SinagporeTravels 1997-present
A place with special meaning for me. I was born here, spent the first couple of years of my life here, not long enough to remember anything of it, consciously, though I'm sure deep down in my bones there is some remembering, leading me to travels and life in Asia in later years.
I've been back here many times. I clearly remember the first time, aged 10, travelling with my parents: the sweltering heat of day, the sticky sultry heat of dark, the sudden sunsets, the stink of durian sold at roadsides, and giant cockroaches feasting on fruit and food rubbish littering the gutters. The place has changed completely now, of course. Durian had been banned from public places. The gutters are spotless, with roadside vendors nowhere to be seen. Though still appealing, much of its charm had been lost.
The eyes have it
Close up of the eyes of a giant mask in Haw Par Villa.
Mask
Another giant mask in Haw Par Villa.
Original Entryway
This is the original entrance to Tiger Balm Gardens (aka Haw Par Villa) on Pasir Panjang Road. This theme park to Chinese mythology dates from 1937 when the villa was the home of the Tiger Balm brothers Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par.
The 'Fu' of Fu Lu Shou
Fu Lu Shou (福禄寿 in simplified Chinese characters) is a Taoist concept which refers to Good Fortune (Fu), Prosperity (Lu), and Longevity (Shou). They denote the three attributes of a good life in Chinese culture. Traditionally, these three are arranged with Fu on the right, Lu in the middle, Shou on left. I have arranged them from top to bottom; so this is Fu. The Fu character (福) is one that commonly adorns doors during and after Chinese New Year, usually positioned upside-down, meaning 'Fu Dao' or 'Good luck has arrived'.
The 'Lu' of Fu Lu Shou
The character Lu (禄) means 'official government salary', and hence its use to depict the god of prosperity. He is usually shown in the dress of a Mandarin.
The 'Shou' of Fu Lu Shou
According to legend, Shou, the god of longevity, spent ten years in his mother's womb before being born, and at birth he was already an old man.
He is recognized by his large domed forehead and the peach he carries, which symbolizes immortality.
Sri Srinivasa Temple
The gopuram of the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple. This Hindu temple, as with many in Singapore, is very much in the southern (Dravidian) style of temple like those seen throughout the south of India, as described in the Travels in India section.
Temple interior
A man praying with joss sticks.
Doorway
Chinese temple doorways, and their interiors, make for good photo opportunities. See also this example in the China (Guangzhou) gallery, and this one in the Indonesia (Jakarta) section.
Panel
A panel inside a Chinese temple.
Sir Stamford Raffles
A statue near the harbour, of the man credited with founding Singapore. Raffles served the British Empire throughout Southeast Asia, including the island of Java, which he won for the Empire from the Dutch. He is credited with rediscovering (or, at least, bringing to international attention) the forgotten temple ruins at Borobudur and Prambanan in Central Java.
Statue
It wasn't the statue so much as the setting which caught my eye with this one, with the Singapore Shopping Centre in the background.
Chnatown
A street in Singapore's Chinatown.
Malabar Mosque
This mosque, on the junction of Victoria Street and Jalan Sultan, was constructed in 1972 by Muslims from the Malabar Coast (mostly Kerala) in India. The distinctive blue-green tiling, more reminiscent of mosques in Iran and Pakistan than India, was added during redecoration work in the 1990s.
Sultan Mosque
This mosque, on Muscat Street near North Bridge Road, dates from the 1920s, replacing a mosque on the same site built almost exactly a century earlier.
Skyline
The view of Singapore's CBD from Mount Faber. Taken over 10 years ago; a few more skyscrapers have doubtless sprouted up in the intervening time.
Move on...
Go to the next Gallery section: Malaysia.
Go back...
Go back to the previous Gallery section: Indonesia.
Delhi Deadlines by Sheldon Smith
A washed out journalist, posted to India to cover a bloody election campaign, uncovers truths about his son's life - and death - in the country, truths that test loyalties forged in the war zones of Bosnia and Rwanda. A fiercely evocative narrative of modern-day India, filled with the clamour and hot stinks of its capital, this is a novel of death woven through with life.
"The writing is very very good... the mysteriousness of Wyndham's death and the narrator's involvement will entice the reader to keep reading." - 2012 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA) Expert Reviewer
