Accepted Entries Page 08

 

Caption: Bukit Timah Railway Station – Gone are the days when one can just stop by the Bukit Timah Railway Station and  watch the trains go by. Now, it’s just a short few lonely tracks left behind, that witnessed the history that lies beneath it.

Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: Our Heroes – They sacrificed their lives so that others may survive. The Civilian War Memorial still evokes sad memories to the few survivors from the Japanese Occupation days when they visit the memorial on 15th February every year.

Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: Clifford Pier – I remember going to the pier in 1971, took a boat out with my parents and relatives out into the sea, and laid my grandfather’s urn into the sea. It was a commom sight during funeral rites those days. I also remember taking a Valentines cruise dinner with my wife from there during the 1990’s. Today, i can’t walk back to those memories anymore as it was taken over by Fullerton Bay Hotel and it now sits a lavish restaurant. I wished it had been restored and preserved into a national heritage site.

Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: Reflecting the Past, Seeing the Future – The famous Lau Pa Sat, still stands after more than 120 years. Formerly a market, it’s now the famous food court serving mostly the thousands of office staff around the area during office hours besides the tourists. But locals still throng the food centre especially during the evenings and weekends. The structure of Lau Pa Sat was reflected onto the mordern glass architecture of an office building across the street giving it a unique and absrtact outlook.

Image by: Sulton Yohana
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Caption: Harmounius at Ang Mo Kio Bird Singing Corner – Silhouette of bird cages against the sky. The birds are practicing their vocal chords at the Ang Mo Kio bird Singing Corner, creating a  harmonious hum. People go there to tune out of their worldly sounds and tune in to the melodious tunes of the birds, reminiscing their kampong days under the trees. 

Image by: Sulton Yohana

Caption: Colourful Pillar – Stick no bills on this colourful pillar of an old shophouse at Little India. The contrast of the color chosen, it provides its own beauty and uniqueness of Little India.

Image by: Bill Watts

Caption: A reminder of the large Chinese immigrant population which helped to establish Singapore. The Infrared treatment lends a more nostalgic feel to the photograph which more resembles a brush and ink drawing than an actual photo. A sense of peace surrounds the area encouraged by the flowing water and subtle shading. A place with a slower pace of life unlike that of today.

Image by: Bill Watts

Caption: The Bridge of Double Beauty linking the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, one of my favourite places to stroll or just watch people go by. This bridge is promising something, something as yet unknown just over the apex, out of sight. Architecturally a pleasure to look at and a reference to the Chinese heritage in Singapore. The infrared photograph appears more like a brush and ink drawing lending a feeling of heritage to the photograph.

Image by: Rebecca Ong

Caption: In our Botanic Gardens, signboards tell the stories of old trees, natural monuments that have witnessed the highs and lows of history. A scene of stories told of our natural heritage, contained in a garden more than a century old, instantly came to my mind.

Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Thian Hock Keng is one of the oldest and most important Hokkien temple in Singapore. Historically, it was visited by Chinese immigrants giving thanks to Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea) for their safe voyage.   The temple was built in traditional southern Chinese architectural style. The entire structure was assembled without nails. It is an architectual masterpiece of stone, tiles and wood, dragons and phoenixes, amazing carvings, intricate sculptures and imposing columns.  The temple is one of the few that attracts regular tourists’ visit Singapore.

Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: Burning incense in the Chinese New Year eve is a traditional Chinese culture to usher in the new year and pray for the best wishes and good luck.

Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Thian Hock Keng is one of the oldest and most important Hokkien temple in Singapore. Historically, it was visited by Chinese immigrants giving thanks to Ma Zu (Goddess of the Sea) for their safe voyage.   The temple was built in traditional southern Chinese architectural style. The entire structure was assembled without nails. It is an architectual masterpiece of stone, tiles and wood, dragons and phoenixes, amazing carvings, intricate sculptures and imposing columns.  The temple is one of the few that attracts regular tourists’ visit Singapore.

Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Thian Hock Keng Temple is one of the oldest Hokkien temple in Singapore.  The temple is one of the popular few that attracts both locals as well as tourists.  Every morning Telok Ayer Street is jammed with tourist buses as hordes of tourists visit this heritage temple.   My grandmother-in-law is one of the regulars at the temple.

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Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: Burning incense in the Chinese New Year eve is a traditional Chinese culture to usher in the new year and pray for the best wishes and good luck.

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Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: Lao Sai Tao Yuan is the few surviving yet active Teochew Opera Troupe in Singapore. Preserving the tradition is a challenging job. It requires the commitment from the young members from the opera troupe as well as the help and the support from you and me.

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Image by: Bill Watts

Caption: 89 Neil Road was the original home of the Tiger Balm factory in Singapore. A product synonymous with Singapore. In the background the Duxton Pinnacle can be seen, contrasting the old with the new. The site is currently home to Direct Asia Insurance and the building is subject to a preservation order.

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Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: Chingay is a traditional celebration gala show in the Chinese New Year in Singapore. It is glad to see the young generation carrying over and pass down the good values of the traditional Chinese culture.

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Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: The spiral staircases design started from 1920s in Singapore. A night-soil carrier would enter the alleys behind the shophouses and climb these spiral staircases to each story, where buckets filled with night-soil were placed. These men would replace the full buckets with spare or empty ones. The colorful spiral staircase is more of a unique architecture and feature in the modern Singapore.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple (观音堂佛祖庙) situated in Waterloo Street is the most popular Kuan Yin (观音) temple in Singapore.  On the first day of Chinese New Year, thousands of devotees visit the temple hoping to be the first person to offer prayers for good luck, peace, good health and blessings from Kwan Yin.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple (观音堂佛祖庙) situated in Waterloo Street is the most popular Kuan Yin (观音) temple in Singapore.  On the first day of Chinese New Year, thousands of devotees visit the temple hoping to be the first person to offer prayers for good luck, peace, good health and blessings from Kwan Yin.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Tong Ah building at the corner of a triangular plot of land along Keong Saik Road is an iconic building with its distinctive red and white façade.  The building withstood the redevelopment around the area and has been conserved under the Building Conservation Act for its heritage architecture.

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Image by: Kwok Jung Yun

Caption: Along Cavan Road, just off Lavender Street, is s street where the past appears to meet the present. If there is a frontier space between the old and the new in Singapore, this must be the place. The old buildings remind us of what this place used to be but at the same time the towering office blocks nearby tell us that the place is changing. The beautifully designed buildings that once housed the Kwong Soon and Company Engineering Works continue to function as garages and workshops. Whenever I walk down this street I always seem to hear myself saying, “they don’t build things like they used to anymore”. We will probably never see another street like this in Singapore anymore.

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Image by: Andrew Bi

Caption: Home decoration for the Spring Festival is Chinese tradition. Some of the people start to decorate their houses half month before the Chinese New Year. Most of this traditional decorations involved the red color and lucky images. The shops are also very busy in this period.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Tong Ah building at the corner of a triangular plot of land along Keong Saik Road is an iconic building with its distinctive red and white façade.  The building withstood the redevelopment around the area and has been conserved under the Building Conservation Act for its heritage architecture.

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Image by: Kwok Jung Yun

Caption: The HDB flat is increasingly becoming part of Singapore’s heritage. Why? The new HDB flats no longer resemble the ones that many of us who grew up in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s are familiar with. We don’t see laundry poles out at the back of the flat anymore. The new HDB flats are now built in all manner of shapes and sizes. The days of the monolithic looking windowed HDB flats are numbered. If SG50 was about the kampung, SG100 will probably be about these iconic HDB flats that are going the way of the kampung house.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Tong Ah building at the corner of a triangular plot of land along Keong Saik Road is an iconic building with its distinctive red and white façade.  The building withstood the redevelopment around the area and has been conserved under the Building Conservation Act for its heritage architecture.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: The Chinese Operatic Wooden Puppet show is a dying art in Singapore.  Only taken place at temple festivals nowadays, the heritage art show is unable to attract the interest of the younger generations..  The Loyang Da Pek Khong Temple is one of the temples that still organise these puppet shows for its devotees during major festivals.

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Image by: Wong Chek Poh

Caption: Joo Chiat is an area of rich heritage and culture.  Its main attraction are the colourful pre-war traditional Peranakan shophouses.  Many of these houses are being preserved under the Building conservation act.

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Image by: Gunjan Jaiswal

Caption: China town during Chinese New Year. The colors and sights are just splendid. Loved the Decorated lights and beautiful crowd. It was pleasing to see so many people getting involved with the festivities.

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Image by: Leonardus Novianto Depari

Caption: Theemithi or Fire Walking Festival is a heritage culture brought by our ancestors who came from South India. Celebrated in honour to Princess Draupadi, hundreds of devotees queue all night long to take their chance to walk over burning coals in proclaiming their deep faith. Situated in the heart of Chinatown, Srimariaman Temple where the festival is organized and attended by many spectators, is a symbol how religion and culture has intertwined harmoniously in the daily life of Singaporean.

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Image by: Leonardus Novianto Depari

Caption: One of the most colorful processions of festival in Singapore, Thaipusam annually commemorated by Hindu devotes in seeking blessings, fulfilling vows and offering thanks. Defying pain and agony, devotee will pierce their skins with steel rods while carrying a kavadi decorated with flowers and peacock feathers along the designated road from Serangoon Road to Keong Saik Road.

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Image by: Rebecca Ong

Caption: In Tiong Bahru, the spiral steps of old HDB flats hark back to a time of simplicity and slowness, before we began to zoom up and down in straight, squarish tubes that lift us within modern HDB flats.

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Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: Gate of Hope – In the early days from 1854, occasionally, abandoned babies were were found outside a gate of CHIJ. The sisters from the convent will take them in and care for them. Today, that very gate still exists and and preserved as part of the heritage of CHIJ. We can only wonder if any survivors of those abandoned children have returned to visit the Gate of Hope.

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Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: War heroes killed in action during the Japanese occupation from 1942 – 1945, laid to rest at the Kranji War Memorial. A solemn mood hangs over the cemetery whenever you visit it.

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Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: Many unknown soldiers killed during the Japanese occupation war were buried here in the Kranji War Cemetery. Unknown, but were heroes, who fought against the enemies for their rights.

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Image by: Steven Liew

Caption: History Deleted – This run down bungalow once resided the late Major Derrick Coupland. He was one of the officers who was involved in Force 136 operations during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. He was also the President of the Singapore Ex-Services Association after the war. Much of it’s history lies within this home where Maj Coupland lived till he passed away in 1991. If only his home was preserved, it would have been an important heritage in our history.

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Image by: Kwok Jung Yun

Caption: Singapore is often said to be a city with a beautiful and towering skyscrapers. The Singapore River was the city’s lifeline when it was a major port city. Many traditional shophouse buildings have been preserved and even though they no longer serve their original function. That has been taken over by the tall commercial buildings around them. But these beautiful shophouses remind us of the city’s rich history and endures as our heritage today.

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Image by: Kwok Jung Yun

Caption: A friend from England came to visit not too long again and I brought her to a traditional coffee shop. We found ourselves in a lively discussion about the different ways of preparing tea, or “teh” in Singapore. It was confusing for her but to me it felt like I was describing something very ordinary. While both our cultures share the same national beverage, it is our ways of preparing and ordering it that sets us uniquely apart. I realised we were actually talking about Singapore’s heritage.