Let’s take a walk back to Kim Seng Bridge, our starting point of the morning walk along Singapore River. If you missed the last few posts, check here.
Raffles Place – Central Business District
From Esplanade Park, we made our way back to Empress Place. We cross the Cavenagh Bridge to the Fullerton Hotel that used to be our General Post Office.
Fullerton Hotel was once home to the Singapore’s General Post Office, the Exchange Rooms and Exchange Reference Library, and the prestigious Singapore Club. This grand neo-classical landmark was built in 1928 and gazetted in December 2015 as a National Monument.
We are now at Raffles Place, the Central Business District, where banks like Standard Chartered Bank (SCB), Bank of China (BOC), Maybank, Hongkong Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC), Overseas Chinese Bank Corporation (OCBC), United Overseas Bank (UOB) are located.
A Little History on Raffles Place
Established in the 1820s as Commercial Square by Sir Stamford Raffles as Singapore’s main mercantile district, this area was renamed Raffles Place in 1858. It grew to become a regional centre for finance and commerce, and also became a popular shopping district with retailers such as Robinson’s and John Little. Bargains were also available at Change Alley, filled with moneychangers and shops from the 1940s until 1989.
Singapore’s only underground mosque, Masjid Moulana Mohamed Ali was originally established at Market Street in the 1950s by Indian Muslim leaders as a place of worship for fellow Muslims working in the area, it has moved to the basement of UOB Plaza in 1994.
We are now at The Central, a shopping mall and office building on the left. Next to it is the Swissotel Merchant Court. If you wish to take a break from walking, you could take the Singapore River Cruise Bumboat, a 40-minute cruise down the Singapore River with commentary on the background information on the various major landmarks along the water.
Our next stop is the Riverside Point. Let’s cross the Ord Bridge to Clarke Quay to walk back to Robertson Quay. The Ord Bridge was built in 1886 to replace a demolished footbridge known as the ABC Bridge. The steel truss bridge was named after Colonel Sir Harry St George Ord (1819-1885), the first British Governor of the Straits Settlements (1867-1873) after it was given the Crown Colony status.
After walking for more than 8 kilometers, time for breakfast at the Zion Road Food Centre. Hope you enjoy the walk as much as I do, a great way to declutter my mind. See you at my next morning walk.
Thank you for stopping by, happy Living for Experiences!
Enjoyed what you read? Support me by following my blog, my Facebook page @livingforexperiences and Instagram @livingforexperiences. Share the post that you like. Every like, comment and share counts! 🙂
Living for Experiences 