Sky High Swimming

It gives a whole new meaning to the term “high dive.”

It brings the experience of swimming to the edge.

It combines the fear of drowning with the fear of heights.

It is the infinity swimming pool atop the Marina Bay Sands Resort & Casino. And from it you can gaze out upon an amazing view of the Singapore skyline — and straight down a 55-story plunge to the ground.

The pool is 150 meters (500 feet) long, which is longer than 3 Olympic-sized swimming pools placed end-to-end. The entire length is lined with cabanas and lounge chairs and live palm trees. At any location it would be impressive. But at 200 meters up in the air, this is one swimming pool that can make the most jaded traveler say WOW!

And the pool isn’t the only attraction atop this mega resort. The whole of the roof of the Marina Bay Sands is home to the SkyPark. There’s a botanical garden, a high-end restaurant, a night club and an observation deck that juts out upon the world’s largest cantilever platform. In the unlikely event you tire of the view from the SkyPark, you can turn your attention to any number of jugglers, magicians and assorted buskers. The whole thing is massive — walking the diameter of the SkyPark without stopping would take about 20 minutes.

The first 54 stories of the Marina Bay Sands are rather impressive too. The resort houses the equivalent of an entire city under one roof. There’s a large convention center, two theaters, a river with boat rides and floating pavilions, an art and science museum, a shopping mall, an enormous casino and more than 2,500 guest rooms.

Altogether the Marina Bay Sands employs more than 10,000 people and produces more economic activity than the entire gross national product of the country of Aruba!

The spectacle of it all makes the Marina Bay Sands absolutely worth a visit when you are in Singapore. Anyone can access the SkyPark for S$20 (around US$16) but only guests can swim in the pool. That alone makes spending a night in the Marina Bay Sands a must-do.

Now if only they made a life preserver that was also a parachute.

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More Southeast Asia travel posts on Spot Cool Stuff:

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Dining in a Pod at the Soneva Kiri Beach Resort
A Four Seasons Resort . . . With Elephants
Vertigo and Sirocco: Two Cool Bars Above Bangkok
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Photos of the Marina Bay Sands Pool

Photos of the Marina Bay Sands Resort

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