Friday, April 23, 2010

Kecil-Kecil Cabe Rawit

Labels: at 4/23/2010 04:31:00 PM

The title is an Indonesian proverb people use very much. Translated in english, it becomes something like this: although small in size, chilli padi is sure very hot. People usually use it when dealing with some party/people that are so smart and fast and whatever despite their size.

And this proverb really implies to Singapore!!!

Being a too-small-even-you-cannot-find-it-on-the-map country, Singapore, so far, has shown its teeth to the world. Even before its independence in 1965, Singapore has become one of the richest countries in Asia due to its strategic location. After the independence day on August 9th 1965, Singapore has been growing and it never stops.

Singapore has become one of the most attractive countries now. So many students want to continue studying here, so many people want to come for vacation here, so many foreigners want to find a living here. So many people want to be the witness of more and more developments of this country.

And this little red dote has a very amazing project of Marina Bay!!!





Have you seen it? If your answer is not yet, I suggest you to scroll up your mouse and click the triangle button.

Marina Bay is the reclaimed land area in Singapore since 1970s. And the area hes been planned to be the extension of central business district (CBD) at Raffles Place. And later, you can find the georgeous mix of housings, offices, recreational area, and nature.

And, of course, I'm more interested to talk about the recreational part :)

The Esplanade
A theatre. With a durian shaped design, the construction of Esplanade was finished in 2002 and it became the icon of this little red dot. The facility inside the Esplanade includes teathre, concert hall, recital studio, library, exhibition space, and open space.

Merlion Park
A park. It is located in front of Fullerton Hotel and there is the Singapore iconic Merlion, half mermaid and half lion. The construction was finished in April 2002 and of course, this place became a great tourist attraction all of a sudden.

The Float @ Marina
A floating platform. Yeah, and this is the first stadium that is floating and considered as the biggest floating structure in the world. The platform can hold 30,000 people in the seating area and can sustain the load of 1,070 tonnes.  It was designed in 2 years, built in 13 months, and started its operation in 2007.

Singapore Flyer
A ferris wheel. Yeah, like those in London, Chicago, or Melbourne, but this one is sure the tallest one. With the height of 165 m, people riding it can see all spots of Singapore, plus a few more area of Indonesia and Malaysia, from above. It can take up to 7.3 million passengers per year with 30 minutes time per trip. It was opened since 11 February 2008 and has suffered from two minor and one major breakdowns. The rotation was changed to clockwise direction since August 2008 due to fengshui reasons. *to get rid of the bad luck, maybe?*

Marina Barrage
A dam. It is actually a reservoir for supplying water across Singapore. Taking the use of Kallang and Serangoon Basin, Marina Barrage has been serving the fresh water of Singapore demand since 2008. It provides water supply, flood control, and life attraction area for people.

Double Helix Bridge

A pedestrian walkway bridge. And it is sure very attractive, with the design resembling DNA which represents life and continuity, renewal, everlasting abundance, and growth. And guess, this bridge is the first double helix bridge in the world building with a very special stainless steel to prevent corrosion. Besides the pedestrian brisge, there will be a six-lane vehicle bridge as well. To complement other structures in Marina Bay, it will start to operate soon and the opening ceremony as well as the announcement of the name of the bridge will be held tomorrow, 24th April 2010. There will be some performances, attractions, and also fireworks.

Marina Bay Sands
A casino. The second integrated resort in Singapore after the Resort World Sentosa. Being developed by Las Vegas Sands, it will serve as a great tourist attraction. Marina Bay Sands consists of three 55-storey hotel towers connected at the top by a 1-hectare sky park named Sands Skypark. The sky park will have the highest swimming pool in the world, located 975 m above the ground level. The swimming pool is designed to hold 1440 cubic meter of water and composed by steel. In front of the tower, there will be a Theatre Block, a Convention and Exhibition Facility Block, and a Casino Block. A lotus shape Art-Science Museum will be located next to the three blocks with retractable roof. And it will be opened soon, on 27th April 2010.

The New Waterfront Promenade
A walking patform. It's about 3.5 km long and it is scheduled to be completed in mid 2010. People can walk around Marina Bay by passing Colley Quay, One Fullerton, The Esplanade, The Float @ Marina Bay, Double Helix Bridge, and Marina Bay Sands along the Promenade.

The Fullerton Heritage
A rejuvenation. Clifford Pier and Harbour Branch Building will be rejuvenated to become leisure, F&B, and dining area. It is meant to link the modern city to its history since history really gives impact to how the city stands now. It is scheduled to open starting 2010.

International Cruise Terminal @ Marina South
A cruise terminal. This terminal has been built since 2008 and will start its operation in 2011. The capacity will be double compared to current berthing in Singapore. Later, it will be able to provide an area for four berths!!! Singapore is targeted to be a major cruise hub in the world.

Gardens by the Bay
A complex of parks. Three parks will be built around the area of Marina Bay. They are the Garden at Marina South, the Garden at Marina East, and the Garden at Marina Centre. The Garden at Marina South will link to Marina Barrage and it will have an artificial tree called Super Tree acting as hanging garden, rainwater catch area, night time lighting, bars and restaurants venue, and shading for the pedestrians. The Garden at Marina East is a waterfront park along the Marina Channel. Later, some recreational water leisure activities will be provided in this area. The Garden at Marina Center is a 10 hectares long strip of land along the Marina Promenade. This area will link the Promenade with the other two parts of Gardens by the Bay. The three parks will be completed by the end of 2011.

Okay, and I can't wait for all of them to be completed. I always love to see buildings with nice designs and good ambiance surrounding them. I even think about going for tomorrow's Double Helix Bridge Opening, but it will sure be very crowded there. Can I tahan?

I have spent my whole afternoon blogging and the time is showing 4.22pm, one hour before the weekend. I have no more mood to do anything and now I am confused about what to do to kill one hour time since this post is going to an end. Okay, don't mind me. I will find a way. :)

And, I really cannot wait for the Marina Bay to be something like this!

Although now, it's still something like this:

Singapore is sure HOT!!!

U're the best I've ever had
~FeN~

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