Singapore Day 1

Oh no it's Singapore.

It's been a decade since I spent much time in Singapore.

From 1992 to 2004 I was a regular visitor, interviewing International 

students and lecturing for a month at a time. My friends commiserated, as for 

them, Singapore was a boring place of transit. I always loved coming here.

Because I lectured in the evenings I had the days to really explore the areas 

that tourists  didn't go to. Also when work finished at around 10.30pm I would hit 

the town with the students and they would show me the Singapore side of life.

Sleazy bars and low life cafes, oh what fun.

I'm looking forward to seeing the changes a decade brings.

 The first morning started off really slowly. Preparing for a teleconference. 

And then three hours on the phone.Just as we were going out a fabulous Singapore 

thunder storm hit with spectacular lightening hitting the tall buildings around us.

 Finally we headed off to hunt and gather as we were both starving.

 We ended up at the Crossroads Cafe on Orchard Parade.

Singapore was noisy back then. that hasn't changed. Although now

the local mosque was using a very loud sound systems to try and 

unsuccessfully drown out the sounds of shopping and cash registers.

 The Singapore hobby of shopping till you drop has certainly not abated.

New shopping malls are replacing old ones at a rapid rate. 

The unfortunate thing is that they are filled with Prado, Chanel, Dior, 

Burberry, Zara, Top Shop and all the likely culprits. Surely there is a limit to

how many branches of Dior there are on two blocks.

 Zara could be in Melbourne or New York with absolutely 

no nod to the local culture.

 Tangs Orchard was showing some creativity using 

Rootstein mannequins in oddly domestic settings.

 Lucky Plaza hadn't changed a bit and is still the place to go to for 

cameras and electronic equipment. I left with an interesting Steinzeiser 

wide angle/macro 0.5 x 72mm lens.

 Because Singapore is an island, and they can't create much more land, buildings

are continually being replaced with taller ones. The architecture of the city 

has become more adventurous and the city is looking different

 Dior

 Chanel

 Chanel

 Mui Mui

 Ion, a new complex that has been opened although it 

is still under construction. And yes it's full of top-end European labels.

 In Singapore they are willing to play with design. 

This is part of the roof of the interior of the Ion complex. 

As you look up shadow sharks are swimming above you.

Maybe it's just an editorial on the state of the retail industry

 Regent Hotel Singapore. Still not sure about large hotels.

The we finished the night at Dan Ryan's Chicago Grill. Very Asian.

 I'm looking forward to tomorrow. Saturday, no work, and time to explore.

Vientiane Day 5

Well it's the last day in Vientiane so I couldn't stay in bed while I heard the chanting outside. 

I took the last opportunity to record the rituals outside the hotel..

 Very early in the morning the real workers are out and about.

 The sun rose brilliantly to see me off.

There was still a bit of time to catch up on some of the sights that we hadn't seen, 

so we walked down to the Wat Sisaket. Wat Sisaket is a Buddhist Wat it is situated 

on Lan Xang Road, on the corner with Setthathirat Road.

When the armies of Siam (Thailand) sacked Vientiane in 1827 this was the only temple 

they didn't destroy. The theory is that it looked like a Thai temple and was spared.

The army used this compound as their headquarters. 

It is the oldest temple still standing in Vientiane.

 Wat Sisaket features a cloister with more than 2000 ceramic and silver Buddha images 

around the four walls. The variation on a single theme is well worth the visit.

 A lot of the wall paintings have given way to the ravages of time and weather but the 

wooden carvings remain intact.

 The compound itself has many different temples and homes for the monks. 

The gardens are beautifully tended to and in the surrounding area are

many interesting burial stupas.

 On the way back to the hotel we saw the Patouxay Monument in the distance.

It is also known as the Victory Gate. It was built with cement that was sent there by

the Americans to build a runway during the Vietnam War so it is also referred to 

as the vertical runway.

 Finally packed we headed off to the airport.

I think the monks followed us to be sure that I left the country with my pesky 

telephoto lens that had been recording them for the last week.

 Finally in the air again for transit in Bangkok. 

 The clouds were magnificent but I wasn't looking forward 

to flying down through them.

 After a tedious three hours at the Bangkok airport we were on our way to Singapore.

 And something completely different than the charming, sleepy town of Vientiane.

Finally checked into the Regent Singapore. We don't normally stay in large hotels because 

we don't like the lack of personality. This was a hurried trip and the hotels that we preferred 

were all booked out. We chose this one because it had free Internet. 

Why do large hotels still charge for it.? In today's electronic age the Internet is like water. 

A necessity.

We booked this on the Internet and it stated "free Internet". You can imagine our surprise 

when we were told that was for one appliance. One!!!!!!!!! Two people travelling together

means at the least two computers and two mobile phones. That's four appliances to start with.

As it was nearly mid-night time to sleep.

Vientiane Day 4

Up early to catch the monks again and then off to work.

  

 

There were also some rather odd night dwellers hanging out at 4.30 in the morning

 Today is our last day working so we will get some sight-seeing in later today.

We first decided to walk to the Morning Market. 

The day is hot so it’s a very leisurely walk.

We passed the National Library, it needs some tender loving care.

The Morning Market, or Talat Sao, is off Lane Xang Avenue, opposite the 

General Post Office. The double-story building, featuring Lao architectural motifs, 

is surrounded by a maze of smaller stalls.

Every kind of electrical goods, shoes, fabric and wigs are for sale in the labyrinth of stalls. 

Most of it tourist trap rubbish.

Then we walked down to the That Dam Stupa. The That Dam is a large stupa that

 many Laotians believe is inhabited by a seven headed nāga who tried to protect them from

the armies of Siam, who invaded in 1827. It is also known as the Black Stupa, the English 

translation of the Lao name “That Dam”. Unfortunately tourists refer to it as “that damn stupa”.

We found another traditional textile shop, The Beauty of Laos Silk. They had 

some beautiful wall hangings if you had a spare $US6, 000 or so. We didn’t.

Sweating profusely we dropped into a beer garden for something cold.

Later that night we had our last evening meal at L’adresse on Wat Ongteu, 

Ban Watchan-Chanthabouly D. It has only been open for eight months and it

serves delicious French cuisine. 

 A great way to finish our last day in Vientiane.