First stop: Singapore

Singapore's Merlion

Min and I touched down in Singapore around 1am on Friday, December 2, the first stop on what I hope will be a very long trip. I have two goals for this trip: experience the culture of many different places, and work on my photography skills.

We chose Singapore first because it has a mix of the familiar and the exotic. Most people we met spoke  English, so getting around and talking to people has been easy. We ate almost exclusively at local places in different neighborhoods, and the food was excellent. The food was definitely the highlight of our stay in Singapore.

On the flight out I read a book on photography, Black & White Landscape Photography by John Collett and David Collett. The best part of the book is the section on composition, and I tried to use my newfound education to improve my photos of Singapore. Cities are difficult because there is often a lot of visual clutter like utility poles, cars, and stray buildings. There were many times that I found a sight interesting in person but couldn't make a decent photo out of it. I'm pretty happy with a few of my photos, those of the Esplanade bridge and the Merlion. They are photogenic subjects at the right time of day, but it's still easy to capture something awful in part of the frame.

I have historically made pretty dry photos devoid of human subjects. I find the natural world beautiful, and I'm fascinated by unusual perspectives on the passing of time and finding change or continuity where one wouldn't expect it. However, my friends and family (that's you!) want to know more about our trip than the fact that I photographed the merlion. For this trip, I'm doing my best to capture our experiences of just being in different places. For Singapore, the best such experiences were mostly in local restaurants eating local food. Hence all the photos of Min across tables!

Delicious food in Little India

Milk tea on Orchard Street

Here's our rough itinerary for Singapore:
Friday: up early at 5 am, breakfast of Indian food near our hotel in Geylang, lunch and a stroll in Arab Street, sightseeing downtown for the afternoon, and back to sleep early.

Me, always with the maps

Asian-style mosque in Arab Street

They're really serious

These elephant statues were everywhere, each one different

Saturday: up early at 4:30 to catch the first train downtown for some dawn photography, shopping for missing items in our travel kits at Orchard Street for the day, and the indulgence of a movie before bed.

Waiting for the MRT train

We arrived too early; none of the shops were open

Always with the camera

Workers hiding in phone booths during a sudden downpour

Sunday: Lunch in Little India, then an afternoon nap before going to the zoological gardens for the night safari (highlight: seeing the beautiful Clouded Leopard up close).

Falling asleep on the night safari

Monday: up early again for photography, then off to the airport to Phuket.

Self-portrait, 5am.

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Always with the camera

Next up: Phuket and the Andaman Coast of Thailand!