Supertree Grove At Night

Supertree Grove At Night

These man-made Supertrees are inspired by mature rainforest trees, and provide a home to a great array of plant life. Vertical panels are installed in the trunks of the trees, and are planted with species of bromeliads, orchids, ferns and flowering climbers, all of which do well in a tropical climate. 

Wendy and I have visited Supertree Grove during an earlier visit, and enjoyed the exhilarating music and light show that plays each night. On that occasion, we stayed on the ground, dwarfed by the Supertrees that reach up to 50 meters high; one day, we shall book tickets to the Observatory and experience them up close and personal, where we'll also have some spectacular views of Marina Bay. 

I am sure it will be a memorable experience, and it will be wonderful if we can come back to Singapore one day.

On this visit, as dusk was falling, I took another photograph of the Singapore Flyer, looking through the windows of the Hotel, and Sogu, the lovely chap in charge on Floor 38, took a photo of Mother and Daughter enjoying a glass of Champagne during the Happy Hour. This was followed by the Supertree Grove light shows at 7.45 and 8.45.

I know Supertree Grove is rather distant from the Hotel, but as it is in the centre 

of these pictures, hopefully they will give some idea of the changing light show:

 Blue, Orange, Green, Purple, Red, Yellow

And now...! Because as shown  in the photographs of the illuminated Supertrees appear

as small dots in the middle distance, two pictures have been enhanced and enlarged 

to show everything in more detail:

Multi-coloured display and orange

And, in the words of Bugs Bunny from Loony Tunes cartoons:

"That's all, folks!"

The Singapore Flyer Structure: A Montage

The Singapore Flyer Structure: A Montage

This is a little selection of further photographs from our flight on the Singapore Flyer - a great experience!

In our capsule, climbing higher

A "bird's eye view" of passengers in the adjacent capsule!

...And showing the elegant structure of the flyer...

The lattice work and capsule

Nearly at the apex!

And panoramic views from the top

It must have taken a lot of engineering to work all this out!

The Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer 

My first experience of a giant Ferris wheel was back in April 1968, in Vienna. I have never had much of a head for heights, so it was with some trepidation I went to the Prater, and had my first view of the Riesenrad.

Whilst I was dithering about whether or not I should buy a ticket, I got chatting to a lady and she said she enjoyed going on the wheel; she had not been on it for some time, so would be happy to join me, and keep me company! So, thus emboldened, I bought a ticket; my new friend bought her ticket, and as the next available car came around, we climbed aboard. 

I immediately realised the Viennese Riesenrad was nothing like the big wheels I'd seen in ordinary fairgrounds - the open ones, where you sit two abreast in seats, with legs dangling into thin air - this was enclosed, cosy, and felt very safe; and the views were spectacular!

I watched as we rose higher and higher, and enjoyed the changing panorama as we neared the apex, chatting away to the lovely lady who had given me confidence to go on the ride. Once we were over the top and started the descent, I was really delighted to have overcome my fear, and by the time we reached the ground, I had made a good friend, and we had exchanged addresses. 

Over the years, even though I was back to Durban, we kept in touch, writing regularly to each other. After I returned to England in 1970, I was also able to visit her in Vienna, and meet all her family - a very happy reunion! and I still correspond with her wider family, and have visited them in Vienna as well. 

Since then, I've also enjoyed various "flights" on the London Eye - that's a great experience, too, and we have booked trips both during the day and at night. It's a completely different experience when it's dark, a wonderful time to enjoys the changing nights scenes, looking over London and up and down the Thames, watching all the lights twinkling on the river and all the buildings lit up; so when Wendy said we should take a trip on the Singapore Flyer, I was very keen to go.

Wendy has enjoyed several trips on the Singapore Flyer, and soon organised the tickets for us. There are information halls which provide a history of the creation of the Singapore Flyer, and we took a little time to read about it, but we were more interested in enjoying the actual flight! and I hope the following photographs will give my readers some idea of what we saw during our journey. As I expected, the views were superb; and on any occasion when I enjoy a ride on a giant wheel, I am reminded of my friend all those years ago in Vienna, who first gave me the confidence to step aboard!

Lush vegetation around the Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer Information Halls

Our capsule approacheth!

\

Our capsule chariot is nearly here...

And we are up, up and away - on our way!

Part of the Singaporean Grande Prix track

A bird's eye view of a Singapore Flyer capsule

And now we can have the same view as those birds!

Wendy and Alexandra enjoying the ride

Alexandra with a view of the Pan Pacific Hotel

The Duck Tour

The Duck Tour

Oh, this was fun! and informative, and splashy - although I didn't get wet as the duck left the tarmac and headed on to the water...!

Heading for the Duck tour

Our Duck awaits!

Welcome Aboard!

Safety notice... and the reminder, "No Yawning Allowed!"

From the Driver's seat

Wendy had already told me about the previous tour she had been on, and how interesting it had been - every tour is a bit different; obviously, the basic information is the same, but each guide has a personal script to follow, and emphasises the parts that interest him or her the most. On a previous visit, Wendy has also enjoyed a City Tour by bus; for now, we were contented with this delightful DUCK!

Our guide gave her passengers a comprehensive commentary, in English and Mandarin; she had a good understanding of the history of Singapore, but even more knowledge about the Bay and how it provides drinking water for the City State. Out on the road, our driver/captain steered the craft past interesting areas flanking the Bay:

And then we got on to the water...

The Singapore Flyer coming into view

Choppy water by the Mer Lion

And the first time I saw the Mer Lion was in 2001, in Sentosa!

That was such a charming trip; on arrival back at base, we returned to the Tour offices, where Wendy bought me a fluffy yellow duck to remember it by. 

And now a little personal information: I love ducks. As a child, I was not into dolls and other such mundane, boring toys; for me, ducks were - and indeed, still are - the epitome of delightful imagination.

On regular trips from East Africa back to the UK, we usually spent most of a "long leave" up north in Lindale, near Grange-over-Sands. There was a large duck pond in Grange, and I think I have written about this before, but it will probably bear repeating: I had some pennies to buy stale bread, and I would go to the pond and feed the ducks. They got to know me, and would come flapping and quacking out of the water, and running on to the grass, pecking at the bottoms of my corduroy trousers, impatient to be fed. 

These excursions are some of the happiest of my childhood! and I am sure it doesn't need me to reiterate, I never eat duck.

When I was 12, I even wrote a little play called "The Ghost Dog's Howl," featuring ducks and Pekingese dogs. Picture the scene: Set in Peking, there was a looming disaster for ducks, because there were no worms to eat, and they were starving. Calling upon their ancient ancestors, they asked for help... and their plea was answered by a Pekingese, summoning up the Ghost Dog's Howl. When this marvellous sound was heard, there was as much food as the ducks could eat, and so disaster was averted. 

On our trip back by sea from England to Dar-es-Salaam in 1958, I managed to build a little stage and some scenery, and press-ganged another child into helping me perform the play. I thought I'd be lucky to get one show out of it, but it went down so well with all the other passengers, we had to give a repeat performance. 

Some long while ago, I found the script for it - I shall have to look it out again, type it up and perhaps one day it will enjoy a new production!