Tuesday, January 26, 2010

My World Tuesday - Sentosa - Fort Siloso Part 1

Today, I will begin my new series on Fort Siloso on Sentosa Island.

Fort Siloso is a coastal artillery battery and one of twelve coastal artillery batteries which made up ‘Fortress Singapore ’ at the start of World War Two. Although there are remains of other batteries to be found on Singapore, Fort Siloso is the sole restored battery. ‘Siloso’ is a Philippine word meaning ‘Jealous Person’. You can read more about the history of Fort Siloso from its official website.

Fort Siloso was heavily armed in anticipation that the Japanese would attack Singapore via the south from the Sea during World War II but the Japanese soldiers came via our backdoor i.e. from the North of Singapore via Malaysia. So the guns in Fort Siloso was never used for the fighting during WW2.

So sad that we lost the war and was under Japanese Occupation for about three years. I was not born then but my parents did suffered during the war.






A short video taken when I was on the tram going up the Fort. The tram ride was about 5 minutes ride and sadly we need to do most of the walking in the hot sun.....lol.



Please visit "That's my World" for other parts of the world.



More photos of Fort Siloso coming up in the later posts.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sentosa - Posing with the Python


Tourist posing with the python...yikes, it is scary. The last time I posed with a snake was when I was visiting Penang, Malaysia at a snake temple. I had to hold the cold slimy snake in my hand cause my son wanted to snap a photo with the snake. I carry my son on one hand and the snake on the other hand...lol.

A short video of the brave girl and the python.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Skywatch - Sky Tower

Viewing Singapore from Sentosa in this Sky Tower which can turn 360 degrees. I did not take the ride cause my relatives from Cambodia did not want to take the rides. But I sat the Sky Tower before in Hong Kong. The one in Hong Kong is shorter than the one in Sentosa.

A short video showing the ride up.

For other sky watchers, please hop over to Skywatch blog.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Sentosa - Games of Yesterday

There's a section near the Images of Singapore where we could play with the games of yesterday. These are the toys that I played with during my childhood. Most of us could not afford any luxury toys during that time, so we had to make do with these simple games and I find them interesting. Nowdays youngsters dont like to play these games, they prefer the computer games.

I used to play marbles with my neighbours and friends and my brother is very good in playing marbles cause he won a lot of marbles.

We used to draw the shape of the hopscotch on the sand using sticks as pencil. If it is on a cemented ground, we would used chalks to draw them. It is quite fun and very healthy, no wonder we were so slim when we were young with all the hopping and jumping...lol.



Another game that I love is the skipping rope. It was expensive back then to buy a proper skipping rope, so we gather some rubber bands and chained them together to make a skipping rope.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Sentosa - Images of Singapore (Part 3)

Continued from yesterday's post.

The exhibit of a baby sleeping. During the olden days, people cannot afford a crib or baby's bed so they make do with a sarong as a cradle. A sarong is a very big piece of fabric wrapped around a person's waist (just like a large tube) and can be worn by both men or women. When I gave birth to my sons, I also used the sarong as well as a baby's bed...lol. But as my sons get older, they can climb out of the sarong.

During the one month old of a baby, there will be a celebration and eggs are dye in red to celebrate the occasion.

An exhibit of an old man and his grandchild having some tea and cakes to celebrate the moon cake festival. Now this is interesting. The table, chairs, teaset and even the basket on the table were exactly the same as those used by my grandparents. Even the old man's singlet and pyjama pants are exactly what my grandfather and father wore...lol.

A replica wax figures of a wayang/opera.

Lion Dance
As I climb up the stairs to view more exhibits, I can view the lion dance from the above. Take a look at the short video and take note of a wax figure in the opposite direction where I was standing. It looked so real...