Singapore River

I was here at the Singapore River for about twenty minutes or so waiting to be picked up for dinner. I chose the meeting place because I knew that in the peak hour human traffic of people rushing out of the office doors to the cars, buses and trains, I would have been suffocated anywhere else. Here at the Raffles Place MRT exit, I emerged from below ground level to a lovely evening breeze and was greeted by the surprising cloud formation against a baby blue sky in the hour when the sun was setting.

I sat by the edge of the river looking across to the Ancient Civilizations Museum and admired how beautiful the architecture of the past is.

To my left was Boat Quay and I was a little too far away to drink in the spirit of the atmosphere of the pubs and restaurants occupying buildings that were former godowns that stored goods for loading and unloading onto the bumboats that used to line the river.

I could smell the river of those days when it was cluttered with filth and litter and where the water was blackish and you worried about falling into the river because you could die from having that water in your system.

Today, the river is clean thanks to the Government's efforts years ago to make it what it is today - a place that can be enjoyed to the fullest while retaining our heritage and giving office workers a pleasant environment to relax after work. Sitting there alone I had the urge to freeze the moment in frames to produce these panoramic photos.