February | 2019 | Micro Four Thirds Site

I would call it the star event of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Singapore – the River Hongbao.

“River” because it’s by the Singapore River (more accurately at the Floating Platform), and “Hongbao” literally means “red packet” in Chinese, which is a red (auspicious) decorated envelope which Chinese people give to their kids or their parents/grandparents.

The main attraction are big lanterns and other structures with a Chinese theme which you can see in the photos below. In 2019, we’re also celebrating the bicentennial of Sir Stamford Raffles who is credited for founding Singapore after he arrived in 1819, so there’s a bicentennial theme as well.

Big structures which you want to get close so you don’t have too many people in your shot – you’ll want an ultra-wide lens. So I put my Panasonic Leica 8-18mm on my GX85 and headed out to picture the River Hongbao.

At the entrance, you’re welcomed by a huge dragon. Chinese love dragons cos they’re a symbol of protection and guidance. I took pictures both before and after sunset. Which do you like better?

In line with the bicentennial theme, there were quite a few displays of Singapore’s culture both past and present.

You’ll also see a lot of animal lanterns. These are the 12 animals which form the Chinese Zodiac. This year is the year of the pig, which explains which the pig lantern is the biggest this year.

There are some animals which are not part of the Chinese Zodiac.
– The word “fish” in Chinese also sounds like the word “abundance”, so fishes symbolize abundance.
– The lucky cat is more of a Japanese belief which has made its way all across Asia and beyond.
– Peacocks symbolize good fortune and well-being.

At the River Hongbao, there’s always a really tall structure of the God of Fortune. Gold flakes periodically are sprayed from the top of the structure, and people just like catching these gold flakes.

OK! So here’re some other shots I took at the River Hongbao:

See photos from 2020 here!

Panasonic GX85/GX80 ~US$490 / C$740 / £520

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Panasonic Leica 8-18mm f/2.8-4.0 ~US$1,050 / C$1,368 / £908

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Yes, my dear American friends. There’s a Coney Island in Singapore, and it was in fact named after the one in New York. But you won’t find any amusement park here cos the guy who intended to model it after the original Coney Island never got around to doing it, so it’s now a just a nature park.

Coney Island Singapore was only opened to the public in 2015. Singapore’s a small place, but it’s my first time visiting the place in 2019. Unsure of what photo opportunities I could get there, I brought my ultra zoom Panasonic 14-140mm lens so I could zoom in and out as necessary. This used to be my main travel lens because of the versatility of the zoom range, and it’s a sufficiently sharp lens.

I also brought my tele zoom in the Panasonic Leica 100-400mm, as my research showed that there were birds which you don’t find in the main island of Singapore, but I never got to see any of them and so didn’t get to use this lens.

I found Coney Island to be a very nice place for a leisurely stroll, with a nice long beach which is largely undisturbed. The flora in the inner part of the island were quite interesting as well.

So here’re the shots I got from my visit: