Coney Island Park Singapore in Pictures

Situated in the town of Punggol in the north-east region of Singapore, Coney Island is a 50 hectares uninhabited island that were turned into a nature park. There is a rough road network for cycling and jog activities. The park has a boardwalk and a narrow two-kilometre beach front. The beach is merely for sight-seeing and strolling activities only. There are shelters and open spaces scattered within the island for resting and bird watching activities.

Orchard Road Christmas Light Up 2017

The festive season here in Singapore has kicked off as the annual Christmas Light Up on Orchard Road was held last Saturday. The president officiated the light up ceremony, just like in previous years. The whole stretch of Orchard Road beginning from Tanglin Mall all the way down to Plaza Singapura will be covered with icy white tree shaped lights reflecting this year’s theme Endless Wonders. What is special this year is that the lights will be turned on as early as three in the afternoon, as the organizers wants shoppers and visitors to have a different experience.

Singapore Underpass Art Scene

Singapore is a fine city (pun) so says souvenir shirts being sold in all tourist shops that sell souvenir items that caters to tourists. But it is true in reality and you will hardly see nuisance graffiti on the walls  even in inner seedy alleys of older streets in Singapore. So if it happens you see murals and street art in Singapore, it must be legally done and with consent of the authorities.

Singapore River Festival 2017

Last Saturday I came to check this year Singapore River Festival lineup. The Singapore River Festival is an annual event  within and along the river. This year there were three activities being held at three quays, the LED kite flying at Clarke Quay, the movie night under the stars at Robertson Quay, and the first time Regatta Rumble at Boat Quay.

Visiting National Gallery Singapore, Part 1

Before the closing of the two iconic historical buildings, the former Supreme Court Building and City Hall, I had the opportunity to visit and explore  its interiors during its open house before it will be close and subject into major renovation to transformed the two iconic buildings into one edifice that will be named National Gallery Singapore. It was then did I focused on to the former Supreme Court building which I have chronicled on my post.

Few months ago I got the chance to visit the National Gallery Singapore. Since it was opened on November 2015 it was only recently that I got to check the gallery up close.

Visiting National Gallery Singapore, Part 2

Visiting National Gallery Singapore, Part 1

During my visit, it was only the UOB Southeast Asia gallery that I have explored due to time constraint. I was so engrossed admiring the interiors of the old Supreme Court building and all the paintings on display on the gallery that by the time I came out it was already evening. The UOB Southeast Asia Gallery aptly named Between Declarations and Dreams.

The UOB Southeast Asia Gallery occupied three floors and chronologically presented from the 19^th century period to the 1990s. It displays important artworks mostly from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the rest of Southeast Asia.

Singapore, Ho Say

The recent Sentosa Sandsation 2017 sand sculpture festival held at Siloso Beach Sentosa has featured larger-than-life sculptures that not only you will be amazed  by the design but also you will made to stop look and think of what the artist want to conveyed.

The entire exhibition were group into three zones. The first part is the sculptures depicting Singapore’s unique blend of culture thru humour and oddity. The second part is a competition zone featuring 14 renowned sand artists from 13 nations. The third zone is the interactive sand sculpture were visitors can be part of the sculpture and be photograph for the souvenir photoshoot.

Convolutions

Part of the Singapore Night Festival, is the light mapping art installation titled Convolutions. Convolutions is a light, laser, and music projection that projects the façade of the National Museum of Singapore into a different state of disarray.  The seven minutes showstopper is a visual spectacle combining architecture and sculptors imagery and a multiple laser of colours.

In Pictures: Birds at Jurong Bird Park Singapore

In Pictures: Singapore National Day 2017 Celebration

Last August 9, 2017 was the 52th national day of Singapore. The highlight of the event was the national day parade. The parade can be viewed live by select and lucky Singaporeans as the event is a ticketed event. This year’s parade was held at the floating platform in the marina bay area.  For reason though there is no way you can view live the parade outside the floating area as it is cordoned off, the rest of the crowd still gathered within the vicinity of the marina bay. They came for the highlight of the event, the fireworks display emanating right at the middle of the water reservoir. 

In Pictures: Khmer Traditional Wedding Cultural Show

Themepark: Cambodian Cultural Village, Siem Reap

Angkor archaeological sites are the main tourist attractions in Seim Reap Cambodia, but aside from that there are other places in Siem Reap that is worth visiting too. One of these is the Cambodian Cultural Village.

Cambodian Cultural Village is a themepark constructed in 2001 that contained the country’s mini replica of its famous buildings, a wax and historical museum depicting its people and its culture, and the different local ethnic villages found throughout the country.

In Pictures: Shwedagon Pagoda, Yangon, Myanmar

Themepark: Mini Siam, Pattaya

 If you happen to visit Pattaya in Thailand, one of the city’s attraction that you may include in your itinerary is this outdoor themepark named Mini Siam. Located along Sukhumvit Road north of Pattaya, it contains replica of  the world’s and Thailand’s famous landmarks and monuments.

Built in 1985, the park has shown its age but still some of the structures are in good condition and the whole area is aptly maintained. Because there are a lot of them, the structures can be viewed in group for you not to miss any one of the structures. There are a lot of these famous landmarks in miniature and it would be quite tiring and time consuming if you view it up-close one at a time.

Beach Getaway: Minang Cove Resort, Tioman Island

Going on even a short getaway is becoming a rarity for me unlike way back few years ago. My present job assignment hold me 6 days a week, and it means I can only have Sunday as my free day. What more is  I cannot easily just file a leave if I want to. That is why only when a public holiday falls on a weekend can I plan to travel. But the downside of travelling during these period is, it is expensive because of the expectation that everybody is travelling out in Singapore. During public holidays in Singapore, hotels and resorts in neighbour countries have mark up their rates.

The Hari Raya public holiday falls on a Sunday so the following day is the official holiday. This means I have only 2 days to spare for this holiday. I was thinking of another beach getaway that does not require me to take plane to go there. Two options came up for me, the nearby islands of Indonesia and the beaches in Malaysia. In Bintan Indonesia, all the cheaper nice beaches  have been fully-booked already and the only left are those high-end resorts which way too expensive for my liking. So I searched for possible getaway in Malaysia. I have been longing to go back to Fort Dickson, the first time I went there years ago I enjoyed the place and have a nice recollection of the place. But when I searched online for a nice resort to stay, the one I love to stay were all fully-booked. I was looking for the stilt rooms by the sea but all were taken up already.

Museum Exhibit: Joseon Korea

Another on-going exhibition at Asian Civilization Museum that I had the opportunity to view is the Joeson Korea – Court Treasures and City Life. During the Singapore Heritage Festival held on May, the museum was open to the public for free.  I took the oppurtunity to check the exhibition as I was intrigued with Korean culture and heritage. I have no idea that Korea was once ruled by a king.

Gardens by the Bay turns 5

 

Last Saturday I went to Gardens by the Bay to watch the multimedia show at the Supertree Grove area in celebration of the 5^th anniversary of Gardens by the Bay.

Upon arriving at the garden, I have notice long fabrics hanging on some of the supertrees so I expected it there will be acrobats that will be swinging and rappelling up and down. As the area near these supertrees were already crowded, I walk further and trying to find a good location so I can have a good view of the show. I thought viewing it at elevated platform will give me a good perspective and can shoot the acrobats at eye level

Lunch at Bonchon

I seldom talk about where I went to eat. But this case is a bit worth talking to. One lunchtime, I tried the food of Bonchon at Compass One mall, Sengkang. Bonchon is a South Korean-based fried chicken restaurant franchise, and what I heard and read, it is quite popular because of the fried chicken they serve. On a first glance from the outside I have mistaken it as a fast food chain, but then I realized there is no counter to order food. It is only then that I realized it is a set down restaurant.

Exploring S.E.A. Aquarium

 

One of the attractions in Resorts World Sentosa in Sentosa Island, Singapore is the S.E.A. (South East Asia) Aquarium. Home to over 100,000 marine creatures contained in one huge building. Its main attraction is the humungous viewing panel that by standing in front of it gives you the feeling of being on the ocean floor. It’s quite enormous and overwhelming.

Because I am an Islander, I was able to visit the S.E.A. Aquarium at a discounted rate of SGD 10.00. And here’s my experience of the visit.

The visit to the aquarium is comparable to traveling to an island destination that keep changing ports before reaching to its final destination.

Caramoan Island Hopping: The Long Trip

skywatch

 Caramoan in the Philippines is one of the favourite shooting location of the tv reality show Survivor. Because of the exposure it gets from the show, Caramoan became a holiday destination for both locals and overseas tourists.  Caramoan is famous for its island hopping. The several islands that scattered around the Caramoan peninsula has its own characteristics and attraction worth exploring. Some of them were close to the mainland while others were quite far away. That is why the island hopping tours are group into two trips, the short trip which is half-day tours covers the nearby islands, and the long trip that will take whole day covers the farther islands.