China | Eddy Blog

Mandarin Ducks at the Jurong Birdpark Singapore

by Eddy

I’ve not visited the Jurong Bird Park for quite a long time and going through the pictures I’ve taken, it sure brings back a lot of fond memories about the place. It almost seems like just yesterday that I was there.

One spectacular bird species which I fondly remember are the Mandarin ducks. They look so different from the ducks I know. I could spend several hours just looking at them. They come in different colors.

Sadly in the wild, there are not many mandarin ducks around left due to the destruction of their habitats especially in China, Japan and eastern Russia. They live in the wooded areas near shallow lakes and marshes.

These were taken in 2002.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Singapore

No Comments »

A Visit to the Peranakan Museum Singapore

by Eddy

The Straits Chinese or Peranakan (aka Nyonya Baba) are the descendents of the Chinese Immigrants from China to the Indonesian Archipelago during the 15 to 16th century of the British and Dutch Colonial era. These Chinese were integrated into the local society and adopted the malay way of life and this is evident in their traditional dressing, notably food and culture. Some of these Straits Chinese intermarry with the locals. The Peranakan are the elite of Singapore and are loyal to the British Crown rather than to China. In the colonial era, the Peranakan are traders and act as middlemen for the British and the local Chinese community.

The females Peranakan are called Nyonya and the males are called Baba. Most Peranakans are of Hokkien, Teochew or Cantonese descent. They used a mixed of their chinese dialects peppered with malay phrases into their every conversation. Many Peranakans in Singapore adopted the Catholic faith but there are those who adopted the traditional chinese faith of Buddhism and Taoism.

The Peranakan Museum in Singapore is located at 39 Armenian Street in the old Tao Nan School built between the 1910-1912. The Tao Nan School was set up by 3 Hokkien philanthropists from the Singapore Hokkien Society to preserve the Chinese culture and heritage. The current Tao Nan School is located at 49 Marine Crescent.

Admission Fees for the Museum is as follows
$6 for Adult
$3 for Foreign Visitors above 60 and Full Time Students
Free for Singaporeans and PR above 60 and children under 6 years old, Full Time National Service men and Full Time Teachers
$20 for family

Portraits of the Peranakans of Singapore

The Artefacts

It is worthwhile to pay the Peranakan Museum a visit when you are in Singapore to appreciate the Nyonya Baba culture before you sink your teeth into that Nyonya Bak Zhang (Dumpling), Nyonya Laksa, Ayam Ponteng or Babi Assam.

Maps

View Larger Map

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Singapore

No Comments »

1st Sabah International Folklore Festival 2001

by Eddy

With an ethnicity rich and racially integrated society like Sabah Malaysia, it was its State Government goal to promote the importance of culture in its development agenda. With that, the first Sabah International Folkore Festival was held in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia between May 29 to June 2nd 2001. This coincided with both the Kaamatan (Harvest) Festival of Sabah and the Colours of Malaysia Month. The first folklore festival kicked off with 11 countries participating namely from Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, Austria, Croatia, Canada, Mali, Agentina, Brunei, China and Turkey.

A presentation of the folklore festival was held at the Sunday Gaya Street Market on June 3rd 2001 where I happened to be at. As this was taken some 11 years ago, I am unable to identify the countries but do enjoy the photos.

The 6th Sabah International Folklore Festival will be held on 8th – 17th July 2012 so if you are in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia, do drop by and enjoy cultural dances from across the globe in the beautiful land of KK.

Rating: 0.0/10 (0 votes cast)

Rating: 0 (from 0 votes)

Sabah

No Comments »

Uphill walk to Pender Road Carpark D Park Singapore

by Eddy

I believe that residents and visitors to Singapore would know about Mount Faber (not actually a mountain but a hill) and the scenic park at the top of the hill. However, there is a no less impressive park along Pender Road which is also worth the visit. This is right next to Carpark D.

Getting to Carpark D, you could take the walk up Morse Road near the Laksa Steamboat Seafood Restaurant and make the first left turning at the first Pender Road. There is another Pender Road which goes straight and leads to a dead end.

The Christian Community Chapel on the left and the Laksa Steamboat Seafood Restaurant (blue building) on the right

The Demolition of Pender Court to make way of a new Condominium Project called The Forest@Mount Faber in 2015

Reflections at Keppel Bay Condominium (to be completed in 2013) taken from behind the Christian Community Chapel

Garage of a colonial bungalow at Pender Road

Houses at Wishart Road. I am not sure when these houses were built but it does appear to be of the pre-war design with the spiral staircase at the back.

There is a series of winding road up Pender Road towards Faber Loop. This seems to be part of the legacy of the British Colonial Design of road building.

More winding road

The Danish Seamen’s Church at 10 Pender Road

This building was formerly known as the Golden Bell Mansion which was completed in 1910 as the residence of Tan Boo Liat, the Great Grandson of Tan Tock Seng (who was a philanthropist and as hospital named after him). In 1911, Sun Yat Sen, the Chinese Revolutionist and former President of China from 1911-1912) stayed a night at this Mansion after his arrival from Europe. Mrs Sun and daughters stayed over in 1912 on route from Penang to China.

The Golden Bell Mansion was sold in 1934 after the death of Tan Boo Liat in Shanghai and has been the residence of the Danish Seamen’s Church since 1985.

The Carpark D is located next to the Danish Seamen’s Church

There are 4 cable cars which were used in the past to ferry merrymakers from Mount Faber to Sentosa before the refurbishments of the cable car system. This could have been the first batch of cable cars used during the mid 1970s.