On August 8th, a few days before my most recent trip, I was contacted by a member of Kingsmen Exhibits on behalf of the National Parks Board of Singapore to inform me that one of my photos had been selected as a feature photo in the new visitor’s center of the Jurong Lake Gardens. This was a complete surprise to me as I had not submitted the photo and it was selected from the Our Planet Images Website.

The photo that was selected is the lead photo in this post which was taken at the Mid-Autumn Festival at the Chinese Garden in Jurong Lake Garden on my 2007 visit to Singapore. The photo was enlarged to a floor to ceiling wall print that covers 3 walls and is being used to represent part of the history of the park.

Coincidentally, this past trip was a 47 day around the world trip that included a 5 day stop in Singapore. Unfortunately, I was scheduled to leave Singapore the day before the visitor’s center was opened to the public (September 8^th) but the Singapore National Parks Manager of the Jurong Lake Gardens Development was gracious to give me a private tour of the Chinese and Japanese gardens along with a private showing of the visitor’s center two days prior to the opening.

About Jurong Lake Gardens

Jurong Lake Gardens is a large public park (90 hectares, 222 acres) which is free for the public and is primarily used by Singapore residences. The park includes lakes, woodlands, grasslands and gardens with a variety of trails that let you see the different types of ecosystems.

The Chinese and Japanese Gardens include architecture and other features that add to the ambiance of the garden.

Naturally, the gardens has lots of plants, flowers and trees to enjoy and I have included a few photos as an example of the types of flora that can be seen in the gardens.

One of the goals of the gardens is to provide ecosystems for both resident and migratory wildlife making it a good place to see wildlife in Singapore. I took advantage of my opportunity of visit the gardens by spending a couple of extra hours looking for wildlife living in the park. During my short visit I was able to see the local Plantain Squirrel, the Southeast Asian Water Monitor and many of the local birds including a pair of the resident Oriental Pied Hornbills (last photo).

See the link below for more information about the Jurong Lake Garden

Jurong Lake Garden

The Dust on My Shoes

Photography has been a passion of mine from the time that I was able to buy my first camera. Everything in the world is amazing to me and capturing photographs of the places that I have visited and the wonderful sites that I have seen has not only given me a platform to remember those experiences but also to share them with other people that have similar interests. My primary motivation for my photography is my self-satisfaction that comes from taking nice photos but unexpectedly having one of my photos used in a public venue where countless people will be able to enjoy it gives me tremendous happiness.

I am very grateful that the Singapore National Parks Board selected one of my photos to be used at the Jurong Lake Gardens visitor center. My primary goal for the Our Planet Images Website is to highlight all of the good experiences that I have had during my travels so it makes me extremely excited to know that one of my photos is being used to enhance the experience of visitors at one of those places.

I started traveling internationally as a young adult and have been exploring this world for virtually my entire life. I learned early in my travels that there are many wonderful places to experience that are not world famous. Going to the Mid-Autumn festival at the Chinese Garden in Jurong Lake Gardens in 2007 was one of my most memorable experiences of my first visit to Singapore and I had not even hear about it before I arrived in Singapore.

My travels are a summation of experiences that include world famous places, local gems, seeing people in their everyday activities, learning about cultures, enjoying spectacular nature, observing wildlife in their environment and discovering totally unexpected places or events.

Singapore is one of the most exciting cities in the world with many world famous places to experience and it is one of my favorite places to visit. However, seeing one of my photos featured in a place that I hold with high regard will always be one of my most memorable travel experience.

Travel to experience the places or events that interests you the most but be open to the unexpected treasures that you may discover during your travels, it may surprise you where those experiences will lead you.

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