Blog Flashbacks Saturday (Oct 27th, 2012)

Welcome to another addition of Blog Flashbacks Saturday. I do hope your weekend has started out well. Here are a few articles from my blog archives which I hope will brighten your day a little further:

On this weekend last year I shared some images of Kuching from our trip to my wife's hometown on the island of Borneo. We had a great time and saw some interesting sights, including this totem pole at the museum. Click the above link to view those photos.

Around this date two years ago I posted about a visit to Singapore, the fabulous city-island to the immediate south of Malaysia. I used to visit Singapore often before I got my visa issues settled. Here is a beautiful image of the Marina Bay area of Singapore. For more great photos, click here: Marina Bay, Singapore photos

In October 2009 I went to see a lovely gallery of photos at East Coast Mall of the Sultan of Pahang, which were displayed in conjunction with his birthday. To browse more of these fascinating pictures, just click the link above.

Let me know which flashback you enjoyed most!

Top Posts of 2011 - Part 2

Today we are having a walk down memory lane from May - August 2011, looking over some of my favourite blog posts of the year.

1. In May 2011 Fidelia and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary, and on my blog I posted some of our pictures from our marriage in 2006.

2. Also in May, I had a fascinating delve into abstract photography which yielded some really intriguing results, like this picture below:

I indulged myself in a second round of abstractism with images such as this:

3. On 15th June, 2011, our second daughter, Leah, was born. Here is the blog post containing some of the very first pictures of Leah 

4. In July 2011, I had a great time photographing Kuantan old town and sharing the pictures here on my blog. These historical buildings are still standing and are in business today. It was great to see the sights and sounds and smells there.

5. In August 2011 I made a short trip to the splendid Singapore. It is guaranteed that I'll always return with a treasure trove of photos from this fabulous city-island. Four blog posts about Singapore were barely enough to do my trip justice!

Raffles Place

The Fullerton Hotel

Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay at night

The final part tomorrow will include January - April 2011.

Super Singapore Part 4 - Marina Bay at night

Marina Bay at night is nothing short of spectacular. I stood in the lovely, quiet atmosphere staring across Marina Bay at the awesome skyscrapers and the illuminated The Fullerton Hotel, and I marveled at the beauty of the night. Singapore has definitely done something right in developing their way to a civilized first-world country.

At 8pm and 9.30pm every night at Marina Bay, there is a light show called "Wonder-Full". It lasts for around 10 minutes and uses light and water along with projected images to create a truly spectacular display across Marina Bay. A 3-minute video of this is included at the end of this post.

Firstly, the night shots of this beautiful scene:

The helix bridge, representing a strand of DNA

Eye on Singapore

Unbelievably beautiful views of Marina Bay from the helix bridge

Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the helix bridge. The bridge has giant suspension arms so it does get a little wobbly at times. Difficult to get a perfect night scene!

Marina Bay Sands Hotel looms from above the trees

Just beautiful . . .

The lit-up skyscrapers fronting Marina Bay

From the opposite side, looking across Marina Bay to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel

The fantastic light show at Marina Bay:

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed being in Singapore, even just for a quick visit spanning 18 hours. The trip left me longing to be there again . . .  

Super Singapore Part 3 - Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is a relatively new addition to the Marina Bay area of Singapore. Every time I go to Singapore there is always something new either under construction or completed. The strange, watermelon-shaped white structure you will see in the upcoming photos is the recently completed 'Art Science Museum.'

This was the first time I entered the Marina Bay Sands Hotel. The lobby was crowded but it wasn't as spectacular as The Fullerton Hotel. Here are some images of the Marina Bay area with the iconic hotel.

Panoramic view across Marina Bay

Inside the lobby at Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Oriental music being played in the lobby

Ground Floor at Marina Bay Sands

Funny statue at Marina Bay Sands Shoppes. The shoppes is a mall opposite the hotel

Sitting at a water feature at Marina Bay Sands Shoppes

Which way to go?

I chose the food court!

I spotted this Sarawak Kuching Kolo Mee stall, remembered how my wife loves this food, and thought I'd rub it in a little by eating it in Singapore!

It really was fabulous!

View inside The Shoppes at Marina Bay

Sentosa Boardwalk, Singapore

As Singapore recently unveiled the brand new Sentosa Boardwalk, a foot bridge linking the mainland with Sentosa island, Malaysia remains pretty much the same.

Once Singapore and Malaysia were one, known as Malaya, but since Singapore broke away and became independent, they are now like two different stories, worlds apart despite their close geographic proximity. I travel to Singapore regularly in 3-5 month intervals and the stark differences between the two countries can be felt when crossing the causeway. Fair enough, Malaysia now have their new CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) complex, but that is still inconvenient with a lot more walking and a lot more driving round and round in what seems like never-ending circles.

Crossing the causeway, it's remarkable to see Malaysia on one side disappearing into the distance, and Singapore so close on the opposite side, materialising into view. One can't help but wonder how these two countries became so far apart in economy, civility and development. Indeed, there is a different smell in the air when I enter Singapore's territory. Everything is clean and immaculately tidy. Rules and laws are clearly displayed on buses and trains, and people stick to them. The public transport is a joy to use, highly convenient, and I don't get locals staring at me the way I do in Malaysia. There is an upper-class taste about the entire island. Police regularly patrol the streets and MRT stations, ensuring order is being upheld by its citizens.

And every time I go to Singapore, there's always something new! The last time I went there I was amazed to see the stunning Marina Bay Sands complex standing tall over Marina Bay. What a sight it is! I spent hours walking around the grounds, taking pictures, viewing the shopping mall, the hotel, the funky bridge that looks like twisted metal etc. It wasn't there the last time I went to Singapore before that! I'm amazed at how fast they develop the island. Resorts World Sentosa is another project that has been finished fairly quickly, opening up Sentosa to a whole new host of visitors.

And now the most recent addition is the Sentosa Boardwalk, a foot-bridge linking the mainland with Sentosa island. It comes complete with retail shops, F&B outlets and travellators for the weary traveller. While the boardwalk leads tourists to the main attraction, being Sentosa, it in itself has become a whole new attraction, another tourist pull, another development that will leave a lasting longing in the hearts of all visitors to come back again. And, of course, there is the lovely question in the back of your head - What new development will have sprouted up the next time I come?

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister, Mr. Teo Chee Hean, gave a speech at the Sentosa Boardwalk opening celebrations on 29th January, 2011 at Sentosa. For the text of his words, please follow the link:

http://www.thegovmonitor.com/world_news/asia/singapore-opens-sentosa-boardwalk-45579.html

Shortly after writing this post I came across an interesting blog about Asia and I'd like you to visit this link for an one person's alternative view about the fabulous city-island of Singapore:

http://www.blogofasia.com/the-real-threat-to-singapores-future.html

Zenith Hotel November 2010

It's been a while since I took the short walk down the road to the Zenith Hotel. I have been somewhat disillusioned ever since I witnessed the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. But gradually I've come to the realisation that Singapore is a much more advanced, first-world, clean, tidy and beautiful country which the Marina Bay Sands hotel beautifully compliments. Malaysia, and in particular, Kuantan, is a lot more modest, small, third-world, struggling with garbage disposal problems, relatively unknown when compared with the mighty Singapore. 

So the Zenith Hotel fits right in perfectly. A 24-story hotel may be tiny in Singapore terms but for Kuantan, it's now the new tallest building in this town. And whereas the design of the Zenith Hotel may not be strikingly amazing like the Marina Bay Sands, it is unique in its own way and is certainly an eye-catcher around these parts.

One hopes that the Zenith Hotel is just the start, a good beginning to even greater and better things for Kuantan.

View of the Zenith Hotel across an open field

THE ZENITH HOTEL is up in letters as work on the hotel surroundings hastily goes on

Singapore Puts Malaysia In The Shade

So I concluded my previous post detailing the Marina Bay Sands area of Singapore with the following words:

"Singapore puts Malaysia in the shade."

So impressed was I with my brief sojourn in Singapore, that I have been creating a small illustration for you all to have a look at. It puts into a picture the quote above.

I'm not trying to say Malaysia is all bad. This image merely highlights the different worlds I encountered which are amazingly separated by a short 30-seconds-to-traverse road bridge across the sea.

However, I am encouraged by one thing Malaysia seems to have got spot-on in recent times. A great bus-route for tourists around KL. It takes in 40 different attractions and one can buy tickets valid for 24 or 48 hours.

But Singapore already has the transportation down to a tee!

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands hotel is a recent addition to an ever-developing Singapore. I am fortunate enough firstly, to be living in close proximity to the city-island of Singapore, and secondly, for the privilege of spending one night around the Marina Bay Sands area of Singapore.

When I learnt that this new hotel complex named Marina Bay Sands came complete with a sky roof, I was intrigued. Seeing it in reality is a great experience that makes ones jaw drop and wonder about the sheer magnificence of Singapore. It leaves the visitor wanting more.

I know this is going to sound like a conflict of interest. I am living in Malaysia but in this post I'll be highlighting the greatness of Singapore. My blog is titled "Our Home Called Kuantan" in which I have feverishly built up Kuantan and other places in Malaysia. I have built up a facebook page dedicated to the rise of the Zenith Hotel Kuantan (click on the link if you haven't familiarised yourself with this page yet: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Rise-of-Zenith-Hotel-Kuantan/139643426072119 ), but I have been left in complete awe of the Marina Bay Sands Singapore. There just seems to be no comparison. I don't know how Malaysians really feel about their Singaporean counterparts, and vice-versa. I'm not sure if everything is friendly and rosy or whether there are silently simmering hostilities or jealousy between the two nations.

But I'm going for it nonetheless. Singapore is clean, tidy, attractive, beautiful, civilised, a perfect model of a first-world country. Nobody stared at me like they do in Malaysia. People spoke immaculate English and were very specific in their help/directions to me. It's like two completely different worlds co-existing just north of the equator of planet Earth.

I will take nothing away from Malaysia's own charms, but suffice it to say, this post is all about the standard of Singapore. Enjoy the dazzling photographs that will follow!

The Fullerton Hotel around Raffles Place is a major draw

The Merlion spits its water into Marina Bay as the awesome sky roof looms in the distance

Crowds of tourists throng the famous Merlion statue in Singapore

I too was amongst the party of visitors at the Merlion statue in Singapore

Another view of the Merlion

Taking a rest before I tackled Marina Bay Sands

This collection of metal beams is known as "The Mister". When the temperature rises to a certain degree it emits a mist to help cool down sweaty travellers.

Day was fading into night at Marina Bay, Singapore

But there was still enough light left to snap some more pictures of this row of trees flanked on the right by a shopping mall extension of the Marina Bay Sands

That's my new back-pack in the foreground. I bought it especially for my Singapore trip. It's obviously a lot better at evenly distributing the weight across both of my shoulders, as opposed to the single shoulder strap bag I used to use

The interior of the latest shopping haven in Singapore

Chanel is the choice to decorate the exterior

Like a huge glass cooking bowl, this inverted dome kept many people mystified. Coins are thrown inside but what happens if one falls down the hole in the middle? And where were all those voices coming from?

I could distinctly hear people's voices coming from the glass bowl...

This is the scene below the glass cooking bowl. It's base lowers into the shopping centre where coins drop down into a pool of shallow water. The mysterious voices are those of shoppers below, detected by microphones on the bowl, sending the sounds up to the people above. How cool is that?!

The Shoppes At Marina Bay Sands front entrance by day...

...and by night

Around the corner I was met by the impressive Marina Bay Sands hotel

The Eye is most definitely on Singapore

The Marina Bay Sands at night

I doubt I will be able to afford a stay at the Marina Bay Sands any time soon, so I'll just stick to taking pictures!

The entrance to the Marina Bay Sands is at the side of the building

A view of the Marina Bay Sands standing a little farther back

A few views of Marina Bay looking across to the Fullerton Hotel

The scenes in Singapore are stunning, whether by day, or by night

A final couple of pictures with The Mister...

A monument depicting the various sports of Singapore. The Fullerton Hotel is clearly visible on the other side

Singapore may be small but it certainly puts Malaysia in the shade.