They taste as good as they looked which reminds me I should get the recipe from Jess and try this at home sometime. The custard tastes heavenly!

We dropped by Mind’s Cafe and found a new game which was really fun! True colours is a game where players attempt to best anticipate how others perceive them. Each round consists of several private ballot votes on who best fits a particular question. Once votes are entered players guess at the number of votes they received for that particular question. The better your estimate the more points you make and the winner being the player who best understands how others see the player. I ended up as the one with the lowest point. Hopefully James will get this for his board games rental site! It’s really fun and entertaining playing with people whom you know.

We went to Bottle Tree Village for dinner and got lost on our way there because the taxi drivers didn’t know how to go there. We chalked up to about SGD 30 of fares. That wasn’t the worst part because the walk back to the bus stop was so creepy. There wasn’t much street lights and no one was walking along the road. It was like a mini night adventure similar to the night walk during our secondary 4 adventure camp but I swear I’m not going there again without a car. It was horribly inconvenient!

On a last note, thanks guys for the gift, tarts and wishes! I really appreciated your thoughtfulness and everything.

Related posts:

1. Sing towards your 21st
2. Farewell gathering for our dear friend
3. Christmas Gathering 2008

We arrived at about 9.30am and the place was pretty packed. I had not expected such a big crowd since it wasn’t a weekend or school holiday. I was very impressed with the architectures, buildings and design because they are gorgeous! I don’t feel like I’m in Singapore once I stepped into the park. The friendly staff directed our ways to collect the dining and shopping vouchers and we started our day via taking a picture with my favourite animal in the world – the famous Kungfu panda, Po.

Honestly speaking, I don’t really like this photograph because I’m so tiny in it. I can’t even see my own face clearly. The shot taken by the cameraman of Universal Studios Singapore did a better job and we ended up purchasing the photograph which cost us SGD 10 from the photo studio; The Dark Room. Quite a creative name instead of the usual “Kodak Express” I see in the malls!

Why doesn’t Singapore have such beautiful newspaper stands (or is it called the papers vending machine)? We headed straight to Madagascar and managed to catch a 15 seconds performance of the penguins. I was so glad I got the chance to take a shot with the super duper adorable penguins. What’s his name again? Skipper? My personal favourite is the short chubby one. I should have asked him for his name (the penguin not the person)!

Our first ride was the King Julien’s Beach Party-Go-Round which is basically just a ordinary Merry-Go-Round without the horses. You will find all kinds of characters in Madagascar on this ride. I love the penguins so I chose to ride with them! The ride was really slow so don’t worry about getting dizzy. The kids are having a really good time on this but for someone who has lived 2 decades on this earth, it was all right. The characters were adorable though.

There was really nothing much at Madagascar but the shops are beautifully designed. I took a picture of the penguins hanging from the ceiling. I applauded the management for taking the time and money to beautify the ceilings. Most wouldn’t even spare a glance at the ceilings. On a random note, you are going to love Sissy’s photographs, she has the most hilarious and coolest pose! And one of the joke of the day?

Mum: Excuse me, may I know where to get to this roller coaster (pointing at the Enchanted Airways ride)?
Staff: Oh, you have to walk to far far away.
Mum: Huh? I still have to walk far far away to get there?
Sissy: LOL! No, no, that place is called “Far Far Away”.
Mum: Oh (laughs), thanks!

I couldn’t get a full view of the castle because of the blue shelter built right in front of it. I remember seeing a photograph of it taken by my friend a few weeks ago and I’m pretty sure the blue shelter wasn’t there at that time. Perhaps it was built to cater to the queue. After taking the Enchanted Airways which is a small family roller coaster, we went to watch the Shrek 4D show. Frankly speaking, the pre-show talk was way too long. We were brought into this empty room with a few big screens right at the top. I had a stiff neck after looking up for 15 minutes during the pre-show talk. The grandma standing behind us was getting tired as well. Seriously, no seats? The screen is way too high up and the speech was terribly long. My anticipation for the show decreased by a fair bit after the long speech. My verdict of the show: it was mediocre. Just rocking seats, splashes of water and maybe some wind. The 3D effect wasn’t fantastic either.

Mum suggested having an early lunch to avoid the lunch crowd. Since she wasn’t a fan of western food, we decided to have lunch at Hollywood China Bistro. On our way back, Sissy spotted this interesting sign and asked me to take a photograph of it. All shopping malls should be using this. Dolls FTW! We had Chinese noodles and dim sum which cost us SGD 30+ after deducting 30 bucks using the complimentary dining vouchers. Lunch was pretty good. The restaurant was beautifully decorated in red and gold (typical colours used in Chinese restaurants). In addition, the friendly and polite staff makes it a good dining experience for us.

Our next stop was at Jurassic Park. We went to watch the WaterWorld show and Sissy nearly fell asleep in there. I thought the show wasn’t too bad. Explosions, lots of water, stuns, rather good storyline and a wee bit of fireworks. The performers can really get the audiences to participate and at the same time, get them soaked as well. Lots of small children were crying halfway through the show. I’m not sure why parents will want to bring their young children to the show when they have been warned that this show involves lots of loud noises, explosions and requires parental guidance due to the use of (fake!) guns and stuff.

We were actually planning to ride the Canopy Flyer but the queue was an hour long. Since the park closes at 6pm, we don’t think there will be enough time so we skipped and proceeded to Dino-Soarin. The sun was blazing that day and I felt like I’m melting into a puddle of goo. Up next is the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure and I got to say this ride was a disappointment! Sissy wanted to get the poncho initially but we didn’t realise that we have to get it in the Jurassic Park merchandise store and not at the ride itself. Mum and I convinced Sissy that it will be fun to get wet because it’s no fun when we get off the ride dry. The lockers were rented at $4 for the first hour and since we were without the protection of the ponchos we rented one to keep our bags dry.

The first half of the ride was so slow and mundane. We were just floating down the river looking at (very) fake dinosaurs that open and close their mouths like robots. The raft entered a dark tunnel with flashing lights, a door opened and we were “flushed out” of the tunnel. The ride ended with a big splash and I was pretty much drenched. Even the raft ride at Sunway Lagoon is way better than this. Is this all they can come up with?

I tweeted that I almost died that day on the Revenge of the Mummy’s ride and it was true. i swear I’m never going to take this ride again. Like I said, I’ve a low threshold for thrilling rides and I’m surprised I still have my voice after screaming the entire time while I was on the ride. Just the walk from the main entrance of the ride to the actual queue took us about 15 minutes. A rather long walk I would say. To top if off, the passage way was really dark with lots of turns and corners. Interestingly, I saw someone in front of me wearing a pair of sunglasses in the dark. I wonder how he sees in the dark. Anyway, is the walk suppose to build up our tension for the ride? People that cut the queues really spoil the fun for me. I do not understand why some people let others cut the queue in front of them without saying a word. I would have told them off but I was too far away at that time.

In the Sci-Fi City, Battlestar Galactica was closed so there wasn’t much to see. Mum and Sissy went onto the Accelerator ride which has the same concept as the Mad Tea Party in Disneyland. Both of them said that it wasn’t much fun because it’s slow even when they control the speed manually. I didn’t take the ride because the last time I rode a similar ride at Escape theme park 10 years ago, I ended up puking really badly. It started to drizzle and we headed to New York because it was sheltered. We spend some time snapping away on our cameras. There was lots to see but nothing much to play.

The only attraction we went at New York was Lights, Camera, Action which actually showcases what happens to a boat house in New York City during a category 5 hurricane. The effect was nice and the sea look very realistic from the fake windows. But again, it wasn’t anything exciting. I was expecting more than just a few broken windows, fire etc.

It’s nearly 5 when we exited Lights, Camera, Action and we decided to go for a quick bite. We wanted to have tea at this princess-looking pink cafe, Hollywood Celebrity’s Cafe but after looking at the menus, we thought we should go for something fuller and cheaper. True to its name, the menus especially the price tags are really celebrities’ class.

We settled for Mel’s Drive-In. They have a shiny looking junk box and the retro interior decorations suits the theme very well! The servings are huge and very fulling. The place was pretty packed, perhaps due to the more economic price of the burgers. I caught the appearance of a few retro dancers right outside the dining place. I love their colourful costumes and how they tried to engage the audiences and get them to dance together as well.

With only an hour left, we went on a shopping spree. I love all the merchandise sold there! They have the best souvenirs such as toys, cushions, mousepads, pins, notepads, caps, t-shirts, towels, mugs and lots of other stuff. Admittedly, the best attraction at Universal Studios Singapore was their merchandises and not exactly the rides. Here’s the other joke of the day:

I was looking at 2 tees which look exactly the same with different price tags.

Me: Excuse me, may I know why these tees are priced differently? The size L tee cost SGD 21.90 while the size S tee cost SGD 23.90.

After pausing for a few seconds, he replied.

Staff: Oh, the smaller the tee, the more expensive is it because it’s more difficult to manufacture.

Me: Huh, okay. Thanks!

After I went home and look at the photos on my computer screen, I realise the size S tee was a men’s tee and hence it’s more expensive then the ladies’ size L tee. The ladies’ tee are priced at SGD 21.90 while the men’s tee are priced at SGD 23.90. So much for “the smaller the tee, the more expensive it gets”! He (the staff) was really friendly though but I just thought the above was hilarious!

With all the self control I had, I only bought 2 tees and a penguin clipboard + notepad. On the other hand, Sissy got a tee, pin and mousepad. I regretted not getting the mousepad. It’s really cute! Sissy’s going again next week so hopefully the stores will be open so that she can grab an extra for me. This concluded our day at Universal Studios Singapore. We didn’t manage to visit all the attractions due to time constraints. I wish the park would extend it’s opening hours till about 8 to 9 at night so that we’ve more time. Although I wasn’t too wow by the attractions, I had a rather enjoyable time. Maybe it’s my first time visiting a theme park, hence I don’t have a very high expectation. For more photographs, check out this album on my Flickr.

Related posts:

1. Hong Kong & Macau Trip – Part I
2. My first look at Resort World Sentosa
3. Our DIY cake

We planned to head to the Sentosa island to take our first look at Resort World. All of us haven’t been there and we thought it will be a good idea to tour Huaian around the new sections of Sentosa before he leaves. The place was unusually quiet and empty. I would have expected it to be bursting with activities and music. It wasn’t what I had expected but perhaps with the opening of the Universal Studio, it will be a livelier place. We discovered the Hershey’s chocolate shop beside the entrance to Universal Studios. I love this shop because they sell a huge range of Hershey’s chocolates¹, they even have peanut butter chocolates!

Besides the chocolates, they also carry other things like toys, bags and even ear phones. The first thing I noticed when I entered the store was the trademark silver tear-drop shaped toy of Hershey’s on display. Initially I thought the Bubble Yum ear phones were edible and designed to look like a real one but my buddies have confirmed that it’s a working pair. Looking at the rows and rows of chocolates on display, tell me you aren’t drooling over them?

We snapped a photograph at the famous Universal rotating globe. The photo is taken by Huaian’s girlfriend, Ming Xian. Thanks so much for taking the picture so that I can be in there! I love this couple because they always pose at lighting speed when they see my camera. Huaian is still in training so he might be a bit slower.

We took the escalator down to the basement and I’m actually impressed the designers even took the time and effort to add some music and a few Nemos² specially for the escalator’s ride. The only crowds we saw were at the entrance of the Casino. Is it the only attraction of Sentosa that garner that much attention?

A large section is still under construction so there isn’t much to see but we decided to visit the Hard Rock Hotel and that’s our first step into a maze. We were directed into a corridor by the staff who told us that was a shortcut. Staff always know their way around right? How wrong we were. We entered a rather dark hallway with weird looking spotlights and that began our adventure to find the way out.

I love the ceiling’s star lights so much that I took at least a dozen photographs of them. That’s Hotel Michael by the way. It’s one of those lights that’s perfect for Christmas! Don’t ask me why there’s a huge hole on the wall, it’s like a window overlooking the hallway downstairs. It is gorgeous but I thought it was slightly dangerous too. Along our quest, we asked a few of the constructions and renovation workers for directions. We went from the West lobby to the East lobby, from Basement 2 to Basement 1 and did some exercise on the exit stairs. I really think the design of this hotel is simply breathtaking. Green and woody brown looks perfect together, not to mention the high ceilings! I feel like I was touring a castle.

After what seems like hours, we have finally arrived at the lobby of Hard Rock Hotel. My first reaction was “This is it?” so you can safely assume I wasn’t so impressed with what I was seeing. We can see a modern looking bar with blue lights, lots of chairs and a few artistic looking paintings. That’s about it! I think the concept was suppose to be simple, artistic and modern looking and they had it there but maybe it just wasn’t what I had in mind.

We left after that because there wasn’t much to see anyway. I will be back after Universal Studio opens and hopefully by then, more shops will be open. On a random note, check out the last photo we took at the De-Coder’s Cafe. The red wig looks fabulous, no?

1. I am not a huge fan of chocolates but I’ve to admit, Hershey’s chocolates are good!
2. The orange fish with white strips in the movie, Finding Nemo

Related posts:

1. My first trip to Universal Studios Singapore
2. Missy’s 2008
3. Merry Messy Christmas

The construction of the bridge linking Bugis to Iluma has completed and is open to pedestrians. It is a smart move to build a bridge connecting the two malls since they will be killing 2 birds with 1 stone. The constant human congestion at the other traffic junction outside Topshop was absolutely horrible and dangerous. Most of the time, the pedestrian walkway in the middle of the 2 roads would be so packed that I’m afraid someone will fall over. Moreover, it’s bringing a lot more human traffic and business to Iluma. There is a reason why I named it the ghost mall in the past. It’s now buzzing with activities and shoppers. I even saw the God of Fortunate today! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to shake hands with him⁴.

I shall end this post with a perfect shot of Chewy in his “Twist” pose and I am giving 101% of credit to the photographer for this awesome shot⁵.

1. We love to treasure hunt!
2. It didn’t rain in the end due to our inaccurate prediction
3. It was fake plastic grass actually
4. I hope to get some luck for buying 4D and TOTO
5. Are you still guessing? The writer of this post is the the photographer

Related posts:

1. Exploring Iluma
2. Chewy is not a good online alias?
3. Twitpic of my busy week

On a side note, I realised I fulfilled a few of my new year resolutions for 2009. Reading back the post I wrote at the end of 2008, I managed to get at least 50 marks for each of my UOL papers in the 2009 examinations and I got myself a new wallet as well. 2 out of 4 accomplished in the last year! I hope I managed to get those for 2010 done as well.

Presents for myself - Slingbag and wallet

Here’s the delicious looking dinner we had:

Sausages and bacon

A sumptuous dinner

Instant pizza!

Black forest cake

Benjamin is definitely enjoying the food

Sharon and her signature scarf

Related posts:

1. Happy New Year 2009
2. Memories of 2009
3. Missy’s 2008

Memories of 2009

New year resolution

• Graduate with first class honours in my final UOL exams
• Start saving to have about SGD 3000 in my bank
• Shop less, study more
• Good health and improved complexion (less acne and pimples!)
• Spend more time with Chewy
• Go Taiwan and Hong Kong for holidays

See you in 2010!

Related posts:

1. Happy New Year 2009
2. A brand new year with lots of new memories
3. I love Mr Chewy

Our hotel room at Times Square

Our rooms are on the highest floor at the 43rd level. This is our window view. Kuala Lumpur looks beautiful at night when all the lights are brightly lit.

Times Square Shopping Mall

I saw Santa at Times Square! He was giving out candies to the kids with his uhm, wife? Santa has a wife right?

Huge rotating Christmas tree at Times Square

Chewy in front of a gingerbread house

Mid Valley Mega Mall

These are some gorgeous Christmas decorations at Mid Valley. I couldn’t think of any malls in Singapore that’s comparable with this. Somehow, it reminds me of Harry Potter. The castle, the fir trees and especially the floating candles! I guess it’s a Harry Potter inspired theme?

Fooling around in Toys R Us

Saw this toy on display, it's pretty cute!

The Garden Mall

I think this mall has a white Christmas theme. It seems to remind me of England in the 90′s and gives off a very elegant feeling. It’s simple but it does have very eye catchy decorations.

KLCC

I think I just arrived at Candy Land when I saw the Christmas decorations around me. Lots of candies, colours and the ginger breadman family.

Chewy and I in front of Candy House, notice his Threadless tee

Michelle and Te Wei

Pavilion

It was snowing when we left

Food food and more food

Before

After

I tested the video function on my Canon SX10 IS for the first time. The funny thing was that everyone thought I was taking photographs of them when I’m actually recording a video clip. I uploaded this short clip of Chewy during breakfast when he thought I was taking photos of him. It’s hilarious but cute at the same time.

On a side note, I think the videos taken with the Canon SX 10 has a pretty good quality. Perhaps I should start taking videos more often, it’s really fun! I feel that moving videos speak a lot more than still pictures.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Check out the rest of the photos from the trip in my Flickr album.

Related posts:

1. “How do you know Christmas is coming?” meme
2. Sing towards your 21st
3. Malaysia Trip, photos as promised

Happy Birthday, Sharon

My favourite macro shot of the day

I really like this photo showing everyone's presence

Somehow they always laugh when I'm taking photographs of them

Getting really engrossed into the song

Peach Sundae - This ice cream is love!

Scallops and chicken baked rice

Delicious pasta

Group photo

We took a short walk from Orchard all the way to City Hall and I noticed they are putting up the Christmas decorations already. I have to say that the Santa isn’t adorable at all. A bigger head and a smaller body would definitely looks cuter than a smaller head and fatter body. On a random note, I couldn’t wait for Christmas to come. It’s the gift exchange season again and it’s time to love and share! Is there anyone in Singapore who would like to do a gift/card exchange?

Christmas decorations at Orchard Road

Yee Loong also gave me some tips on taking night shots and gave me a short lesson about shutter speed and aperture. I think Orchard is a good place to take night shots in Singapore. All the newly renovated buildings have fantastic lightings.

Orchard Central at night

Related posts:

1. Christmas Gathering 2008
2. “How do you know Christmas is coming?” meme
3. Farewell gathering for our dear friend

Haw Par Villa

Haw Par Villa¹ is a place in Singapore which was filled with tourists and visitors a decade ago. But now, it’s just a deserted place; lifeless and forgotten. My parents brought me there when I was 5. My memories of the place was fuzzy and I couldn’t recall much but we did took some photographs there. The place was huge and there was lots of activities going on. Everyone was walking around taking photographs and the kids were given balloons. That was how the place was like 16 years ago. I brought mum there yesterday as it has been a really long time since she last went there. The entire place was empty and we were the only ones there. This was not how I remembered it to be.

Empty and forgotten

The paint on the statue is peeling off

Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion

This park contains lots of statues of Chinese folklore and legends. It’s actually a very interesting place to visit. It used to have more in the past but the park has reduced dramatically in size over the past few years. Most of the paint on the statues are peeling off and the lamps are broken as well. I feel that some serious maintenance for the park is required. This park is suppose to be a tourist destination but what was happened? There was no advertisements or marketing done to promote the park has a tourism destination. I seriously hope something will be done about it. This place contains some valuable Chinese teachings and it would be a pity if the park was left to “die off”.

A peaceful and quiet place

The Chinese Legend of White Snake

I'm glad to say that there are still some form of life left

Beautiful and colourful statue

Lots of algae in the pond, I wonder if it's meant to be like this

A Chinese quote

Wishing well

Ten Courts of Hell

MV Doulos at Vivo City

We left after an hour or so. The weather was so terribly hot. We hopped on to a bus and alighted at Vivo City. I spotted the “GBA” logo on a ship near the harbour. My first thought was “The book fair has arrived in Singapore?”. I was so excited that I dragged mum onto the MV Doulos² right after we had tea at the White Dog Cafe. Security was extremely tight and the ladder leading to the ship was so steep, I almost fell off.

There are tours available for the public at SGD 5 per adult to tour around the ship. There are many varieties of books such as children, cooking, baking, educational and bible for sale. The books are extremely affordable and I saw many mummies buying lots of story books for their kids. We walked around and I took some photographs of the ship. There was even a clown around entertaining and having fun with the children on board the MV Doulos. I regretted not taking a photograph with her. She was so cute and funny!

MV Doulos

Safety boats of MV Doulos

MV Doulos

I snapped this photo of Star Cruise on board the MV Doulos

Vivo City

The clown

How could I resist not going to shop when I’m at a mall? Shopping is my way of relaxing since school is literally killing me now. I guess most should have know that by now. Believe me, if I went home empty handed on a shopping trip, I am out of my mind. I bought 3 items, not 13!

Bod Organics White Tea Cleansing Gel

Chomel Crystal earrings in yellow and black

We were about to left when I decided to bring mum to the National Geographic Store³ since the National Geographic channel was one of mum’s favourite. I spotted this pair of not-so-stylish-but-extremely-comfortable pair of shoes on one of the shelves. It was love at first sight! I don’t usually wear such sandals/shoes because it’s not really my style. However, this pair was so comfortable that I couldn’t resist. It was made from leather, recycled ones if I’m not wrong. The brand name “National Geographic” is imprinted on the strap of the shoe which this one of the reason why I love it. It isn’t my best looking shoes but definitely one of the most comfortable. Their clothings and accessories are really nice even though the price tags aren’t. I was SGD 99 poorer when I stepped out of the store.

Shoes from National Geographic

National Geographic official product tag

For more photos of the entire trip, please drop by my flickr.

1. Haw Par Villa is a Chinese mythological theme park in Singapore which contains over 1,000 statues and 150 giant dioramas depicting scenes from Chinese folklore, legends, history and illustrating various aspects of Confucianism.
2. The MV Doulos is the world’s oldest active ocean-faring passenger ship. She is now owned by the German charity: Good Books for All, and is used as a floating bookshop.
3. I wasn’t aware that National Geographic sells clothings and footwear etc aside from magazines.

Related posts:

1. Cycling, shopping & some random-ness
2. Shopping loots from Hong Kong & Macau
3. The result of 5 hours of spring cleaning

Happy Birthday, my friend

1. Jen Yi’s our top student so I named him “the scholar”.
2. Terry had a tiara on his 21st birthday as well.

Related posts:

1. 21st Birthday Invite
2. Sing towards your 21st
3. Our DIY cake