MBS - coffee and Sampan Boat Ride

Been wanting to ride the Sampan Boat in the man-made canal at Marina Bay Sands for a while, a la gondola style (heard the one in Venice is very pricey!), so when *Pris expressed the same wishes, we thought that bringing her daughter onboard for a boat ride was a good excuse for two local adults to sit in the boat without appearing silly or something (in case we bump into familiar faces), LOL.

So we headed to the starting point where the Sampans were parked, and purchased tickets for the ride. It cost SGD$10.00 each, regardless of adult or child fare.

The aqua-colored stretch of waters stretched on, passing under arched bridges at some point in time. The waters were calm and steady.

This spot (in front of Victoria's Secret and Coffee Bean) is where the Sampan boat makes a U-turn . This is when the foundatin was dormant and not being activated.

But when the ferocious stream of water cascades from the fountain overhead, it is a powerful jet that raises concerns for the passing Sampans. We were told later on though, that the Sampans are made to be very sturdy and could withstand rather choppy waters.

Our journey continued on,  as well as the photography session. *Pris' daughter, C, was enjoying herself as well, in a quiet, awed manner despite her earlier protests.

Not only did we get to ride the Sampans, we got to practice a little bit of rowing as well. While the boatmen made the oars appear so light and easy to control, we were surprised by the heavy weight of it. I'd tried dragon-boating before, but this seemed even heavier (if my memory serves me well).

This is our very jovial and informative boatman who chattered with us along the journey and answered our one million and one questions. Turns out that the "boatmen" handle different tasks around the Sands - from receptionist duties to retailing duties, some supervisory duties and now, rowing of boats too. This is interesting.

Last but not least, we've come back to square one, concluding our boat ride (about fifteen minutes in total?). We alighted and were being shown some photos the photographer had taken while we were crusing along the indoor canal. The photos were rather blurry and did not arouse any interest from us. Each photo cost SGD$20.00 by the way.

Finally, we sat down at our favorite Coffee Bean (Beanstro, here) for some rest and relaxation. It became our favorite place because we used to visit Coffee Bean at Boat Quay every week during our polytechnic days to study and catch up. Well, those were the good old days.... This is, by the way, my Blackforest Yogurt drink, with huge coffee beans and maraschino cherries within.

Overall, it was a fun day and the ride had been rather fulfilling albeit its short duration.