Heading to the Gardens

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Stopping at Changi Airport

After our swim we walked over to Terminal 2 in Changi Airport.  The airport is a virtual city with multiple levels of services offered to transiting passengers.  Our first stop was at a travel kiosk where we inquired about Hop on Hop Off Bus tickets.   There were several options and we weren't sure how their prices compared with what we were seeing online.  There are actually several different tour operators to select from.

They also advertised Gardens by the Bay admission tickets.  We walked away at first, but then decided to make that our destination for the day.  Purchasing tickets at the airport meant we'd not have to wait in line when we got there and we'd save a few dollars on the admission price.   They accepted credit cards which meant we could conserve our cash for places that didn't accept credit cards.

Lunch at Food Court

We started wandering around Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 almost in a daze.  It was overwhelming at first, with so many dining options to choose from.   Finally we noticed that Basement lever 2 had a food court.  So we took the escalator down and started to explore the various options. 

We both decided to order  chicken dumplings.  When we got the order, we realized that we could have ordered just one plate, but since we didn't know when we'd be eating again, too much food was better than not enough.  There were several tables nearby, so we found a place to sit and ate our lunch.  Looking around, we didn't see anyone drinking beverages with their meals.  Since we had our water bottles with us, we decided to just have that with our lunch.

MRT to Gardens

As with most mass transit systems, it is necessary for each passenger to have their own travel card.  We looked around the airport and found a long line waiting to purchase cards.  There were signs indicating that Singapore Tourist Passes were sold there.  Those offer unlimited train and bus transit for 24 hour period.

Since our plans had changed, we started to think that we probably didn't need an unlimited travel card. I stayed in line while my husband went to the transit booth to talk to someone about the best option for us to purchase.   The standard travel cards are sold in machines, but you need to have coins and small denomination bills.  He got change and then headed to purchase the tickets.  They were S$ 4.70 for the round trip  each which was cheaper than S$ 20  each for the Tourist Pass.

Tip:  If you are staying multiple days and planning to visit several locations in Singapore, then the Tourist Pass would be your best option.  Otherwise, purchase a Standard Travel Card for each trip.

We'd looked at the MRT website before heading to the airport, so we had an idea about how to get to Gardens by the Bay. Singapore's system is very similar to London or Washington DC systems.  The routes intersect making it possible to get anywhere on the system regardless of your origination point.  Changi Airport is on the East West (Green) line.

Getting on the train at the airport is confusing; we weren't quite sure if we were on the right train.  We must have looked puzzled, because a gentleman asked where we were going, and told us we would have to change trains in a couple stops because our train terminated at Tanah Merah.  We waited a few minutes there and were back on a Green Line train to our next stop.  The closest station to the Gardens is Baymont, which is on the Circle (Yellow) line. We would need to transfer to the Circle Line at Paya Lebar.

Once we got to Baymont, there were signs directing us to the Gardens by the Bay.   It was quite a walk before we got to the exit.  Once outside, we found that we were very close to the Gardens shuttle bus.  We purchased shuttle tickets for S$ 6 each and were on our way to the entrance.

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Singapore MRT

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Panama Canal Expansion

Images from our Panama Canal Transit

Panama Canal

100 Years Anniversary

Developing a water passage across the Isthmus of Panama uniting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans dates to the early 16th century. 

Official Opening

August 15, 2014

We won't attempt to cover the history here. Instead, we will focus on a milestone which occurs this year, the 100th anniversary of the Panama Canal and the status of expansion plans to bring the canal into its next 100 years. For information on the canal's history, please see the official Panama Canal site.

Panamax

Panamax specifications have been in effect since the opening of the canal in 1914. Ships that do not fall within the Panamax-sizes are called post-Panamax.  Currently ships that are a maximum of 965 feet long and 106 feet wide (beam) can pass through the canal. That typically means the older and smaller ships in a cruise lines' fleet are the only ones that can make the transit. Ships like the Allure of the Seas or the Solstice-class ships are not among them. The new locks would open up possibilities for the larger cruise ships to complete the transit.

Expansion Plans

There are four major parts to the expansion plans.  The purpose of the expansion is to enable post-Panamax vessel transit of the canal.

• construction of two new sets of locks - one on the Pacific and one on the Atlantic side of the Canal
• widening and deepening of existing navigational channels in Gatun Lake
• deepening of Culebra Cut
• new 6.1 km-long access channel to connect the Pacific locks and the Culebra Cut

Each lock will have three chambers and each chamber will have three water re-utilization basins.
For complete details about the plans, see PANAMA CANAL EXPANSION PROGRAM MARCH 2013 (PDF).

Overall, the Expansion Program is 72% complete and at this time, is expected to be open to commercial transits in the second half of 2015.  

The contractor for the new locks, Grupo Unidos por El Canal S.A. (GUPC), is currently threatening a work stoppage due to $1.6 Billion in cost overruns.  The ACP, the autonomous agency of the Government of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama Canal, has proposed advancing $100 million to GUPC  to allow the contractor to tend to its pending obligations. The contractor must guarantee these funds through a letter of credit. In addition, ACP is willing to extend for a period of two months the moratorium for the repayment of $83 million in advances by GUPC. These would give an additional $83 million for GUPC.

Full story: Panama Canal Proposal to Jointly Contribute $283 Million to New Locks Project

Here is a video published by the ACP describing the Panama Canal Expansion project.