Singapore 2 Fort Canning Park (6/29/2012)

Friday, June 29, 2012
We were pleasantly surprised that the Fort Canning Lodge also included a buffet breakfast!
We checked out, and were able to leave our suitcases at the front desk.
Heading across the street to Fort Canning Park, our cameras immediately fogged up. Not that it was any more hot or humid in Singapore, just the A/C was better!

Hotel Fort Canning:

In case you are interested in a more upscale hotel! Built in 1926, formerly the British Military Administration Building.
Kent below the Dobbie Rise to the Fort Canning wall:

Named for Major-General Sir William George Sheldon Dobbie who was General Officer Commanding Malaya from 1935-1939.
Fort gate (1861):

Sculpture in the park: Cows on the hill:

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Costus erythrhtrysus (?):

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The wall around Fort Canning Green:

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The Green was once a cemetery, from 1822-1865; now the headstones are part of the wall:

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Tamiko dwarfed by the Gothic Gate to the old cemetery:

One of a pair of gateways designed by Captain Charles Edward Faber, Supervising Engineer; the earliest example of Gothic Revival-style in Singapore.
Remains of the cemetery:

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Fort Canning Centre:

Built in 1926 as the British Barracks, now a performing arts center. There appear to be "stages" set in the Green in front of it.
Kent dwarfs the cupolas:

Designed by George Drumgoole Coleman, perhaps as places of rest. Coleman was involved in much of the design and construction of early Singapore, from 1822-23 and 1825-1840.
The Keramat Iskander Syah:

A keramat is a sacred place in Malay, traditionally a burial ground for a leader. Iskander Syah was a ruler of Temasek (14th-century city on the island of Singapore), but it is not believed that he is buried here:

19th-century Walk:

Ficus sp. with aerial roots:

Mystery tree:

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Bond Terrace:

Named for Major-General Sir Lionel Vivian Bond, who was the General Officer Commanding Malaya from 1939-1941.
Here the aerial roots appear to be from the epiphytes/air plants in the tree:

Tamiko on Raffles Terrace:

Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore, had his bungalow built at the location of the building seen above. It was also the location of the Governor's Residence. Several items on the terrace illustrate how the hilltop was important for communications. First the replica of an 1825 flagstaff, seen in front of the "bungalow."
A replica lighthouse:

A replica Time Ball, traditionally dropped at 1:00 pm daily:

Not a communication device:

Tamiko on a swing in front of a Delonix regia/Royal Poinciana:

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or Flame Tree:

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We descended to Hill Street past the Ravenala madagascariensis/Traveller's Palms:

Just before crossing the Singapore River, we passed the Ministry of Information, Communications and The Arts (MICA) with this sculpture in the atrium:

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"Big Bang" (2000) by Joseph McNally.
At intersections, there are these yellow ball lights which seem to indicate the need to yield to pedestrians:

View of  Clarke Quay from Coleman Bridge:

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Once dock warehouses, now a riverside "festival village."
The G-Max Reverse Bungee ride:

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We will continue with Singapore 3 Colonial District post after we cross the Singapore River!