Mr and Mrs Shrek

A photo to liven up your week!

Introducing Mr and Mrs Shrek!
Momo and I visited them again at Universal Studios Singapore.



We are kids at heart and always feel good visiting Universal Studios.
Mr and Mrs Shrek in Universal Studios Singapore has bodyguards!

Just wondering, which weekend we will go visit other characters again.

Avalon @ MBS

There are two floating structures or they call it Crystal Pavilions at the Marina Bay Sands complex.
One crystal pavilion houses the  LV Island Maison. Avalon occupies the southern crystal pavilion.



The design attracts me and don't you think the buildings are 'photogenic'?
I took this photo last Friday afternoon.

One of these days when I am not rushing, I'll get into both buildings. Yes, they are both designed by Moshe Safdie.

Luge and Skyride at Sentosa

Few days ago, I was participating in a 'scavanger hunt' at Sentosa and I discovered quite a few interesting things to do. I have never taken the Luge and Skyride at Sentosa and found it very fun!



I probably will come again for this Skyride.
Find it very therapeutic hanging in the air while enjoying the views around.

I always wish Singapore has a nice 24 Celsius temperature all year round.  That would make outdoor activities so much more comfortable!

If you would like to find out more, check out this site:
http://www.sentosa.com.sg/en/attractions/imbiah-lookout/sentosa-luge-skyride/

Just before F1 starts

It's almost the F1 season in Singapore and the roads have closed and caused some inconvenience to the people working near the F1 track.

Momo (the wife) has to wake up early and take a different route to her office the last few days. The buses stops far away and everyone has to walk all the way or join in the super packed trains. Yes, she's complaining like many others.



While she is complaining, she's also looking forward to road closures. She enjoys walking in the evening looking at people setting up whatever is needed for the show to work.  She says it's only once a year that she gets to walk in the middle of the road!

While walking around, she has been taking photos. The above, camera testing going on, probably for viewers around the world to watch the race.

International Year of Forest

I was walking around town (Orchard Central) and saw a poster that says this year 2011 is International Year of Forest.  The United Nation has a website for it: http://www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011/

Hmm I did not know that, and I sometimes wonder if it will make any difference when most people do not really care. I guess exposing people to it might slowly educate people.



What caught my eye was the Chinese Calligraphy. Not the nicest calligraphy around, but one of the word is my family name.

Anyone knows if furniture in Singapore has labels that says it has been from a sustainable source?

Cylon or Human

The wife and I  went to Universal Studios Singapore over the weekend again.
We bought an 'Annual Pass' and had to make it more worth it by going in more often.



We took a few rides except this one.  We enjoyed looking at people scream their heads off. It's not only us, everyone there seems to enjoy looking at them scream!

Both of us are too 'chicken' to take the ride, but we just say "I know you are afraid, so I won't take the ride too". We timed it, it's a bit more than 90 seconds for the ride. Hmm...

If you have taken the ride, how is it? Which is more exciting? Human or Cylon?

Home Just Got Closer

Once in a while, we have 'these' booklets delivered to all our homes to influence our thinking to the way we "are" to be in Singapore.



Oops, someone at home said, more propaganda.

We flipped through it, it's quite an interesting read.
Err... we at home still prefer to flip through the Ikea catalogue that came just a few weeks ago!

Was the railway, no more tracks...

The railway tracks near Rifle Range are gone!
Only the stones are left.

This was taken this morning and there's someone walking along it.



Wondering how it will end up eventually. Will the stones be removed?
The next photo shows the stones section further away has been sort of scraped off.



Around 10 mins walk from where this photo is taken is the Bukit Timah Railway Station.

Bukit Timah Railway Station and the area around it will be opened to the public tomorrow - 16 Sept 2011.

Enjoy the walks!

Louis Vuitton Island Maison Singapore

Louis Vuitton Island Maison Singapore as seen from one of the Suites at MBS that I was at the other day.



It's Singapore's 5th LV store, and South East Asia's 1st Maison.
The store will be launched on Sept 18, 2011.

The glass and steel pavillions are the works of architect Moshe Safdie as part of the Marina Bay Sands resort. The inside of the pavilion has been designed by Peter Marino.

Hazy....

The haze this 'season' only lasted 2 days!
Hallelujah!



Let's hope the wind directions are in our favour and thank God for the rain.
It has cleared up air quite a bit.

Mid Autumn Festival

Wishing all a Mid Autumn Festival.



Have eating mooncakes almost one month ahead make the day itself less of a festival I wonder?

Our family and extended family have met a few times to eat mooncakes and have some tea and pomelos the last few weeks. We also ate lots of mooncakes in the office, thanks to the vendors who provided them.

But the day itself, we did not do anything! Probably thanks to the haze that make us teary.

Kids carrying lanterns

We heard loud noises from the drums and cymbals of the Dragon Dance Troupe.

Out of curiosity, I went towards the sound and saw that the kids in the neighbourhood are all out carrying lanterns behind the long dragon.



It has been a long time since I carried one of those!

Just the other day, my colleagues were talking about lanterns and they only let their children play with plastic battery operated ones.

Their kids are young, and the kids seems to enjoy burning lantern after lantern instead of carrying them around. They somehow know their parents will give them another one to 'burn' when they burn their current ones. Oh no.....

Training Bus

When I see a training bus, I kind of get happy.
In my mind, I equate that to bus drivers which will lead to more frequent bus services.

In reality, I don't know.
Maybe it's to replace bus drivers who have retired or have left the job.




The reason I took this photo was because we usually equate SMRT to the train.
Train and the words on the bus says "Training bus". Get it? hehe.

Free Island Admission on Sentosa Day!

What's this machine? It's a machine with a barrier that collects $1 from your EZLink card for entry into Sentosa Island. Took this photo the first time I used it some time ago when the Sentosa Boardwalk opened.

Another popular way of getting into Sentosa Island is by riding the Sentosa Express and that will cost you $3.

Here's a good news! On 10 September 2011, it's Sentosa Day and they are giving free admission on that day!



Here's a press release that might interest you:

Mark your calendar for 10 September 2011 to enjoy free island admission on Sentosa Day! As part of the first-ever large-scale charity initiative, Sentosa Gives, the public can enjoy free entry via the Sentosa Boardwalk and Sentosa Express from 7am to 11.59pm. This is Sentosa’s way of thanking all guests for their strong support over the years.

Catch the fascinating performances of 12 international buskers at the Sentosa Buskers Festival on the same day, and do your part for charity by donating generously after each performance. All proceeds will go towards Community Chest and the 70 charities under its care.

Date: 10 September 2011, Saturday
Time: 7am to 11.59pm
*Travel in by: Sentosa Boardwalk (exit near Serenity, VivoCity, Level 1), Sentosa Express (board at VivoCity, Level 3)

(Free island admission is not applicable to drive-ins by passenger cars, taxis and other vehicles)

Enquiries:1800-SENTOSA (736-8672)

H&M Singapore First Day Queue.

Brilliant marketing! The people behind it must be really brilliant indeed.

You heard of the phrase "selling igloos to Eskimos", well these folks are selling Autumn wear in sunny 'forever summer' Singapore! Look at the people queuing to get into the store!



This was taken Saturday afternoon, and there was still a snaking queue of people waiting to get in.

To start the queue forming, they offered the first few people $250 vouchers and subsequent few $25 vouchers. Read that people started to queue the night before!



At around 9 pm the same night, people were still queuing!

But I heard from folks that things are really cheap inside, some say they were even cheaper than the HK store, the nearest H&M branch to Singapore. Is that true?




Maybe in the next few months I will get in, when it's not so crowded.

I have visited H&M in many countries and have always walked out empty handed. I realised they don't fit me. Maybe the sizes in Singapore might?



H&M on the first day could had stand for Herd Mentality. Everyone was just wanting to do in.

Guess what? Another great marketing tactic. If you have queued so long to go in, you 'die die' have to buy something before coming out right? So clever of them!

Botanic Garden Wavy Design Overhead Bridge

Have been noticing the wavy design of the new Botanic Garden overhead bridge spans across 2 major roads, the Bukit Timah Road and Dunearn Road. It connects to the new Botanic Garden MRT Station that will open in October 2011.



The wavy design catches the eye. Probably the nicer one along Bukit Timah Road!

A notice on the bridge says it will open in a few days time. I think it's either the 3 or 11 September, I forgot to write it down or take a photo of it.

For old folks and parents with children on prams, who can't climb the stairs, this overhead bridge has a lift at both ends. (Finally, they are listening and installing new overhead bridges that will make people use it).