Singapore’s Clark Quay
I must admit that it was my first time visiting Singapore. Thanks to my friend Jaz who let me squatter at his apartment during my sojourn at this famed “Fine” city, it sure lowered my travel expenses since Singapore’s cost of living is quite high. It sure was exciting seeing those myriad pastel colored houses, double decked buses and sanitized streets when the MRT got out of the tunnel from Changi Airport.
Dynamic lighted umrella roofs with phallic inspired(?) air ducts
I only have a limited time to truly explore the city after we got back from Vietnam. My impression of Singapore is really a small country where everything is in place or order. It’s an architect’s playground with dynamic designed buildings. Everything really is well presented here. I mean, the river isn’t that good looking, it even looks like the “Bagong Ilog” in Pasig, but they somehow managed to make it “Look Good,” which is clever actually. They don’t have much of a major heritage here, but they make it a point to make it well known by putting informative markers which makes them more interesting.
Clark Quay’s central fountain
Since it was raining when we came back, I only got to go at night on my first day of touring. And what really caught my sight during the river walk was the UFO like structures of Clark Quay (pronounced as Key) from afar. It was changing color and there were also interesting saucer like dining areas on the side.
Brit inspired structures with lily-pad dining tables on the side
I just learned that Clark Quay recently had a whopping SGD88 million dollar facelift. I didn’t know what this placed looked like before but those giant umbrella roofs structures were very impressive. I just don’t know about those air ducts. They seem like giant phalluses spread out into the Quay. The architect/designer must have been dreaming of Penile-land when he /she designed this?
UFO like dynamic roofs view from Read Bridge
I read that this area used to be a popular port of trade during the 1800s. Right now it’s one major entertainment and dining hub. Located here is the “Adult-oriented” show of Crazy Horse Paris where semi-nude girls do a 100-minute spectacle on stage. But the Price is whoah! Then there’s this 12,200 sqm two story UK club house, Ministry of Sound. I hope that some mags would ask me to cover this. Hehehe. There’s also the Gmax bungee, but at that time it was closed since a recent operation broke a cable during take-off. Fortunately, the car is still fastened on the ground, or else it would shoot higher than it should.
Ferdz Decena is an award-winning travel photographer, writer and blogger. His works has found print in publications such as Singapore Airlines’s Silver Kris, Philippine Airlines’ Mabuhay, Cebu Pacific’s Smile and Seair InFlight. He has also lent his expertise to various organizations like the Oceana Philippines, Lopez Group Foundation, Save the Children and World Vision, contributing quality images for their marketing materials.
