Finally getting to the Helix bridge

Part 3 of my Christmas morning walk. Getting away from that funny looking lotus building, and moving onto a much more pleasant sight. The Helix bridge is a massive stainless steel structure spanning over the Singapore river, joins Marina Bay to this port. Foot traffic only.

Entering the Helix from the sands. This picture is not taken correctly. Composition is wrong!

I dun like how this picture turned out… but its the only 1 I have before stepping in.. The work area below could have been more covered by the bridge and the path onto the bridge should start at the bottom right, not the right bottom. I am very critical of my pictures. .. booooooo!ing my own work! how sloppy.

Enter the Dragon! Thats what it sorta looks like.

Ohmy ohmy… This is surely expensive workmanship! Very fine work indeed. At least, it did passed our 30min scrutiny.. 🙂

In the scheme of things, this is really fine workmanship.

Hey, it sways! … Just a little bit… warning, some of ya folks may feel queasy if ya stay around too long.. No worries, its well built and the slight flexing of the metal is designed for handling the load…. although, most people I know prefers rock solid bridge… Actually this bridge really looks solid, its just surprising that it flexes soem..

No space for a big field? Built it on the water!

There are a few balcony pods on the inside facing that offer a good view of the floating soccer field! I wonder just how many ticketless people with be standing on this bridge next time Man U comes around for a friendly. … Also wondering if the players get seasick…

This ship is so gonna run me over...

Seeing the bottom of the AirShip… does it feel like I am underwater and looking up at a passing ship? The open bridge and steel struts add to the effect of the submerged feeling.

Click on the picture to enlarge… you might even see the people at the edges… like I am looking up at them, sure they are looking down at me too…

Coming out at the other end… its a half hearted mini park … not worth mentioning.. BTW, its the youth olympic park… <yawn>

Thats it folks. We have come to the end of our journey. .. wow, seems like we covered lots of ground on foot in 4hrs… eh?

World’s 1st AirShip Port

.. Where was I..? Oh yes.. hmm.. we entered this huge uncompleted building that is like the “AirShip Port”. I dun care that the place is really the Sands, I am calling it the AirShip Port! Whats an AirShip? Check out the previous post.

Waterfront park outside of the AirShip Port

Ooohh! Nice landscaping on the outside and big spacy airy feel on the inside. Its open even tho its not quite complete on the end of the building which we entered.

The empty uncompleted section of AirShip Port

The middle section is thriving with expensive boutique shops and restaurants.

Shimmering cool colors, silver, blue and green.

Got this picture of a very large interior Christmas tree by being on the walkway above it. I like this simple design. No flashy/gawdy colors for me, please.

The food for general public is more crowded (as usual) and has a phoney ice ring! I wonder how often do they wax that white PVC tile? Skaters dun slide around here… they walk/stomp on knife edged boots.  

The phoney ice ring in the mall. Very high ceiling and nicely lit with daylight.

We didnt stay inside for long. .. nothing really interest us… we have nothing to buy..? .. We were not dressed to eat at the restaurants .. and we didnt fancy anything at the foodcourt… I think I spent more time looking at the obviously expensive stone floor tiles were used everywhere in here. Very nice.. I like the building, classy without the opulent feel. Modern and not comtemporary. Good architecture and very attractive interior finishings.

Men at work. Fairing the outside wall of the lotus building.

Moving on, we exited the sands on the other end from where we entered. I mean, we were just continuing on our anti-clockwise route around the Bay.

Full on construction work on Christmas! This city never stops.

Just outside the sands, still rushing for completion is the lotus flower looking like building… Its huge! Look at all those cranes and men (working on Christmas!) relative to the building!

See 2 poor guys working precariously near the edge! Sky looks ominous.

Poor guys, hope they are properly harnessed and fairly compensated for their sacrifice to our society. I think SG should send to them and their families here or back home a plaque, thanking them for their contribution towards nation building? Like IRAS sends me a note every year after the income assessment…

Bottom line is, we should all know, that some people work, so that we can play!

I am not too positive about how this is lookin' ... another scam in the making. IMO

Its a funny looking building… another “fountain of wealth” scam thingy? Sigh… suckers! Nah… who cares!

… Although, I should say, that IMO, SGs progress is too fast and natural. People who are slower at adapting to these changes are left behind.. and nevermind them, there are still enuf chargers to bring the society and GDP forward. … I am on the dividing line of progress and the forgotten, being dragged on but not really wanna run… eventually I will fall off the edge, its a matter of time.

Its okay. Lets enjoy while it last. …. tobe continued …

The new Singapore ground

This land didnt exist when I was born! Lo and behold! Now it is here! My new stomping ground.

Looking across from the Customs house onto new land. A new type of ship graces this airspace. The air ship!

1st of all… we overslept… it was 9am when we step off Calliste, 930 when we got off bus 97 at an unplanned busstop..! The bus route was changed for the weekend due to some major road construction. We got off at the Customs House instead of Fullerton, no biggie. Day was overcast, .. so our early morning pictures where more grey and boring.

Buildings on the original coastline on the front, and main commerce district behind

The walk around the old Collyer Quay on this cool overcast day was pretty nice. Manicured lawns, artistic creations and futuristic buildings were around around us. Polished black granite seats lined the edge of the water, inviting us to sit and enjoy our picnic breakfast. There was hardly anybody around on this Christmas morning. .. We had the whole park to ourselves.. almost.. there was a park cleaner and a couple walking a lab and a mini poo.

Doug giving the camera an evil eye. so cute!

Where we sat, was a great vantage point. Could see everything that goes on around the bay. Could also see that some buildings where built on stilts! I mean, yes the Collyer Quay was the goods and ferry terminal, it was of course built with pilings and had a gangway for lighter boats to tie up to. The Fullerton Bay hotel is built on stilts to make full use of the air space that would otherwise be wasted, and plus it offers a great front row view of the activities on the bay.

Nice curves, and tall. Marks of a 21st housing.

The wind was blowing a constant 5-10knots. I imagine this would be a great place for a dinghy regatta! Perhaps the Sands would sponsor the event and  run the betting. ..

BTW, did you know, that Collyer Quay and the old customs house were buildings on the original coastline of Southern Singapore. Where we walk, for the whole of today, is new “man made” land.

Solar powered fans.

1030am, its getting a little warmer, now that the sun has finally shaken the clouds. We continued walking and saw these new solar powered cooling sheds. COOL!

Air ship park! See the floating runaway balls.

Ah HA! We spotted some runaway light balls 🙂 .. and whats that snaking thing in front of the sands mall? Its a misting dragon to create that foggy look and cooler air for warm days..

The last remaining space on this stretched out island

On the walk along Bayfront Ave, newly finished wooden decks lined this broadwalk. Its still early.. look at the space that we have! I manage to get this picture of Doug walking with no one else in the picture! That is a rare shot! And difficult to get .. most of the time. As you will see, all our later pictures have other people in them.

Doug, the merlion and the cathedral.

Doug looking over the bay to the entrance of the Singapore River, thinking “this is where it all began”. I look at Doug and I think, how sad, this is so not the real thing. Trade came to Singapore through this port, right here. Where it used to be lots of lighters and boats, now sits floating light balls. A buzzling commerce area has now become a sitting pond of water in a reservoir.

Yes, its nice to have a walk and gawk at the changes. Things change with progress and progress breeds changes. There is no need to ponder if society is progressing rightly or wrongly. I decided to not “give it a damn”, since nobody gives a damn to whether I give a damn or not..

… to be continued. ..

Gone on a gawking trip!

Need some idea. What am I gonna do this Christmas hoilday weekend? Need something exciting… but convenient… not planning to join the airport hopping, causeway jamming, countdown partying crowd… so … what else is there to do? hmm….

I have a exciting walk plan!

Remember seeing some strange new city playground from driving along the ECP when I still had a car.. just glimpse.. maybe its time I go check it out! I am so gonna GAWK! .. or so I think…

Now, heres the plan. Get out on a early start… say 630am, from Keppel. We be staying on board Calliste for the night so we be a skip and a jump to our target area. Take bus 97 or 100 from Telok Blangah Road and get off at Fullerton building. Walk anti clockwise along Collyer, then Marina Boulevard, then Bayfront Ave… arrive Marina Bay Sands about 10am..

PICNIC! Ham, Bacon and Cheese! Plus salad!

Resume walking. If too tired or seen enuf, walk to Marina Bay MRT and work way back. If feeling good, continue walking and cross over the Helix bridge then turn onto Raffles Ave. Take bus 97 from Marina Bay seating gallery, bound home onboard S/V Calliste at Keppel.

My phone is BLUR?

My MotoBLUR BackFlip

This is my 1st smart phone… but I am shocked that the 1st thing I have to do (to start using the phone), is to create a motoBLUR account. A really smart phone with a BLUR account? I guess thats why Moto is having some strange difficulties despite some really good products… like this BackFlip phone. .. I happen to be one of those rare ones that really do like my smart Blur BackFlipping phone 🙂

Good size flip out keypad that lights up.

Ok, so it was just $98 with a 2yr Singtel contract. Cheap, I would think. .. and no, I didnt sign up for mobile broadband. Only wanted a phone that was smarter than me, but didnt need it to be more social than me… 😉 Thank you, I much rather surf on my other brainy gadget, the thinkpad. Big screen, full size keyboard and touchpad. Call me old fashioned, but I am not going into micro gadgets just yet. My eyes cant take it and the little ones are not quite taking over the world yet.

Back, with the phone folded away.

I tried the wifi with this little guy. Browsing is ok, google search is fine, but facebook is not. .. no mafia wars! I mean there is a separate apps for mafia wars, but really, do I want it? Its difficult to get around… and any FB game on apps is a chore.. IMHO.

So what do I do with the little puter that is not on mobile broadband? .. well, so I downloaded some game apps that didnt need a server, some comic strip apps (I hardly wanna use that),… and a todo list app that is so cool! Its so much better than the standard todo list that comes with the calender. .. I am letting ColorNotes managing my life :O and I like it! There are zillions of free Andriod apps out there waiting for me to download and try them out. .. I gotto pace myself and yes, I am slower than most with such things.

Picture of unknown roadside plant taken with my BLUR phone

Taking photos and transfering them to my puter is so much easier now. The picture quality is bad.. but maybe its my expectation that is high. I am a staunch advocate of big lens camera for real pictures. Compact cameras are so well developed now and have all the features (if not more) of the SLRs. They are great for hassle free quick snaps, if one is not too particular about line distortion and to some extent, picture quality. Its not the pixels that count, its the lens! My Blur phone camera is still way off the mark in terms of color, clarity and field. Yea, I will use it in a fix. Like it will be better than nothing. Like taking pictures at the scene of accident, if I am still able to get out and take pictures for evidence. And yes, the flash works great. Cant have camera that dont have a flash! Its totally not acceptable to not have a FLASH!

I sneaked a picture of my coke cans collection with my BLUR phone. Cameras not allow at my workplace, but phones with camera ok.. how dumb.

BTW, I am not thrilled by the super loud autofocus and snap sound! I hate it that there is nothing I can do to turn it down… even if I turn the ring volume off! I hear this feature is a legal requirement for all phones sold in SG, so that no sneaky pictures can be taken. Anti-paparatzy?

Oh, I like the well organized keypad. It lights up when in use, so I have no problem finding letters in the dark… and I usually do use the phone in the dark. Having a keypad does aleviate the need for predictive text, but that does not curb the wish to have one! Its the one thing I really miss.. but maybe not.. how do you compare “unrestrictive freedom of text” vs “predictive text”? I dunno..

The touch pad mousy thing is quite useless.. at least its not in a obstructive place and its a feature you may use, if you so wished. Really, who needs a touchpad under the touchscreen? I cant imagine.

Overall, its a okay beginner smart phone. The BackFlip folds away nicely and slides into it little baggie. Wish I could attach a lanyard to it, which would make it easier to extract from its baggie… Only flaw I can find to its casing design. … but for S$98? I guess the price is right for a phone plus camera with flash plus life manager plus entertain pad.

Whim

Iron-ON. Background 1st.

No particular reason… woke up 1 morning and felt like wearing my own custom designed T-shirt to work…

This is pretty much how I feel on that day (Friday!)

Ah HA! Isnt it cute!

I think I look pretty “cute” in it. I got passerbys to smile at me while I was waiting at the traffic lights, riding my big white chopper.  People seem more friendly on that day… The magic of customizing image! Positive effect! IHMO.

What is it? Can you guess?

A hard picture to get!

The trouble I had, for trying to get this picture!! is unbelieveable…

Marina @ Keppel bay. Click on picture to enlarge.

This is the story. On a clear sunny Sunday… I was walking from Keppel to Vivo for grocs and lunch… and I thought why not, just make a small detour to the cable car station building at HarbourFront tower 2 and take those glass elevators up and look back over the marina.

It was about 1100hrs. Bright, clear and sunny. Excellent day for a picture. As the elevator rises (rather rapidly), the view was great and getting better and better, until it suddenly cut off when the lift enters a box at the top. Opps, couldnt snap a good one in time. So, only a view between level 3 to level 14 eh? Okay, will get a good one on the way down..

Level 15 is the station and level 16 is a spa… hmm.. check it out.. wow! too much money for a treatment… hey, there is a door to the stairway just by the elevators… I wonder if the view is great from inside the stairway… hmm.. ok a small window and static view. Not bad… snap! There u go, 1 pix. Time to get back to the elevators… ooOOPPPSs! One way door! There is no getting back the way I came from! Oh NoooOOO!!

Its 16 levels of walking down… for the exit! Damn! Legs quivering, not in mood to get back into the elevators for more pictures. Hobbled over to Vivo and back with lunch.. fell asleep right after… had to snooze 2hrs to regain some energy to load the pix.

Was it worth it? Hmm… the stair way window had that terrible blue tint! The elevator window had too much reflections! See! The lengths that I go thru to get something so simple.

What killed the cat?

My 1st mushroom picked. Is this the right one?

Was it curiousity or stupidity? ….

How to tell if its the magic mushroom? There something about doing a spore print...?

Notice how people are attracted to things they should be liking? Like smoking even if you knew the harmful effects, playing with fireworks even tho its dangerous, driving fast and endangering oneself and others. … 

Some reference suggest mushrooms with dark dot in center is magic mushroom...

Didnt we learn in school that mushrooms are poisonous…? .. but I heard the rumor, that some mushrooms are magic! Ingesting some of those magic mushrooms can temporarily alter vision and cause hallucinations. I thought that was fun…. so I am on the lookout for “magic mushrooms” ..

Dried and shrunk mushroom.

This is one that I picked up along the walk to Keppel… they are far and few in between. This tiny one was just about 1cm in diameter across the top. A baby, but I picked it anyway. … my 1st mushroom picking!

The underside of the dried mushroom

Anyway, I left it out to dry. The next morning, it was dry, shrunk and smell terrible! Yucks! I wonder if this was right… … took more pictures and threw it away…

Maybe next time…