No matter where life finds you, there are certain places you
simply must play ‘tourist’ at in your country of occupancy. The biggest ‘tourist destination’ in
Singapore stands out in a brilliantly-blinking, architecturally-rich, wondrous
way…Marina Bay Sands. While the inspiration behind it is supposed to be three decks
of card, I think it more resembles a massive ship parked on top of three
towers. Whatever you make of it, this building can’t be missed.
When we were still staying downtown, we would sit in our 31st
floor apartment at Great World and watch the seemingly daily light show going
on from the roof of this grand spectacle.
While I can only imagine what airline pilots think of the flashing laser
lights shooting across their path as they approached or departed from Changi
Airport, we personally couldn’t wait to visit this modern wonder.
This is a pretty new place on the Singapore destination
landscape. The project was only fully
completed in early 2011. Our research prior
to moving to Singers had repeatedly shown us the image of the infinity pool on
the roof. We have since discovered that
you can actually only go see said pool if you have a room booked at the hotel. Alas, this is sadly still on the to-do list. But like any place here in Singapore, there is a
mall. Now, this mall is nothing to scoff
at. Think indoor Rodeo Drive and way
beyond my means. But mweh… another mall…
whatever. More interesting to me is the
casino! On the August day that we went,
we didn’t actually get to go in as we were touting around two little men who
had no interest in gambling, nor did the casino have any interest in hosting them
either. I’m totally not a big gambler as
I prefer the bargain-basement tables and I doubt there were any of those in
this particular casino, but on that big day when Kimono Hubby and I get to return there…
alone… we would like to play our hand just to cross it off the list of things
we never thought we would do in our lives.
For now, we had to be content with a simple stroll by just to say we saw it.
There was one part of the mall that I am remiss not to have
yet mentioned… the indoor canal, complete with gondola rides! Adding to the beauty of this indoor spectacle, there is a Rain Oculus
that collects the down-pouring waters and shoots it into the river below. Now that is design I admire, when you can
connect your man-made structure intrinsically with nature’s glory. And trust me, the rain storms here in
Singapore are glorious. There is also a
decent-sized theater in side of which we
more recently went to see Mickey’s Magic Show at and I got to see my dear
Kimono Peanut’s face when they ‘cut’ a girl in half. I do wish I could erase that image from his
young and impressionable mind, because I totally see him attempting that one
someday, probably soon. Perhaps blanket apologies now
to the girl he attempts it on, hmm??? Pray he uses his foam pirate sword.
Now our original trip to Marina Bay was for something quite grand…
and I don’t just mean the grand price tag we paid for it! We were there for a brunch at the
world-renowned restaurant KU DÉ TA. Made
even more special and momentous was the company we were with, new and very dear
friends that we had made by the pool at Great World. These are totally our kind of people as they
didn’t hesitate to say a hell-yea to the $178 per person for the free-flowing
cocktail and champagne version of brunch. That is
only $140 US dollars after all! Okay,
yes. I too gagged on the price. But once in a lifetime! Woohoo!
And… raise a glass and you forget all about the price! There was one bonus…
all the kids were under 6 years old so they were free. See??
Not so bad, then, right? Right? 
So there we were. 57
floors up. A waist high glass wall is the only thing separating us from the amazing 360 degree view of Singapore we are perched to take in. Comfy chairs and pitcher after pitcher (after pitcher...) of
sangria coming our way, along with the occasional random cocktail and maybe a shot
to celebrate new, international friendships.
We were there from something like 11:00 til 3:00. You would think we tried everything on the
menu in that time frame, but honestly we got so distracted in conversations and
laughter, that we only ordered a handful of menu items, most of which the kids
ate. Inside was an amazing buffet spread
of crudités, pastries and desserts of which after the second hour, our kids
were freely returning to and filling yet another plate. The staff there was so lovely and friendly to
all three of our young brood. I honestly
can’t thank them enough for that blessing.
We had been seated in a quiet corner off to one side, surely in
anticipation of potentially wild Western kids, but they were all so well-behaved and spent their time
either staring in wonder at the ocean and shipping vessels beyond or
engrossed in a game or a Peppa Pig episode on the IPad that dear Jaqui was
smart enough to bring along. I honestly
don’t think we would have left when we did except we were bumping up on the
hour of the next big reservation influx.
Not wanting to give up a kidney for a second bill, we sadly called it
a perfect brunch/day and headed to our individual homes/hotel rooms.
Now, was the food worth the astronomical price? No, of course not. But!
That view, the experience and spending quality time getting to know some
amazing people… worth every penny. THIS
is one of the most sees in Singapore.
And if you don’t want to pay the price at KU DÉ TA, did I mention there
is a free Sky Park one floor down?
Yes. That is probably where you
will find us the next time around.
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