Accidental Tourist @ Annual Vesak Day Shoot

This year is my 4th set of photographs depicting the Vesak Day celebrations - previous postings made earlier in 2012, 2011 and 2010. 

I have been faithfully documenting the '3 steps 1 bow' ceremony held at Bright Hill monastery (aka Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple) as I am deeply humbled by the experience every time. 

Although I am not Buddhist, I have full admiration of the inner strength required from those who undertake to  perform this deceptively simple '3 steps 1 bow' ceremony every Vesak Day. I heard from some worshipers that the attendance for this ceremony has risen over the years and it is getting more and more difficult to get the tickets for performing this ceremony. 

For every shoot during this ceremony, I am constantly reminded that it is often not the physical strength but a case of mind, devotion and perseverance over physical body strength.

On the actual Vesak Day itself, I took an early morning trip  down to a temple I visited last year called Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple in Toa Payoh, hopped over to Thekchen Cholin Tibetan Temple at Balestier Road before ending my Vesak Day temple shoot at my favorite temple in Chinatown, Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. This is also the 1st year that my Vesak Day shoot has been marked by heavy rainfall....well, there's always a first time for everything :) 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!!

Accidental Tourist - Tale of 2 greens.... Bukit Brown vs. Bishan Park

I had an opportunity over the recent Vesak Day weekend to enjoy 2 different experiences in 1 day - morning visit to the "soon to be destroyed" natural environment of Bukit Brown followed by an afternoon sojourn to the new Bishan Park under the brief drops of rain. 

Over on one side was the largely untouched natural wonder of Bukit Brown which is slated to be drastically destroyed in the coming weeks/ months so that new roads can be built to cater to the ever-growing car population of my small city. Largely left to its own devices for about a century, Bukit Brown is a pristine landscape haphazardly manicured by nature with overgrown tree barks bending and aching from its own weight. I had previously lamented on the loss of Bukit Brown in an earlier blog post (http://accidentalsingaporetourist.blogspot.sg/search/label/Cemetery) but I realise that this visit will likely be the last few (if not the last one) that I will be able to undertake during my lifetime. On the other side is the newly opened Bishan Park - with trees evenly spaced out amongst beautiful manicured gardens where grass areas and ponds are placed just to maximize the man-made serenity of the place. 

I cannot help but look at our generation of folly where we will be responsible for destroying something that is naturally created only to turn around to build landscapes that suit and match our idea of what nature should look like. 

It is sad that only after we burn the last green will we realize that we cannot re-build what we have destroyed. Till the next time, onto the world and beyond.