Little India in Serangoon Road

Deepavali this year falls on the 28th of October and the Indian community will be celebrating the Festival of Lights. Serangoon Road will be ablaze with festive lights. The street decorations are already up. Even without these, Little India will still shine with its colours and wares. It is not just the colours but the sounds and fragrance of the spices in the air that gives you a feeling that you could be in India. Singapore is a city that is truly unique because of we have so much variety in culture and heritage and yet they are all contained within the soul of one nation.

Weekend places

Weekend in Singapore - my weekend.

Artpieces I like

Showcase Singapore was an Art Fair that drew participation from twenty-three major international Art Galleries and was held at City Hall for the first time in Southeast Asia from 9 - 12 September 2008. I went to this exhibition on a last-minute impulse. I had enjoyed this exhibition very much and it was wonderful to be able to see contemporary art that is contrary to the way I have always perceived them. Wandering amongst the art displays at my own time and pace, I had a truly pleasant time at this exhibition. Fortunately, photography without flash was allowed. The pieces in the slideshow are those that I really like. I tried my best to put in the names of the artists and/or the name of the work shown here. For those that I am unable to name, my sincere apologies to that artists. I am very impressed by the artists Kumi Yamashita and Wim Delvoye and will check out their websites.

Check out the Singapore Biennial 2008.

Clark Quay

Clark Quay comes alive only at night. In the day time, waiters, waitresses and chefs are busy preparing for the evening party and dinner crowds. What is lacking in excitement and lights is made up for in the day by the bright and cheerful colours of the buildings that were once-upon-a-time warehouses. Bumboats carrying loads of goods used to clutter the river in going about their business of transporting goods from the ships anchored out at sea. The river has been cleaned up for many years and instead of the bumboats there are now clean and evironmentally-friendly boats catering to the tourist market.

The Clark Quay MRT station is conveniently located at Central, a building that has many food outlets and a Kopitiam at level 3 or 4 where you get a panaromic view of Clark Quay through the floor to ceiling glass windows. There are also small shops selling clothes, shoes and accessories that you can get at good prices. At one shop, the sales lady asked if I was a tourist because she saw me carrying a camera. It's fun to be a tourist in your own country sometimes.

West Coast Park

Time never stands still
A place is just there
but time makes it different
as each minute and second is laid bare

Clouds are nameless
till we assign to their fluid form
meanings that we choose to see
until they disperse and are gone

Structures are massive
compared to you and me
But nature is impressive
when we see things in perspective

Someday there will be no clouds in the sky
as prophesized by the writing on the wall
Till then we should ponder on our deeds
amend our actions, heed the call Before we perish and time disappears
too late to save ourselves from the inevitable fall

Sky God

Where in Singapore is this? It does not matter. When I was young, I asked my mum why she prayed to a Sky God (天神)。 She explained that wherever we are, the sky is always above us. Wherever we are, the sky is always over our heads, watching over us. Today, for a change, I watched the sky and recall what my mother told me.

Cloud over Little India

Round the corner of these HDB flats is Serangoon Road. I was walking along the Rochore Canal towards Selegie Road when I looked up saw this cloud formation. I thought it interesting enough to stop and fish out my camera to capture this scene.

I decided not to take any more photos as I tend to take too many photos that do nothing except take up space in my pc. So for once I went along my way and at the end of the day, this is the one photo that had made my day.

Labrador Park

It was very hot on Vesak Day and we escaped the heat by going to Labrador Nature Reserve where the sun could not torture us totally because we were protected by the trees and were cooled by the gentle sea breeze blowing in from the sea.

Henderson Waves

Raffles Place

On Labour Day, the heart of the Business District is a quiet haven. Office workers have disappeared, shops were closed and the buildings looked relieved. So on Labour Day, the family decided to walk around the area for a short while before proceeding to Maxwell Food Centre for a late breakfast.

End of walk and it's back to the basement carpark in UOB Building.