The sun rises in Singapore’s north

A collection of 51 photographs taken at sunrise that show that the north may have some of the best spots in Singapore to greet the new day.

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Sunrise, Selat Tebrau (Straits of Johor), 6.54 am, 16 April 2016.

Sunrise over Beaulieu Jetty, 6.41am, 7 May 2016.

Through the trees at Gambas Avenue, 7.08 am, 18 February 2012.

Greeting the new day, Sembawang Park, 17 April 2016.

Silhouettes at Kampong Wak Hassan, 6.35 am, 25 May 2014.

The angry sky over Beaulieu Jetty, 6.55 am, 16 April 2016.

Sunrise, through the incoming Sumatras, 6.30 am, 28 May 2016.

Colours of the forgotten shore, 6.47 am, 24 July 2013.

A sunrise through the storm, 7.09 am, 9 June 2013.

Solitude, Kampong Wak Hassan, 22 May 2013.

The rising sun over the strait, 7.11 am, 30 March 2013.

Over the strait, 6.41am, Christmas Day 2014.

Colours of the morning, Lower Seletar Reservoir, 6.34 am, 18 December 2013.

Colours of the morning, Kampong Tengah, 6.55 am 30 March 2013.

Rising of the sun, the straits, 7.00 am, 31 May 2013.

Colours after the storm, 6.43 am, 9 October 2013.

Light through the darkness, 7.03 am, 18 August 2013.

The early harvest, 6.47 am, 2 May 2013.

The seawall, 7.02 am, 2 February 2013.

The rising sun over Pasir Gudang, 6.58 am, 21 November 2013.

Light rays, 6.50 am, 24 June 2012.

Dark and light, 6.45 am, 7 June 2014.

Walking on water, 6.44 am, 14 June 2014.

First light, the forgotten shore, 6.25 am, 15 June 2014.

Red clouds over the straits, 6.55 am, 22 June 2012.

The rising sun through the haze, 7.09am, 21 June 2012.

Morning glow, 7.19 am, 22 December 2012.

Sunrise over Mandai, 6.51 am, 3 October 2013.

Colours of the new day, 6.54 am, 5 June 2014.

The bench, 6.45 am, 7 June 2014.

The bench, 6.31 am, 8 June 2014.

The incoming tide, 7.14 am, 14 June 2014.

Happy campers at sunrise, 6.45 am, 19 June 2014.

A pastel shaded morning, 6.22 am, 31 May 2014.

The cyclist, 6.38 am, 30 May 2015.

The fisherman, 6.36 am, 5 June 2015.

The finger pier, Sembawang Shipyard, 6.41am, 9 June 2015.

Pretty in pink, 6.22am, 1 June 2015.

On the jetty, 6.52 am, 28 February 2015.

The beach, 6.22 am, 28 March 2015.

Tossing the trap, 7.02 am, 1 March 2015.

The last trees of the Sungei Seletar mangrove forest, 7.06 am, 26 May 2016.

Dreamy morning, 6.39 am, 24 November 2014.

Three’s company, 6.36 am, 13 November 2014.

The sun rises on a changing landscape, 6.52 am, 30 October 2014.

The new world, 6.55 am, 21 November 2014.

Bubu man, 6.49 am, 13 November 2014.

The rising sun, 6.50 am, 24 November 2014.

Play, 6.53 am, 24 November 2014.

Under the clouds, 22 November 2013.

Over the last forested hill, 9 July 2016, 6.24 am.

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The full moon of Panguni

The full moon of the Tamil month of Panguni paints the Sembawang area with the colours of a Hindu festival, Panguni Uthiram, celebrated by the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple. The celebration of the festival, which involves a street procession of kavadis, is a tradition that dates back to 1967 during the days of the British Naval Base.

The temple back then was off Canberra Road within the base and the procession took a route from the laundry shop at the junction of Canberra and Ottawa Roads, down Canberra Road, left into Dehli Road and into Kowloon Road, before continuing back up Canberra Road, ending at the temple.

The procession this year, as with the one last year, took a shortened route from Canberra Drive, down Canberra Lane to Canberra Link and to Yishun Industrial Park A. Now surrounded by the obvious signs of urbanisation and change, the procession now has a very different feel to it than it did in the good old days.

More information on the celebration, as well as some photographs of the celebration of the festival at its original site, can be found at the following links on the temple’s website:

• http://www.holytreebalasubramaniar.com.sg/special-significant-events/panguni-uthiram/
• http://www.holytreebalasubramaniar.com.sg/about-us/archives/# 

Posts and photographs from the celebrations of the previous years’ that I managed to catch can be found at the following links:

• Panguni Uthiram 2015: Panguni Uthiram 2015 in photos
• Panguni Uthiram 2014: Colours of April
• Panguni Uthiram 2013: The Silver Chariot returns
• Panguni Uthiram 2012: The sun rises on a Sembawang tradition
• Panguni Uthiram 2011: A lesser known Hindu festival with a Kavadi procession

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More photographs from Panguni Uthiram 2016

The end point was at the temporary temple as the temple building is being rebuilt and will only be ready later this year.

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Northern Singapore’s chariot procession

Colouring the evening in a prelude to the Hindu celebration of Panguni Uthiram in Singapore is the procession of the silver chariot. Carrying the image of Lord Murugan, it makes a journey from the Sree Maha Mariamman Temple to the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple, stopping at designated points along the way to allow devotees to make offerings of fruit, flowers and incense. The festival proper, which features a kavadi procession similar to Thaipusam, follows on the day of the full moon and is a tradition in the Sembawang area that goes back to the latter days of Her Majesty’s Naval Base.

For photographs of Panguni Uthiram 2016, please visit this link: The Full Moon of Panguni.

Light in the darkness

Light in the darkness after the storm, 6.41 am, Lower Seletar Reservoir, 28 May 2014.

Celebrating a new day in an old world made new

The celebration of the new day as seen in the relatively new world at Lower Seletar Reservoir Park.

6.33 am

Work on the reservoir, formed by the damming of the Sungei Seletar estuary, was completed in the late 1985. The construction of the 975 metre long dam at a cost of some S$60.8 million, cut off a river around which the Nee Soon area developed and with which is an association with the indigenous community of sea dwellers known as the Orang Seletar.

6.53 am

The dam now provides a link between what is today the Yishun (the public housing estate named after Nee Soon) area of Singapore with the Seletar area and has created a reservoir with a surface area of some 352 hectares. The reservoir was originally named as the Sungei Seletar Reservoir, and was renamed in May 1992.

7.06 am

7.09 am

7.09 am

Raising the flag on Guru Nanak Jayanti

The Sikh holy day of Guru Nanak Jayanti commemorating the birth anniversary of the first Guru and the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is celebrated by the Sikh community during the full moon in the month of Kartik. This year’s celebration took place on 17 November and I had the opportunity to observe the festivities at the Sikh temple in Yishun, the Gurdwara Sahib Yishun.

The commemoration of festivities at gurdwaras or Sikh temples often sees the appearance of sword wielding armed guards who represent the Five Beloved Ones.

The festival, is said to be one of the most sacred in the Sikh religion. As with all festivals that is celebrated in the Sikh religion, it is one that is involves the entire community, involving prayers offered in the morning, the singing of hymns and the sharing of a meal at the gurdwara or Sikh temple.

The Darbar Sahib or prayer hall.

The highlight of yesterday’s celebration at the Gurdwara Sahib Yishun, was the raising of a new flag. The flag, the sacred Sikh religious flag, known as the Nishan Sahib, is traditionally flown on a tall flagpole outside the gurdwara. This serves to identify the location of the gurdwara as it is flown in such a manner that it can be seen from afar.

Inside the prayer hall or Darbar Sahib.

Sweet pudding is distributed after prayers.

The five beloved ones at the flagpole.

It was with much ceremony that the old flag is lowered and the new flag raised. With the community gathered around, together with five saffron robed sword wielding guards (who represent the Panj Pyaras or the five beloved ones) prominent at the base of the flagpole (and throughout the religious part of the observances), the flagpole is lowered so the the old flag can be removed and the the flagpole prepared to receive the new sacred flag by washing with water and milk. 

The lowering of the flagpole.

Washing the flagpole.

All hands to the flagpole.

Milk is also used in the washing.

A new flag is attached.

With the flagpole washed, the new flag is then attached to it and its is with much jubilation that the flagpole and the flag is then raised. Following the raising of the pole, members of the community stream around its base, placing flowers and offering prayers. The members of the community then head back up to the Darbar Sahib or prayer hall for the singing of hymns, with the morning’s festivities culminating in the sharing of a community meal – a practice that is central to all Sikh celebrations.

Raising of the new flag.

The new flag is raised.

Singing of hymns.

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About the Gurdwara Sahib Yishun:

The Gurdwara Sahib Yishun which opened on 27 August 1995 traces its origins to two gurdwaras located in Singapore north which merged when the land on which they stood was acquired for redevelopment. The two were the Gurdwara Sahib Guru Khalsa Sabha Sembawang (Sembawang Sikh Temple) and the Gurdwara Sahib Jalan Kayu, both of which are connected with the establishment of bases by the British military in the 1930s.

The Sembawang Sikh Temple had it origins in the British Naval Base, being set up in 1936 in the settlement outside the base which later became known as Chong Pang Village  to serve the Sikh community involved in the construction of the base, and later workers in the base as well as Sikh members of Naval Base Police (who has their barracks at View Road).

The Gurdwara Sahib Jalan Kayu, traces its origins to the Sikh community which came to the area to serve in the RAF Seletar Police Force who set up a temple in their barracks in the 1930s. The Gurdwara Sahib Jalan Kayu itself was set up in the village just outside the air base after the war in 1947 when the Police Force was disbanded.

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The Silver Chariot returns

A set of photographs taken stop points along the procession route of the Silver Chariot. The procession takes place on the eve of the festival of Hindu festival of Panguni Uthiram which is celebrated on the full moon of the Tamil month of Panguni. Since 1967, a kavadi procession, similar to that during the more well known Thaipusam festival, has taken place in the Sembawang area, organised by the Holy Tree Sri Balasubramaniar Temple. The temple was original established in the Naval Base off Canberra Road and moved to its current location at Yishun Industrial Park A in 1996. The chariot is a representation of the chariot in which Lord Murugan or Lord Balasubramaniar is believed to use on his annual visit to his devotees on Earth. The procession this year takes place along a new route starting at a vacant plot of land off Canberra Lane / Canberra Drive. Photographs of the preparations for kavadi bearers from the previous years as well as more information on the festival can be found on two of my previous posts: A lesser known Hindu festival with a Kavadi procession: Panguni Uthiram (2011) and The sun rises on a Sembawang tradition.

Singapore’s first multiplex closes for renovations and PCK came to look-see

The 11th of August had a lot to do with renovations and “Singapore’s favourite contractor”, Phua Chu Kang. Somehow, the day had started with the sight of him, and ended with the sight of him, not what one might think of a perfect day. The “Life” section of the morning’s newspaper had actually carried a photograph of PCK, as he is fondly referred to, with a caption urging him to hang his bright yellow boots up. In his article in Life which the large photograph and the less than flattering caption had referred to, John Lui had in fact given the lowdown on PCK, suggesting even that PCK should have ideally been involved in a fatal construction site accident. I guess this would have easily drawn my attention to the article, not having been much of a fan of PCK, but with an date with the “best in Singapore and JB and some say Batam” looming that evening at the GV Yishun (Yishun 10) renovation launch, I was more than interested in what John Lui had to say.

PCK arriving at Yishun 10 ... bright yellow boots and all!

Well, we all know that PCK is in fact a fictional character from the 1990s vintage local sitcom, PCK Pte Ltd, played convincing by actor Gurmit Singh, and John Lui was not harbouring any murderous intent and was in fact referring to the plot for the movie, Phua Chu Kang The Movie, which was to be screened at cinemas in Singapore the following day. I don’t really know if it was planned, or by some sheer coincidence, Yishun 10, having served the public for some 18 years since its opening in 1992 was to screen its last movie that evening before closing for some 3 months for extensive renovations. It seemed that it was a brilliant from a publicity viewpoint, that GV decided to have a GV Yishun Renovation Party that evening and engage the services of the man in the yellow boots.

GV Yishun held a renovation party to commemorate it's last screening before being closed for extensive renovations.

GV Yishun screened its last movie before its makeover on 11 Aug 2010.

I know that GV Yishun had turned a little grimy of late, but when it opened in May 1992, it represented a landmark in the cinema industry here in Singapore, being Singapore’s (and probably Asia’s) very first multiplex (somehow we refer to these as a cineplex these days). When the idea was conceived, Singapore had been dominated by the single screen cinemas of old, where everything was run very much in the old scheme of things. Tickets were bought over the counter at the Box Office, and seats were manually assigned, with patrons selecting them from a laminated cardboard plan at the counter and the Box Office clerk would then scribble the seat numbers onto the tickets with a chinagraph. The appearance of Yishun 10, looking as if it was a rocket ship that had dropped out of the sky onto the newly developed Yishun New Town (it was designed to look like a rocket ship that had landed in Yishun by the architect, Mr. Geoff Melone), changed all that, also bringing with it some futuristic concepts which included computerised ticketing that we now take for granted.

GV Yishun on its opening day in May 1992 ... it was designed to look like a rocket ship that had landed in Yishun by the architect, Mr. Geoff Melone (Photo provided by GV during the Renovation Party).

Yishun 10 was developed by a joint venture between Golden Harvest of Hong Kong and Village Roadshow from Australia, the then newly formed Golden Village, and there was much fanfare that accompanied its construction, with even Jackie Chan on hand to launch the final phase of construction and Carina Lau officiating at the opening ceremony. Featuring 10 cinema auditoriums, the multiplex revolutionised movie going in Singapore, giving audiences a choice of what to watch in a single location, and was seen to be a phenomenal success. It also set the benchmark for the industry, bringing with it plush carpets and much more comfortable seating, rendering the existing single and two screen cinemas unfashionable almost overnight.

Jackie Chan had a hand in launching the final phase of construction for Yishun 10.

Carina Lau photographed with Edmund Chen at the opening ceremony.

Now, some 18 years later, Yishun 10 has closed its doors, and for the three months it will remain closed, it will undergo a much needed extreme makeover (it is scheduled to reopen on 3 Nov 2010). To commemorate this occasion, GV somehow thought of this great idea to throw a renovation party, which turned out to be a whole load of fun for everyone present. Guests were first treated to a movie: Phua Chu Kang being the one I watched – a perfect choice, not so much for the movie itself, but that it fit the theme so well. Along with this, we could view an interesting “My Memories of Yishun 10” exhibition that provided much of the historical information contained in this post. There was also some interesting memories and memorabilia on display … transporting us back in time to the early days of the cineplex (which somehow doesn’t seem that long ago).

Memories of Yishun 10.

The best was yet to come though … after the movie, guests were also treated to the appearance of the contractor who claims to be the “best in Singapore and JB”, bright yellow boots and all, and his wife Rosie to add some fun to the whole evening. Next, was the highlight for many … a chance to take a piece of GV Yishun home at its a Demolition Hall … there was lots to grab, limited to one piece a person. Many were taken by the movie posters and movie poster stand ups … I am not sure how the guests who took the stand ups actually got them home … while it may not actually have been a perfect evening … with some initial poor crowd control at the demolition hall, I guess for some … it might have been a perfect evening.

Singapore's favourite contractor made an appearance with Rosie.

Guests were allowed to take home a piece of Yishun 10 at a demolition hall.

The crowd eagerly waiting to go into the demolition hall.

Inside the demolition hall.

Making a getaway with her loot! I wonder how she managed to get that home?

The proud new owners of a piece each of Yishun 10.

A final look at the Yishun 10 as it was: