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 Ten Photos of 2011

Hello and welcome to Kuantan for my top ten photos of the year review. You may remember some of them from earlier posts. I had around 30 pictures, all of which could have featured in the top ten, but after much consideration, these are the best of the best.

10. At number ten is a hanging bridge over Lembing River, in the quiet town of Sungai Lembing. My wife, Lauren, and a friend stand midway down the bridge.

9. In at nine is this hot photo from Bukit Sekilau. Children stand in front of the raging fire as the fire crew make their way to the scene.

8. In eighth position is this lovely perspective picture of a road bridge in Singapore overlooking Marina Bay.

7. At seven is this picture of Lauren and her aunty Urai surrounded by sun, sea and sand at Damai beach, near Kuching.

6. This abstract image makes sixth spot. A torchlight shines down on a diamond to create this light show on the wall.

5. From the 18th floor of Park Seven condo, I captured the raindrops on the window, with the iconic Twin Towers in the background.

4. In fourth slot is this lovely yellow flower. It wasn't until I reviewed the image later that I noticed one bug homing in on another sitting on the flower.

3. In third place is this fascinating image of 'the smiling gecko'. After spending half an hour getting him out of the kitchen, we got him to the balcony on a Cornflakes box, where he smiled for a photo!

2. Second prize goes to these two flies on an orchid branch, copulating fully oblivious to my lens. I held a piece of white paper behind them for focusing purposes, whilst snapping the picture with the other hand.

1. My best picture of 2011 is undoubtedly this night scene of Marina Bay, Singapore, from the wobbly Helix bridge. It was dark, I was tired, the suspension bridge was bobbing up and down, but the picture came out crystal clear.

Which photo did you like the best? Would you have chosen a different number one?!

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

Super Singapore Part 2 - The Fullerton Hotel

The Fullerton Hotel lies near Raffles Place in the fabulous city-island of Singapore. Many times I've walked past the Fullerton Hotel, but never been inside - until last Friday. I was pleasantly dazzled with what I saw.

The main entrance of the Fullerton Hotel

I spent a few moments admiring the beauty of the Fullerton Hotel before I started taking pictures

Up-down panorama of a section of the Fullerton Hotel Ground Floor

Man playing music on a piano, above; main entrance straight ahead; staircase leading down a level

Elevators

Children lure fish at the Fullerton Hotel

The East Garden at the Fullerton Hotel

Posed for a picture in the East Garden of the Fullerton Hotel

A view inside the Fullerton Hotel

Food and drinks on the 5th floor

"The Lighthouse" restaurant on the 10th and highest floor of the Fullerton Hotel

The view of Marina Bay from The Lighthouse

Revolving doors welcome and bid farewell to visitors at the Fullerton Hotel

Goodbye, and see you tomorrow!