Accidental Tourist - "Can Survive Lah!" Tour with Gereldene Lowe

I was fortunate to walk with Ms.  Geraldene Lowe on her 'Can Survive Lah!" tour that focuses on Singapore's surviving but vanishing trades like Joss Stick Maker, Paper House Maker, Chinese Instruments/ Opera Shop Owner and Wood/ Seal Carver. 

Before joining her tour, I was definitely unaware of the existence of these men and women who have been working their craft with their families in the same trade for the past 2-3 generations. 

The Joss Stick Maker was one Mr. Amos Tay who is a third generation artist who makes intricately carved figurines and joss sticks from the cinnamon tree. His shop is located at an industrial park area in Ang Mo Kio. I saw him work his hands that transformed what looked like the 'modern day' "Play Doh" to a fine looking porcupine fish. On another side, gold colored paint was being applied by hand onto certain sections of joss sticks and I stood there mesmerized by the speed of the handiwork that is being performed before my very eyes. From what Gereldene shared, 20 feet tall joss sticks are now banned in Singapore due to fire hazard concerns. I was happy to see that they kept a 10 foot tall joss stick in one corner of the shop and quickly indulged in my photography passion. 

Free photo slideshow made with Smilebox

At our next stop, we walked down to a shop that does Paper Houses. I spoke to one Mr. Zhou who was kind enough to spare me some time to tell me a bit about the history of this place. Apparently he is also took over from his father and these paper houses are generally offered as part of the last journeys of a deceased i.e. burnt as part of the offerings. He told me that after the frames are assembled and tied by hand with each sheet of paper applied onto the stick frames by hand. Despite the labour intensive work involved, they can complete their usual orders in about 1 day! His sister then showed me a photo of one of their most elaborate pieces and informed me that the paper mansion complete with garden, forecourt, gate etc) took them longer - I think she said it was 1-2 months. 

Slideshow personalized with Smilebox

After a refreshing fruit juice stop at a fruit shop in a hawker centre, we were sped off to meet Mr. Jeffrey Eng (owner of Eng Tiang Huat, a shop who promotes and provides Chinese cultural products like musical instruments, opera costumes and embroidery work since his grandfather's time from 1937). Mr. Eng was affable and was deft in explaining what a Chinese Opera will require to put on a performance by using fake moustache, whiskers and hats. He even played some of the Chinese musical instruments like Erhu and Gong to show how the music complemented the Opera being staged. He was very entertaining with his stories and his shop is definitely a shop of treasures! 

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Our last stop for the day was at Yong Gallery in Chinatown where Mr. Tay (expert woodcarver/ seal maker) is stationed. With patrons like prime ministers, ministers, dignitaries, he is definitely well loved for his skills and handiwork. Fortunately for us, he was able to display his carving skills on a small Chinese seal in a work table located just outside his shop. Mental note to self is to make sure I get a nice wood carved plaque made by him for my birthday. 

Another free digital slideshow by Smilebox

I have certainly enjoyed my half-day excursion with  Geraldene  as I saw a side of my little island that I have NEVER thought to exist.  Geraldene Tours are definately unique and one of a kind and she has so many stories and memories to share that I will jump at another chance to go on her guided tour when the opportunity arises. 

You can contact Geraldene through the following means if you are interested to find out more of her tours: 
email: geraldenestorus@hotmail.com 
Tel: (65) 81551390/  (65) 67375250
address: 27 Oxley Road, #06-08 Orchard Court, Singapore 238621

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - Vesak Day 2012

To mark my 3rd year holding onto my DSLR, I continue with my yearly tradition of covering the Vesak Day festivities at various temples in Singapore - my blog entries of visits made in 2010 and 2011. 

For this year, I decided to head down to 3 temples i.e. 
(1) Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Temple (aka Bright Hill Temple to me) is the largest Buddhist temple in Singapore and also holds has the largest '3 steps 1 bow' ceremony in the evening before Vesak Day. 

I continue to express my utmost respect for all participants of this ceremony - to me, undertaking a ceremony that requires one to walk 3 steps before fully prostrating yourself on the hard tarmac floor for 2 whole hours is worthy of respect. How grueling? Well, I only took the photos and my thighs and body was aching all over for 2 whole days after the evening shoot. My collection of 3 photos marking the ceremony. 

Head Abbott together with his Monks at the start of the Ceremony

(2) Thekchen Choling Tibetan Temple which has a special ceremony that involved the unveiling of a 14foot/ 3 meter long Thangka only on Vesak Day. The purpose of a Thangka is intended to serve as a record of, and guide for contemplative experience. They are intended to convey iconographic information in a pictorial manner. One can donate prayer flags and wishing ribbons - my "to-do" list for next year is to attend the fire puja ceremony that will be conducted in the evening. 

Butter Lamps

Bathing the Buddha Ceremony

(2) Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple was also on my "to visit" list this year as it's Singapore's oldest Buddhist temple and second largest in Asia. Built between the years 1902 to 1908, the temple literally translates to the Twin Grove of the Lotus Mountain Buddhist Temple. The grounds are HUGE - a mental note was to venture into the grounds of this magnificent place  early next year. 

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

Accidental Tourist - Closure of Victoria Street Wholesale Centre & Rochor Centre Flats

Change is a constant...at least in Singapore. 


Today, I passed by an area that will be experiencing significant changes to its landscape in the coming months. In fact, the VICTORIA STREET WHOLESALE CENTRE has already closed and the ROCHOR CENTRE FLATS are well on its way down memory lane with its imminent closure in 2016 
(more information provided in these news reports: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/leaving-rochor-centre-a-heartbreak-for-residents.html and http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1179012/1/.html).  


I reviewed the photos that I took of the 2 locations in an earlier photowalk with Singapore Photowalkers and decided that it'll be a nice journey back to remember these 2 locations using the photos taken in January 2012: 

Accidental Tourist - March 2012 Walking Tour "Stained Glass Stories"

I am a sucker for stories so I went on the "Stained Glass Stories" Walking Tour that was organised by the Preservation of Monuments Board. We walked around the central area covering 3 national monuments i.e. St. Joseph's Church, Church of St. Peter and Paul and the previous CHIJ Chapel. All 3 monuments are representative of Gothic architecture which features the pointed arch, the ribbed vault, and the flying buttress. The Gothic style, when applied to an ecclesiastical building, emphasizes verticality and light (info from Wikipedia). 


Briefly, stained glass is used in churches as it represents the idea of reaching God, both in height and light. Stained glass requires skilled workers and those shown during the walk were either made in Belgium or France. Stained glass also served as visual aids of teaching the religion when English was not widely used in the early days.

The tour started at 3p.m. on a hot Saturday afternoon with the grounds of St. Joseph's Church @ Victoria Street (short deviation: the streets Queen Street and Victoria Street are both named after Queen Victoria).    Entering St. Joseph's Church always brings back lovely memories of my younger schooling days attending mass as I was attending school at St. Anthony's Convent (more info at Wikipedia & the 100th Anniversary book available in PDF here). 
Anyway, back to St. Joseph's Church, the building was built in the Gothic style by the Portuguese Mission - the original church was constructed from 1906 to 1912 with its foundation-stone laid two years earlier.The present Saint Joseph's Church, completed in 1912, was built on the same site by the notable firm Swan & MacLaren (same company responsible many notable monuments of Singapore like Raffles Hotel, Cenotaph, and Tanjong Pagar Railway). The stained glass of St. Joseph's is mainly blue and red and all made in Belgium (signed at the bottom of the stained glass) (info from Wikipedia). Besides its lovely stained glass, St. Joseph's also has lovely blue and white tiles depicting the religious scenes on the outside walls of the church. 






Moving onto our next stop i.e. Church of St. Peter and Paul one of the oldest church built in 1869-1870. The stained glass of this Church is manufactured in France with the names of the saints featured in the stained glass in French. This church is also a familiar one to me personally as I often visit this church for mass in my younger days. 

The last stop is at the former Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus chapel; now known as CHIJMES Hall This complex of convent buildings has a Gothic-style chapel. It was used as a Catholic convent for 131 years, with Caldwell House constructed in 1840–1841 and the chapel in 1904. The chapel, now a multi-purpose hall, is known as CHIJMES Hall (赞美礼堂), and Caldwell House, now an art gallery, have both been gazetted as national monuments (info from Wikipedia). The stained glass here were produced in Belgium. One of the interesting story here relates to the Gate of Hope, where at this small gate, many babies were abandoned in baskets to be picked by the Sisters of the Convent. 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!  

Accidental Tourist - Mixed Feelings walks around Bukit Brown

Walking around a cemetery is unheard of in Asia - especially one that has been around since 1830s (over 180 years old!) but it was with mixed feelings that I undertook both walks (once with Nature Society & another with Heritage Singapore) held at Bukit Brown Cemetery. This is because the local Singapore government has decided to cut a 8-lane road across the cemetery. A lot of news, both local and international, (Economist & Wall Street Journal amongst others) have been reported regarding this episode (much like the one involving the KTM Tanjong Pagar Railway that was closed in 2011). 


Someone mentioned that we Singaporeans only throng to an old place when the government wants to do something to it - I agree with this statement but would also want to state that in a modern city, we can only count the number of old places that are being left alone. For me, I strongly believe that if I don't record or experience the place as it was before redevelopment, there will NEVER be another chance and as such, I continue with my quest to visit these old places. Someone else chimed that the long necks of the construction cranes is Singapore's national bird - a fact that my city country develops at an incredible (sometimes alarming) speed. 



I have only spent a short amount of time at Bukit Brown - however, the tranquility and the peace that only a place filled with tombstones can  provide will be missed. The trips actually brought me back to my younger days when I would go with my grandmother to visit my grandfather's grave when it was still at Paya Lebar area. 


For those with better knowledge, the imminent loss of those graves in Bukit Brown equals a loss to future generations as with the exhumation of graves, the clues to the past concerning funeral rites, material usage, architecture and last but not least the impact on flora and fauna will be lost and irrecoverable.  I believe there is a Chinese saying that goes something along this line...."if you take care of your ancestors, your future will be protected" which for those making way for the highway, is a foregone conclusion. 



A sad song is playing in my head as I write this entry & I think it will continue playing in my mind for some time.....

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - i Light Marina Bay 2012

The 2nd edition of i Light @ Marina Bay is now happening until 1 April 2012. I went to the inaugural 2010 iLight as well (blog entry here). 


This year's light installations span a wide area starting from Merlion Park with a loop down to The Promontory @ Marina Bay and down to The Marina Bay Sands before ending the journey at the Float @ Marina Bay.  


I went down with a group of photo enthusiasts I met online from SPIN (aka Singapore Photography Interest Network) https://www.facebook.com/groups/Singapore.SPIN/. 


Fortunately, contrary to normal Singapore weather, that night was quite cool (albeit still the normal humidity levels) and it was an overall pleasant walk that ended at 11p.m. - perfect timing as the light installations switch off at that time.  


Here's a few photos to mark this little excursion: 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

[my other entry at JPG.mag http://jpgmag.com/stories/18663]

Accidental Tourist - February 2012 Walking Tour "A Debt to History" www.pmb.sg

I went on a "A Debt to History" walk on Sat 25 Feb 2012; organised by the Preservation of Monuments Board (www.pmb.sg).

Starting from Arts House (former court house, jails, legislative, assembly house, parliament house before finally its present use as an arts centre) along the Singapore River, we meandered past the Cavenagh Bridge (one of the oldest bridges built in 1870 and only suspension bridge in Singapore) and Anderson Bridge (built in 1910) before descending on the monuments along the Esplanade.  

Arts House (former court house, jails, legislative, assembly house, parliament house before finally its present use as an arts centre)

 The Cenotaph (a war memorial commemorating the sacrifices of those who perished during World War I and World War II) and Lim Bo Seng Memorial (dedicated to the memory of Lim Bo Seng, who was a key figure in anti-Japanese activities during World War II and is recognized as a local war hero in Singapore) before ending the walk on the Padang (the venue of many momentous events like national parades and the surrender of the Japanese in WWII). 

It was an excellent walk through history starting from the 1800s. Looking forward to my next walk with them in March. 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!