Downtown Singapore Photos
Wed., August 24, 2005

Various photos from my wanderings downtown, among the tall buildings and the Singapore riverfront.

One of the government buildings in the foreground.

The statue is one of two of Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore.

The hotel in the background, at Raffles Place, is one of the tallest in the world.

The Fullerton Hotel, in front of the Singapore River.  Note the boat.

Suspension bridge over the Singapore River.

Bridge built by Scottish engineers, exactly 100 years before I was born.

The river and quays in downtown.  The low, colorful buildings were once used for unloading ships, but now are clubs and restaurants.

The Bank of China, complete with Foo Dogs (?).

Tiger Beer kegs stacked up in the Tiger Beer truck!

The Fullerton Hotel.  And taking the tunnel beneath it...

..you pass under a highway, and come out...

...at the Merlion Park!  There he is, the symbol of Singapore, with the Esplanade (Singapore's answer to the Sydney Opera House) in the background, across the water.

The Merlion from the other direction, with the skyline behind him.

Flowery bridge in front of the Esplanade.   And here, below, is the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles, at the spot where he first landed in Singapore.  This is the popular angle for photographing his statue-- I waited behind two other people to take the picture.

I love how the buildings come right down to the riverfront.  But I don't know how my sunglasses got so crooked...!

Up close at the quay where the clubs and restaurants are (note the umbrellas and tables along the edge of the waterfront).

Government buildings.

August marked the 40th anniversary of Singapore's independence, and these sorts of banners and flags were everywhere.

I love their birthday slogan:  "The Future is Ours to Make."

And then there is this:  McDonalds delivers 24/7 in Singapore.  Good lord.  Because, if you just have to have that cheeseburger at 3 a.m., they can fix you up!

Beautiful church downtown.

And one of the ubiquitous Starbucks, this one between the City Hall subway station (to the right) and Raffles Place mall and hotel complex (to the left).

This is either the church or Chijmes at night.  I honestly am not sure which.  I think it is Chijmes.  Chijmes used to be a church (Church of the Holy Infant Jesus, or CHIJ), so, when they renovated it into a shopping and dining complex, they named it Chijmes.

Me at Chijmes.

Me watching soccer at Father Flanagan's, the Irish pub in Chijmes.  Great food and beer!