TRIP REPORT: Up to the Marina Bay Sands Skypark – Taking the Long Way to Singapore

Up to the Marina Bay Sands Skypark
Taking the long way (and back) to Singapore

Sigh. Onto the two sections of this trip report that will be the most painful for me to write. This deals with the happy times.

The story of the stolen and returned iPhone is coming next.

In this adventure

• I needed a break
• 02:40 on the coach? Nothing changes, with Heathrow Terminal 5 and British Airways South Lounge
• BA776 London Heathrow to Stockholm Arlanda (Club Europe)
• An afternoon in Stockholm featuring ABBA The Museum 
• Off to Stockholm Bromma, AY840 Stockholm Bromma to Helsinki Vantaa with NoRRA (Economy Class)
• A Rapid Helsinki Transit and The Finnair Lounge
• AY099 Helsinki Vantaa to Hong Kong International with Finnair (Business Class)
• Transiting Hong Kong and Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Lounge
• CX715 (AY5855) Hong Kong International to Singapore Changi Terminal 4 with Cathay Pacific (Business Class)
• Into Singapore, IBIS Budget Crystal
• The Mercure Hotel, Bugis
• Boating around the Singapore River
• Exploring Hawker Markets and random fooding around Singapore
• The Best Camera is the One You Have With You – Exploring The Gardens by the Bay
• Up to the Marina Bay Sands Skypark…
• …and the fallout of a stolen and returned iPhone
• Back to Changi Airport the Pokemon Centre at the Jewel and Terminal 4
• 3K513 (AY6379) Singapore Changi to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi (Jetstar Asia Economy Class)
• One night in Bangkok and the Avagard Capsule Hotel, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
• An early morning at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi and The Miracle Lounge, D Pier
• AY142 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Helsinki Vantaa with Finnair in Business Class
• Out of Vantaa Airport and into Helsinki… and a little beyond
• Holiday Inn, Helsinki Airport
• Early morning at Helsinki Vantaa Airport and The Finnair Schengen Lounge
• AY841 Helsinki Vantaa to Stockholm Bromma with NoRRA (Economy Class)
• The slow return to Arlanda Airport (with a military band)
• D84459 Stockholm Arlanda to London Gatwick with Norweigan Air Shuttle
• How to get home… coach or train?
• Sometimes, Simple Isn’t Needed… Or Wanted

Before you go

For those who want to save more than a few pennies for Marina Bay Sands, I have a very hot tip that can save you money.

You’ll need to:

• Become a Sands Lifestyle member
• Book your tickets online

Normally, The Skypark at Marina Bay Sands charges S$36 for an adult ticket and S$32 for a child (what the attraction calls “Peak Times”).

With a Sands Lifestyle membership card, that drops to S$26.40 for an adult, and S$23.60 for a child.

I’ll take those savings any day of the week, versus full price, all for a little bit of information.

Another tip is not to come here on a Saturday without a reserved ticket – otherwise, they will turn you away at peak times.

The tickets come in an electronic form – so ensure you have a copy of the PDF ready for scanning when going through the queue.

Once through the queue, we come to the forced photo spot. For families and groups, wonderful. For me… nahhhhhh. I’ve always preferred the other end of the camera, taking pictures and faking happiness. For a group or family, it might be worth it (and if you’ve brought the bubbly package, it is included).

With that past, it was time to head up into the lift and up to the SkyPark.

The SkyPark is on the 56th floor of the Marina Bay Sands – with only hotel guests allowed access to the infinity pool on the 57th floor (one keycard per person).

Whilst I can live without infinity pools. I can’t do without good views.

The Gardens by the Bay, SuperTree Grove and more.

SkyPark offers 270-degree views of the city, looking out to the Singapore Straits, over to the ECP and the northwest, to the city and the central business district – and if you look a bit to the left of the CBD, you’ll see a container port too.

The CBD.

Ports

For me, I wanted the perfect dusk and nighttime photos of the city. For this, I’d use my Canon EOS R, with its 24-105mm lens. I’d prefer something like a 35mm lens for this sort of work – mainly as it’s much more landscape than normal.

However, the beauty of a zoom lens is just that – you can pick into the detail. It’s also where a full-frame sensor comes into play, allowing you to pick out parts of a frame and reframe it as needed.

The Durian

Customs House

A certain fruit store…. that I’d become intimately familiar with for all the wrong reasons later

Louis Vuitton Darling?

For me, the lights started when the sun began to set. I do enjoy the challenge of evening and night photography – forcing me to think a little more than usual.

As we now go to the ambient light of the city, it becomes a lot more fun… well at least for me.

Onto the high point for me – dusk. That wonderful point where there’s just a little light to play with, and you’re relying on the rest of the world to light things up as it turns to night.

However, as we know, a camera phone can do a lot these days. My phone of choice continues be to the iPhone 14 Pro – either using the straight Camera app or ProCam (which is useful for exposing some of the more mail controls)

More than passable.

It is a heavy tourist area (one of the most touristy bits of the island – other than the airport I suspect), thus the speaking and listening of multiple tongues is common here.

The last photo from the original iPhone 4 Pro…

And I was getting some reasonable shots.

Until. Something went for a walk. Where the hell is my iPhone?

Next:

… The fallout of Marina Bay Sands and life at an Apple Store

… sigh.

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