Sunday, December 10, 2006

Lavender Street

It was the sky that made a startling difference and the tree that made the building look twice as attractive.

So who was here first? Why didn't anyone think of harmony in looks in the process of building or re-building?

I was at a traffic light, waiting and then how could I resist this shot?

Then another, one is never enough.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Sunday, November 26, 2006

Selegie Road

Rounded ends of buildings in the old days seem to be common throughout the island.

Sembawang area

This building was one of several in an area that could have been occupied by the families of the British forces when Singapore was a colony. These buildings look as good as new and a Sunday morning drive to the northern part of Singapore with a detour off the main road led us to this interesting discovery.

Chinatown Hotel

This building is on the fringe of the Chinatown area and is a hotel. Many buildings in Singapore have been restored and preserved for future generations to have a sense of history amidst rapid economical development. I really like the way that our old building are being protected by the government because there is so much variety and uniqueness in the architecture reflecting our multicultural heritage that would have been lost forever.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Railway Station

The Malayan Railway Station is a building that holds many childhood memories of relatives arriving to spend holidays with us. They would bring with them food stuff like belachan (a kind of prawn paste), biscuits, nutmeg oil from Penang and clothing such as those that my aunt had sewn for me. The building has been here for more than 50 years and does look rather run down.The walls are marked with dirt and it is a pity because I am sure it will look great if it were cleaned up. The entrance does not look so bad and I really like the arched windows and the design above the main arch.Inside the hall of the station, high above people who hardly give them any attention, are these beautiful murals depicting typical scenes of Malaysian life.

Mural showing men working in a coconut plantation.
Rubber tappers collecting latex that flowed from a cut in the bark to a small cup below.
This place has to be Malacca. In my childhood, we often drove to Malacca to visit relatives during school vacation. The roads were narrow and there were no highways. The journey was about 5 hours and if we saw bullock carts, it meant that we were about to arrive in Malacca.

In the vicinity of Keppel Road

We have lost our way to meet up with some friends and made a wrong turn from the main road and found ourselves along Neil Road where I saw this colonial style building as we stopped the car to make a call to our friend. This building looked like it had been given a facelift recently and appeared to be unoccupied with the windows and doors boarded up in place of fittings that are more in character with the rest of the facade. In trying to regain the correct bearings, had to take a long route and just as the car was slowing down at a bend, I managed to take this shot of a Catholic Church that was painted completely in white from the domes to the walls. I have always wanted to photograph this building next to the Malayan Railway Station along Keppel Road. I finally got the chance to do so.I wonder what this building is and whether it belongs to the Malayan Railway.