29 August 2020 - Time really flies, August is soon coming to an end. With international flights suspended for most countries due to COVID-19, this year is really a difficult period for travel lovers. To cure the wanderlust in me and to help future travellers to rediscover Singapore's photogenic places, I made a fresh video series of photography walking tour in Singapore through first person point of view (POV). Here are 5 scenic walking routes that you could explore to rediscover the beauty of Singapore.
1. Singapore River & Marina Bay
Start: Raffles Place MRT Station
End: Esplanade MRT Station
Walking duration: around 20 minutes
Singapore River and Marina Bay are undoubtably two of the most popular places most frequented by travellers. The places of interests include Fullerton Hotel, Merlion Park, Jubilee Bridge, Marina Bay Sands, The Esplanade, Marina Square and the latest Apple Marina Bay Sands store. This route is perfect to have a first impression of Singapore featuring many of the most iconic landmarks.
2. Henderson Waves & Mount Faber
Start: Henderson Waves
End: Harbourfront MRT Station
Walking duration: around 25 minutes
At 36 metres above the ground, the Henderson Waves bridge was completed in 2008 and is the highest pedestrian bridge in Singapore. It provides easy access to Mount Faber Park as well. This route is a popular scenic trail for locals to exercise while enjoying the panoramic landscape view of the Radin Mas and Keppel Bay area. The places of interests include Henderson Waves, Mount Faber Park and Marang Trail.
3. Marina Bay Promenade
Start: The Promontory
End: ArtScience Museum
Walking duration: around 15 minutes
The Marina Bay Waterfront Promenade is one of my personal favourite spot, I visit here from time to time whenever I feel like photographing the city. The promenade is a long stretch of pedestrian walkway in front of the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. From here you can enjoy a great view of the Singapore downtown with many of the iconic commercial buildings across the bay. With many cyclist and runners and large areas of glass facades, it is also a great place for some abstract street photography.
The places of interests you could photograph here include Fullerton & Fullerton Bay Hotel, Merlion Park, ArtScience Museum and the upcoming Apple Marina Bay Sands store. The photo tour was filmed just before the reveal of identity for the 3rd Apple Store so you could have a look of what the dome structure was like in its unadorned state.
4. Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area
Start: Outram Park MRT Station
End: Tanjong Pagar MRT Station
Walking duration: around 20 minutes
The Tanjong Pagar Conservation Area is most iconic for its rows of historic shophouses along Bukit Pasoh Road, Neil Road and Tanjong Pagar Road. Strictest form of building conservation is practiced in the district in order to maintain the low-rise scale and ambient charm of the district. The beauty of such contrast in density is best appreciated from a vantage point, which I will show you along the walking tour. Besides the shophouses, Tanjong Pagar is also filled with modern skyscrapers, such as The Pinnacle at Duxton, Guoco Tower, CapitaGreen and CapitaSpring, which will be completed in 2021. This is a route for architecture lovers.
5. Clarke Quay & Boat Quay
Start: Clarke Quay MRT Station
End: Raffles Place MRT Station
Walking duration: around 20 minutes
This scenic route covers two beautiful quays along Singapore River: Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Both Clarke Quay and Boat Quay are conserved landmark with adaptive reuse of historic shophouses into restaurants and pubs. Besides the shophouses along the river, the route are also covered places of interest such as the Old Hill Street Police Station, Central Fire Station and Funan Shopping Mall. My original plan for visiting Funan is to visit the rooftop garden as it offers a great vantage point to photograph the aerial scenery from both the Hill Street and Singapore River area, unfortunately it is currently closed due to COVID-19 prevention measures, so I included a few archive shots that I have taken last year instead. This is a route for architecture lovers.
That's it for the recommended walking tours for now, volume 2 of this article would come soon!
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