How to Survive the November features a photo from last winter’s trip to Singapore. Today’s round features four dark, stylized figures holding a large, reflective chrome orb. The orb distorts the reflection of the hotel entrance and the surrounding area. The statue is located at the entrance to the Atlas Hotel. I’m the red spot 😀
statue
November begins, and we’ll keep this year rolling forward. The theme is ’round’, and you can interpret it any way you like. It can be a photograph, a painting, a drawing, a new or old picture, anything. Hopefully, it has ‘that certain something’.
Inlinkz- link for your entry is at the right column.
The modern architecture in Singapore is really fascinating and to some extent they are trying to be environmentally conscious. You can see plenty of parks and trees just about everywhere and many buildings have gardens inside, on rooftops or balconies. Also because of high functioning public transport, they proudly say it’s the best in the world, the traffic wasn’t bad and air quality seemed fine.
We spent the only evening of our visit basically in front of the Marina Bay Sands Shoppes and Expo. However I had enough stamina to walk to The Gardens by the Bay to see the Supertree Grove and take pictures of the beautiful ArtScience Museum, shaped like a flower, and, of course, Marina Bay Sands hotel. Everything seemed to be close by, even the Flyer, even though you would have to walk a bit from destination to another destination.
The Shoppes included every imaginable high end fashion shop and the canal of the casino. Being so huge it was hard to capture good photos from the Shoppes, but hopefully were able to document the essence of the area.
To capture the Water and Light Show in Marina Bay was also hard. The lit skyscrapers as a backdrop were obviously nice but documenting the show proved to be challenging. What was really fun however was that the show was so close to the event area that you got wet by the showers from the fountains. People in the know were prepared with raincoats and umbrellas but I wasn’t wise enough. Fortunately, it was a warm night. It goes without saying that the area was a really popular spot for photographers. We saw wedding and fashion pictures taken by the bay.
No sight of infinity pool or Marina Bay Sands Observation Deck for us because the Deck was reserved for private function. But the hotel offers a magnificent sight itself.
Before flying off to Singapore I asked for recommendations of what to see and do from an old workmate, who had visited the country a couple times before. Without her advice we would have most likely missed the highlight of our visit to Singapore – ATLAS Bar. So, thank you, Saila!
We even passed on Raffles Bar, the famous home of the drink called Singapore Sling, because of my friend’s recommendation and we don’t regret it at all. Anyway, to the ATLAS Bar. Bar is located in Parkview Square in one of the grandest and most expensive office buildings in Singapore. I didn’t check any details beforehand about the bar or the building so the whole time we thought the building was built in the 1920’s when Art Deco style was in fashion. But no, this impressive building was finished only in 2002. Not being an architecture buff, I could not tell the difference.
The money they must have spent to let’s say recreate a building like that and even the courtyard in front of the building was like an art gallery. The gigantic statues of men holding balls in their hands and other impressive statues, the gargoyles guarding the building and overall décor just spoke volumes of how much time and resources were used to create this marvel. The exterior surface of the building is clad in brown granite, bronze, lacquer, and glass, so I’ve been told by the internet. The building is sometimes referred to as the Batman building by locals because it reminds of Gotham City. The interiors drew HBO’s “Westworld” to use it as a filming location in season three of the dystopian science fiction series.
We had reserved an afternoon tea at 3 pm, so in we go. Reservations for the afternoon tea are always recommended because the bar can be fully booked. Inside of the ATLAS Bar was even more stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off the centerpiece bar, the magnificent tower of gin, located at the far end of the area. The tower holds over 1300 gins and is two stories high. I can only guess how they get the bottles down from the tower. When we were present, I didn’t see any acrobats climbing the structure and flinging down bottles to bartenders.
We are not used to dining or drinking in opulent surroundings like this, but the staff made us feel very comfortable from the beginning. We had reserved afternoon tea, so tea we had. The 68 SGD order included a welcome drink, two types of tea or other soft beverages and a collection of savory and sweet bites. For a while we didn’t touch the food because we just wanted to look at the beautiful set up. We felt like king and queen for two hours with the service and everything we consumed. I haven’t googled yet what were the dishes we ate, for example vol-au-vent is not in my vocabulary, but they were delicious. Here is a list of them to those of you who are in the know.
Sweet: scones, jam and clotted cream / canelé de Bordeaux /popcorn cream cone | rhubarb tartlet, cinnamon streusel / blueberry choux /rhum baba | pistachio amaretti bonbon
There is also a picture of the page from the drink list – ATLAS Vintage – that listed different gins from 1910’s to present. I even passed my decade, the 60’s, because martini from that era would have been 125 SGD. Martini from 1910’s was 275 SGD. I have no idea if they would have made a difference. Does gin age like whiskey or cognac?
Stepping into ATLAS bar was like stepping back to the roaring twenties. Words can’t really express the experience we had at ATLAS Bar. So luckily, we have a few pictures to explain. Even though it felt like a crime to gawk and take pictures because of the serene and affluent atmosphere. But being layman/layperson, we got over the feeling really fast.
P.S. I never figured out what the Coke ad was doing in the building with its Chinese(?) motif but somehow it fit into the décor as well.
Unfortunately, our stay in Singapore was hampered by a flu. We managed to experience some of the sights but so much more was left to uncover maybe some other time. The only full day in the city started with a visit to Singapore Flyer which is now only the second highest ferris wheel in the world with 165 meters. Folks in Las Vegas had to have bigger and better one, so they built a wheel that is 168 meters. The day was cloudy and drizzly but the view to the Marina Bay and all over the city was obviously quite breathtaking.
As mentioned above, insult to injury, it was raining most of the day. However, rain always brings more opportunities for photographers – reflections and watery filters. It was easy taking pictures because we got to Flyer early and there was hardly anybody there besides us. We had one cabin for just the two of us. Maybe other people talking would have made the experience more enjoyable because the elevator music in the cabin was so damn annoying. The music loop lasted 15 -30 seconds and it was looping the whole time. Like waiting on the phone for your sales rep, who never answers. Very annoying. Hopefully they do something about it, otherwise we are never going back
Rainy view from the Flyer
Also we were kind of forced to go through “immersive adventure at the Time Capsule that takes you on a thrilling journey through Singapore’s past, present and future.” Might have been thrilling but unfortunately, we were not in the mood due to ill health. This picture captures the only thing that caught our attention.
Singapore has a long history, but the present dominates the skyline. Fortunately, some of the old world still remains standing and you are able to see it even from the Flyer. What the buildings actually were, remains a mystery to us. The modern architecture really stands out, like the flower of ArtScience Museum, Esplanade-Theatres on the Bay and everything in the Gardens by the Bay. Skyscrapers are just skyscrapers and can be seen in every big city.
What can I say about the Gardens by the Bay! Not much besides us both seeing the Supertree Grove, Flower Dome and Cloud Forest in the distance. We were planning on seeing the Gardens by the Bay Light Show from the Observation Deck of Marina Bay Sands but somebody with some extra pocket money had reserved the deck for a private function and spoiled the evening for us common people. So, we can only imagine what the Supertree Grove, pictured below, would have looked like all lit up.
This is the first of my Singapore posts! The text is written by my husband, Mara, who has a knack for capturing the little details and telling them in a way that makes our adventures come alive. I’ve been trying to nudge him into start his own blog because he’d be really good at it—his friends and family love how he paints pictures with his words. It is where he can let his creativity run wild and connect with more people who dig his take on and life. By getting him involved in this project, I’m hoping he’ll feel inspired to spill his thoughts and experiences more often.
I experienced the A 30-minute ride in one of the Singapore Flyer’s glass capsules, it offers 360-degree views. In a gray and rainy day I saw the iconic and historical sights from Marina Bay to the Singapore River, such as Raffles Place and Merlion Park
Doors of Singapore flyer
Photos linked Thursday Doors, Press the badge to access it.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 