Singapore River Hongbao IV

It was spectacular fireworks on this Sunday night. Standing on the Sheare's Bridge, the fireworks was almost above you. There were many high explosions which my A640 lenss was not wide enough to capture. The pyrotechnics went off 5 minutes early at 8.55pm and all the photographers with me on the Bridge were caught off guard. We were lucky our tripods and cameras have been set before-hand and we missed just the opening shot. The last fireworks for this lunar new year celebration will be this coming Sunday at 9pm.

Singapore River Hongbao III

On the right is the River Hongbao 2007. The bright streak is where the street food can be found. Prices are rather high, and be prepared to be pushed around, or push around to get through. The Thai food at the left side end is quite nice, but avoid the over-priced $3 tasteless green mangoes. The moon is superimposed. Remember the posting "Moon"? Its the same moon. :) I especially like the rainbow colours which are reflected off the slightly calm waters of the Singapore River. It comes off the decorative neon lights of the River Hongbao.

River Hongbao 2007 Fireworks II

Yesterday's fireworks was rather disappointing. Most of the blame should be attributed to the wind direction. When the wind blows the smoke right towards the spectators at the Fullerton and Esplande side, what you get is smoke and lots of bright flares that spoil your pictures. And last night, I noticed the fireworks were all rather low. That they are fired on the new IR site also meant that unless you zoomed in, you'll get fireworks that barely reach the center of your photo frame. Well, there are three nights to go. I won't be able to go for this coming Sat's. I'll probably go again on Sun.

River Hongbao 2007 Fireworks

Singapore is celebrating the chinese lunar new year with events at the annual River Hongbao 2007 (at marina) until the first week of March. To entertain the locals and tourists, fireworks will be shot on six evenings, beginning last Friday evening, when I was just five minutes late. On Sunday night, I made sure I arrived early on the bridge between the esplanade and the merlion and booked a spot where I managed to take a few good pictures of the colourful fireworks. However most wouldn't look nice superimposed onto the merlion picture, except this one with orange fireworks. If you are interested, go down to marina at 9pm on Mon 19/2, Sat 24/2, Sun 25/2 and Sun 4/3 for more fireworks!

Mochi Selldown

Just two days ago, the price of mochi was already depressed to $1 per 100g. (Originally these costs $1.80 per 100g) After receiving word of $5 a bag mochi deals from my cousin at reunion dinner, I was back in Chinatown with my brother. The traffic this time was tremendous. And the barricades placed by the homeland police caused a lot of inconvenience. Luckily I remembered where the stores selling mochi were and went straight to them. When I arrived, the konnyakku was also going for the $5 a bag price so I bought a total of three bags of mochi and konnyakku!

Lion Roar

Wu Shi...the lion dance...the auspicious and energetic chinese tradition practiced at the Lunar New Year (and usually the openings of new companies) brought luck and festive cheer to my school today. I especially like this one because it has white cuddly fur and cute red nose. May this adorable lion bring you the best of luck and prosperity in the new year, the year of the pig! Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Mochi

The soft glutinous rice ball with a sweet filling and powdery exterior from Taiwan are making a big scene at Chinatown again. And the competition among the pasar malam stores here are just heating up. Last weekend when I was here the price was $1.80 per 100g. Last night, the usual was $1 per 100g. But this store, right in the center of all the action, was going at 80 cents per 100g. I am quietly confident the price is going to be further depressed today. The other Taiwan product which is popular this year is the Konnyakku fruit jelly. Its also going at the price of the mochi. Hear the perspiring vendors shouting "Jin Tian Lao Ban Bu Zai" (Boss not here today) and "Hao Chi Cai Mai" (Buy only if it's nice) into their loudspeakers to entice customers.

Bottle Gourds

A must for some chinese families during the lunar new year. This year, there is a huge abundance of this ornamental fruit in Chinatown and even some bigger supermarkets like Giant in Tuft City. If you are looking for an environmentally friendly, bio-degradable water bottle, this fruit, when dried, may be helpful. You just cut off top of the neck and improvise with a stopper to keep the water from flowing out. Some sources say this fruit may be eaten like squash, but I think I'd rather be safe and stop at admiring the sexy hour glass figure of the Hu Lu!

New Blooms for the New Year

Nursuries around the island of Singapore are making brisk business selling pots after pots of gold kumquats, gold marigolds, gold cosmos, etc. Chinatown allows you to immerse into the festive, loud, sweaty atmosphere of the chinese lunar new year. But it is at the nursuries where you feel the warmness and freshness of the natural thousand blooms, the happy families choosing their pots of flowers that symbolises new life, fortune and good luck, that completes the experience of lunar new year. This is a ritual I go through annually. The picture shows the nursery opposite the Clementi Camp. Prices here are slightly lower than the nurseries over at Thompson Area.

Chinatown Lights Up

The crowds have decended on Chinatown again. The other time I came here was in the afternoon and I scouted this nice vantage point from above the old chinatown wet market. The latter is unfortunately is presently under renovation, and that's bad news for the tourists who come here to catch a glimpse of the real Singapore. Though it was really tiring at work on Fridays, I came tonight so the offices in the CBD would be lighted, and this strikes a contrast with the noise and excitement along the streets of Chinatown. I wished my canon camera had a wider angle on its lens...f4.5 at 4sec exposure.

Sunset at Marina Square

The foodcourt at Marina Square offers diners a free view of the Singapore Skyline with the Esplanade at the foreground. If you reach this place before 7pm on a clear evening, you'll be treated to a fantastic sunset such as this one. (It has been enhanced though...it wasn't that dark, but you get the feel right?) When I was there on Sunday, the wind was very strong and the surroundings was kind of blanketed with a light haze, creating a feeling of heaviness.

Ole Ole Ole Ole....

Singapore 1 - Thailand 1. That's the score at the soccer match held in Bangkok this evening. On aggregate, Singapore wins Thailand 3-2! It is just exhilating. Singapore retains its position as having the best soccer team in ASEAN. :) Thanks to the controversial penalty awarded to Singapore last wednesday, plus Amri's fantastic shot at goal with just five minutes left in the game. This is great entertainment! Watch out for more Singapore soccer!

Moon

It's the first day of February and the moon is approaching its fullness again. This was the full moon roughly a month ago and it was shot using the zoom function at f8 at 1/50s. But you'll have to shoot it at a higher resolution so that after you crop the photo, you'd still have a moon that does not appear pixelated. When I have time, I'll superimpose this moon onto a night scene of the skyline to achieve the surreal feeling.