The Singapore River

Friday 24th April 2009

We decided to take a river cruise today, exploring the Singapore River and surrounds.

The Singapore River was Singapore's earliest trading hub long before Stamford Raffles landed on its northern side there was a Malay settlement on its banks.

Chinese traders following in Raffle's wake built warehouses on the South Bank while the British lined the Northern Bank with stately colonial buildings.

We started out at Clarke Quay where we picked up a bumboat cruise this took us from Clarke Quay, which used to be a strip of delapidated 19th century warehouses run by Chinese traders but in the 1990s it was converted in to a precinct of shops and restaurants.

We cruised up to Robertson Quay and then made our way back passing Riverside Point and the Merchant Court Hotel, further along we passed under the Elgin Bridge and passed Parliament Complex, opened in 1999, the new Parliament House complements the style of the original parliament building dating to 1826, which stands along the river.

On the opposite bank we passed by Boat Quay where bars and restaurants bring new life to the restored row of old trading houses.

Passing Raffles Landing Site and the Empress Place Building and following the river around passed several towering skyscrapers and then cruised under two bridges; the Cavenagh Bridge, Singapore's only suspension bridge and, the Anderson Bridge, this was built in 1910 to relieve congestion on the Cavanagh Bridge.

The Fullerton Building's colonial columns dominate the entrance to the river and once we had passed through the entrance we had panoramic views of the Singapore Flyer (similar to the London Eye), and Merlion - this mythical half-fish, half-lion symbol of Singapore guards the river as it opens in to Marina Bay.