Singapore Flyer – Tallest Ferris Wheel In The World

September 2, 2009

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The Singapore Flyer (Chinese: 新加坡摩天观景) is currently the tallest Ferris wheel in the world. Described by its operators as an observation wheel, it reaches 42 stories high, with a total height of 165 m (541 ft), and is 5 m (16 ft) taller than the Star of Nanchang and 30 m (98 ft) taller than the London Eye.

Located in Singapore, on the southeast tip of the Marina Centre reclaimed land, it comprises a 150 m (492 ft) diameter wheel, built over a three-story terminal building which houses shops, bars and restaurants, and offers broad views of the city centre and beyond to about 45 km (28 mi), including the Indonesian islands of Batam and Bintan, as well as Johor, Malaysia.

The final capsule was installed on 2 October 2007, the wheel started rotating on February 11, 2008 and it officially opened to the public on March 1, 2008. Tickets for rides on the first 3 nights were sold out for S$ 8,888 Singapore dollars (US$6,271)(£3,150.83GBP), an auspicious number in Chinese culture. The grand opening for the Flyer was held on 15 April 2008.

Because we flew to Singapore with Jetstar, each of us got a complimentary ticket to the Singapore Flyer. All we had to do was present our boarding pass to the ticketing officer in exchange for the free ride. If you are paying, it costs S$29.50 for an adult! Not exactly cheap yeah.
Personally I feel evening is not the best time to visit, but then if you visit in the day the weather might be hazy or rainy and you won’t be able to capture nice night views. Ah! Decisions decisions.. For us, it rained during the day so it made taking photos even more difficult because of the raindrops on the capsules’ windows, damn frust one. And do click on the photos to view them in full size! (1024 x 684)

A capsule just arrived to pick up passengers. Each capsule can only carry up to 28 passengers at one time.

On the way to enter the capsules..

Our capsule arrived! Actually photography is not allowed here.. But who cares? lol

First view from the capsule.. you can actually see the F1 grandstand on the lower right. By the way all the photos were taken hand held so please pardon the blurs or noise, I left my tripod in Taiwan lol. The wheel was always moving anyway so I doubt a tripod would really help? I dunno lol.

And to make things worse, the capsules were lit with blue, red and purple colors. The colors’ reflection on the window makes the already difficult situation even trickier to take photos..

Here you can see Mandarin Oriental Hotel, the durian-shaped Esplanade and the new casino (lower left) being built. I can imagine the beautiful night scene when the casino is completed.. it would be so colorful.

And a last shot before we alighted from the capsule. 30 minutes passed pretty fast for me lol. After that we went to Clarke Quay for a nice Western dinner, also with a nice river view.
I think the constructions taking place around the island right now is quite an eyesore when viewed from the Ferris Wheel. But when everything is completed I’d love to return again to enjoy the would-be spectacular view. That will be ermm.. 5 years time?