Rediscover Singapore - Our Hawker Culture

From the East took bus service 197 and alight at Blk 506 West Coast Drive up the overhead bridge and walk to Blk 503 West Coast Drive that is where the Ayer Rajah Food Center famous for its Indian Rojak but I found there are three stalls all selling Indian Rojak so I decided to take the route that nobody will when they come to this center for its rojak because I went to the stall with no queue. Besides the famous names, there are also various local delicious food with some international cuisine, some may suggest the East versus the West argument you won't be disappointed by exploring this side of Singapore,

Rediscover Singapore - South to North Walk

The idea was mooted by our members Mr Samit from MZ Photography Group formed by our Mentor  Mr Andrew JKT, so the date was set on the 3rd July 2021 and the route to begin at Vivo City bus stop at 6.00am via the Marang Trail up Mount Faber there to catch the first sunrise there. As the sun keeps on rising, we decided to descend down Mount Faber via Pender Road to the main road for our first coffee break and a light breakfast before proceeding along Telok Blangah Road and past the Henderson Wave as we make out way to Bukit Merah and reached Queenstown and Tanglin Halt Road Estate, after exploring for a while we had our second break at the Tanglin Halt Hawker Center and also had some light lunch before we ventured into the green corridor moving north toward our destination, slowly but surely we are on the right track and we reached the Old Bukit Timah Railway Station which is all covered up for renovation and as we crossed the Old Steel Railway Bridge we had out third stop for a coffee break, there a sign stating that we are about 13.3 Km away to our destination as we proceed and we reach the Rail Mall at around 2.30pm and had some food and rest after which we took to the street again through Upper Bukit Timah Road mending our ways Hillview, Dairy Farm, Mandai Estate and finally Woodland by the time we left for home we are about 12 hour or more. 

Rediscover Singapore - Glass in Bloom

Dale Chihuly Glass in Bloom takes you on a Uniquely Singapore immersive experience of Chihuly's remarkable career an intimate visual journey as art blooms in the magical Garden by the Bay. Installed around The Garden are some of his most iconic artworks including Chandeliers, Towers, Persian, Boats, Sun, Moon, Reeds glass flowers and glass painting and this is his first major gardens exhibition in Asia and we are fortunate that Garden of the Bay was picked as venue partners to showcase his amazing artworks. It begins on the 1st of May 2021 and after the second weeks of the exhibitions, the situation was not favourable as the government announce the Phase 2 HA which limited to a gathering of 2 persons instead of 8 and I hope that by the time it ends in August, things will get better for most of us to visit it again as I had a season pass meant of weekdays only.

Rediscover Singapore - Back to the begining

With effect from the 16th May 2021, our city-state is reverting back to Phase2HA due to an increase of cases pertaining to the Covid 19 in the community. There will be no dining in all the food establishments, only deliveries are allowed, the business sector will be based on work from home (WFH) the amount of person allowed to gather are limited to 2 including private hire service and taxis, public buses and Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) are not included. The school are to be home-based learning with effect from today 19th May 2021 till the end of the month. For the time being, all entry to any places should be scan for safe entry with our Trace Together apps or token for now it is advisable to stay home as much as possible in order to ride out the sickening pandemic so everyone stays safe and stays healthy and hope to see you all in after the storm is over.

Rediscover Singapore - Colonial Landmark

The Old Hill Street Police Station is a six-storey building and was built in a neoclassical style that characterised many public buildings in England during 1930. The facade is symmetrically designed with balconies, arcades, columns and rough surface masonry blocks. The building is structured into long thin blocks that surround two internal courtyards, outward, the view from each room faces the street and inward the courtyard. Altogether there are about 927 windows painted in rainbow colours. it was officially opened in 1934 and was the largest government building at that time and in 1998 the building was gazetted as a national monument. 

Rediscover Singapore - Sri Murugan Hill Temple

It was at Lam San Village where a plumber spotted a divine structure that resembles a shrine of Sri Muneeswaran and in 1962 with the support of the villagers, many of them are RAF employees who conduct their first puja to mark the founding of the shrine. A year later while clearing the site a fire was started accidentally and spread to the neighbouring huts, a report was made by the landowners and all activities was halted and no prayers were conducted and the place fell into neglect. In 1973 the temple was granted a temporary licence and a month later the temple was registered as Murugan Hill Temple at Sungei Tengah Road, among Hindus it was called Murugan Thirukkundram. The temple had a unique structure, quite unlike any temple in Singapore. There is a basement doubling as a wedding hall  the temple was closed when I visited the place due to renovation, 

Rediscover Singapore - Former Ford Factory

The Old Ford Motor Factory is located along Upper Bukit Timah Road, it is the place where the British Forces surrender to the Japanese on the 15th February 1942 after the battle of Singapore and had since been gazetted as a National Monument in 2006 and converted as an exhibition and archives named  Memories of Old Fort Factory. The gallery was originally known as the Syonan Gallery: War and Its Legacies which was dropped due to the public outcry for the use of the word Syonan. The World War II exhibition was reopened under the new name Surviving the Japanese Occupation on 15th February 2017. 

Rediscover Singapore - Sri Krishnan Temple

Sri Krishnan Temple was built 130 years ago, is one of the oldest temples in Singapore. Hanuman Beem Singh set up a shrine for Lord Krishna under a Banyan Tree in "Waterloo Street in 1870. It was to cater to the needs of the large Hindu Community from North and South India living and working in the neighbourhood bounded by Bras Basah Rd, Victoria St and Albert St. As the congregation grew so did the temple. Today Sri Krishnan Temple continues on the original site it's simple yet resplendent in Hindu Ornaments and detail. The largest ceremony is the celebration of the birthday of Lord Krishna, in recent years the temple also became a key point in promoting religious harmony in Singapore with other ethnic and religious groups for example the devotees of nearby Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple regularly participate in its ceremonies.

Rediscover Singapore - Lower Peirce Reservoir

Yesterday was my maiden visit to the second reservoir constructed after water demand outgrew its capacity of MacRitchie Reservoir. It was known as Kalang River Reservoir which was opened in 1912 as it was built across the Kalang River (now Kallang River) and in 1922 it was again renamed to Peirce Reservoir after Robert Peirce and later became Lower Peirce Reservoir following the completion of Upper Peirce Reservoir which was located upstream which was commissioned in 1975 by the PUB our national water agency. Today Lower Peirce Reservoir is a popular recreational spot because it is served by the Central Catchment Nature Reserve which also boasts a rich and large varieties of flora and fauna.

Rediscover Singapore - Sakura featuring Hello Kitty

Every year at this time of the year, Garden by the Bay present the Sakura Season or Cherry Blossom display, this year featuring the popular character of  Hello Kitty for the first time in the dome. Walking through the torii gates and enter into the Japanese landscape beauty, Cherry Blossom. The display will be on from 1st March 2021 and lasted to somewhere in April.

Rediscover Singapore - Chap Goh Mei

On the 26th Feb, 2021 is the last day of our Chinese Lunar New Year although there is a restriction on the movement and visiting of the household no matter what comes may it is still our New Year. On this day the Chinese called it a Lanterns Festival or Chap Goh Mei (Yuan Xiao Jie) signifying the end of our new year celebration. What we did on this day visiting my missed day murals walk 05 at Ang Mo Kio and today we are doing the night shots just our way of celebrations.

Rediscover Singapore - The Helix Bridge

The 280 metres long Helix Bridge was constructed in 2010 connecting Marina Bay Bayfront to Marina Centre as part of a continuous 3.5-kilometre waterfront promenade around Marina Bay just above the Youth Olympic Park the very first Youth Olympic held by Singapore and it continues for more than ll.7-kilometre waterfront route around Marina Reservoir, Garden by the Bay, Marina Barrage and the Singapore Sport Hub. The double helix structure resembles DNA and symbolises life and continuity reflecting the Marine Bay area as a bustling business hub where people can live work and play in an environment nestled among garden and flanked by water. (Text: URA)

Rediscover Singapore - Stories from Yesteryear

Today (22th Feb) is the last day for the solo's exhibition painting of Yip Yew Chong which was held at the Sub-station which coincidentally will be closed for upgrading. As you all know that Mr Yip is well known for his street wall murals which he had painted in Singapore and many other countries. His murals are more or less the lively hood of everyday life during the early years of the Singapore transformation era. Stories from Yesteryear depict his early childhood years living around Chinatown where he experiences the lives of people engaging in street hawkers, death house caretaker, letter writers, and many other colourful occupations which had ceased to exist. 

Rediscover Singapore - Mural Walk No: 7

Another day of murals hunting, this time around we are exploring Armenian Street and around the Sub-Station, that's was quick but we met our very own murals artist Yip Yew Chong who is holding his very own exhibits at the sub-station. We took a bus and headed to Everton Park our next adventure after complete the murals there we headed again to Neil Road heading towards Tanjong Pagar then to Amoy Street Hawker Center and finally to the famous murals at the back of Thian Hock Keng Temple after that our hunting had ended for yesterday.

Rediscover Singapore - Adventure continue

Today the murals hunters are on the prowl again walk 06 this time round exploring the public housing estate of Serangoon opposite the MRT Station. Yesterday I missed the walk 05 at Ang Mo Kio public housing estate and today took us about 3 hours exploring and document the works mostly done by students of colleges to celebrate SG50. Thanks to mentor Andrew JK Tan of MentorgraphyZ and Chan Kien Meng for the company.

Rediscover Singapore - Jade Emperor Birthday 2021

In Chinese folks religion, the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Dadi) or (Tian Gong) is considered the highest deity ruling the universe in Chinese Taoism mythological stories he is the most powerful god and controls all gods from the Buddhist and Taoist together with other religion. The Hokkien communities celebrate this day, the 9th Day of the Lunar New Year is the Jade Emperor birthday and make offers to him, preparations begin on the eve and as the clock struck midnight the celebration begins. Today our household still hold this celebration passed down from my mother, I could hardly think that this custom will still go on with my next generations to come, well I hope so.