The "Lotus Festival" and other stuff

1 more night in Singapore before I fly off to Perth to finish my second semester of Honours.  I'm kinda apprehensive about it, but at the same time I'd really like to finish as soon as I can.  Oh well, from Thursday onwards I'll be in Perth, and I'll be back in Singapore again in November.

But before I fly off and disappear (I'd be really busy in Perth), here's another update.  It's been raining for the past 2 weeks and the skies only cleared up last Saturday, but when it was still rainy, I took the opportunity to take pictures of the lotus flowers outside the Art-Science Museum.  Yes - it's my second trip there, but this time, the lotus flowers seemed more gorgeous.  Took these last Sunday.

And not to mention, the flowers were popular spots for bees and insects.  Mostly bees, but they added more life to the flowers.  At least we know that the flowers were in full bloom and highly attractive.  I mean, how can anyone resist such gorgeous colours?

Saw someone attempting to take pictures of the flowers at this angle, so I decided to try as well.   I kinda love the results!

More evidence that the flowers were in full bloom and fresh from the rain.  I really love taking closeup pictures of lotus flowers - they are just beautiful.

Every now and then we'd also spot a dragonfly on one of the flower buds.

And more pictures of bees on the flowers.  Of course these pictures were kinda difficult to take as the bees were just swarming all over the place, and I wanted the pictures to look aesthetically pleasant...

Last Sunday I also spotted these adorable cows on display outside the MRT station too.  The cows were dressed in different outfits, supposedly depicting different occupations.  There was even a cow depicting an army cadet, and he was so adorable!

I think the cows have been on display for quite a while, and will be on display till 4th August (from what I remembered).  These are the only pictures I have of them, but I guess they're sufficient enough.

Last Sunday there was a retro-themed event at Centrepoint, and I happened to be in that area.  They had a jukebox, a bar for people to get drinks, a band (that played oldies and stuff like that), and quite a lot of stuff on display!

One of the highlights of the event was a gramophone with an actual LP disc (33 1/3 inch vinyl disc) on it!  The LP was manufactured by Columbia - one of the Big Three music recording companies when sound recording first took off (the other two were Victor and Edison).  I did a subject on the history of sound recording and my presentation topic was on the LP, and seeing these brought back good memories.

And of course, the gramophone was absolutely cool!  It had the trademark "His Master's Voice" - an advertisement featuring Nipper the dog sitting in front of the gramophone, supposedly hearing a recording of his master's voice, and also to promote the idea of sound recording.

They had 2 different versions of a film reel camera too!  And I HAD to take pictures of one of them!  It reminds me of the movie Cinema Paradiso - one of my favourite movies.

More closeups of the LP on the gramophone, plus another LP.

Old radios and some albums by artists from the 1950s (I think!).

They also had a camera exhibition where they featured cameras from the 1900s.  That included the film cameras my parents used when I was still a kid.  In fact I remembered we were still using film cameras when I was in secondary school, and only switched entirely to digital cameras in 2005 or so.  My mum still has her old film camera.

Couldn't resist taking yet another picture of that film reel camera...and the advertisement to the entrance of the event.  I'm a big fan of old movies such as Gone with the Wind (1939), The Wizard of Oz (1939), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The Sound of Music (1965), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Rear Window (1954), Mary Poppins (1964), Darling Lili (1970), The Americanisation of Emily (1964) (and the list goes on and on), and I'd be really happy if they actually had an event that showcased old movies.

I guess it's auf wiedersehen (goodbye) for now, Singapore!  I'll see you again in November.  Till then, I've got lots of good pictures to enjoy - whenever I feel homesick or anything.  So far it hasn't happened, possibly because Perth is closer to Singapore and is in the same time zone as Singapore.  I wonder where I'd end up next year though.

I'll update when I settle down in Perth!

Elephant Parade

Seriously it has been raining A LOT these days!  I was hoping to enjoy some sunny days, but in the end I couldn't do so 'cause it was either very overcast or raining heavily.  Like yesterday - I was supposed to go out but it rained, so I was "confined" at home, doing proposals.

It's getting kinda depressing...having so much to worry about this time.  I'm so glad it'll be all over by the end of the year!

Anyway...here's another event I totally forgot about until today!  The Elephant Parade - which was held between late last year and early this year!  Anyway be prepared - for there'll be pictures of LOTS of colourful elephants!  In case you were wondering, these elephants have all been auctioned off, and every now and then we receive news about them.

Here are some initial pictures I took of them.  The elephants were all gathered at the Botanic Gardens - and it was the last day they'd be there, before they were auctioned off.

As you can see, they were all painted with different colours and patterns.  Some of them even had words on them, and others were more plain but equally beautiful.

Oh and not to mention, there was an elephant painted to look like the red bird from Angry Birds!  The resemblance is uncanny.  But it was kinda amusing to see an elephant wanting to look like Angry Birds.  I found this one kinda cute - but I don't know who bought it eventually.

The elephants also had different facial expressions, although they seemed to be made from a similar template.  Some of them had a surprised look, some with closed eyes and some with more neutral expressions.  Talk about individual differences indeed!  In fact, all of them had unique patterns!  No two elephant looked alike.

I'm really intrigued by the different patterns painted on each of the elephants.  Especially those that were more intricate.

Of course, there were some that were painted with one solid colour, but they were gorgeous in their own ways too!

I really don't know how the artists managed to paint these intricate designs onto the elephants.  Some designs included pen/pencils, others consisted of flowers, and there were some that were painted with abstract designs.

Another highlight amongst the elephants - the durian elephant!  The King of Fruits - and people either love it or hate it, because of its pungent smell and strong taste.  Personally I'm neutral.  I don't really favour the taste, but the smell is just heavenly!

I remembered smuggling durian up a public bus before and fortunately I didn't get caught.  I'd never ever do it again.  But the experience was kinda fun!  My teacher (an amazing, motherly lady whom I've known for 10 years and who taught me in primary 5) thoroughly enjoyed the durians - I brought it specially for her. :)

Some more pictures of random elephants before I switched lenses.

And here's a picture of the elephants that were displayed outdoors.  Some of the elephants were housed under the massive marquee, while others were outdoors.

Artists working on some of the elephants.  The paint had to be touched up every now and then, to ensure that the colour remained fresh and vibrant.  This elephant was supposed to represent various aspects of Singapore, if I'm not wrong.

Of course, no festival/parade is complete without merchandise!

There were mini replicas of the elephants on sale, and they came in different sizes too!

Oh and there were specially-made necklaces.  Pricey, but beautiful.  I ended up going home with nothing but pictures, pictures and more pictures.

And speaking of pictures, these were the last couple of shots I took before heading to my alma mater to meet up with my brother and some friends.

Ok you have been warned - there were nothing but colourful elephants in this post!  Gorgeous elephants though!  I'd love it if they had events like this again.  I remembered the elephants being scattered throughout the country before they were all centralised in this exhibition, and I kept having to guess what was going on.  Well, now we know!