SingPost 2013 - Historical Railway Stations

Since we are on the track of railway system history, let's get this piece out - SingPost's offer to commemorate the historical railway stations which tirelessly served the nation and her citizens for the past century.

FDC released on 28 February 2013 to commemorate the historical railway stations - Bukit Timah and Tanjong Pagar railway stations.

SingPost 1988 - Singapore Mass Rapid Transit System

The sharing of London Underground inevitably led me to recall Singapore's own impressive system of mass rapid transit. Singapore's main reason to build such a system mirrored that of London's albeit the former has a much more urgent need for it. In land scarce Singapore, a projected rise in the number of population will follow with a rise in transportation needs, which buses could not provide adequately.

The FDC from the day when Singapore's MRT commence operation on 12th Mar 1988. Notice that the MRT map depicted in the 10 cents stamp differs a lot from the one that is familiar with us in 2013.

SingPost 2008 - Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3

Continuing with the introduction of a First Day Cover introducing Singapore's Changi Airport from 1981, here is another FDC on the same topic. Unveiled 27 years after Terminal 1 began its operation, Terminal 3 is the youngest terminal to date and yet it houses the largest aircraft - the A380.

This FDC which featured Terminal 3 was launched together with the first day the terminal became operational. The first historic arrival was flight SQ001 arriving from San Francisco via Hong Kong.

SingPost 1983 - Singapore Changi Airport

Most frequent flyers into and around the South-East Asia region will be quite familiar with Singapore's Changi Airport. Being a pride of the island republic, this jewel of an airport won numerous awards since its operation and is recently immortalized in the latest Singapore 20 cents coin as was shared in my article The New Singapore Coins.

Featured on this FDC are the control tower, an icon of most airports, and Terminal 1. The logos of the most involved departments are featured in the background of each stamps. They are, according to the arrangement of denominated value, the Parks and Recreation Department, Public Works Department, Telecommunications Authority of Singapore, Port of Singapore Authority, and Department of Civil Aviation.

NATAS 2013 (2nd Round) @ Singapore EXPO (again)

The 2nd half of the year welcomes the return of NATAS for its latest available offers. This time, holiday makers planning for the year end's Christmas travel will be able to look for mouth-watering packages in Singapore EXPO. Again. Be sure to be there early to fight for the travel to your dream destinations!

Date:            16th (Fri) - 18th Aug (Sun) 2013

Admission:    10:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Entry fee:     SGD4 (free admission of children under 12)

Location:       Singapore EXPO, Halls 3, 4 and 5A
Website:       Main website and Facebook page

The New Singapore Coins

If you are in Singapore from this month onward, you may be surprised to see the shiny coin in your palm to have the usual obverse image of the Singaporean coat of arms, but a totally different reverse image. Gone is the familiar orchid above the denominated value.

If you are visiting the island nation of Singapore recently, see if you could collect this series of coins circulating in the market. They are still in their near mint condition, and still worth as a keepsake (image obtained from MAS Third Series Coins website).

Lunar Snake Year @ Chinatown, Singapore 牛车水蛇年延庆

Location: Chinatown (牛车水), Singapore

It has always strike me as weird that a nation with the Chinese ethnic as the dominant population would have a place named Chinatown. And it strikes me even weirder that said nation celebrates Christmas with more bang than it does for Lunar New Year. 

Just as Orchard Road strives to be its best in the month leading to Christmas, the same happens in Chinatown during the Lunar New Year. In fact, one may notice that Chinatown is the place where Lunar New Year is celebrated with more festivities than most other areas in the island nation. Chinese lanterns adorn all over an area which borders blurred with its neighboring districts, and this year 2 special guests graced the streets. 

The gigantic Red Snake invaded Chinatown with a message: Happy Lunar Snake Year!

SingPost 2013 - Definitives - Pond Life 2013

SingPost (Singapore Post) had launched the 2013 definitives with pond life as its title. Both stamps employed plants on their image, and with natural ponds so rare in Singapore, this may become the way for younger generation to get to know the habitat that is shrinking in size and popularity. 

The Geli-geli (lasia spinosa) and Water Gentian (nymphoides indica) are both aquatic plants. The former is quite familiar to me – maybe this is one of the plants which I usually noticed when I linger near ponds in my childhood. The latter resembles a snowflake on a pond, which is sometimes how it is called, Water Snowflake. Unfortunate for me, I had never come across this before, but I believe that it may be very beautiful to see a colony of these floating on a pond. 

Water Gentian, otherwise known as and resembles Water Snowflake, as seen in this photograph by Truls Cronberg in Botswana.

Interested readers and philatelists are invited to have a good look at the available stamps inn SingPost’s website.

Date of Issue:       20 March 2013 

Denominations:      1st and 2nd local
Stamp Size:          20mm x 27mm

Perforation:          14  

Paper:                 Unwatermarked  

Printing Process:   Rotogravure
Designer:             Eric Kong (Design Vizio)

NATAS 2013 @ Singapore EXPO

Once again, the semi annual travel fair is hitting the streets of Singapore! Back at its old haunt of Singapore EXPO, the fair will run for 3 whole days from 22 - 24 February, offering exciting travel destinations and tours. Be prepared for the crowd though, as travel enthusiasts crashed with each other to visit booths and get the latest tour package for their annual holiday trip. Be sure to get more updates on their Facebook page!

Date:            22^nd (Fri) - 24^th Feb (Sun) 2012

Admission:    10:00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Entry fee:     SGD4 (free admission of children under 12)

Location:       Singapore EXPO, Halls 3B, 4 and 5

The Way Back Home - Train Journey from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur

Location: Woodlands Train Checkpoint, Singapore to KL Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

How does one travel from Ipoh to Singapore, or vice versa? The typical answer would be by bus, by car or by flight. But one rarely does consider taking a train unless being subjected to a desperate situation. Unfortunately, I was.

Despite the romantic notion of train travels popularized by novels such as Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, I assure you that it is anything but if one were to take KTM's train service. The slow crawl of the locomotive was only faster than a car or bus's speed if there were a severe jam on the road, affording this choice of transportation the least preferred.

Changi Budget Terminal - Before the End of Days

Location: Changi, Singapore

The news of Changi's budget terminal closure on 25th September 2012 should have been known to all frequent travelers of budget airlines, which incidentally does not include Air Asia in its ranks. I traveled through Air Asia more often than other airlines, but I did peruse the service of Tiger Airways once in a while, so I was still well acquainted with this wayward terminal situated at the fringe of its 3 larger cousins.

The announcement of the end of Changi's budget terminal service on 25th Sept 2012.

Kinetic Rain @ Terminal 1 (T1), Changi International Airport

Location: Changi, Singapore

Kinetic Rain is now the latest addition to Singapore's Changi International Airport, delighting travelers and visitors with its fluid dances.

It is usual for frequent travelers by plane to feel bored by the unchanging scenes of an airport save for the ever shifting bulk of pedestrian traffic. Having to wait for my Air Asia flight in Changi International Airport's Terminal 1 (T1) did not prepare me for a new sight within the departure hall's check in counters.

Travelers who frequented T1, including fellow travelers of Air Asia, could now spend their spare waiting time by feasting their eyes on the latest addition to the departure hall - Kinetic Rain. 

Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel Part 3 - OOpen

Location: Novena, Singapore

Note: This is an article continuing from Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel Part 2 - Entering the Room

As is the norm for hotels, Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel comes with its own restaurant cum cafe with the curious name of OOpen. Guests of the hotel for the night could enjoy 2 complimentary breakfasts, so off we went to grab our breakfast in the cafe situated at a side off the lobby.

Fact is that I do not know what is the name of the cafe until I browsed the web. Fancy as it is, sometimes a design just doesn't get a point across to the user.

Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel Part 2 - Entering the Room

Location: Novena, Singapore

Note: This is an article continuing from Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel Part 1 - Getting There & Experience with A Cab

I was particularly impressed by how the room was designed. The first point I bring forth is one against Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel though - the available floor space. At first glance, the room looked spacious, with high ceilings as well as tall window panes. But the fact is that taking a circuit around the room and placing your luggage open will tell you how much space you really had.

Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel greets you!

Ibis Singapore Novena Hotel Part 1 - Getting There & Experience with A Cab

Location: Novena, Singapore

With a long break from this blog and without any new edited photos ready, I dug out some of my past photos for learning new Photoshop tricks. I vividly recalled my accommodation in Singapore during my initial days of arrival - Ibis Novena Hotel of Singapore.

The hotel itself is not particularly easy to find, and it was for this hotel that I experienced my first difficulties. I was careless in my preparation in not looking carefully at the direction to the hotel, and couldn't find the hotel when I arrived in Novena MRT station. Even so, I thought that the cab drivers would know of the place. How wrong was I. 

This became my first lesson for traveling in Singapore - cab drivers aren't aware of the major buildings around the area they queued for passengers. Despite the fact that Singapore being a small island nation, the buildings are still numerous enough that the cab drivers aren't aware of every nook and cranny available. So be advised - always bring the detailed address, down to the street name and nearby landmarks, with you while traveling in Singapore. This will aid the cab driver in getting his bearing around.

And not all cab drivers are friendly by the way. But at least they aren't rude. Not all of them anyway.

The usual expected room rate for Ibis Novena Hotel. Price will fluctuate according to season but still affordable for a couple or a family spending a few days in Singapore.