Chinese New Year Decoration at Chinatown

Year of the Dragon is coming, and Chinatown is getting ready for it.

The design was pretty good this year.  It also looked pretty in the evening.

Arts events that I liked in 2011

Entering the year of the dragon, it is time to list the 2011 arts and culture events that I have enjoyed. They may not be perfect, but somehow touched me one way or another:

1. The Rocky Horror Show: It is fun and has a good cast. Does not seem dated.

2. Art Stage exhibition. Interesting works from the (new) galleries.

3. Fantasie by Melvin Tan. Of course, most Singaporeans have been waiting to attend his concert for years.  He finally appeared on stage after several postponements due to some reasons..

4. Guru of Chai by Indian Ink Theatre Company.  Good script. Good acting.  Engaging performance.  And so sad....








5.  Don McLean.  His rendition of Vincent was truly memorable.  American Pie was a bit too draggy....

6. Murder in San Jose.  A good script with a capable ensemble that holds our attention.   Would love to see more Hong Kong theatre productions in Singapore.

Singapore Symphony Orchestra Gala Concert, 18 Jan 2012

First classical concert of the year.  This evening, the SSO was conducted by Neeme Jarvi and violinist Vadim Repin played Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No 2.  Neeme Jarvi also led the SSO in Tubin's Estonian Dance Suite and Tchaikovsky Symphony No 5.

Elephant Parade Singapore 2011

The Elephant Parade is a programme to promote awareness of Asian elephant conservation. The event in Singapore is coming to an end this month, and the elephants would be auctioned off over the next few days.

Spending time on legwork and taking pictures.....

Here are the photos of the 162 elephants exhibited in various parts of Singapore (Zoo, Vivo City, Orchard Road area, Singapore Art Museum, Asian Civilisation Museum area, Marina Bay area, National University of Singapore etc)

Good view of Tanjong Pagar Container Port, Singapore

Singapore has one of the busiest ports in the world.  Most of us, however do not have the opportunity to visit a container port, a key lifeline of our ecnonomy since the colonial days.  There are a few ways to catch a glimpse of our container port.  The first involved a meal, that is to dine at the Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant (nearest MRT Station: Harbourfront).  Here we could have a good aerial view of our harbour port, managed by the Port of Singapore Authority.

Countdown to 2012 at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery

The Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery (Bright Hill Temple) organised a quiet affair of ushering the Year 2012.  We arrived at the Temple around 11:30pm and there was a sizeable crowd














People lit up the candles in the shape of lotus and the candles were laid on the steps.

Visual Art: Amanda Heng: Speak to Me, Walk with Me

Last few days to catch the retrospective exhibition of Singapore's respected artist Amanda Heng.

Amanda Heng is a performance artist, and some would know her for dressing as a SIA-like girl visiting various places in Singapore of cultural and heritage interests. (Singirl Revisits).  Her Let's Walk features a series of videos captured in Singapore, Japan etc walking backwards.  Of course her series of photographs taken with her mother.

One of the art work involved people plucking the roots of bean sprouts while chatting among themselves.  Did remind me of the good old days....

Exhibition at Singapore Art Museum at 8Q ends 1 Jan 2012.  Free entry on Fridays 6 pm to 9 pm.

Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia, Turkey

A great way to see the rock formations of Cappadocia at Central Anatolia was to take a hot air balloon. The tour agency booked us on Anatolian Balloons.   We were the second batch of tourists for the balloon adventure and thus we did not need to wake up too early.  It was great to see more than 10 balloons in the air upon our arrival at the site.

Drinks and snacks were provided, and soon we were driven to the boarding site.

Inflating the balloon.

Each balloon could hold 23 persons and a captain.

Abercrombie & Fitch Singapore

After the attention-grabbing poster ad along Orchard Road, Abercrombie & Fitch launched its second round of publicity.  By the look of it, it was successful.

It is always good to add some excitement to the Singapore scene....




Visit my entries on Sri Lanka Travels and Vietnam Travels

Qing Ming Shang He Tu 清明上河图 Animation: Singapore Expo

Song Dynasty painting Qing Ming Shang He Tu 清明上河图 (Along the River During Qing Ming Festival) by Song Zhang Ze Duan 张择端 was given some animation treatment in an exhibition held at Singapore Expo from 7 Dec 2011 - 6 Feb 2012.

The original was slightly over half a metre long but the presenter have enlarged it to fill up a large exhibition hall: