E - Esplanade, Theatres on the bay (Singapore)

@Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay, Singapore
(Taken with my Canon SX110is in 2008)




[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - E. ]
[* A Weekend in Black and White post. Click to see more entries.]

T for Tabloids

Seen on a roadside in Little India.


[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - T.]

[* Also for Wordless Wednesday.]

Q for Q here

Expect long lines when it comes to food!



What better way to ask people to queue up nicely. 'Please Q here'



...and wait to be seated. (Photo below taken with a mobile phone cam.)



Japanese food stalls fill up the food place at Singapore's ION Orchard.

[* An ABC Wednesday post. this week's letter is - Q.]

[* Wordless Wednesday]

P for Pedestrians at Bugis

And that's where you go for street shopping in Singapore.



This photo was taken two years ago and a lot has changed since then!

But anywhere in Singapore, there's bound to be a shopping centre, and it's always PACKED with PEOPLE.

[* An ABC Wednesday post. this week's letter is - P.]

[* Wordless Wednesday]

N for Night Out

And in Singapore, it's Clarke Quay.



Facing Central, Clarke Quay, Singapore.


[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - N.]

[* A Wordless Wednesday post.]

J for Jazz @ Southbridge

Jazz @ Southbridge, located along the stretch of restaurants and bars along the Singapore River.



[* An ABC Wednesday post. This week's letter is - J.]

[* A Wordless Wednesday post.]

Sea of Clouds

It's one cloudy flight.



Seen over Singaporean skies.

[* a Skywatch Friday post. Have a lovely weekend.]

Bird Crossing

They're not afraid of people... or their CARS.



Seen at Serangoon Road, Singapore.


[* a Ruby Tuesday post.]
[* Wordless Wednesday (all-week)]

C is for Chairs

Something caught my eye--- and it's the intricate detail of these chairs!





Lined up along an open area of Raffles Hotel in Singapore.

Have a lovely mid-week!


[* An ABC Wednesday post. Do visit for more words that start with the letter "C"]

[* For more interesting Wordless Wednesday posts]

Arts and Tiles

Seen at Jendela Recital Studio: Visual Arts Space @ The Esplanade, Singapore

Nothing but a wonderful MESS of colours to make good art.



Tile-like, painted on plain surface, this may be found along a stretch of wall in one of Singapore's main theatres/concert halls--The Esplanade.

(I, unfortunately, do not know who the artist is.. Does anyone happen to know?)**


[** 2014/05/05 The artist is Milica Bravacic. Below is a snippet of this work from her official website; Some of her other exhibitions here. Thanks to her art agent who sent the info -- It's great to finally put a name to such a beautiful work.]



Dubrovnik-born Milica Bravacic is now based in Singapore and offers art courses as well.


[* A post for Thursday Challenge Photo Theme: MESSY ]

Lack of Colour....Not

Seen at Hill Street, the MICA (Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Arts):





This building, also known as the OHSPS (Old Hill Street Police Station), was erected in 1934 which upon completion, was then regarded as the largest government building and a modern skyscraper. It housed the Hill Street Police Station (hence the name) and living quarters for policemen and their families. This was Singapore's first jail.

At the time of the japanese occupation, it was used by the Kempeitai as a holding area (and torture chamber, some say) for prisoners. After the occupation, it was reverted to being a police station where the Arms and Explosives Unit of the Police Department operated (1949-1981).

In the 1960's, government housing provided accommodation of the police staff and they gradually moved out, the last occupant leaving in 1979. The station was closed and renovated therreafter and was renamed Hill Street Building in 1983, then housing several government offices.

The building was gazetted a national monument in 1998, and was regarded as one of Singapore's 100 Historic Places.

It is now also known as the MICA (Ministry of Information, Communication, and the Arts), and it houses the National Arts Council, the National Heritage Board, the Media/Infocomm Development Authority, and Singapore Kindness Movement.


And just so you know, the building has a total of 911 windows with colourful shutters.




Some useful links:

The MICA website: http://app.mica.gov.sg

The ARTrium @ MICA website: http://www.artriumatmica.com

The ARTrium was established in 1991, functions as an art space/gallery for visual arts exhibitions and performaing arts events. It was converted from the courtyard os the OHSPS, the former police parade ground.




[* Well, That's My World!, what about yours?]

Merlion Park, the morning after

My previous post was the Merlion Park seen on New Year's Eve.


This photo was taken the morning after.






Ah, the first morning of 2010.




The little white dots you see floating actually contain peoples' wishes for the ooming year. You can write on these wishing spheres at various places in Singapore (like shopping centres, etc). They then leave them afloat and light them up by New Year.

(I was lucky to have been able to write on one the previous year, and luckily for me, my wish did come true!....not that you really need to know).





A little history:


The original Merlion statue used to stand at the mouth of the Singapore River, at the tip of the current The Fullerton Waterboat House Garden with Anderson Bridge as its background. It was later moved to the Merlion Park (where it currently stands), situated near Singapore's Central Business District, and is one of the most visited places by tourists.



* For a virtual reality tour, you may visit this website.

* To know more and read more FAQs about the Merlion, you may refer to this website.



[* Care for more Watery Wednesday photos?]







And just so my post isn't too redundant, here's a little something to lighten things up, I came across this at some shop. They call it The Mercat. Somewhat a cross of the japanese money cat and the singaporean merlion.

Here's the result:




..a perfect plushie souvenir for little kids, you say?

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's a photo taken on New Year's Eve in Singapore.

They've closed the roads until 2am for the countdown (at Marina Bay). The place was packed with people!

Of course, there were fireworks and everything, But it's rare occasion we see the streets full of people in SG.






That white thing over there, it's the Merlion, (Lion head and fish body), and where it stands is called the Merlion Park.

Right across the park (crossing the bridge) is the Esplanade, and the floating platform (where they've set up the stage for that evening).

Pretty interesting, and exciting evening.

How was the New Year in your country? :)

[* Have a pleasant Scenic Sunday!]

Sixteen Going on Seventeen

For some odd reason, gazebos remind me of The Sound of Music.. and it's playing silently in my head.



Location: Singapore Botanic Gardens (official website)



[*Monochrome Weekly]

Clarke Quay and the Singapore River

Taken from across Riverside Point (southern bank), located at Clarke Quay in Singapore.

A place for drinks, entertainment, shopping, and extreme sports.

Overflowing with clubs and pubs at night, it's a definite go to for party-goers.



There are more to look forward to though besides its night scene. In the day you would find markets of sorts lined up along this stretch.

Some of them adventurous bunch might even want to go for some bungee jumping. --Yes, all that in Clarke Quay.

You may want to visit Uniquely Singapore! for more visitor information.

Or go to the Clarke Quay website: www.clarkequay.com.sg

Bright, colorful flowers in the market

Located along Waterloo Street in Singapore, these flowers attract the attention of many-- locals and tourists alike.









Would you believe so many different religious places of worship are housed in this one street? -- That's Singapore for you.


~


Added information from the web:


Waterloo Street (Chinese: 滑铁卢街) is a two-way street in downtown Singapore stretching from Rochor Road to Bras Basah Road.

The street was constructed in 1837 and was initially named Church Street after Thomas Church who became a resident councillor that same year. Formerly a one-way street, the street has been converted to two ways for a couple of years, and the northern end of the street has been converted into a pedestrian mall to ease the problem of traffic jams and the crowd at Kwan Im Thong Hood Co Temple in the past, especially during the weekends and public holidays. The street, which previously extended to Stamford Road, has been shortened after the construction of Singapore Management University's city campus and the MRT station.

Several well known landmarks include the well known Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Maghain Aboth Synagogue, Sculpture Square and Sri Krishnan Temple. Maghain Aboth Synagogue is the oldest synagogue in Singapore and was built by the local Jewish community in 1878.

The Tamils call the street krishmen kovil sadakku or "Street of the Krishnan Temple", where the Sri Krishnan Temple is located next to the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple. The street is known as mang ku lu chai tng koi in Hokkien, which mean the street in Bencoolen where the vegetarian hall is. The Hokkiens and Teochews call it si beh lo that means "four horse carriages road" in English.