Photos by princess part of Thais Remember Singapore display

A three-day photo exhibition of Thais' fondest memories of Singapore, featuring some of the Republic's best-known icons, such as the Henderson Waves bridge and Marina Bay Sands, as well as smaller spaces, such as an underpass frequented by buskers, opened yesterday in Bangkok.

Among the photographs are two taken from rather more unusual vantages - one is of the rows and rows of bookshelves at the National Library, the other showing a close-up of a variety of cacti at Gardens by the Bay. These two were taken by Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during some of her frequent visits to Singapore.

The 60-year-old visited Singapore in January for a gathering of young scientists, and will return later this month to the Republic for a convention on rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology.

Yesterday, she opened the exhibition, titled Thais Remember Singapore, at Central World shopping centre. It is being held as part of the Singapore Festival to celebrate Singapore's 50th anniversary and the 50 years of Thai-Singapore bilateral relations.

Princess Sirindhorn, noted Singapore Ambassador to Thailand Chua Siew San, has had varied insight into different parts and places in Singapore, such as its healthcare system and institutes of technical education.

"We thought it was important to include her photographs," she said.

The Singapore Festival also features a cooking demonstration and fashion show, as well as booths offering special deals for travel to Singapore. It is organised by the Singapore Embassy, the Singapore Tourism Board and International Enterprise Singapore.

Yesterday, long queues snaked around the booths as Thai shoppers lined up for deals with airlines, such as Jetstar and Scoot, as well as tourist attractions, such as Sentosa.

One of the shoppers, Mr Supphasit Thanasuwanditee, 37, said he was planning a four-day holiday in Singapore. "In the past, Singapore was not really a place you would go for a holiday, as there was not really much to see," he said. "But now, it's all changed."

As part of the celebration of bilateral relations, there were, earlier this year, friendly football and tennis matches between the two countries, as well as a free screening of Singapore films Unlucky Plaza, Singapore Girl and Sayang Disayang.

Next month, Singapore and Thailand will jointly issue commemorative stamps.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on August 2, 2015.
Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.