (godforsaken place) do you hail from?” Therefore, for my birthday celebration this year, that was where I went.
Everything’s taken with my handphone camera because silly me forgot to bring my idiot-proof Lumix along. So bear with the fuzzy resolution.
I was “queueing” to get into the capsule, albeit there was not much of a queue because it was a quiet weekday afternoon. Once we scrambled into the capsule, there was a lot of photo snapping. It went on for a few minutes before everyone was bored (it was crawling really slowly along) and waited for the capsule to roll to the other side of the flyer so that we could take pictures of the other side of the island.
Using the Panorama Map provided, you could easily identify the various landmarks across the horizon. On a clear day, you can even see Indonesia and Malaysia. However, it was near evening, therefore, I had no such luck. BUT, I managed to snap some “near” sunset photos. Not the best shots, due to the limitations of a handphone camera, but scatter brains just have to make do. Sigh.
Just like any other tourist attractions, there are a handful of touristy shops and restaurants situated at the Singapore Flyer. Maybe I have been spoiled badly by the variety found at Orchard Road, which is the shopping belt of Singapore, the shops somehow hold no attraction to me. They looked embarassingly empty too. I wonder how many of them will be left standing before the year’s out. Perhaps, the annual F1 affair will bring some life to them.
The landscape may change dramatically after the new CBD district has been fully built up and the Marina Sands Integrated Resort is fully functional. But, before that, I hardly see the need to re-visit the wheel.
Opening hours : 8.30am – 10.30pm
Ticket Sales : 8am – 10pm