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!

Malta Post 2013 - Treasures of Malta Series - Fountains

Are you familiar with the country of Malta? I am not, at least not until recently. This country to the south of the European continent may be minuscule compared to most of its bigger sisters, but it held honors which cast no doubt on its significance in history. It is the first and one of only two collective holder of the George Cross Award, the famous residence site of Knights Hospitaller, otherwise known as Knights of Malta, and the summit host for the meeting which signified the end of Cold War. 

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)

Philately and Numismatics

With a renewed interest in philately and numismatic, I found that I can be writing about such stuff in a blog dedicated to my traveling adventures. I am used to studying the cultural and religious differences of the people, be it a foreign or familiar land, while marveling at the wonders Mother Nature gave breath to as well as that which Man built in defiance of nature, sometimes even destroying it in the process. 

And philately and numismatics are undeniably an inseparable part of the development of a human civilization. Being the branch of study of stamps and postal history, as well as the collection of such items, philately tells the story of how mankind despises loneliness and thirsts for communication. 

Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (taken from Wikipedia).

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.

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.