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Saturday, August 25, 2007

Chin Swee Caves Temple @ Genting Highland, Malaysia


I have been planning to blog this for ages but i have been busy with my work. Though busy, its satisfying. Hahaha. Anyway, talking about chin swee temple, how many of you actually know the existence of this marvelous place? A note; it does not refer to one of our founders, Mr Goh Chin Swee hor.


Maybe i should just ask another question, how many of you actually know genting highlands? *can imagine a lot of hands being raised up* And how many of you have ever gone to genting highlands for their scenary, weather, theme park and most importantly their casinos? *can also imagine a lot of hands being raised up*

This Chin Swee Temple is at the half hill of Genting Highland and i bet alot of you will have notice the all surrouding majestic pagoda when you are in the midst of travelling up to curb your gambling vices. AHhhhhhhhhhh, i can hear the agreement from most of you. Hahaha.


I was up in Genting during the National Day holidays with two old people, my mum and dad. And with one being a devout buddhist and potential nagger, my mum and i decided to roam around Genting for its scenary. Plainly scenary due to the facts that i cannot expect my parents to have the guts to take the roller coaster with me and also becoz a few friends told me the weather had changed and they were then sweating in the highlands. ITS FREEEEZING BLOODY COLD@!!! I was amazed my mum managed to escape unscathed.

Due the above mentioned with particular mention to my highlands-loving dad, i decided to bring them to the Chin Swee Temple. And boy was i glad i made the trip, it was like the highlight of the whole trip!

A little history about the temple. It was built by the founder of genting highlands and it is supposedly to honour a Reverend Chin Swee from China. Rumours abound however that he needed to appease the Mountain God (yes, in Malaysia too) and also to ensure that devotees who pray there will not win at casinos (i won though, RM20 hahaha).

From afar at the Skyway Cable terminal, i noticed the pagoda and the temples. I mean yes, the pagoda is tall but how different can the different style of temples be? I can vividly visualise a typical temple. But once you reached the real place, you will be amazed by the amount of scenary spots offered.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

42 Reasons Why We Love Singapore!!

I find the below listed reasons to be so funny and yet so true to the heart. They were taken from the I.S Magazine!

1. The Education System - It may seem unforgiving, but it is so competitive that by the time kids here complete tertiary education, they can face anything; nightmarish jobs, hellish bosses, crazy deadlines and everything else.

2. The Safety - When you see a group of kids walking towards you late at night, you don't have to cross e road.

3. The Perennial State of Good News - With the local media reporting only the good stuff, it is as if nothing bad ever happens. And after a while, you find yourself believing it!

4. Our Location, Location, Location - Get on a plane and in a few short hours or less, you are at some of the world's best holiday destinations.

5. The Fact That Our Island Is Small - That way, we can go to 10 parties in one night. And i have to add that you can never get LOST in Singapore.

6. The Tropical Climate - We can go outside anytime of the day or year. Winter season, we can still see the beaches full of scantitly dressed babes. Oh, we dun have winter.

7. Our Penchant for Acronyms - Its funny to keep foreigners guessing what MRT, PAP, AWAL, MC, BS, NS, MPH, CCB and LPPL means. Even our expressways are confusing, PIE, CTE, TPE, AYE, KJE and ECP.

8. Driving On The Roads Here - With blind as a bat, can't see a signal drivers, all you need is a brief stint on our roads to become one heck of a good driver! For faster results, drive to Kuala Lumpur.

9. The Thriving State of Singaporean Cinema - Yes, we realised Jack Neo and Eric Khoo ain't the only movie maestros around, and talents like Royston Tan, Tan Pin Pin, Kelvin Tong and Daniel Yun are also forging a name for themselves with flicks inspired by a myriad of Singaporean issues, concerns, phobias and worries. Catch 881, the getai inspired movie by Royston Tan!

10. Our Local Literature Scene - Although the government has panned literature as a somewhat pointless subject, our local authors haven't given up and are still penning their thoughts, experiences and specific brand of Singaporean angst on paper. Think Yong Shu Hoong, Alfian Sa'a, Cyril Wong, Paul Tan, Damien Sin and loads more. I have to add Russell Lee to my list! hahaha


11. The Food Man, the FOOOOOOOOOD - You guys and gals should know judging by my blog. Where the hell can we get such a good variety of food from most of the races! One day Chinese, tomorrow Malay, day after Indian, sometimes Peranakan, at times Western.

12. Fresh Fruit On The Street - We take this for granted but if you have ever had to pay $15 for a mango in a supermarket in Europe, you'll know what we mean.

13. Flip Flops and Shorts - Hey, they are the national dress, man! See them everywhere from the markets in suburban areas to Orchard road!

14. Shortened Sentences - How Singaporeans pack everything in just two or less words; like " how", "so", Ffffff.

15. Our Uber-advanced Medical Facilities - What will we come up with next? A cloned dodo bird or a cancer cure?

16. Our Chewing Gum Ban - We never have to worry about sticky situations on our shoes or our fingers when we pressed for the lifts.

17. Changi Aiport - With a swimming pool movie theatre, spa, designer shops, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, its a city by itself!

18. Singapore Airlines - There's no better way to fly but i never fly one before.

19. Our Colorful Local Celebrities - think Dick Lee, Kumar, Ivan Heng, Najip Ali, Jack Neo. They are fun, hilarious and to top it all, Singaporean.

20. The Ever-faithful Generousity of Singaporeans - We are still donating money to charities like there is no tomorrow - gold taps or not, peanuts or not.

21. The Pragmatic Nature of Singaporeans - We maybe a tad too grounded at times, but at least we get things done instead of just talking up a storm,

22. The Esplanade aka The Durian - It represented the fruit of our (artistic) labour and the fact we LOVED it!

23. Our Shopping Centres - They are everywhere - and some of them even help you to exercise and shop at the same time, like the million sqquare feet mall of Vivocity.

24.Our MRT Stations - They are squeaky clean (there ain't evey rubbish bins!). shiny and efficient.

25. Our SMS Culture - How it can even win us world records and how a one-minute phone conversation (that cost 20 cents) can be used to send 20 SMS (at 1 dollar).

26. The Speed At Which Things Get Done Here - The government makes it really easy to pay for things like taxes, ERP, fines..... so we have no excuse not to.

27. Our Ambition - We always aspire to outdo ourselves - everytime.

28. The Cleanliness of Our Drinking Water - Heck! We even have NEWater to call our own.

29. Our Fickleness - Trends come and go really fast but that way, we simply get to experience more. Think bubble teas, nail parlors and the current donuts.

30. The Ever-Thriving International Dining Scene Here - You can find great food in the restaurants here; Mexican, spanish, Western, Japanese, Vietnamese - You name, we have it!

31. Our Resourcefulness - Just look at how we "chope" seats in crowded hawker centres by using packs of tissue paper.

32. Our Long Suffering Patience - We queue for hours if we think its worth our time. I queue 3.5 hours for 24 donuts.


33. The Multitude of Concerts and Festivals Here - think Singapore Arts Festival, Singfest, Singapore Food Festival, WOMAD.

34. Our Ah Lians and Ah Bengs - They are completely Singaporean and you have got to love them for their stylist togs, tinted hair, white slippers and short shorts.

35. Our Sturdy Resilience - The haze, Asian Currency Crisis, SARS, dengue fever and even the increase of GST, can't get us down.

36. Our Multi-Linguistic Abilities - Singlish is our first language, English is the language we use for work , while dialects are for swearing.

37. How There's Air-Conditioning Everywhere - If there wasn't, no one would bother working or moving.

38. Latecomers - If we arrive late for an arts performance, we get a little stool to sit on outside the theatre to watch the performance on a video screen on the wall. In addition, we got ample ridiculous reasons where we are late; from the family, to the pets, colleagues and even the people on the roads! But never ourselves.

39. The Infinite Knowledge of Taxi Drivers - We love how they manage to unearth the latest ad more scandalous insider gossip about celebs and politicians, their conspiracy theories, for everything and their tips on the best coffee shop, betting shops, durian stalls and late night hangouts! There are even a show on the most popular food haunts of taxi drivers!

40. Our Currency - The fact that when we cross the bridge to the other side, we are twice as rich! And it can be used in another country as a legal tender!

41. How We Beat The System - Like smokers at a club smoking with one foot in the smoking zone.

42. Our Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew - It is thanks to him that we are what we are today and you will never know what he is going to say next.