Street names in Singapore often hold clues to the past. Names such as “Telok Ayer Street” and “Beach Road” for example, provide an indication of where the city’s original shoreline might have been. And just as there was originally a “telok” or bay along which Telok Ayer Street ran, there was also a beach by Beach Road.
Among the questions that come to mind are: what did the beach look like, and how far did the beach stretch? Well, we do know for a start that the beach was pleasant enough for Raffles to have the stretch along the beach reserved for the dwellings of the new settlement’s elite residents as part of the European section of town (see: Middle Road and the (un)European Town). Known as the “street of twenty houses” in the vernacular, a row of twenty large compound houses did actually take up the prime stretch of Beach Road fronting the beach.
Where the beach along Beach Road would have been — from a 1839 Map of the Town and Environs of Singapore.
To address the first question as to what did the beach look like, we do fortunately have more than just textual descriptions of it. A visual representation of the beach can be found in a sketch from 1847 that was made by Government Surveyor John Turnbull Thomson. Titled “View from Campong Glam”, the sketch shows a sandy beach with identifiable buildings such as The Arts House (ex-Parliament House and then Public Offices / Courthouse) and the former Raffles Institution.
J T Thomson’s 1847 sketch depicting the beach along Beach Road.
As for the extent of the beach, archeological evidence does show that the beach extended from the Singapore River (as is also seen in J T Thomson’s 1847 sketch) to Kampong Gelam. Excavations carried out in 2003 by Professor John Miksic and his team in the National University of Singapore have in fact revealed the existence of a layer of pure white sand under the Padang close to St Andrews Road dating back to the 14th century — the period when Sri Tri Buana or Sang Nila Utama established a port city in Singapore. Further excavations have confirmed that this white sandy beach stretched at least to the area fronting Istana Kampong Glam (Malay Heritage Centre). What is particularly interesting is that the white sandy beach, based on Prof. Miksic’s reckoning, may be the beach that drew Sri Tri Buana to the island, which is described in the Malay Annals as one with “sand so white that it looked like a sheet of cloth”!
Beach Road, late 1800s (G R Lambert)
Among the houses for the European elite fronting the beach was house number one at which Raffles Hotel would be established in 1887. By this time, most of the compound houses along the beach had disappeared and those that remained, had taken on a shabby appearance with the well-to-do having made the move to the more comfortable interior of the island. The area had in fact already morphed into Sio Po, the Chinese lesser town with the Hainanese community having established a temple dedicated to the protector of the seas, Mazu, at Malabar Street in 1857.
No 1 Beach Road at which Raffles Hotel was established in 1887.
It was soon after the establishment of the hotel, that it began to lose sight of the beach across Beach Road with reclamation works for what would later be known as the “Raffles Reclamation” beginning off the Esplanade — amid a blaze of rumours that sacrificial human heads were needed for work to proceed smoothly (yes, such rumours existed even then!). This would lead to an expanded Padang of the size we know today and the addition of land on the Beach Road side. By the early 1900s, the reclamation ground — which was used to dump mud dredged from the Singapore River — had become substantial enough to permit the ground to be used for polo and other sports. The old volunteer drill hall was also moved to it in early 1908 from its original site at Fort Fullerton.
The newer Drill Hall at Beach Road, which replaced the older drill hall that was moved over in 1908 from Fort Fullerton.
The reclamation site would also be where Singapore’s first permanent cinema halls were erected. Cinema first came to Singapore in 1897, just two years after the Lumière brothers exhibited the Cinématographe in Paris. Exhibitions were held either in halls and tents before the first permanent structures appeared on the Raffles Reclamation site in the 1900s.
Permanent cinematograph halls were among the first structures erected on the reclamation at Beach Road.
Further reclamation would take place through the 1930s, by which time structures such as Beach Road Camp and a newer Beach Road Police Station started to populate the reclamation site. The coastline would be altered further with the construction of Nicoll Highway in the mid-1950s and the development of what would eventually become Marina Bay, bringing us to where we are today.
1936 view of the reclamation.
Post-World War Two extent of the Raffles Reclamation.
It was a hundred years ago on this very day, the 17th of September 1923, that the Causeway first came into use, when a cargo train made the crossing on tracks laid temporarily on the completed half of rubble mound which had been intended for its roadway.
A train crossing the partially completed Causeway in 1923.
Linking the island state of Singapore with Malaysia across the Straits of Johor, the one-kilometre long link is a hundred years later, one of the busiest land border crossings in the world. Hundreds of thousands cross daily with most using motor vehicles. The sheer volume of vehicles using the link does mean that traffic congestion on the Causeway and the roads leading up to it are quite a frequent occurrence, so much so that the Causeway has become synonymous with traffic jams.
A passenger train going across the Causeway in 2023.
It was in fact to solve the problems caused by heavy cross-strait traffic, albeit of a different kind, that the Causeway was built. It was also for the same reasons that Causeway was first made available for use by freight trains, which was a matter of urgency. The cross-strait movement of goods railway carriages had been made possible December 1909 when a wagon ferry built by the Tanjong Pagar Dock Board was put into operation, with a second added soon after. With the Johore State Railway (JSR) having been completed earlier in that same year, the wagon ferries permitted whole railway freight carriages to be moved between Singapore and the parts of the Malay Peninsula that the JSR and other lines that it was connected with.
Vie of the Causeway under construction with the railway wagon ferry jetty at Woodlands also in view (Tessa Mitchell Collection, National Archives of Singapore).
Fed by the growing demand for rubber in the 1910s, the volume of rail carriages carried across the strait by wagon ferry grew by leaps and bounds. In 1911, some 11,500 carriages were being carried across the strait. By 1917, cross-strait cargo wagon traffic grew five-fold with some 54,000 carriages were moved by the ferries. Carrying six freight carriages at any one time, the ferries were made to operate continuously day and night to cope with the demand, which put a huge strain on them. On the recommendation of Mr P A Anthony, the General Manager of the Federated Malay States Railway or FMSR (which had absorbed the JSR and the Singapore Government Railway by that time), a decision was taken to construct a link.
The Causeway under construction, 1923 (National Archives UK, no known copyright restrictions).
While a bridge across the strait might have been a desirable outcome, the relative ease with which a rubble causeway could be constructed and maintained together with the associated savings in cost, pushed the decision towards a causeway. Designed by consulting engineers Coode, Fitzmaurice, Wlison and Mitchell and constructed by Topham, Jones and Railton, work on the Causeway commenced in April 1920. The large amounts of granite that was required, came from either quarries in Bukit Timah, or the island of Pulau Ubin. Granite from Pulau Ubin could quite conveniently be transported by hopper barge and dumped directly on site and it was from the island that the bulk of the material came from.
A typical cross section through the rubble causeway. Most of the granite that was used came from the island of Pulau Ubin.
With granite coming by barge from Pulau Ubin, the Causeway could only be finished west to east once the gap was closed, meaning that the roadway side of its width was completed before its railway side. It was for this reason that temporary tracks were laid to permit the freight trains to use the link first. Two weeks after the link for cargo trains was established, passenger trains followed, with the first passenger train, an overnight mail train from Kuala Lumpur being the first to cross on 1st October 1923. The Causeway would only open to road traffic more than half a year later, following its completion and rescheduled official opening on the 28th of June 1924, with the very first car to cross carrying the Governor of the Straits Settlements Sir Laurence Guillemard, and Sultan Ibrahim of Johore.
The Causeway Lock under construction (National Archives UK, no known copyright restrictions).
Completed at a cost of 6.5 million Straits Dollars, three quarters of which was borne by the FMSR, some 1.5 million cubic yards (1.15 million cubic metres) of granite was used to build the 60 feet wide and 3465 feet long link. A feature of the newly completed Causeway which is no longer seen was a 50′ wide and with a 32′ clear span rolling lift bridge, and a 170 feet long lock with a width of 32 feet at the gates. Running across the Johore end of the Causeway, the lock permitted the east-west passage of small vessels such as fishing craft with the bridge fitted to cross the gap. The lock and bridge were deliberately destroyed by British-led forces as they withdrew from Malaya into Singapore on 31 January 1942 (with a 70′ gap was also blown in the Causeway). Along with the lock, ten 5 feet diameter culverts were also built into the Causeway, which allowed water to flow across the width of the link and prevented the accumulation of rubbish. The culverts, several of which were destroyed during the British January 1942 withdrawal, are now mostly out of action.
The Causeway with a gap blown into in on 31 January 1942.
The “Causeway jam” does seem to have been a perennial problem. Just two years after it opened to road traffic, the first traffic jams were reported. The jams were due to the digging up of sections of the roadway so that a pipeline to carry water from the intended Gunong Pulai Reservoir to Singapore could be laid. The post-Second World War era would see much greater traffic snarls. In 1948, increased security checks (due to the Malayan Emergency), saw to traffic hold ups. The traffic situation on the Causeway seemed to worsen through the next decade. In 1950, crowds heading to the Johore Grand Prix were reported to have caused a 3-mile (5 kilometre) traffic jam, which resulted in the start of the races being delayed. A “monster traffic jam” on 17 September 1955 — the 32nd anniversary of the Causeway’s first use following Sultan Ibrahim’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations resulted in 10,000 people being stranded in Johor Bahru. Festive traffic also caused traffic hold-ups, with “chaotic scenes” on the Causeway being reported during the Chinese New Year in 1959. As a result of increasing demands, the Causeway has been widened on several occasions starting with a 1.5 metre increase in its width in 1964.
The Causeway in the 1970s.
The appearance of the new Customs Checkpoint at the JB end in 1957 — just in time for Malaya’s independence from Britain, would be a sign of things to come. With Singapore and Malaya being pulled in opposite directions following a brief merger that ended with Singapore’s independence in 1965, immigration controls became necessary. It was however only in 1967 that full immigration controls were implemented — on 1st July 1967 by Singapore and on 1st September 1967 by Malaysia.
The JB Customs Checkpoint in 1957.
In 1998, a second link was opened across the strait. While this might have gone some way to ease the load on the Causeway, the sheer growth in cross-strait traffic now sees regular jams taking place on both crossings. In March 2020, the Causeway (and the Second Link) did however fall silent. This was a result of the border closures due to the global pandemic. The links were only reopened on 1 April 2022.
The Causeway fell silent due to the Covid pandemic.
Now one hundred years later, a third crossing is being established in the form of the Rapid Transit Link or RTS, a light rail line that will be carried over a 25 metre high bridge across the strait between Singapore’s Woodlands North MRT Station and Bukit Chagar in Johor Bahru. When completed in 2026, the RTS will replace the conventional railway (now reduced to the rail shuttle service between JB and Singapore run by Keretapi Tanah Melayu). And with that, Singapore’s twelve-decade long association with the conventional railway, and a hundred year conventional railway link with the Malay Peninsula — the Causeway’s original raison d’être, will be brought to a close.
The RTS being built just a stone’s throw from the Causeway, a century after the Causeway was being built. The RTS will replace the KTM run shuttle service between Singapore and JB.
Launched a year ago, the Singapore Prison Service’s (SPS) heritage gallery — much like the prisons, lies well hidden from public view. I only learnt of its existence from a prison volunteer friend of mine, who was kind enough to make arrangements for the ever curious me to pay a visit. Located at the SPS HQ, the gallery is a wonderful little discovery and on the basis of what I was able to learn from it, is certainly worth a visit.
The starting point for the journey of transformation.
Small and compact, the gallery is a celebration of how the SPS has evolved, its achievements, and a little more. While the SPS was instituted only after the Second World War in 1946 — it celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2021, prisons in Singapore have a longer and rather interesting history. They go back to modern Singapore’s early days as the East India Company’s trading post with the arrival in 1825 of convicts of Indian origin. This followed the transfer of Bencoolen (Bengkulu), which the company used as a penal settlement, to the Dutch, and is the point at which the story begins. The gallery then takes visitors through the journey that prisons and the prison service have taken over the years; a journey, it has to be said, that is quite extraordinary.
Bricks, which were made by convicts, uncovered from the site of Bras Basah Gaol.
The transformational journey of the service was my main takeaway from the visit. From one that had a purely custodial role, the service now prides itself with supporting the rehabilitation of inmates and the provision of the mean for their reintegration into society. This is something that the SPS has to be proud of, having achieved remarkable success Singapore now having one of the lowest reoffending rates in the world.
Among the transformations is the “remaking” of prison staff as “Captains of Lives”.
For me, the gallery is most enjoyable for the artefacts it has on display. From outdated prison implements such as whips used to inflict corporal punishment to keys and locks and paraphernalia from the old Changi Prison, they tell a story of how much prison life has evolved. A set of convict made bricks dug up from the site of the old Bras Basah Gaol, a rounded prison gate that provided wardens with a wider view, and a clock face and bell that came from the rather infamous old Changi Prison, are reminders of some of the prisons of the past. The markings on the bell was especially interesting to me, holding a clue to the maker of the bell and clock. The name Synchronome found on it is a famous one. The English electric clock maker’s movements are quite well used and found in some rather famous clocks, including those adorning the façades of London’s Selfridge’s and Liberty’s!
Old Changi Prison Clock and Bell
The face of the clock which was installed on the clock tower [see photograph on the right (source: roots.sg) is frozen at 7.30 am. It was at this time that the bell, which was inside the tower, would chime to signal the start of the day.
The gallery, which is not normally opened to the public, is only visitable through special arrangement.
A muster gong.
A gong made from a Japanese shell casing.
Markings on the casing in Japanese.
Maintaining discipline in the old days could involve whipping meted out as corporal punishment, using whips such as the “Cat o’Nine Tails”.
Old handcuffs.
Changi Prison sign.
Locks, keys and key passes. Wardens had to carry heavy bunches of keys in the old days.
Anti-climb claws to deter escapes.
A close up of an anti-climb claw.
The beginning of the prison service’s journey of transformation.
The National Museum of Singapore is literally going big in the commemoration of Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s 100th birth anniversary. With National Day just around the corner, images of Singapore’s first Prime Minister are being projected across the museum’s façade as part of its National Day façade light-up from 21 July to 9 August 2023 (7.30pm to 12 midnight).
The images, come from snippets of a short film ‘LKY100:The Life and Legacy of Lee Kuan Yew (1923–2015)‘ made by Royston Tan. Honouring Singapore’s founding prime minister and his contributions to the country, the 5-minute long film is now being presented in the concluding section of the museum’s Singapore History Gallery. The film features the late Mr Lee sharing a special message created from a collage of key speeches across his career, taken primarily from National Day Rally speeches delivered in English, Malay, Mandarin and Hokkien, which emphasise the importance of multiculturalism to Mr Lee.
Filmmaker Royston Tan
A scene from the film
LKY 100 Digital trail
The film also complements a digital trail of the same name that was launched in April this year. The trail requires users to use their personal mobile devices, which can be registered by scanning a QR code at the Singapore History Gallery at level 1, or at the ‘Semangat yang Baru: Forging a New Singapore Spirit’ exhibition gallery.Upon completing the trail, visitors can redeem a gift from the vending machine at the Singapore History Gallery exit at Level 1. The gift is inspired by Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s iconic red box.
The gift inspired by Mr Lee Kuan Yew’s iconic red box (image courtesy of National Museum of Singapore).
The red box on display at the Singapore History Gallery.
Navigating the digital trail (image courtesy of National Museum of Singapore).
Singapore, a melting pot of many cultures and religions, enjoys a high level of racial and religious harmony. Maintaining this does require some effort and every 21st of July – the anniversary of the first of two communal riots in 1964, schools in Singapore commemorate Racial Harmony Day. In conjunction with Racial Harmony Day this year, the National Heritage Board’s (NHB) Heritage Institutions (Indian Heritage Centre, Malay Heritage Centre, and Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall) have come together to bring the Racial Harmony Day Open House 2023. Themed ‘Let’s Walk – Celebrating Harmony’, the open house’s programmes will encourage participants to walk in the shoes of a person of a different cultural background.
More information on the programmes, which are being run this weekend (22 and 23 July 2023) at the Indian Heritage Centre, and Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall can be found at the websites and the social media pages of Indian Heritage Centre, Malay Heritage Centre, and Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall.
Some highlights:
Same Same But Different: A Theatrical Experience for Families (Presented by Malay Heritage Centre, supported by The Solitude Movement)
Date: 22 & 23 July 2023 Time: 11am – 1pm Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and Indian Heritage Centre (Starts at Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall) Admission: $24 per parent-child pair, purchase tickets via https://malayheritagecentre.peatix.com/ Theatre experience conducted in English and suitable for parents with children aged 5 – 10 years old.
Siti faces constant bullying for the person that she is, and this has affected her self-esteem. Yong, her best friend, is determined to help Siti discover how beautifully unique she is. Same Same But Different is a story about uncovering one’s uniqueness and the beautiful power of friendship. Through a journey of self-discovery, Siti and Yong find out what makes them special and, in the process, cherish their friendship with each other even more.
Teo Pei Si, founder of The Solitude Movement theatre collective, and Angelina (Anj) Teo, a theatre maker and educator, are uniting their passion for working with children and exploring themes of culture, heritage and identity. Joining them are multi-talented actors Suhaili Safari and Jodi Chan.
During this interactive storytelling session, participants will try their hands at various activities including creating their own hand mirror, henna art and other activities. Each parent-child pair will also get to visit two Heritage Institutions within the same day, with a bus ride bringing them from Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall to the Indian Heritage Centre.
This programme is recommended for children aged between 5 – 10 years old. Only one-way transport is provided from Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall to the Indian Heritage Centre. As a segment of the storytelling takes place during the bus ride, we would recommend for participants to take public transport, taxis, or private hire vehicles to the starting point.
Date: 23 July 2023 Time: 11am & 2pm Venue: Indian Heritage Centre Admission: $15 per pax; purchase tickets via https://ihc-programmes.peatix.com/. The workshop is conducted in English.
Indulge in a delectable journey of flavours at Harmony Afternoon Tea, a delightful event hosted at the Indian Heritage Centre. Immerse yourself in the vibrant tapestry of Singapore’s multicultural heritage as you savour local delights inspired by diverse cultures. Sample mouth-watering delicacies from Indian, Malay, Chinese and Eurasian cuisines, while discovering the fascinating stories and multi-layered traditions behind each dish.
Date: 22 & 23 July 2023 Time: 10am – 5pm Venue: Indian Heritage Centre Admission: Free
Join us for a free drop-in craft activity! Harness your creativity and learn something new as you create your own unique perfumed hanging shoe, inspired by the designs of traditional Indian, Malay and Chinese footwear. Activity is perfect for all ages and skill levels.
Live Performances @ Indian Heritage Centre
Date: 22 & 23 July 2023 Time: 10am – 5pm Venue: Indian Heritage Centre Admission: Free
yIN Harmony
Put on your dancing shoes and join us as we present an energising line-up of multi-racial cultural performances to usher in the Racial Harmony Day celebrations at the Indian Heritage Centre.
Performers’ Lineup: 22 July 2023 10am Mass Zumba! 11am Kids Chinese Dance by We Chinese Dance Tech 11.30am Bharatanatyam Dance by Soo Mei Fei 4pm Malay Cultural Dance by Sri Warisan 4.15pm Multi-ethnic Music Performance by yIN Harmony 4.30pm Dikir Barat by Kelana Purba
23 July 2023 3.30pm Cultural Performance by Eurasian Association
Permanent Galleries Guided Tour
Date: 22 & 23 July 2023 Time: 2pm – 3pm (English) Venue: Indian Heritage Centre Admission: Free; limited spaces available.
Come down to the Indian Heritage Centre for a free guided tour of our permanent galleries. Take a walk in the shoes of Indian pioneers to hear the rich history, culture and heritage of the Indian community in Singapore with our museum guide. You’ll also discover star artefacts that include the spectacular late 19th-century Chettinad Doorway and the mesmerising tiled Multan façade, and many more.
Soundscapes of Religions in Singapore (Presented by Dialogue Centre & partners)
Date: 22 July 2023 Time: 10am – 5pm Venue: Indian Heritage Centre Admission: Free; with a refundable deposit of $10. Reserve tickets via https://ihcprogrammes.peatix.com/.
“What does religion sound like?” Step into the vibrant and diverse religious tapestry of Singapore through a unique immersive “Soundscapes of Religions in Singapore” experience. Join guided tours with knowledgeable interfaith guides and delve into the acoustic environment of Singapore’s diverse religious landscape. Experience the quietude of meditation and encounter a variety of religious sounds such as Christian hymns and Sikh kirtan, and unravel the cultural and religious significance behind these sounds. This is a multi-sensory journey to discover what religion truly sounds like and uncover the unity that lies within the diverse symphony of soundscapes in Singapore. This Harmony Fund supported programme is curated by Dialogue Centre, in collaboration with Being Bridges, Interfaith Youth Circle, Centre for Interfaith Understanding, hash.peace and the Whitehatters.
Peranakan Beading Introductory Workshop (Supported by The Intan)
Date: 22 July 2023 Time: 2pm – 3.30pm and 4pm – 5.30pm Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall Admission: $20 per pax; purchase tickets via https://wanqingyuan.peatix.com/.
Recommended for participants aged 13 years old and above. The workshop is conducted in English.
The elaborate craft styles of Nyonya beadwork and embroidery are connected to the Peranakan culture. In this 90-minute workshop, participants will understand more about the Peranakan culture and gain basic knowledge and hands-on experience of Nyonya beading work. All materials required will be provided for the workshop.
Children Multi-Ethnic Fusion Dance Workshop (Supported by Kelly Koh, Badarudin bin Hassan and Surendran Rachandran)
Date: 23 July 2023 Time: 1pm – 3pm and 3.30pm – 5.30pm Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall Admission: $10 per pax; purchase tickets via https://wanqingyuan.peatix.com/. Tickets available from 3 July 2023, 6pm onwards. Recommended for children aged 5 – 12 years and above. The workshop is conducted in English.
What are some of the commonalities and differences in dance moves across cultures? In this short workshop, children will get to learn and understand some of the cultural meanings behind the dance movements that are unique to the Chinese, Malay and Indian cultures. At the end of the workshop, parents are invited to watch their children perform a mini choreographed multi-ethnic fusion dance performance.
Special Exhibition Guided Tour
Date: 22 July 2023 Time: 10.30am (Mandarin) and 1.30pm (English) Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall Admission: Free; limited spaces available
Hear from our docents and find out how the early Chinese mutual aid organisations played an important role to the early Chinese migrant community with the guided tour of Connections Across Oceans: Early Chinese Mutual Aid Organisations. Tours are brought to you by our Heritage Volunteers.
Permanent Galleries Guided Tour
Date: 22 & 23 July 2023 Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm (Mandarin), 3pm – 4pm (English) Venue: Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall Admission: Free; limited spaces available.
Join us for a guided tour of Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall and hear the stories behind this century-old villa that trace Dr Sun Yat Sen’s revolutionary activities in Southeast Asia. Gain valuable insights on the impact of the 1911 Revolution on Singapore, as well as Singapore’s contributions to the Revolution. Tours are brought to you by our Heritage Volunteers.
The view from what is Esplanade Park today, 8 decades and more than a world apart. What the photos have visibly in common is the Fullerton Building, then the General Post Office, and today the Fullerton Hotel.
The older photo shows the desolate scene on the morning of 16 February 1942, the morning after Singapore’s fall to Japan. Taken on what seems to be part of the unfinished reclamation ground in way of the Esplanade (on which Queen Elizabeth Walk would eventually be built), the scene in one that is in stark contrast to the view of the same area today, taken from a somewhat different position but showing the same general view of what is today the CBD. The modern scene is of course one that many across the world would be familiar with, being one that receives a fair amount of coverage around the world during Singapore’s F1 night race weekends each year and one that is a great showcase of the Singapore success story.
The story behind the 1942 photo, or rather the photographer behind the first photo is perhaps not talked about enough in Singapore. It was one captured by an Australian POW by the name of George Aspinall, who was behind a series of very bravely taken photographs that documented among other things, the cruelty of a part of Aspinall’s time as a POW. During part of his captivity, Aspinall was able to conceal a camera that an uncle had given him prior to his departure for Singapore. Remarkably, Aspinall also managed to conceal a stash of x-ray negatives and processing chemicals that he had discovered, taking them with him to captured the horrors that POWs were subjected to working along the so-called Death Railway. With the chemicals, he was able to process the x-ray negatives that he had used in his camera. While he may have disposed of his camera before his return from the death railway for fear of it being discovered, Aspinall managed to hold on to the precious processed negatives, some of which survived being buried in a latrine bore hole in Changi prison.
Among the photographs that Aspinall captured as a POW in Singapore were those that were taken during the Selarang Barracks (Parade Square) Incident, during which more than 15,000 POWs were squeezed into the the Selarang Barracks parade square to persuade the men to sign a non-escape statement. More on George Aspinall and his photographs can be found at https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C340159.
i Light Singapore, Asia’s leading sustainable light art festival, makes a return this June. Fourteen installations feature at this year’s festival, the theme of which, A New Wave, along with the festival colour choice of blue, places a focus on the relationship that we have with blue spaces. The use of energy-saving lighting and/or environmentally friendly material have been been central to festival installations. This year is no different, in the hope that festival goers and the general public adopt sustainable lifestyles and make eco-conscious choices of their own.
Organised by the Urban Redevelopment Authority and presented by DBS, i Light 2023 also features a line-up of programmes during the three and a half week festival. The festival runs from 1 to 25 Jun 2023, with installations turned on from 7.30pm to 11.00pm daily and is extended to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. More information on the festival can be found at https://www.ilightsingapore.gov.sg/.
Step into a giant musical garden and be surrounded by an immersive jungle of light, colour and sound. At Trumpet Flowers, visitors get the opportunity to create a unique floral symphony using interactive keys that control the towering musical and light instruments.
Inspired by gramophones, these super-sized flowers burst to life occasionally with a specially commissioned musical score by Otis Studio, accompanied by some of Sydney’s finest jazz musicians.
Résonances Louis-Philippe Rondeau in collaboration with ELEKTRA (Canada) Open Plaza, OUE Bayfront
Résonances is an interactive installation that embodies the inexorable passage of time. It seeks to reveal the limit between present and past.
As an arch of light appears in darkness, a temporal portal emerges. When visitors cross this threshold, their image will be projected onto the adjacent wall and seem deployed in time through the slit-scan technique. In this visual metaphor, the past constantly takes over the present, and visitors will see their own image fade inexorably into the oblivion of white light. The artwork emphasises that all light is the manifestation of events that have already occurred; the twinkle we see in the night sky is but a bygone snapshot of the stars.
Block Party Jeremy Lin, Jedy Chen, Dexter Hong Plug & Play (Singapore) Entrance of Marina Bay Link Mall
The dynamic relationship between humans and the environment is explored in Block Party, where visitors can participate in collaborative placemaking through the playful medium of dance.
Familiar public housing blocks in Singapore come to life as they react to movement prompts from visitors, taking on personalities of their own. As one bends and twists with the buildings, gardens bloom spontaneously over their facades.
This interactive feature is a reminder of the power we wield to shape our surroundings and make a difference to the world. Through light-hearted interactions, participants are called upon to take responsibility for the environment and a sustainable future.
Glacier Dreams Refik Anadol Refik Anadol Studio (USA) and Julius Baer Façade of ArtScience Museum
Inspired by both the beauty and fragility of glaciers, Glacier Dreams is the result of a groundbreaking, long-term research project involving machine learning, environmental studies and multi-sensory media art.
Visual materials collated from publicly available data and institutional archives, together with glacier images personally collected by Refik Anadol in Iceland, are processed through machine learning algorithms and transformed into Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based multi-sensory narratives.
The artist, together with his Los Angeles-based team, hopes to raise awareness of climate change and rising sea levels through poetic glacier-themed experiences, and also contribute to the study of glaciers with their existing AI tools.
Aquatics Philipp Artus (Germany) Under Esplanade Bridge (near Merlion Park)
Aquatics is an interactive animation depicting sea creatures swimming around and interacting with one another. It explores the emergence of life through abstract shapes and movement.
Using a tablet, visitors can design their own creatures and add them to the underwater world.
By witnessing the beauty of animal locomotion in its natural habitat, participants are reminded of the urgent need to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems.
Blue energy is harnessed from the chemical potential of a salinity difference between the sea and river waters. Blumiwave is an interpretation of this renewable energy source.
Seen from afar, sculptural waves appear to crash at varying heights and directions. Upon closer inspection, these are in fact made of a carefully weaved fabric of safety nets and scaffolding — everyday objects that the interior designers at DP Design encounter at construction sites. Here, the team transforms materials normally perceived as unsightly into a space that invites multiple interpretations of the mundane and its possibilities.
All plastics used to assemble Blumiwave will be recycled by local social enterprise Magorium after the festival. Supported by DBS Foundation, Magorium converts plastic waste into a sustainable construction material called ‘NEWBitumen’ that can replace crude-derived bitumen to pave roads sustainably.
Symphony 1 Chan Wan Kyn, Linknito, Linez The Grand Lowlife Orchestra (Singapore | USA | Morocco) Mist Walk
Symphony 1 is a light-based architectural entity that inhabits space. Like a living being, its ethereal and translucent organic form populates any location.
Masses of twisting vine-like structures emit an icy glow to fill the space before sprouting into sprigs of crystalline flowers. The sprawl of its existence is a comment on nature and our relationship with it, contradicting yet also enhancing the brutal denseness of urban spaces it finds itself in.
Encircling a sapling in his arms, Tree Man provides sanctuary for a young tree while carving out an inner sanctum for visitors. The act of nurturing and connecting with our environment is emphasised in these whimsical light sculptures.
Emitting light with heads that are shaped like digital screens, the artwork invites reflection on humans’ insatiable preoccupation with devices, which could be detrimental to our circadian rhythms. As one enters the arms of Tree Man, light switches across a spectrum of colours, and sparse melodies on top of a forest-inspired soundtrack are triggered, leaving one to wonder if we can ever find a balance between the digital and natural world.
Light Anemones Malte Kebbel Studio Kebbel (Germany) The apex at The Promontory at Marina Bay
Light Anemones is a versatile light sculpture that evolves with time and space. It seeks to portray the captivating world beyond the water surface, where the mysteries of the deep sea and the wonders of underwater creatures come to life.
During the day, the sculpture’s surroundings and sunlight are reflected on the curved titanium-stainless steel mirrors. In the night, linear beams appear due to the play of light along the sculpture’s concave and convex structure with a rotating centre. As light from the three sculptures interact with one another and merge with mirrored silhouettes of neighbouring buildings, people and landscape, a complex symphony of light, sound and imagery is composed — as though from a different time continuum.
the things left unsaid Brigette Teo Nanyang Technological University, School of Art, Design and Media (Singapore) Breeze Shelter
the things left unsaid is a manifestation of the artist’s unspoken thoughts and feelings about growing up in a time of seemingly never-ending doom. Repeatedly confronted by news of a gloomy future and an impending climate catastrophe, the artwork acts as a refuge from despair.
Comprising weaved sheets made of upcycled plastic bags draped across the space, the artwork exudes a sense of both comfort and unease, much like the mysterious phenomenon of bioluminescent algal bloom that inspired it. Above all, it is a quiet reminder of the hope and possibilities that still exist.
Also being held in conjunction with i Light Singapore 2023:
Lightwave: Turning the Tide (Ticketed)
The Promontory at Marina Bay
Timing Weekdays: Sunday to Thursday – 7.30pm to 11pm (last experience at 10.40pm) Weekends: Friday and Saturday – 7.30pm to 12am (last experience at 11.40pm)
Ticketing Admission tickets are priced at SGD5 each and can be purchased from Klook.
Lightwave: Turning the Tide imagines a future where human exploits have damaged the world around us irrevocably.
Be transported to an underwater world, visitors are left to ponder: How have we come to this?
Through three unfolding chapters of thought-provoking multi-sensorial light experiences, explore how our way of life has impacted nature, and be inspired to make a change and turn the tide.
As part of the festival, an effort is being made to get us to pledge our commitment to eco-conscious practices through small but impactful changes in our lifestyle.
Two separate pledges can be made:
The Switch Off, Turn Up (SOTU) pledge is one that calls for us to switch off non-essential lightings and turn up air-conditioning temperatures during and beyond the festival period. SOTU has been a key component of i Light Singapore’s sustainability drive since the festival’s inception in 2010. The initiative has seen building owners, corporations and businesses around and beyond Marina Bay to reduce their energy consumption in lighting and air-conditioning, and this effort continues. Participation in the programme will also be extended to the public and schools for the first time this year.
The Be a Zero Hero pledge is to encourage us to adopt zero waste habits. This includes reducing the use of single-use items and food waste. For each pledge submitted up to the first 5,000 pledges, All Clear – a sustainability enterprise providing offshore and ocean clean-ups – will remove 100g of waste from Singapore waterways. Up to 500 kg of waste will be removed as an outcome this effort. Pledges can be made online.
A visual, unique to each pledge submitted online, will be generated using Alibaba Cloud’s AI technologies and this can be viewed on i Light i Pledge’s website and as part of the last chapter at Lightwave: Turning the Tide. This initiative aims to demonstrate how a small step taken by an individual can contribute to a larger sustainability objective.
Even before mass tourism took root with the arrival of the jet age, Singapore has fascinated would be travellers from the West. The romanticised depictions of the island penned by the likes of Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and Somerset Maugham, in the late 19th and early 20th century have more often than not, made Singapore out to be an exotic destination, as have travel guide books of the day. Singapore was after all a great port city, the crossroads of the East and West in more ways than one, and a cultural melting pot in which the well-heeled traveller could travel to and be accommodated in the lap of luxury in the days when the romance of travel seemed at its height, and yet have that experience of the exotic East.
It was in fact travel guide books that provided the inspiration for the curators of Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through Travel, 1800s–2000s, to bring Singapore out as a travel destination. One of two exhibitions opening at the National Museum of Singapore this last weekend in May, the exhibition will offer its visitors an experience of Singapore from the perspective of a traveller to the island.
Postcards and Posters on display.
The exhibition will have visitors explore four common travel themes or chapters if you like in a (modern) travel guide book, Getting Around, Places to Stay, Eating Out and Sights and Shopping. But before all of that, as in the case of the days of mass travel, one has that small matter of getting to the “airport” at the museum’s Rotunda — where one will be greeted the all too familiar sight of a Changi Airport flight information flip board (or at least a part of the decommissioned Terminal 2 flip board), and having to collect a “boarding pass” — which serves as an entry ticket and more at the check-in (museum ticketing) counter.
Exhibition Boarding Pass.
The former Changi Airport flip board.
Exploring the exhibition — especially in the first two sections, one is struck by how much getting here and its associated experiences — even today, has an emphasis that is placed very much on luxury. In Getting Around, depictions of long, luxurious and somewhat leisurely voyages on the passenger liners of old or even train journeys on the Malayan Railway seen in posters on display confronts the visitor. It seems no different when it comes to the modern day, with a unmissable Singapore Airlines’ A380 Suites Cabin in plain sight.
SQ A380 Cabin Suites
Once one is in Singapore however, there options of getting around the island that are on offer are a lot more down to earth. A trishaw on display, which has a rather interesting backstory to it, was an affordable means of conveyance for the person-on-the-street, as was its predecessor the rickshaw. It was also popular as a means to move around for tourists, for whom the trishaw was not only cheap, but a novelty!
A Trishaw.
In Places to Stay, the lure of the Raffles — an enduring Singaporean icon and the epitome of luxurious stays in Singapore — seems unescapable even in a museum setting. There are also other luxurious names of the past that will pop up such as the Adelphi (there is a small glass on display that tells yet another interesting story), and the Hotel de L’Europe.
Uniforms on loan from Raffles Hotel.
Eating Out at Singapore’s coffee shops, outdoor eateries and hawker stalls has undoubtedly been one of the must-dos for a visitor. It may not always have been the case given the issues we faced with hygiene in the past but this caught on in the 1950s and 1960s when street fare came to the fore. From a range of tools and kitchen utensils to kopitiam cups, drinking glasses, soft drink bottles and serving trays carrying advertisements of popular brands, to photographs and postcards featuring hawkers, visitors will get that sense of what the experience of eating out may have been like. In addition to this, there is an assortment of restaurant menus that can be viewed through an interactive display. The menus include one from A&W — the first fast food restaurant chain to set up shop in Singapore when it opened its first outlet at MSA (later SIA) Building in 1968.
Kopitiam memories.
Besides shopping at Orchard Road, a tourist draw since C K Tang opened its store in 1958 even if the shopping destinations then were at High Street and Raffles Place, Sights and Shopping also explores areas such the cabaret, night club and more recent clubbing scene. One popular and rather famous (or some say infamous) tourist spot — at least until the early 1980s, Bugis Street, is glaringly missing in the mix.
Recalling the club and cabaret scene.
To complete the exhibition experience, visitors can reflect on the portrayal of Singapore over the years and add personal impressions home at digital kiosks located within the gallery. Limited edition postcards featuring what’s on display from the National Museum’s collection are available with a donation to the museum. These can be sent to any address across the world by dropping them in at the Singapore Post mailbox placed just outside the exhibition gallery. Also, playing an accompanying Now Boarding mobile game will also yield a bonus digital gift. And if you have some energy left, there will also be pop-up rooms — with a disco room opening with the exhibition. In August, there are two other rooms to look out for that will feature transportation and a hotel-themed room.
A second exhibition opening on 27 May 2023, Get Curious: All About Food! is aimed at families with kids. More information on this can be found at: https://www.nhb.gov.sg/nationalmuseum/cs2023.
Held in conjunction with the 50th Anniversary of Sport Singapore (1973 to 2023) and the Singapore Heritage Festival, Beginning of a Golden Age of Sport in Singapore opened at the Singapore Sports Museum on 18 May 2023. The exhibition, which runs until 31 July 2023, celebrates the achievements of a pioneering group of sportspersons who heralded a sporting golden era for Singapore in the post-war era.
Among the achievements of the golden era was Singapore’s very first Olympic medal, a silver at the Rome Games in 1960, that was picked up by Tan Howe Liang in weightlifting.
Among the guests at the opening were 1950s era sprinters Mary Klass and Kesavan Soon, both of whom represented Singapore at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and whose legacies are among those that the exhibition commemorates. Mary Klass, then one of two fastest women in Asia, also represented Singapore at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, where she finished neck and neck with Japanese runner Atsuko Nambu in the 100m sprint, only to be awarded the silver medal. Kesavan Soon, a schoolboy studying in Victoria School when he ran at the Melbourne Olympics, also represented Singapore at the 1958 Asian Games in Japan.
Mary Klass and Kesavan Soon at the opening of the exhibition.
The post-war era brought Malaya it first successes in badminton. In 1949, the Malayan team — which included a Singapore-based player, Wong Peng Soon, beat United States and Denmark to lift the inaugural Thomas Cup, thereby winning the right to host the next cup competition. Malaya hosted the 1952 cup competition at the Gay World (then Happy World) Stadium in Singapore, which it won once again. Malaya also won the 1955 Thomas Cup, held at the Singapore Badminton Hall — which was built to host 1952 competition but was completed a little too late.
Badminton memorabilia on display, including a wooden framed Dunlop badminton racquet from the 1950s found in the storeroom, a wooden racquet press (to prevent warping) and shuttlecocks used by Wong Peng Soon.
The exhibition, an excellent way to learn more about Singapore’s sporting heritage, is being held as a prelude to a book being published by Sport Singapore, The Rocky Road to Kallang Park. There will be a talk and book launch (already fully subscribed) that will be held at the National Museum of Singapore on 27 May 2023 as part of Singapore Heritage Festival 2023.
A Malayan Thomas Cup team blazer that belonged to Wong Peng Soon.
Dr Nick Aplin of Sport Singapore, leading a tour of the exhibition. Dr Aplin is the author of “The Rocky Road to Kallang Park”, which will be launched on 27 May 2023. The exhibition is a prelude to the book launch.
Singapore seems to have had quite a number of burial sites laid out across swampy grounds. Examples include the since drained old Malay cemetery at Kampong Gelam on the banks of the Rochor River, the burial grounds that were found at Kallang, and the long exhumed burial grounds at former Kampong Batu Puteh. One swampy burial site, perhaps the last in Singapore, can be found off Kranji Road. More recently referred to as the Wak Selat cemetery, it occupies a site that was close to the old Malayan Railway (MR or KTM) line and just by the MR’s old Kranji Gate hut, taking this name from a village, Kampong Wak Selat, that also seems to have acquired the name in fairly recent times.
While the name “Wak Selat” may suggest a village founded by Javanese settlers, the use of the name in this case can be attributed to a headman of non-Javanese origins. The so-called Kampong Wak Selat, was really part of a larger Kampong Kranji — that is until at least the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the clearance of much of the larger village left the part of the village close to the road named “Jalan Wak Selat” isolated.
An explanation for the name of the road can be found in an account provided by a former village headman, Mydeen Kutty Mydeen. In the account, Mr Mydeen described how five roads in Kampong Kranji were named by him in the late 1950s during the days of the Lim Yew Hock administration. In the case of Jalan Wak Selat, it was a reference to an elderly man who was known to reside in the area of the road, whom Mr Mydeen had never seen but had heard about and whom I guess we can call the “old uncle of the strait” (“Wak” is a term used in Java for an uncle who is an older than one’s father, whereas “Selat” means strait in Malay).
Mr Mydeen also named Jalan Lam Huat and Jalan Chuan Seng both of which were names of pineapple canning factories served by the respective roads, Jalan Jambatan Lama after an old bridge, and Jalan Surau after a surau (Muslim prayer hall). The pineapple factories, which had been a feature in the area since the 1930s (Lam Huat was already well established in Kranji when Chuan Seng moved from Upper Serangoon Road in 1936), also meant that the village attracted Chinese settlers. A Chinese school, Tao Khoon School, operated in the area from the 1950s until 1979. The local pineapple canners, along with several others in the trade, were also responsible for establishing the Metal Box factory to support their canning needs. The factory was a well-known landmark at the end of Woodlands Road from the 1950s until 1992 and something that those who travelled up Woodlands Road upcountry during the period would not have missed.
The cemetery, much like the pineapple factories, also seems to have been in existence since the 1930s as maps from the time show. One part of this cemetery, was cleared during an exhumation exercise in 1993 to allow for road widening. This has left behind less than 40 graves out of more than a hundred. With development in the area picking up pace, it will not be long before what remains of the old cemetery, much like the village that it once served, becomes a distant memory.
I finally managed to get up close with the trimaran variant of the US Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship or LCS. Developed at a time when I dabbled in the design of high performance marine craft, it was always interesting to see the many different approaches that were taken to finding a right fit of a hull form for a naval platform. And the LCS, especially the trimaran design of one of two variants of the LCS under consideration, represented an exciting move away from the tried and tested.
The USS Mobile at Changi Naval Base during IMDEX Asia 2023.
The LCS programme was the US Navy’s response to the changing nature of the threats that United States was facing. The was made especially apparent by the 9-11 terror attack on its own soil. Traditionally a blue-water navy, the LCS was conceived to fill a gap that the USN had in brown-water or littoral capabilities with a small and compact, agile, shallow draught reconfigurable platform.
The USN’s decision made in the mid-2000s to go with two configurations, a monohull and the Australian Austal designed trimaran, certainly raised eyebrows, as did the extensive use of aluminium alloy — a material that the USN had shied away from due to its susceptibility to stress corrosion and fatigue cracking, from its own experience with aluminium alloy superstructures in the post World War 2 era, as well as the concerns with the loss in structural strength of aluminium alloys at high temperatures.
Also raising eyebrows was the choice of hull form. The trimaran hull in the case of the Austal design was essentially a very slender monohull with two outriggers. It is certainly superior when it comes to minimising the drag increase due to wave generation — a dominant factor in the higher speed range at which the LCS operates. It also has a greater resistance to capsize (the slenderness of monohull is limited by its ability to remain upright). The widely spaced hulls also provide a greater deck area that is always welcome in naval platforms operationally. There is also the advantage of potentially reduced pitch and heave motions in waves due to their smaller waterplane areas, which provides the platform with a superior operability.
In operation for more than a decade — the first of class, the USS Independence was commissioned in 2010, the trimaran LCS as with the monohull variant, have been beset with problems. Cost overruns and a host of operational and maintenance issues have plagued both classes of LCS. Structural cracking, as predicted by material choice sceptics, have also been reported, leading to a reworking of structural design details. Designed to be in service for 25 years, two ships of each classes have already been decommissioned, with more expected to follow.
As for the LCS-26 (the trimaran variants are numbered evenly), USS Mobile, having been commissioned only about two years ago in May 2021, it would have incorporated the lessons the designers learnt from the lead ships in the class. As with the other ships in the class, its expansive main deck permits a large mission bay with stern door for launch of smaller craft to be laid out. On top of this a large two-bay hangar that can accommodate both the ship’s MH-60 helo and a Fire Scout drone, and a helicopter deck can be found. The ship is designed to be manned minimally and is operable with a core crew of 40, and can take up to 35 mission crew.
The USS Mobile, is here as part of a display of warships during IMDEX Asia, a regional naval exhibition that takes place every two years in Singapore. The exhibition, which serves as a showcase of the latest in naval platform, arms and sensor technologies, is often also barometer of the wants and desires of the region’s navies.
The stern door at the Mission Bay.
The Mission Bay.
On the fo’c’sle deck.
The helo bay of the Hangar.
The heli-deck.
The Hangar from the upper deck.
The HCR (Helo Control Room).
A gym set up in the Mission Bay.
A view of the stern. The main hull in is in the centre with four waterjets at the bottom that propel the ship and the stern door of the Mission Bay above. The heli-deck is on top. The two outrigger hulls can be seen on either side of the main hull.
I had the opportunity to have a first look at Bird Paradise, Mandai Wildlife Reserve’s latest attraction.
Set on a 17 ha site close to the Mandai Road end of Mandai Lake Road, the successor to Jurong Bird Park will — at least at first glance — have what it takes to build an identity of its own. While it may not have a single iconic feature, which its predecessor had in its Waterfall Aviary, the new park does have a host of features that will allow visitors a more immersive experience. The highlight of Bird Paradise for me is its eight large walk-through aviaries — twice what Jurong had, each of which brings a varied experience.
Park information
Bird Paradise opens on 8 May 2023 and tickets (single-park admission), which go on sale from 24 April 2023, will be priced at $38 for adults, $23 for children (ages 3 to 12 years old) and $20 for senior citizens, from 8 May to 26 May 2023. From 27 May 2023, Single-park admission is at the full price of $48 for adults, $33 for children (ages 3 to 12 years old) and $20 for senior citizens.
All admission tickets must be purchased online at https://www.mandai.com/en/bird-paradise.html, prior to visiting Bird Paradise. An advance time slot booking is required. All ticket holders are required to make a booking before visiting Bird Paradise.
Participation in all feeding programmes must also be pre-booked on the ticketing website. A token fee of $8 per session applies for each participant.
Bird Paradise will be open daily from 9am to 6pm. Last admission into the park is at 5pm.
Prepare to be wowed even before you enter — the cascading waterfall, which you will encounter at the drop-off to Bird Paradise / Mandai West Node.
Under the winged canopy at the Bird Paradise entrance.
The back end of the Entrance Plaza
The cascading waterfall greets visitors at the Entrance Plaza, around which orchids recall the former Mandai Orchid Gardens which used to occupy the site.
Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove Penguins being moved.
At 3,000 square metres, Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove is a multi-level, state-of-the-art indoor habitat that showcases the fascinating behaviours of penguins. Its two large acrylic tanks each hold one of the biggest water volumes in the world to house penguins. Consisting of two storeys, the cold saltwater habitat allows guests to view penguins diving into the depths and emerging onto a Sub-Antarctic beach to waddle around under a domed sky surrounded by a projection of the Southern lights, the Aurora Australis. Lighting in the tank is designed to mimic the day and night of the Sub-Antarctic islands and complement the penguins’ breeding cycles.
4 species of penguins, which are Gentoo Penguin, King Penguin, Humboldt Penguin, Northern Rockhopper.
Get a rare glimpse underneath the swimming penguins from an acrylic dome on the first storey. Head to the mezzanine level for a multimedia projection highlighting the four seasons in the life of a King Penguin’s colony and impact of climate change on penguins in the wild.
Keeper Talk at 1.30pm daily. Learn about penguin behaviour and the personalities of individual penguins from their keepers.
F&B: Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove also features a dining experience immersed in an underwater environment with the aquatic birds at Penguin Cove Restaurant. Penguin Cove Café and Shop occupies the second level, offering penguin themed pastries and merchandise with a view of penguins waddling on the beach.
Ocean Network Express Penguin Cove – a cool new home for the penguins!
Over … the Ocean Express Penguin Cove’s beach level and …
under … where one can “dive” in the world of penguins, where visitors can also immerse in a dining experience.
Heart of Africa Bird Paradise’s largest aviary
At 1.55 ha, this is the Bird Paradise’s largest aviary. It features the park’s largest number of mature trees and features an elevated walkway, suspension bridges and a lookout tower. The Heart of Africa is also where feeding sessions are held at 9.30am and 2.00pm daily.
Inspired by the forest valleys of continental Africa, Heart of Africa houses the largest number of existing mature trees, with keystone species like the ficus. The aviary is designed around an elevated canopy experience where visitors will be led into a dense forest with meandering forest streams, where they can observe birds displaying their natural behaviours.
It has a population that contains some 80 species including eight different species of Turacos, the largest variety held in a single area. Other birds include superb starlings, red-winged starling, laughing dove, black-crowned cranes.
Features include elevated canopy experiences with suspension bridges above meandering forest streams, look out for immersive cultural elements such as Congolese pavilions and a larger-than-life artificial sycamore fig tree. Be sure to get a vantage point of the aviary at the Viewing Tower.
Feeding Sessions at 9.30am and 2.00pm daily, when a variety of bird species swoop down from the canopy for feeding-time.
A white-cheeked turaco.
A view of the suspension bridge at Heart of Africa.
The lookout tower.
A blue-bellied roller.
A taveta weaver.
Kuok Group Wings of Asia
Kuok Group Wings of Asia pays homage to the diverse habitats of Southeast Asia, through a recreation of winding bamboo forests and sloping rice terraces. Observe threatened species like the Black-faced Spoonbills and Baer’s Pochard as well as Mandarin Ducks wading in the shallow waters while charismatic hornbills soar above. For the early birds, swing by for a chance to see the Pied Imperial Pigeons flocking to their morning meal. Visitors can soak in the serene ambience while overlooking rice terraces and admiring Bali and Thailand-inspired architectural elements that have been integrated into the habitat.
More than 30 species are present such as the Australian pelican, black-faced spoonbill, Papuan hornbill, pied imperial pigeon, and milky stork
Features are a Balinese-inspired split gate, pavilions, and water-based sound sculptures.
Feeding sessions at 10.00am daily, when you can admire the view from the pavilion overlooking the paddy fields while feeding pelicans with their favourite fishes.
Part of the landscaping for this aviary is inspired by rice terraces of Asia.
The pelican feeding session that takes place at 10 am daily.
Hungry pelicans!
A sarus crane.
Hong Leong Foundation Crimson Wetlands
This aviary enthrals with a visual extravaganza of pink and red. Scarlet Macaws soar above American Flamingos set against the backdrop of a cascading waterfall, while Scarlet Ibises and Roseate Spoonbills wade across the South American wetlands.
40 species including scarlet macaw, red-and-green macaw, blue-throated macaw, scarlet ibis, roseate spoonbill, and American flamingo
Here in the Crimson Wetlands, you can hop across the lily play pockets and test your balance or take in a 20 m tall waterfall inspired by the San Juan Curi waterfall in Colombia, which pays tribute to the Waterfall Aviary of Jurong Bird Park.
There is a Keeper Talk at 12.00pm daily when flocks of macaws descend on the sound of an electric whistle, anticipating their favourite treats of macadamia and walnuts. Learn intimate anecdotes and gain a deeper understanding of their unique personalities and behaviours at this interactive Keeper Talk.
Offering breath-taking views of Hong Leong Foundation Crimson Wetlands, Crimson Restaurant is an elevated restaurant within the habitat that features a menu curated by local celebrity chef, Eric Teo.
Amazonian Jewels
The rainforests of South America are honoured at Amazonian Jewels, with its iconic ficus trees, large buttress root, terrestrial and epiphytic bromeliads and unique bird species.
More than 30 species such as golden parakeet, Andean cock-of-the-rock, saffron toucanet, chestnut-eared aracari, blue ground dove
Majestic buttress roots feature prominently in the habitat, surrounded by other unique plants from the South American rainforests.
A chestnut-eared acari.
Red-fan or hawk-headed parrots.
A maranon pigeon?
Sun conures
Songs of the Forest
Songs of the Forest sets the stage for the singing songbirds of Asia to shine, where the Bali Myna and Straw-headed Bulbul deliver a melodious symphony alongside threatened species of ground-dwelling birds. Inspired by the riverine forests of Southeast Asia, visitors can immerse in a peaceful haven characterised with large overhanging leaves and gentle streams.
Population of more than 40 species, which includes greater green leafbird, Bali myna, straw-headed bulbul, Victoria crowned pigeon, Santa Cruz ground-dove
Try out the Silent Forest interactive and keep an ear out for a forest filled with the melodious sound of birds compared to one without.
There is a Keeper Talk at 4.00pm daily, when you can discover the distinct vocalisations of each species and learn why it’s important to protect these threatened songbirds.
A Sulawesi ground dove.
A red-whiskered bulbul.
Lory Loft
Reminiscent of the much-loved Lory Loft at Jurong Bird Park, the new Lory Loft at Bird Paradise resonates the monsoon forest of Irian Jaya with gregarious lories and eye-catching parrots amid lush forest canopies. Visitors can revel in the thrills of offering the excited birds a nectar cup, enticing them to come up close and even to perch on their wrists and shoulders.
Memorialising the feeding experience at Jurong Bird Park, the experience echoes the heritage, legacy and memory of the much loved Lory Loft.
More than 10 species are present such as dusky lory, rainbow lorikeet, red-collared lorikeet, marigold lorikeet, coconut lorikeet, yellow bibbed lory.
Walk along elevated suspension bridges themed after ethnic treehouses in Papua and visit the sheltered pavilion.
Feeding sessions take place at 11.00am & 3.30pm daily.
Mysterious Papua
A bevy of cockatoos enrapture visitors at Mysterious Papua with their boisterous antics, while the southern cassowary stalks the coastal rainforest of pandanus trees and its iconic stilt roots. There are more than 20 species such as southern cassowary, Nicobar pigeon, Moluccan cockatoo, critically endangered white cockatoo and the world’s largest population of blue-eyed cockatoos under human care.
A longhouse-style bird hide offers visitors the opportunity to observe the birds up close. Look out for cockatoos perched amongst the palm-like pandanus trees with their signature orange spiky fruits.
Palm-like pandanus trees with their signature orange spiky fruits.
A Nicobar pigeon.
A Victoria crowned pigeon
A white cockatoo, which is critically endangered
Australian Outback
The arid forest-themed habitat in Australian Outback is home to iconic Australian species such as the second largest living bird in the world, the Emu. Listen for the iconic ‘laughter’ of the Laughing Kookaburras and keep your eyes peeled for the master of disguise, the Tawny Frogmouth as it camouflages as a tree branch.
Population of more than 20 species including Major Mitchell’s cockatoo, red-tailed black cockatoo, emu, straw-necked ibis, tawny frogmouth, laughing kookaburra
Aboriginal rock paintings decorate the towering rock structures, while thematic elements like a windmill and tower transport you to the Outback.
A kookaburra.
A magpie goose.
A friendly red-tailed black cockatoo.
Winged Sanctuary (not opened yet)
To be opened in two phases, Winged Sanctuary shines the spotlight on rare or predatory species of high conservation value including several hornbill species and various Bird-of-Paradise species. This zone will be a showcase of efforts undertaken by Bird Paradise to support in situ and ex situ conservation work, promoting awareness and education as well as conducting research and conservation breeding programmes of threatened species.
More than 100 species including Sulawesi hornbill, western piping hornbill, Philippine eagle.
Nineteenth century Singapore had its fair share of interesting personalities. One was a certain Mr Charles Burton Buckley, who had what might be thought as Singapore’s very first mile of railway built at Bukit Timah.
Buckley in Singapore’s first motorcar
Buckley first arrived in Singapore as a young man of twenty in 1864 and was a well established lawyer by the time he had the line in 1892. Better known these days as the author of “An Anecdotal History of Old Times in Singapore” and the owner of Singapore’s very first motorcar, Buckley’s legal career took him to Rodyk & Davidson, where remained until his retirement. During his time with the law firm Buckley became acquainted with Sultan Abu Bakar — modern Johor’s first sultan, for whom the firm acted as legal adviser.
It was with the support of the Sultan that Buckley made the rather ambitious effort in laying what was to have been the first section of a railway line from Singapore to Kranji. The journey to Singapore’s north was a one that many took during the weekends by horse-drawn coaches to get to the gambling farms in Johor Bahru — yes, JB was a weekend destination even then! In 1891, Buckley, who saw the potential of halving the time that would be taken for the half day journey with a light electric railway line, conducted an experiment at his own expense running a crudely built tram-like carriage along 180 feet supply trolley track by the docks at New Harbour on 16 September 1891. This was of course during a time when the use of electricity was in its infancy and New Harbour was where a small quantity of electricity was being generated for lighting purposes and Buckley had wooden poles constructed to carry an overhead electrical supply to the tram.
Abu Bakar, the grandson of Temenggong Abdul Rahman, who became Maharaja and then Sultan of Johor.
Although the press was not particularly impressed, with the initial trail being described as a “waste of power”, the experiment was successful enough for the Sultan, who was a guest at the experiment, to lend support to the ambitious project. What Buckley had in mind was to run the line alongside Bukit Timah Road from Kandang Kerbau to Kranji with five stops. Following the experiment, he went about the business of laying the first mile of the line between 5½ and 6½ milestones Bukit Timah Road. This section was chosen as Sultan Abu Bakar owned property close by, the stables of which could accommodate a generator.
With the mile long section of the line complete, a trial was conducted in the first week of September 1892 — approximately a year after the initial experiments at New Harbour. Among the guests was Tunku Mahkota Ibrahim, Abu Bakar’s heir and eventual successor as sultan and to whom Buckley would serve as financial advisor to. Although rather clumsily built, the trial, which involved the running of three carriages over seven days over the mile long line, was pronounced as “more successful than expected”. News of the successful trials even reached the United States, where it was picked up by the Chicago based “Street Railway Review”. Despite making the observation that while they “did not admire the graceful outline of trolley stand and pole”, they did “suppose that they were for the benefit of our Simian ancestors, who may wish to travel on top”, the Review reported on the trials rather favourably in its January 1893 edition.
Charles Burton Buckley’s Electric Railway (1892) Source: Street Railway Review, Vol III, January 1893
Nothing much more would however be heard of Buckley’s endeavour and with the Government taking steps to build a railway of its own — a detailed proposal for a non-electrified railway was brought up for consideration to the Legislative Council in 1898 and although the proposal was rejected initially, the proposal was passed the following year with work on it starting in early 1900. The first section of the Singapore Government Railway, also known as the Singapore and Kranji Railway, began operations on New Year’s Day 1903 with the first train departing at 6 am from Singapore Station built on the former Police parade ground off Tank Road, running to Bukit Timah. The connection to Kranji would be completed in April the same year and with that Buckley’s efforts were forgotten.
Singapore Station, Singapore and Kranji Railway, 1903
Underneath the veneer of modernity that Singapore wears, is an island, a port and a city-state that celebrates its many cultural and religious influences. Among these influences are ones brought in by the Portuguese through the Portuguese Mission, which Portuguese naval surgeon and an early immigrant to Singapore Dr Jose d’Almeida, was instrumental in bringing in. The mission eventually established St Joseph’s Church in Victoria Street in 1853. The church that stands today is one that was rebuilt in 1912. Long administered by the Portuguese Diocese of Macau, it was transferred to the Archdiocese of Singapore in 1981, although appointments continued to be made by the Bishop of Macau up until 1999. The church is where the religious traditions brought in by the mission have been kept very much alive, one of which is its annual Good Friday service, which features a candlelight procession through its grounds.
Good Friday at the Portuguese Church
The procession, which has not been seen at the church for six long years (the church was closed from August 2017 to June 2022 for refurbishment and restoration), has always attracted a large crowd of worshippers, with many spilling out onto the grounds of the church and even onto the Queen Street behind the church, transforming the area into a sea of candlelight. While the crowds have dwindled over the years, the procession is still quite a spectacle and adds much colour and life to the Bras Basah.Bugis precinct.
Toa Payoh, the first satellite town that the Housing and Development Board planned in full, was recently in the news, having been the subject of a refreshed National Heritage Board (NHB) heritage trail. As part of the NHB’s efforts to update the trial, two markers have been added: one is sited at Toa Payoh’s now famous dragon playground, and the other at the so-called VIP block, Block 53.
The dragon playground from the since demolished Block 28.
Block 53 is a block that I have had an association with, having moved to it when it was newly completed in 1967 at the age of three and spending nine of my formative years in it before moving out at the end of 1976. As an early Housing and Development Board (HDB) Toa Payoh and Block 53 resident, I got to witness many of Toa Payoh’s many milestones as the town grew and matured. The Toa Payoh that I moved into, felt very much an extension of the villages that many of its early residents had been moved out of. Doors were kept open, neighbours popped in and out or said hello as they walked past; common spaces came alive, especially in the evenings. Even if it may have been against HDB rules, many reared chickens and chickens running around was a rather common sight. Chilli, pandan, lime and pomegranate, planted in pots or in the common spaces behind ground floor flats were also commonly seen. Many residents lived as if they were still living in the kampungs that they had moved away from.
When Toa Payoh was a “flowery” place. Before the roads became Lorongs, they were named Jalan Bunga XXXX.
While Toa Payoh in its reincarnation as a HDB town, was beginning to shed its long-held reputation as the “Chicago of Singapore”, criminal activity continued to plague the town. An incident that I clearly remember, involved one of Singapore’s most wanted persons who went by the nickname “Hun Cher”, who was being hunted down by the police for a series of daring armed robberies. Having been tricked into renting a flat at Lorong 5 — not far from where I lived, Hun Cher chose to take his own life during his stand-off with the police.
Block 64, where Hun Cher took his own life early one July morning in 1970.
Toa Payoh’s high profile crime cases, did little to get in the way of the becoming the HDB’s model town and a showpiece for Singapore’s public housing success story. Visiting dignitaries were often brought to Toa Payoh to be impressed at how well Singapore had done on its own in its public housing programme; to be shown that Singapore could do it. A purpose-built VIP block, Block 53, had been put up. Uniquely designed with a “Y” shaped planform, the block featured an open-air viewing deck on its roof that offered a panoramic view of Toa Payoh and its surroundings.
The Queen at the Viewing Gallery on the roof of Block 53 Toa Payoh
The marvellous playground at Block 53 with Lorong 4, the Lorong 4 market, and Lorong 3 in the background. This offered much greater fun than the rather static and compact dragons that now seem to used as a reference point for the playgrounds of yesteryears (scan of a postcard courtesy of David Jess James – On a Little Street in Singapore).
A string of visiting and local dignitaries were treated to that panoramic view, including the late Queen Elizabeth II during her first visit to Singapore in 1972, several visiting Prime Ministers and President Benjamin Sheares of Singapore. Dignitaries were also taken on pre-arranged visits to flats in the block. Living on the top floor of Block 53 had its privileges when it came to this and the humble three room flat that I lived in with my parents and younger sister was graced by the Queen with Prince Philip and Princess Anne), President and Mrs Sheares and also John Gorton, PM of Australia and Sir William Goode — the last British governor of Singapore and Singapore’s very first Yang di-pertuan Negara (see: Psst … guess who dropped in today?).
A photograph taken during the visit of the Queen to my flat in 1972.
Toa Payoh, a town of many firsts, was where the very first international mass sporting event held in Singapore, the 7th SEAP Games in 1973, had its games village and aquatic sports centre — something that many early residents of Toa Payoh were extremely proud of. The seven national contingents participating in the 7th SEAP Games were housed in 346 four-room flats in four newly constructed point blocks in Toa Payoh Central. The flats would be sold through a ballot fully furnished — the first HDB flats to be sold in this manner. There were also other buildings within the games village that would be repurposed. These included the Games Secretariat offices, which is now Toa Payoh Community Library, and a dining hall, which now houses a supermarket and restaurant.
Did you know … that the “World’s Greatest Footballer” conducted a football workshop at Toa Payoh Stadium in 1974?
Another Toa Payoh milestone, would be the opening of the then Toa Payoh Town Garden (now Toa Payoh Town Park), which featured a lookout tower — the first in a HDB town garden, the prototype dragon playground (which had a metal face) and weeping willow trees lining a pond that could be crossed on stone bridges. The pond, weeping willows and stone bridges, which made Toa Payoh Town Garden a popular destination for outdoor wedding shoots, are still there today, along with the lookout tower (to which access is now restricted). The dragon, has long been removed and is now recalled by what may be thought of as its offspring, some 900 metres down Lorong 6.
The view from the top of the lookout tower.
Climbing the dragon at Toa Payoh Town Garden, 1975.
The prototype dragon playground.
From SIT Toa Payoh to HDB Toa Payoh
While Toa Payoh can be thought of as the HDB’s first planned satellite town, it was actually the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) that cast the die that set off Toa Payoh’s development in the 1950s. The SIT, which was set up initially to carry out town planning and improvement, also took on the task of providing public housing. Among its early public housing projects was the one at Tiong Bahru, which was carried out in the pre-Second World War era. The task that the SIT faced post-Second World War was however much greater when it faced with rapid population growth. It was about this time that SIT began first of all to assert its rights over land ownership. It also embarked on the then rather difficult task of acquiring land for public housing for large scale public housing developments.
What the SIT had in mind for Toa Payoh was an estate to house 65,000 people. SIT did in fact build flats in the Kim Keat Road area (Temple Estate) which were completed in 1954. The SIT’s project however made slow progress for several reasons, chief of which was the reluctance of villagers and squatters to vacate land that was earmarked for the future estate. In 1955, an estimated 21,000 people were still occupying uncleared parts of the intended estate, living in scattering of attap and zinc-roofed houses. The area’s cottage industries, chicken and pig farms and vegetable farms, a source of employment for pre-HDB Toa Payoh’s residents, were still operating. The were also other sources of blue-collar work in and around Toa Payoh, and also in chicken and pig rearing and other forms of farming. The SIT was quite toothless when it came to exerting authority. This, coupled with villagers and squatters refusing to budge, made the task of land acquisition slow and rather painful. Hardly any progress was made by the time the SIT had firmed its plans up for Toa Payoh in 1958 and by 1960, flats housing only 4,000 were built — far short of the 65,000 figure that the SIT had in mind.
1960 was of course quite a significant year in Singapore’s public housing journey. It was the year when the SIT was disbanded and the HDB came into being. The HDB made even more ambitious plans for Toa Payoh and in 1961, announced that it intended to tackle Singapore’s housing crisis with an estate in Toa Payoh that was to cover over 600 acres (243 ha) and house 200,000 — a tenth of Singapore’s population! Like the SIT, the HDB faced resistance from villagers and squatters. It noted in its 1961 Annual Report that “organised resistance” played a part, which prevented the commencement of clearance and development work on the new town. The HDB was however given greater authority to overcome very similar difficulties that its predecessor had faced. Offers of monetary compensation were more generous, and it also went further by the provision of temporary housing for displaced villagers. Harder methods were also employed where necessary to counter the intimidation that its officers faced from gangsters and various communist influenced groups that were behind the organised opposition to land acquisition. By 1962, most villagers had agreed to take the HDB’s offers up, paving the way for the clearance of land in 1963. Construction on the estate started in 1964 and by October 1966, Toa Payoh’s first 720 flats were put up for balloting.
The HDB spared no effort in making Toa Payoh a planning success story, and a model for future HDB towns. There were also some interesting concepts that the HDB adopted for the new town such as a rather unique traffic system that carried traffic into and out of the new town via flyovers. Roundabouts or road circuses rather than traffic-light controlled junctions were used to manage vehicular flow at the entry points, a system that was actually borrowed from SIT’s plans, which had featured British new town planning ideas. Similar to SIT designed Queenstown, Toa Payoh also featured a neighbourhood system built around neighbourhood centres with a concentration of markets, shops and other amenities, with a main town centre to serve the entire town. Population density would be where Toa Payoh differed from Queenstown, which was built to contain an average of 200 persons per acre. HDB applied the squeeze in Toa Payoh, increasing the planned population density by 2.5 times to 500 persons per acre.
One of the things that the HDB did in Toa Payoh, is retain some key religious sites such as the Seu Teck Sean Tong. The town and its roads were laid out and aligned around these sites. See also “The sunken temple of Toa Payoh“.
Now rarely encountered, puppet performances were once a common sight here in Singapore. Much like street opera performances, the appearance of puppet stages more often than not, coincided with festivals celebrated at Chinese Taoist temples. While such performances may have provided entertainment to the common folk in days before television invaded our homes, they were often put up for religious purposes, with puppets also playing a part in performing rituals and in performances conducted for the pleasure of visiting gods.
Carried over by the Chinese emigrant community, various forms of Chinese puppetry have been seen in Singapore. String (marionette), rod, or glove puppets are mostly used. String puppets, which can best replicate human-like movement and gestures, carry the highest status and are thought to be most sacred amongst the various types of puppets. Belief was that puppets of deities used in rituals were brought to life by the deities they represented and the skills that the puppeteer demonstrated was imparted by the god of string puppets, also the god of theatre — a deity that is most often represented by a marionette. For this reason, string puppeteers were initially Taoist priests, due to their ability to communicate with the gods.
Over time, puppet troupes have taken over the role played by priests, with the eventual secularisation of the practice as a theatre form. Music used in puppetry has also changed, with a move from the use of nanyin music in Hokkien puppetry towards the more folk-like gezai music form that is associated with opera.
These days, all but a handful of puppet troupes keep the tradition alive. One, a Hokkien string puppet troupe known as Geyi, was founded in 2001 by Doreen Tan. Madam Tan, rather interestingly, was English educated and had no background in the traditional Hokkien theatre. Geyi is currently staging performances at the beautifully restored Temple on Phoenix Hill, Hong San See, during the elaborate commemoration of the feast day of its main deity, Guang Ze Zun Wang (广泽尊王) or Kong Teik Chun Ong (in Hokkien). The deity is widely worshipped in Lam Ann, the origins of the temple’s founders. The festival celebrations run until 16 March 2023.
The troupe during the banxian (impersonating the immortals) ritual.
More photographs taken during the Guang Ze Zun Wang festival at Hong San See:
The fire of the dragon of Sar Kong was seen again last evening, making a reappearance on the streets around its lair at the Mun San Fook Tuck Chee temple. The temple introduced the fire dragon dance in the 1980s, importing a tradition from Tai Hang Village in Hong Kong that has its origins in 1880. Mun San Fook Tuck Chee’s dance of the fire dragon, which usually makes an appearance once every three years, now seems a significant cultural event in Singapore and draws crowds of observers as well as many photographers.
The temple, Mun San Fook Tuck Chee (萬山福德祠), is thought to have its origins in the 1860s, serving a community of Cantonese and Hakka migrant workers employed by the area’s brick kilns, sawmills and sago making factories. The temple moved twice and came to its present site in 1901.
The dance of the fire dragon that is associated with the temple, although long a practice in its place of origin in Hong Kong, only came to the temple in the 1980s. The dragon used for the dance is the result of a painstaking process that involves the making of a core using rattan and the plaiting of straw over three months to make the dragon’s body. Lit joss sticks are placed on the body prior to the dance and traditionally, the dragon would be left to burn to allow it to ascend to the heavens.
More information on the temple, its origins and its practices can be found in the following posts:
Among the highlights of National Heritage Board’s (NHB) Battle for Singapore (BSG 2023) programme, which runs from 10 February to 5 March 2023 and will feature 30 unique programmes and offer 100 tour runs, will be the rare chance to visit one of the lesser known ruins of Sentosa’s coastal defence batteries, Connaught Battery (Fort Connaught Rediscovery Tour). Normally a restricted site due to reasons of public safety, the site has been opened up to guided visits conducted during BSG 2023. Participants will be able to visit the battery’s badly damaged No 3 gun emplacement, see a Battery Observation Post (BOP) and have a glimpse of the entrance to an underground magazine, a retaining wall of the underground structure, as well as ventilation openings.
The pockmarked BOP
Established in the 1930s on the site of the former Fort Connaught (established in 1878-1879), the battery comprised three 9.2 inch guns that protected the harbour against naval attack from its eastern approaches. Contrary to popular belief, the guns did turn north, firing in the direction of the Causeway, Jurong, Tengah and Bukit Timah at the advancing Imperial Japanese Army during the Battle for Singapore. The guns were spiked and destroyed on 14 February 1942 — the day before Singapore capitulated, but not before all ammunition was used. The guns had little impact on the enemy’s ground forces however as most of the ammunition they had been supplied with were of the armour piercing type. More information on Connaught Battery can be found at: The hidden remains of Sentosa’s big WW2 guns.
The Fort Connaught Rediscovery Tour, which is being held from 9am to 11.30am and 1 pm to 3 pm over three weekends on 11 and 12 Feb, 18 and 19 Feb and 25 and 26 Feb 2023, is priced ar $20 per participant and is recommended for ages 13 and up (minor below the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult/guardian). Tickets will be released on 8 Feb 2023 at 10 am at https://bsg2023.peatix.com.
I would be personally involved in two programmes, one of which will be a twinned tour of Changi Chapel and Museum (CCM) and Changi Point (two tours on 12 Feb 2023). I will be conducting the outdoor segment of this tour at Changi Point, where I shall be touching on the history of Changi, the reasons for its military sites, why it was chosen as a site to house POWs and touch on some of the documented experiences of POWs in Changi and site that may have been associated with them. Information on this can be found at the CCM website. As with the main BSG 2023 programmes, tickets (priced at $20) will be released on 8 feb 2023 at 10 am.
The second programme that I am involved in is Sembawang, Gibraltar of the East, which will involved a virtual visit on 16 Feb 2023 to some of the sites associated with the former British naval base in Sembawang, an important component of the set up that gave Singapore its reputation as being the “Gibraltar of the East” prior to its inglorious fall. Admission to this, which is being hosted on MS Teams, is free.
Following two subdued editions in 2021 and 2022 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the celebration of this year’s Thaipusam on 5 Feb 2023, saw a return to long-held traditions — with a procession of kavadis or burdens (including spike or velkavadis). The procession starts at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple along Serangoon Road and ends at the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple at Tank Road. The celebration of the Hindu festival is one of multi-cultural and multi-religious Singapore’s most spectacular. A good place to catch it or even photograph it is at the procession’s start point, the Sri Srinivasa Perumal temple in which elaborate preparations are made by kavadi bearers before they embark on the over 3 kilometre journey of faith to Tank Road.
Do visit my numerous posts related to Thaipusam to find out more on the festival, which is celebrated annually on the day of the full moon during the Tamil month of Thai:
The opening of the heavens over Jurong late on Tuesday (3 January 2023), just as Jurong Bird Park was an hour or so short of shutting its doors for a final time was a poignant reminder of the sadness that was attached to the event. The deluge that its brought seemed very much like a torrent of tears that was being shed from up above. The park, which opened on the very day 52 years to the day it was to close for good, seemed to have a life to celebrate cut short, a life during which it left an impression on many young and old, gained a worldwide reputation and became the face to an otherwise grey and unfashionable Jurong.
The brainchild of the visionary Dr Goh Keng Swee, Singapore’s first post-independence wildlife attraction, seemed an unlikely attraction when it first opened in 1971. Located on the fringes of the heavily industrial west of Singapore, the bird park was like the industrial estate whose image it was to soften, a resounding success story. Boasting what was then the world’s largest walk-in aviary, the Waterfall Aviary, within which one also found the world’s tallest man-made waterfall, there was much to draw the visitor. It soon became a popular spot for family outings, school excursions and an attraction that put Singapore on the tourist map.
The bird park, which drew 41 million visitors throughout its 52 years of operation, attracted more than 30,000 in its last five days of operation, with 2,600 guests taking in the sights, sounds and shows on its final day. While the closure does spell the end for Jurong Bird Park as we have known it, it is not the end of the road for the staff and the park’s feather residents as the attraction is being reincarnated as Mandai Bird Paradise. The Bird Paradise is scheduled to begin operations in the second quarter of 2023.
A flamboyance of flamingoes takes one of its final flights in Jurong.
Mr Clarence Saw at the last of Jurong Bird Park’s show — just before the downpour.
A last look at Penguin Coast.
Staff of Jurong Bird Park taking a last photograph.
A last look at the great pied hornbill in its enclosure.
Tears from the heavens.
A last photograph in the rain on the suspension bridge.
The last High Flyers show.
A last look at the quite lush and verdant Waterfall Aviary.
Hornbill viewing.
A last look at what was once the world’s tallest manmade waterfall.
A view of the waterfall from the suspension bridge.
A last climb to a look out point in the Waterfall Aviary.
Last gifts for last day guests.
A last look at the entrance to the Waterfall Aviary.
A last dance with the birds at the Pools Amphitheatre.
The crowd at the last King of the Skies show and very last show at Jurong Bird Park.
A last opportunity to “mingle” with the avian residents at the Pools Amphitheatre.
Last chance to get up close at the African Treetops.
A hornbill wows the crowd at the last High Flyers show,
The foraging Raoul, a southern-crested caracara at the King of the Skies show.
A greater flamingo.
A migratory stork in the greater flamingo enclosure. While the storks are non-residents at the bird park, they were regular visitors who came for food and were fed along with the other birds.
A giant pied hornbill.
A violet back starling feeding at African Treetops aviary.
A bearded barbet at African Treetops.
A sun conure at the last High Flyers show on an enrichment device.
Together with 9 other bloggers and thanks to Tigerair Philippines and the Philippine Department of Tourism, I found myself on a dream trip to Boracay in July 2013. Read about the fantastic experience I had at Boracay Island Escapade or on my blog.
Courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), I had the opportunity to have a 4 day adventure in Hong Kong with 9 other bloggers. To read our collective Hong Kong Travel Blog entries, please click on the icon below:
The Long and Winding Road 