Arriving in Singapore - A Modern City-State
After leaving Malaysia, Sophie, Memrie, and I flew to Singapore, where we met up with my crew from TV to produce an hour of television about this city-state. Singapore is an island country located off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula and is a melting pot of mostly Chinese, Indian, and Malay people. This modern, cosmopolitan, bustling city-state plays a key role in international trade and finance.
Kim Miller, my Supervising Producer, worked with the Singapore Tourism Board for four months, planning a trip specifically for me and my TV viewers. The Singapore Tourism Board generously hosted the entire trip. I was particularly impressed with the amount of construction going on everywhere. With so much modernization, I was also impressed with how the younger generation is holding fast to traditional culture and heritage, a notion very dear to me. Please enjoy our first day in Singapore and our tour of the extraordinary new Marina Bay Sands.
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- We said goodbye to our travel companions, Jori and Zak, at Kota Kinabalu before setting off for Singapore.
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- Again – cameras were rolling.
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- The islands surrounding Borneo are incredibly beautiful.
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- Approaching Singapore
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- About to land at Singapore Changi Airport, a major aviation hub in Southeast Asia. The Port of Singapore is the busiest container port in the world!
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- The airport was about a 25-minute drive to Capella Resort on Sentosa Island. Enroute, we passed by the Singapore Flyer, the world’s largest observation wheel, offering breathtaking, panoramic views of the Marina Bay, the city, and beyond.
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- At the Port of Singapore, there are about 1,000 ships at any one time.
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- As you can see from this model, the Sands SkyPark is an awe-inspiring engineering wonder. It opened officially on June 22 2010.
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- Our TV crew met us in the lobby. The first day of the shoot was also director of photography – Gary Nardilla’s birthday!
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- Kohl and Sophie decided to try jumping, as well.
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- The cantilever definitely has projectile motion.
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- This is the cantilever.
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- There are many busy restaurants along the river’s edge.
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- This is the Asian Civilizations Building.
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- Kim Miller – Supervising Producer – stayed on shore with the film crew.
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- Shortly after checking into Capella, we headed to the new and almost complete Marina Bay Sands building. This is the entrance.
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- An interior shot of the Marina Bay Sands building taken from the lobby of tower one. The elegant hanging sculpture is entitled ‘Drift’ – it’s a gigantic, open, cloudlike frame, created by Antony Gormley.
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- Here I am with Moshe Safdie, the visionary architect who designed this unique structural masterpiece.
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- Moshe Safdie and I are joined by Thomas Arasi – President and Chief Executive Officer of the Marina Bay Sands building.
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- A close-up of the model
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- The the lotus-shaped structure in the foreground is the Museum at Marina Bay Sands. The lotus-shaped building’s innovative roof, channels rainwater through the central atrium as a waterfall.
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- Moshe Safdie and Jaron Lubin – an architect on the team
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- Another look at the magnificent lobby
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- Renowned architectural photographer Timothy Hursley was also there photographing the building.
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- Here I am walking and talking with Tom Arasi.
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- Stay tuned for the tour on my new TV show!
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- Memrie and I had a quick break for an iced cappuccino before heading to the Sands SkyPark, which is still under construction.
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- The views from the SkyPark are fantastic.
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- This will be an iridescent swimming pool linking across the span of the three hotel towers.
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- Luckily, our TV crew was very comfortable working high above the ground.
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- Moshe Safdie graciously showed me various points of interest in Singapore.
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- The elongated shadow of Marina Bay Sands
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- Memrie, Moshe, me, and Jaron – I definitely want to visit the SkyPark again when it’s complete.
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- On that day, about 100 people were jumping up and down at the end of the cantilever to check its projectile motion.
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- After touring the SkyPark, we celebrated Gary’s birthday in the lobby with a delicious chocolate cake.
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- Here I am with pastry chef Alejandro Luna.
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- A beautiful tart with meringue edging from the pastry shop
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- And more beautiful pastries
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- And more
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- Leaving Marina Bay Sands, Sophie took a few more shots of the exterior.
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- Light cascades off of this beautiful silver sheet.
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- Another view of the Singapore Flyer
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- Next, we boarded a bumboat for a river tour. This is Mary Ann, our coordinating producer.
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- Our friendly and informative captain
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- Kohl – my trip hair and makeup artist – enjoyed the breezy ride.
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- Some of the many bridges in Singapore spanning the Singapore River
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- Memrie absorbing the Singapore skyline
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- Passing by the construction at Marina Bay Sands
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- Sophie had a great time.
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- And this is Clark Quay.
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- After the boat ride, we drove to East Coast Lagoon Food Village for a hawkers dinner with Willen Low.
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- Coconut and sugar cane
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- The chicken looked especially good at this place.
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- I loved the BBQ wings!
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- When we got back to our hotel room, this intricately carved carrot sculpture was waiting for us.
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