Singapore Puts Malaysia In The Shade

So I concluded my previous post detailing the Marina Bay Sands area of Singapore with the following words:

"Singapore puts Malaysia in the shade."

So impressed was I with my brief sojourn in Singapore, that I have been creating a small illustration for you all to have a look at. It puts into a picture the quote above.

I'm not trying to say Malaysia is all bad. This image merely highlights the different worlds I encountered which are amazingly separated by a short 30-seconds-to-traverse road bridge across the sea.

However, I am encouraged by one thing Malaysia seems to have got spot-on in recent times. A great bus-route for tourists around KL. It takes in 40 different attractions and one can buy tickets valid for 24 or 48 hours.

But Singapore already has the transportation down to a tee!

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands hotel is a recent addition to an ever-developing Singapore. I am fortunate enough firstly, to be living in close proximity to the city-island of Singapore, and secondly, for the privilege of spending one night around the Marina Bay Sands area of Singapore.

When I learnt that this new hotel complex named Marina Bay Sands came complete with a sky roof, I was intrigued. Seeing it in reality is a great experience that makes ones jaw drop and wonder about the sheer magnificence of Singapore. It leaves the visitor wanting more.

I know this is going to sound like a conflict of interest. I am living in Malaysia but in this post I'll be highlighting the greatness of Singapore. My blog is titled "Our Home Called Kuantan" in which I have feverishly built up Kuantan and other places in Malaysia. I have built up a facebook page dedicated to the rise of the Zenith Hotel Kuantan (click on the link if you haven't familiarised yourself with this page yet: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rise-of-Zenith-Hotel-Kuantan/139643426072119 ), but I have been left in complete awe of the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. There just seems to be no comparison. I don't know how Malaysians really feel about their Singaporean counterparts, and vice-versa. I'm not sure if everything is friendly and rosy or whether there are silently simmering hostilities or jealousy between the two nations.

But I'm going for it nonetheless. Singapore is clean, tidy, attractive, beautiful, civilised, a perfect model of a first-world country. Nobody stared at me like they do in Malaysia. People spoke immaculate English and were very specific in their help/directions to me. It's like two completely different worlds co-existing just north of the equator of planet Earth.

I will take nothing away from Malaysia's own charms, but suffice it to say, this post is all about the standard of Singapore. Enjoy the dazzling photographs that will follow!

The Fullerton Hotel around Raffles Place is a major draw

The Merlion spits its water into Marina Bay as the awesome sky roof looms in the distance

Crowds of tourists throng the famous Merlion statue in Singapore

I too was amongst the party of visitors at the Merlion statue in Singapore

Another view of the Merlion

Taking a rest before I tackled Marina Bay Sands

This collection of metal beams is known as "The Mister". When the temperature rises to a certain degree it emits a mist to help cool down sweaty travellers.

Day was fading into night at Marina Bay, Singapore

But there was still enough light left to snap some more pictures of this row of trees flanked on the right by a shopping mall extension of the Marina Bay Sands

That's my new back-pack in the foreground. I bought it especially for my Singapore trip. It's obviously a lot better at evenly distributing the weight across both of my shoulders, as opposed to the single shoulder strap bag I used to use

The interior of the latest shopping haven in Singapore

Chanel is the choice to decorate the exterior

Like a huge glass cooking bowl, this inverted dome kept many people mystified. Coins are thrown inside but what happens if one falls down the hole in the middle? And where were all those voices coming from?

I could distinctly hear people's voices coming from the glass bowl...

This is the scene below the glass cooking bowl. It's base lowers into the shopping centre where coins drop down into a pool of shallow water. The mysterious voices are those of shoppers below, detected by microphones on the bowl, sending the sounds up to the people above. How cool is that?!

The Shoppes At Marina Bay Sands front entrance by day...

...and by night

Around the corner I was met by the impressive Marina Bay Sands hotel

The Eye is most definitely on Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands at night

I doubt I will be able to afford a stay at the Marina Bay Sands any time soon, so I'll just stick to taking pictures!

The entrance to the Marina Bay Sands is at the side of the building

A view of the Marina Bay Sands standing a little farther back

A few views of Marina Bay looking across to the Fullerton Hotel

The scenes in Singapore are stunning, whether by day, or by night

A final couple of pictures with The Mister...

A monument depicting the various sports of Singapore. The Fullerton Hotel is clearly visible on the other side

Singapore may be small but it certainly puts Malaysia in the shade.

Images of the Zenith Hotel Kuantan

I took these pictures on Thursday 21st October, 2010. The Zenith Hotel in Kuantan is a fascinating structure with a unique design. It looks set to firmly put Kuantan on the map, and with a little more effective promotion, I really hope it can be the start of further development here.

A host of windows adorn the Zenith Hotel

Some workers take time out to admire the view

The moon appears in the late afternoon sky as work continues on the Zenith Hotel

 The steps lead to the very top of Zenith Hotel

Two men discuss the work at the Zenith Hotel

A single lighted window shows a busy worker at Zenith Hotel

A man stands on the swimming pool ledge taking a break from the strenuous work

Lauren Singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

Zenith Hotel Kuantan Nearing Completion

The Zenith Hotel in Kuantan is on the countdown: 42 days to opening.

It was my pleasure to meet Mr. Jon Liang outside the Zenith Hotel last night:

I'm on the left and Jon is on the right as construction goes on in the background

Jon Liang is an interior designer from Kuala Lumpur (KL). It was very fortunate that we crossed paths as we both were snapping photographs of the Zenith Hotel. I had a pleasant chat with Jon and was able to glean some inside information about the progress of the Zenith Hotel, which is the tallest building in Kuantan and the biggest development on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia.

The Zenith Hotel has 23 floors, 18 of which contain rooms. 8 floors of the 18 have already been completed, and the Zenith Hotel is currently 80% complete. Most of the workers have been drafted in from KL.

It's touch and go whether the Zenith Hotel will be ready to open its doors to the public on December 1st. As such, workers are being expected to work day and night so that everything will be in place for the Zenith Hotel grand opening. In anticipation of the Zenith Hotel's imminent completion, there have already been a number of bookings for rooms.

L-R: East Coast Mall, Zenith Hotel, Sultan Ahmad Shah International Convention Centre, Putra Office block, new shoplots

The development has gone from a heap of dirt to a magnificently iconic, modern structure, rising 23 floors upwards into the blue Kuantan skies, in just 20 months. This rapid rate of construction does lead Jon Liang to wonder whether the Zenith Hotel is as rich in quality as it could have been given a more lengthy time scale for completion.

However, to the ordinary observer, the Zenith Hotel is a marvellous, unique building, changing the face of the Kuantan skyline, signalling the beginning of a great advancement in status of this developing coastal town.