Mini Travel Log: New Delhi, India

Namaskar, welcome to India, land of many spices. New Delhi is the capital of India. People here are generally courteous and friendly. However, pollution has taken its toll on the city and litters are everywhere. Gone were the days of clear blue skies. Everyday, the air is choked with haze and smoke. The streets of India are NOISY!!! All drivers have their hands glued to the car horn. They abused the horn like nobody's business. I think driving while honking is a requirement to pass a driving test in India.

I made a very quick visit to the India Gate which was built to honor the 90,000 Indian soldiers killed in WW1. Wow, I didn't know India was so much involved in the war which was so far away in Europe. A walk up to the west along the wide boulevard brought me to Rashtrapati Bhawan, official residence of the President of India. The parliament (Sansad Bhawan) and goverment buildings are in the vicinity. Time was not on my side as I had to leave early. The markets, slums and Taj Mahal will be in my itinerary on my next visit. Byebye India.

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"BOOMZ"...and up in flames

First there was smoke, then "BOOMZ", a loud explosion and the building was up in flames. Sirens were heard wailing from the distance. By the time the firefighters arrived, the mosque was already engulfed in an intense fire. There was no way the building can be saved. After an hour of blaze, part of the roof collapsed.

This was what happened to Siglap Mosque. Arson? Act of terrorism? Or just an unfortunate misfortune? Read the news in the papers tomorrow.

Updates: A boy has been charged by the court for torching the mosque.

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Sentosa

When I visited Sentosa during my childhood, all I remember is there's only the musical fountain, Underwater World and some resort overlooking the main city island. Fast forward, the island has turned into one giant tourist trap with so many new attractions. Now there's a Siloso beach with Cafe del Mar popular for its beach and foam party. There's also a giant integrated casino and resort coming up to cash in on those gambler uncle and aunties' savings. To the east of the island, new residential areas are popping up for the rich and famous. Every lawn is never short of exotic cars like Ferrari and Lamborghini. Get the best deal in town if you're a Singaporean or PR by getting the discounted package ticket that allows you to visit and play in a number of attractions. If you're a foreigner visiting with some Singaporean friends, chances are the cashier will just close one eye and sell you the same package. Give it a try. On the island, I highly recommend you to play the Luge; a free-wheeling cart going downhill at insane speed.

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Waterspout

Waterspout is a very common phenomenon in the tropics, and especially in Singapore. Yet I have never seen one in my whole life until one fine afternoon when the sky suddenly turned dark and the heaven opened its floodgate. Right before the rain pours, a giant waterspout was seen weaving its way over the ships anchored off the shore. A free cleaning service courtesy from mother nature. An aircraft was seen taking off from the airport nearby and headed straight into the funnel. What an amazing sight.

It was a "Hort" day

The Indonesian haze is back and shrouding the whole Singapore with toxic fumes. The weather is already hot, and now the haze is creating a greenhouse effect by trapping all the heat. It was certainly hot during my photography outing with my friends to Hort Park and few other places last weekend. Not contempt with the previous outing at Henderson Waves, we made another trip to the same place. This time we explored even further to the Alexandra Arch and Hort Park. The arch resembles a leaf. Hort Park is a great place for flower lovers. At night, we strolled down Boat Quay for yet another round of night photography. At this rate, I think we will run out of places to take pictures in Singapore soon.


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Singtel MIO Intermittent Internet Problem

Since last week, the internet has been acting up and is driving me nuts. I have been getting random and intermittent internet problems. To be exact, the irritating "white screen" on both my Firefox and IE8 browsers.





On the worst day, I can't even surf past one page. No matter how many million times I click on the refresh button, the "white screen" remains painted on my screen. The ADSL connection remains alive, but somehow there is a loss of connection in the modem or Singtel's line. I googled up and found out there is a spike of users reporting the same problem since last week. If you are on the Singtel MIO TV bundled broadband and using the 2Wire 2701HGV-E modem/router, you'll most likely have the same problem too. Either the modem is crappy or Singtel's internet routing is bad. I found a temporary solution to it. In your internet options, go to the Network or Connection tab (depending on your browser) and use "proxy.singnet.com.sg" as your proxy and port number "8080". I'm not sure if this method works for others, but mine has been running fine; at least for the moment. This band aid solution is not going to help in the long run. The bottom line is, Singtel better buck up and address this issue rather than skirting around it with their lousy customer support. Give your customers better modem, good technical support and improve your connection! I'm not going to renew the contract nor getting any new products from Singtel until I see improvements in their service.

* if you find this solution helpful, do spread the news to other singtel broadband users.

Ride With The Waves

Henderson Waves, is a bridge connecting Mt. Faber and Telok Blangah Hill park. This beautifully crafted bridge resembles the ocean waves, blending perfectly into the lush forest greens and parks nearby. This place is quite secluded and isolated, therefore not well known even to the locals. A must visit for nature lovers. For those more adventurous, complete the full 9km trail starting from Mt. Faber to West Coast Park which brings you through thick jungles and numerous themed parks rich in flora. If roller blades and skate boards are allowed at this bridge, I bet it's going to be the most exciting place on earth. With all the unique curves, imagine the crazy and extreme stunts one can do; hanging 26-storey high up in mid air.

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Marina Barrage, another man-made structure recently completed and open to the public. It is actually a dam blocking out the river from the sea, thus creating another fresh water reservoir for the thirsty Singaporeans. I'm really amazed on how clever the authorities are that came up with this plan of turning it into an attraction for tourists. And I must say this place IS beautiful. The huge grass lawn is perfect for picnic; while watching the sunset of the city from the distant. Unfortunately it's scorching hot in Singapore, so you won't see many people picnicking in the day. Therefore, the people have night picnic instead. What a genius. It's wonderful to see the full moon and the brightly lit city being reflected on the water, as well as the walk across the beautifully lit dam which resembles an airport runway.

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Autumn in Singapore

Continuing on with my photography journey around Singapore; here are the new series taken with creative filters and experimental techniques. I had a great outing with my friend to Keppel Bay, Sentosa and Mt. Faber. Inspired by the work of a photographer in infra red photography, I managed to recreate an autumn feeling in one of my picture. I like that picture very much and I certainly love the technique too as it opens the door to endless possibilities in a picture.

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