My cab driver told me how he has witnessed the evolution of
Singapore from a dirty backwater to the fantastic city it is today. Clean, modern, and green, the progress was, he said, due to good work of benevolent dictator Lee Kwan Yew or "Mr. Lee" the Elder, the father of the current Mr. Lee, Lee Hsien Loong.
That being said, this is the cleanest city I have visited and with a pleasant "vibrancy" wherever you go. I was in town for less than 24-hours and stayed with my friends Anja and Frits, who have a place near the downtown core. After catching my breath, we were off to see
the city.
There is public art everywhere you look, and I didn't even see the Merlion.
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| Homage to Newton by Salvador Dali, 1985 |
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| Bird by Fernando Botero, 1990 |
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| Progress & Advancement by Lien Ying Chow, 1988. |
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| All The Essentially Essential by Tan Wee Lit, 2013 |
We began at the top. At 926 feet above sea level, the
1-Altitude Rooftop Gallery & Bar is the highest alfresco bar in the world. Nice to be high and have a couple of drinks as well. But when it got dark, we hurried down to see the sound and light show at Marina Bay, which was followed by another show in the Gardens by the Bay.
The next morning Anja took me to her favorite spot: the
Haw Par Villa, better known as T
iger Balm Gardens. Without repeating Anja’s excellent descriptions, this was the home of the inventor of the famous medication, and the many, many scenes there were moral lessons.
Anja told me that not many locals got to the Tiger Balm Garden because they were taken there as children and scared to death. I didn't show the gruesome
Ten Courts of Hell, where they showed what would happen if you did something wrong. I didn't take any pictures in that area.
There was lots of street art and other interesting things to see in
Chinatown and
Haji Lane.
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| Chinese Opera on Temple Street by Yip Yew Chong |
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detail from above
|
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| by Didier Jaba Mathieu |
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| Mid-Autumn Festival by Yip Yew Chong |
While the National Gallery was closed, nearby we found the
Parkview Museum, a private Art museum with changing shows and no admission charge. While established by the Parkview Group, the museum was
a vision begun by founder Mr. Hwang Chou-Shiuan.
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| Dressed Woman by Fernando Botero, 2003 |
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| Snail Queen by Salvador Dali, 1974. |
The show was
Disturbing Narratives. Here are a few pieces:
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| Riot (The Two Towers) by Paolo Grassino, 2016-19 |
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| Just Warm Me Up by Erro, 1995 |
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| Sculpture in 2 Pieces by Urs Lothl, 2018 |
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| The Ghost of History, 59 Grains of clay by Andrea Fogli, 2016 |
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| Swallowing the Shadow by Chun Sungmyung, 2008 |
Next, we visited Little India, where they will be celebrating "Deepavali" the Festival of Lights this weekend.
All in all, a spectacular city.
And I could not leave Singapore without a few shots from it's spectacular
Changi Airport. Like the rest of the city, being green is a major emphasis, with lots of Art. Just for fun, the last pic is of
Bagan Airport. The next to last, is the smoking room.
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| Traveling Family by Kurt Laurenz Metzler, 2017 |
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| kinetic |
Next: Sydney, Australia.
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