Tag: chinatown

Random memories: Love and light

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Paper lanterns in the courtyard of Anggun Boutique Hotel, in Kuala Lumpur, where B and I stayed October 2012. Anggun is a small boutique hotel just a street away from Jalan Alor, KL’s vibrant hawker street

Looking through my photographs one time, I noticed that I tended to take a lot of photos of windows, lamps, light, etc… aside of course, from the usual food, drink and scenery shots. I’ve never deleted the photos because, well, they’re part of the journey and I figured I could use them somehow one day… In Remembrance of Things Past, Proust gets transported back to a memory just on the taste of a madeleine. And so it is with these pictures. One look and they take me back to when I was there, living the moment.

Continue reading Random memories: Love and light

Going around: Chinatown and Kampong Glam

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Pagoda Street, Chinatown

Whenever friends and family come for a visit to Singapore, inevitably, one of the first questions I get asked is: Where do we go? The answer, of course, is: It depends on what you want to do. Those with kids usually end up going to the kid-centric attractions: The Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari and aquarium (this is new) and maybe around the Marina Bay area for some (lots of!) picture-taking. That usually takes care of one weekend. For those who like exploring, then I usually recommend the cultural enclaves and work our way from there. So because I get asked so often, here are the areas I usually take friends to.

Continue reading Going around: Chinatown and Kampong Glam

First fleamarket was at Lai Chun Yuen, the old opera house on Smith Street. They converted it into a heritage museum, with some space for merchants to sell their stuff. We got there at the right time. It was the opening and there was even a Chinese musical ensemble playing. Nice. (photo courtesy of dishondesign)

Singapore via Cubao X. Went exploring with friends last Saturday. Our agenda was to go to two flea markets in Chinatown. But first, brunch.

We had it at this little hole in the wall called Casual Poet, which is located on the third floor of an old building on New Bridge Road in Chinatown. Said building reminded me of those old apartments in Sampaloc, Manila, with a lot of vendors selling their wares at street level and there’s just one narrow door that opens up to a narrow staircase going up. For light, there would be a bare lightbulb hanging by its wire from the ceiling.

Casual Poet’s building wasn’t as dilapidated and scary as the ones in some quarters of Manila, but it was close. And when you get to the third floor, you get this big space, filled with well-edited and curated design curios and stuff. If you transplanted the whole place to Cubao X, it really wouldn’t look out of place. I don’t know how they make money though coz it’s hard to find and the whole time we were there, from 10am-1pm, there weren’t any other customers. (photo courtesy of dishondesign)