Singapore

Singapore is an ultra modern south-east Asia city. It is densely populated with of nearly 5.5Million people in a 728sqkm area. The lion city of Asia is great one for cityscape, and architecture. The city area is quite small in comparison to the other cities I travel to, with most of the main attractions quite close together.

Although one of the more pricy cities to stay in with regards to shopping and accommodation. Transportation and food can easily be found at affordable prices.

During my trip I stayed a total of 6 nights in Singapore. I started off with the first 2 nights from 10-12 of November 2022 and the last 4, from 22-25 November. (The first 2 nights were not in the original plan, it just turned out that way because their were flight cancellations from my original carrier.)

LYF Hotel Funan Mall

I Dread Travel Days

I remember the first few hours of the trip was NOT fun at all. After this trip I have learned to hate travel days altogether. A travel day is when I have to move from either city to city. This involves any logistics of flights, public transport or taxis.

I had no internet and no cash on hand (Which I have come to realise are 2 essential things that could aid in finding your way around. Try finding a building or street address in 2022 without Google Maps is Torture!!! Mix that in with lugging a 25kg luggage, hungry and raining. Not a fun way to re-ignite the first international travel since Covid.

Anyhow, anyone who has intention to stay at LYF hotel, do note, that you want to enter the Funan mall from the McDonalds end, and not the end from the City Hall side. The idea is that you are required to go up to the 4th floor of the complex and the check-in is not clear, but approximately above McDonalds. My mistake came from me dragging my Luggage all the way from City Hall MRT station to the Funan building and wandering AIMLESSLY around the complex looking for anything that resembled a hotel lobby. It was already about 9:30pm now and I was tired from the long day of flying and airport transfer.

Thankfully, I was able to connect to the Funan Free Wifi and make a wifi-call to the reception of LYF and the receptionist was able to assist me to get to the lobby.

So anyhow, Long story short. Enter from the McDonalds end, of the mall if not get to the McDonalds from the ground floor and make your way up to the 4th level! Spare your SOUL!!!

Overall the hotel was adequate for my needs. There was nothing special about it, besides it being on the average price for Singapore standards. The location is pretty good for a 20 minute walk to either the Esplanade or Chinatown.

Peninsula Excelsior Hotel

I took a gamble to splurge myself with a one night stay at the Peninsula Excelsior Hotel in Singapore. I purchased a One bedroom with exclusive club access to the lounge on the 22nd floor.

The whole idea was to be able to get to the balcony that overlooked the entire CBD area with Marina Bay Sands on the left.

Thankfully the view was beautiful that night and the hotel itself was an absolute pleasure to stay in. I think the night totalled just under S$380, which includes breakfast and access to the sky lounge.

I don’t mind splurging myself occasionally. As a photographer I am willing to pay extra to gain access to an exclusive view of the city. Having the location within the same area where you sleep is a great convenience.

All other parts of this hotel was good too, the gym and pool(s) were both a pleasure to use. The staff here were amongst the most friendliest I have ever encountered. I want to say a special thanks to Alvin, a young steward at the Sky Lounge who came in to start his shift 30minutes (6:30am) to allow me access to photograph from the balcony for the sunrise.

I needed a selfie at this epic location

Living the life as a cityscape photographer - Peninsula Excelsior Hotel, Sky Lounge - Singapore.

OMG Balcony with uninterrupted view of the city skyline, canapes and COFFE, I'm in Heaven!!

Life doesn't get better than this

Morning ride to Gardens By the Bay

Having stayed at Ibis Bencoolen, Singapore, they offer guests complimentary bikes to use to travel around. One early morning set off to ride to Gardens by the bay ot capture the panorama with Marina Bay, the garden and the city skyline over the river.

The biggest challenge of this photograph was dealing with the humidity of Singapore. As soon as I pulled my camera out of the backpack, every piece of glass on the camera fogged right up. It was impossible to shoot with. The humidity was so bad, that it was affecting both glasses from the front and the back element of the lens. Fortunately, I carry a large microfibre cloth to aid in wiping down the front element prior to taking the photo.

I must admit I was feeling concerned about moisture getting stuck inside the camera. Moisture in camera or any electronic equipment is never good. The risk of mould, fungus and all other nasty stuff can ruin the equipment.

Fortunately, my equipment managed to survive this shoot. It pays to use professional equipment with weather resistent properties.

Helix Bridge, Marina Bay Sands and Art and Science Museum

If you were to only photograph one scene in Singapore, I would suggest that you come to this location that lies underneath the Helix Bridge in the Esplanade. This is one of my favourite spots to photograph in all of Singapore as it presents itself to 3 of my favourite subjects of Architecture.

To the left is the Helix bridge, that resembles DNA strands, Then you have the classical Marina Bay Sands and then the flower shape, Art and Science Museum. If you come in the PM blue hour, the Helix bridge comes alite which allow for a nice leading line towards the other two structures.

I captured this particular photograph early in the morning and just prior to a electrical storm.

Buddah Tooth Relic Temple - Chinatown

If you are able to make it to Chinatown before sunrise, I highly recommend checking out this photo location. It is photographing the Buddah Tooth Relic Temple which sits near the Visitor Centre of Chinatown. To access this location, you will be required to go up to a nearby apartment building and up to the 10th floor.

Being mindful that it is private residents. This area is unobstructed for photography and presents a great vantage point to take the building.

I suggest arriving early, like during the civil blue hour and make sure your gear is secured at all times.

The photograph above is a vertical panorama made by combining 3 vertical shifted images from my Canon TSE 24mm 3.5 Lens.

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