Singapore – Flying High

I’ve mentioned that the view from the club lounge is spectacular, and apparently one of the selling points of the hotel.  My own room, two floors below, looks out on the other side, which, although not as spectacular as the Marina Bay, is still a great view over the inner harbour, the city, golf course and out to sea – in many ways I prefer it – it’s constantly changing and shows Singapore as a vibrant, busy city, and not just a wonderful holiday destination.  If I crane my neck a little, I can just see the Singapore Flyer – the local version of the London Eye.   So, having had an abortive visit to Chinatown yesterday, I decided that another attempt at being a tourist was needed to salvage the day (which in fairness was pretty good – I am after all in Singapore).  So with some trepidation I set off to the Flyer.

I thought that a good time to go up would be sunset – that way I would get the best of both worlds – and I was right.  Around the bottom of the Flyer is a sort of mall surrounding a rainforest garden, complete with pool and Koi Carp in abundance.  The humidity that is prevalent in this city is always eased in the presence of greenery and water, and I spend a very pleasant few minutes wandering through the little pathways and “cootchie cooing” at the fish.  They didn’t seem particularly interested in passing even the time of day with me, so after a short while I headed up to the loading zone.  Stepping on to a moving carriage is always disconcerting, but the staff – like everyone else in Singapore – were charming and helpful.

Night falls quite quickly here – whether because of the season or generally I couldn’t say, and I’d also timed it so that I could watch the light display in the Gardens by the Bay from the wheel, which was lovely.  It has to be said that the views from the Flyer are absolutely breathtaking – this is definitely a city that has to be seen at night.  The buildings are lit up – often with light displays that are enough to make you stop and stare, and looking over the marina area you can see the tourist boats lit up as they cross the bay.  The Flyer moves so slowly it’s imperceptible – and once I got over my initial sense of vertigo, it was a truly wonderful trip.  Although it’s very close to the hotel you have quite a different angle of view, so the harbour, usually hidden from the hotel view by the Marina Sands Hotel, could be seen, complete with cruise liner, and all the smaller boats further out on the horizon.

In the car behind mine small tables had been set up, and there was a chef cooking up lovely things at a servery in one corner – what a wonderful way to have a meal, with an ever changing view.  I can only assume the chef is either extremely efficient, or the diners get to go round twice, as 30 minutes is somewhat brief to fully enjoy a good meal.  Still, having ticked off one thing on my list I’ve now added another in its place!

My companions on the journey comprised two Russian couples, a young Asian couple and a Chinese family of parents and a small girl.  Whilst I couldn’t understand a single word any of them said, they were nevertheless fascinating to watch – I love people watching, and ten people in a confined space provides a number of interesting interactions.  One of the Russian gentlemen was clearly in his element – slightly pompous, he was pointing out landmarks like a professional tour guide, and his companions mostly nodded sagely and exclaimed brightly over whatever was being pointed out.  His wife, however, sat on the bench that ran along the middle of the car, and did not move.  The rest of the group moved from one side of the car to the other, crowding into a corner in a way that, had the car not been as stable as it was, would have worried me intensely.  The wife watched them – apparently neither approving nor disapproving, but absolutely determined to stick very firmly to the bench.  The little girl, however, had no such qualms.  Her proud parents were taking many many photos of her, and she very confidently posed all around the car, with different views behind her.  At one stage she stood in front of the doors and threw her arms wide, smiling for the camera.  I was just thinking how cute she was when she turned and tried to open the door.  Since we were near the top of the arc, this was more than a little disturbing, and it seems as though her parents didn’t know whether to worry or to be proud at the burgeoning engineering skills their daughter was displaying.   Fortunately for my nerves (A Mrs Bennett moment) the father saw sense and pulled his daughter away before she could try any harder, thus restoring my “nerves” to a place of relative calm.

Throughout all of this, the young couple very tenderly took photos of each other, selfies of them both together, then, near the top, sat on the bench.  The young man took the girl’s hand in his and spoke earnestly to her.  I can only guess from her response – a nod and a few tears – that I had witnessed a particularly special moment.  It was romantic in the extreme, and I’m sure, for them as well as (I hope) the rest of the passengers, a crowning moment to a very memorable and moving (pun intended) journey.