Photos from our Holiday in Singapore, Feb 2009

In February 2009 Maggie an I went on holiday in Singapore. We spent two full weeks there in the Riders Lodge hotel at Turf City which used to be the old Race Course. We then went on to Kuala Lumpur for six days before returning home. What a change in Singapore since we were there in the late 60's early 70's with the forces. So many new buildings and still more on the way, the place is far cleaner and the locals are very friendly and helpfull. And their buses and MRT put our public transport system to shame.

You can see from many of the photos, and more to come, that there is a LOT of building still going on in Singapore. At times we had trouble getting our bearings because of the amount of jungle that has been removed and built on. Also all the original "narrow" roads that used to be out in the country (through jungle actually) are now dual carriageways or even Expressways now. High rise blocks are everywhere giving affordable housing to all and the transport system is great - where have we gone wrong!!! (Our government actually and the EEC - jobs for the boys. Moan over!)

The main reason for me going to Singapore in February 2009 was to visit Pompong Island and pay my respects to my dad who was killed there during the war, so I thought I would put a few photos of the Kranji Commonwealth War Cemetery together in a seperate show. It may be of interest to anyone who lost a relative there and has not been able to visit the cemetery. It is a lovely place set in a tranquile spot on a hill and is well maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. If you would like to look at these photos please click here, or the image, then use the navigation buttons on the Left Hand side of the pages.

While we were there as usual there were a couple of bus loads of local school children paying a visit. The schools take the kids there as part of their history lessons and to help explain the events of the war. I was speaking to one of the teachers and telling her about the reason for our visit when she asked me to tell the children. When I told them all about our plans and about my web page for my dad they were very interested and asked a lot of questions. So if any of you children are still looking at my site please get in touch and give me some feedback. Thank you.

Below is a selection of photos that were taken while out there. To view a larger version of any photo just click on it's thumbnail below and it will open in a new window. I hope you enjoy looking at them. Check out my other pages or come back later to continue, there may just be some more pages added. I don't mind anyone using any of my photos as long as they are not for commercial use.