Accidental Tourist @ Raffles Place, Singapore's Commercial Hub

Who would have thought that a walk around Raffles Place is actually a walk down Singapore’s history?

I got a local history lesson from the online research carried out on Raffles Place.Some trivia to wet your appetite: 

1. Raffles Place was formerly called Commercial Square and was designated for commercial activities by Sir Stamford Raffles himself back in 1822 as part of his Raffles Town Plan. The rectangular centre of Raffles Place was often referred to as Raffles Square. 
2. It was the first reclamation project in Singapore as it was swampy land next to the Singapore River. An old photograph of this place is available at http://pictures.nl.sg/ece740d4-2c9d-4e22-b90b-2526482e0b0c.aspx.
3. Part of the history of this place resulted in the naming of the streets such as Market Street and Chulia Street (know earlier as Kling Street) were named after Dr Jose D'Almeida, the surgeon, who had his dispensary and his business firm of Jose D'Ameida and Sons in Commercial Square.” 
4. Singapore’s very own (and oldest department store) John Little started their operations here in Commercial Square back in 1845. An old 1890s photograph of John Little in Raffles Square can be seen from http://pictures.nl.sg/8b573ddb-a7f7-43a8-8acf-24babe88ebd8.aspx 
5. In 1858, Commercial Square was renamed Raffles Place. The sea came right up to the buildings on the south side of the square then, many of which were godowns with jetties that allowed cargo to be loaded and unloaded directly from boats. From 1857 to 1865, the land by the south side was reclaimed for commercial use. This new land became Collyer Quay. 

During World War II, and on 8 December 1941, Japanese planes made Raffles Place one of their targets of destruction. 

On 12 December 1987, Raffles Place Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Station was opened with accesses from each end of Raffles Square. The station's entrance has detailing reminiscent of the John Little Building's facade dated 1911 which was fashioned in a Spanish style.

More trivia can be found at the following websites:

• ·        On the history of Raffles Place: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_864_2004-12-30.html
• ·        on the WWII bombings: http://infopedia.nl.sg/articles/SIP_7_2005-01-25.html& http://sgfilmhunter.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/location-scouting-in-british-newsreels-made-before-the-japanese-occupation-of-singapore-1938-42-part-4/

Trivia on the buildings that you will see once you step out of the Spanish style main entrances/ exit points that face Raffles Gardens aka Raffles Square aka Commercial Square:

• The 60-storey One Raffles Place (formerly known as Overseas Union Bank Centre and OUB Centre was officially declared open on 8 August 1988 (the auspicious triple 8 number thought to bring good luck in Chinese belief) by  Singapore's then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Ye.It was the world's tallest building then, outside of the USA. (more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OUB_Centre). 
• A few interesting facts about 67 floor skyscraper, UOB Plaza One is that it shares the same architect,KenzoTange Associates with its co-tallest building title holder, One Raffles Place (more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UOB_Plaza).It also houses Masjid Moulana Mohd Ali Mosque which is unique as first, it is located underground in basement one of the UOB Plaza – controversial as to some Muslims, this is not good as it is located “in the bowels” of the earth and second, it is the first mosque that was built to serve people who lived and worked around Raffles Place (more info http://web.archive.org/web/20070312202636/http://www.nhb.gov.sg/PE/FOF_2003/sites_moulana.html 
• Republic Plaza is the newest kid on the threesome block of tallest skyscrapers in Singapore, having only been built back in 1995. Located at the southern end of Raffles Place in the Downtown Core, the central business district of Singapore. At 280 metres (919 feet) tall, it incorporates earthquake proof features despite Singapore being relatively far from earthquake zones. More info at "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Plaza_(Singapore)">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_Plaza_(Singapore).

These and many more buildings surround the Raffles Garden – for the whole list, hop over to http://www.smrt.com.sg/Trains/NetworkMap/RafflesPlace.aspx.The place constantly rejuvenates itself as the new Ocean Towers is undergoing reconstruction as I pen down these thoughts and will only add on to the exciting new skyscrapers that I see springing up almost overnight at this location.

Till the next time, onto theworld and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist @ Ann Siang

Had a nice romp around Ann Siang Hill with my very first Photography teacher or Lao Shi last weekend and I simply had a BLAST! Just back to basics and a whole lot of fun! 

Many thanks to my Lao Shi, Steven Yee (Photovivo; www.photovivo.com) for continuing to share your knowledge about the beautiful art of photography! 

Simple yet Impactful 

can't fail with Reflections!

Simple yet Effective

Can't wait for my next Architecture guided tour with him on this Saturday! http://www.photovivo.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3919  Am sure that it is going to be just as fun! 

Some brick and mortar facts: 

• Ann Siang Hill, located off South Bridge Road, was the site of the house and estate of Chia Ann Siang (谢安祥; 1832–1892), a wealthy Malacca-born Hokkien Chinese sawmiller. 
• Located beside the former Telok Ayer Bay, it was one of 3 hills (the others being Mount Wallich and Mount Erskine which were eventually leveled) collectively known as Telok Ayer Hills.
• The Chinese used to call this area qing shan ting. The early Chinese immigrants visited Ann Siang Hill when they wanted to send money home to their families in China, as it was the traditional site of remittance houses.
• Letter writers and calligraphers also had their businesses at the five-foot way of the shophouses to help the illiterate immigrants write letters home. 
• Most of the houses in Ann Siang Hill and along Ann Siang Road were built between 1903 and 1941. 
• Ann Siang Road, which has elegantly restored shophouses today, was once the traditional home of clan associations and exclusive social clubs.

Incidentally, his 120 year-old tomb was only recently discovered in the greater Bukit Brown area by the good people at Bukit Brown.com (http://bukitbrown.com/main/?p=5085 and http://www.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120923-373261.html) 

If you are keen to explore about this area, NParks has a beautiful walking trail map downloadable at http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/ann_siang_hill_park_final_lr.pdf

Directions to Ann Siang
By MRT: 
Walk down Temple Street from Chinatown MRT (Exit A) Station - after you see Sri Mariamman Temple, you can walk towards the opposite road called Ann Siang Road

By Car: 
Won't recommend driving as parking spaces are limited and the traffic police lady is quite active in the area

By Public Bus:
Via South Bridge Road Nos. 61, 166, 197
Alight opposite Sri Mariamman Temple and walk up towards Ann Siang Road

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Romp around Emerald Hill with Sparkles and Fish Eye

A walk around familiar territory poses a different challenge to every photographer as you seek to photograph the same things in hopefully a fresh and different way every time you visit. This is even more so in a small little island like Singapore with limited spaces and places for photography. 

A recent romp around Emerald Hill posed such a challenge as it's fairly accessible (near Somerset MRT) so I decided to equip myself with my trusty Nikon D90 and my newly acquired LensBaby Sparkle together with my "in-your-face" Fish-eye 10.5mm. 

What a lovely change from the telephotos and the wide-angle lenses and it definitely gave me the creative blast I needed!  

Using the Sparkle, I got my fix of creative blur shots as every slight push and pull of the flexible accordion like barrel that ends up giving out a different photo every time you use. A somewhat whimsical feel was given to the usual 5-foot way, humble house numbers and the house guardians of this Peranakan enclave. Even something simple like a set of Peranakan tiles are given a twist with the Sparkle. As for the Fish-eye, well.....think ultra-wide angle and you are almost there.... 

Here's my collection from this wonderful journey with Sparkles and Fish-eye...hope you like them as much as I do! 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - Hindu Silver Chariot Procession (Thaipusam)

Photography has again allowed me to see a different side of my multi-cultural multi-religious society in Singapore in my coverage of the Silver Chariot Ceremony that takes place the day before Thaipusam. 

According to Infopedia, the Hindu festival commemorates the feats of the Hindu God, Lord Subramaniam son of Lord Siva. It also acknowledges Subramaniam's triumph over the evil forces. According to the legend, Lord Siva sent his son Subramaniam to help the devas or celestial beings conquer the asuras or demons. After accomplishing this task, the victorious Subramaniam was believed to have appeared before his devotees. In the vision, he was bedecked with brilliant jewels, armed with a golden spear and seated on a chariot. Thus, on Thaipusam day, Lord Subramaniam's image, adorned and decorated, is placed on a silver chariot before his devotees. This is then taken in a procession the day before. Besides being acknowledged as a symbol of virtue, bravery, youth and beauty, the Hindus believe that Lord Subramaniam is also the universal dispenser of favours. Hence, some who have made vows and pledges to Lord Subramaniam prove their gratitude to him by undergoing self-mortification on Thaipusam day.

The silver chariot procession started at around 5a.m. at the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple better known as the Chettiars' Temple at Tank Road (more info at http://www.sttemple.com/index.asp) with devotees walking down the road along Fort Canning before passing by the National Museum, down the road towards St. Andrew's Cathedral, round about past the Padang before taking the road along MICA building before heading down to Pickering Street and moving down towards Singapore's oldest Hindu Temple i.e. the Sri Mariamman Temple, South Bridge Road (more info at Hindu Endowment Board website) at around 7a.m. 

I am truly humbled by the experience as many of the devotees walked bare foot the entire journey. For me, it was basically a half-jog all the way as the silver chariot moved at a steady speed of some 20-40km/hr with the traffic police closing the roads as the procession went along. I was thoroughly tired after this experience but brought back with me memories of a totally different side of my home country as a result. 

Till the next time, onto the world and beyond! 

Accidental Tourist - Bricks, bricks & more bricks! "The Art of the Brick" Exhibition at Singapore ArtScience Museum

What can a humble brick do?

Well, from the looks of what was displayed at the "The Art of the Brick" Exhibition at Singapore ArtScience Museum, a humble brick can certainly do wonders. I went there frankly because my son is crazy about Lego bricks and he basically pestered non-stop the minute he knew about the exhibition coming to Singapore. So armed with my trusty Nikon P7000, the entire family set off to see the exhibition on its 1st day of opening on 17 November 2012.

'Marvelous' is certainly a word that comes to mind when viewing the exhibition of sculptures made from the humble brick. Another word will be "WTW?" (aka "What in the World?" more a phase I know but with abbreviations, I can cheat ;)) - human torsos, gigantic skulls etc all conjured out with thought provoking ideas of what we are, who we are and what do we want to become.

Finish off the exhibition with a ginormous 6m long Dinosaur (T Rex no less) and you know you have entered a world that you can only exclaim "Wow!" at the end. My best take-away was from my son, who basically summed in all by saying "I want to be able to do this with my Lego bricks!"

Till the next time, onto the world & beyond! 

The artist Nathan Sawaya 

Thought provoking pieces

The Think-er & the Kneel-er 

Accidental Tourist - Sentosa-Old and New experiences at iFly Singapore & Underwater World

Kiddos had a treat last year when they were treated to old and new experiences. 

New experience is their skydives at the iFly @ Sentosa, one of Sentosa's newest attraction which is also the largest wind tunnel. Kids got their 2 skydives worth and a DVD to take home plus loads of lovely memories of floating in the air (aka weightlessness). 

How big? website info: spans 16.5 feet wide and 56.5 feet tall, it is the only wind tunnel with an 18 feet tall acrylic glass wall that lets you enjoy an unparalleled view of South China Sea and Siloso Beach. (http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attractions/beaches/ifly-singapore/) 

Slightly jaded but still great experience is the Underwater World where you get on a travelevator to be transported to a world where you are one with the ocean (albeit a few seconds). Photography is challenging in such an environment where everything comes out blue & people are plenty & to add to all that, the darn fish keep swimming! ;) but I decided to give it a shot anyway with my Nikon P7000 at hand & found it quite pleasing. Next time, will bring a proper tripod with my DSLR and find a weekday (hopefully with fewer people)  to take some decent shots. 

Till the next time, onto the world & beyond!

Accidental Tourist - Taking a Bus ride

Taking a bus is easily one of the most mundane and uninspiring tasks that one has to undertake in everyday life. However, through the help of Allan of the Singapore ShutterJourney PhotographyGroup, I have re-discovered an old liking for bus rides when the bus ride itself was  an adventure & the destination un-important.  

On 31 October 2012, after a hearty dinner at Seah Imm Food Centre (a food icon in itself), a bunch of 17 camera strapping individuals boarded bus no. 30  from Harbourfront, home of Sentosa, our fun filled island before riding past the former Tanjong Pagar Railway Station at Keppel Road and accessing Singapore's beautiful cityscape with Marina Bay Sands and Singapore Flyer flanking on each side of the bus. 

From there, it heads down to Fort Road via the East Coast exPressway (ECP). Thereafter it will weave past the roads of Tanjong Katong and Sims Avenue before reaching its final destination at Bedok interchange (one of the suburban areas of Singapore). 

The bus traveled slowly but surely filled with commuters who are more interested in sleeping than admiring the views of the nation. However, on this fateful evening, they had in their company an extra 17 of us and making hell of a lot of noise in getting our paparazzi pictures of everything & everyone that happens to be on that same bus. We did a roundabout & went back to Harbourfront the same way as we came before bidding our friendly bus driver adieus! 

Will definitely encourage this frivolous & lovely excursion for those who feel that they are all too familiar with Singapore or even for our overseas friends as nothing beats a bus ride around town. 

Till the next time, onto the world & beyond!