Singapore Fun Fotos 7 plus Pulau Ubin

We will be leaving Singapore soon, so I have kept my phone camera handy for the sights I see nearly every day.  Some places I have covered before, but they are still amazing sights.

An early morning jog showed me dawn on Marina Bay:

The Louis Vuitton Store before opening:

The lotus-shaped Art Science Museum

The downtown skyline 

A VERY rare sight, just near the Chanel store:

After winding my way past the skyscrapers, these sculptures near Raffles Place fascinate me:

A sky-high mural depicting the world in living plants:

Part of a wall mural of glass fish.  You just want to touch it!

This Dali Sculpture "Homage to Newton" is permanent, near Boat Quay:

And this one, "Horse Saddled with Time,"  is part of a temporary exhibit on Orchard Road:

Later that day I cleaned up and visited an Art Exhibit of the Singapore Watercolor Society.  Here are a select few (yay, they don't mind if we take pictures!)  Here is an artist from Beijing with her painting of Cock's Comb blossoms....her daughter wanted to take a photo the artist with me

The Marina Bay view:

Tiong Bahru:

Horsecart:

The David Elias Building that I have included in an earlier blogpost:

Most amazing is this student 2nd place winner...I would definitely buy this if I could:

I stopped into the lobby of the Fullerton Hotel (had to dodge a Maserati on my way in...) and saw this "bouquet" with teddy bear driver, celebrating the upcoming Grand Prix race. Imagine the fun they had making this!!

Next day, took a trip to Pulau Ubin, an unspoiled island off the Changi coast.  You take a bum boat (fare is $2.50) over to experience what the islands all used to be.  Years ago, we took the kids there and rented bicycles to see the old quarries.  It still looks the same except there is now a boardwalk to enjoy the wetlands.  My camera didn't take very good photos, so I will just give you a taste:

The bumboat view:

The boardwalk:

A famous critter that lives here is the Fiddler Crab.  He is a little guy who with that big claw that attracts mates and scares off rivals.

Mudflats...all the black spots are little fiddler crabs, waving their claws:

Spot the lizard!

Some beautiful vegetation - the seed pot of the Attap Palm. These seeds are used for the local Malay dessert called Ice Kaching.

And the special treat, a sighting of the indigenous wild pigs that roam the island.  Despite their wil look, they are extremely tame and came close, hoping to be fed.  But all of us hikers that day were god citizens and kept our snacks to ourselves.  There were about 5 adults, several juveniles and 2 little striped babies:

One last glimpse of an old quarry:

And the trip back on the bumboat:

That's all for now - A few more posts coming soon!

Singapore Saturday Night

Singapore National Day is celebrated August 9.  That is the day in 1965 when Singapore split from Malaysia to became an independent country.  

Each year the citizens hold a grand celebration,held at Marina Bay, the water surrounded by the symbols of Singapore: the 3-towered Marina Bay Sands complex, the historic Fullerton Hotel, the Esplanade Concert Hall, the sky-scraping bank buildings and the iconic Merlion Fountain.  (that funny-shaped metal roof under the water stream is the Esplanade)

There is a floating platform that faces a grandstand (not far from the Formula One Grandstand) where local groups will perform well-rehearsed song and dance numbers that celebrate the heritage of Singapore.

Similar to Macys Thanksgiving Day parade,  groups rehearse for months before National Day.  On Saturdays through the summer months, dress rehearsals are held at the venue.  

Sitting in our high-rise apartment on Saturday afternoons, the sound of helicopters alerts us to look out the windows.  Here is what we see:

They take the flag down the path of the river, fly over the bay and out to sea:

Last Saturday after the flag reminded us of the rehearsal, we hopped in the car and went down to the Bay to see if we could catch some of the fun.  After parking we followed the stream of like-minded residents and found a spot on the crowded Esplanade sea wall. Groups were rehearsing at the floating platform but it was barricaded so we could only hear/see from afar. Until the fireworks started.  We had front row spots!  

Behind us at the outdoor Esplanade stage, a jazz group was performing.  (I know there are rules about videotaping music, but I don't even know the group's name...sorry)  Here is a sample of the great music we got to hear!

Another fun night in Singapore!

Singapore Fun - Fun Fotos 6

I've had lots of fun experiences lately. Here are some of them.

I took a different route on my run one day, going down Orchard Road and turning up Selegie and then Sophia Road.  Amid several new apartment buildings, here was a row of Peranken style attached houses with their beautiful tile decorations:

I came upon a park at the top of a hill:

"Majulah Singapura" is the national anthem

It was about 9 AM...all was quiet until I came over a hill and heard a bunch of pounding noises...and found out it was a bunch of ex-pat women doing a cross-fit class with boxing gloves:

At the base of the hill is this wonderful building that I have noticed on bus rides but never saw close up before.  It is the David Elias building; despite the Star of David and stained glass windows, it was not a synagogue, but a Jewish man's place of business in the early 20th century.

There are several restaurants on the ground floor; here is how they celebrate a Grand Opening:

Stopped in at the grocery store...you may enjoy these signs 

ONE bottle of Barefoot wine:                                          ONE 6 pack of Bud:

and Frogs' Legs!!  Fresh!!

Our Saturday morning running group took a detour and visited Haw Par Villa, a fantastic place built by the Tiger Balm creator/millionaires.  There used to be a mansion and garden there; what is left is a garden filled with statues and dioramas depicting Chinese myths and legends.  The 8 Immortals are represented beautifully, and several dioramas featuring animals dressed like people, kind of like Peter Cottontail, Brambly Hedge, or Micky Mouse.

However, the most talked-about section of the Villa is the "10 Courts of Hell" that depicts what happens after death.  You could be a good person and take the Golden Bridge to Heaven.  Or be a good person who made a some mistakes and get the Silver Bridge to Heaven.  OR you could be a BAD person and have to endure the 10 Courts of Hell.  You meet a judge; he sentences you according to your sins.  If you cheated on taxes or disrespected your elders you may be crushed to death, cut in half or thrown into a lake of fire....

They say this section was made to scare children into obedience....it would certainly give them nightmares!

Outside this section were the Tiger Palm cartoons:

This was built in the 1930s - amazingly well kept and free admission!

We had heard about this and finally went to Nox: Dining in the Dark.  After cocktails in the lounge the blind server led us upstairs to our table in Total Darkness.  Really.  We had 3 delicious courses, guessing what we were eating and enjoying our conversation while not enjoying how black it was!  The food was great (no tricks); afterwards, in the light again, they showed us photos of our meals.  We got most of them right, but I mistook strawberries for apples in a dessert...

with friends Ryan and Teresa after the event: 

After dinner we walked down Arab Street and enjoyed the ethnic neighborhood.  A whole row of outdoor Turkish cafes led to the historic Sultan Mosque:

The largest bicycle I've seen in a long time... and the iconic 7 Eleven shop:

We liked the looks of those Turkish restaurants along this street so a few days later we took our friend Mike there and enjoyed delicious kebab, a plate of mezza, lamb and falafel.  I think maybe the sign painter got the words mixed up, but you know what they mean:

He then introduced us to a new dining choice.  Late night Drive-up Murtabak!  It is like a crepe/egg tortilla, that is filled with meat, onions and potatoes.  Delish!  

So you drive up in the right lane of a busy street across from the mosque; 

you look at the menu (see below) a guy takes your order; 

the chef in the window does his magic and bakes it; 

you drive away with a monster size meal.

Late night fun!

During May I substituted nearly every day.  Here is a 7th grade class I had for several days - happy summer to you!

 Singapore had an invasion of these gigantic moths; they are beautiful, up to 6 inches in height.  This one was in our apartment lobby.  (no photos of the cockroach that got up to our 19th floor apartment last week)

And one more outing before my summer vacation.  John, Gayle, Kay and I took a walk through Sungei Buloh Wetlands Reserve.  It is basically a Mangrove Swamp with paths and boardwalks to enjoy.  We expected to see lots of lizards but they were hiding that day.

Just lots of nature:

And there was a baby crock in this water but you can't see him:

Can you spot the spider?

And finally, here is a picture of a Catholic Church down near Little India that I had never noticed before.  We were passing by, and it was so pretty I just had to capture it: