Fullerton Bay Hotel

Not to be confused with the Fullerton Hotel (which you can see in the background, on the right), this is a newer and smaller hotel. It's not as well known as some of the other luxury hotels, maybe because it is small and a bit hidden from the main road.

Opposite the hotel, across Marina Bay, is the Marina Bay Sands. A few hundred meters to the right is the Merlion, to the left is Shenton Way. You can see part of the old Clifford Pier on the right, the low building with the white arches.

Their website has lots of pretty pictures of the interior: http://www.fullertonbayhotel.com

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8.
• At 35mm, f2, 1/30 seconds, ISO 1600.
• Manual exposure, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Straighten.

Chai Chee Secondary School

This is an old school by Singapore standards, over 40 years old. What you see here is probably the auditorium. The classrooms are behind, you can see a bit of them on the left. 

School motto is, Challenged to Excel. Website is
http://www.chaicheesec.moe.edu.sg/

• Nikon D7000, 18-200mm f3.5-5.6.
• At 34mm, f8, 1/250 seconds, ISO 100.
• Manual exposure, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Auto contrast, crop, straighten, warmify, graduated tint fake blue sky.

Detective Agency Advertisement on Taxi Cab

Ummm, no comment.

• Nikon D7000, 18-200mm f3.5-5.6.
• At 75mm, f5.6, 1/750 seconds, ISO 400.
• Aperture priority, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Auto contrast, crop.

Kopi Tiam Food Court, Plaza by the Park

"Kopi tiam" is Chinese (Hokkien, I think) for coffee shop. This is a food court chain or franchise, called Kopi Tiam. A traditional coffee shop here is actually a mini food court.

"Kopi" is Malay for coffee (try asking for kopi in Hong Kong), so it's really a mix of Chinese and Malay. Lots of Malay words have slipped into the local dialects. Will probably confuse people from mainland China.

At center-left is a duck noodle stall called "Master Duck." Center right is the fruits stall (sometimes called "cut fruits"), which is part of the drinks stall on the right. Far left, near the door, is a Dim Sum stall. 

The walls are glass panels that are removed at about 9pm or 10pm, when the air-conditioning cuts out. This turns the whole place into an open-air restaurant. 

They usually have fierce "No Photography Allowed" signs inside, but my understanding is that photographing from outside is okay.

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8.
• At 35mm, f2.8, 1/60 seconds, ISO 400.
• Program exposure, auto ISO, center weighted metering, incandescent white balance.
• Picasa: Straighten, auto contrast, crop.

2012 update: The building is now called Manulife.

McDonald's Outdoor Booth, Shaw House

Also called Shaw Centre.

This is at the junction of Orchard and Scotts roads; opposite Tangs, Wheelock Place and ION. These outside booths aren't self-sufficient. The food is supplied by a regular McDonald's inside the building, with a kitchen and everything. There's an alfresco dining area on the left, with a hi-tech cantilevered tent roof and a raised wooden floor.

The "24" on the right means that this is a 24-hour branch. The T-shirt is advertising the new Mcdonald's Chicken McGrill. Haven't tried it yet.

I wasn't sneaky enough with the camera and the staff saw me photographing them. This is why you should try and hide the fact that you're taking a photograph - otherwise people will look at you and smile.

• Nikon D7000, 35mm f1.8.
• At 35mm, f2, 1/60 seconds, ISO 400.
• Aperture priority, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Straighten, auto contrast.

Clementi Mall

• Nikon D7000, 18-200mm f3.5-5.6.
• At 18mm, f4.8, 1/4000 seconds, ISO 400. Should have gone down to ISO 100, forgot to check the shutter speed.
• Aperture priority, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Crop, auto contrast, graduated tint fake purple sky.

This just opened, about half the shops are still under renovation. Not stopping the crowds, though. High rise apartments behind are connected to the mall. I tried to get to the top of the roof of the mall, where the orange disk is, but I couldn't find any access. Thought maybe there was a playground there. 

If I were a geek, I'd say that it looked like an R2D2 Cylon. But I'm not a geek.

Mall is built on top of what used to be the SBS bus interchange, if I remember correctly. Is now directly connected to the MRT via the existing covered pedestrian bridge. It's a great location.

The website is: http://www.theclementimall.com/ 

Old Shophouses Along Pagoda Street, Chinatown

•  Nikon D80, Sigma 20mm f1.8.
• At 20mm, f8, 1/30 seconds, ISO 100.
• Aperture priority, center weighted metering, auto white balance.
• Picasa: Auto contrast, fill light, warmify, graduated tint fake purple sky

This part of Chinatown is quite touristy and heavily renovated, but just walk down a bit and you can find some authentically run-down shops that cater to locals. The buildings that are not painted in bright colors, are the real thing. 

Escalator in the middle leads down to Chinatown MRT Station. Pagoda Street branches off from Eu Tong Sen Street, which is just behind the camera.

Tried a few different angles from left to right but the simple centered perspective here looks the best.