Novel November

November is "the" month of a novel new beginning for me.  After 8 years and 9 months of working for "K" Line Pte Ltd, I finally left the company - which I should probably have done 3 years ago.  But through the graces of the forces that may be, I had remained with "K" Line and rode through the worst period of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the time to disembark from this lengthy voyage has finally come this month.  And yes, I paid my dues already with the various projects I delivered during the pandemic.  As I left this month, I have just completed an e-claims project for the company too.  I left many good ex-colleagues and collaborators who have generously contributed to my development in "K" Line while at the same time I excitedly look forward to the new journey that I will be undertaking with the new company.  

Going Up From Starbucks Guoco Tower One Last Time - Galaxy Note 9

Finally Went to (near) Orchard

Okay, I finally did it!!  Well, Tanglin is still within Orchard......  I still can't get myself to go to Orchard road to get the shots of the Christmas lights.  But on Christmas eve I brought the kids to Tanglin Mall for their annual snow avalanche.  More like soap really.....  But they do have the best "snow" show in Singapore.   

Anticipating a big crowd, I went with no tripod, my D750 and Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 and Nikkor 20mm F1.8.  The Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 was usable in the beginning when the "snow" started spawning.  But as I can't attach a filter onto the lens, I had to change to the Nikkor 20mm F/1.8.  At first I thought of bringing a tripod along to lose some of the crowd in the photos but I decided not to, and it proved quite a right decision.

We arrived early at about one and a half hour before the snow show starts.  I spent some time taking test photos while waiting for the blue hour to arrive.  So we went around the mall, had dinner and the kids played around in kiddy rides.  It was a nostalgic visit for me.  The first time I came to Singapore when I was 12, I stayed in Traders Hotel (now it's Jen Hotel Tanglin) which was right next to the mall.  Even when I attended English courses at the British Council I sometimes went to the mall for meals.

Before the show started the area was already packed with crowds waiting in anticipation.  I managed to went around and snapped some photos of the decorations, the mall and the crowd.  

The main decoration right outside the mall - D750 + Tokina 16-28mm F2.8

Christmas Carnival at Gardens by The Bay

Well don't be so surprised, I did say I'm going to do this right?  I think by now you'd think I'm on their payroll (which I swear I'm not!!).

Anyway, my next entry will be on Orchard Road's Christmas decorations.  I've been trying to schedule a visit but the weather hasn't been permitting as of late.  And with the strings of crazy incidents in Orchard road (from burning trees, decorations, falling trees and man in a shopping mall and roofs in Hilton) I think I'd really pay attention to the weather.

And oh yeah, I pestered my wife to create a signature for me so I can put them on my photos.  After deliberations we finally decided on "Tri Suka Moto" = Tri likes to take photos.  Sounds Japanese, but really, its Indonesian.  ;)  

Okay, so Gardens by The Bay is in FULL Christmas mood.  I didn't have time to go to the entrance because when we reached the meadow area the bazaar caught the kids' attention and we ended up spending almost 3 hours there.  But the area was really fun and beautifully decorated.

When we arrived the kids were immediately drawn to the large carousel.  While it's not the first time they rode one, it certainly is bigger than the last one they rode and they simply had to go on it.  The cost for each child and accompanying adult was 3 tokens.  And so very quickly we parted with a good $12 there.

The Carousel - first attraction we tried in the carnival