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 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!

Super Singapore Part 1 - Raffles Place and Marina Bay

For four days this week I'll be sharing with you some pictures from my recent trip to Singapore.

Singapore is super.

Modern. Developed. Beautiful. Exciting. Clean. Interesting. Convenient. Civilized. Attractive.

I had a great 18 hours there. The best part was at night where I gazed across Marina Bay at the skyscrapers all lit up, and it was one awesome sight. Hard to explain in words. I'll be documenting that later this week.

Today it's about Raffles Place/Marina Bay. This is one of the most popular tourist hotspots in Singapore featuring the iconic Fullerton Hotel and mega Marina Bay Sands Hotel, amongst others.

Found this chocolate bar at a 7eleven outlet here. Tasted good!

A view of Raffles Place

A panorama of some buildings at Marina Bay

Another nice view

The Fullerton Bay Hotel, one of the many additions to Marina Bay in recent times

Another view of the Fullerton Bay Hotel

Throngs of tourists fill this area to take pictures with the Merlion

The Merlion spits water into Marina Bay

Children like to pose with the small Merlion

Love this view under a bridge slicing Raffles Place and Marina Bay

Couldn't resist this shot at the statue of naked boys jumping into the river!

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.