the Singapore Flyer

Well, the Singapore Flyer is the largest observation wheel in the world. Each “capsule”holds about 12 people with benches, air-conditioning and a little audio earpiece telling you all about the feng shui of the wheel. It moves incredibly slowly (30 minutes for a revolution) and at the peak you are 165 meters from the ground. Basically an incredible view of all of Singapore, which isn’t that big. You can see Indonesia from the air, as well as bits of Malaysia. To the left of the large cityscape is the ridiculous casino that is being built for opening at the end of April. Boo-hoo, the bottom is open but Tom Jones had to cancel his stint due to laryngitis – old fucker that he is. You can’t see it but the building is actually 3 towers with a large boat structure at the top. I’ll say it again: ridiculous. As you look out the mouth of the river toward the straits, you can see the area is (always) filled with boats and ships. Singapore (Singapura, historically) has thrived as the point where all trading ships passed by (especially after the Panama Canal opened and trade between Asia and Europe dramatically increased).