Esplanade.

With a beautiful facade shaped like a durian, you may start to wonder, will the interior be just as appealing? Well, you will find out about it in this post. :)

Before we begin this post, the important thing is, how to get to Esplanade?

By bus :

SBS 36, 56, 70M, 97,111, 133, 162M, 195, 502, 531, 1N, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, 6N, 75, 77, 106, 700A, 857, 960, 961, NR1, NR2, NR5, NR6, NR7, NR8.

By MRT  (link) :

A few minutes walk from City Hall (red and green line) MRT station.
A few minutes walk from Esplanade MRT station (circle line).

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A trip was made to Esplanade few days ago so that we're able to give a first-hand account on it.

There are many facilities and events in Esplanade, and the main ones are stated below.

Open Stage.

Performances will be held once in awhile (usually piano and singing) and are free for all to view. You will be able to sit on the sofas provided in front of the platform and enjoy the performances, without any time limit! And the best part is that, it's free to watch the performances.

Library.

There is a huge array of books on Arts; from the history of arts, to modern art. There are 4 categories of books in the library, music, dance, theatre and film, and the books are organised neatly on the shelves based on the different genres. The computers in the library also serve as a useful platform to locate the book that you're searching for.

There are a few LCD screens in the library, that plays inspirational videos on real life experiences, regarding music and art. And not to forget, there is also a cafe in the library. Hence, when you're hungry, you do not have to go all the way downstairs just to grab some food. You can eat at the cafe while you're reading. The light ambience in the library will put you in a calm mood. :)

Roof Terrace.

It is situated at the highest level of Esplanade. It offers a breathtaking view of the city, and is landscaped with manicured lawns and small shade trees. There are ample seating areas to relax or have a light picnic and it is a nice place to take photos at.

You can unwind yourself from a tiring day from all the travelling and admire what nature has for you at the roof terrace. The view is exceptionally nice when the sun is about to set. The skyscrapers around the vicinity further beautifies the area. You will be able to see two of the newest attractions in Singapore (Singapore Flyer and Marina Bay Sands) from the roof terrace.

Other facilities.

There is an outdoor theatre, a 1600-seat concert hall, a 2000-seat theatre, a recital studio and a theatre studio with excellent lighting, staging and sound systems. Orchestral and choral concerts, dance and musical performances, operas and dramas, film screenings and jazz concerts are hosted in these venues.

It costs about SGD $100 to $300 to watch these performances, depending on the seatings and the type of performances that you would like to watch.

You can find out more about these facilities or take a look at the images of them in this website (link).

Events.

Apart from having a wide variety or Art, the activities and events organised are multi-racial too. The highlights of every week will be different sometimes. For example, the last week of October will be a celebration of malay music, theatre and dance, while the last week of November will be a celebration of Indian festival or arts (Kalaa Utsavam).

There is also an event called "A date with friends" to pay tribute to senior citizens with good times and sentimental favourites. This brings out the unique characteristic of Singapore as a country with rich ethnic and cultural heritage.
            
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Esplanade is about 10 minutes walk from Singapore River. Singapore is usually associated with its fitting symbol, the Merlion (a half-fish, half-lion beast) which was created in 1964. At Singapore River, there is a huge statue of the Merlion, which is one of the popular attractions in Singapore.

Please take a look at the video below, which displays the photos taken at Esplanade.



Esplanade is indeed a place worth visiting! Stay tuned for our next post! :)


Reference Links:

http://www.esplanade.com/index.jsp

Culture - Singlish.

As a multi racial country, one of the most remarkable aspects of Singapore is the truly cosmopolitan nature of her population, a natural result of the country’s geographical position and commercial success.

The proportion of different races in Singapore can be seen in the pie chart below.

The four official languages in Singapore are Mandarin, Malay, Tamil and English.

If you're wondering which language you have to use, in order to converse with people from the different races in Singapore, please do not worry. English is the most common language that is spoken in Singapore, English also unites the different ethnic groups. Therefore, it will not be that difficult to communicate with singaporeans after all!

However, foreigners may encounter language problems in the beginning of their stay in Singapore. The presence of other languages (especially various varieties of Malay and of Chinese) has influenced the English of Singapore. The influence is especially apparent in the kind of English that is used informally, which is popularly called Singlish. Singlish is used vastly everyday, espcially in informal communication.

Well, what is Singlish?

Singlish is a mix of English with other languages (especially malay and hokkien) mixed into the English, sometimes phrases can end with funny terms like 'lah', 'leh', 'mah'.

Singlish is a badge of identity for many Singaporeans. However, the usage of Singlish has caused some of the Singaporeans to be less aware of the importance of speaking or writing proper english.

Here are a few examples of Singlish phases/words that are used commonly in Singapore.

Examples:

• Makan - To eat.
• Chope - To reserve something.
• Cheem - Difficult, complicated.
• Ang Mo - A white person.
• Rojak - Mixed, a mix of.
• Liao - Finished, the end.
• Kiasu - Afraid to lose mentality.
• Habis - Finished.
• Obiang - Outdated/Ugly.
• Shiok - Fantastic.
• Pai Seh - Embarrassed/Shy.
• Sekali - Suddenly.

Speakers of Singlish will usually end his sentence with a distinctive exclamation. The three most common are ah, lah, leh and what.

Examples:

• Ok lah, bye bye.
• Don't like that lah.
• You are going there ah?
• No parking lots here, what.
• The price is too high for me lah.
• And then how many rooms ah?
• It is very troublesome leh.
• Don't be like that leh!
• I'm not at home lah. That's why ah.

Here is one more example (a phone call).

Proper english: Hello. I have already eaten in school, so you don't have to buy dinner for me. I will reach home slightly late as i am doing my project in school now. I will call you again when i leave the school. Thanks and goodbye.

Singlish: Eh, i ate in school liao. So don't but dinner for me ah. I will reach home a bit late. I'm doing my project in school now leh. I call you again later, when i leave the school lah. Okay, thanks ah. Byebye.

It seems complicating, doesn't it? But all it takes is time. After visiting or staying in Singapore for a couple of weeks, Singlish will not be so foreign to you anymore. You will eventually get used to it, and you may even find yourself speaking Singlish occasionally too!

Here is a video of a conversation between a DJ from 98.7FM (radio station) and a caterer who speaks in fluent Singlish. Please enjoy! (link)

The next post will be on Esplanade, a place of the Arts. Till then! (:



Reference Links:

http://www.yoursingapore.com/content/traveller/en/browse/aboutsingapore/people-lang-culture.html
http://www.singaporeexpats.com/about-singapore/culture-and-language.htm