Singapore is a constantly changing country with housing, industrial and recreational projects left and right (although mostly just BTO). In the recreational sector, this includes the, as of this post, freshly revamped Jurong Lake Gardens and freshly introduced Bidadari Park. Most Singaporeans know of Jurong Lake Gardens, in fact, many have likely bemoaned its long… long renovation process. Bidadari is a new residential area which is slowly building itself up to house Singapore’s ever-growing population. This and more in the following blog post!
Hello and welcome to YH’s TIBUT, standing for “Yong Hong’s Things I’ve been up to”! This is a post that I will commonly write whenever its been about a month or a few months to recap what I’ve been up to and show you some pictures I’ve taken. I will still right independent posts when required but usually, these will be the posts you will see. I didn’t want every post like this to be named “Photo Collages”, so I created a name for it. Let’s get into it then.
Introduction – Have I been doing things wrong?
For the frequent readers of this blog, or those who have scrolled down a fair bit before clicking on this blog post, you may know I’ve nicked the acronym “TIBUT” to describe anything non-holiday on this blog. However, I’ve come to a realisation… I’ve been starting every blog with a short explanation on what this acronym means… but that doesnt look very pleasing on the homepage
Imagine not knowing what you’re about to read because Im too busy exposition-dumping. Quite an unfortunate mistake… but also one I’m too lazy to change
AHEM. In other news…
More Exposition – I’m now tangibly better at photography!
For the uninitiated, this is a Canon EOS250D, the camera I take photos with. For the further uninitiated, this Canon EOS250D is currently equipped with a EFS18-135mm Camera Lens. What this means, in layman terms, is that my camera now has more zoom. I’ve been using an 18-55mm for quite a while now as it is the lens that a standard 250D comes with… however… just recently, in September, I (or rather my parents) bought this bad boy. Here’s a direct comparison before I get into my… actual blog.
Jurong Lake Gardens – Renovation over at last!
Consisting of both the Chinese and Japanese Gardens, Jurong Lake Gardens was quite a popular destination in Singapore for both tourists and locals back in the day… that is, until it went under renovation back in 2019. To be honest, that date shocked even me when I saw it on a Straits Times article, it has been 5 years since it was last opened… impressive.
But, whether it be due to Covid19 or other matters which forced its supposedly delayed or merely long reopening, its back in business and better than before. Granted, its been a while since I’ve seen it so I may not be able to comment on its improvements, but it sure does look great! With a grand total of 488 photos spanning over 2 days, I will try my best to describe it’s grand nature for you (although you should totally go visit it)
This is something I’ve been genuinely wondering since I started using an 18-135mm. This is a photo taken with the lens fully zoomed in and, to the naked eye, it honestly seems higher quality than one taken on an 18-55mm. Feels like I can see the blur much clearer… also just feels so much crisper…
Downside to having an 18-135mm, that shit is heavy. Keeping a photo steady with a 135mm fully zoomed is surprisingly far more difficult than I thought it’d be… Im adapting… albeit slowly
Bidadari (Bird) Park – Small Fish in a Big Fish’s Pond
“Affectionately” named after the residential area it is located in, Bidadari park is home to partially residents of the area, partially Singaporeans who need somewhere to be, partially birds and mostly bird-watchers. Judging from my visit there, it seemed that everyone had a higher-grade camera than the last. Now, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it can be quite intimidating
Straying away from the topic of professionals, the park is surprisingly big for what is arguably nothing less than a neighbourhood park. A grand total of 13 hectares makes up the park… THIRTEEN. That is 130000m2. For reference, Singapore Botanic Gardens is 82 hectares, Gardens by the Bay is 101 hectares and for North-Siders, Northpoint City’s gross floor area is 12 hectares.
I repeat, this park is LARGER THAN NORTHPOINT CITY, the LARGEST MALL IN NORTHERN SINGAPORE (supposedly)
Moving on…
Labrador Park – Boat (or Yacht) Watching
I’ve been to Labrador Park many… many times, yet, for some reason, this visit was different. God knows why, but there was a lot of boats leaving dock… or harbor… or whatever the rich call it. In any case, with my trusty new camera lens, I can now reliably photograph these boats now and zoom in on exactly what they’re doing (joke)
Can you tell I enjoy photography?
Conclusion – Subtle Foreshadowing
EOYs are over and thank god for that. We ignore the fact I’m reviewing EOY scripts tomorrow because if I focus on that I may realise that I by writing this I’m avoiding reality. In any case, something else big is happening End of the Year, I’m going to Taiwan (yippee!)
This entails another, far more formal and well formatted, post about my week long trip, something akin to the one I wrote about Thailand (which is my most viewed post). That post might take slightly longer to write but will likely be the next thing coming up on the blog. To my great dismay, I’m flying off to Taiwan on the 29th November, which also means I’ll be missing AFA Singapore, something I would’ve absolutely written about had I been given the chance. Unfortunate, but no point crying over spilt milk.
That’ll be all from me. Make sure to drink your food and eat your water!