Memories of Victoria Theatre & Concert Hall

The Victoria Theatre and Memorial Hall is one of the oldest buildings in Singapore. As far as I can remember, I have only been in the theatre once in my life, so when I heard there was an open house, I signed up for it immediately.


Dating as far back as the mid 1800s, where the Theatre was originally built as a Town Hall, the present architecture consists of 2 buildings joined by a clock tower in-between. The Memorial Hall was built only in the early 1900s (in memory of Queen Victoria), and now renamed as the Victoria Concert Hall, where the Singapore Symphony Orchestra plays regularly now.
For a little more history, check out this article.



Gazetted as a National Monument of Singapore, it is one of Singapore's well recognised landmarks, together with the statue of Sir Stamford Raffles in front of the clock tower. It is also featured in The Amazing Race 16, as one of the locations to get the next clue! :)



The Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall is scheduled for upgrading works, and hence the open house was organised for photography enthusiasts to capture some scenes before works begin. A small gallery of what I have taken is here. For visitors to Singapore, drop by this historical landmark if you can!

Singapore Urbanscape

Singapore, the small island city, is decorated with buildings and structures of all manner of shape and sizes. Visitors to Singapore, besides taking back memories of eating and shopping, should take back pictures of the Singapore "urbanscape".

Here's sharing a mini gallery of the Singapore Urbanscape.

Muang Sing, Laos

Lounging in the northwestern corner of Laos, Muang Sing is a sleepy little town that seems to be prodded awake due to its proximity to the infamous Golden Triangle. But with the exposure given in the guidebooks and the warning of rapid development, the town greeted me with a somewhat sluggish demeonor, and hopefully, the authenticity of the town have remained intact! For travellers on a northern Laos trip, Muang Sing is a convenient stop along the way to Xiang Kok, the port of call for a boat trip down the Mekong to Houayxai and downward to northern Thailand. When it became known for its easy access to opium, the town came into prominence. Perhaps it was low season, or perhaps I looked the decent sort (:p), but I was not harassed, and was generally left alone most of the time. (I hear that the Lao government had a clamp down on the opium thingy)

Like its bigger brother Luang Namtha on the east, Muang Sing makes an excellent base for trekking trips to see some of the ethnic tribes of northern Laos. These include the Hmong, Ankha, Tai Lue and Tai Dam. In fact, Muang Sing is known for its morning market where the various tribal communities gather on the edge of the town for commerce, wearing their colourful attire. This was my main aim for coming to town. However, the morning that I went to see the market, the turnout seems alittle disappointing. Perhaps it was the dismal rainy morning but nevertheless, the visit to Muang Sing was still a good one. The lush green rice fields of the Laos countryside is really pretty, and I enjoyed walking around town. There is also a Tribal Museum in town, which shows the history of the various hill tribes, including the different types of tribal costumes! You should also take the opportunity for a relaxing traditional Laos massage or herbal sauna in a wooden hut! The transport options to Muang Sing were really basic (sawngthaew), but I'm sure the massage will help you forget it. From here, there are transport to Boten if you do want to exit to China. Otherwise, it will be sawngthaew to Xiang Kok and beyond.

This part of Laos is wonderful for photography indeed. For photography learning material, read more about Mastering the Exposure Triangle at Pixpa.com!

Harbin, Northeast China

Mention Harbin, and the Ice Lantern Festival comes to mind. In fact, it is Harbin's number one tourist attraction, and so, significant efforts are also put in to capitalize on this.

Beautiful lighted ice sculptures

There are now like three locations where you can admire and see the snow and ice sculptures - Zhaolin Park, Sun Island, and the Snow & Ice World. All require entrance tickets in excess of 100RMB each. The biggest is probably Snow & Ice World, but all will be crowded. And they are best admired at night where the multi-coloured lights bring the sculptures alive.

However, I actually enjoyed some of the other attractions aside from this number one attraction!

• The main tourist street of Zhongyang Dajie (中央大街 ), a cobbled pedestrian street, makes for nice browsing with Russian influenced architecture, some dating back 1900s. And it's really nice to just chill in a warm cafe after a wintry walk! (And the cafes have nice decor too!)
• The Church of St Sophia, the most photographed picture in Harbin, is well worth its shutter time especially early morning or late evening when it is bathed in the winter sunlight. 
• I also enjoyed the walk across the Songhua river, where you know as you stand in the middle of the river that this view is only possible in winter. There are also all manner of activities on the frozen river, from horse-carriage rides to sledding. But I prefer to walk - how often can you walk on a river?! ;)
• And the amazing winter swim that the locals partake, though having to pay an entrance fee to see it caught me off-guard for a moment (and then I remembered I am in China... :p). It's interesting to note that for the "warm-up" before they plunge into the icy-cold waters, the participants actually roll themselves on the snow/ice-covered ground! I guess it's to minimize the shock the body gets when they jump in.

I've always enjoyed winter, though in Dongbei (Northeast China), you have to be properly equipped for it. A number of friends are particularly concerned about visiting Harbin since many are worried about the extreme cold here. But once you're properly well attired (a good down jacket is an absolute must!), Harbin is really quite enjoyable!

Winter swimming

Zhongyang Dajie at night

Earth Hour Singapore, Before & After

The effect was not as dramatic as I thought - the street lights are too numerous, and Singapore is just too well lighted :|

Earth Hour 2010

Support Earth Hour tonight (27 Mar) at 8.30pm. Switch off all your lights for 1 hour (and if you want, more also can)! What started out in 2007 in Australia is now a global phenomenon!
Check out who/where/how/why is this celebrated in Singapore!
Earth Hour Singapore

Cherish Mother Earth so that future generations can see the wonders that we see today!

Merry Cemetery

While Maramureş is considered as rural Romania, it boasts a tourist attraction well-known throughout the country. Strange as it may sound, this star attraction is a cemetery.



Merry Cemetery is situated in the village of Săpânţa, just kilometres south of Ukraine. Interestingly, this cemetery celebrates death with humour, and life with the simplicity of a single picture. Founded by a wood sculptor, who started carving wooden crosses for the tombstones in the old church cemetery in 1930s. He painted them blue (the colour of hope of freedom) and inscribed humorous or witty epitaphs for the dead. The tradition was carried on by his apprentice, and now, there are hundreds of such crosses. Unfortunately, I could not understand the Romanian epitaphs, and so could not appreciate the humour. However, each tombstone is also painted a picture that depicts the life of the decreased, and wandering through the cemetery, you could almost imagine yourself walking through the traditional community of the past.



Besides the tombstones, the church in the cemetery have been refurbished, and the frescoes inside them are certainly worth seeing. We got to Săpânţa by a rented car, but if you are alone, there are buses to-and-fro from the nearest town Sighetu Marmaţiei. You may not feel "merry" visiting the cemetery, but I think it is still worth a visit!