Singapore - A Modern City-State
Please enjoy this encore blog posting!
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.
1 We said goodbye to our travel companions, Jori and Zak, at Kota Kinabalu before setting off for Singapore.
2 The islands surrounding Borneo are incredibly beautiful.
3 Approaching Singapore
4 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!
5 At the Port of Singapore, there are about 1,000 ships at any one time.
6 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.
7 Shortly after checking into Capella, we headed to the new and almost complete Marina Bay Sands building. This is the entrance.
8 Our TV crew met us in the lobby. The first day of the shoot was also director of photography - Gary Nardilla's birthday!
9 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.
10 As you can see from this model, the Sands SkyPark is an awe-inspiring engineering wonder. It opened officially on June 22 2010.
11 Here I am with Moshe Safdie, the visionary architect who designed this unique structural masterpiece.
12 Moshe Safdie and I are joined by Thomas Arasi - President and Chief Executive Officer of the Marina Bay Sands building.
13 A close-up of the model
14 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.
15 Moshe Safdie and Jaron Lubin - an architect on the team
16 Another look at the magnificent lobby
17 Renowned architectural photographer Timothy Hursley was also there photographing the building.
18 Here I am walking and talking with Tom Arasi.
19 Stay tuned for the tour on my new TV show!
20 Memrie and I had a quick break for an iced cappuccino before heading to the Sands SkyPark, which is still under construction.
21 The views from the SkyPark are fantastic.
22 This will be an iridescent swimming pool linking across the span of the three hotel towers.
23 Luckily, our TV crew was very comfortable working high above the ground.
24 Moshe Safdie graciously showed me various points of interest in Singapore.
25 The elongated shadow of Marina Bay Sands
26 This is the cantilever.
27 On that day, about 100 people were jumping up and down at the end of the cantilever to check its projectile motion.
28 Kohl and Sophie decided to try jumping, as well.
29 The cantilever definitely has projectile motion.
30 Memrie, Moshe, me, and Jaron - I definitely want to visit the SkyPark again when it's complete.
31 After touring the SkyPark, we celebrated Gary's birthday in the lobby with a delicious chocolate cake.
32 Here I am with pastry chef Alejandro Luna.
33 A beautiful tart with meringue edging from the pastry shop
34 And more beautiful pastries
35 And more
36 Leaving Marina Bay Sands, Sophie took a few more shots of the exterior.
37 Light cascades off of this beautiful silver sheet.
38 Next, we boarded a bumboat for a river tour. This is Mary Ann, our coordinating producer.
39 Kim Miller - Supervising Producer - stayed on shore with the film crew.
40 Our friendly and informative captain
41 Kohl - my trip hair and makeup artist - enjoyed the breezy ride.
42 Another view of the Singapore Flyer
43 Passing by the construction at Marina Bay Sands
44 Some of the many bridges in Singapore spanning the Singapore River
45 Memrie absorbing the Singapore skyline
46 Sophie had a great time.
47 There are many busy restaurants along the river's edge.
48 This is the Asian Civilizations Building.
49 And this is Clark Quay.
50 After the boat ride, we drove to East Coast Lagoon Food Village for a hawkers dinner with Willen Low.
51 Again - cameras were rolling.
52 Coconut and sugar cane
53 The chicken looked especially good at this place.
54 I loved the BBQ wings!
55 When we got back to our hotel room, this intricately carved carrot sculpture was waiting for us.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Singapore is a fantastic city, worth a visit in a lifetime.
Posted by: Subash Bidare | December 27th, 2012 at 5:35 am
Hi Martha, Thanks again for those great tweets you shared with us again yesterday! Sweet little Jude must have had a wonderful time with the dolphins! What did Truman think about seeing them?! Do hope we get to see some photos of this marvelous trip to Florida! Thanks also for this fabulous blog about your visit to Singapore with Memre and Sophie and your great crew! I recall seeing it a while ago and love seeing it again! These photos are so wonderful to see again because I have never been to Singapore and taking your tour is outstanding! I also recall seeing this tour on your TV Show and I miss seeing your TV Shows daily! The three of you gals sure did have a fun time and I love your outfits and those great shoes! I check your website many times every day and love seeing as many videos as I can find! Hope you are still having a great time in Florida and best wishes to all of you and you are a real GEM Martha and I love all that you share with us! Thanks again for giving me another happy day! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | December 27th, 2012 at 8:58 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog with us again.
Posted by: KLBrown | December 27th, 2012 at 9:00 am
Hi Martha,
Singapore is one place I would really love to visit but I'll have to be content with looking at pictures. The finished Marina Bay Sands is beautiful, especially the pool and what a view it provides! I checked out the Singapore Flyer too which is 541 feet in the air and the ride lasts for 37 minutes. I could probably handle that because they have capsules to stand in, although I'd probably sit on the floor and hang onto something. I'm not sure I'd enjoy the feeling of floating! Ever since you posted this blog the first time around, I periodically check out Singapore so thanks for stirring up my interest. It is definitely a beautiful city and I look forward to more pictures if you decide to visit again. You're a good tour guide! Trish
Posted by: Trish | December 27th, 2012 at 11:34 am
I so enjoyed your holiday party photos. Always wonder what the winter at Skylands is like. I know the residence is put to sleep, but what does the landscape look like in Winter?
Posted by: Melany Barnes | December 27th, 2012 at 1:08 pm
Dear Martha,
I am so excited to see your show from Singapore. I've never been to Singapore but my colleagues from there are simply the kindest, most collaborative team of professionals that seeing and hearing about your trip makes me want to go there more than ever. The Sands SkyPark is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year lovely Martha. May it be a healthy, fun, safe and peaceful year for you, your beautiful family and super interesting friends!
All my very best,
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa Gordon-Miller | December 27th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
I love Singapore. The source for Pandanas flavouring!
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | December 27th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
Please visit Indonesia in your next visit. We have many interesting places to show you. Best wishes for the upcoming exciting New Year. Michelle.
Posted by: Michelle Lazario | December 30th, 2012 at 12:44 pm
I have a girlfriend who lives in Singapore. She says the food is so cheap there that literally no one ever cooks. They just bring home food every night or go out. Thanks for the peek at an exciting city.
Posted by: Karen | December 31st, 2012 at 11:08 am