Singapore's Longest...
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Singapore's Longest
Jan 11, 2011 - By: Daniel Seifert
Hyperboles make for good reading – this is one reason why the Guinness Book of World Records sells so well (the other is that it makes a terrific paperweight). We love to read about the biggest man, the tallest tree, the smallest Chihuahua – or at least we at iProperty.com Singapore do, so we assume you do too… What better way to affirm this notion than a roundup of Singapore’s own hyperbolic buildings? The category? “Longest.”
Longest Office Resident in Singapore: Istana
Well, there may be one or two people out there who have worked in one office for longer than Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, but we doubt it. Prime Minister from 1965 to 2004, and Minister Mentor from then onwards, Lee Kuan Yew has racked up an impressive, almost five-decade commute to the same place. And what an office! As places of work go, the palatial Istana ain’t too shabby … The stunning villa, the quiet marsh garden, the lily ponds… Makes your cubicle seem a bit depressing, eh?
Longest Pool: Marina Bay Sands’ Skypark Pool
(Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
Egad, look at it. It’s at once terrifying and jaw-droppingly inspiring. At 150 metres, it’s the world’s longest elevated pool, and even Olympian aqua-man Michael Phelps would get pooped training in it – it’s three times longer than an Olympic-size model. With a 57-storey view of Singapore’s prettiest, most glistening skyscrapers it is also, we think, three times more stunning.
Longest-Standing Government Building: Old Parliament House
(Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
The title may be a bit of a misnomer – Old Parliament House, which was built in 1827 and was home to Parliament from 1965 to 1999, has been jazzed up and is, of course, now the Arts House. Still – built in 1827! At the request of ol’ Stamford Raffles himself! And old-timey touches like the bronze elephant statue, a gift from the King of Siam in 1871, still stand outside the façade today. King Chulalongkorn's visit marked the first time a Siamese king had visited a foreign country, hence his pachyderm present.
Longest Drop in Singapore: United Overseas Bank Plaza One, Republic Plaza, and Overseas Union Bank Centre
“Longest Drop” is of course just our cheeky way of saying “Tallest Building” and still remaining on-topic. Interestingly, the race to the top spot of Singapore is a three way tie, shared by three buildings with fairly similar names, all standing at 280 metres. iProperty,com Singapore proposes just stacking them all on top of each other and christening the behemoth “United Overseas Republic Plaza Bank One Centre”, thus simultaneously clinching the title for Tallest Building In the World (280m x 3= 840m, people) and Most Confusing Name Ever.
Longest River: Kallang
(Image courtesy of Singapore Tourism Board.)
It lacks the exotic grandeur of the Nile or the Amazon, but the Kallang is still the longest waterway in Singapore. Ten kilometres is still respectable for an island our size, surely? The Kallang also has the distinction of being the original aboriginal inhabitant’s home. The biduanda orang kallang (people of the sea) lived in quiet villages at the mouth of the river. Now, properties along the riverfront are much sought after and command prices up to $10,000 a month, such as the snazzy Riverine by the Park.
While the river traffic below your apartment might not be quite as exotic as a couple of centuries ago, when Bugis traders unloaded precious cargoes of spices, slaves and gold, there’s nothing likeliving with a river view on one side and the sea on the other.http://www.iproperty.com.sg/news/3118/Singapore's-Longest