What's Up Al ? 遊記隨筆 生活點滴

We left our footprints all over this beautiful city - digging in an enticing and fiery Indian curry served on a banana leaf, shouting laughter in the rain when a sudden thunder storm hit, cruising around the glitzy shopping malls completed with their own mini Venice-like canals and gondolas, roaming around the faded colonial architectures with hardly anyone around but a few darting lizards, admiring the stunning skyline with the many modern high-rises, gawking at the fantastic artistic wall paint and of course, enjoying a peppery and spicy Bah Kut Teh (肉骨茶) at one of the many outdoor food stalls all over town. We had to tear ourselves away from this activity-packed city and made our way back home. Until next time, a few photographs below to aid our fond memories of Singapore.

All over Singapore we found buildings of great aesthetic appeal every which way we turned. Just to name a few :
- Sands Hotel with its ultra-modern roof top pool and gardens which had commanding views over the Singapore Marina;
- Gardens By The Bay with its inspiring Super Trees and the spectacular light shows every night;
- Bugis+ shopping mall with its appealing design whose facade of the mall played the theme of light and illumination;
- Suntech Convention and Exhibition Centre, with the futuristic looking water fountains which provided cool shades for passers-by;
- the CBD district was full of modern looking buildings that housed banks, insurance companies and audit firms and the famed "low-rise" and low key Lau Pak Sat Food Centre located smacked in the middle of all the surrounding professional outfits;
- the Art Science Museum which looked to me like a half cracked egg, when reputedly it was designed to be a just-blossomed lotus and the locals dubbed it "the welcoming hand of Singapore";
- the majestic Sultan Mosque with its blinding golden dome in the midday sunshine;
- the Baba-Nyonya terrace houses in Orchard Road which brought back nostalgia and showcased the proud history of the Straits-born Chinese;
- the Sentosa casino with its magical aura luring un-suspecting passers-by into its gambling web;
- the Helix Bridge with its dramatic twists and turns; and
- the Singapore Esplanade Theatre By The Bay, fondly known by the locals as the Durian !

Most of them could be seen in the attached photos. Enjoy !

Sentosa Island located in the southern parts of Singapore contained all manners of entertainment and activities to keep kids and adults of all levels of energy happy - long stretch of beaches, bungee jumping, jungle walks, the Universal Studio, Seaworld, casino, historical forts, a wax museum and oodles of eateries to satisfy all tastes. We spent an entire day exploring our way around the island passing waterfalls, tropical forests and heard joyful screams from hand gliders as well as satisfying sighs from beach goers nursing over their beer. Especially worth a mention was Fort Siloso located on the western edge of Sentosa Island. The fort was built in late 19th Century and contained a number of tunnel complexes for the soldiers to duck the incoming fire and there were giant cannons to hit back at the enemies; we found present day Fort Siloso to be deserted as no doubt because for most tourists, history was more boring than bungee jumps and watching dolphins perform. So we spent a leisurely hour wandering through the lookout points, museums and took time over our photos with the mean-looking cannons. As was normal in Singapore, a thunder storm broke out in late afternoon but luckily we had by that time ducked into the efficient Singapore MRT in Vivo City and made our way back !

The next day we embarked on another day walk up to the Faber Peak where we had excellent all round views of the Singapore skylines and we also came across a do-not-mess-with-me giant spider (see below photo); we followed a well-marked trail which took us past Henderson Wave (a stylish bridge designed using a mathematical formula), Hort Park (contained numerous tropical flora, medicinal plants, spices, herbs and fruits housed in themed gardens), Alexandra Arch (another interesting bridge) as well as pounding on well-built metallic walkways constructed about 50 meters above ground, high in the tropical canopy, offering a grandstand view of the forest below. We ended our walk near the MRT station of Pasir Panjang where we found a laid-back Indian restaurant and we had a not-so-laid-back Indian fiery curry with delicious biryani, a crunchy papadum and home-made chutney, all served on a giant plantain leaf - yum !

Judging by the numerous street and wall paintings which we had come across in Little India, Arab Quarter, Chinatown, Boat Quay tunnels as well as other unexpected locations, Singaporeans had a penchant for drawing things in public ! These street arts were all done with flair, good tastes and many of them covering the whole external wall of a building and they were absolutely beautiful and pleasure to the senses - depicting Singapore's history and cultural diversity as well as showcasing the city's modernity and creativity. These paintings certainly lighted up our days here !