Vincent's Travel Journal

Updates

2011-12-27T18:40:00.000+08:00

I have published the final travel post for 2011.

Will thereafter look forward to welcoming 2012.

Happy New Year to everyone.

Johor Bahru Bliss [26/12 - 27/12]

2011-12-27T18:39:00.000+08:00

We were initially planning for a trip to Port Dickson over the post-Christmas holidays. As there were no available dates on our available date departure, we made a last minute decision on the 23rd December (Friday) for a short getaway in Johor Bahru.

After a quick search online on hotel availability, we decided on Bliss Boutique Hotel due to its unique designer elements. Coincidentally, my brother also mentioned about this hotel as it looks very colourful from the outside.

We rendezvous at Kranji MRT at 10.30am. We happen to board the same train again, as was a week ago when we were going to the Botanic Gardens. Thereafter it was a bus ride and two customs entry into Johor Bahru (JB).

From there we took a cab to KSL City. The meter fare normally cost around RM$5. If you were to go for the non-meter one, it will be RM$8. This is considered to be one of the newer shopping malls in the area.

Thereafter we proceeded to the regular Bak Kut Teh shop for lunch, which is just next to KSL City, directly opposite the KFC at KSL.

This time round we know how to place our orders. We ordered Pork Ribs, straw mushrooms, mushrooms, meat balls and beancurd skin. We have the shop assistant busy preparing the dishes below.

We also ordered 2 sides, the salted vegetables which is good. In all, lunch comes up to be RM$38 for 2 of us. (around S$16 for a great meal)

The plan for the day was movie - Mission Impossible 3 at 2.30pm. But before that, we decide to check-in first. Bliss Boutique Hotel is a 15mins walk from KSL City.

As you can see from the map below are the 4 main sights in the area. We have KSL City, the Bliss Boutique hotel and the Market where we will be having seafood dinner. The red line is where the Pasar Malam is held every Monday evening (from 5pm).

Here is how the hotel looks like during the day.

And we have the hotel at night.

Here is the uniquely designed lobby.

And walking into the passageway to where the elevator is.

Let's take a look at the Designer Deluxe Room. It cost S$71. But through Agoda, I managed to get some discounts and only paid S$38 for a night. The Deluxe Room is park-facing. So when we pull the curtain, we are greeted by greenery.

It is quite beautifully designed. This is the first boutique hotel we have stayed in so far.

While walking around our floor, we saw coloured balloons.

And here is our breakfast area. Free breakfast are provided.

After the movie, we decide to check out the Pasar Malam which starts at the back of KSL City.

We ordered Chee Cheong Fun below which is only RM$3.50. It has prawns, char siew in it.

AJ said the salt baked chicken below is also famous and we also ordered it.

The Pasar Malam stretches all the way until Grand Paragon Hotel. Check out the crowd below.

Something unique about the Pasar Malam as compared to Singapore's is that it has a fair mix of market fresh seafood, market cooked food and non-food accessories. We have a fish stall below.

And many brightly coloured cakes.

Thereafter we proceeded to Taman Sri Tebrau Hawkers Centre (大马花园小贩中心). Heard this is a popular place for Singaporeans and locals to have seafood.

We ordered Cheese Prawns (RM$20), Salted Egg Bittergourd (RM$10),...

and Butter Crayfish (RM$35). And of course fruit juices.

On the second day morning, we took a couple photo. Before we bid farewell to Bliss Boutique Hotel and proceed back to City Square, before returning back to Singapore.

Manila City Tour [20/11]

2011-11-26T23:36:00.000+08:00

It is a Sunday in Manila and it is our rest day for the business trip week here. As we heard it maybe unsafe to travel around via public transport in Manila, we signed up with a tour package of Manila with our hotel (New World Makati)

The tour package is around 4 hours long and cost 1,500 Pesos per person. We rendezvous with the tour guide at 9am at the hotel lobby. And off we go on his UV (Utility Vehicle).

First drive-thru for the day is the Makati Business District. The guide is very knowledgeable and gave an indepth explanation of the history of Makati. Previously this area is a swampland with many mosquitoes. After you get bitten by a mosquito, there will be an itch and this is called 'Makati' in Tagalog. Majority of the businesses and buildings in Makati are owned by the Filipino Chinese. Many decades ago, the main road was actually a runway. But rapid development in this area took place since the 80s to the present day bustling business district. It is a Sunday, so there is not much traffic in this area. Come during the weekdays and you will be surrounded by cars.

Thereafter we drive-thru the posh district of McKinley Road where the rich lives. There are tight security at different sections of this area with high-up walls. The guide told us this is the Beverly Hills of Manila. They have their own supermarket, own church and the Manila Polo Club for the residents of the area. The residence below is stayed by an ex-President of Philippines.

At the end of the road, we arrived at Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. The workers here are much fortunate as this area is US State Land and the locals are paid via the US payroll. It is a large area with lots of greenery.

The landscape are beautifully decorated with 17k tombstones around.

The first stop for the day is at the memorial. And here we begin our walk through the halls.

There are many maps explaining about the liberation of Philippines during WWII. The execution plans and supply routes are highlighted in great detail.

We walked through the many columns with the names of the Missing In Action (MIA) being engraved upon the pillars. The emblem of the different States of America are depicted at the passage floor. Some serviceman were discovered later and a star was placed next to their name.

The 17,206 tombstones that are all imported and symmetrically positioned.

Thereafter we have a drive thru the old US base and pass through the 3rd largest mall in Asia - The Mall of Asia. This mall is also owned by a rich Filipino Chinese.

And we have a quick stop at Rizal Park where his memorial is. There is perpetually 2 guards standing in front of the memorial. Rizal is regarded to be a national hero in Philippines.

It is at this park where Rizal is said to be executed by the Spanish.

After a brief stopover, we proceeded on to Intramuros. Intramuros is an old Spanish fortress. Only the Spanish are allowed in there and it is strongly fortified.

Here we are crossing over the bridge.

The guide mentioned this is a very beautifully designed gate and is a must take photo.

We visited the museum dedicated to Rizal. Rizal is a doctor of medicine, linguists and he wrote books exposing the abuse by the Spanish. The Spanish discovered and imprisoned him. He was finally executed after 2 months of imprisonment. The Filipinos has a disdained towards the Spanish as the centuries of occupy in Philippines, they have taught the locals nothing. But towards the Americans, they have a very cordial and close relationship. They learnt many from the Americans and twice they liberated them from the Spanish and the Japanese.

From the Fort, we can see the Pasig River and directly opposite we have the Chinatown (notice the Pagoda).

No cars are allowed in the fort as they want the area to be child-friendly. Below are the different ammunition used in the fort - stone to cannons.

Next, we move on to Manila Cathedral.

They have just finished their morning mass.

And also San Augustus Church.

Coincidentally, there seems to be some mass wedding procession going on.

And we are back at the hotel at 1.15pm. Our guide is Frank P. Arnone and he is actually half-Italian, half-Filipino. He's a fabulous tour guide. If you would be interested to contact him, do drop me a mail and I can pass his contact over.

Manila City Living [16/11 - 23/11]

2011-11-26T23:35:00.001+08:00

Our flight arrived at Manila International Airport at 6pm. Philippines time is the same as Singapore time. I will be staying at New World Makati for the next 7 nights. From the airport, it should be a short 20mins drive away to New World Makati. As it is the peak hour, the journey took 45mins instead.

Here is how the hotel lobby looks like. It's beautifully decorated.

Security is tight in both the hotel and the shopping malls in this area. Visitors have to pass through a metal detector gate and have their bags searched.

And here is how my hotel room looks like.

And the view of Manila Makati city center from the hotel. Makati is the business district of Manila.

I am quite impressed by the lighting control board they have next to my bed. I can just flip off the lights and control the air-condition in the room by just pressing the buttons in there.

Directly opposite New World Makati is the Greenbelt shopping malls. There are actually 5 buildings in Greenbelt and it has a great variety of restaurants and shopping facilities. We basically have all our meals here.

On the first night, we have Capricciosa for dinner. Heard from my fellow Japanese colleagues that this is a famous Japanese-Italian restaurant in Japan. The cost per person is around 500 pesos for a main + shared pizza, a bottomless drink and tax.

On the second night, we have Nambantei Yakitori. This is my favourite. So much so that I requested to have it again on the Saturday evening. The cost per person is around 700 pesos for a set meal + bottomless drink + taxes.

I saw my colleagues visiting this Filipino restaurant back in June. The name reminds me of a global association.

Since it is Kondo-san last night in Philippines, we ordered quite a bit. And took up the challenge of sampling their local fruit-mix soup.

Here is our group photo.

The hotel provides an international buffet and we have quite a good spread.

The hotel has good swimming facilities too.

My friend recommended me to try Jollibee. It is something like their local fast food - KFC.

And I tried their fried chicken set meal which comes up to around 100 pesos.

On Monday night, we had Thai food for dinner. There is a representation of the Buddha in there surrounded by Christmas decors.

And the final night, we are back to Filipino cuisine. My friend recommended Masas. So here we have giving a go for Masas.

Finally, we bid farewell to Philippines. The first sight we saw when we came to Philippines are the jeepneys below.

Before coming to the Philippines, we were actually quite afraid of the crime situation there. But this precaution was actually over-exaggerated. The locals are nice and friendly. My local colleague told us they are actually welcoming of foreigners and are happy to see them. The precautions to be taken is actually similar as how we should in other countries.

Golf Competition [12/11]

2011-11-12T23:20:00.002+08:00

Today is my first division golf competition. As the official start off time is 8.14am and we have to arrive at Starhill Golf Country Club at 7.20am, I rendezvous with my colleagues at 6am (at my house).

It is an hour ride north, pass the causeway, towards Starhill Golf. After we arrived at the country club, we begin with the registration process.

And we receive the scorecard below. This is considered to be one of the tougher course due to the long walking distance - around 6km in all.

The course is especially challenging, especially hole 16.

Here we are below where a pre-competition briefing is being conducted.

And the rest of us warming up for the game.

Everyone is getting ready for tee-off.

And one of the first few golfers going off.

The course is very beautiful as can be seen from the photo below.

Shah Alam [10/11 - 11/11]

2011-11-11T23:05:00.000+08:00

We arrived to Concorde Shah Alam on the midnight of 9th November, welcoming the start of the 10th November.

Here is how our hotel room looks like. The facilities are good with wireless room access. Nevertheless, the internet connection can be a bit unpredictable.

Breakfast is included and we have it buffet style. Here is my breakfast on the first day.

Directly from my window, I can see the blue mosque. It is an amazing sight and we pass through it daily on our way to work. The morning prayers start at 5.30am and I usually also wake up at the same time.

On the 10th evening, we decide to have our dinner at Sunway Pyramid Mall. Just next to the mall is the Sunway Lagoon Resort.

I walked to the entrance of the resort and is impressed by the night lightnings.

And made a walk back to the entrance of Sunway Pyramid which has a Sphinx. The shopping mall is large and it can take at least an hour for a quick walk through it.

In one of the afternoon, we had Bak Kut Teh lunch at Klang. There are actually 2 varieties: the dry and the soup type. It's simply amazing.

In the evening, we had dinner at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). I noticed an Old Town dining shop after the customs and knew that this will be the place. Besides the usual Kway Teow noodles, I also ordered Asam Laksa for my fellow colleagues to try. The Old Town white coffee is also pretty popular.

And off we go back to Singapore.

Bali Trips [28/08 - 31/08]

2011-09-04T22:34:00.004+08:00

The Bali adventure is a 4 days 3 nights trip and the information are distributed over 4 posts: Bali Elephant Safari, Bali Cycling, Bali Villa.

Itinerary for this trip are entirely planned by AJ. The trip is confirmed just 2.5 weeks before departure and we begin bookings for air tickets and accommodations. The trip coincides with the Singapore Presidential Election off day on the 29th August (Monday) and the Hari Raya public holiday on the 30th August (Tuesday). We took an additional day leave on the 31st August (Wednesday).

Let's get started on the adventure.

28th August (Sunday)

We rendezvous at the airport at 7.30am and check-in to Air Asia. We bought 20kg luggage check-in as well as in-flight meals for both journeys. The flight departs at 9.25am and arrived at Bali airport at 12.05pm (the 10min delay was caused by Changi airport congestion).

Once at the airport, we proceed to a counter which provide taxi service. The first stop of the day is the Elephant Safari Park in Taro (45mins north of Ubud). It cost 300,000 Indonesian rupiah for the journey. The prices are fixed and standard. And off we go.

While AJ is purchasing the taxi ride, I went to check out any SIM card which I can purchase. I shall share more on it below. The SIM card has been very useful in the next 4 days.

Once we depart from the airport, the traditional Bali architecture and style immediately comes alive around us. There are large prominent statues of heroes/gods at traffic junctions. One of them is below.

This post will continue with the Bali Elephant Safari.

29th August (Monday)

On Monday, we hired a driver/car for 10 hours for USD45. He picked us up from the Elephant Safari Park at 11am and the first stop of the day is the rice terrace view. These are carefully structured and cultivated rice terrace which we studied in geography books during secondary schools.

The vehicle is parked by the side of the road and there are plenty of shops around this area. There are also pavilions where visitors can sit back and appreciate the view.

After a short 20mins stop, we are on the way to Ubud. We have made reservation for a 1.5 hr spa with Verona Spa at 12pm. The Spa in Ubud is half the price at Seminyak. We arrived 15mins past our reservation time and we selected the Spa package accordingly.

I chose the traditional Balinese massage which cost 150,000 rupiah for 1.5 hours.

The room has a great view.

At 2pm, we proceed for lunch at Dewa Warung (recommended by Lonely Planet guide). They serves good Balinese Village Food, Indonesian Food and Chinese Food at an average price of 10,000 rupiah. The ambiance is fabulous.

We ordered Soto Ayam soup and it's great. The menu says no MSG is added to any of the dishes.

After lunch at 2.45pm, we proceed next to the Ubud market. We spent the next 45mins here. AJ has a list of the recommended prices of the items so we know how much we are supposed to bargain with the storekeepers.

We bought several paintings.

We also visited the Sukawati market. There are actually 2 markets in Sukawati. The driver suggested us to go to the less famous one and it is a good recommendation. Many of the stuffs being sold are significantly cheaper than Ubud market. If you would like to buy anything in Bali, we recommend visiting this market. Items sold in Kuta-Seminyak area are more expensive comparatively.

Next we proceed on to Tanah Lot to catch the sunset. Below is the scene at the temple with the human crowd.

To go up to Tanah Lot, you will have to cleanse yourself with the holy water. There is a long queue, so we decide to give it a skip.

We sat at one of the rocks and look at the beach.

For the evening, we will be spending a night at Amadea Resort at Seminyak. We checked in at 8pm and have to check out at 7am the next morning.

Here is how our room looks like. It's a normal hotel which cost $140 per night. They allow us to packet our breakfast the night before since we won't be able to have breakfast the next day.

31st August (Wednesday)

It is our last day in Bali and after we checked out at 11.30am, we took a cab to the Legian beach. And just laze at one of the beach benches.

It is popular with surfers.

And we took a walk along the beach.

Thereafter we did some shopping and walk around Discovery Mall. The Mall has A&W which we had for lunch (root beer float). We left at 2.50pm to collect our luggage and off we go to the airport.

Just to share on the SIM card which I have purchased. It cost 125,000 rupiah which includes the SIM card plus a 50,000 top up. It gives you many minutes of talk time and the data is more than sufficient for email, facebook and google maps. I used the mobile for contacting the hired driver and cycling coordinator. Most importantly, google maps are used several times to gauge the time needed to travel from one place to another as well as to provide guidance to drivers on the route to take.

We board the 5.40pm flight and off we go back to Singapore. I sat next to the window to take beautiful sunset shots below. We arrived back in Singapore at 8.20pm.

Bali Elephant Safari [28/8 - 29/8]

2011-09-04T22:33:00.003+08:00

After arriving in Bali, we proceeded directly to the Safari Park Lodge which is 1hr 30mins from the airport. The journey cost 300,000 rupiah.

While we are doing the check-in, we were given the welcome drink.

The guest itinerary are as follows:
FIRST DAY
2pm: Check-in the room
2.30pm: Walk around the park (no guide)
3.30pm: Watch the elephant talent show
6.30pm: Elephant will pick up from the room to show area
6.45pm: Watch the elephant talent show
7.25pm: Night Safari Ride (it is either the night or day one)
7.50pm: Dinner (to pay)

SECOND DAY
7am - 10am: Breakfast
8am: Elephant Bathing
9.30am - 10.30m: Pick up for day safari ride
11am: Watch the elephant talent show
12pm: Check-out

The staffs are friendly and nice. Past the entrance to the lodge, we have a swimming pool to chill off the hot afternoon sun.

We have the Park-view rooms with beautifully designed elephant themes. The main difference between the Padi view and Park view is that elephants can pick us up from our doorsteps.

According to AJ, a lot of thoughtful considerations have been made in the arrangement of the washroom.

They also have a specially draft welcome letter with my name on it.

And off we go to the Elephant show at 3.30pm.

The elephants sitting down.

Some elephants also know how to draw.

They have a scenic path from the entrance to the performance / restaurant area.

And many benches / beds to just relax.

Here we have a few elephants having their afternoon tea break in the park.

It is feed the elephant time!!

There is a nice Ivory Cafe which offer affordable meals. It closes at 5pm. We ordered burger, pizza and a few drinks for dinner just before it closes.

We walked to the Taro Village temple.

The beautiful paddy field just behind the park.

We took a stroll in the morning and observe the sun rising behind the mountain.

And down the paddy fields again.

There is a quiet-peaceful village around the area.

The sun rays warming the fields.

It is breakfast time.

A sumptuous breakfast.

The elephants are also having their breakfast.

It is time to help the elephants bathe.

And we begin our safari ride with the elephants coming to our doorstep to fetch us at 9.30am.

Our ride through the forest.

Elephants crossing, please wait for the elephants to cross first.

The elephants having a water break together.

And here we are below.

We strongly recommend visitors to stay at night at the Elephant Lodge if they are visiting the Elephant Park. They will have more opportunity to take a slow walk through the park and enjoy the tranquility of Taro. The paddy fields are also fabulous to visit in the morning around 6am plus.

Before we arrived to the Elephant Safari Park in the afternoon, there is a road toll which we have to 'donate'. We gave 10,000 rupiah.

Bali Cycling [30/8]

2011-09-04T22:32:00.008+08:00

On the 3rd day, we signed up with Bali Happy Bike Tour. Since we are departing from Seminyak, it cost 370,000 Indonesian rupiah per person.

The driver came to fetch us from Amadea resort at 7.25am and off we go for the cycling trip. Along the way, another 4 more people were picked up (2 from Sanur and 2 from Ubud). There are 6 people in all who participated in this trip.

Our first stop is actually a coffee plantation.

We have the famous Lemur coffee. The Lemur sleeps during the day as seen below. There are several coffee beans on the ground. It is said the Lemur coffee are the most premium coffee beans as it has been processed organically by the Lemur before human processing.

The guide is explaining to us on the different types of coffee.

And how we process them.

We were given a few coffee to sample. There is Ginseng coffee, chocolate coffee, normal coffee and so on.

And we ordered the Lemur coffee which cost 30,000 rupiah per cup.

There is a shop nearby which we can get many of the herbs and coffee powder. (Comparatively, we find the items in the shop to be more expensive than what you can get from Kuta or Ubud). Anyway, there is no obligation to get anything from the shop. It just happen to be there for us to get any snacks before heading back to the van.

It is breakfast time and we arrived at a highland area.

It has traditional Balinese design.

It has a very good highland feel to the place.

From our vintage point, we can see an active volcano, the mount G Batur. We heard that it erupted the last century. The volcanic rocks is the black portion just in front of the mountain.

And here we are getting ready for breakfast. (at 11am)

After breakfast, we traveled to the cycling start point. I choose the Polygon bicycle as I am more familiar with this brand.

The guide explaining to us on the use of the gears. The journey consist of 90% downhill and 10% uphill, so it's going to be easy.

We always have the van following us behind, so we can always break and stop anytime.

And off we go past the beautiful villages of Bali. I greatly enjoyed the journey a lot.

The villagers carry goods at the top of their head.

Well-cultivated rice fields. We have the guide explaining to us their tradition. Everyone will join in the planting and harvesting.

We had a temporary stop and the guide explain to us about Balinese culture. Bali main religion is Hinduism and it is based on the Indian caste system. There are also names being assigned to people from different caste and their order in the family. For example, 'Made' is normally used for the second daughter in the family and so on.

The locals are very friendly and always wave and say hi to us.

We were also given bananas to recharge our energy.

At one of the stop, we saw someone climbing up a coconut tree and throwing down coconut. No tools were used to climb up. We heard this is one of the traditional skill in Bali.

Certain parts of the road are quite bumpy, but for the most part, they are normal well-paved roads.

We are almost at the finishing point.

We cross over a dam. This dam supplies water to many of the cultivated fields.

It is lunch time and while walking towards the owner's villa, we came upon rice put out under the sun for drying.

Here is where we will dine. The plates are all beautifully laid out in front for us.

The guide explaining to us about Balinese food. My favorite is actually Gado Gado which is steamed vegetables. The vegetables are very fresh.

Here is our group photo. We have friends from Germany, Slovakia, Hungary and Australia.

My lunch. All the servings are great. (Anyway our lunch is at 3pm)

And plenty of fruits to go around. The one in orange is passion fruit and the other one is snakeskin fruit. These two fruits are quite unique and rarely found in Singapore.

This activity with Bali Happy Bike Tour is strongly recommended by me. It's a great opportunity to visit the off the beaten track and experience traditional Balinese cuisine with great guides.

Next is Bali Villa
BALI VILLA

Bali Villa [30/8 - 31/8]

2011-09-04T22:31:00.001+08:00

We will be staying at a luxurious villa in Bali during our final night. It is the Wolas Villa. It cost at least S$330 for the stay. This is one of the highly recommended villa online and is quite new, which is only 1.5 years old.

Here is the reception. We were given a welcome drink upon arrival.

I heard the flowers at the entrance are painstakingly decorated each day.

Walking into our villa from the main entrance. Just next to the entrance is the restaurant.

Pass the villa entrance, we are greeted by the splendid view.

Standing in front of our room, there is the outdoor area and the swimming pool.

At the outdoor living room, we have the television, dining area as well as the kitchen.

And here is how our room looks like. It is very spacious.

The bathing facilities. It consist of a shower room and a bath tub.

We ordered BBQ seafood which cost US$65. Here we have the chef specially preparing for us.

Yummy. Our dinner is almost ready.

It's quite well-done. The portions are perfect for dinner. Besides the below, we also have starters which is salad, BBQ fish and desserts.

Just before we get started on dinner. (We are a bit sun-burnt from the day of cycling)

The view of the villa during the day.

And our outdoor living room.

It is a splendid day to swim and relax next to the pool. Flowers are slowly dropping from the tree onto the benches, giving it a picturesque feel to the place.

We can also borrow DVD from the reception to watch on TV.

Just in case it rains, there is a sheltered pathway connecting the washroom to the outdoor living room.

Having fruits at the living room.

We noticed an interesting 'Do Not Disturb' sign made of wood.

Breakfast consist of a selection from International, Western or Indonesian. We opted for Indonesian and it is quite nice.

And I have recorded a video of it below.

Johore Durian Tour [29/05]

2011-06-05T13:42:00.000+08:00

There happened to be a deal.com tour package and my brother suggested that we can sign up for it. It cost $50 per person and we booked 2 months in advanced for the trip.

We rendezvous at Orchard Central Hotel at 6.15am and boarded the bus. There were some delays at the first gathering point. There were further delays at the second gathering point at Choa Chu Kang when there was some confusion with regards to which bus to board.

Finally, we departed at 7.30am, after an hour delay and proceeded to the Second Link. The Singapore customs proceeded on smoothly but there was quite a queue at the Johore customs. It appears they have implemented a biometric scanning, which explain the slow processing.

Our journey map is shown below. Actual journey time by car/bus is 2 hours from Singapore to this place call Tangkak (which is next to Melaka).

Here are the 2 buses.

And our tour guide which joined us from the Johore custom.

10mins from the custom, we had our first breakfast stop of the day at Gelang Patah. Heard the wanton noodles here is pretty good. I ordered Dim Sum to compliment the meal. After a short 30mins break, we are ready to resume the journey.

There is some changes to the original itinerary in which we went for the afternoon shopping stops and swap with the morning plan. Our first stop is close to Yong Peng where they kept honey bees. Here we have a sales person letting us have sample of the honey.

A close up look at the honey.

And the many hives scatter around the area.

Thereafter we went on to Yong Peng for some local produce shopping. This is a very common stop.

After another hour of journey, we arrived at a Tangkok durian plantation.

There are 5 baskets of durian for us to choose from. It's supposed to be a durian buffet but I guess it's just not enough for everybody.

Opening one of them, this is how it looks like.

They went to get more durians and return with a basket and here we have everyone rushing for it.

Around the plantations, there are many mini-durians lying around. This is one of them.

We had a few more afternoon shopping and dinner at Kulai. And it is back to Singapore.

Tanjong Pagar Railway Station [21/05]

2011-05-22T16:08:00.000+08:00

The idea to explore the Tanjong Pagar Train Station was first thought of 2 months back. At that time, AJ and I happened to be traveling past it. We have read the news that the train station will be returned to the Singapore government and redevelopment will thereafter be performed on it.

It's coincidental that a few weeks back, I was notified that PMB will be organising a tour this month to the Tanjong Pagar Train Station. So I signed up for it with AJ. The tour is 45mins long and there is administrative charges of $5.

We arrived at the gathering point 10mins before time and was pleasantly surprised to catch a few old friends. As can be seen from the photo below, we have Paul (as the tour guide) and Alphonse (standing to his right). I first met them 6 months back at the Indians in Chinatown tour and we were all participants back then. Fast forward 6 months, both of them are now tour guides with PMB. It is also Paul's first time conducting the tour.

We were given an introduction on the front facade of the building. Paul highlighted an interesting architectural design - the building is essentially mirrored after European design but it incorporates oriental elements via the roof tiles of the building. There are 4 alphabets written on the shields of the 4 pillars 'F', 'M', 'S', 'R' meaning Federated Malayan States Railway.

Walking in through the door arch which is splendidly carved.

And into the main building of the railway station. It is 72 feet high, giving a very spacious feel to the entire building. There are hotel accommodations in the railway station, which is still provided now. It is located at the 2nd floor and I heard it cost around RM15 a night.

Let's take a closer look at one of the murals. The below depicts the life in Malaya back in those days. We have villagers harvesting the coconuts.

And off to the railway platform.

John recommended the food stalls in this area, which is cheap and good. It is a pity that they will be gone after the Singapore government has taken over them. It will most probably be replaced by some expensive restaurants.

AJ was very enthusiastic to sign up as a volunteer guide with them. I myself is a freelance volunteer guide for friends, colleagues who come to Singapore from overseas.

Desaru [09/04 - 10/04]

2011-04-30T22:59:00.000+08:00

AJ and I were searching around Chinatown tour agencies for a good 2D1N or 3D2N tour package the week before on the 2nd April. She suggested that we can go for a fireflies tour around Pengarang. We first heard about the fireflies tour last year June when we were there for a Korean Zen retreat. I searched online for a good 2D1N package and found one organised by the Desaru Fruit Farm (www.desaruff.com) which comes at a promotional package of $426 for 2 people. I made a call to them and the service by them were very good. On the 4th April (Monday), I went down to register for the package. The entire meals, accommodations, transport and sight visits are all covered in the package. It's alright if we don't bring any money along.

The day before departure, I got a call from them as a reminder for the trip. We are to arrive at the Changi Ferry Terminal at 9.30am for the check-in. There are no public transport to the Changi Ferry Terminal and the only accessible way is via taxi. I guess ferries departing from the Changi Ferry Terminal only go to Desaru as the moment I mentioned the place, the taxi driver say 'You are going to Desaru?'. The return trip to Tg Belungkor terminal per person is S$32 and the departure time is as follows (Singapore to Tg. Belungkor 10.30am or 5.30pm / Tg. Belungkor to Singapore 8.30am or 3.30pm).

We got there an hour early and began walking around the Changi beach. Here is AJ and me waiting at the terminal.

At around 10.10am, the custom is opened and we are allowed in. Shortly after, we board the ferry. I heard that this ferry can accommodate up to 100 people. There are 2 levels to it. The top level which is outdoor can sit up to 20 people, while the lower which is air-conditioned can sit up to 80 people (I guess).

We arrived at Tg. Belungkor within 30mins. Like Pengarang, this is a quiet ferry terminal. We zoomed past the custom and met up with our tour guide. There is another couple who is on a 3D2N package for this trip. Total there are 4 of us. ^_^

The guide asked us would we like to have our seafood lunch or visit the Ostrich Farm first. It is 11.15am and we agreed it's time for lunch. Seafood lunch is 30mins away and when we arrived, it's just nice for lunch. Besides the dishes shown below, they also served crayfish and salted egg crab. Yummy...

Next we visit the Ostrich Farm. A senior which has been working in the farm for more than 10 years explained to us the behaviour of ostriches. It is very interesting and one special note is that a male ostrich can have up to 5 female partners and the female ostrich can lay an egg every 2-3 days. The eggs are big as seen from the picture below.

It's feeding time and all the ostriches have a sumptuous meal. They are normally kept for 18 months before it's being sold... When the farm assistant walk into the cage, the ostriches ran away. According to the senior, the ostriches are shy animals.

On display are beautifully calligraphic lamps made of ostrich eggs.

There are local specialties for visitors to try.

Next, we move on to the Fruit Farm and we have our guide below explaining to us the origin and nutritious value of fruits.

We have the sweet jackfruit. The jackfruit is covered by paper to protect it from sunlight. Some are meant to be protected from wild boar.

There is this walkway full of fruit plants.

This is a long banana seed.

At the halfway walking route, we took a break and have some fruit juice. There is a large pond with lots of koi in it.

There is a mini-farm just before the exit.

I noticed the rabbits are placed at a tall table. Visitors can play with the rabbits. And I guess the rabbits will not jump down as it is quite high above the ground.

It is a Saturday and I noticed it's Off Days for some of them.

Back to the Fruit Farm shop, the tour guide introduced to us honey. Some of them have Tongkat Ali in them.

Thereafter, we proceeded on to Desaru and check-in to the Lotus resort.

AJ say the Lotus resort feels a bit like HDB.

It definitely does feel like one.

Let's take a peek in our rooms. It is 2 storey high. We have the first floor here which is the living room.

And the second floor with the master bed and bath/shower room.

From the second floor, we can actually glance down on the sofa and TV.

We only have 30mins to rest and rendezvous with the tour guide at 5.15pm. It is dinner time. There will be free flow of fruits. Check out the fruits galore below!

AJ and me sampling lemonade.

With lots of BBQ (chicken, beef, seafood, etc). We noticed our tour guide preparing BBQ squid. I guess this is his part-time work.

At night, we will be having a fire flies cruise. As it is dark at night, there is nothing much a camera can do. Basically we board the cruise at 8pm and made a 30mins ride around the river to look at trees sparkle. As the captain said, it's an all natural christmas tree, no need to wait until christmas.

While waiting for the river cruise, there is this cute monkey which is very friendly to people.

The next morning, we had a big buffet spread in the resort.

I had something simple.

There is a slight drizzle in the morning. Here is the beautiful Desaru beach.

There are many beach chairs for people to rest and enjoy the sea breeze. We have AJ meditating on one of the bench.

The swimming pool.

We met up with our guide at 12.15pm and checkout from our resort. It is lunch back at the Fruit Farm which is 5mins drive away. The portions are huge. I think it's too much for 4 of us to take in the table full of food and fruits. The guide told us our package are the luxury-class as compared to the normal day trips one.

There is a cat that keep walking around us while we are having our meals.

We did a bit of shopping and proceeded back to the Ferry Terminal.

Pengarang Korean Zen Retreat 2 [21/04 - 25/04]

2011-04-25T18:02:00.000+08:00

I'm in the midst of a job transition and what better way to use the free time than to go for a retreat. Coincidentally during the few days, there is a Korean Zen Retreat organised by Kwan Im Zen Centre. I went for a similar retreat last year May and here I am at it again.

I rendezvous with the rest at 1.30pm at the Changi Point ferry terminal. And off we go on the bumboat again. It cost S$15 (original is S$10). The additional S$5 comes from the bumboat ferrying 8 people instead of the usual 12.

Thereafter we hop on the cab and arrive at the Pengarang Zen Centre. Here are my bowls and chopsticks.

The programme is pretty much the same as last year's.

And here I am back to the same male's quarters.

And where I will be spending the next 3 full days.

At the start of the retreat, there is a briefing to the guys.

And the ladies, conducted by a senior below.

During my morning and evening free time, I will be taking a walk on the stone path below.

While hanging around, I noticed flowers blooming in a small pond below.

I went back on the 25th April (Monday), leaving at 7.30am with a fellow friend. We took the ferry from Belungkor (refer to the post on Desaru) where it departs at 8.30am. The taxi ride cost RM$50 and the ferry another RM$45. And we arrived back in Singapore at 9am.

The retreat has been quite physically demanding with the 108 prostrations each morning. By the second day, most people can barely climb the stairs. Though by the 3rd day, our physique are getting used to it.

The main bugbear which everyone agrees to are the mosquitos. I have many bites and it's giving me the itch. Next time round, will need to bring along insect repellent or good anti-itch antidote.

Venerable Chi Boon is a great zen master and there is much to learn from him. From this retreat, I have reflected on many matters of life and it changed a few of my outlook.

Now back in Singapore, I'm fully charged and ready to take on my new role. ^_^

Comfort Driving Experience [11/07 - 07/02]

2011-02-17T19:34:00.001+08:00

On the 7th February 2011, I received my Class 3 Driving License. Without the patience and extensive experience of my instructors and the strong structured curriculum provided by ComfortDelgro Driving Centre over the last 7 months, I wouldn't have meet the requirements within the first attempt.

Getting Started

I took my Basic Theory back in 2003 with a friend. After not qualifying for the Final Theory back then, I took a break and went overseas for studies and work. As my work in 2009 requires a lot of commute around Singapore, I find a greater need to learn driving for the convenience. I finally resumed my driving course from the 11th July 2010. At the same time in July 2010, I passed my Final Theory (with lots of practices and help from FP on his revision materials)

ONE TEAM

A very good friend, YS, gave me advice on the course to enroll in the driving centre. I followed his advice accordingly and enrolled for the ONE TEAM Class 3 Driving Course. The advantage of the ONE TEAM is that you will have a dedicated group of instructors which will see you through your learning experience, and you will get back the same car every lesson (mine is car 163) and finally it's much easier making lessons booking.

I had 25 lessons in all (24 manual lessons, 1 auto lesson). Of the 25 lessons, 11 lessons are taught by the same instructor (Mr Ismadi), 4 lessons taught by another instructor (Alex Soh), while the remaining lessons are taught by different instructors.

LESSONS

I absolutely have no knowledge about the parts of the car and how it works before I joined the school. I'm not a car enthusiast myself. I studied the Basic and Advanced Theory and only got a brief memory note of what it is. The real knowledge comes in when I sat at the driver's seat and were directly taught the different controls and how to operate it.

There are 3 modules in all to the course. The first module includes Fundamental Training Circuit (you get to go out to the road after 3-5 lessons). The second module is on Progressive Training Road. The third module is on Progressive Training Circuit.

Once you get the hang of driving in the circuit, the instructor will direct you out for some real driving experience. Nothing beats actual driving on the road. There are a lot of things to keep a look out for which the instructor will time and again remind you. It includes:
- Traffic Lights (green may transit to amber)
- Parked Stationary vehicles
- Pedestrian crossing (and sometimes dashing out)
and many more.

There are many outdoor routes which we will be directed to. Some of the more scenic route is along Bedok Reservoir Road (below).

There is this section along Tampines Industrial Ave which I find to be nice driving spot. A lot of heavy vehicles are parked along this area but it's a quiet place with little traffic. I had my pre-drive check here where we stopped for 15mins. I remembered the weather then was splendid. It's truly a beautiful place.

One of the more challenging area is Ubi Rd 4. It's a narrow 2-way road with lots of obstructions. My test actually went through this road. There is a vehicle travelling in the opposite lane during the test and I stopped to let it past before going through.

SAFETY AND LESSONS FOR LIFE

Time and again, the word 'Safety' is being emphasized to me. It has been deeply ingrained into me throughout the 25 lessons.

Driving on the road is actually quite dangerous if you are not mindful. It's quite dangerous to drive if you are day-dreaming (thinking of something else) while the vehicle is moving, talking on the phone, being intoxicated by alcohol or drugs. It's best to drive with an alert mind and your senses up and around. You never know when something might just dash into your path like a Resident Evil movie.

Some of the common dangers which you should keep a lookout for when driving are:
- Jaywalkers (esp foreign workers who might just dash or ride a bicycle anywhere)
- Taxi drivers (they are the king of the roads. respect them. their rice bowl also depend on it)

Visibility are reduce when:
- Night (If someone just dash onto the road which is badly lit, you gonna hit the brakes real fast)
- Raining during day (With the mirrors and windows around full of little cute beads, you will see your surroundings in multiple small images)
- Raining at night (Basically you may not know what's coming from behind, except for spots of spooky looking lights. Important to drive slow in this environment)

I have experienced all of the above environment throughout the lessons. and have learned to appreciate the challenges face by drivers in different circumstances.

I still remembered one of the lesson with Mr Ismadi, while I was making a left turn into Kaki Bukit at night, I noticed the pedestrian way is clear and was above to turn. He said stop cause there is someone cycling in the darkness towards the road. Though the pedestrian light is red, but he continue cycling straight. Then he told me, "See. If you are pedestrian and you see the green light is blinking or it is red, do you also run across?" I fully agree with him. As a pedestrian, sometimes I will just run across the road but to the motorist, it is especially dangerous for him as he may perceive it to be cleared. From this and many other experiences, I have actually learned to be a more responsible pedestrian. I started to check my blind spot when I'm crossing the road, just in case a car just turn without noticing me. And also to give way to cars who have the right of way.

TEST

It's my first time taking the test on the 7th February. The school signed up for a warm-up lesson just before the test. There is a waiting room in the Admin Centre where I have to give my driving booklet and IC. An instructor then accompany me to drive around the circuit and on the road. The warm-up is around 30mins long. The warm-up is smooth without any problems. I'm driving a different manual car for the first time and find the clutch and accelerator to be quite responsive. I asked the instructor about it and found out this is actually quite a new car.

Thereafter I started waiting at another room for the Tester to call me for the test. The Tester is very strict and serious. In all, I repeated the performance I had previously. One thing to note, as the warm-up and test is continuous for all the stations, there is no chance to rest at all in between the stations as during the lessons. Normally I get to handbrake and rest while queuing up. But 1 hour of non-stop clutch, breaking and accelerating really need physical endurance. After returning to the centre, I accompanied the tester up and he congratulate me that I have pass. I realized the great responsibilities the Traffic Police testers face each day. Each of the candidates they pass, they have to bear the responsibilities that the candidates will drive safely on the road. With increasing traffic accidents over the last few months, ensuring candidates meet the most stringent standards is their topmost priority. Dicing with death is no laughing matter, and that explains their seriousness and strictness.

After the test, we were directed to watch a 10mins long video and marketed on some insurance. Personally, I feel the school should encourage us to sign up for the Refresher course instead of buying insurance (I have feedbacked to them on it).

WHAT'S NEXT

I have no plans on getting a car in the immediate future. But I may sign up for the Refresher course. There is still much to learn.

Open House [16/01]

2011-01-17T22:15:00.003+08:00

I first heard about Open House last year when they held it at Niven Road and had been a fan of it ever since. It's a pleasant surprise when they are holding it at Marine Parade this time round.

When we arrived at 3.55pm, we saw two long queues - one snaking out from a counter which is selling tickets and another by the side. We just joined in the queue which stretches all the way to the Marine Parade library entrance. Halfway through the queue, we found that the other queue are people queuing up for departure. Buying the tickets took me 40mins in all. AJ joined in the other queue and I managed to get the tickets just in time for the departure.

There were 15 participants in each group and the departure is spaced at 7-8 minutes interval. This event actually span two weekends as seen from the sign below.

The best part of the Open House is that it's held at Marine Parade. It's the place where I call home for the last 30 years. We will be visiting 4 blocks (5 houses in all). Thereafter we have to match the home owners to the cartoon figures at the bottom.

The tickets cost $10 each. Purchasing the tickets is a rather slow process as everyone have to fill in their particulars (Name, NRIC, Contact).

There is a free OH bandung gelato if we purchase from a regular gelato from the Marine Parade CC. And here we go, below is our tour guide. We departed at 5pm and she will be with us for the next 2 hours. She gave an introduction to Marine Parade at the middle of the overhead bridge which join between Marine Drive and Marine Crescent.

All the rest of the participants standing by the side listening to her introduction.

Below is an anchor. I have been walking by this sculpture for the last 5 years (or maybe more) everyday but I didn't know what it is. The anchor means the ships that are parked by the sea. I only know of Tao Nan school kids playing around this sculpture after school.

Marine Parade is a windy town. During the rainy period of December - January, this place is pretty cold. She mentioned about dolphins and I'm quite surprised to hear that there are actually dolphins at East Coast Park in the 1950s. But they most probably got 'eliminated' once Singapore start industrializing.

We arrived at the first block (Blk 32) and newspaper cuttings greeted us once we left the lift landing.

The two houses are next to one another.

The first house to the left have many images of East Coast back in the olden days, as well as photos of dolphins.

The second house owner is more into new age, yoga stuff. Here is a mini multi-religious altar.

The shroud to the right is special in that if you look through the holes at different angles, you will see different sights.

The dining table is very well designed.

Paintings line up the wall.

This room is also the owner's meditation room. It has a perfect mirror image and it feels like the ceiling is the floor as shoes are placed up on it.

We walked to the next block 58 and this is where the famous tape drawings are.

From a certain perspective, the images look 3D.

The next house is actually owned by a couple. The entrance looks very beautiful.

They were planning to publicise the event by placing the shirts outside the house, but no banners are allowed from HDB estates. So here they are indoors.

There are many blogs on the Open House 2011 at Marine Parade which gives more in-depth description of the art pieces. I do not know much about them but it looks good. Below are many houses with tree in it. That just reminded me of a photo I took recently for work which has a mini-tree in a crystal.

The owners are very nice and treated us to some snacks. On the walls are also some personal collections.

The second last house is at Blk 54. In there, one of the artist is explaining to us the exhibits.

The interior design is very beautiful.

The below showcase earthquake as experienced by residents in Marine Parade. I do feel tremors in Marine Parade. Think the buildings rock and roll more.

The owner, though working in the healthcare industry, is an avid artist. Below are her tools.

The final house is at Blk 5. I have blocked out their address for privacy reasons.

She has a beautiful dog. There is this white shroud in the house where people can take a peek through it.

Let's take a look at one of them.

The Open House at Marine Parade is a fascinating concept. I really found out a lot about Marine Parade history through this tour. I'm living at Blk 18, just next to the underpass. ^_^ Along the way, I also caught a few friends, FYL and TK.

The organisers have done a great job and I'm definitely very supportive of the local artists. Many of the guides and people involved in the event are volunteers.

Dharma Drum Youth Retreat [24/12 - 27/12]

2010-12-27T20:32:00.011+08:00

Introduction

Dharma Drum is having their 4 days 3 nights (Chan San - 法鼓山禅三) retreat again this year. As compared to the previous one, this time round it's over the Christmas holidays instead of the New Year's holidays. Time really flies and one year has past. To take a look at last year's retreat, click here.

The main differences to last year's one is that it is held at Jiu Hua Shan Bao En Si (九花山报恩寺). Secondly, this retreat is especially catered to youths aged 18 to 35 years of age. There are also substantial differences to the timetable, which will be shared further down. Lastly, participants wake at 5.30am instead of 5am.

The retreat application was opened in early-November. It took me a while to sign up for it as I was still considering over my schedule in December. Finally once my Christmas schedule looks accommodating, and after consulting AJ and discussing with DK about it, I submitted the application.

I remembered going for Dharma Drum retreat for the first time last year and heard Hao Jie chatting with Zhi Hao that it's a once a year reunion for everybody. It is very true indeed! Except Zhi Hao is preparing for his wedding this time round, Hao Jie is one of the retreat helper. hmm... (will I be a helper next year?) I also caught a few familiar faces at the retreat. I was pretty late this year as I have a few appointments before the retreat and only got there at 3pm. Just in time for it!

Jiu Hua Shan Bao En Si (九花山报恩寺)

I quite literally ran towards the temple. Luckily I'm not the last one to arrive, I noticed there are 3 others behind me. phew. Here is Bao En Si.

This place holds a special place in my heart. I first came here in 2003 and had my nusbs mc term-end retreat at the older temple (before it is upgraded and rebuilt). The caretaker of the temple is Mr Lee and from him we had heard a great deal of history about the temple and the vicinity around it. The last time I visited the temple was about 2 years back and can be found here. I will share more about the history of the temple and the vicinity if the opportunity arises.

The view from the temple is fabulous. To one side we have the view of West Coast.

And the other side we have Kent Ridge Park and Bukit Chandu. All surrounding the temple are landed houses. This place is very quiet and peaceful; a great place to hold a retreat. The facilities are new and in abundance. There is not a need to queue for shower-rooms.

Here is the corridor directly outside the guys dormitory.

Notice the different shades of brown as cast upon by the afternoon sun.

Retreat Activities

Let's get into the retreat!

The main difference is that there is very much less meditation sitting as compared to the previous one. There is a special outdoor activity on the Sunday morning call 户外禅. And notice on the 3rd day evening, there is a 月光禅.

On certain days, there are duties to be performed by the retreat participants. All participants did at most 2 duties. I am M15, so I'm in charge of cleaning the dining area after breakfast.

Another notable characteristic is that all participants have to observe noble silence.

Here is where we have most of the activities during the day, the meditation hall. The activities are not all meditation sitting. It is spread equally with yoga exercises (sitting yoga and standing yoga), prostration and walking meditation. A single activity is at most 30 minutes long. Nevertheless, as everyone is too used to sitting on a chair, there is some getting used to sitting on the floor.

Besides Breathe, Hua Tuo and Mo Zhao method (refer to the previous blog entry), we also learnt the Yue Guang (月光禅) method on the last day. This is similar to Tibetan methods of visualization. The purpose of these different methods is to help us reduce wandering thoughts and to achieve a calm abiding mind.

Here are some of the common instruments used to signal the transition of activities.

Below we have Venerable Chang Yuan (常願法师) sharing with us his experiences. The other teacher is Venerable Guo Qi (果祺法师).

Each morning and evening, we have prayers and dedication session. Let's take a peek at the prayer book below.

We have breakfast at 7am, lunch at 11.30am and dinner at 5.30pm. All our meals are at the dining hall below.

The meals served are buffet style and I believe everyone enjoy the meals. During the sharing session, everyone complimented on it.

If in between meals, participants would still want a quick snack, there is a refreshment area which is fully loaded up all the time.

Below is how the male dormitory looks like.

Outdoor Activity (户外禅)

Venerable Guo Qi mentioned this activity is more like an excursion outdoors and having fun. It's my first time participating in it, so I'm also quite curious what's coming up. We departed at 8am towards Kent Ridge Park. It is a 10-15mins walk through the quiet private estate and uphill.

And we arrived at Vista Park Open Space. Here is where we have an outdoor gaming activity.

This game is based on a story during the Buddha's time. It goes like this: there was a Bhikkhu that had been receiving offerings from a King for many years. One day, the King told to the Bhikkhu that he is not an accomplished monk and will behead him if he fail a challenge. The challenge is to carry a bowl fill with oil and to walk from the palace to the city gates. If he were to drop a single drop of oil, he will be beheaded. Mindfully, he walked from the palace to the gates, ignoring all the distractions and people around. When he finally approached towards the gates, the king was waiting for him at the entrance. The Bhikkhu saw him and immediately threw the bowl of oil away and said he is not afraid of death. The king was impressed and made offering to him. It was during the period when he was walking out, the Bhikkhu achieved enlightenment and no longer fear death.

The game we are going to play is similar to the above and everyone of us have to carry a bowl full of water. We are split into 4 groups.

Here is my bowl.

The game is not as simple as it seems. The retreat assistants are the game masters and as we approach them, we have to performed a few actions as accordingly the instructions written on the cards. The most challenging is hopping with one foot off the ground and the second one is the rope skipping obstacle. To find out more about the games, please take a look at the video towards the end of this post.

For this, we have to walk under the rope with the head facing up.

During the final day group sharing, one of my group member shared about ant(s) climbing up his pants and while he has to hold on to the bowl. It sounds pretty funny. He managed to overcome this 'obstacle' by asking the retreat assistant to hold his bowl, while he search for the culprit.

We continued our walk after the game towards the peak of Kent Ridge park.

Here is the top most point of Kent Ridge park.

The view is breath-taking.

We took a 30mins break here and did meditation. While I was sitting silently and cheerfully observing the peacefulness, a park visitor is quite fascinated by it and approached me asking me what activity are we involved in. As I am observing noble silence, one of the Dharma Drum staff, Norman, who happened to be standing nearby explained to him the activities.

The teacher and the disciple in silent contemplation.

We continued our walk through the treetop canopy.

And down the winding paths. I remembered 2 years back, visitors can just bash down the paths. Now everyone is compelled to take the turns.

Here we are walking towards Hort Park.

After reaching Hort Centre, we made our way back to the peak and had our packet lunch (bento) at the peak.

To have a feel on how far we have walked, I have drawn a map below based on memory. Click on it for a larger size. (1) Walk from temple towards Vista Park Open Space where we have our games. (2) Walk towards the peak of Kent Ridge Park and have a relaxing meditation there + lunch. (3) Walk towards Hort Culture. Thereafter walk back again towards the temple.

I also share with you some rare photos. Below is a photo taken at night. The colour of the pagoda changes every few minutes. The most beautiful image is when it is illuminated in yellow-red.

Below is a picture capture from the base of the pagoda.

On the final day morning, we have a group sharing. The 40 participants are split into 5 different groups. Below we have Group 1 giving the first sharing. Overall, everyone have lots of fun and many happy memories and moments to share.

A few of the girls in my group mentioned they celebrated their birthdays in the retreat. One of them suggested that next time we can have a pubbing-meditation or clubbing-zen.

Here is our group photo. Click for a larger size image.

The blanket which we used for our meditation. The words in chinese means Dharma Drum Culture.

On the final day afternoon, we had bento lunch boxes again.

Before we left, they gave us each a goodie bag. Here are the things in the goodie bag. The IBM mouse is one of the gifts.

The retreat is very well-organised. Kudos to the organisers, venerables and retreat assistants. It is indeed a splendid time to take a good time rest away from urban lifestyle and have personal time to myself and natural surroundings.

Click the play button to view the 8 minutes video below.

Indians in Chinatown Walking Tour [11/12]

2010-12-12T07:54:00.002+08:00

I stumbled upon the Preservation of Monument Board (PMB) website and that they actually have November and December Holiday Walking Tours around places of interest in Singapore. The guided tour is free and it can be registered online. I managed to sign up for it online before registration is closed.

We rendezvous at the bus stop directly opposite the Sri Mariamman Temple at 2.45pm. The walking tour commenced at 3pm and we have our tour guide below. She is a volunteer tour guide with PMB and is from Switzerland. I am very impressed by the in-depth knowledge she has about the different religions, the history of Singapore and the story behind the places of interest.

We begin the first stop with the Jamae (Chulia) Mosque. Below, she is explaining to us how the Indians come to Chinatown. This area has been gazetted by the first resident Farquhar to be the Chinese area.

Thereafter the typical external design of a mosque is explained. The colour green is frequently used in Islam as it symbolises the oasis (in a desert). There are the two towers shown below and towers are also frequently used in the desert to direct people in different directions (similar to lighthouse of the seas). Then there is also the dome which is part of the architectural design. Domes have been in use since Roman times and is part of the architectural design from the Mediterranean region.

We crossed over the road (via traffic light) and arrived at Mosque Street. The name says it all, there is a mosque here.

There is this plaque next to the entrance of the mosque.

Footwear have to be removed and we entered the mosque. It is in stark contrast to the outside. The mosque is so quiet and peaceful. In the mosque, our guide explain to us the 5 pillars of Islam and also the different layout and design to this mosque. It feels very Zen-like.

Here are the different times.

The main prayer hall is shown below.

The mosque is actually very large. Though it looks small and narrow from the entrance, visitors can actually walk quite a distance in to a very quiet sanctuary part of the mosque.

After the visit to Jamae Mosque, we come to the Sri Mariamman Temple. The Chinese call this the Pagoda Street (as there is an Indian Pagoda). In constructing a temple, there is a need for fresh water. After searching around for a good spot, they finally decided on this place.

Indian temples normally taper towards the top as it will give visitors a sense that it goes high up into the sky.

Here we have the tour group looking up.

Footwear also have to be removed before entering. She told us to enter using the right foot as it is auspicious. A here is our guide explaining to us on how the temple is built. The temple has to be refurbished (re-consecrated) every 12 years. The design is shaped similar to a mandala and she show us a picture of a mandala. When entering an Indian temple, all our senses can be used to interact with the surroundings.

Thereafter she explained to us the paintings at the top of the temple. It shows the evolution, the different avatar of Vishnu. There is also the Buddha who is said to be an avatar of Vishnu. The animals we see in the paintings are also symbolic. Each element represent a psychological dynamic of the human mind.

We walked round the compound.

Here are the coconut offerings.

The Hindus also believe in the one God and that there are many different representation of the one God in order to relate closer to the people.

Here is the tour group again.

A tall pole which is used for ritual.

This temple is dedicated to Sri Mariamman.

Here we have a holy man getting ready for a ritual.

The tour ended at 4.15pm.

Adventures with AJ in Singapore 1

2010-11-07T18:45:00.009+08:00

This is the first of a series of posting on the adventures I have with AJ. These posts are dedicated to AJ and it serves as a journal of the happy moments we have together (when we look back at it in the future). There are quite a number of photos for this entry as it consists of the sights and fun we had the last 6 months. For the larger posts, I have published them on separate posts.

The first of which is the Zen retreat below:
29th May (Saturday) - 1st June 2010 (Tuesday) Zen Retreat

27th June 2010 (Sunday) - Indian Day

We met up at 11am and took a bus to Little India. After arriving, we begin checking out the cakes that is displayed prominently on a shelf. We ordered a couple of which and tried it out. We find the milk favour to be very strong. I managed to finish all of which (as I am a regular milk drinker).

Next we have lunch at the Lagnaa. It is an indian vegetarian restaurant and the unique feature is that guests have the option to take a seat on the floor at the 2nd storey. Here is how it looks like.

We ordered the standard set meal below.

Here is our group photo (do we look like brother and sister?)

After lunch, we begin our adventure of Little India. Our first stop is Sri Veerama Kaliamman Temple. Next we move on to Gholia's Village and we walked along Buffalo Road. On the way to the flea market at Pitt Street, we stumbled upon the Mjd Abdul Gafoor mosque. It is actually an indian muslim mosque (that explains the unique architecture).

All visitors have to be properly dressed. Here we have AJ dressed in their traditional muslim garb.

We walked further down to Sultan Mosque at Arab Street.

Finally we caught a hindi movie (Raajneeti) at 3.30pm, Bombay Talkies. It's an interesting movie on politics.

That's all for the Indian Day. We took a slow walk and round it up with dinner at Clarke Quay.

10th July 2010 (Saturday) - Sentosa and Universal Studios

AJ suggested visiting Sentosa and checking out the night opening at the Universal Studios. I met up with AJ at 3pm, Shenton Way. We alighted at the Beach Station and walked around the beach.

The tickets started selling from 6pm, so we got ready to queue up. Here we are at the entrance of the Universal Studios with the big globe at the background.

As it is the World Cup 2010 season, Resorts World Sentosa is having a series of performances celebrating the World Cup.

Here we have the 4 tickets (2 entrance, 2 movie tickets)

Yes! We are finally inside the Universal Studios. The last time I came, I was stuck outside (as they have not implemented the night visit at that time).

Here is the movie theatre. They are showing Hotel for Dogs.

The fireworks start at 9.50pm. Here it goes.

It's an amazing spectacle.

17th July 2010 (Saturday) - River Cruise and Night Museum

AJ managed to get 2 free tickets for the national day fireworks river cruise. There were fly-through by the Singapore air force. The river cruise departs from Clarke Quay.

Here is our group photo while on the cruise.

And the fireworks begin.

It's splendid!

We walked to the national museum to check out the Museum Night Festival. Here is the silhouette image in front of the museum.

In front of the National Arts Gallery, there is an innovative human-size SMS message. Anyone can text the number and the selected ones will appear.

7th August 2010 (Saturday) - Cooking Tempura

AJ put forward to me a challenge to cook tempura. I have attended cooking lessons before and cooked frequently when I was in Europe and Japan. As I have not cooked tempura before, I roughly checked out the ingredients for tempura and get ready on the Saturday morning. It is important to get the freshest ingredients for the day, so I made my way down to NTUC Fairprice at my side for some shopping.

There is a wide selection of mushrooms.

Here is my shopping basket.

I bought the tempura flour the week earlier from Meidi-ya in Liang Court.

I have to wash and cut the vegetables to smaller pieces before I can fry them.

The tempura flour is also to be well-mixed with water. And here we are ready to begin frying.

Thereafter placing the vegetables into the frying wok.

Golden crispy brown tempura. It taste really good. I finally understand why chefs do not take their own food (as they will have sampled too many of it).

I shared with my parents the tempura and brought it to Marina Bay Sands for AJ and her parents to try. "passed!!" ^_^

7th August 2010 (Friday)
AJ got free tickets to the YOG opening and here we go.
Youth Olympic Games Opening

7th (Friday) / 8th (Saturday) August 2010
AJ's parents got free stay at MBS, and I visited them for the 2 days.
Marina Bay Sands

The month of September is a month we spent on Buddhist talks and other light activities.

16th October 2010 (Saturday) - City Hall Open House

On this day, I read about the Supreme Court and City Hall Open House and asked AJ is she interested in checking it out. And off we go.

Here is one of the main courtroom in the Supreme Court.

This is the Law Library.

Here is the foundation stone. It is said a time capsule is kept in there and is to be kept until the year 3000.

Here is our group photo. AJ and Me~ ^_^

Bangalore 2 [23/09]

2010-10-09T08:41:00.006+08:00

We managed to have a short break on our last day our work which is before our departure at 11pm. So we decided to quickly check out the main sights for Bangalore as we do not know whether will we be returning back again.

I have drawn the map of the place and the sights we will be visiting (the map is courtesy of Google Map). Here are the main sights of interests:
1) Our Hotel (Hotel President)
2) King Asoka Pillar
3) Lalbagh Garden
4) Bull Temple
5) Tippu Sultan's Palace
6) Vidhana Soudha
7) Bangalore Palace

The path in red are completed by walking, while those in blue is by one of their local 3-wheels transport. Let's begin with the images below.

We left our hotel and started walking northwards.

One of the popular mode of public transport to the locals are the 3-wheels autorickshaw as shown below. When passengers board the vehicle, there will be a metre reading which it will follow by. But I have heard a fair bit of horror stories for foreign visitors where the driver will bring them in circles just to have the metre running.

There are plenty of cows going around. On the road it's man, machine and cows.

There are many hindu temples around and below is one of them.

We arrived at a roundabout where there is a King Asoka pillar in the middle. This pillar looks fairly new and I don't think it is 2,000 years old.

While walking along the perimeter of Lalbagh Garden, we came upon a vendor selling hammocks. Initially I thought anyone can just lie on it for an afternoon nap.

We arrived at the south gate of Lalbagh Garden. It cost 10 rupee to get in. The entrance to the north is the more official and larger one.

Here is me with a 'Use Me' tree stump.

There is this mini-hill with a structure (Kempegowda tower) on top.

At the center of the garden is the Glass House which is said to be modeled after London's Crystal Palace. The one in London has been destroyed by fire but this one still stands.

It is quite impressive as we take a close-up look.

Here is from another perspective.

There are many fountains in the garden...

Here is the Lalbagh lake. It is actually raised up on a hill, so we have to climb up a flight of stairs from the garden.

The garden also have many pavilions...

We are approaching the north entrance of the garden.

Here is the statue of the Maharaja (Great King).

While at the north entrance, we decided to grab some drinks from the nearby stall. A guy approached us asking whether are we interested to visit some sights around. He offered 250 rupees for the next few sights. We think why not, but let's go for lunch first. So here I am with the driver and his auto-rickshaw.

We requested him to bring us to MacDonalds for lunch. After many days of local cuisine, we miss fastfood and chinese food greatly.

The menu looks pretty much the same except for the 'Chicken Maharaja'

So I ordered it and here is how it looks like. It has a curry flavour to it.

The driver came back to fetch us and here we go to the Bull's Temple. It is said this temple is one of the oldest in the area and is a few hundred years old.

The temple.

Here is the bull with the priest next to it (collecting donations from tourist).

After I have donated, he placed his finger with some red powder on my forehead. Before I can stop him, he's done. Ok, so here i am with the red powder.

Next stop is Tippu's summer palace.

Tippu is one of the king of this region and is notable for his resistance against the British. He is a muslim and is also known as the Tiger of Mysore.

I guess here is where he spend his summer days. It's pretty cooling in here.

Tippu is known for his religious tolerance which explains the hindu temple nearby.

Here is our group photo, from left is Quah, me and our driver.

Next we travel pass the City Market. It is really a chaotic scene here with vehicles, people, cows coming in from all direction. There are also lots of construction debris and rubbish in this small area. It is an amazing sight.

The cows relaxing outside a shop.

The streets are extremely narrow. To drive in Bangalore, you will need very good spatial sense to survive. The vehicles pass by another another with barely an inch allowance.

We arrived at the parliament area. The below building is the Vikasa Soudha.

The next majestic building is the Vidhana Soudha. King Asoka's 4 lions in the 4 directions are is really breath-taking. May the Lion's roar (Buddha Dharma, the truth) goes in all directions.

The final stop of the day is Bangalore palace. Cameras are not allowed here unless we pay 500 rupee for a camera license. The entrance in is 350 rupee per person. We paid for it. It is said the Bangalore palace is mirrored after the Windsor palace.

Here is an upclose view of the palace.

There is an audio guide which comes along. We walked up a flight of stairs.

Here is the main hall where parties are hosted.

The many rooms in the internal quadrangle.

Paintings of gods and goddesses.

Walking through the corridor and reminiscing on how life is like a century before.

The architecture is quite unique which combines Indian elements with western design.

Thereafter we proceeded back to our hotel for the airport.

Bangalore 1 [20/09 - 22/09]

2010-09-23T00:30:00.000+08:00

20th Sept (Monday)

This is my first trip to India (albeit on a business trip). Managed to borrow a book from the library on it just before departure to find out more about Bangalore. It is located 900 metres above sea level and it is actually situated on a plateau. The weather is cooling and the people are fabulous. Bangalore is also known as the silicon valley of India. It is also known by its new name - Bangaluru

I departed on the evening of 19th Sept (Monday) from Singapore Changi airport. The aircraft seats are spacious. It is non-stop video on-demand thereafter and I managed to complete 2 movies (Airbender and X-Gen Cop) within the 4 hours flight time.

The hotel provided us with chauffeur service which brought us to the President Hotel at Bangalore. I heard it is within walking distance to our partner's office. We arrived at 11pm and checked in soon after. Here is how my room looks like.

The room from another perspective.

21st Sept (Tuesday)

My work table. India is 2.5 hours behind Singapore time, as such I was awake since 6am and started doing some work from my hotel room work table.

I received the morning India Times and was surprised to find an interesting gadget attached to the last page of the paper. The moment I flipped it open, it started talking. There is actually a device attached to the paper (as seen below - bottom left hand black box)

We proceeded to our hotel restaurant for breakfast.

Curry, lots of curry. It is a pleasant discovery that most Indians actually are vegetarian. I quite welcome vegetarianism.

When we arrived at our partner's office, we were presented with flowers. It's the first time I received flowers and it's quite an experience. In Buddhism, there were frequent references to the making of flowers offerings. Think it is an Indian culture to have flower gifts and I actually quite like to make flowers gifts. So far I have only given flower gifts to AJ and will continue to do so.

Here I am with the flowers.

It's time for lunch and our partners brought us to an exquisite Indian restaurant. The ambiance is great.

Curry and more curry.

At the entrance to the restaurant is a stoic looking valet guy. Actually I find the service in India to be fabulous. Starting with restaurants to our partners to hotels, we find all of them to be giving top notch service and great hospitality. From this trip, I realized that China and Singapore service actually is no good.

After having Indian cuisine for breakfast and lunch, we decided to go for more oriental chinese food in the evening. We stumbled upon Three-Quarter Chinese restaurant which is just a short walk from our hotel.

Here is our group photo.

22nd Sept (Wednesday)

We dropped by an interesting place for lunch today. There is a large garden in front of the restaurant and the dining area has a unique beautiful architecture to it.

This is how the interior looks like. It is around 12.30pm in the afternoon and surprisingly, it isn't hot at all considering there is no air-con.

This is what we had for lunch, tandoori chicken.

In the evening, we begin our search for a normal fast food restaurant. There are many stalls that line the roads.

One of the most unforgettable experience in Bangalore is the traffic. Signals and honks are a constant chorus of Bangalore narrow streets. It is said that anyone who can drive in Bangalore will have no problem driving anywhere else in the world. You will need great spatial analysis in squeezing narrow spaces and going against the flow of traffic.

Surabaya [19/07 - 21/07]

2010-08-20T15:59:00.000+08:00

This is my first overseas trip to Indonesia (by flight) and I will be travelling with a fellow colleague. We departed from Singapore in the evening and arrived 2 hours later. Indonesia's time is 1 hour in front of Singapore (similar to Japan).

We arrived at Surabaya airport and our chauffeur picked us up and brought us to the hotel. We are staying at The Sun Hotel.

The front desk counter service is pretty good and we were treated to a cocktail drink.

Here is how our hotel room looks like. It's extremely spacious, but the internet during the first day was down. :(

For the next 2 days, we will be having breakfast in the hotel.

I have a large breakfast each morning. Here is the first round. It's a great Indonesian fair.

And the second round. I love the local chips.

We didn't do much during this trip to Surabaya. It's mainly work and hotel room.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel [07 - 08 / 08]

2010-08-10T00:05:00.007+08:00

On this day I will be checking out the hotel rooms and skypark of Marina Bay Sands (MBS) with lovely AJ. Previously in May, I have visited the shopping arcade and the hotel lobby of MBS over HTML clipboard here with FP.

There are 3 towers in MBS, at each tower there is a seaward-facing or financial district-facing front. There are two lift landings that service the lower 22-floors of the hotel and the upper levels of MBS respectively.

Here we are at the walkway of level 10.

A view from the top down into the general lobby of MBS hotel.

The rooms are huge! And the beds are cosy. According to AJ, the hotel is very well-equipped and well-thought of for visitors.

The bathroom is equally large and posh.

With many mirrors.

It's quite a good getaway in the city.

I just got my iPad on Friday (6th August) and managed to equip it with all the apps the night before. Here we have AJ playing Diner Dash. iPad is suitable for multi-player, so I joined in to become the chef while AJ is the main player.

After a week discussion with AJ on how to make tempura, I got down making it on the Saturday morning. Got down to NTUC supermarket to get the freshest ingredient for the day and begin preparing it, here is the final end-product - golden crispy tempura.

And AJ has given it the pass!

The most famous segment of MBS is the sky park, and the swimming pool is only for hotel guests.

Let's take a look around.

The view directly to the front.

And let's take a look at the other side.

I have always been curious what lies beyond the pool, is there an additional barrier which prevents swimmers from falling down? It is actually double-barrier, so you will have to go down two floors and you will still be stopped by a barrier.

Here I am sunbathing.

The evening time is here.

We decided to check out the 'gondola' boats and the river that run through MBS shopping arcade.

Here is AJ with Merly. This posting is continued with a separate post call the HTML clipboard Youth Olympic Games Opening.

It is definitely a lovely and memorable weekend with AJ. We have visited the MBS skypark, explored the hotel rooms and preview the YOG opening ceremony. And I have also learned how to cook tempura.

Youth Olympic Games Opening [07/08]

2010-08-10T00:02:00.003+08:00

AJ managed to get tickets for the YOG opening rehearsal and here we go! The Double Helix bridge is closed. Since we have tickets, we can just walk through it.

Here are the two YOG mascots.

Notice the Singapore Flag emblem (crescent moon and 5 stars) beneath the sky park. There are also lasers shooting out.

The financial district is beginning to feel a lot like Hong Kong, with laser lights shooting into the night sky.

The audience will also have to stand up and dance together.

With fireworks galore!

Fireworks going off at MBS.

Here comes the performances.

Each segment is split into chapters and the below is a chapter on 'Monster'.

Hong Kong [5/7 - 8/7]

2010-07-27T18:42:00.002+08:00

We arrived at Hong Kong on the evening of 5th July (Monday) via MTR from Shenzhen. Hong Kong is highly accessible by MTR, so we can easily getting around. Even during the peak hours, there is no problem getting on board the MTR (unlike Singapore's MRT).

We checked into The CityView which is at Yau Ma Tei. It is a 3mins walk from the station.

The room is spacious but there is a S$10 charge per day for internet use over 4 hours. Internet is more important than TV to me; since I will be right in front of the computer writing reports, chatting or facebooking.

During the day, we go to our office at Chung Nam building which is on Hong Kong island, right in the heart of the financial district. Here is the view from the 21st floor towards Victoria Peak.

Here I am!

And the view towards Victoria Harbor.

During one of the lunch session, our local colleagues gave us a Dim Sum treat. wow!!! we have finally sampled Dim Sum in Hong Kong! When we came 2.5 years ago, we could not find any Dim Sum places. Dim Sum are actually hidden in restaurants.

We decided to take a walk around the city in the evening after work one day. There are millions of workers transiting to Hong Kong island each day and the MTR is able to handle the passenger load easily. The intervals between trains is 1min. Talk about efficient urban planning, thumbs up to Hong Kong.

Since our hotel is around Kowloon area, we always walk towards Mongkok from Yau Ma Tei. Notice a large poster below with many people in it, it is actually the star-tutor posters. Students studying under them will have no problem passing universities entrance exams. They seems more like models to me.

Walking through the many narrow streets of Hong Kong with high rise residential flats on both sides - Typical Hong Kong style.

During the final evening, we decided to check out the night laser performance from victoria harbor. It starts at 8pm. The Hong Kong cityline is always impressive each time we look at it. Definitely more impressive than Singapore's. No wonder expats still prefer Hong Kong to Singapore.

During the final day morning, we decided to visit the old wanton mee shop at Mongkok. It is directly opposite the Dragon Hostel in Mongkok. I ordered 2 bowls of wanton noodle and it still cost HK$10 (S$2).

Next we go on to Wong Tai Sin, a large famous temple to the north.

Here is the photo of the main hall.

Master Cheng told me there is this famous street with lots of fortune teller. There are more than 100 of them! Initially I was planning to consult a fortune teller in Hong Kong. After seeing the large number of them, I decide to skip~

One of our favorite restaurants to hang out is Cafe De Coral. It has a great variety of set menu and the portions are suitable for me. Feels similar to Zhen Gongfu in China.

Shenzhen Cultural Villages [04/07]

2010-07-17T07:30:00.002+08:00

Today we will be visiting the China Folk Culture Villages (中国民俗文化村) and Splendid China (锦绣中华) in Shenzhen. The nearest station to both the villages is Hua Qiao Cheng (华侨城站) station. The entrance to both the sights are together.

There is actually not much things to do in Shenzhen except to visit the 4 theme parks. The other two are an amusement park and mini-wonders from around the world.

Coincidentally, they are having a special theme this month and it started from yesterday. It is the Water Festival.

Entrance to the village cost RMB120. We arrived at 9.30am in the morning. As seen from the map below, the section to the left-half belongs to the Splendid China sights while the right-half is the Cultural Village. We spent most of the time at the Cultural Village.

Past the entrance and down a flight of stairs is a Chinese dragon with a background that is beautifully decorated with umbrellas.

We arrived at a traditional Chinese house where the perimeter has many large opera masks.

Here I am with one of the mask looking at me.

A traditional chinese courtyard where it is surrounded by 4 walls （四合院）.

A mosque but it is not opened for public visit at the moment.

We arrived at the Uygur's Village and they presented a 15mins performance for us.

Next is the Tibetan Lama temple.

With its beautiful prayer flags fluttering in the wind.

Golden prayer wheels.

The Buddhas of the past, present and the future.

Next we visited a traditional Tibetan house.

They showcased a 20mins long performance. Below in the picture they began by doing the full body prostration and by putting their palms together and praying for compassion and peace for all. Whenever I come into contact with Tibetan culture and religion, I find there is a sense of closeness with it. This kind of feeling just came up within me, maybe I have some close affinity with Tibetans in the past...

We crossed a bridge and find what used to be a river that has stopped flowing.

The next performance is by the Thai tribe.

We have the Buddha of the southern tradition.

And many more below.

There is also a mini-showcase of the beautiful waters of Thailand.

A long golden dragon boat.

The below picture shows the Wind and Rain Bridge. There are many people taking an afternoon nap in the bridge. I felt tempted to join them but have to move out to check out the other sights.

Next is a performance by the Wa tribe, the speaker is extremely humorous. He call his main actor 'chocolate' while his actress '黑雪公主'. There were also audience participation.

We have a representation of Guan Yin below.

Next is a performance by the Miao tribe. exotic~

With a large audience supporting.

Next are performance by Mosuo Tribe. I find their tradition to be quite interesting. It is said that the people don't get married. The children will follow the mothers. During the day, the husbands and wives will return back to their respective family to work. At night, the husbands will visit their spouse houses. Thus the men will always take care of someone else children during the day.

We adjourned to the Horseback Battle Field stadium at 2pm.

The ground turn into a battle field.

There were some pretty cool moves.

All assembled in one straight line.

After the performance, it is lunch time.

We have noodles.

And BBQ food.

A photo of us below having our meals.

Performance in conjunction with the Water Festival.

The stone forest.

Flying fox down across the lake.

Posing with performers from the Yi Village. We also joined in the dance in this performance.

Finally performances by the Gaoshan Village.

Mini-Terracottas.

The Imperial palace, with condos in the background.

The Great Wall of China.

The Potala palace.

I am not really fond of Splendid China (锦绣中华) actually. Cos everything look so small. It's like Godzilla walking around buildings. Think by looking at the real sights will we be impressed by the grandiose and magnificent of the wonders of China.

We left at 6pm and got back to our hotel for a 30mins rest before going out for dinner again.

Shenzhen [02/07 - 05/07]

2010-07-10T10:24:00.003+08:00

We departed from Changi Airport Terminal 1 at 6.40am towards Hong Kong International Airport. As the departure time coincides with sunrise, I chose a eastward-facing window seat so I can snap photos of sunrise. I selected the middle portion of the plane for easy alighting but upon boarding, I realized the wings are also situated in the middle of the plane.

Luckily, the plane made several right turns, permitting me to take beautiful shots of the sunrise while it is turning. Below are the photos I have taken of the sunrise.

Here is a shot taken shortly after departure. The sky is slowly lightening up from dark shades of blue to the lighter shades.

30mins into departure, the sun pierces through the clouds, giving the entire area a golden illumination.

We arrived at Hong Kong International Airport at 10.15am. From there, we hired a limousine (private car) to fetch us to the Shenzhen hotel. It cost only HK180 per person. Here is the view from the car travelling through one of Hong Kong's famous bridges.

We will be staying in Shenzhen's Golden Central Hotel (深圳金中环酒店) for the next 3 nights. Here is how my room looks like.

Exhibition

We proceeded onto Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (深圳会展中心) next. This is where we will be at for these two days. It is amazingly large, far larger than Singapore Expo.

There is a China Watch Fair going on.

With many big names in there. As we are from overseas, we received a special VIP pass to get in.

Here we have the ultra-modern looking Casio booth.

Traditionally looking clocks.

Clocks for kids.

Many wall clocks of different sizes.

For such a big event, there will be models posing with watches.

And more exquisite watches.

Dinner Time

The only time we have available is during the evening where we go around the city looking for good places to have dinner.

While walking along Fu Min (福民路) Road, we came upon a KFC delivery area. They use bicycles for delivery.

There is this chain stall which I heard from Master Cheng that is all over the city and is pretty famous. It is call 真功夫. There is a picture of Bruce Lee in each of their shops.

I don't think the staffs know Kungfu. But I guess the original owner of the chain stores love Bruce Lee. It is actually chinese fast food and the prices average RMB15 to RMB25 per set meal. The portions are large and it is just nice for me.

At the tables are stickers, I think this is why it is called Real Kungfu~

This is a set meal I have ordered.

Shopping

At every MTR station (subway, metro), there is a locality map. It shows all the buildings from an isometric view, giving the area a 3-D feel. I think AJ will like this map since it feels 3D.

This is the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and a large bookstore nearby.

We had a funny encounter at this underpass. We were at exit 6 and is trying to get across the road to exit 3 or 4. We didn't know there were so many exits and had a long climb down exit 6. We turned right at the first junction and upon exiting, we realized we were back to the same place!! It's pretty funny. Thereafter we got back down and try to make our way across.

This junction is just next to Shenzhen Grand Theater (大剧院), directly in front of Deng Xiaoping Memorial Park.

Here I am with Mr Deng in the background.

We stumbled upon a lake just next to the memorial park. It looks so beautiful in the evening. It is called Lihu Lake (荔湖).

Thereafter, we decided to check out Lao Jie (老街) and the shops around. This area is famous for shopping and where youths hang out - Dong Men Zhong Lu (东门中路).

According to Master Cheng, the first McDonalds in China is actually found here (below).

On the sunday evening, we dropped by the electronics street of Shenzhen which is at Hua Qiang Lu (华强路).

There are so many shops selling phone products. We bought some iPhone accessories.

Pengerang Korean Zen Retreat [29/05 - 01/06]

2010-06-05T06:39:00.008+08:00

Background

The Pengerang Korean Zen Retreat is organized by Kwan Yin Chan Lin (KYCL - 观音禅林), which is a Korean Zen Centre based in Singapore. It is affiliated with the Kwan Um School of Zen, which is founded by Zen Master Seung Sahn (1927 - 2004) and is the 78th patriarch of the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism, tracing it's lineage to the Sixth Patriarch of Chinese Zen Buddhism, Zen Master Hui Neng. There are more than 100 Zen centres all over the world.

This post is dedicated to all the teachers, retreat participants, the friendly volunteers/staffs of KYCL and beloved AJ. It is through AJ that I got to join this retreat. Due to work commitments, we can only join in the first 4 days of the retreat.

On the 18th May (Tuesday), I dropped by KYCL in Lavender for the first time to sign up for the retreat. The Centre closes at 6pm on normal weekdays without evening activities, but thankfully, the staff remained around to allow me sign up for the retreat. I was briefed on the plan to rendezvous with Lionel at Changi Village Ferry Terminal at 2pm.

The Gathering and Getting There

On the 29th May (Saturday), we arrived at the Changi Village Ferry Terminal at exactly 2pm. There are actually two different departures from the terminal, on one side is to Pengerang, at the other side is to Pulau Ubin. We saw a big group hanging around and could recognized Lionel straight away. There is a leadership stature around him, so we were able to identify him. Here we are sitting at the bench waiting for 13 members of the departure party to arrive.

We left shortly after and boarded the bum boat towards Pengerang terminal. The ride cost $9 and takes around an hour long. Everyone is pretty excited about it. Below in the photo we have Izrin (left-most) and Frank (second from right). There are also many first-timers to the retreat and to the Korean zen culture. It's my first time too~

The bum boat departed and everyone's eyes were affixed on the clear blue sky and beautiful seas, with cool sea breezes brushing against us. It felt like a holiday getaway!

With no high-rise buildings blocking our distant view, we can see rain clouds forming in a distant, which is in stark contrast to the sunny skies around.

Along the way just south of Pulau Tekong, we noticed many large heavy machinery ships. One of the retreat veteran member, Mr Ng, shared with me that these are actually land reclamation machines. He said more than 10 years ago, these machines and barriers were not in placed, but with works going on these few years, the waters have become more choppy and detours have to be made by the bum boat.

The size of the land reclamation is astounding! There is actually a large sea barrier spanning kilometers long in this region. I called this the 'Great Sea Wall of Singapore'. After witnessing this technological engineering feat, I was really very impressed with Singapore foresight and determination to shape nature to our national interests.

We arrived at the quiet and beautiful Pengerang Ferry Terminal. It felt like a luxurious yacht dock and is a great place to just chill out for the day.

We walked into the Ferry Terminal. It looks very new and well designed.

Kwan Yin Chan Lin International Zen Centre at Pengerang

After passing through the customs, we hopped on a cab which takes us to the Kwan Yin Chan Lin International Zen Centre at Pengerang. The ride costs RM$25. A large sign greeted us when we arrived to the main gates.

The retreat center is designed with the beauty and aesthetic of zen.

There are the zen stone sculptures.

And beautiful flowers lining the paths around.

And also a fountain pond. It resembles a pure land hidden in the midst of the forest.

We entered the main building and here is the main hall. Standing in the middle is a representation of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

There are many benches around where visitors can sit and relax. It's all designed in natural zen style.

At the back of the building is a beautifully landscaped garden.

Let's take a peak into the sleeping quarters. We have the ladies quarters below.

And the male quarters below. (Notice there are no mattresses for guys). We used meditation mats which is similar to the mattresses. 3 mats = 1 mattress.

After settling down, we had a small tea break and began chatting. We shared on how we came to know the retreat and on the culture of zen tradition.

It's 4.30pm and Lionel assembled everyone. We were briefed on the protocols and schedule of the retreat.

Here is how a typical day timetable looks like. It will be something like the Groundhog Day movie for the next 7 days. Everyday will be the same, but we will try our best to make each day better than the next. There are many rest sessions, one in the morning after the Work Period, another after Lunch and third is after Dinner. Each sitting is only 40mins long so actually I have not felt any pain on my legs during this retreat (my threshold is 45mins). Many people considered the 108 prostrations to be the most intensive as they have to prostrate non-stop for 20mins. The Breathing Exercise in the afternoon consists of Yoga, Qigong and Taiji type exercises.

This will be a healthy mind-body retreat!

We settled back in our room. Directly in front of the male quarters is a balcony which overlooks Mother Nature.

Since it is next to the forest, we have many friends around too. Izrin informed me straight away when he saw a chipmunk running along below. I took my camera for one shot one snap.

After a while, I noticed all the guys are all standing at the balcony and I decided to join them too. They were observing the mass migration of monkeys from one part of the forest to another part via our retreat center perimeter. Here is one of the monkeys.

This is the Meditation Hall. Notice the long wooden stick in the picture below (in front of the Buddha), it is actually a zen stick. For each sitting, the leader will walk around with the zen stick. If you would like to have a therapeutic massage, you just have to put your palms together and he will come in from behind! Contrary to popular beliefs, it actually feels great. I had a go for it once a day. :P

Everyone meditating in the hall.

Meals

One of the most memorable and unforgettable experience of the retreat is having our meals. They follow the Korean Zen tradition and I heard from AJ that it was shown on free-to-air Singapore TV once on the Korean Zen dining protocols to follow. I am going to walk through them now.

Below are all our dining utensils placed in order at the start of the retreat.

For each meals, the guys will have to setup the tables in a certain arrangement and lay the plates and dishes (below).

Here is mine.

We will have to gently unwrapped the white cloth surrounding our bowls and placed the cloth onto our thigh. Please note that they advised us to be in the Japanese seiza sitting position during the entire meal session. But I think most don't do it anyway.

Thereafter we have to place our chopsticks in a parallel position. While the bowls are nicely laid from left to right in descending order of size. (shown below).

The cleaning up part is the best. There will be no washing of bowls for 7 days! We will try our best to finish all the food in our bowls/plate and at the end of the meal, they will pass a hot water flask around. We will have to use the hot water to wash our bowls and plate. Finally the cloth accompanying our set will be used to clean it up.

Main Hall

Every evening and before breakfast/dinner, we will all be gathered at the main hall for chanting sessions.

Since this is the Korean tradition, all the chantings are in Korean! I love the rhythm for the Heart Sutra and it sounds similar to Chinese, but it's in Korean~

Here we have the Zen Master Dae Kwang/Chong An Sunim leading us in the chanting. It's being chanted beautifully and there is a melodious rhythm to it.

Here is Zen Master Chong An Sunim sharing with us.

We left the retreat on the 1st June (the rest of the participants will be leaving 4 days after us on the 5th June). I bid farewell to all my retreat buddies. Though we were not allow to speak during the retreat, we really enjoy the communal feeling together. It is said that non-verbal communication makes up 93% of a person's communication. There were almost 30 over participants when we left on the last day.

We hitched the taxi back to the ferry terminal and was lucky that the bum boat is departing immediately after. The return ride cost RM$15. We got back to Singapore at 1.30pm.

Overseas Day Trips and Japanese Class [12/05 - 19/05]

2010-05-22T09:04:00.001+08:00

19th May 2010 (Wednesday) - Day trip to Penang

On this day, I am flying off to Penang for a day business trip. The last time I was there for a day trip was about 6 months back. I have stayed in Penang for 4 months last year and love Penang cos of their friendly people, nice food, low cost of living and beautiful environment. Was seriously considering getting a house there.

I departed Changi Airport Terminal 2 at 8.05am. There was a slight drizzle and the sky is slightly downcast. All the photos for this trip is taken using my iPhone except for the group photo. Here is the scene after take-off. It is beautiful indeed with streams of line piercing through the clouds.

The plane went above the clouds and we caught the sunlight again.

40minutes into the trip, the plane went into descend mode. I remembered capturing the mythical Malaya image last year and here is another one again. This region is indeed a great place to live. It is famous for its abundant agricultural products as it has little temperature variation with long hours of sunlight and rainfall. But with globalisation and economic expansion, we may miss out on the beautiful nature around us.

After the business meeting, the managers there gave us a splendid treat for lunch! I love Penang food the most. When I got there in the morning, the reception lady said that I have slimmed down a lot. It is true as I have been moving around a lot these few weeks and most important I don't feast on great food daily (we used to take seafood everyday in Penang. :S)

We got back after lunch and have 30mins to catch up with fellow friends. I informed Ah Chin that I will be dropping by today (hopefully they don't go on leaves) and they actually prepared a large bag of local specialty for us. So sweet! I also got my gifts ready too, each time I visit them, I also splurge on gifts.

12th May (Wednesday) - Day trip to Batam

It is my first time going to Batam. I just found out the island opposite where I stay in east coast is Batam. I thought it was Bintan all along. After 29 years of looking at it from opposite, I am finally landing on the island.

Had a bit of adventure at the customs. As I am on a business trip, I will have to apply for the Visa on Arrival which cost US$25. The next time I will go there will be on a tourist visa and I will wear my tourist cap and Hawaiian shirt (before transforming into business suit in the car).

It is also my first time departing from the Harbour Front Ferry Terminal where we took the Batam Fast ferry. It cost S$80 for the return trip. The boat ride will take 1 hour.

There is the air-con area and the sea-breeze area in the ferry. I sat in the air-con section for 5mins before moving up permanently to the sea-breeze area. It's a bit hot but with the sea breeze coming in, the temperature is kept at a more acceptable feel. After taking a 30mins nap, I felt a great sense of peace with the sun, the sea and the breeze. I recalled watching a documentary of Singapore in the 50s-60s. Back in those days, lives were much simpler and there were people living on the boats. The feeling is almost similar to that now.

I walked around and took a shot of the receding waves when the ferry cut through the sea.

After the business meeting, we had lunch at a local restaurant. This place is recommended by the taxi driver.

It's fabulous! Really want to try it again.

And also my favourite - Otak!! We ordered 20 pieces in all.

We took the ferry back and there was a slight drizzle. The sun was slightly shrouded by the gray sky but it will occasionally break through and cast its rays down onto the quiet sea.

The evening sky against the busy port of Singapore.

And finally we arrived back to the terminal. Here we have the massive Star Cruises ferry berth at the Harbour Front terminal. Had an interesting chat with a taxi driver lately on the suicide rates amongst casinos. He said for cruises with casinos, the suicide rates are actually quite high. Normally it is classified as man overboard and to the government, they have left their country and into international waters, so they will be recognized as missing overseas.

Every Tuesday - Ikoma Advanced Japanese Class

I have been attending the Tuesday Ikoma Japanese class since January 2009. It started with the JLPT2 Exams Prep Class and followed immediately by Advanced 2 (December 2009) and Advanced 3 class. When I first joined the Advanced 2 class, I was amazed by the girls-boys ratio. It's 12 : 1 and I'm the only guy. Guess girls are really better at languages.

On my Japanese learning journey, I started with Bunka Japanese school where I studied and achieved my JLPT3 certification. Thereafter I moved on to Ikoma Japanese School where I studied for a year and got my JLPT2. I have to give credit to both the teachers from Bunka and Ikoma for being able to pass my JLPT exams at each try.

As my work has been pretty busy lately and I hope to get my driving license within these few months, I decided to stop my Japanese classes for a while. Will be missing everyone from the class. As compared to my MBA classmates, I find the students in the Japanese course to be more fun-loving and relax (because there is substantially more girls and it is a conversation course without any exams or assignments with tight deadline).

My regular classmates are HTML clipboardChin-san (Singapore's pioneering manga artist), Samantha-san, Ryelinn-san, Kelly-san, Min Chu-san and Toh-san. Very often a good buddy from the Saturday class will join in and he's Thames-san. And our teacher is Yamane-sensei.

Ngee Ann-Adelaide Singapore Campus

2010-05-15T21:33:00.016+08:00

Information on Ngee Ann Adelaide is no longer hosted on this blog.

It has been migrated to:
Ngee Ann Adelaide Singapore Campus

Circle Line / Marina Bay Sands [01/05]

2010-05-02T00:29:00.005+08:00

Singapore second integrated resort is now opened for public visits. Since the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) is much more accessible as compared to the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), we decided to check it out on the weekend after it's opening. The plan is also to visit it via the Circle Line and to walk along the Helix Bridge which was opened the weekend before.

Just a snapshot of Suntec City below. I was there for 3 days between the 21st - 23rd April. Each morning at 8.45am, I noticed sunlight streaming into the convention centre. The scene is quite nice and I took a photo of it.

Circle Line

The Circle Line was started a few weeks before but I had not taken it until this week. I attempted to take it on Thursday but an announcement on track failure was given and I switched to the North-South Line instead. On Friday I tried it again and was successful in taking it from Bishan to Paya Lebar. This time round, we will be coming in from Paya Lebar to Promenade station.

There was a concert by SHE on the 17th April at the Indoor Stadium, so they officiate the opening ceremony of the Stadium station at the same time.

Here is how the Paya Lebar Circle Line station looks like.

We took until the Stadium station and alighted for a few photoshoots. The design for the Stadium station is quite unique.

Here is another perspective from the top of the escalator.

We walked along the ground level. Directly next to the station is the National Stadium.

We boarded the train again and this time we observed the moving train from the last carriage. Here is the train departing from the station.

And we arrived at the Promenade station. There are these big droplets shape-like sculpture in there.

Marina Bay Sands

The Helix Bridge is a 5 mins walk away from the station. Here is the view that took our breathe away.

For those who wonder what all the funny alphabets on the Helix bridge means. They are actually the sequences in a double helix. T and A are joined together, while G and C are together, forming a pair. My friend say the bridge is actually a quad helix and not a double helix.

Here is the quad helix bridge. After convening a committee review and months of effort, the name 'Helix Bridge' has been decided.

There are several view points where visitors can grab a shot of the Helix Bridge and the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

The Singapore financial skyline is also in the distant. We have the dragon boat team propelling forward at fast and furious speed.

And also the 'temporary' floating stadium.

The Helix Bridge is partially open and we have to walk along the pedestrian path once we are near to the MBS integrated resort. The amphitheater is still under construction and I guess it won't be ready until June's official opening.

Viola! The majestic 3 towers of MBS. They are actually 55-storey high hotel rooms.

We went into the shopping arcade of the MBS. It is naturally lighted up by sunlight. Singapore has a great abundance of sunlight, thus modern buildings are designed to harness natural light.

A large funnel-like shape. The water system has yet to be installed.

Another perspective of the shopping arcade.

A straight row of people just looking down.

The funnel from below.

The MBS design is going to be similar to the Macau's Venetian in that water will flow through the shopping arcade. Gondolas maybe traversing through this area. In fengshui, water equals to wealth. The water (wealth) will lead into the casino.

Here is the highlight of the integrated resort.

There are many people hanging around as Singaporeans will have no access to the casino unless they pay $100 per entry or subscribe for an annual pass which cost $2k plus.

See the big sign 'Foreigner' below. There will be different treatment for locals and PRs.

We crossed over the underpass towards the hotel. And there is a performance going on.

Here is the interior of the hotel with restaurants at the first floor.

More views of the interior.

These are actually trees in large ceramic pots.

A good place to just have tea and watch the crowd go by.

Walking through the 3 hotel buildings.

After visiting the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort, it is true indeed that Singapore is a great place to live in (reference to the recent URA report that 80% find Singapore a great place to live, work and play).

The visit to the MBS Sky Park and the hotel rooms is continue HTML clipboard here

Resorts World Sentosa [03/04]

2010-04-23T22:29:00.001+08:00

We took the Sentosa Express light rail train from Vivo City to Resorts World Sentosa. It is quite surprising there isn't much people going to sentosa at this time (6.30pm). Perhaps it is too late or they were put off by the rain today.

Resorts World Sentosa is only a stop after Vivo City and the ticket cost $3.

After we alighted from the station, the sight that greeted us is simply amazing.

This is the landmark hotel that appears in all of Resorts World Sentosa marketing brochures.

Walking further down.

We have fountains in the middle of the park.

Climbing up the stairs for a better view around.

It is coming close to 7pm and all the chefs in the restaurants are busy getting ready for patrons (if there are any)

We entered into the main shopping complex and is dazzled by the chandeliers.

Sculptures by some artist...

The shops here cater to the luxurious segment. So have lots of credit cards ready when shopping here.

The main entrance to the casino.

While walking down the escalator, we saw this symmetric shape at the top of the ceiling.

Here is the actual casino entrance beneath the hill.

They differentiate between overseas visitors and Singaporeans/PRs.

It is said that most of the taxi drivers hang around RWS nowadays, so you don't really see much taxi drivers around the mainland.

We left the casino area and back to the outdoor shopping area.

More photo shots of the buildings around.

Walking across a bridge spanning two shopping area.

It seems there will be some performance coming up in the future.

Let's revisit the fountain again, this time the sun has gone down.

The rotating globe of Universal Studio Singapore.

The entrance to the Universal Studio.

Here is Universal Studio Park.

There is a long queue of people going back to Vivocity from the Waterfront station in Resorts World. We walked southwards towards Imbiah Station. It is just at the other end of the park, 5mins away from Waterfront station. There was barely anyone there and we were able to board the train easily and got back to Vivocity.

Labrador and Keppel Island [27/02, 03/04]

2010-04-17T08:05:00.001+08:00

27th February (Saturday) - Labrador Park

This is actually my second time to Labrador park. The first time was a brief 30mins stroll through the car park-beach front area a month before. Before that, I didn't know Labrador Park existed; maybe because it was too inaccessible.

We alighted along Pasir Panjang Road and slowly made our way in. It's a 5-10mins walk along the Labrador Villa Road before we reached a Y-junction. We made the right-turn uphill towards Labrador Villa Road.

There seems to be a chalet in the area. Here is an overview of the Labrador Park area. We will be making a trip round the park.

There is actually a high hill in Labrador Park that oversees the sea. This is a good defensive position in ancient times.

After reaching the top most point of the hill, we slowly made our way down through the forested area. The roads are all well-paved so there are no mud tracks.

There is a jetty to the western-side of the park. It is now mainly frequent by fishing enthusiasts.

Going back towards the eastward direction, we walked through the park along the beach.

Walking along the sea.

It's a pretty hot day. So I guess it's not suitable for an outdoor walk. Nevertheless, it is a great photography day.

There are some relics from ancient time (not so long ago if you were to gauge Singapore's history)

In the distant on Jurong island, there is a burning flame that comes up every 5mins. No wonder Singapore is getting hotter day by day.

The Dragon Tooth; actually this is only a replica of the real thing. So it feels pretty fake when visitors lay their hands on it.

Walking back through the hilly region of Labrador Park.

Taking a closer look at the walls.

The fortified turrets since the British times.

Some guns were left behind and not removed by the British. Terracotta-like British soldiers were elected to serve as scarecrows for would-be invaders to Singapore.

One of the guy seems to be holding on to a gun ammo for perpetuity, so here I am giving him a hand.

Think it's not a good idea to look into the cannon, especially since everyone is getting ready to load it up.

Walking back towards the bus stop, we have a well-camouflaged structure to the left.

3rd April (Saturday) - Bungalows

As we have to rush off for another appointment on the 27th, we continued our adventure on the 3rd April. The plan is to visit the luxurious bungalows of Alexandra. They are located along the secluded Bury Road, Royal Road, Canterbury Road, York Road and Berkshire Road.

It's quite surprising to note that large bungalows still exist in Singapore. Characteristics to all these bungalows are the wide garden spaces.

The design are pretty much the same. A number of them were built since 1937 (the year is printed on the building), so people will think twice before scheduling them for en-bloc.

The cross-road junction of the bungalow.

It is actually raining when we visited the bungalow area. There are many large open spaces here, where dogs can run around happily.

We made our way through Hort Park before crossing the road to Gillman Village. There is a food centre in this building, so we stopped here for a drink, waiting for the rain to stop.

Ok. The dinosaur is still around. Previously it was facing Alexandra road, guessed it has probably been starved as there is not much business and all that is left are its bones.

Keppel Island

Since the first visit to Labrador Park, I was curious on the island directly opposite it. According to Google Map, it is known as Keppel Island. KK made a trip down and shared with me on it. So I have decided to check it out. While at Hillman Village, we checked through Google Map and did not find any way to get to the island. Thanks to iPhone instant information, we managed to get help on how to there. You can refer to HTML clipboard here. Here is the entrance into Keppel Island via a barely noticeable small road.

Yachts are berthed along.

The bridge linking the mainland to the island.

A walk round the island is 2.25km and takes around 30mins.

More yachts berthed around. You will need RFID card to access to the yachts.

There are shops on the island where visitors can just have a coffee or a meal.

The rain has stopped and the sun is setting soon. It is 6pm.

Walking down, we have a pavilion.

Here is sentosa island.

More pavilion for people to hang out.

Walking down a long path facing towards the Singapore's World Trade Centre.

It's a beautiful day indeed. It is neither hot nor raining.

A pavilion with the bridge in the background.

The adventure actually continues with a visit to Resorts World Sentosa. So do check out the post on it.

Zuoying [22/02]

2010-04-10T07:02:00.001+08:00

Nan Ping Bie Yuan (南屏别院) - 20th February

We met up with 小a at 11am where she gave us a free ride from Fo Guang Shan to Kaohsiung. Here she is driving a large brand new Honda.

We arrived at Nan Ping Bie Yuan (南屏别院) along Zhong Yan Road (忠言路). This is the main Fo Guang Shan branch in Kaohsiung City and it is here where we will be staying for the next 3 nights (20th - 23rd February).

The centre is 8 storey high and it is beautifully decorated for the Chinese New Year festive season. There is also a city university at the second floor and we noticed students studying at that level.

Let's take a peek at where we are staying. It is at the 3rd level. Here is the corridor leading to our rooms.

Just push the doors aside and you can see our beds. There are no keys and there is a ledge in there which allows you to secure the door when you are in there.

There were some major event going on in Nan Ping Bie Yuan and we participated in the Monday morning ceremony.

The nearest MRT station to Nan Ping Bie Yuan is Aozhidi Station (凹子底站). It was a lovely Saturday afternoon when we first arrived at the Aozhidi Station. Kaohsiung subway uses RFID chip as access cards. It is actually more efficient than Singapore's transport where visitors do not have to queue to get the refund back for the transport card.

North of Aozhidi is the Kaohsiung Arena (巨蛋站). There's a Hanshin shopping mall and an indoor stadium here.

Zuo Ying (左营) - 22nd February

We proceeded northwards towards Zuo Ying (左营) station. The main destination centred around the Lotus Lake (莲池潭) which is a 10mins walk from the subway station. There are also a lot of traditional taoist temples surrounding the lake.

We arrived at the Confucius Temple (孔子庙) - entrance below.

A brass sculpture depicting Confucius giving teachings to his disciples.

We approached the temple gate.

And arrived at the main hall. There are very few people around as it is a Monday (this is the first day of work for everyone). We found out that the compound is actually closed on Monday but we managed to push open a closed door and made our way in.

We walked further to the many other sights in the area.

A large heavenly deity.

Beautiful lotuses in the pond.

Dragon and pavilions; feels like Singapore's Haw Par Villa.

Left is the green dragon and right is the white tiger with 2 pavilions as the background.

Here I am climbing up the stairs. Noticed I am surburned due to the previous day visit to Kenting National Park.

From the top of the pavilion, we can see one of the many temples in the distant.

2009 World Games Park

YS suggested we visit the World Games Park which is a subway stop north. We alighted from the subway and walked towards the main street. There was a queue of people lining up for the public bus. We just hopped on and told the driver we are going to the World Games Park. It is actually a stop away (1min bus ride or 10mins walk).

The stadium reminds me of the Bird Nest stadium in Beijing.

There were a few people taking a walk round the stadium.

Beautiful fountain against the evening sky.

Here is how the interior of the stadium looks like. It is off-limits to visitors.

Thereafter we took the subway to Sanduo Shopping Area - the entry is continued in the Kaohsiung main post.

Fo Guang Shan Night [17/02 - 19/02]

2010-04-03T07:40:00.000+08:00

Let's take a walk through the night scenes of Fo Guang Shan (佛光山). In conjunction with the Lantern Festival (灯会), the entire Fo Guang Shan monastery is beautifully lighted up. Compare and contrast the images during the night and day at the main Fo Guang Shan posting over HTML clipboard here.

Here we have the Pilgrims Path (朝山步道) where Yellow-Red-Orange lanterns lined the parapets.

The Mountain Gate (头山门) with the monastery name and a banner announcing the lantern festival is now on.

Let's walk along Avalokiteshvara Pond (观音池).

The Avalokiteshvara Pond is indeed beautiful at night, with the Mountain Gate in the background.

We faced towards the Gate of Non-Duality (不二门).

Beyond it are the 500 Arahats Garden (五百罗汉).

This is where we are staying, the Pilgrims Lodge.

Walking along the Precious Bridge (宝桥).

The passageway leading towards the Calligraphy Hall and the Main Hall.

A replica of the Buddha Memorial Hall.

People having a pose.

On every evening, there is a pray session (上灯法会) which starts at 7.30pm and end around 8.30pm.

We joined in during the first 2 evenings. During the second evening, we managed to pack into the Main Hall as it was drizzling.

We have teachers leading us on a sing-along-session.

There are different ways to sing it, with Chinese New Year rhythm.

There will be a candle lighting item.

There will be thousands of people participating, occupying the main hall all the way to the main path leading to the main hall.

Here I am holding on to a candle.

At the end of the ceremony, everyone will place the candle on the floor.

While walking back to our lodging, the passageway are all lighted up with small bulbs.

This is the Bamboo Garden Lodge.

During the final evening, we decided to visit the Great Practice Shrine (普贤殿) which is a distance away.

The path leading up to the shrine.

From the Great Practice Shrine, the Tathagata Building in the distance can be seen. The outline is illuminated. It feels like a palace.

Kenting National Park [21/02]

2010-03-27T08:18:00.000+08:00

Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園) occupies the southern most region of Taiwan. It is made famous by the movie Cape 7 (海角七號) which showcase life of the locals from Hengchun (恆春) town. We will be visiting all these sights in a single day trip. On the sunday morning, we departed our accommodations at 7.45am and took a cab to the Kaohsiung Train Station. We arrived at 7.55am and is just in time to catch the 8am bus departing for Kenting.

Getting There

The nearest city is Kaohsiung, which it is a 2 hours 25mins ride from the Kaohsiung Train Station. That is assuming you take the express-88 bus which departs every 30mins from the terminal. There is the normal bus which takes close to 3 hours assuming there is no traffic jam. Most would take the express-88 bus as it is only slightly more expensive than the normal bus; NT50 more expensive for a one way trip to be exact. If you were to buy the return tickets, there will be an additional 10% off from the retail price. We got the return tickets for the express-88 bus which cost around NT640 (usual price is NT710).

The initial part of the journey is pretty uneventful with scenes of buildings, farmlands and hills. As we approaches Hengchun, the westward facing scene opens up to the beautiful seas of southern Taiwan. Be sure to sit on the right-hand side of the bus if you are going to Kenting from Kaohsiung.

Past Hengchun, it is a 15mins ride to Kenting. The bus driver told us we have arrived at the small quiet town of Kenting. There is a group of Germans who alighted at the same stop as us and we just follow them. They seems to know the route to the beach.

Kenting Beaches

From concrete roads to the sandy beaches, we have arrived at the Dawan Entrance (大湾沙滩入口). It is great to feel the sea breeze, to bask in the beautiful morning sun and be soak in the smell of the sea. As the cold has just ended in Taiwan, the weather today is simply perfect. It is neither hot nor too cold. Though the sun is shining above, but it still feels cool. When I was in Europe, this is the time when everyone comes out and start sun-bathing and worshipping the sun.

Here I am perched on a small rock, overlooking the sea.

There is something unique about the waves coming towards the beach. Notice there are three wave front coming in from the picture below.

At this section of the beach, the wave is especially high. It is also here where beach goers wanting to have a push by the waves will be hanging around.

In the distance, we have beautiful mountain peaks protruding out.

Here I am walking through the sandy beach.

With fabulous sun, sand and the sea, holiday seaside resorts are always around the corner.

There are multiple sea sports which visitors can engage in. One of which is Canoeing, as seen from the multi-colour canoe boats below.

For families who want to avoid the rough seas, there are swimming pools in the resorts too.

We walked back towards the town of Kenting and grabbed our brunch. It is around 11am. For brunch we had MacDonalds and it cost NT80 for a Fish Burger meal (that's really cheap). Thereafter we started asking around on how we can get to the southern most point in Taiwan. It is called Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻).

Getting around Kenting National Park

There is a Kenting Street Bus (垦丁街车) which goes around the Kenting National Park. In some places (e.g. Kenting), there are no clear bus stop signs. We asked the local and he told us to wait in front of the 7-11 convenience stall. The buses are also pretty infrequent, and varies between weekdays and weekends. At a glance, for weekends, the buses come on average every 20 - 30mins and they ply along the main stops of Kenting, Hengchun and the Aquarium. For places like Eluanbi, it is every 1 hour. We happened to miss the 11.02am bus, so the next one will be at 12.15pm. We just sat in front of 7-11 and have our brunch for 40mins.

There is also a day pass but I guess it is best to purchase it from the Hengchun bus terminal. When we enquired about it from the bus driver, he said it was sold out. The day pass cost NT150. The ride from Kenting to Eluanbi is NT35 and takes around 10minutes. Please note the 10minutes is a very fast ride; the distance is around 8km from Kenting.

Eluanbi (鵝鑾鼻)

We arrived at Eluanbi and paid the entrance of NT100. Below is the map of Eluanbi. It is quite a large place. We spent around 2 hours in there.

We made our way up the gentle hill towards the Lighthouse.

There are many shops selling corals here. Think it's their local specialty.

The magnificent lighthouse.

Here I am.

We walked down towards the sea, towards the southern most point of Taiwan. There are no sandy beaches here. It is mainly rocks.

Visitors can walk along the wooded pathway while appreciating the beauty of the sea.

We continued our adventure inland. There is this section of the cliff facing the beach which is call the Kissing Rock (below).

There are two large pavilions where visitors can rest while overlooking the ocean (the great Pacific Ocean).

Here is me again (resting).

There is this secret passage that goes out to the sea with a cliff at the background. A guy attempted to do a cliffhanger.

This is the second pavilion. In the distant is the first pavilion and even further away is Kenting.

We left at around 2.10pm and took the 2.20pm bus out of Eluanbi towards the Aquarium. This ride cost NT76 and takes around 30mins. Here we have the powerful bus drivers of Kenting. They drive fast through the winding sea and mountain tracks, but will jam break the bus if you were to flag from a non-existent bus stop. They are quite impressive actually. The buses actually comes with built in GPS which announce the stops in English and Chinese. Sometimes they don't turn it on, so will have to ask them about it.

Kenting Aquarium (海生馆)

It is quite educational to visit the aquarium.

You have the standard aquarium stuff.

And also some 'hands-on'

At another building, you get a chance to put on 3-D glasses to view videos of prehistoric dinosaurs that lived in the great seas. They also have the arctic fishes and so on. There is this large fish-tank below.

It is around 5pm when we left the Aquarium. The sun is setting in the distant.

We took the bus to Hengchun which is 10mins away. Hengchun is an ancient town, since the Qing dynasty.

Some of buildings of Hengchun.

There are still remnants of the ancient city gates of Hengchun.

We had dinner at Hengchun and walked back towards the bus terminal. Started waiting for the bus at 6.45pm. The express-88 is supposed to come at 7pm but no bus appeared. Finally the normal bus come arrived at 7.15pm and just hopped onto it. It is followed by a slow 3 hours journey back to Kaohsiung. There is supposed to be curfew hour at where we stayed (before 9.30pm). But we were lucky as they were having some ceremony on this day. When we got back at 11pm, the doors were still opened and we could sneak back in.

Fo Guang Shan Parade [17/02 - 18/02]

2010-03-20T07:06:00.000+08:00

The parade in Fo Guang Shan were held everyday during the first one week of the Lunar New Year holidays. There were two sessions each day, one in the morning which starts at 10am and the other in the afternoon at 1pm. It usually lasted an hour to two each. The parade contingent moves around Fo Guang Shan, so it will be hard to miss them, especially with the band leading the way (below).

The morning parade is very much shorter than the afternoon session. We have the tribal dancers of Taiwan next.

Since it it the year of the Tiger, the kids are dressed up as Tigers to the rhythm of the Three Tigers.

And Chinese lady dancers.

These guys are just amazing. They can dance for 2-3 hours and is still smiling happily, enjoying every moment of it.

Finally we have the monks on alms round contingent. Heard it is the first time being showcased this year.

The afternoon session parade begins at the main entrance. During the first 5 days of the Lunar New Year holidays, there is an extended parade where a large contingent troop joined in with the parade from the Cloud Dwelling Building and they marched northwards towards the Buddha Memorial Center (佛陀纪念馆).

We have lovely Korean ladies distributing sweets.

Here is another one.

And more kids dancing along.

Wow. Guan Yin giving her blessings.

A large contingent of people started coming out from the Cloud Dwelling Building. This is the first group out. Efficient coordination is being made as this juncture to merge the large group coming in with the parade.

More ladies in tradition garb with lanterns joining in.

The main highlight of this large group is the offering of relics to the Buddha Memorial Center. Notice they are all holding on to Buddha representations or other precious treasures in their hands.

Here is another group of them. We joined in the procession and also started walking towards the Buddha Memorial Hall.

A contingency of monks. Looks like they are in jhanic bliss.

Check out the huge crowd of people!

It is a 20mins walk from the current monastery ground to the Buddha Memorial Center. Here we have a sight of the garden behind the Tathagata Building.

We have 'Prince Sidhartha' and his escorts. He is carrying a heavy headgear, so he cannot move his head that easily.

Straight rows of lotuses.

The large parade contingent moving on.

Moving down 3 contours in a circular manner.

We finally overtaken the parade and moved onto the front.

Wow! What a sight! From a distant as we looked towards our final destination, we noticed it was momentarily shrouded in mountain fog, giving this area a mythical asian feel (especially with the pyramid-like gigantic building in the distance). As we approached the entrance to the Buddha Memorial Center, it's epic proportions is simply dazzling.

We dropped by one of the pagodas which gave visitors a refreshing cup of drink and some brochures to read.

We started walking towards the main building. And took a photo of the incoming parade in the distant.

They have arrived. The time now is around 3.30pm.

More to come.

The great master himself, Venerable Hsing Yun (星云法师).

It really feels like it's a millennium back in time to the great Chinese empire where imperial procession were of a gigantic scale. Visitors who bare witness to this event will definitely leave home impress.

Bringing in the precious treasures.

One of the local tribal group.

Another tribe.

Here we have the Lion Dance group.

Holy. Our prince. He's still looking straight ahead.

YS has captured a 2 min video and I uploaded onto YouTube to share with all.

The parade getting ready for the end point.

We have the great masters coming out. It is based on the Indian tradition where umbrellas were being offered to great Indian kings and respected masters.

The Buddha Memorial Hall and the large crowd. We believed there are close to 10k people here. Imagine this event taking place over 5 days and we have hundreds of thousands people visiting Fo Guang Shan in a week.

The floats were momentarily parked here.

And our group photo with it.

Kaohsiung [20/02 - 23/02]

2010-03-13T07:51:00.000+08:00

Kaohsiung (高雄) is the second largest city in Taiwan. Following our visit to Fo Guang Shan, we proceeded on to Kaohsiung city for a 4 days 3 nights adventure. Thanks to 小a who gave us a lift to Kaohsiung and Fo Guang Shan's Nan Ping Bie Yuan (南屏别院) where we stayed over for 3 nights. For photos of our ride to Kaohsiung and our stay at Nan Ping Bie Yuan, please check out the Zuo Ying (左营) entry.

Sizihwan (西子湾)

After arriving in Kaohsiung, we took the subway directly to Sizihwan (西子湾) station. Upon arriving out from the station, we were pleasantly surprised there is a free shuttle service (orange bus) from the station to Sizihwan. We came out from the station's exit 2.

It is a fast 10mins journey by bus and we arrived at the entrance to the National Sun Yat Sen University (国立中山大学). YS is interested in checking out their teaching facilities.

The university is indeed beautiful. Heard that it is only about 30 years old. It's great being a student here. The university is just next to the sea! On the right hand side of the photo below is the university Sports Centre.

We walked towards the main administration office. The buildings are mainly designed using the red-brick architecture, so it has a traditional European university feel to it.

This is the center quadrangle of the university. There is a statue of Sun Yat Sen in the central canopy with the library at the background.

We went to the entrance of Sizihwan Beach but decided to give it a skip as visitors to the private beach have to pay NT100 for entry. I have seen better beaches anyway. We took the tunnel connecting the university to the Kaohsiung Harbour. Our destination is the Kushan Ferry Station (鼓山轮渡站). It is a 5mins walk through the long and dark tunnel. There are absolutely no lights in there. People travelling by bicycle normally turn on their lights to manoeuvre their way through. And we have to abide by the correct direction of travel in the tunnel. Failing to follow the right direction will see frequent collision.

Yachts, boats and smaller ships are docked at the pier before the Kushan Ferry Station.

We arrived at the Kushan Ferry Terminal and a long queue is already forming. Now is the weekend holiday season, so there is quite a considerable crowd. It cost NT15 for the 10minutes ride across to Cijin Ferry Station (旗津轮渡站).

Cijin (旗津)

The first stop in Cijin is the Tianhou Temple (天后宫).

Cijin is famous for its seafood.

After squeezing through the crowd, we finally arrived at the Seaside Park.

We scaled a short tower and were rewarded with a bird's eye view of the beaches. Here is the north-westernly hilly ranges.

And the south-eastern beaches.

The sparkling sea against the evening sun. It is only 3.30pm and sunset is at 6pm.

We continued walking and there is a beautiful roman arch along a section of the beach.

Before leaving we decided to grab a bite of their BBQ Tako. It is quite cheap, NT50 for 2 packs. While walking back to the Harbor, YS saw a green tea shop called Presotea and we just hopped in for a drink. It serves really fresh green tea.

Love River (爱河)

There are actually two ferry routes from the Cijin Ferry Station. One goes back to Hsitzuwan, where we came from. The other goes to the Love Pier just next to Kaohsiung Bridge. We joined in the first queue we saw and found that it actually goes to the Love Pier. It is perfect as that is where we are going next. It cost NT20 and 15mins for the ride. We enjoyed the sea breeze and the view, here we have the tallest building in Kaohsiung - the Kaohsiung Sky Tower (高雄88大楼).

Here I am hanging around the Love Pier, playing with my iPhone.

We rendezvous with 小a. Here is a group photo.

We walked along the Love Pier towards Zhong Zheng bridge. There are many large tents showcasing the lantern works of students.

The beautiful Love River (爱河).

At the other side of the river, there are many stalls selling local products. Heard from 小a that this one is pretty famous, so I bought Pineapple cakes from them.

The Kaohsiung Pedestrian Bridge is lighted up. Rows of photographers are getting ready for the night-time fireworks.

The Kaohsiung Harbor twilight view. There are many stalls selling foods along the river, so visitors are indeed spoilt for choice.

Kaohsiung Lantern Festival 2010 (高雄灯会)

Today is the first day of the Lantern Festival in Kaohsiung (高雄灯会). There is a series of events line up over 2 weeks. First we have the fireworks performance which starts at 7pm and lasts 15minutes.

We have fireworks coming out from the Harbor and from one of the buildings. It is a pretty impressive sight.

Check out the video recording below.

Next we have performances by artistes, they are 超夯三太子台客舞、王心凌、強辯、品冠、魔幻力量及各國姊妹市團隊演出.

At 8pm, there is a musical fountain display from the Harbor. I can't believe I have to pay for this in Singapore's Sentosa (I'm not going for it ever again).

Tzu Chi and Kaohsiung Medical University

While walking around where we stay, we came upon an impressive looking building. It is Tzu Chi Kaohsiung. We explored the interiors.

We came upon the Kaohsiung Medical University while searching for a triple-stupa building. We visited their student union building and have a break there. And also bought some snacks from the convenience shop. Thereafter we zipped towards Zuo Ying by taxi (refer to the Zuo Ying entry).

Shopping from Sanduo to Nanhua Tourist Night Market (高雄购物)

We decided to explore the shopping district of Kaohsiung during our final night there. We started with Sanduo where the Mitsukoshi and Sogo shopping malls are located. All shopping malls are pretty much the same, so we just walked past it.

Directly opposite Mitsukoshi shopping mall is a fascinating shop - Kwang Nan. The shop goes up to 5 storeys high and sell a great variety of stuffs. I settled all the shopping I have to do in Taiwan in this shop (bought SDHC card and SDHC reader). There are only two of these shops in Kaohsiung. One is in Sanduo, the other is in front of the train station along Zhong San 1 Road. Be sure to visit this shop if you are in Taiwan. There is a Singapore BBQ Pork shop just 2 shops away from this shop.

Next we visit the Hanshin Shopping Mall along Cheng Gong Road. It is a 20minutes walk away. There is an interesting shop in there which YS is searching for.

The shop is below. It is Black as Chocolate, opened by a Singapore singer Stella Ng. Anyway, it cost around S$40 for a 6-inch size cake.

We walked back to the Central Park station and alighted at the Formosa Boulevard station. There is beautiful glass display in the Formosa Boulevard station.

We exited from the station and saw the famous transparent glass structure protruding out from the ground at four sides of the traffic light junction. Two of the glass structures are shown below.

Liuhe Tourist Night Market (六合观光夜市)

The Liuhe Tourist Night Market is next to one of the Formosa Boulevard station's exit. It is quite a large night market.

It sells a great variety of food.

And my favourite mushrooms.

I ordered the large white mushroom which cost NT80. The taste is amazing!

And also Fried Chicken.

And of course, drinks is a must. Got Papaya milk for NT50.

Here is our group photo. Noticed that we were sun-burnt (due to a sunny trip to Kenting yesterday).

Kaohsiung Cultural Center (高雄市文化中心)

We decided to check out the Kaohsiung Cultural Center during our final day morning. There is nothing much in there.

The spacious entrance.

We also visited the National Kaohsiung Normal University which is the NIE of Singapore.

We hopped on the taxi next to the Kaohsiung Sky Tower (高雄85大楼). Before scaling the tower, we visited the Family Mart convenience stall and grabbed some food from there. I got my favourite oden. It is my second try in two days. When I was in Japan, I always wanted to have oden, but do not have much opportunity. This time round I can enjoy it to the fullest.

Kaohsiung Sky Tower (高雄85大楼)

After our 'brunch', we left the store and looked towards the sky. It is a tall building indeed.

We have to enter from the hotel side of the building. While walking along, we saw beautiful lotuses being grown from large pots.

It cost NT100 for the trip up to the 75th floor. The maximum speed achievable is 600 metres per minute.

From the top, we can see that Kaohsiung City is actually very well planned.

Here is the view towards Kaohsiung Harbour.

Kaohsiung International Airport (小港国际机场)

We took a cab back to Nan Ping Bie Yuan to take our bags and bid farewell to our hosts. The 25mins taxi ride from Aozihdi to the airport (11 stations away) cost NT300. There seems to be some filming going on in the Arrival Terminal of the airport. We visited the 1st floor cafe at the Arrival Hall for lunch.

We cleared the customs and is into the waiting area. We walked through this beautifully designed interior.

Here is the plane going to Singapore.

Fo Guang Shan Sights [17/02 - 20/02]

2010-03-06T11:15:00.007+08:00

It is the 3rd day of the Lunar New Year, the last official day of the consecutive holidays where salaried workers will be slowly making their journey back to their respective workplaces and get ready for work the very next day. For us (YS and me), it is actually the start of a new adventure in a foreign land. Fortunately, my holidays is actually much longer than normal and YS managed to keep this period free, so off we go to Kaohsiung (高雄) in Taiwan.

This is actually a tour organized by Fo Guang Shan (佛光山 - Buddha Light) Singapore. Through a series of 'coincidences' in the last few months, YS managed to hear about this tour. He invited a few of us and I found my schedule to be very accommodating during this period. Two groups departing at different dates were organized, the first group departs a day before the Lunar New Year and will come back on the day we are departing. So as not to miss the Lunar New Year dinner and catch-up with relatives, we decided to go for the second group.

There were 15 members in the first group. We were in the second group with YS being the Group Leader and I am the Group Member. :P There was a briefing session being held a week before our departure. The cost of the tour is S$1000 (minus NT400) and the entire travel fees go into the air ticket. It is especially expensive during the CNY period (I have verified online). Accommodations and food are provided free.

We rendezvous at the Changi Terminal 1 airport. There are only a few flights between Singapore and Kaohsiung by China Airlines in a week.

Ven Ru Ying has arranged a transport pickup at Kaohsiung Xiao Gang (小港) airport. We departed Singapore at 7.35pm and arrived at Kaohsiung at 11.45pm. It is close to midnight and the airport is empty. We were told to wear the prominent Fo Guang Shan yellow vest so the driver will be able to recognize us. It was indeed a relief when we saw the driver after the customs (there was no one at the arrival hall except for him, dressed in the prominent yellow vest). We took a group photo before departing. Really grateful to him for picking us up. The journey from the airport to Fo Guang Shan is around 40mins. Taiwan is right-hand drive and it took us a while to get used to the traffic flow.

Here is the map of Fo Guang Shan Monastery (佛光山寺). There are many different versions of the map available but I like this one the best. It provides altitude contour so it will give visitors a feel of the climb they will be making when visiting the various sights.

Now is the Spring Festival season in Taiwan and they have a series of activities all around the monastery ground. The activities are listed below (it is all in Chinese). We attended all the activities mentioned below and it will be shared in all Fo Guang Shan related posts.

We arrived at Fo Guang Shan around 12.40am. Here is the path leading towards the Mountain Gate (头山门) for vehicles. There is a Tusita Convenience Store conveniently located next to the main entrance.

We arrived at the Pilgrims Lodge and walked up the stairs to the second floor. The corridor is very well-kept with paintings placed along the walls. There is no one around the second floor reception but they are just a phone call away. We got our keys promptly and off we go to our rooms.

As we walked into our rooms, I was totally unprepared for the scene to come. I was expecting to stay in a large dormitory (based on my previous temple stay experience). It is a far cry from what I was anticipating. We have a personal double-bed room! There's even a TV that come along with it and free-flow of drinks. It is definitely splendid living. Every rooms come with air-conditioning and attached bathrooms/toilets. Looks like we are going to enjoy our vacation here in Fo Guang Shan.

Meals are also included and there are fixed timings for them. Breakfast starts at 6.30am and ends at 8.30am. Lunch is 11am till 2pm. Dinner starts from 6pm and ends around 8pm. Our 'restaurant' is conveniently located at the first floor of the Pilgrims Lodge. There are over 100 different TV programmes shown, providing endless entertainment when we were in the room.

We woke up at 9am the next morning (as it will be for the next 3 days). The weather is splendid and it is cooling at around 16 degrees celsius. It seems the natural air-conditioning has been turned on for us. Thus we enjoy a great deal of rest every night. We began exploring the place with the most important gate leading up to the main shrine - the Non-Duality Gate (不二门).

The Non-Duality Gate oversees a large compound where performances are frequently held. Here is a tribal performance at 9.30am.

Past the Non-Duality Gate is Vulture's Peak (灵山胜景). Please visit the Fo Guang Shan English website for more information on why the names are given. Vulture's Peak is where the Buddha gave several important teachings in India.

There are many beautifully curved sculptures of Arahats along the passageway at Vulture's Peak. This is known as the 500 Arahats Garden (五百罗汉).

Past the flight of stairs leading up from Vulture's Peak, we have the Pilgrim Lodge (朝山会馆). This is where we will be staying in the next few days. It is centrally located. As such, we can take pit stops back in our room or bring our purchases back easily. Besides the Pilgrims Lodge, visitors can also stay at the Bamboo Garden Lodge (麻竹园). The Bamboo Garden Lodge looks larger and can accommodate thousands of visitors at any one time.

Going through the Pilgrims Lodge is another flight of stairs to the Padmagarbha Gate (华藏玄门).

Here is The Way to Buddhahood (成佛大道) to the Main Shrine (大雄宝殿) of the Fo Guang Shan monastery. The main shrine is extremely large. (note: these photos are taken during the early morning before the crowds start coming in at 9am. As such, Fo Guang Shan looks quite empty). There is a large bell to the front where visitors can ring it to welcome the New Year.

Here is a challenge put to us. We were handed a card and for each places of interest we visit in the monastery, a stamp will be given. After we have collected a number of stamps, a souvenir will be given to us. So here we begin~

The first stop is the Main shrine hall. There are 3 large Buddhas representations in there signifying Buddhas from the Past, Present and the Future. It is an extremely large hall and I believed it can accommodate thousand of people in it easily.

Behind the Main Shrine is the Tathagata Building.

Before going to the Tathagata Building, we visited the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery (佛光缘美术馆) which is between the Tathagata Building and the Main Shrine. It showcases the different traditions of Buddhism and on humanistic Buddhism.

Then we proceeded on to the Tathagata Building, following the crowd to the 4th floor. The Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine (佛牙舍利殿) is opened for visitors and we joined in the briefing. No photos are allowed in the Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine.

A level below the Buddha Tooth Relic Shrine is the Meditation Hall (禅静法堂). It appears to be converted into lodging places for the volunteers during this period.

Next to the Tathagata Building is the Jade Buddha Hall (玉佛楼).

On the 7th floor is the Amitabha Chanting Hall. It is a very peaceful and quiet place. We spent some time here relaxing and enjoying the tranquility. The elevator here leads to the first floor which is towards the entrance to the Cloud Dwelling Building (云居楼).

For one of the lunch session, we went to the Cloud Dwelling Building for their traditional lunch. There is also a morning breakfast session but we skipped it as it requires us to be ready at 5.30am for it. It is a large hall indeed, heard it can accommodate up to 2,000 people.

There are certain protocols to follow when having our meals there. For lunch there is a bowl for the main dish and one for soup with a fruit (黑金刚). I was very curious how does 黑金刚 looks like since I heard about it last year August. 小a handed me a large bag of the fruit as a gift. Her family cultivate large plantations of this fruit.

It is recommended that everyone have their meals in silence and in complete mindfulness (on how we handle our bowl, our chopsticks, handling the food, requesting for more and finishing our meals). For a typical hurly burly urban dweller, meals are done in a quick fashion manner. This meal have to be done in absolute clarity, being in the present at all times. I shared the Meals Taking Etiquette below.

There is this 'secret' restaurant behind the Dharma Transmission Center. The only way to get there is to transverse the path between Cloud Dwelling Building and the Dharma Transmission Center. It gives a beautiful long-distance view of the region. It is worth a try. We stumbled upon it when climbing up from the Longevity Memorial Park. Now back to our adventure, just a few steps away from the Cloud Dwelling Temple is the Lumbini Garden (蓝毗尼园).

Fo Guang Shan TV broadcast room is located next to the garden and visitors can take photoshots of them 'on air'.

Here is our group photo.

Next to the Lumbini Garden is the Exhibition Area of the Buddha Memorial Center (佛陀纪念馆展示区). The hall housed a Thai-designed Buddha representation.

We went on to the Buddha Museum (宝藏馆). According to the guide, it will take 15mins to walk from one end to the next. If we were to go through each and every exhibits, it will take around 1 hour.

There is this unique room of mirrors, depicting the vast and infinite Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.

We moved on towards the eastern side of the monastery, starting with the Great Wisdom shrine (大智殿). This side of the monastery gives a panoramic view of the river and the distant horizon.

While walking up to the Great Buddha Land (大佛城), there is a pavilion, Dragon Pavilion (龙亭) as it is called for visitors to rest. Drinks and resting places are abundantly provided throughout the monastery, ensuring visitors have a great and memorial time in the monastery. It is a Pure Land indeed.

On the base of the Great Buddha is a passageway where thousands of Buddhas line the walls.

Here is the Great Buddha on a fabulous morning.

And the thousands of Gold Buddha surrounding it. The hand reaches out to the people.

Here I am taking a photo. This gate leads to the Great Vow Shrine (地藏殿).

The are many representations of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva at the Great Vow temple. The Ksitigarbha Sutra tells the story of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the great vow he has made.

While at the temple, YS and me took a group photoshot while ringing the bell.

Here is the Longevity Memorial Park (万寿园), these are actually tombstones. Notice the 6 pagodas (actually there are 7) at the top, this section is off-limits to visitors. These are where the venerables staying.

Just next to the Non-Duality Gate is the entrance to the Pure Land Cave (净土洞窟). Here is Amitabha Buddha in great embrace.

The 10 great Arahat disciples of the Buddha. It is like Singapore's Hwa Par Villa. Except there are no images of hell, only images of the Buddha's Pure Land. It is heavenly.

Ok. The below photo is funny.

A rainbow bridge.

That's me alright~

Directly facing the Non-Duality Gate is the Avalokitesvara (Guan Yin, Chenrezig, Kannon) Pond - 观音池.

Beautiful lotus grow out from the pond.

We went to the Great Compassion Shrine (大悲殿) which is just off the Pilgrims Lodge. Leading to the Shrine is the Precious Bridge (宝桥). The Precious Bridge looks more beautiful at night.

Many devotees wrote well wishes for the New Year and placed it up.

On each the morning, there is a prayer session and we joined in for 30mins.

The many light offerings in the Great Compassion Shrine.

At 5.30am and 4pm each day, there is a 3-step 1-bow ceremony (朝山礼佛). Since it rained during the 2nd and 3rd day, it is shifted indoors along the passageway surrounding the Main Hall.

Normally we have our dinner back in the Pilgrim Lodge. Here is the restaurant. There are also many other restaurants through the monastery grounds. They are known as Di Shui Fang (滴水坊). There is one next to the Avalokitesvara Pond, one next to the Fo Guang Yuan Art Gallery and one in the Dharma Transmission Center (please read above for access to the last Di Shui Fang). Since the New Year festival is ongoing, there are also many make-shift shops selling food all over the place. For breakfast, we decided to go non-vegetarian and have our meals just next to the main entrance of Pilgrims Path. So you will never go hungry in Fo Guang Shan.

There is a great selection of food which we can choose from. We just inform the counter staff of our room number and where we are seated, then they will deliver the food over to us. We have to get the rice and soup ourselves though.

During the evening, we decided to try out our calligraphy skills in the Calligraphy Hall (抄经堂).

Ok. It's my first time holding a chinese calligraphy pen.

The end result. From left is 小a, next is mine and the right is YS. I heard that Taiwanese learned calligraphy at the young age, so that explains the great difference in 'writing style'

On one of the evenings, we decided to visit the Great Practice Shrine (普贤殿). The Great Practice Shrine is a distance away from the crowded places. So it is a great place to chill out and catch some peace, away from the people. We were fortunate on that evening in that we have a conversation with the Shrine abbot and some of the locals. The abbot stayed several years in Africa before and is well-versed in calligraphy and traditional chinese painting. Here he is explaining to us on how we can master calligraphy. He also gave us a calligraphy writing. It is written 观自在 (the first 3 words of the Heart Sutra).

Thereafter we proceed on to the Borders-like bookstore, the Fo Guang Shan Cultural and Educational Promotion Center (文教广场). There are many seats and tables here for people to sit and read books or watch the shows put on air.

It took us 2 days to complete the entire visitors card.

We left on the 20th (Saturday) morning. Just before we left, this sign on the gate greeted us. It means the Path to Enlightenment is here. Going out means back to the world of Samsara. Very true indeed.

Even during the second last day of their long holidays, there were still crowds coming in. I believed there were tens of thousands of unique visitors each day. Here is the photo of the Pilgrims Path (朝山步道).

For visitors coming to Southern Taiwan for the first time, besides Kaohsiung city, Fo Guang Shan is a must visit destination.

Singapore Jan - Feb 10

2010-02-15T23:22:00.001+08:00

15th February (Monday)

Today we had a reunion dinner amongst old friends at Suntec's Soup restaurant. We went for their prosperity CNY 7-course set menu. Most of the restaurants are opened in the Suntec-Marina area but the retail shops are mainly closed. The amazing thing is that the crowd is still there. After dinner, we went to check out River Hongbao just next to the Esplanade. I caught this contrast around the God of Wealth. Behind are the dark gray skies (end of the gloomy recession) while in front of it are the bright clouds (better years ahead).

There is this rare moment during sunset where the clouds are illuminated like fluffy cotton wool. This period is only visible on certain days for just 5 minutes. I remember seeing it very often in Penang.

Thereafter we proceeded on to Dempsey Hill for chilling out. We went down to Ben and Jerry's at Blk 8 for the Merlionster (6 scoops) and got some drinks.

12th February (Friday)

We were initially planning to visit Hey Hey hotpot at the Pomo off Selegie Road. But unfortunately they were not having the ala carte buffet due to the Chinese New Year. So we went on to check out the hotpot restaurant that is just next to it - Ju Ju Hokkaido Hot Pot. Something that captivated me to this restaurant is that extremely friendly service staffs. Everyone were just smiling happily. The service guy (from China) which I spoke to on the menu at the entrance illustrated on the selection we could make. It is actually a 7 course dinner.

Here is how the starter looks like. One of the service staff demonstrate to me the way on eating the egg. This egg has the exact taste as those which I took in Japan! Even though it is more expensive than the normal eggs in Singapore, I remembered having it almost every day in Japan. (cos I like to splurge a bit)

This is the main course (Seafood cuisine). It comes in a ship-like plate with all the seafood on it. The food is good but the service is really a big thumbs up.

When I asked for the bill, the service staff told me that with Standard Chartered card, it is 15% off. I told him I don't have it now, but will be back again. While we were walking by The Cathay, we caught a Taiko performance in there. I have a liking for Taiko.

After some shopping at Somerset 313, we hopped on to Chinatown next. It is crowded indeed but not as crowded as the New Year's Day crowd where it's totally unmovable.

The shops are all in red.

The people are also in red.

Chinese New Year light up line the streets.

23rd January (Saturday)

It's been a while since I last went for a Tzu Chi activity. I have been very supportive of their goals and vision and will always be. Tzu Chi is known as the red cross of the east and with a spate of natural disasters in the recent years, their efforts have been highlighted globally.

The event is a 2 hour long showcase of Tzu Chi activities globally and in Singapore. There were sharing speeches by the seniors as well as performances. As the hall only allow possibly a thousand people each time, there were 5 sessions in all over the weekend (2 on Saturday and 3 on the Sunday). I went for the Saturday 1.30pm session and the hall is completely filled.

We also received some souvenirs and red packet for the new year.

Thereafter I hopped on my friend's bike towards East Coast. It's the first time I'm on a bike travelling at 90km/hr on the expressway.

17th January (Sunday)

While walking through the Youth Park in Orchard, we came upon these interesting looking chairs. They are actually covered with carpet grass and people can actually sit on it.

Next we are off to Ippudo at Mandarin Gallery. I have been wanting to check this out for a while now. We queued 40mins in all.

We ordered a great selection of dishes from their menu. The main course is the ramen.

Thereafter we went to Orchard Central for some phototaking. I noticed this unique design and took a shot of it.

Thereafter it is off to the Henderson Waves at Southern Ridge and then to Labrador Park. Sara took an amazing photo of the sea from Labrador Park. I have to give credit to her for this beautiful photo taken below.

There is an ice-cream and drinks truck in the park. They sell all varieties of drinks (as seen below).

7th January (Thursday)

Took this photo before my class in Geylang.

6th January (Wednesday)

Took this photo just after I left house.

Kuala Lumpur 1 - Shopping/Food [28/01,29/01]

2010-01-31T10:12:00.001+08:00

28th January (Thursday)

This is a family trip to Kuala Lumpur. The last time I went for a family trip was around 20 years ago and it was also to Malaysia. It is organised by my eldest brother this time round, so I do not have to do much study or research on the places to visit.

We rendezvous at Transtar's Lavender departure office. The office has a waiting lounge for passengers, the interior is beautifully decorated and it comes with free flow of refreshments. Each premium bus service comes along with a lovely cabin crew.

Here is how the interior looks like. Each seat is a massage chair and comes with a personal entertainment video system. Needless to say, the seats are large.

We were served meals on board. After boarding, we were given Pastamania's Pasta Sausage. 2 hours down the road, it is another snack time of a choice of coffee/tea with snacks.

After the second link, it is a 4 hours journey northwards to KL. We arrived at KL around 1.30pm. The Petronas Twin Tower and KL Tower greeted us from afar.

From the bus station in Pasar Rakyat, we took a cab to Jalan Sultan where our hotel, the Five Elements Hotel is. Jalan Sultan is in the Chinatown area.

Our rooms are actually connected by a common door.

And off we go for lunch. Crossing the road, we came upon the many BBQ Pork stores. Here we have a shop helper barbecuing along the road. It looks so tempting that we went to buy some immediately.

Here is the T-junction of Jalan Heng Lekir and Jalan Sultan. Many school children walk along this road as at the end of the road is a chinese school.

The many signboards found in a typical overseas chinatown. (notice the school name in the background)

We went to this shop along Jalan Heng Lekir for their Wan Tan mee.

Here is what I have ordered (medium size)

Thereafter we turned into Jalan Petaling street: the official chinatown street.

This street is famous for all the imitations goods and local food products/pastries. I do not buy imitation goods as their quality is inferior to non-branded goods. So I skipped through most of the stalls while keeping a lookout for any good delicacies.

There is a durian shop along Jalan Sultan, so we stopped by and sample a few durians.

Many shops are gearing up for the coming Chinese New Year. They are all beautifully decorated in preparation for the festive season.

We went back to hotel to rest a while before going to the main shopping area of Bukit Bintang (the Orchard Road of KL). Our first stop is the Pavilion Mall. The entrance to the Pavilion is also decorated for the Chinese New Year holiday.

It is indeed a sea of red (mall interior).

Here we are crossing the junction of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Bukit Bintang, the busiest traffic junction in the area with the LRT running above. We proceeded to check out Sungei Wang and Low Yat Plaza.

Here is Berjaya Times Square, a large shopping mall up to 10 over storeys high with indoor roller coaster.

We proceeded down to Jalan Alor, which is a famous food hang-out in this area. We walked towards the end of Jalan Alor (next to Jalan Tong Shin) where we settle down for this seafood restaurant. As my brother has been to KL many times before, he knows where the best food and places to visit. The Salted Egg Crab is fabulous!!! (It's actually my third crab cuisine in 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago I had chilli crab, last week i had pepper crab)

29th January (Friday)

Our hotel package comes along with free breakfast. Here is the dining hall in the first floor.

I ordered Malay noodles during the first morning.

And western style during the second morning.

Thereafter we proceeded onto the Central Market which is a short 10mins walk from our hotel.

There are a lot of local crafts in the Central Market.

And also all kinds of interesting t-shirts.

We went on to a RM2 shop. I noticed that the badminton rackets only cost RM2 to RM5. No wonder Malaysia is one of the best in badminton sports.

In the afternoon we went down to Mid-Valley Mall (as my colleague like to say it, it is located in the middle of the Klang Valley). There is some lion dance performance in the afternoon in the middle of the mall.

There is also a World of Fengshui by a famous Malaysia Feng Shui master.

It started raining in the afternoon and we went back to the hotel. At night, we had BBQ prepared Portuguese-style. It only cost RM36 for 4 people. It has stingray, prawns, calms and octopus.

Kuala Lumpur 2 - Lake Garden [30/01]

2010-01-31T10:11:00.000+08:00

I managed to set aside one day to visit some sights in KL. From our hotel, we took a cab to the National Monument in the Lake Gardens. Along the way, we passed by the Jamek Mosque. This is one of the recommended sight in the Historic Heart of KL. The architecture is remarkable.

We alighted along Jalan Parlimen and walked northwards towards the Tugu Negara (National Monument). Along the way, we passed by some stonehedge structure.

There is a quiet pond in the area. The midday sun is not up and the pond gave a clear reflection of the surrounding trees.

Walking along the path and appreciating the diverse vegetation of the equatorial climate.

Here is a memorial for the world wars.

The building leading to the National Monument. The sun cast perfect shadows in the building.

A symmetric national monument feel from the front (with a lady pretending to be a monkey on the right)

Let's take a closer look at the sculpture. This symbolises triumph over communism.

We took another path down from the National Monument southwards. Just in front is the ASEAN Sculpture Garden with a lot of funny looking exhibits and stonehedge like sculpture.

The national flower of Malaysia is hibiscus. Of so many flowers, I like hibiscus the most. There is a certain grace to it.

Through the Lake Garden, we came upon a dinosaur park. This is perfect for kids.

The plants are shaped like dinosaurs.

There are many water coolers around.

I find this part of the garden to be very special. It is circular and perfectly symmetrical. That is what I like about islamic art and architecture, everything is so beautiful.

Here is the start of Lake Garden. It is also a perfect venue for wedding shots.

Visitors can rent boats from here. It is very cheap, only RM6 for 30mins.

There are several bridges and pavilion in the park, so visitors can slowly cross it and rest under the pavilion. Ideal to visit the park in the early morning or evening, and avoid the hot afternoon sun.

We walked up the hill. It's quite a climb and I'm surprised that Lake Garden is quite hilly. Along the road in front of the Memorial Tun Razak, there is a sign telling motorist of monkeys crossing.

A family of monkeys (man's best friend).

The Memorial Tun Razak, it seems to be closed though.

Next, we decided to visit the Orchid Garden, since Orchid is the national flower of Singapore. The entrance on weekends is only RM1.

Walking along the covered walkway to the nursery and bazaar.

Multi-coloured orchids lined the bazaar.

A nursery where orchids are being grown.

We returned back to the bird park which is just opposite the Orchid Garden. We noticed there were different pricing between foreigners and locals. Locals who have a MyKad (Malaysia IC) only need to pay RM15 for adults, while foreigners have to pay a whooping RM42!!

Anyway, from there we hop on a taxi back to our hotel to wash up and get ready to check out. Along the way, we pass by the National Mosque.

The taxi driver told us the coming Monday is a City Day, where cities in Malaysia celebrate their holiday. So here in the open field, they are preparing for the City Day celebration. Notice the large flag pole in the distance.

After lunch in Chinatown, I decided to visit the Guan Gong temple in the area. I always like to visit places of worship as these are places where locals seek solace and peace.

The main entrance to the temple.

A dragon ready to soar.

The many incense hanging at the entrance of the temple. I learned this perspective from FP the last time we were shooting images in a similar temple in Singapore.

Buddhist Exhibit and NAFA Open House [16/01]

2010-01-17T09:33:00.002+08:00

The highlight for today is a visit to the Buddhist Exhibit at the Hai Yin Culture and Arts Research Gallery (Geylang Lor 24A) and the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Open House (Bencoolen Street).

I have been interested in fine arts (drawing) for some time and recently is more into design & media.

Geylang - Upcoming Arts and Cultural Area

While searching for a good place for lunch at Geylang Lor 29, we came upon a natural cave design in one of the buildings. It has a painting of the Singapore financial district.

There is also a Buddha representation and a lotus-mandala at the top of the 'cave'.

After lunch, we went on to Geylang Lor 24A. Here is the Hai Yin Culture and Arts Research Gallery.

There were several visitors in the gallery when we arrived at 1.20pm. We spoke to the curator of the gallery briefly. She asked us whether are we interested to learn how to draw Buddha images. Drawing is one of my hobby, so I'm quite tempted to accept. There are two floors to the gallery. Here we are at the second floor with an image of the Dharma Wheel.

Next is the main gallery at the second floor. It explains the history of Buddhism in Singapore, the main temples and the leading masters that shaped Singapore in the last 100 over years.

I also saw the abbot of Hai Yin (in the middle of the photo below). It's been a while since I last saw and spoke to him. I used this opportunity to ask a few questions and gain some insight into the upcoming Singapore economy and society. At the top of the gallery on the second floor, there are beautiful paintings.

After departing from the Gallery, we came upon this car which is all coloured up.

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) Open House

Thereafter we proceed on to the NAFA Open House. We made a small stop at Golden Mile before arriving at NAFA Campus 3 at 3pm. Here is the advertising postcard and the large poster against the wall.

NAFA has 3 campuses in all. We started with Campus 3, followed by Campus 1 and Campus 2.

Campus 3 is where the Department of Dance, Music and Theatre is. I found two contrasting mirrors next to the small theatre.

Visitors entering the theatre have to abide by the below rules.

Next we went to the Lee Foundation Theatre. It is large and impressive. There is no problem in accommodating 380 people in all.

The backstage where the actors and actresses get ready for the next act.

Appreciating the scene from the audience area.

There are ample chairs outside the theatre where visitors can just sit and chat during the intermission.

At the fourth floor of Campus 3, there is an outdoor study area, overlooking Ibis Hotel in the distant.

Here is the main building of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts at Campus 1.

There are two gallery exhibits on display. I took a quick shot of it from the entrance. On display are the students' work. Their works are truly amazing and fascinating. I strongly recommend visitors to check while it is still on display.

Campus 1 houses the Designs and Fine Arts departments. We visited a number of their art workshops to see how a sculpture is being made.

The students explaining and showcasing their work.

Some design are driven by environmentally reusable materials.

While walking along the student corridors, we stumble upon this interesting poster and decide to take a photo of it.

We took the stairs occasionally as the lifts are pack with people.

A whole window panel overlooking Bencoolen Street.

The different student art design being place up.

Here is a showcase for 3D Design and Design & Media. It covers film production and computer graphics.

We went around to different parts of Campus 1. Hope that we are not in the off-limits area. Here are some busts which has been kept in some top secret place.

Going down to the 6th floor of Campus 1 B-Wing. Here is where the painters are at work.

Paints on display.

Multi-coloured student projects.

A 3-D paint design.

I notice one of 'my' art work is on design.

The painters work in a unique environment. It very well illuminated and the room feels very cosy.

Next we went down to the School of Fashion Studies in Campus 3. We got there at 5pm and it is already closing.

As the School of the Arts is just round the corner, we decide to check it out too. Here is the main entrance just behind the bus stop. Stairs leading up to a castle.

We have to navigate through the maze to get in.

We proceeded on for dinner at the Japanese area. Thereafter it is chill out at Clarke Quay. It appears Clarke Quay is also ready for the next big holiday - Chinese New Year.

We noticed this interesting concept in one of the shops. There are two mannequins in there. Let's go on to the next scene.

Notice that their clothing changes. These are all image projections. It is just an empty room with two mannequins, but the image projected onto them change how the environment looks like, giving it a 3-D feel.

Pinnacle @ Duxton [09/01]

2010-01-10T10:16:00.015+08:00

There has been a lot of buzz going around since the Pinnacle@Duxton was first launched a month ago: such as the attractive Sky Bridge where non-residents have to pay $5 to gain access to it, or the infamous 'security-flaw' to certain units. Pinnacle@Duxton was first opened for sales in 2004 and is (partially) completed in 2009. It will take another 6 months to a year for the whole area to be ready for residents. It takes 5 years for this BTO project to complete.

My brother invited us over to his show-flat on the Saturday morning. From our house at East Coast, it is a direct 30mins ride over to Pinnacle@Duxton. This is the amazing sight that greeted us - the towering residential skyscrapers of Tanjong Pagar. The late morning sun is being blocked off completely.

The Pinnacle @ Duxton sign is just next to the main entrance to the carpark. I don't think you can email to 'pinnacle@duxton'

Pinnacle@Duxton has 50 storeys where 3 elevators serve storey 1 - 26 while the other 3 elevators serve storeys 27 - 50. Both lifts stopped over from Basement to Level 3 which are the common areas. Here is how the common lift landing on the 20th floor looks like.

Into a 4-room flat, here is the main living room. HDB has already renovated the place before, so it will save the occupants the trouble of renovating it again. (sorry for not using camera flash in the photo below)

A view straight ahead through the window.

Let's walk along the passageway into the 3 bedrooms.

Taking a peek into the master bedroom. One of the windows give a view of the sentosa IR (right window), while the other is looking out towards the financial district (left window).

Just a side note. I find the rooms to be rather small. The master bedroom is the same size as my bedroom in Marine Parade. Based on the current living space, it is suitable for singles, married couples with no kids, or married couples with a kid. Any larger than my recommended size is just not suitable. It is impossible to convert the two smaller bedrooms into bedrooms with study bench. Unless the Japanese room style is designed - sleep on the floor with no permanent bed.

Here is how the bathroom looks like.

Relaxing by the window and overlooking into the distant.

I went out to the central corridor and check out the other units in the area. There is this newspaper report of 'security-flaw' in the central units. It is true indeed. Any burglar who want to break in can just easily climb over the ledge, through the 50cm opening and onto the unit on the left hand side. HDB has made its stand by replying (Sunday Times 10th Jan 2010) "Residents can install grilles with locks and security appliances to make their homes more secure. HDB will work with police to step up patrols there." Those who got the central units are quite unfortunate and there is nothing they can do except to complain and pray that the HDB will seal off the top openings from the Common Corridor.

After the show-flat visit. We went up to the 26th floor. My brother got 4 access cards and just nice each of us have one of them. It uses RFID cards to gain access into the Sky Bridge. (The card looks exactly as the same my company is using).

Finally we are out in the open, away from the housing concrete. From this view, we can see the financial district.

Some lovely outdoor benches and tables where residents can chill out.

Looking up to storeys 26th to 50th while walking through the sky bridge.

Some play grounds for kids to have fun.

Another playground.

Looking down from the top, we can see the 3rd storey common area where there is a basketball court.

The apartments come with different customization requirements. There are some with balconies where residents can place flower pots or create a mini-gardens in there.

Two lovely flowers blossoming on the 26th floor concrete jungle.

Back to the lift landing and we are going up to the 50th storey next.

The 50th floor sky bridge. While on the 50th floor sky bridge, we have observed there is actually a method how visitors can go around the access gate. As long as they have a single card, it can be tapped in by one visitor, the card is tapped out (without the visitor coming out) and is tapped in again by another visitor. It can be repeated until all the visitors are in. While on the 50th floor, we noticed a security guard hanging around the gate (with a makeshift chair). I guess he is there to prevent anyone from trying out anything 'funny'. There's also CCTV at each gates. But I mentioned when visitors try the above trick, it will take a while for them to notice and come up 50 floors.

The view from here is just impressive. MM Lee and MBT were here and it is here where they gave a few notable quotes:
"Property prices will go up" - MM Lee
"HDB flats are still affordable" - MBT

I believe visitors walking around the 50th floor sky bridge will also give the same comments. I quoted them a few times while I'm up there. :P

Anyway, from below you can see Brani Port, Vivo City and of course the Sentosa IR. Residents can easily catch fireworks from here.

There are more al fresco dining area where residents can enjoy themselves.

Walking through a wide opening area to the next few flats.

Taking a closer look.

Design is nice and perfect for a photography shot.

Overlooking the financial district of Singapore. Pinnacle@Duxton locality is just amazing!

Some benches for residents to sun-tan.

At the 3rd storey common area, there is an introduction on Pinnacle@Duxton as well as the history of HDB. The first blocks of HDB are built in this area.

And of course, we have Mr Lee Kuan Yew inaugurating the ground-breaking ceremony. Residents moving into Duxton have lots to thank MM Lee for. For the rest who are planning to get married or own a house in Singapore from 2007 onwards, you have missed the property cycle. Let's wait till supply to outstrip demand and hope it will go down one day.
But our prophet has said "Property prices will go up"

From Pinnacle@Duxton, residents can walk to the community centre which is just next to it. At the 'old Tanjong Pagar town', the hawker centre has some great selection of food.