Backpackers sneak into Marina Bay Sands' infinity pool

Some backpackers touring Singapore have found a new "challenge" and "adventure", and they are sharing their experiences online.

These backpackers sneak into Marina Bay Sands (MBS) with one aim in mind - to get to the iconic infinity pool at the hotel's Sands SkyPark.

But what they are doing, which has been going on for several months now, could be illegal, lawyers tell The New Paper on Sunday.

Located on the 57th storey, the infinity pool is the highest and largest in the world.

It is featured in travel brochures and websites as well as social media platforms such as Pinterest. But it is accessible only to hotel guests, according to the hotel's policy.

This reporter spoke to two tourists who managed to sneak into the pool this year by pretending to be hotel guests.

They did so on separate occasions, and their modus operandi included taking bathrobes from unattended housekeeping carts and fooling the hotel staff at the pool's entrances.

To prevent copycats, TNPS will not be providing full details of their misdeeds.

Miss Kimberly Connor, 24, who travelled here in February, admits she knew she would be breaking a few laws and that the idea "terrified" her.

The US citizen says: "Scenes flashed through my head - going to a Singapore jail, having to pay a fine heftier than the price of a room, or any of a million other things.

"But I am quite the daredevil, and I enjoy getting into mischief like this."

DETERMINED

Miss Connor could not afford a room at MBS, which starts from $500 for a night.

Instead, she stayed at a hostel, which cost $30 a night.

But she was determined to swim in the infinity pool.

She says: "I did feel bad (for lying to the staff ). But I thought that one little me being added to the entire pool deck of hundreds of white robe-laden guests would not make that much of a difference."

Her blog post is not the only one detailing the process of sneaking in.

A Google search revealed several videos and forum discussions about sneaking into the pool.

Last month, Canadian Emma Balmforth, 27, managed to sneak into the pool twice after she was "inspired" by Miss Connor's blog post.

Miss Balmforth says she had come to Singapore primarily to carry out her plan of swimming in the pool without paying for a room.

The travel writer says: "I was concerned that I could get into trouble because I did not know what kind of trespassing laws Singapore has.

"Then I overheard two girls at my hostel planning the same thing and decided that it must be quite common for people to try."

The two girls were unsuccessful in their attempts, Miss Balmforth recounts.

"One told me she was escorted into a room and interrogated by a police officer," she says.

"I did not think wanting to swim in the world's most beautiful pool was a crime. That was why I went for it."

But the hotel disagrees.

An MBS spokesman says the hotel "will not hesitate to take appropriate measures" against individuals who are caught trying to trespass.

The spokesman says: "These may include reporting and handing such persons to the police, as well as barring them from the property.

"We would like to remind all visitors that access to the infinity pool is strictly for hotel guests and remains an exclusive privilege for guests staying on-property."

 

This article was first published on Sept 18, 2016.
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