When visiting a city, walking, going on a bus tour or being taken by a local to the famous places is the usual way of seeing the sights. But in Singapore, getting out and about on the water in a variety of craft is a way of seeing the city from a different perspective.
Take a Singapore River Cruise
Traditionally, bumboats plied the Singapore River, carrying cargo to and from the godowns (warehouses) that lined its banks. Nowadays they take tourists on cruises along the river and into Marina Bay.
Built of teak, with brightly painted bows, the bumboats cruise between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. each day. The cruises take 30 or 45 minutes. There is an commentary in English that points out the main sights. You can buy tickets, and board the boats, from several kiosks along the riverside.
On a Singapore River Cruise you will see:
- the original landing place of Sir Stamford Raffles
- the Victorian buildings of the Colonial District on the north side
- the colourful restored shophouses and restaurants at Clarke Qay
- Marina Bay with its Esplanade Park, theatres and Marina Bay Sands complex
- the statue of the Merlion, Singapore's half lion, half fish tourism symbol
- sculptures along the riverbanks
- the restored warehouses and shophouses on Boat Quay
- the skyscrapers of the Financial District
Another craft that cruises along the river is the bright orange, open-sided HiPPO. This modern boat is hybrid powered and eco-friendly.
See Singapore From a Cruise Ship
Cruise ships dock at the Harbourfront Cruise Terminal near Sentosa Island on Singapore's south side.
On the approach to Singapore, the ships pass very close by Sentosa and come into dock by the new Keppel Marina.
The Star Cruises ship, SuperStar Virgo, cruises year round from Singapore on Asian itineraries. Other ships come as part of their round the world, repositioning or Asian cruises.
From the deck of a cruise ship approaching Singapore you will see:
- Fort Siloso and Underwater World on Sentosa Island
- the cable cars going from Mount Faber to Sentosa
- the unusual bridge at Keppel Marina
- the futuristic, 'bending' tower buildings near the foreshore
Go on a Harbour Cruise on a Chinese Junk
An unusual craft for a harbour cruise is a modern replica of an Imperial Chinese junk from the Ming Dynasty. Brightly painted, with a roof shaped like a pagoda, golden dragons curling along its sides and a bow shaped like a tiger's head, the Imperial Cheng Ho vessel carries 200 passengers.
Three cruises are offered: the Morning Glory at 10:30 a.m., the Dragon cruise at 3 p.m. for high tea, and the Imperial dinner leaving at 6:30 p.m. The cruises take approximately 2 hours 30 minutes.
All cruises leave from Marina South Pier. You will need to take a taxi to get there, as, at the time writing, the area around the wharves is a massive construction zone on reclaimed land.
On an Imperial Cheng Ho cruise during the day you will see:
- the hundreds of ships moored just offshore Singapore
- the world's busiest port, Tanjong Pagar container port
- the coast of Sentosa Island
- a stopover at Kusu Island to visit a Chinese temple, a Malay shrine and a turtle sanctuary
- the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan across the Philip Channel
The evening cruises on the Imperial Cheng Ho do not go to Kusu Island. Instead, they time their passage around Sentosa Island so passengers can view the 'Songs of the Sea fireworks display while enjoying an international buffet dinner on board the junk.
Ride in a Sampan at Marina Bay Sands
This ride on the water in Singapore will especially appeal to children. In the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex there is a long canal, bordered by walkways and crossed by bridges. It is vaguely reminiscent of the canals of Venice.
You can ride along this canal in a sampan, the traditional dinghy-like craft of South East Asia. Taking two passengers at a time in each little boat, the uniformed oarsmen, who wear coolie hats, steer the sampans by moving the one long oar from side to side. It helps that the oar has a black rubber flipper attached to the end!
On a sampan in Marina Bay Sands, you will see:
- locals and tourists shopping at the luxury stores such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren
- people taking tea at the TWG tea salon that is built on a bridge over the canal
- the underneath of the giant, glass-bottomed, circular waterfall that roofs the food court at the end of the canal
- the delight on the children's faces as they ride along
Taking to the water to do some sightseeing is a chance to get out and about around Singapore and see it from a different perspective. With the variety of craft available, it is a fun thing to do when you are on vacation.
Wendy Craig - Wendy is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies and travel books in New Zealand and U.K.
