All change in Singapore

I first visited Singapore in 1974 on a business trip. I took a little Olympus Pen half frame camera which was loaded with Kodachrome. I have had a search but cannot find the slides which is a pity. I know that they are somewhere. So many photos, so little system.They would show a very different city to the one I visited two weeks ago.  I was a timid photographer back then so the slides don't show the cargo being unloaded from junks and lighters on a quay right in the heart of the city or the coolies pulling carts overloaded with goods and the shophouses-shop downstairs,house upstairs-the streets full of bicycles, British cars and the ancient Leyland buses putting out clouds of diesel fumes. Nor did I photograph the expats -predominantly British- who were still very visible running the trading houses, banks and other institutions back then. They all went back "home" long ago.
Today Singapore is a model, modern city/state  - just don't mention democracy, free speech or the death penalty.
Some enclaves of old Singapore remain preserved -saved from the wrecking ball-often at the last minute. Land reclamation around the mouth of the river has changed the shape of the city. The Merlion statue, the national symbol, still stands on the quay but all around it has changed and whilst I was a solitary tourist photographing it on a Sunday morning in 1974 on my recent visit there were crowds of tourists from all around the world taking photographs.

Gardens by the Bay-Singapore

The two conservatories- Cloud Forest on left. Flower Dome on right.

Singapore's leading tourist attraction is deservedly the spectacular Gardens by the Bay built on reclaimed land in Marina Bay.

The best description of the Gardens is on their website-www.gardensbythebay.com.sg



"A national garden and premier horticultural attraction for local and international visitors, Gardens by the Bay is a showpiece of horticulture and garden artistry that presents the plant kingdom in a whole new way, entertaining while educating visitors with plants seldom seen in this part of the world, ranging from species in cool, temperate climates to tropical forests and habitats.
 Bay South, the largest of the three gardens, opened in 2012. With its award-winning cooled conservatories and iconic Supertrees, Bay South has placed Singapore squarely on the international map and is a source of national pride. Within Flower Dome, the ever-changing floral displays including crowd favourites such as Tulipmania, Orchid Extravaganza and Blossom Beats bring the beauty and diversity of the plant kingdom to life for all to enjoy.  

Bay East, the second largest, offers a tranquil respite from the bustling city and a stunning view of the Singapore skyline even as it unfolds over the next century. This green space is open to the public and has immense potential for future development as a waterfront garden.
Bay Central is the garden which will serve as a link between Bay South to Bay East when developed, with a 3km waterfront promenade boasting stunning views of the city."

We visited the gardens on our first day in Singapore and as it was very hot and humid we only ventured into the two amazing conservatory domes-Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome-see photo above taken through tinted glass from the Singapore Flyer-the world's largest observation wheel.
Hopefully on a future visit we will be able to see more of the outside gardens and if it is not too hot venture on the Skywalk around the mushroom shaped structires on far right of photo above.

Inside Flower Dome

Faces of Singapore

Chef's smoko

Just back this morning from a 5 night stay in Singapore for my birthday. It was great. It's been about 4 years since I spent time in the city of Singapore as opposed to transiting through the world's most amazing airport -Changi. Singapore changes continuously and it seems even more affluent each time I visit. It's not difficult to see why the book and the excellent film "Crazy Rich Asians " were set in Singapore.
The only low spot was the flight on British Airways. Mediocre does not begin to describe it. Definitely not the world's favourite airline today.
Of course I took a camera and came back with a few photos of smiling Singaporeans. I spotted the two happy chefs having a smoking break down a back alley in Chinatown.
The little girl below was posing for her parents on one of the wall murals also in Chinatown.

The happy selfie shooters posed for me in the shop at the Gardens by the Bay-now Singapore's biggest tourist attraction and rightly so.
Finally below this very happy group are the door staff at the Capital Kempinski Hotel. They really seemed to enjoy their work.

All photo taken with my Leica Q which seemed to get heavier every day in the heat and humidity.

Over the hills and far away...

Morning stop north of Dungog.

The last three days I have been on the now annual, classic Porsche group road trip into northern New South Wales. This is the fourth running of the road trip. I have been on three-missing one in 2017 due to being in hospital . This year the unofficial "club" has expanded to 5- all with very similar early 70's longnose 911s.
The company was, as always, great. The roads were generally superb and so empty. Surely some of the best driving roads in Australia?
All the cars behaved themselves. Mine had a new clutch, new rear shockers and new seat belts for the trip and was going better than it has ever done since I owned it. Thank you Simon and the team at Autowerks.
The weather was not fully cooperative - rain squalls, low cloud and patches of sunshine, particularly over the Great Dividing Range, but we all drove safely and quickly on some very slippery mountain roads and lived to tell the tale and drink some excellent Pinot Noir on the last evening.

Peas out of a pod. Lunch stop Buladelah

Justin, interloper from Victoria.

Following Ash on the road north from Bellingen

Coffee stop at very cold Ebor in the middle of nowhere. L to R Craig,Colin,Justin and Ash.

Having a silver car is not compulsory

Frosty the snowman

My car at home among the gum trees

A great colour choice Justin.

From the front Craig's,Colin's,Justin's, mine and Ash's

A very wet Long Flat at the bottom of the mountain.

The Reichstag

After the reunification of Germany in 1990 Berlin was reinstated as the capital city of Gemany. Subsequently the old federal parliament building, the Reichstag, which had stood as a disused shell since the end of World War 2 was reconstructed to a design by the British architect, Sir Norman Foster.
The high point, literally, of his reconstruction is the glass and steel dome perched on the roof of the old building. It is a very brave design, up there with the Louvre's glass pyramid, in terms of architectural bravery.
It's easy to take a cheesy, standard tourist photo of the Reichstag and the dome. I opted for an internal view with, luckily, the German flag fluttering in the wind outside.

The thinker

The thinker? The daydreamer more likely. Beautiful Phoebe, now our only cat, staring into space.

The Royal Pissoir

Whilst taking an early morning walk in the old city, close to the Royal Palace, in Stockholm last month I came across this structure. My first thought when I saw it from a distance was that it was a sentry box but as I came close I saw that it is a Swedish Pissoir-a urinal. Not at all what I would expect to find near the Palace in Stockholm or indeed anywhere in Stockholm. Paris definitely, but not Stockholm. Anyway there it was and yes, it is fully functioning.

The cat with pink ears

Well. not really-that's just the sun. Photographed at a farmhouse near Minas De Santa Domingos in central Portugal last year. This photo has just been selected by the Leica Fotografie International for inclusion in the LFI Gallery.

Beyond Stockholm

One of the many delights of Stockholm is that the surrounding islands are so accessible by ferry. During our recent visit we took one of the vintage steam ferries to the island of Vaxholm for the day. The trip was delightful with frequent stops at small jetties to drop and pick up passengers. Most of the dwellings on the near islands are summer houses which apparently cost Sydney real estate prices. Above are some of the scenery we passed that day and the ferry boat which took us. It all looks so typically Swedish.

A sad time

Whilst we were on our way home from Berlin two weeks ago we received the very sad news at Doha Airport that out wonderful little cat, Zoe, had died at the Terrigal Vetinerary Hospital. It was not a shock as she was 19 and had been diagnosed with diabetes 8 months previously. She really had done very well to live to such an old age for a pure bred cat and also to live with the diabetes for so long. Nonetheless it was still sad news and we would have liked to have said goodbye.
We really miss her. She was so cute and mischievous and always hanging around us in the house. The photo above was taken on the 31st March this year.

More from the flea market.

More from the Mauerpark flea market in Berlin. A stall selling reproduction East German communist era hats incl Red Army hats. Not sure why anyone would want one unless they were going to a fancy dress party.