A hoarding problem

Amazing antique store for hidden finds on Amoy Street, run by a friendly old man. Went in today, just to feel good about the mess in my own home. #SmallConsolations #MovingIsTraumatic

Singapore Night Festival 2016

This was such a dramatic show! Quite enjoyed it!

Speechless

A big crowd congregates opposite the Asia Square building. I wonder if there's been a fire breakout or an accident of some sort. When I realize what's going on, I have my palm on my face.

A wise man once said, "If you feel stupid, remind yourself that there are people out there looking for Pokemon." 

Wild forest fires & the wind that brings haze

It's the time of the year when wild forest fires break out (not without human intervention of the most stupid & unscrupulous kind), in Indonesia, and the nonchalant south-western winds carry the resultant fumes all the way to Singapore & Malaysia. Happens over & over again. The elites in this country buy air purifiers and make Facebook posts calling for boycott of palm oil; but nothing really changes. Some clever marketeers distribute free haze kits, images on one's news feed of orangutans burnt alive makes one sick in the stomach, kids begin wheezing, the poor continue labouring through the terrible air conditions, and a state of emergency gets declared in an already impoverished Sumatra. There's only one conclusion to be made here: the world is perverse in all sorts of ways.

Jo Schooling & Singapore's Olympic Gold

What an incredibly inspiring story... A young boy of 13 meets his hero Michael Phelps, then 8 years later finds himself competing against that same hero and wins in the most crucial swim of his life, on the world stage, in the most intimidating sporting event in the world and creates a new record! 

We've read a lot about it in the Singapore newspapers. The government bestowed a million dollar prize on Schooling. And a smart reporter did some number crunching and estimated that Schooling's  parents probably spent about 1.2 million dollars on his training already - all self sponsored at an American university under the best coaches in the world. While Schooling deserves every bit of awe that he has generated, isn't it sad how elitist sports have become? What chances does a poor boy from any of the poor Asian countries stand in the world of sports if those are the financials involved?

Grain Trader

Here's a food recommendation for anyone reading this blog: Grain Traders at The CapitaGreen building at Raffles Place. Healthy food that tastes so very delicious and served in a very chic setting. Not for the value-conscious folks who may frown upon a $16 salad lunch, but then again, it does do magic with your tastebuds.

The sun is out of control y'all!

It's been 10 years in Singapore & this is the worst summer yet!

Only in Singapore

I take the train to work everyday and at Raffles Place station (where most offices are), many would've noticed that SMRT has stationed an employee whose job is to smilingly and loudly say, "good morning sir, good morning m'am, don't forget to smile today!" He is a pleasant-faced grey haired man, probably in his late 40s who keeps smiling at commuters till they eventually smile back at him. 

I am sure the "smiley uncle" (as he is known to everyone) has other jobs at SMRT when he's not persuading commuters to smile during rush hour at Raffles Place, but still I found myself thinking at first, "what a waste of tax payers' money! As if you can brainwash people into feeling happy!"

But you know what, it works! Like everything else in Singapore does. On a particularly gloomy day yesterday, I found myself thinking of the smiley uncle & smiled.

Saw a rainbow on Valentine's Day...

The Steve McCurry Exhibition

The Sundaram Tagore Gallery in Singapore is running an exhibition of some of Steve McCurry's most famous photographs. These two were little K's favourites. Why? In the first photo, K likes how the little boy is running and both his feet are in mid-air. In the second photo of the shaolin monks, K likes how the guy can walk on a wall like Spider-Man, but what he really loves in this photo is the monk's hairstyle. Perfectly great reasons to love a photo, I say!

A little bit of nature

It was the long weekend for Chinese New Year, so we decided to do a little nature trail with a few friends. We explored the Dairy Farm Nature Park this time. Walked along the Wallace Trail on a beautiful non-humid day (yes, such a day is possible in Singapore!)

SG50

One word to describe the Golden Jubilee Celebrations: Grand! 

Spotted these 3 beauties

Luge Rides, Sentosa

So here's a fun activity to do in Singapore...mom-son luge racing...amazing fun for both!

Our little charity event

We organised a little neighbourhood fair to raise money for the victims of the Nepal Earthquake. It was a great experience for little K to see his father run a face-painting stall, me doing a photo-booth and K himself helped out at the football booth. He has been full of questions about earthquakes and fault-lines and Mount Everest since. 

Spotted at Pasir Ris park

RIP LKY

"I'm not saying that everything I did was right, but everything I did was for an honorable purpose" - Lee Kuan Yew

A History of our Neighbourhood - Part II

Still devouring through the archives reading about the history of our neighbourhood...

Plaza Singapura, now a glitzy mall on Orchard Road looked like this when originally built in 1974. Today, even the car park of Plaza Singapura is bigger than this!

And the concrete jungle of condo blocks adjoining Peace Centre was once the site of billionaire Eu Tong Sen's mansion.  It was built in 1915 at a cost of S$1M on the site of Adis Lodge which Eu had purchase from Nissim Nissim Adis, the owner of the Grand Hotel de L'Europe in 1912. I'm sure all those people who bought those tiny apartment blocks for a much higher price than $1M are feeling sick in their gut reading this!

A History of our Neighbourhood - Part I

We've been living in the neighborhood we live in for over 3 years now, but it took a happen chance at the public library this week to find out the amazing amount of history in this neighborhood.

Everyone who knows me knows that my favourite part about our neighbourhood is the gorgeously green and peaceful Emily Park. I've been spending almost every evening at the park since little K was born, and there have been times when the kids dig in the park to find water underground. What I didn't know was that it's actually the site of Singapore's oldest reservoir in the 1880s and Singapore's first public swimming pool back in the 1930s. Found this swimming pool timetable from the 30s online!

It was operated by the Japanese during the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945) and returned to the British military after the war ended. In 1946, the charge of the pool was again given over to the Municipal Commissioners, who closed the pool for maintenance and repairs. It was reopened on 1 December 1949, to a long queue of bathers eager for a dip. In 1982, the pool was closed and converted into the park we know today, but some old Singaporeans still remember it as a weekend destination for kids & bathers.

I don't know why I'm so pleased to find the history of Emily Park, but I really am!

Walk in the woods

We walked the nature trail along the Henderson Waves ending at the Hort Park last evening, and while it was a humid day, it was an enjoyable walk thanks to the lovely breeze, treetop views and the quiet beauty of nature tucked away in a city. 

More info here: http://www.nparks.gov.sg/cms/docs/HortPark_and_SouthernRidges_guide.pdf