Happy Lunar New Year!

Chinese New Year festive lighting in Chinatown

The year 2012 is the year of the Water Dragon and Chinatown in Singapore lights up to welcome its arrival. I overheard a tourist saying, "This is unbelievable." What he was referring to was either the magnificent dragon decoration along the road divider of South Bridge Road or more likely the throngs of people out to soak in the festive atmosphere. 

 My photos, with the exception of a few, do not highlight the sea of humanity under the bright lights and amidst the overwhelming red and gold theme throughout Chinatown as manifested in the store goods and decorations. I am known for my aversion to crowds and and was only there to see the festive lights along South Bridge Road where Chinatown lies on either side. I avoided the crowds by sticking by the main road and not venturing into the Pagoda street area where people were packed like sardines out of a can.

Our approach by car was from Tanjong Pagar and miraculously we were able to find a carpark lot without much difficulty at the People's Park. The dragon smiles on me!

 Health and Good wishes couplets were prominently displayed for one to admire and to have photos taken with like the couplet on the right.














The mighty dragon along South Bridge Road was beautifully adorned with tiny lights defining its majestic form. There were other dragons too, smaller ones on the pedestrian bridge across the road for people like me who just wanted to take in the lights without jostling with other people to buy new year goodies or just to enjoy being a part of a moving body mass.When you are done with this post, click here for more photos.

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 This is the God of Fortune inside the People's Park shopping centre where we had parked our car.

 Five dragons converging on a red lantern high above the escalator.

Stories behind Singapore Street Names - Exhibition

Every Singaporean should visit this informative exhibition on the origins of our street names. There is an activity book for children and an excellent booklet that is free of charge and that will be a valuable addition to any home library. My visit to the National Museum was unplanned and this exhibition was a discovery that made my day.It is on levels 7 and 8 and is on daily (except public hholidays) from 10am to 9pm. You have until 29 june 2012 to catch this exhibition.

St Joseph's Church from the fifth floor of the National Library Building.

Maxwell Road was the area I always associate with driving tests and food.

You can watch a short video about how these unusual street names came about.

I took this photo because of the painting of the old houses in Chinatown.

Labrador Boardwalk

A walk that takes you to the doorsteps of the wealthy to see their homes and yachts. Click on the photo to see my post on my nature blog.