Arts...Travels...Writing

This morning I went to Little India with my fellow photography enthusiasts. As usual, the place was bustling with colours and movements; with the sounds from chants, bells and drums; the fragrance of jasmines and other flowers, and the scent wafting from a burning sandalwood incense. Little India is one of the more colourful places in Singapore, and a visit to a temple and the wet market nearby surely is a great way to experience this unique diversity. On this visit, we covered the Sri Srinivasa temple, possibly the most stunning one in the area; its distinct, trapezoidal roof architecture is not easy to miss - it is made up of several tiers decked with colourful and elaborate statues of Gods and Goddesses. On a weekday, the temple is relatively more serene, and could be a perfect place for some quick meditation in the midst of the bustling area. After the temple, we went to the fresh produce market nearby. There was no dearth of vibrancy there, with rows and rows of fresh produce...

Singapore Botanics is a huge place, and I don't think I've covered the entire place despite having visited a few times. I've posted some snaps of the Jacob Ballas Children's Garden earlier. Today, I was with my fellow photography enthusiasts, and we explored that area near the Tanglin Gate. We started our trek, very early in the morning, from a nice quiet patch behind Food for Thought, and walked all the way, stopping by along a pond, and ending at the waterfalls (I know, I know, there are many waterfalls at the Botanics, and I don't remember seeing the labels). The sun had just come out, and it was not too glaring or too hot yet. It was a pleasure to walk in that kind of weather, a pleasure magnified by the fact that it was not too crowded being a weekday morning. Some foliage and floras along the way: A new bulb emerges as an old one withers In search of a good meal A picture paints a thousand words they say Patience is the na...

Thanks to my visiting nieces, I finally had a chance to visit Gardens by the Bay last May, and as luck would have it, Tulipmania was still on at that time. The Flower Dome was a visual feast with a dome-ful of tulips in a variety of colours; even a little girl wearing a flamenco dress was lost in all the colours. And at the Cloud Forest, there was a variety of rare orchids in wonderful bloom - a testament to the feats of modern botany. I'm sure I'd be more thrilled to see these floras in their natural habitat :-) Gardens by the Bay is a good place to let kids run around especially at the Children's Garden where there is a huge playground for the little ones, with slides, monkey bars, spins, among other things that kids enjoy. There's also a tree house somewhere in the middle, which seems to be a great hit among tiny people. And there are bath fountains where water babies can freely splash around. If you're planning to go though, just know that it can be very ...

Stoner has been described as "a little novel that could." While the book was first published some fifty years back, I have only started hearing about it late last year, when it seemed to have a resurgence especially in Europe. Stoner as a character is the most stoic I have ever encountered; even in the post-war era where simplicity was perhaps the norm, his brand of stoicism was probably quite extreme, and more so if put against today's landscape - he owns just a few pieces of clothing, lives in a spartan room, and hardly expresses what he felt. Today's emoticons would be lost on him! The novel has a relatively simple story arc as compared to today's literary fictions, but I was kept engaged, rooting for Stoner to overcome the many travails along his life path. One could admire him for his resilience in many ways, although he is by no means a perfect saint (no spoiler alert here, but the source of conflicts that John Williams had planted were highly probable an...

Last March 23, I joined Metta's Annual Charity Walk Cum Family Carnival, which turned out to be a fun-filled day, and quite worthwhile too. I've written about this exciting experience and this piece is shared on Metta's blogpost in the link below: http://mettawelfareassociation.wordpress.com/2014/05/25/a-fun-day-at-the-metta-charity-walk-cum-family-carnival/ You can also learn more about Metta, a welfare association, and its many programs on their website: http://www.metta.org.sg/main/

After watching Shakespeare in the Park's Merchant of Venice, I was inspired to revisit the snaps I've taken from a recent visit. I realised I got tons of sunset pictures, possibly because I was intrigued by the distinctive shade of a Venetian sunset in early spring. Here's my favourite sunset picture: Sunset View from Arsenale  On one of the days I was there, the public transport service shut down because of a strike (yes, lucky me!), hence I was on terra firma for the most part, walking from Arsenale, to Rialto, to Academia, and ending at the Peggy Guggenheim museum. Along the way, I've stumbled on a couple of interesting cafes, and I realised later on that one of them has been there for hundreds of years!  Stumbling into Caffe Florian (since 1720!) at St. Mark's Square The old churches in Venice are testaments to the architectural grandeur of its past. Some might be in disrepair, and not surprising given how ancient most buildings are, but some c...

Iceland. A place that was not originally in my bucket list (too far, too cold), but became interested in when I saw an advertisement in the National Arts Council’s newsletter for a writer's retreat. This got me surfing about the country, which is very often associated with the Aurora Borealis. A chance to see this phenomenon strengthened my resolve to attend the workshop, though at times I wavered especially when I was checking the flight options/durations and it became clearer to me how remote Iceland really is from Singapore! I (and my family) reached Iceland on a late afternoon in April. From the moment I disembarked the plane I could already feel that it is a country like no other. On the circular windows along the airport corridors, I could see quotes from famous Icelanders including Bjork's about the wide open space that is her country. But I was not paying much attention to the quotes as I was transfixed by the landscape beyond the glass windows - endl...