My flight over it was time to take to an older form of transport, a bumboat for a short cruise down the river that runs through the heart of Singapore and around Marina Bay. Incidentally my dictionary informs me that the name bumboat has nothing to do with the ’rock-hard seats’ on which we were sitting but was the name of a small vessel used for carrying provisions for sale to moored or anchored ships. The term originally denoted a scavenger’s boat removing ships’ refuse and often also bringing produce for sale.
Our bumboat was driven by electric motors to cut down the noise and exhaust pollution.
To help with your orientation please see the map of the Marina that shows the location of some of the sites that I’m about to mention. You may have to use your computer to enlarge the map photo.
The first main photo is of the Boat Quay that was the original dockside of the harbour dating from the time Raffles established Singapore. The Marina is manmade since the sea, as I have indicated is to the extreme right of the map on the other side of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel that also stands on reclaimed land.
It is said that the houses are of different heights on the Boat Quay reflecting the wealth of the individual merchants.
Next comes that iconic building of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel with the Fullerton Hotel - actually the old Post Office from British Colonial Days – in the foreground.
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