Singapore River Cruise

I have always wanted to see the Merlion but I didn't see it the first time I went to Singapore. But this time, I also wanted to see the rest of the city centre. I didn't want to walk because we were in the country for only a short visit; so we took a short cruise along the Singapore River.

The boat cruise we took started at the Merlion Park. While in the boat, we had our first glimpse of the famous Marina Bay Sands up close. It really screamed luxury, I think, especially with those glass panes and the trees at the top.

On the other river bank, we found the Art Zoo, which appeared to be a water theme park with gorilla and flamingo balloons. It looked like a perfect venue for children's parties... even for those who are young at heart. I wonder, though, if people won't be at risk of falling into the river if they climbed any of the balloons.

As the boat made it's first turn, we first had our first glimpse of the Merlion from the river (of course we dropped by for a quick photo before the river cruise... but seeing it from the river gave a different viewing experience). It was then when I realised that the crowd we braved as we tried to get our group photos was quite big.

Behind the Merlion, there were a lot of bridges that connected the two banks of the Singapore River. It made me think about the Pasig River, which doesn't have as many bridges. Behind one of the bridges, we caught sight of Singapore's old Supreme Court building. It was a stark reminder that Singapore was once colonised by the British; this architecture was similar (to me at least) to the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata. Curiously though, I haven't notice something similar in Hong Kong. Maybe I was just in the wrong spot for seeing British historical traces in that city. 

A few turns later, we were approaching Clark Quay and the Riverside districts. We saw many Chinese junks that were turned into floating restaurants. It appeared to be a popular tourist destination for bars and pubs... the vibe wasn't as business-like and fast as in the central business district (near where we started the cruise). Here, people appeared to be more relaxed and laid-back.  

Maybe this impression was fuelled by the view of this building with multi-coloured windows. Once again, this building was sending British vibes (reminded me of the white building with red windows in Kolkata). Listening to the audiovisual guide, I learned that this building houses the Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Arts.

The bumboat we were riding made another turn under one of the bridges and we were given this view: a row of two- to three-storey buildings lining the river, with the skyscrapers in the background. This was the Riverside district, if my memory serves me well. Many of the small buildings have been converted to restaurants, it seems.

All along the river, there were numerous sculptures that caught my attention. There was a bronze statue called "Fishing at Singapore River" made by Chern Lian Shan. It's supposed to describe what life was like along the river bank during the colonial times.

Then there's the big, fat "Bird" by Fernando Botero. It is located at the UOB Plaza. It made me smile because it reminded me of Twitter... yet, I am sure that this sculpture was made before the age of social media.

A highly fluid statue called "First Generation" (by Chong Fah Cheong) was a tribute to the recent past, when it was common to see kids jumping into the river to take a swim. Perhaps, the area was gentrified to a level where people who grew up in the area couldn't recognise their childhood playground anymore. The sculpture evoked nostalgia rather than the comedy that the Bird exuded.

As the river cruise made its final turn back to where we began our short tour, we passed by the Merlion's original spot. If the statue was still on that same spot, the bridges on either side would have blocked a clear view of Singapore's icon of prosperity and humble beginnings. The city's urban planners definitely made the right decision of repositioning the Merlion to where it is now, looking across the bank towards Marina Bay Sands.

The Singapore River Cruise is definitely a must-do for tourists like us who don't have time to walk around. It gave us an idea of the districts we'd like to visit once we had a chance to explore. 

I'm definitely going on foot next time.