Basi Singapore Story - Part III

My 3rd day started with a delicious lontong breakfast at a hawker style food court. It was so superb, my mouth waters just thinking about it! I can't remember where exactly we had it but it was about 20 minutes drive from our hotel in Raffles Boulevard.

We then headed back to Mandarin Oriental, to join a technical tour at the Marina Barrage. The Marina Barrage is a dam spanning the Marina Channel, forming Singapore's first reservoir in the city. Being the 15th reservoir in Singapore, Marina Reservoir has the largest and most urbanised catchment at 10,000 hectars or 1/6 the size of Singapore. Its purpose is to increase the existing water catchment from 1/2 to 2/3 of Singapore by 2011.

Marina Barrage

The Marina Barrage is the result of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's vision when he envisaged damming the mouth of the Marina Channel to create a freshwater reservoir. It incorporates a 3-in-1 concept to achieve 3 benefits i.e. water supply, flood control and lifestyle attraction. From the sky view, the barrage looks like two number 9s linked together, which potrays the Chinese sign of prosperity. There are several must-stops at the Marina Barrage namely the Barrage itself, the Green Roof, the Central Courtyard and Water Playground, the Solar Panels, the Pump House, the Arts Trail and the Sustainable Singapore Gallery.

It's just a reservoir but they manage to make it into a tourist attraction

The Sustainable Singapore Gallery houses six galleries, each sharing a different aspect of sustainable story. It's filled with fun interactive and multimedia elements showcasing Singapore's efforts and achievements towards environmentally sustainable developments. Here, you can learn ways to make use of available resources to meet the needs of the community for development while preserving the environment.

Explanation by our tour guide in the Water Gallery



Sustainable Singapore Gallery

Demonstration on how the Marina Barrage works

The Marina Barrage is landscaped to integrate with the surrounding environment. The landscaped roof not only provides cover for the structure of the building, it is also a recreational park open to the public. As part of the Marina Barrage's eco-friendly feature, the grass helps to lower the building's temperature so that less energy is used.

Singapore skyline from the Green Roof

SOM delegation

See the three buildings at the background?

Apakah?

Itu ler future Asia's biggest casino..

On the Marina Bridge

As we are leaving, more visitors poured in

We left the Marina Barrage at about 10 a.m. as my boss and Dr. H had to greet the Minister at the airport. I, on the other hand, took the opportunity to go to Charles & Keith Boutique and Marina Square. I had to wait for an hour before it opens. And I purchased 3 bags..sigh! But this was my only purchase. Considering I have bought stuffs for my hubby and kids, I deserve one myself, kan? Hehehe! Actually I purchased 2 handbags, the other one is actually a belated birthday gift for my biras. The bag I bought for her is similar to one of mine, hers is in purple, mine in brown.

(Note: My biras LOVED the pressie!)

It was almost 12.30 noon by the time I got back to the hotel with achy feet. Rushed to get ready for the 7th Ministers' Forum at 1.30 p.m. I think my boss was kinda upset because I didn't greet the Minister when he checked in coz he arrived as I was going out of my room. My bad!

The Ministers mingled outside the meeting room. This time around we were joined by three other economy countries from the Phillippines, Vietnam and Western Australia. Each of the Minister were given an opportunity to give a short keynote and share each countries' experience in the development of water infrastructure. They later adopted the Ministers' Declaration and decided on the host country for 2010 and 2011.

7th Ministers' Forum on Infrastructure Development in the Asia-Pacific Region

The Forum ended at about 5.30 p.m. After that, we proceeded to the Suntec City Centre for the opening ceremony of Singapore International Water Week. I was amazed at the amount of attendance and participants, it was such a huge event. I'd give the organisers a pat on the back for their success and their ability to get the participation of more than 350 industry players from 40 countries showcasing the latest technologies, products and services in the water industry. We managed to visit a few booths after the opening ceremony.

Opening Ceremony of the Singapore International Water Week

Visiting the Water Expo

After visiting the booths, we headed to Geylang for dinner. I told our driver that he had to bring us to a place which serves a variety of food because I was so hungry by then as I skipped lunch. We went to a Chinese Muslim restaurant and I ordered Hong Kong Kuey Teow.

By the time dinner ended, I was already dead tired. All I was thinking about was to pack and sleep on the comfortable bed. But alas, I slept at 2 a.m. Could it be the room? Hmmm...