Wet Season

January in Singapore is deep into the wet season, when temperatures dip and humidities rise. Monsoons are a regularity, and streets occasionally flood, but the frequent rains clean the city. The air freshens, and plants rejoice in abundant water to do the work of cooling and refreshing the metropolis.

The end of January was graced by a crescent moon joining in on the ‘planetary parade’ (alignment) currently happening in our skies.

A large collection of parks adorn the city-state, where well-respected wildlife enjoys relative safety. These also take advantage of the fresh and productive season.

The extensive and well managed Singapore Botanic Gardens host a wide array of interesting insects:

A sleeping(?) dragonfly with small parasites on its thorax

Further to the northwestern end of Singapore, large forest reserves and reservoirs provide increasingly undisturbed habitats for increasingly interesting inhabitants. These include the giant water monitor lizards, who enjoy high enough levels of park enforcement here (against poachers) to grow to impressive sizes and numbers:

I managed to record them flicking their giant tongues through the 300mm (“600mm full-frame equivalent”) lens, as well as pond heron fending off mosquitos.

For the observant there is much to appreciate even in developed areas, such as this blue tailed bee eater:

Chinese New Year

The Chinese New Year was celebrated on January 29th this year, including a lot of public decorations, special foods and gatherings, and lighting the streets with lamps and colors at night.

A lion dance happening at a house down the street

Even the ‘supertrees’ @ Gardens by the Bay are themed in red for the occasion, with a bustling free exhibition of lighted attractions below. Here is a composite using an onboard feature of the OM-1 camera:

Composite of red 'supertrees' over Marina Bay Sands™

The City

The cityscape is quite impressive, depending on one’s vantage point:

Well-kept Heritage-listed homes and buildings brighten suburban streets:

Heritage houses thru the 8mm f/1.8 fisheye lens

There is of course plenty of time for fine tea:

Many additional cultures celebrate lunar cycles and the lunar new year. A beautiful temple nestled smartly into a neighborhood street of Joo Chiat frequently observes their holidays with open doors and tasteful music.