Walking with...SeniorSG50

I joined as a photographer in one of Singapore's historic events as they celebrate their Golden Jubilee. The event was coined as SG50 Jubilee BIG Walk 2015 held last November 29 of this year, what made this special moment was that it involved about 25,000 walkers, mostly senior citizens for a walk around historic sites in the city in an estimated 5km long walk.

The walk was to culminate the country's 50th year celebration to relive the past, appreciate the present and relish the future. I felt lucky to be participating in this once in a lifetime occasion. To be one with the people as they journey the historical fragments of their past and to feel their pride and joy in view of the awesomeness of the new infrastructures brought about by the improvements through the developments in time. 

The combination of the old and modern structures transpired among its people, where, both the older and the younger generations walked side by side at each other through the presence of their families, friends and even to those whom were strangers to them, but offered to give their time to support the seniors in reliving their past as they hold on to their wheelchairs and canes in their walk along memory lanes.

I will remember this day not only of the event, but also because this was my first volunteering work as a photographer. I finally got the chance to do so after contacting my friend while surfing the net for a volunteer position among the local lists of volunteer organizations. It was heart warming and an amazing experience to be at the moment and be able to capture the different expressions painted on the face of every senior citizen, the young ones and my fellow volunteers. Every smile is priceless, every effort to support was valuable.

Yet perhaps, there are no other people in this big event that feels luckier than the senior citizens themselves. To be able to stay longer and be witness to the great changes that took place as the years went on. They are the living proof of the struggles and success of this tiny nation. If given the power to do so, I would try to see through their eyes and relive the moment of the past. I remember my late grandmother in them and by saying this, I feel honored to be in their presence, for me, they are the last best story tellers and historians of this time. Their stories and experiences are the real treasures that cannot be contained in a museum, but inside the hearts and minds of every next generation of this country.

Please check out this link for more of my photos of this big event.

Til next time :)

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I finally had the chance to explore the Singapore Philatelic Museum. The building itself already had a lot of stories to tell. Built in the early 1900s and was initially part of an Anglo-Chinese school, it was later restored and transformed into the current stamp museum where it proudly stood originally decades of years ago.

Spices and condiments

Going inside this beautiful piece of historical structure was even more exciting as it opens up that nostalgic feeling from the past as I go through the collections of old stamps, memorabilia and priceless historical facts that tells about the origin, the culture, the struggles and success of this tiny nation of Singapore.

This 2-storey stamp museum is literally like a giant stamp book collection. Each of the rooms that I go to represents the pages of the book and it tells of a story that is just like looking right straight through the eyes of my grandmother.

Big wooden doors are left open, inviting you to step, and go back in time to witness the events unfold before your very presence. Remnants from the 1800s parcels and seals had spoken of an era where Singapore was still at its infancy stage. Trying to recognize her roots and identifying the different immigrants that flooded her soil. The shifting of powers from her colonizer up to the present times were all captured in the letters and stamps that serve as her blue prints for the future where she now stands firm and proud.

Gents

As the new Singapore continues to grow, its journey is in part documented inside other rooms. Linking the modern country from its past as a form of respect and valuing the lessons it manifested. 

Having been enlightened by the nation's historical journey, a little topping on the cake is a welcoming sight as it tries to incorporate an educational kid's corner or room to keep the youngsters entertained and at the same time make learning fun for them. Meanwhile, humor has also found its way around the museum building as seen from this toilet's sign. 

Truly, there's a lot of value and reasons to give respect to the past. One can only look into the history to understand fully the course of the future. In the words of a famous Roman philosopher "To know nothing of what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child." -Cicero

For more photos of my visit to the Singapore Philatelic Museum please go to this link to photos:

Til next time :)

Flashes in the Rain

Going around the neighborhood from my rented flat after a heavy afternoon down pour, I came to these four common structures that I regularly found or see in here. You are likely to discover these same structures co-existing in every community town council if you are staying in one of these buildings and are using these public amenities here in Singapore.

Singapore homes

HDB (Housing and Development Board)

If you are someone new in here, you could easily mistake these as commercial buildings but they're not. These tall building structures are home to most of the people here in Singapore. These are commonly termed as HDB. A term that was derived from the very government board under the Ministry of National Developments that takes care of the housing programs and the developments for the welfare of the Singaporeans in terms of providing quality homes and living environments.

In some other ways, they are called flats. Where options to own a 1-room, 2-rooms, 3-rooms types of flats and so on are being offered depending on the terms and conditions set by the Singapore government regulations that maintains the much needed cost effective approach that will allow each Singaporean family to own a decent house for themselves.

Singapore's version of the children's community playground

Children's playground

You will never miss these fancy colored structures around Singapore's community. They are like the usual TV sets where in every home is a must have.

Made of durable plastics, built to protect the safety of the children, these structures were designed to allow the kids to explore and have fun. The floor area is covered with rubber mats and some of the posts were enclosed in a rubber protective as well. 

Common to these playgrounds are the slides, bridge and ladders. Others may include small plastic rock climbing walls and some simple mind games like the tic-tac-toe.

So if you happened to plan to get your kid into one of McDonald's play areas, but failed to do so, don't fret, just head to one of these playgrounds near you.

Hawkers

Hawker Centers

These are the fast food equivalent of Singapore except that it offers wide varieties of local and even some western recipes in their menus.

Common home cooked local cuisines are the usual top priorities of these food stalls found in these hawker centers. Much like the western fast foods, all you need to do is to choose the menu of your liking, pay for it and then wait as it is being cooked at the same time.

Hawker centers are being graded according to their cleanliness and hygiene practices. Administered by NEA(National Environment Agency) of Singapore, the stalls are graded from A to D where grade A being the highest and grade D as the lowest mark. If you're not that finicky go ahead and try it out, the foods are simply nice.

Public Fitness Area

Fitness Area

With the Singapore government's effort to indulge every Singaporean into a program about keeping their health in tip top shape and a priority, they have built these public fitness areas to provide them with the much needed basic equipment to support them in their daily simple exercise routine. 

These include sit-up benches, pull-up bars, and chest presses just to name a few. So if you're looking for that Arnold Schwarzenegger's physique just drop by in one of these fitness areas and sweat your hearts out. Most importantly, these are free to use and no membership renewal to bug you ever.

There are many other icons and structures around other places that identifies them as uniquely Singapore, but these four areas in the community seem to stand out as quite "the common" when visiting this place.

Til next time :)