The Marina Bay, in the central area of Singapore, is a 360 hectare extension to the adjacent Central Business District. It is also the new downtown of Singapore - a mix of uses for this area, including commercial, residential, hotel and entertainment, built on reclaimed land.

In 1969, land reclamation work to create 360 hectares of prime waterfront site began at Marina Bay. Reclamation work was completed in 1992. The reclaimed land forms what is today the Marina Centre and Marina South areas, with a 3.5 km Waterfront Promenade around Marina Bay. 

In 2008, Marina Barrage was built, converting the basin into a new downtown freshwater Marina Reservoir, providing water supply, flood control and a new lifestyle attraction. It won a Superior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers in 2009. 

The new reservoir, the fifteenth, provides another source of drinking water for Singapore, as well as a stable water level for a variety of water activities and events. The barrage will also prevent flooding.

This building which is shaped like - some say lotus flower, some say the palm of your hand, is the Maritime Art Museum.

The Helix linking the Bayfront to the Marina Centre. There's the Marina Bay Sands in the back to the right

The round building in the water - that's the recently opened Apple store. I hadn't had a chance to go and have a look.

A panoramic view of part of the Marina Bay. It looks beautiful with the lights. Unfortunately, the photo doesn't do the scene justice. It's only an mobile phone camera after all.

A sculpture of a family on the bay.

Lanterns. It's the Mid-Autumn festival aka Mooncake festival aka Lantern festival tomorrow. Usually, there will be many activities along the bay, but this year, all activities were cancelled due to the Covid-19.

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The Singapore Flyer

The Singapore Flyer is a giant observation wheel in downtown Singapore. It opened in 2008. It has 28 air-conditioned capsules, each able to accommodate 28 passengers, and incorporates a three-story terminal building.

Known as The Wheel to the locals, it has an overall height of 165 metres. It looked similar to the London Eye drawing criticism that it lacked originality.

I was down in the area the other day, so I went to take a look to see what’s happening there. As expected, it was not in operation due to a lack of tourists at this time of Covid-19. This is not something locals want to do again and again. So for the moment, all operations are halted, and the place deserted. 

A capsule on display. This one shows a dinner setting. You can pre-book the capsules for special occasions, like wedding dinners, birthday dinners etc... I am not sure of the details, but I am sure as long as you can afford the costs, your request will be accommodated, as long as it is within the law and does not compromise the safety measures.

I believe the best time to take a ride – apart on a clear day, is when the sun is setting, and the lights are coming on.

Here are some images of the Singapore Flyer and afar. 

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Makansutra Gluttons Bay

Makansutra Gluttons Bay offers hawker food fare of Singapore. There are twelve stalls in this open air food place. The stalls were, supposedly, picked from the best of hawker food stalls in Singapore. My personal opinion, from having dined there a couple of times is that they are all right, but certainly not necessarily the best.  

It is said the Makansutra Gluttons Bay can sit over 500 guests. In the days before the pandemic, they are always very busy. Now, like all business, they are very badly affected by the lack of tourists arrival.

The Makansutra gluttons Bay is in a very nice location, a few meters away from the Marina Bay. You can have a wonder along the bay and then go for dinner, or you can have dinner and then have a wonder along the bay. Of course, you can also take a walk in the late afternoon, dine, and then relax and enjoy the evening view of the Marina bay. The view of the Marina Bay, with the skyline and the backdrop are picturesque and very different in the day and in the evening, when the lights come on. 

Anyway, there was a promotion of ‘all you can eat buffet for $19 nett’ per person, at one of the stalls. Rarely does hawker stalls do buffets. In fact, this is the first time I heard of it. So, my friend and I thought we would go and have a look, out of curiosity, and maybe give it a try, if we like what we see. 

We went, we saw, we ate! This was the Special Promotion. For $19, you can have everything on the menu, as much as you want.

These were what we had.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Indonesia Lemongrass Chicken

Har Cheong Gai Chop - (Chicken chop dipped with Prawn Paste)

Mongolian Pork Ribs

Baby Kailan

Hong Kong Noodles

Onion Omelette

All washed down with a jug of Tiger Beer between us.

This was the scene when we finished - at about half past seven pm. The place would be buzzing with people and activities under normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances, these are difficult times.

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Flower of Prosperity

A bloom from one of my Adenium obesum plants.

Adenium obesum is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family. It is also known as desert rose. Over here they are known Prosperity Flower or Flower of Prosperity. Due to its resemblance to a miniature frangipani tree and its popularity in bonsai, it is also sometimes known as Japanese frangipani.

It is an evergreen, or drought-deciduous succulent shrub. The leaves are clustered toward the tips of the shoots. The flowers are tubular, with five petals, resembling those of other related genera such as Plumeria and Nerium. The flowers tend to be red and pink, often with a whitish blush outward of the throat. 

Adenium obesum is a popular houseplant and bonsai in temperate regions. It likes the sun, and doesn’t like it when there is too much water. I have killed quite a few of them by not realizing this earlier. Luckily they are easy to grow. Just cut a section of the stem off the plant, stick it in the pot, and it will grow. 

They can grow from seeds or grafting too. But, it is easier to just snip a section of the stem and stick it in a pot. That’s what I usually do.

Adeniums are appreciated for their colorful flowers, and also for their unusual, thick caudices. This happens over time. Just keep trimming, and over time, the caudices will grow thicker. They can be grown for many years in a pot. 

The sap of the Adenium obesum plant is toxic, and apparently, it is used as arrow poison throughout Africa for hunting large game. It would not be a good idea to plant this if you keep dogs at home.

There are usually about five flowers in a bloom, but in this instance, there was only one flower. Although there were buds in the early stages, they didn’t mature to bloom. Maybe it had something to do with it being a new plant and this is the first bloom. 

This is a plant grown from a stem I snipped off another plant. I just stick the section of the stem into the pot and it grew two branches. 

This was a bloom from some time ago.

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Paraprosdokians

A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anti-climax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists.

“Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.” - Wikipedia

Enjoy this selection of paraprosdokians and have a great weekend!

I found a concert ticket nailed to a tree, so I took it. You never know when you might need a nail. - Unknown 

Just burned 2000 calories. That’s the last time I leave brownies in the oven while I nap. - Unknown 

Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only books I have in my library are books that other folks have lent me. - Anatole France

A bore is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have enlightened him with ours. - Malcolm Forbes

A good wife always forgives her husband when she is wrong. - Rodney Dangerfield

Children really brighten up a household. They never turn the lights off. - Ralph Bus

I exercise strong self-control. I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast. - W.C. Fields

The family that stays together probably has only one car. - Knofel Staton 

I’m sorry I hurt your feelings when I called you stupid. I really thought you already knew. - Unknown

If at first you don’t succeed, order pizza. - Unknown

Everyone should believe in something. I believe I should go to the beach. - Unknown

It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch? - A.A. Milne

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Clouds

I love clouds. As a kid, I would look to the sky at the fluffy ‘cotton wool’ and wonder how these ‘cotton wools’ got up there. Sometimes, the clouds resembled some animals I had seen or known, and I would try to look for shapes of other animals I knew, or I would imagined them. I liked that the clouds changed patterns, so that they are always different. 

I still love looking skyward at the clouds. The sky resembles a big canvas to me. Every time I look up there’s the clouds to entertain me. Sometimes, it is a bit bare. But, here in the tropics, the sky is never bare for long. 

White and blue are pleasing colours to me. And up there in the sky, there’s plenty of white, blue and varying shades of white and blue. Lovely! Every time, I look up at them, I want to snap a picture. I had to convince myself that they are just clouds – passing, and really nothing to marvel at. 

Anyway, here are some snaps of clouds in the sky. See any animals in the clouds formation? 

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