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Feb 22, 2009

2nd Shot: Istana Domain and Government House 1920

Istana Domain and Government House 1920

I had great fun during Istana Open House 2009. One of my activities was to capture the Second Shot above. As a first-time visitor to the Istana, I did not know the location, only that the Istana is in the background. Luckily my first Second Shot location was on top of a slope and I reckoned it is the same slope in the artefact from 1920 (above).

A Second Shot in the Istana is challenging. You battle it out with the terrain (due to my own ineptitude at navigation), the largely non-Singaporean crowd and of course …. the police. Check out the Istana map. The distinctive fork-road is visible on the centre of the map. To the south, where the photo was taken, the area is not accessible to the public. I was standing on forbidden ground.

Little wonder the man in blue kept on looking at my general direction. I must have looked behaved like a terrorist moving around the spot with a paper in hand trying to find the best position for a “shot”.

Second Shot location
Attracting attention from the police.

The continuous monitoring was making me uneasy. Besides, I was not supposed to be on publicly inaccessible ground. My next Second Shot target was thus dropped.

Government House 1900Source: National Archives of Singapore. I would have got this by moving to the left of my initial position. Of course, by this time, the men-in-blue would have pounced on me from all directions.

By the way, can anybody recognize whether the same tree is in my Second Shot? I am referring to both trees at the centre. I doubt they are even of the same species.

(Edit: There is something strange about my unattempted Second Shot target above. Can you spot it? Turns out I was wrong about the location, i.e. I wouldn't have got it even if I moved to the left of my initial position. Luckily I never tried - the men-in-blue would have still pounced on me, so much for risking my life to take an impossible Second Shot. Thanks to my friend Johnny for spotting it.)

11 comments:

Lam Chun See said...

As always, your meticulousness amazes me.

Victor said...

So the huge tree on the right of the 1st photo had been felled. What a waste!

Anonymous said...

There is mini golf course inside the Istana.

When we graduated from OCS Course, we held our ceremony and dinner in the Istana grounds. Still got the photo of posing in one of the buildings and the pool.

Azmee Mohamed said...

post abt the Open House trip! hahaha...

Lam Chun See said...

I too had my OCS commissioning ceremony there. But it was held at night. Next morning, we returned in our beautiful PT kit to clear the chairs etc.

Icemoon said...

Peter,
The mini golf course more suitable for putters than woods.

Victor,
If they don't fell the trees, the golf course would be more challenging.

Chun See,
The police must have thought so too, aha!

Celopz,
It's coming. :)

Peter/Chun See
How come got chocolate bar liao still need to do saikang? Bo kor leng leh!

Adelin said...

the tree in the middle has changed species.lol.

the tree on the mid right is still there!!


Nice pictures, and thanks for tolerating the risk!!!

alternatve said...

Dodging the authorities.

It helps if you have a clueless student look, complete with camera and notepad on a "study". Plus, be honest, open and friendly and most of them will let you pass.

Samuel

Icemoon said...

More trees ahead, Adelin.

Samuel, I think I operate like a ninja and a poor one at that. I was "caught" by security for trying to take pictures of the Jurong Railway during my sec? school days. Recently I was even caught by Campus Security in NUS.

alternatve said...

Haha, I've always have had a affinity with security guards. Why were you caught by campus security? Security in my polytechnic is almost non existent.

Icemoon said...

Samuel, I was caught trespassing. Ahem.