Vitagen Siu Tai

You know when you order drinks at the local coffee shop and you want less sugar, you add the word 'siu tai' to your order.

I saw this and I wanted to laugh...



Is this Vitagen Siu Tai?

I wonder if you order it at the coffee shop, what would the coffee uncle or coffee aunty say? :-)

The old and new EZLink Card and Card Readers

After the F1 frenzy in Singapore over the weekend, it's now the EZLink Card frenzy. Earlier this evening, I saw a long snaking queue at the Buona Vista Train Station, waiting to exchange their EZLink cards.

From 1 Oct 2009, public transport commuters in Singapore would have to use the new CEPAS compliant cards for public transport payment.

The blue-ish card is the new CEPAS compliant EZLink card. The other card is my old EZLink card that I have been using for the last few years.



How do people top up their cards? For most people, topping up of this electronic purse is via the General Ticket Machines at the various train stations or via GIRO (bank debit auto top up). Many friends now use the credit card auto top-up because the credit cards gives a rebate for top-ups. For me, I top up using the EZOnline Readers at home.

Around 2 weeks ago, owners of the old Sony Felica readers was entitled to a one for one exchange for the new readers. Somehow the new readers do not look as nice as the Sony Felica readers right? It looks cheap!

I wondered if I did the correct thing. Swapping a $49 Sony Reader for one that looks 'cheap'.  But if I don't change it, the Sony reader is useless in Singapore. Sigh.




For those who have not changed it, you got tomorrow to change it. I have 2 EZLink cards and I have changed one of it a few weeks ago. I am keeping the other card. Like a few people I know, we are going to 'test' and see if the old card still works on 1 Oct. If not, we will flip out the new cards.

If you have changed to the new cards, do you realize that they are less sensitive? For the old cards, the readers on the bus and train stations reads it immediately. For the new cards, it seems to take a longer time or you need to tap it again to work. I wonder if it's only my new card that's not as sensitive.

Like most things in Singapore, with a new card, a whole load of charges are also introduced. GIRO top-ups cost 25 cents now. My colleague has been complaining for weeks! Now that's the new CEPAS compliant card for you. CEPAS would most probably stand for "Charge Extra Payment As Standard" compliant cards. If you don't charge basic services, you are not CEPAS compliant. LOL...

If you want to read more about EZLink, hope over to DK's post about the extra charges here.

Lewis Hamilton wins...

As everyone guessed it. LH won!

Our family was having dinner at home. We had a sumptuous home cooked meal. Then a relaxing time watching the race at the comfort of our home, yes with air-conditioning. haha...

It was live on Channel HD5.





Oh silly me, I was taking photos of it via the telly! *laughs*

Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - Practice Session

One of the other practice sessions at the F1 Singapore tracks. The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia practice session.

For this, you can get near to the cars without the expensive paddock tickets. haha..




Of course the engines as they rev through the circuit is also not as loud. :-p



But it was good to see them. 



Have a great weekend!

F1 from the Singapore Flyer..

Thanks to 24seven.sg, I got a set of Friday night tickets to the Singapore Flyer to view the F1 Practice Race.

I am not a professional photographer, so the photo not so nice. I don't have big huge cameras with even bigger lenses like what everyone's carrying tonight. So I can only take blur photos like this.

Oops, why do I always take photos of the Renault Team? Recognize the colour? Oh, ING pulled out their sponsorship and ING's logo disappeared from the cars tonight.




Aiyaya.... Romain Grosjean's car skidded at Turn 17. The same place where Nelson Piquet crashed his car last year.

Watching F1 Live on TV...

Tomorrow, people all around the world will be tuning in to watch a few silly men going round and round. (Yes, we are all silly eh?)

You can either be at Marina Bay to watch it live or watch it at home on TV. If you are watching on TV, this guy's the one that you should thank.



This was taken this evening. The cameraman's doing the testing. The cameras are recording in High Definition (HD)!

If you are in Singapore, you can tune in to Channel 5 / HD5 to watch it. Check Schedule.
If you are in UK, BBC One / Red Button is broadcasting it. Check schedule.
If you are in Australia, ONE is broadcasting it. Check schedule.

F1 Spore: Road diversions. Bus diversions. Expensive Parking

Road diversions. Bus diversions. High fences. No business. Aunties complaining. The list goes on...

Taken yesterday:

The fences has been up for the last few days. I wondered how many drivers have been going down at maybe 3 or 4 am to 'test drive' the tracks. That might be the only time that the roads are not all jammed up. Just look at the cars all getting stucked. Poor thing.



Taken this morning at 8 am:

Today's the day the roads around the F1 track is closed to the public. I am attending a course this whole week at Suntec City. Thanks to the roads closure and bus diversions, I have to walk very far to my destination. It also means I get to take lots of photos too. :-)

What did I discover? Well, if you are coming here the next few days, the only place to park is probably at Suntec City and Raffles City. The other car parks are either closed or you will need special labels.



Wait, there's more! After the course today, I needed to walk again. But guess what I saw today? Revised parking rates.

I took this photo with my camera phone so it's blurry.



This Friday if you are parking at Raffles City for 13 hr, be prepared to pay $80! Subjected to 7% GST.


Take public transport if you are coming.


I overheard two elderly tea ladies who cleans up the place where I am attending the course complaining. It's only cars. So loud some more, cheh! Why are people paying so much to watch it? Can watch at home on TV. So boring some more. Going round and round and round only. 

Most importantly why are they doing this to us old people? Closed all the roads and make us walk round and round in circles too (like the cars)!

Renault F1 R29

I am sure you have heard a bit too much about Renault in the papers, about the alleged race fixing and stuff.

But a little more does no harm right? If you are in Singapore now, you can see the F1 cars in many malls. This is the Renault F1 R29 as seen at the Suntec City Mall.



If you want do download a big size of the photo above, click here to download another version from my Flickr account.

So, are you a fan of F1? :-)

The Ayam of Ayam Brand

Things that I do sometimes: Board a bus, armed with a phone with a GPS function and a fully loaded EZ-Link transport card, I roamed around Singapore.

(I was actually looking for a warehouse in some industrial estate to collect something.)

I alighted at some industrial estate and walked around. I saw this.



It's the Ayam (chicken) mascot of the Ayam Brand products. I tried to do an online search and I can't figure out from which country this brand is from. Does anyone know?

But I do like some of their products. ;-)

Mooncake demo with Moses Lim

With such warm weather, it's nice to spend your time in the many malls in Singapore. "Free air-conditioning" is what is driving people to the malls?




For some, it's Moses Lim, their favourite TV personality, comedian and also their favourite foodie. I remember growing up watching Moses and Jack Neo every Monday on Comedy Night on TV.

Anyone (in Singapore) remember "Gao Xiao Xing Dong"? "on ah, on ah"
I just found a link to the Theme Song that is sung in the 4 national language here. :-)

The Singapore GP Night Lights

Heard of people complaining they work as if they have 'no day or no night'?

Well, some of the streets in Singapore won't see 'night' for the next coming days. The Singapore GP will be roaring to life in a few days and the lights for the night race has been put up.

The lights are as bright as day light if you stand under them.



Oh yes, the 'resident' GP drivers of Singapore, the taxis, are now test driving the tracks. You can see and hear them rev the engines now. Oops, a taxi just zoomed past me. ;-p

Team Kindness

I guess with the F1 season starting in Singapore in around 9 days, the 'promote courtesy folks' in Singapore are really excited and have formed their own team, Team Kindness.



Previously we saw Singa the Lion was wearing a mask, I wondered if it caught the H1N1 virus? But one thing for sure, I think he caught the F1 fever. :-)

Singapore Blog Awards 2009

Earlier this evening, I was at SupperClub for the Omy.sg Singapore Blog Awards. This is the photo of the winners in the different category.

Congratulations to all of them! You want to know which category each one of them won, visit sgblogawards.omy.sg



The third person from the left is Singapore's Minister for Foreign Affairs. He's one of the very few ministers in Singapore that's very technologically savvy.

You want to know more about him? Visit his Facebook account and be his friend! ;-)

The bead maker

I was quite intrigue by the beadmaker torching glass to melt it and make it into beads. Standing beside him, all of us can really feel the heat from the blow torch.



There was a sheet of paper to put down our contact details for more info, but I forgot to fill it up.

Oh yes, the above demo was part of the Singapore Art Show demo at Raffles City SC last weekend.

Singapore Art Show - Rangoli

I saw this at Raffles City Shopping Centre. It's part of the Singapore Art Show. Two ladies were putting up a Rangoli - sandpainting. You can see this in many Indian (Hindu) houses especially during Deepavali.



I did not know that the Singapore Art Show is on until I saw this roadshow at the shopping centre. It's quite interesting, the program that they have lined up. Take a look at www.singaporeartshow.sg or visit the National Arts Council website at www.nac.gov.sg

Coke Can Barcode

I was laughing and smiling when I saw the back of the coke can. Maybe I don't drink coke often enough, look at the interesting barcode.

Nutritional facts that you'll be pleased to know? I never knew coke is nutritious. :-)
It says it's manufactured by the Happy People too.



I think I might be one of the last people to find out the new packaging!

If you are in a different city, does the coke can in your city have this interesting barcode too? I wonder if it's an international change?

UOB Plaza

UOB Plaza. That's UOB Plaza 1 and UOB Plaza 2. I wonder if it's still the tallest building around. Too lazy to find out. Does it matter if it is?



For Plaza 2, I realise the old logo of OUB is still there although it has been bought over by UOB. To show the history of it perhaps?

I just know Si Chuan Dou Hua is up there. Dining with a view :-)

LKF Medical

What an ugly building you might say. But the logo at the building, the hand with an axe is a famous logo for one of the most used medicated oil around South East Asia.

LKF Medical produces the famous 'Axe Brand Medicated Oil'. The locals (in the local Hokkien dialect) call it "hong you". The Malays who use it call it "minyak cap kapak".

I can't stand the smell though. But there seems to be many people who are addicted to it. They will be dabbing bits of it at their upper lips near the nose or at the temple at their forehead. I was in the train the other day and the person beside me had it on.





Do you use the medicated oil?

I suddenly remember a secondary school classmates who is addicted to the smell. He will dab some of the oil to his handkerchief and sniff his hanky all day long!

Hub Cruiser

I always wondered how the green telco's Hub Cruiser looked like. Finally I got to see it today!



Colleagues and I saw that there was huge screens showing Cable TV channels. We wondered if those were live shows. Maybe it was a playback. Colleague who is a HBO fan said, why haven't they brought in HBO in HD yet?!


Anyone out there who are addicted to Cable TV shows? What's your favorite cable TV channel?

Goodwood Park Hotel

This is Goodwood Park Hotel. I was on a bus when I took this photo. It's another building that has the very fairy tale look ya?

I thought of Rapunzel. LOL.



The other thing that this hotel is famous for is their durian puffs and desserts. Used to serve some porridge buffet here too, but not sure if it's still on.

Giant Levi's Shoes

Saw this at a shopping mall yesterday. It sure caught everyone's attention. Probably the biggest shoe in Singapore.



But it failed to tempt me to buy anything though. LOL...
The only things Levi's I have are jeans.

Singapore Parliament

A view of the Parliament House from the waterfront.



I think the 3 color flags is new. Maybe it's there for the National Day celebrations in the last 30 days. :-)

Singapore 'sort of' version of Flatiron Building.

Singapore 'sort of' version of Flatiron Building.
(Flatiron is sort of triangular building in New York City.)

OK, only the triangular shape is similar ;-)



I have no idea what the history of the building is, but it now houses the Archipelago Craft Beer Hub, quite a happening place to have beer, very unique brews too. You can read more about Archipelago at http://www.archipelagobrewery.com/

Aircon Nation

I admit I am one that cannot survive without air-conditioning.



Just look at all the aircon condensers. Looks like I am not the only one.

Clarke Quay

Did they have a new coat of paint I wonder?
The hills behind, the water in front, it's a very nice location eh?



Everything looks too 'clean'. Haha..

It reminds me of Disneyland though. If you have been to the one at Anaheim, does it kind of remind you of "It's a small world" ride?

Oh no... suddenly the song is ringing in my head again!

September DP Theme: Big & Happy Teacher's Day

It's the first day of another new month! It's already September 2009!
The first day of the month is also the Daily Photo blogger's Theme Day. The theme this month is "big".

The 1st of September also happens to be Teacher's Day in Singapore.

This photo is the headquarters of the Ministry of Education in Singapore. It sort of represents all teachers in Singapore.



Teachers are probably people with the BIGgest heart around.


If you are free,
click here to view thumbnails for all participants of the theme day.