Admiral Hill and Sembawang Park [18/10]

This first photo was taken 3 days earlier around Ang Mo Kio. It has just rained and the evening sky looks splendid. Reminds me of the days when I was in Penang.



And now we begin the adventure for the day. FP mentioned about Old Admiralty House and I have also read about it on the Straits Times some time back; it mentioned it has been converted into an entertainment scene but it is going bust soon as there are very few visitors to that place. The unique sight in there is the Old Admiralty House. It is actually a short walk from Sembawang MRT. There is a small branch road call Old Nelson Road which leads uphill to Old Admiralty House.



The way up. There is a metal contraption by the side of the road. As there is no pedestrian path, visitors going in will have to be careful of cars coming in from behind or coming out from the front. I guess Admiral Hill is only catered for visitors who drives.



A lonely signboard greeted us. The main facilities available in Admiral Hill are listed on the board.



The legendary red ship of Admiral Hill. When the new owners came in 2007, they promised to build a replica of a Dutch ship. So here it is.



The main highlight of this place is Old Admiral House. It is now a country club. The 'Welcome' sign maybe a bit misleading. According to the security guard, it is closed today as the committee is not around.



The entrance to the Old Admiralty House.



The 'Admiral' written on the red ship. While taking photo of it, a security guard told us no photos in this place. And we were politely directed out. I guess this place is off-limits for visitors too, no wonder business is so bad. If you are interested in checking out this place, it is best to be discreet and don't hang around in there too long as visitors are not welcome. If possible, avoid going there in the first place since there's nothing much in there.



This is the first outdoor trip where the power of the iPhone has been fully harnessed. While travelling from Eunos MRT to Sembawang MRT, we came upon several sights which we were unsure of in the northlands. Google Map is started and the places are immediately identified.

Walking from Sembawang MRT to Old Nelson Road has also been aided by Google Map (aka GPS). FP mentioned there is another interesting building in Sembawang Park after Admiral Hill and the route is being ploted immediately. Below is a screen capture of the route. We also searched on Safari on information regarding the next destination. This is what I call 'Wherever u r, whenever u r, information at your fingertips'



We hopped on bus 882 from Sembawang Road and off we go to Sembawang Park. It's quite an idyllic place, a beautiful beach tuck away to the north of Singapore.



Here is Beaulieu House which has been converted to a restaurant. It is a pity that all these houses with great architectural history are being utilized as private club houses or restaurants. Singaporeans will never know its history just by visiting it. They can only do it via the internet and just look at photos of the interiors that is available online.



Directly in front of Beaulieu House are stairs leading down to a raised jetty.



There are many people fishing in these waters.



I wonder whether the fresh sea catches are safe for consumption. Just a few hundred metres away is a major shipyard. The water looks murky around the jetty (oil?). I do know that further down the coast at Pasir Ris, the water is basically dangerous.



There are still people trying to take a dip. Maybe it has some therapeutic value to it.



Fishing rods reaching high up to the sky.



Across the Straits of Johore is the state of Johore, Malaysia.



The Catch of the Day.



And me posing with nature and the engineering marvel in the background.



2 coconut trees raising up to the sky.



From there, we hopped back on the bus to Sembawang MRT and transit to another bus 167 which goes down to the city area. We walked past the esplanade and took a shot of the exhibition which is ongoing there.



There is also a performance by the Malay Cultural Society from Republic Poly, in celebration of Hari Raya.

Singapore Tour 1 [03/10] City

This weekend is a tour around the island city of Singapore. I guess I have been overseas too long the last few years and need to conduct a tour myself around my home country. :-P I have to admit that for citizens living in their home country, they will be less incline to explore the sights in there. The reason being, it's going to be there forever and we can visit anytime, and thus the procrastination begins.

Just nice I have a few Japanese colleagues (friends) in Singapore and I happily volunteer to be their local guide for the weekend. When it comes to having fun, I will always be there. :-)

I started planning on Friday afternoon and drawn up a plan shown in the map below:
0) 10am rendezvous at Concorde Hotel
1) Take a taxi to Little India and walk around
2) Visit Sultan Mosque at Arab Street
3) Lunch at Soup Restaurant in Suntec City
4) Enjoy the Singapore skyline from the Singapore Flyer
5) Pass by Esplanade and check out any events going on
6) Phototaking with the Merlion
7) Walk pass Singapore's financial district and tea break at Lau Pa Sat
8) Check out Fullerton Hotel, Singapore River and Raffles statue
9) View the Padang and phototaking of the City Hall
10) Shopping at Raffles Hotel and appreciate the architecture
11) Dinner at Bugis and enjoy the Lantern Festival
E) Night Safari



But before we begin our adventure, we have a splendid seafood dinner of Chilli Crabs and many others on Friday evening. A trip to Singapore is never complete without feasting on Singapore's original cuisine of Chilli Crab.



And thus we begin. The weather for the day is cloudy with occasional drizzle. It started drizzling when I met them at the hotel. Took a cab to Little India and it cost $5.80 for the trip. Thereafter begin our walk through the shops of Little India. The multi-coloured flowers are eye-catching.



We also explored the souvenir shops a bit and is fascinated by the wide array of selection.



We also dropped by the Hindu temple right in the heart of Little India - Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple. It is my first time entering a Hindu temple. I have always wanted to visit a Hindu temple but didn't have a chance to do it (cos my friends don't seems to be interested). It feels extremely cosy in there. I have decided not to put any photos online as a respect for the deities and gurus of the temple. It is really worth to visit if you have not visited Hindu temples before. For me, it is a big culture shock.

While walking towards Sultan Mosque, we came upon these large bags of chilli.



Here we are, Sultan Mosque in Arab Street. I didn't know this mosque is famous until FP mentioned about it and I checking up online. This image is shown on postcards and travel guides frequently (with clear blue sky).



We entered the mosque. This is also my first time in a mosque. Previously, I always have the concept that non-muslims are forbidden to enter mosques. The interior is really fascinating. It feels so quiet and peaceful. For ladies, they have to be properly dressed, if not, there will be clothings at the entrance for them to cover up.



My 3 friends performing the noon Salat prayers in the mosque.



Thereafter we move on to Suntec city. It is a 15mins walk away from Arab street. We had set lunch at Soup Restaurant. It comes up to $110 for 4 people.



And off we go next to the Singapore Flyer via Millennia Walk. I got a few discount cards from the Singapore Flyer.



After Flyer, it is off to the Esplanade where there is some performance in celebration of Children's Day.



The main icon of Singapore, the Merlion. From left we have Ikawa-san, Ogawa-san, me and Okamura-san.



Okamura-san and Ogawa-san sizing up for a humorous picture pose with the merlion.



Thereafter we moved on to Lau Pa Sat for tea break. Over there I introduced to them Rojak. And off we go back to the Singapore river with Fullerton Hotel in the background.



There are many statues depicting life of Singapore back in the colonial times, and here are my friends posing with them.



We moved on to the City Hall where this is a popular graduation and wedding photoshoot background. Here we have Okamura-san posing with this famous background.



The entrance to the Raffles Hotel.



For dinner, we went down to Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant in Bugis. After a long day out, cheers to everyone!!




Dinner comes up to $120 (with $40) on beer. After dinner, we noticed there is some singer signing autographs.



While walking towards Waterloo, we noticed this funny fruit setup.



It is the 15th night of the lunar calendar and now is the time to carry lanterns and eat mooncakes. I bought for them some lanterns with the word '福' on it. We like it cos it reminds us of our company.



From there, we hop on the cab and onwards to Night Safari. There is a halloween special this month. Ogawa-san is interested in the halloween tram while Okamura-san is against it. And the outcome is: No halloween tram. Cos there is some slight drizzle, as such, the tram is cancelled. The 'ghosts' are all outside the Night Safari frightening visitors.



Before going back, I caught a short 5mins performance. We walked a total of 26k steps today based on a counter device carried by Okamura-san.

Singapore Tour 2 [04/10] Sentosa

GThis morning we rendezvous at 11am, Concorde Hotel lobby. Thereafter it is a taxi ride to Chinatown. It cost about the same as getting to Little India the previous day. Our first stop is Sri Mariamman temple. There seems to be some kind of celebrations going on as when we arrived, there is a large crowd of people gathering around. After some inquiry, we found out the Fire walking festival is going to begin tonight.



The gods are being invited for the ceremony.



We walked past the shopping street of Chinatown.



And to the Buddha Tooth temple where it is filled with gold.



The rooftop garden of the Buddha Tooth garden, it is very beautiful and visitors can take a break here from their travels.



For lunch, we went local at the chinatown food centre and I ordered lots of stuffs. It comes up to only $30 for all 4 of us. Some of the local dishes we ordered: Bak Kut Teh, Dim Sum, Satay Bee Hoon, Hokkien Mee, etc.



From there is another cab ride to Sentosa (only $8 with an additional $2 entrance per person). We arrived at Siloso's Underwater World. I also visited Siloso beach where lotsa people are playing beach volleyball.



Thereafter we are off to Palawan beach's Dolphin park. While they are in there, I took a siesta at the beach.



This is my view for 20mins.



We visited the Southern Most Point of Asia, where we have to cross a suspension bridge.



Enjoying the sun, the sea and the sand.



Lookout towers where people can catch a view around.



We walked towards the merlion walk where the clock rings.



The tallest merlion in Singapore.



The tallest tower in Singapore - Imbiah Lookout.



After a long and hot day, nothing beats cold beer.



Our final night activity at sentosa is Songs of the Sea.



It is quite interesting and there are fireworks involved. I would advice visitors to arrive early to get the best seats.



With 2000+ visitors leaving at the same time, we managed to get out fast in 20mins via the LRT. From Vivocity, we hopped on the MRT towards Chinatown and catch the night lighting.



From there, we walked towards Clarke Quay to check out the night life and down to the Singapore river for night photoshoots. The financial skyline of Singapore.



The merlion at night.



And the entertainment skyline of Singapore.