Accidental Tourist - Pulau Ubin – the little island off Singapore

A short 30 minute boat ride taken from the eastern side of Singapore at the Changi Ferry Terminal brings one to Pulau Ubin. With a small boat price of S$2.50 per person each way, my family had a little excursion down to this little island.

Rustic and basic comes to mind but it’s a welcome relief from the tall buildings that surround Singapore, my island city. If you are not up to walking, bicycles can be hired for a quick cycle around the island. I heard that overnight stays at some chalets and tents are available. I have not yet tried taking the route down to Chek Jawa (a lovely intertidal walk that apparently houses one of Singapore's richest ecosystem) but it’s definitely on my ‘to-do’ list. 

Till the next time, off to the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - Farm Visits in Singapore

I decided to bring my kiddos to a farm visit over National Day weekend. To be frank, they were initially reluctant to go as they would prefer spending the afternoon holed up in a shopping centre or so. But I was insistent & they relented. 

To make things more palatable for them, I asked each to choose 1 location that they wanted to go around the same area. It was the frog farm (Jurong Frog Farm @ 56 Lim Chu Kang Lane 6; http://www.jurongfrogfarm.com.sg/) for my boy and the aquarium (Hausmann Marketing Aquarium @ No 291 Neo Tiew Crescent, ( LCK 113 ) Singapore 718903, http://www.hausmann-aqua.com/) for my girl. 

The kids managed to get some fishing time at the aquarium that allowed for them to fish using their nets & return the guppies back to the lokangs where they came from. This arrangement suited me fine as I didn’t want the fish to die en-route back home. 

In between, we managed to pop by the Goat Farm (Hay Diaries, No. 3 Lim Chu Kang, Agrotech Park Lane; http://www.haydairies.com.sg/) and dunked in 2 bottles of goat’s milk each before taking a short walk around the farm. For a complete listing of what you can do in this location, access http://www.wildsingapore.com/places/sbwra.htm for more info. Here are some shots of the locations. All in all, a good day out for the kids & myself of course!

 Shop front at the Frog Farm

 Kids having some fishing good time

Goat farm

Till the next time, off to the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist – Vesak Day 2011 (May) Shoot

This is a back post of the visits that I took over Vesak Day holidays.

I decided to trod by the Bright Hill Temple and the Tooth Relic Temple in year 2011. This is a continuation of last year’s Vesak Day photoshoot. I am in fact hoping that this will be a staple in my photography shoots & I will be able to take different types of shots at the same locations.

Here are 3 pictures taken at the Bright Hill Temple –  I was early enough to witness the arduous “3 steps 1 bow” ceremony that is only held at this temple on the eve of Vesak Day:

 full prostration is carried out by all devotees in this ceremony

 Monks saying their prayers before the ceremony

closeup of the Head monk having a moment 

My sentiments after witnessing this momentous grueling ceremony where the devotees essentially had to prostrate over the floor or bow once every 3 steps? I have nothing but respect for these devotees who do it as a mark of their faith.

On Vesak Day, I went to the Tooth Relic Temple bright & early. I had hoped to catch the early morning prayers but only to realize that it will only be open to the public at 9a.m. Nevertheless, I had a nice walk around as it was quite peaceful even on this very important day for the Buddhists:

 Tooth Relic Temple in all its glory

 not a Chinese devotee but just as welcome into this temple

 closeup of the guardians placed outside the temple

Compared to last year’s visit, I took in the temple at a much slower pace as the temple is definitely less crowded (likely due to the timing). But nevertheless, the feeling of peace and tranquility the minute I step into this place never fails to amaze me. 


Till the next time, off to the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Ode to a Grand Dame...Tanjong Pagar Railway Station

It seems befitting that I post a "goodbye" post on 30 June 2011, the last day of operations of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station. Like many people, it was a case of "lamenting when it is gone". Sometimes it is not the building or the bricks but the sights, sounds, people & smells of a location that one will miss after it is gone. Quite some people have thronged the station since news of it broke out and it is only fitting that I do the same as after all, one does not see the closure of a 79 year old train station every other day.....here's some snapshots to remember this grand old dame (a beauty in its time; soon to be a memory of years gone by):

Till the next time, off to the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Escape to a Nostalgic side of Singapore.....Tiong Bahru

Went galavanting down an old town in the heart of Singapore: "Tiong Bahru". In fact, it is one of the oldest housing estates in Singapore -info from Wikipedia. 


Interesting features of the flats there are its rounded balconies, flat rooftops, spiral staircases and light wells. An example is shown below:

What is also interesting to Singaporeans like myself in this location is the glorious FOOD! It's conveniently located in Tiong Bahru Market, a hub of activity from the food stalls and wet market which is accompanied with music from the sound man. Some snaps of the happenings on the way to the foodie paradise: 

Would like to add something I read in the blog (remember.singapore) that indicated that "it is the only estate in Singapore to have all its streets named after local Chinese pioneers." I think this is extremely interesting Singapore trivia :) Till the next time, off to the world & beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Little India Shoot in April 2011

Went for a walk starting at Little India in central part of Singapore in early April 2011. Little India always fascinates me as it's a totally "new" place when taking photos i.e. you don't get to see some of the things in Little India anywhere else in Singapore e.g. handicraft, posters, food, architecture etc.

Here's a photo of the "famous" flower garland maker.....almost always the men are the ones making the extremely long garlands filled with perfumed flowers.

They can be found in almost every street corner in this place! As they are so used to having tourists snapping away, they have learnt the art of looking away or disinterested in the whole photography process....which is a shame for us photo buffs as I stood there almost like an eternity hoping to get a shot of him looking up instead of down but then again, I don't string flowers for a living and if I do, I will also probably concentrate on what gives me the dole.....

Now, this comment just gave me an idea that perhaps the tourism body here should have a skill display of some sort for these people who can then reach out to those interested in learning more about stringing their own garland. Will probably make the tourist experience more enriching!

Over here, you can also find bangles of every single color in the rainbow & more!

The other extremely unique handicraft that you can only find in this location is "henna" which is actually a temporary tattoo applied using plant dyes on your hand, arms and/or feet. It's a lovely art form as it takes a steady hand and a creative mind to come up with all the wonderful intricate designs that the ladies will simply love!!! Natural henna (dark brown) is preferred as it simply wears off after a few days... of course with everyone "wow"ing at your body art!

Personally, Little India is the first place I learnt to use my Nikon D90 DSLR after getting it last May.....this place has a special place in my heart when it comes to introducing me to the wonderful world of photography *Aw*

The photo buff group I went with this time were extremely adventurous as not only we went around Little India, we even ventured down past the Thieves Market near Arab Street area before heading down the Malay enclave at Arab Street before ending our photo-walk at Bugis area! More of those other fabulous places in later posting when I take my breath before the next posts! Needless to say, it was definitely an extremely productive shoot on that day.


Till the next time, off to the world & beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Photography Trip to the Singapore Zoo

I have visited the Singapore Zoological Gardens many times (with my kids generally) but only recently stepped in there after picking up my DSLR camera. I must say that it was definitely another experience to go there for a specific reason to take photos.

Perhaps the Zoo should consider having special photography guided tours to make things more fruitful for all the gazillions of photographers I encountered that afternoon?

Here's my White Tiger shots - I stayed there for about 2 hours trying to get the shots (photography has certainly taught me the art of patience):

The Rhino was a nice easy target for beginner photographers like me as they move ever so slowly:

Zebra is also a fav of mine. I like the way it was looking squarely at the camera when I took this shot:
Slow moving (and docile) animals like the one below is also another good target:
The most unlikely great photo I got that afternoon was from a humble duck:

Off to the world and beyond!