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!

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 8

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

The final leg of my walk brought me back to where I began, the gates guarding the main temple complex. A further look before I left for my next destination revealed details which I did not noticed when I first marveled at the place. 

The gates guarding the main temple were as beautifully carved as any other areas of the temple, with intrinsic details and topped with the familiar upturned eave which decorated Chinese temples everywhere.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 7

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Standing in the shadow of the patron deity of the temple was another equally famous and crowd-attracting deity. He was the god of marriage of love, the old man under the moon, the one known as Yue Lao (月老). In Chinese mythology, belonging neither to Buddhism nor to Taoism specifically, he was the equivalent to Cupid, tying the knots between people to form couples and marriage.

The statue of Yue Lao standing in a courtyard, waiting for the right couple to tie his red knot with.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 6

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Continuing the walk from the last article, blossomed flowers and running waters extended from one end of the garden to the other. Where ponds of koi and thundering waterfalls greeted us at one end, another pond of tortoises bade us farewell on the other end.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 5

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

There are certain vistas which challenge even the most established photographer, what more for an amateur like me. To attempt to capture the sense of feasting your sights on a paradise is like trying to describe a beautiful lady you just sighted. Words and images just do them no justice.

There are certain wonderful places which most guide books deemed not worthy of putting their images in the section introducing said area. The backyard gardens of Wong Tai Sin temple is one of those.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 4

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

To me, the real treasures of Wong Tai Sin temple are what lies behind the temple cloister, an area which rarely gets the attention of most travel guides and websites. The temple cloister may lent a visitor his chance to pray to the deity, but it was the yard at the back which grant one a peaceful mind.

While circling around the temple cloister to reach the backyard, this was the first peaceful area which I encountered - the Nine Dragons Wall. Any koi presence, be it in a statue sprouting water or living swimming entities, holds an important place in East Asian culture.

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.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 3

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Sometimes it is worth a visit to popular areas just to get to know the people there. Wong Tai Sin temple's fame for granting wishes drew huge crowds from all over Hong Kong and China, and tourists like me also like to join into the crowd to enjoy the experience.

In the fenced off area in the cloister facing the main altar were a small score of believers who prayed hard for answers in the form of kau cim, where they shook a cylindrical container filled with fortune telling sticks until one fell out. The stick contained a numeral which need to be decoded by a fortune telling master to know the answer to your question.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 2

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Images of the main altar were what I saw the most as I researched materials on Wong Tai Sin temple, although I had not an inkling of that. The upturned curve of a majestic roof which is familiar with most Buddhist temples of South-East Asia emulated that of the Imperial Palace, and I felt a kinship to this unfamiliar land with a recognizable slice that was parallel to the place where I originated from.

Wong Tai Sin temple is one of the major tourist attraction of Hong Kong, drawing multitudes of people from various walks of life as well as different part of the world to visit, asking for wishes to be granted.

HK Trip - Wong Tai Sin Temple (黃大仙祠) Part 1

Location: Wong Tai Sin (黃大仙), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

The temple of Wong Tai Sin is synonymous to Hong Kong, much more so than the Big Buddha despite the fame and sheer size of the latter. All Hong Kongers know about the temple, famed for being able to grant any wish that is requested (有求必應), and no trip to Hong Kong should skip it, if only to just experience the crowd it draws.

Traditional Chinese: 黃大仙祠

Simplified Chinese: 黄大仙祠

Cantonese Jyutping: wong⁴ daai⁶ sin¹ ci⁴

Pin Yin: Huáng Dà Xiān Cì

Pronounced as: wong dai sin cee

Standing in front of the main gates to the temple, it was obvious that that was another crowded day despite it being a weekday. The gate itself is a preview of the Chinese temple architecture expected from my visit. This can be referred to the marking #1 in the map at the end of this article.

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. 

Snoopy's World (史諾比開心世界) Finale

Location: Sha Tin (沙田), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

A final article sharing on photos of Snoopy's World... Too tired for words, so here's another article with minimal words...

To Snoopy's World we go!

Snoopy's World (史諾比開心世界) Part 3

Location: Sha Tin (沙田), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

More photos of Snoopy's World, but less words this time... ^^

Even the benches are modeled as Snoopy's favorite bone!

Snoopy's World (史諾比開心世界) Part 2

Location: Sha Tin (沙田), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Snoopy's World in Sha Tin is no mere playground - every section of the playground is fun-filled with different type of interactive adventure for kids. Even adults are drawn to the playground to have snapshots with their favorite characters in different poses.

If the visitor cares to look up when he is within the doghouse at Snoopy's World's entrance, he will be rewarded with pictures of the adorable beagle in its different poses.

Snoopy's World (史諾比開心世界) Part 1

Location: Sha Tin (沙田), S.A.R. Hong Kong, China

Located beyond the hustle of financial districts and aging Kowloon is a park filled with adorable characters from Peanuts. Welcome to Snoopy's World, where Chralie Brown and co. awaits in every corner of the playground situated on New Town Plaza's 3rd floor open plaza!

Surprised that few of my friends who visited Hong Kong knew of its existence, I decided to skip other more notable locations in favor of this park. The open playground is spacious enough to accommodate an army of families and running kids, with a few smaller sections dedicated to different ways of interacting with the gang from Peanuts.

Welcome to Snoopy's World, a paradise where the famed canine and the Peanuts gang awaits!