local sights through foreign eyes - the esplanade and palawan beach...

This is the final instalment of my " Local Sights Through Foreign Eyes " series, which is more or less the pics I took when my Taiwanese friends, from the music company which the band Sodagreen belongs, were here for their concert in August...

Since it's been a while from the last post, here's a recap of the places we visited: http://merman13.livejournal.com/tag/sodagreen

On the 2nd August, after bringing Ricky and Fanfan through Chinatown , Little India , Thieves Market and Kampong Glam , we continued on to the Esplanade , where we encountered a major road block due to the National Day Parade rehearsals...

After a huge sidetrack, we finally made it to the Esplanade , explored the venue, bought some delicious cookies from The Cookie Museum there, and then proceeded to the crowded Marina Bay to see if we could spot some NDP action...

Well, although we couldn't catch the actual performance from our standpoint, the bay crowd was just as excited when the helicopters flew past with our Singapore flag...

After that, we walked over to the Padang and toward Capitol Building to grab some buns from Breadtalk , before taking a cab to Singapore Max Pavilion for the Sodagreen concert, which I'd already covered HERE...

Here are the photos...

**Local Sights Through Foreign Eyes

The Esplanade**

National Day Parade security at Marina Square

Ricky with durian wings

Ricky and Fanfan at the Esplanade

Edric and Fanfan at the Esplanade

National Day display at the Esplanade

Fanfan meets Fanfan at Jendela Gallery

The Cookie Museum , with their beautifully ornate interiors and delicious cookies

View of the Singapore Flyer

Ricky and Fanfan at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre (under construction)

View of the Singapore CBD and the Merlion

Tourist moment at the Marina Bay

Sunset silhouettes under the Esplanade flyover

The Singapore Flag fly-past

The Singapore Flag flew-past

Tourist moment at the Esplanade Park

Resting at the War Memorial

Fanfan at the Padang

Ricky at the Padang The second part of this entry continues on the day after, when Ricky and I headed over to Sentosa 's Palawan Beach for a bit of early morning sun. Fanfan decided to continue with her beauty sleep instead, so she bade an early farewell...

**Palawan Beach

Sentosa**

Ricky and Edric alighting from the Sentosa Shuttle Bus

Ricky among the coconut palms

I should get that t-shirt!

Map of Southern Sentosa

Club Islander Beach Bar

Ricky getting ready for his tan

In the early morning sun...

View of the Southernmost Point of Continental Asia (SPCA??)

Heeding the calls of the sea...

I really do need a tan, but this image was under-saturated...

Ricky getting some sun

Edric getting some sun

Nice way to start the morning (except for all that travelling to get there...)

Hibiscus

View of deck chairs with lifeguard post

Chrysanthemums

Deserted CBD road

Bidding farewell at **M Hotel

Fanfan** and her farewell gift from Taiwan - Black Sesame Pineapple Pastry Spending those few days with Ricky and Fanfan allowed me to visit many parts of Singapore that I'd taken for granted over the years, and it was really interesting to see my own tiny island country from fresh perspectives...

Now, I can't wait to visit them in Taipei , hopefully next year!!!