29 July 2012

'Round The Way, Girl.


My grandfather's middle name is Ferris.  I don't know if he was necessarily named after the man who invented the Ferris wheel, but we'll go ahead and dedicate this post to him anyhow.  

He and my grandmother traveled all of the time.  And, they kept little handwritten journals about everywhere they went.  I can only imagine that I get my obsessive need to document everything from them.  My grandparents would be so proud to know that I am living in Singapore.  And, they would more than likely be the first to come and visit me, if they were still around.  But, they see me and they're loving every second of my madcap adventures . . .   



Oddly enough, the picture above is not called a Ferris wheel, but an observation wheel.  And, Singapore has the largest observation wheel of all time:  the Singapore Flyer.  Inspired by national icons such as the Eiffel Tower and the London Eye, the Singapore Flyer was conceived by Dr. Kisho Kurokawa of Japan and DP Architects, and opened for business in 2008.  


There are 28 air-conditioned capsules, each roughly the size of a city bus, and each wheel rotation takes about 32 minutes.  On board the Singapore Flyer, you can see up to 45 kilometres away:  that’s 3 kilometres more than the entire length of Singapore!  You can see Changi Airport, Sentosa Island, and even parts of Malaysia and Indonesia.  Incredible!




It really changes up a landscape to include an observation wheel.  It's playful and engaging, and makes me think that Singapore has a pretty great sense of humor.  I'm excited to be living in such a contemporary city:  everywhere I turn is something progressive and intriguing!  


Three cheers for innovation . . . 

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