Today I wanted to get away from the City Centre and head out to Jurong which is a region in the West of Singapore with two lovely parks adjacent to each other (Chinese Gardens and Japanese Gardens) and a wonderful bird park.
When I was first in Singapore, late 1984 to July 1985 the MRT (mass rapid transit) didn't run to Jurong so the only way to get there was a succession of buses or by car. I was pleased to find that we could get on the MRT outside our hotel and get directly to the Chinese Gardens. From the Chinese Gardens we could get a couple of buses (short journeys) to the Bird Park.
The main reason for this trip was that I have a photograph taken of me in the gardens in 1985 and David thought it would be fun to replicate the pose - a bit cruel as I was only 26 then, with a waistline and no wrinkles!!
Anyway, I was convinced the photo was taken in the Japanese Gardens so we whizzed through the Chinese Gardens into the Japanese Gardens where there is a lovely Pagoda and lots of bridges ... but not THE bridge or double Pagoda from the old photo. There is a lot of work being done in the Japanese Gardens so we asked one of the workmen to look at the photo and point us in the right direction .... he couldn't help. By this time we were very hot and bothered as, although there are lots of trees in the parks, there aren't many offering shade along the pathways.
Eventually David spoke to somebody who could help. The location was actually in the Chinese Park so we backtracked and found the spot. By that time my hair was dripping, I had sweat in my eyes so they were stinging and I was regretting agreeing to this whim of David's.
Firstly some pictures taken in the Japanese Gardens
Wonderful idea .... the parks were pristine - no litter or dog-ends anywhere
David had wandered off trying to find somebody who could help us locate the area from where my old photo was taken and I found a shady area with a seat so I could cool off a bit when there was a rustle in the undergrowth and this HUGE monster appeared. I think its a Monitor Lizard
To give some size perspective - I think its around 5ft long (possibly more)
Quite laid back!
and heading back into the water
Finally, we found the twin Pagodas ... it had taken us the best part of 2 hours and we were very hot, sweaty (and a tad ratty) by this time!
So this is the 'old' photo taken early 1985
.
and the best we could do today - David couldn't see through the viewfinder on my camera as I didn't want him changing all my settings) so it was very hit and miss.
My hair was plastered to my head for this one
I managed to get it up into an untidy pony tail which was a lot cooler
Note to self: Back on serious diet after this holiday - 2 stones needs to come off!
As we made our way to the exit we noticed otters in the water - we saw three but there may have been more
and another monitor - much smaller than the one I photographed at the Japanese Garden ... one of the otters tried to chase it off but with a swipe of its tail the monitor knocked the otter away! Something strange has happened to the colour of this photo here ... I won't reload it as the internet is very slow tonight
When I was first in Singapore, late 1984 to July 1985 the MRT (mass rapid transit) didn't run to Jurong so the only way to get there was a succession of buses or by car. I was pleased to find that we could get on the MRT outside our hotel and get directly to the Chinese Gardens. From the Chinese Gardens we could get a couple of buses (short journeys) to the Bird Park.
The main reason for this trip was that I have a photograph taken of me in the gardens in 1985 and David thought it would be fun to replicate the pose - a bit cruel as I was only 26 then, with a waistline and no wrinkles!!
Anyway, I was convinced the photo was taken in the Japanese Gardens so we whizzed through the Chinese Gardens into the Japanese Gardens where there is a lovely Pagoda and lots of bridges ... but not THE bridge or double Pagoda from the old photo. There is a lot of work being done in the Japanese Gardens so we asked one of the workmen to look at the photo and point us in the right direction .... he couldn't help. By this time we were very hot and bothered as, although there are lots of trees in the parks, there aren't many offering shade along the pathways.
Eventually David spoke to somebody who could help. The location was actually in the Chinese Park so we backtracked and found the spot. By that time my hair was dripping, I had sweat in my eyes so they were stinging and I was regretting agreeing to this whim of David's.
Firstly some pictures taken in the Japanese Gardens
Wonderful idea .... the parks were pristine - no litter or dog-ends anywhere
David had wandered off trying to find somebody who could help us locate the area from where my old photo was taken and I found a shady area with a seat so I could cool off a bit when there was a rustle in the undergrowth and this HUGE monster appeared. I think its a Monitor Lizard
To give some size perspective - I think its around 5ft long (possibly more)
Quite laid back!
and heading back into the water
Finally, we found the twin Pagodas ... it had taken us the best part of 2 hours and we were very hot, sweaty (and a tad ratty) by this time!
So this is the 'old' photo taken early 1985
.
and the best we could do today - David couldn't see through the viewfinder on my camera as I didn't want him changing all my settings) so it was very hit and miss.
My hair was plastered to my head for this one
I managed to get it up into an untidy pony tail which was a lot cooler
Note to self: Back on serious diet after this holiday - 2 stones needs to come off!
As we made our way to the exit we noticed otters in the water - we saw three but there may have been more
and another monitor - much smaller than the one I photographed at the Japanese Garden ... one of the otters tried to chase it off but with a swipe of its tail the monitor knocked the otter away! Something strange has happened to the colour of this photo here ... I won't reload it as the internet is very slow tonight
