Aug

Green Roof (Marina Barrage – Part E)

Travel Geotac #1: Marina Barrage – Part E

There are several ways to get to the top of the Marina Barrage (MB) which is called the Green Roof. The above photo shows one way which starts from the Central Courtyard (CC).

Here are some views of the upward path to the top…

Up we go… you can see part of the Marina Bay Sands Resorts…

As you go further up, you can see part of the Singapore Flyer in the distance…

Further up the curve…

As you turn more around the curve you are nearing the top and you can see on the left the space-age looking canopy previously mentioned in an eariler post. Somewhere in the middle you can see a funnel like structure. More on that later. And on the right you can see another sloping grass pathway. That is the other way to get to the top and it starts from somewhere below on an upward green sloping field (see photo below) next to the Water Playground stretch at end of the Pump House (PH).

Anyway, going back to the first pathway up to the Green Roof, once you go round the curve you are practically already on the roof-top field and you will be able to see the space-age canopy on the right in the distance.

As you walk closer, this is how the space-age canopy looks like (see below).

By the way, at that space-age canopy is also where you can find an entrance to the Green Roof and it is the third and quickest way to get to the top via either an elevator or…

walking up a couple of flight of steps.

Once you reach the top of the space-age canopy and exit, you will be greeted by a glass structure with the words Green Roof (GR) plastered on the glass panel.

Here’s another shot of the GR from a different angle showing the canopy. To the left is where the elevator is located.

It’s quite a nice place up on the GR as you can have scenic views of the Marina Bay area, the Marina Reservoir and the Marina Channel. See how these folks shown below are enjoying the view.

So it’s not surprising that you will find people taking photos like these adults here…

And the kids love to do it too!

Click, you take your friend. Click, your other friend takes you. Click! And I take you all! Click! Click! Click!

Anyway the GR area is quite wide and there are quite a number of things you can do up there.

If you like walking there are footpaths along the perimeter of the GR for you to take walks like how this kid is doing.

And if you get tired, you can just take a seat on any of the cement edge by the side of the footpaths and just have a quiet chat with a friend.

Or if you prefer, why not have a little picnic with some of your friends on the grass with a scenic view at the background?

And if you prefer different background for your picnic, there are plenty of other spots to choose from like how this group has a more industrial background view of ships and cranes!

Or just gather some of your girlfriends for an all female catch up time together.

Of course you can always have a little time alone with a special friend or a special somenone by having a round of card game.

No worries too for those who need some private space for some “pak-tor” (i.e., Hokkien dialet meaning ”dating”) time. Just walk to any spots away from the crowds and face out into the sea like how this couple is doing. Oh and don’t forget to bring along a tripod so you can take photos without having the need to get someone to help you and thus invade your privacy. Smart couple. Smart guy…

I did not get to see anyone walking their dogs or having their cats around. Not too sure if you can bring pets onto the GR. However, I think it should be okay to walk your ballons like how this couple is doing But definitely you can’t bring any pets into the Water Playground as mentioned here in this earlier post (look for the 12th picture).

Well maybe it’s not so much walking the ballons but more of flying them I guess. And talking about flying, you can actually have a great and fun time flying kites on the GR too, like how the above couple is doing.

Of course sometimes you may end up having to dance with the kite before it will take off like how it’s happening to this chap here…

Start with your feet together and take a bow.

Next lift your right foot.

Then lift the kite up with your left hand and flap your right arm.

Twist and stretch out your arms and let the kite rest on one tip.

Now lift your left foot to give the kite a turn.

Then gently hold the kite with your hand and…

give it a lift…

and there it goes…

up, up and away!

But do be careful when you fly your kites because if you don’t your kite may end up like this shown below…

By the way just next to the antenna is a concrete funnel which I mentioned earlier. From this picture below now you know it’s actually a chimney of sorts spewing smoke into the air.

Now why would a reservoir need a chimney for? Maybe it’s for the restaurant kitchen below? After all it’s called the 7th Storey Live Seafood CHARCOAL Steamboat Restaurant. Hmm…

Anyway beyond the chimney is another place you can visit when up on the roof. But I’ll cover that in the next blog.

Before I go here’s a friendly advice. If you do plan to visit the GR, do bring along and apply suntan lotion as the sun rays can be really strong and you can get sun burnt quite easily. A cap or brolly would be useful too. Oh and if you want to save money on food and drinks, bring your own as prices at the restaurant and Gallery Cafe (more on this place in another post) are on the high side.

Thanks for reading. Hope to see you in the next post. Cheers!

Tags: flying kites, footpaths, Geotac #1, Green Roof, kite, kite dance, Marina Barrage, pak-tok, Photography, picnic, roof-top field, scenic views, Singapore, space-age canopy, suntan lotion, taking photos, travel, view, walking

Posted by Geotacs Photography, Previous, Singapore Subscribe to RSS feed

3 Responses to “Green Roof (Marina Barrage – Part E)”

Lucas says:

September 30, 2010 at 4:15 pm

ehh i can’t go to marina barrage green roof on 20 september cuz it’s raning
Geotacs says:

August 23, 2009 at 2:43 am

Hi Max,

Thanks for dropping by my blog!

The documentary sounds interesting. Too bad I can’t watch it over here.

Anyway, about the particular picture at my blog which you pointed out. That was shot with a circular polarizer filter attached to my lens which made the sky richer in blue.

I do use software for post-processing, mainly LightRoom as it’s quite fast for simple adjustments like saturation, exposure correction, hue, luminance, vignetting, cropping, etc…

I like what Ansel Adams, a well known photographer in the days of black and white photos once said and roughly paraphrasing him, “You don’t take a picture. You make one.” Meaning capturing a picture with a camera is only part of the process of making a final picture. Darkroom processes is the other part which in today’s terms would be using digital post-processing software.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!
Max Sohl says:

August 22, 2009 at 11:38 pm

Hey, thanks for stoping by. Yes, you´re right.

How I wonder what kind of camera you use as I find some of your photographs excellent! You have a good eye for taking pictures and the colors are simply amazing. This one is http://geotacs.com/wp-content/.....15;612.jpg really neat.

Do you work a lot with your pictures after shooting them? Such as using Photoshop or a similar program?

Cheers // Max Sohl from Sweden.