In the words of writer Rod Mackenzie, "Singapore is undergoing a creative revolution."
I wholeheartedly agree.
Rod asserts, "This isn’t a country normally associated with sudden spontaneity or letting rip. Efficient, safe, clean, somewhat maiden-auntish and rule-bound -- these are the words people tend to use when describing this little diamond-shaped island."
However, in the three years Rod has lived here -- and most certainly in the 15+ years I have called it home -- Singapore has "undergone some significant changes. Glitzy Vegas-style casinos, groundbreaking modern architecture, Formula One races, cutting-edge arts festivals, pleasure gardens filled with 50-metre-tall neon-lit 'Supertrees' -- it’s all getting louder, brighter and much more interesting."
Land Rover recently commissioned Rod, myself and my friend and frequent creative collaborator, Mike Rogers, to document Singapore's transformation for their multi-award-winning travel and lifestyle magazine, OneLife.
So, for four days this past August, we traversed our tiny island home in a beautiful, brand new Range Rover Sport,
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meeting a handful of entrepreneurs who are "rewriting the rulebook and fueling the economic future" of Singapore.
We interviewed and photographed a total of five independent business people who have chosen not only to make Singapore their personal home, but also the place where they chase their professional dreams: Ryan Lee, CEO of X-mini capsule speakers for mobile phones, Mp3 players, tablets and laptops; Lisa Crosswhite, founder of Gnossem, an online retailed dedicated to independent Asian fashion designers; Lawrence Koh, founder of iFly Singapore, Asia's only indoor skydiving wind tunnel; Violet Lim, chief executive of Lunch Actually, a dating agency that connects busy professionals in over lunch; and Loh Lik Peng, the hotelier behind Singapore's boutique properties New Majestic Hotel, Hotel 1929 and Wanderlust.
It was a unique way to observe Singapore -- through the windscreen of a Land Rover. It was also an interesting way to learn more about Singapore -- through the eyes of these successful, creative entrepreneurs.
Watch Mike's short film about "Singapore's Creative Revolutionaries" here.
Browse more of my travel and lifestyle photography here.
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