Sentosa Flowers 2012 (圣淘沙春节花会2012) - Enchanted Spring in The Dragon Year

This is my annual pilgrimage every Chinese New Year! And this time, i specially brought my dad along since he is an avid flower lover and has never been to Sentosa Flowers.

Unlike in the past, the point of entry i took this year was via the cable car station. It's not hard to find the venue for Sentosa Flowers 2012 - besides the clear directional signs, there were so many people embarking on the same route as us!

Bundles of heart shaped rose bouquets hanging from the top signal the start of the theme "Sweet Love".

Couples were scrambling to take pictures in front of these supposedly love tunnels. Unfortunately, it would have looked weird to ask someone to take a photograph for my dad and myself.

It's okay; we prefer to look at brightly coloured flowers adorning the area anyway.

And i have always enjoyed taking pictures of others, especially if they are unaware of my presence! Having said that, i am no peeping tom and take no enjoyment in doing such cheap and illegal thrills!

Flower columns flanking "The Dance of The Dragon".

You would have expected something really majestic and spectacular underneath this red tent.

Frankly, i would have been more impressed if this is made of flora or at least decorated with them. This exhibit would have looked more appropriate along siloso beach.

"Tea Journey" was actually quite a good walk where the history of tea was simply explained.

There was even a small area designed to look like a tea plantation!

I heard from the radio station this morning that Sentosa Flowers 2012 has over 100,000 flowers covering 800 different species.

Beds of flowers like the above were common and if not for the crowds, i would have gladly laid down amidst the scented flowers and napped under the hot sun.

Given the tropical temperature we have in Singapore, some species, like peach blossoms, are specially imported only to last for the duration of the flora festival.

Others, like the above, are commonly found in Singapore and used typically for Chinese prayers.

"Dinoland" - not hard to know why this is necessary! Have you ever wondered why the Westerners view dragons as evil, greedy creatures whereas Chinese sees them as auspicious animals?

I like this! Period.

Thanks to television shows, i have always linked sunflowers to cheerfulness, which is one lovely attribute that should have been inbuilt to everyone's personality.

View of the towering Papa Merlion.

Tulips! I think they are real this time. Tulips were imported last year for the same event but unfortunately, all of them wilted on the fourth day.

"Spring Melodies" - hm............. it would be nice to have someone playing traditional Chinese instruments in addition to these Western musical symbols. Damn, i am such a traditionalist!

Dragon fruits artificially held by plastic strips. For me, it's quite an eyesore in spite of the efforts and should be removed. The fruits looked delicious though.

Did I mention my dad loves flowers??

My first impression when i saw this gigantic floral dragon - fungal infection with a feverish hot body and freezing cold paws! Nonetheless, it does look pretty cuddly and drew a really long queue for visitors who could not wait to take a picture with it.

Crowd on the second day of Chinese New Year! Cavin hates crowds and would have taken leave on a weekday if not for the lack of time.... :(

The area surrounding the waterfall was boring this year. Themed as "Dragonflies", it is as it is without any visible floral reference.

This is my usual starting point from Beach monorail station. For first time visitors, i would recommend you start from here as the flow to view each exhibit is smoother.

Maybe due to its proximity to the nearby beaches, this stretch is named "Sea World".

It has styrofoam corals, sea animals like clownfish and crabs adorned with flowers and even bubbles signifying air bubbles under the sea!

To control the human traffic, this stairway up to the main venue only allowed a one-way traffic. This is a fabulous move as i remember how tempers flew in the past when people stopped to take photographs every few meters!

Honestly, the zodiac sign of Dragon is not explored to its full capacity this year and i was kind of disappointed with the number of dragon exhibits using flowers. Such flower fairies would likely only attract children and are too common a feature in gardens.

However, i also wish to state that i understand it is challenging for the organisers and we all know life is never perfect and you can never please everyone.

This is a permanent water feature. And i don't understand why visitors love to touch its spit. If they wish to gain some dragon luck, they should consider opening their mouth and take in the spit at its full force! Haha.

The "Tree of Life" is yet again another permanent exhibit where visitors can write down their new year wishes and hang the charms on the branches.

Each colour has its own representation which is a money making strategy! At S$2 each (i think), I would likely buy all since i would wish for prosperity, wisdom, wealth, love and family in the new year!

Awaken the dragon in the portrait by using the huge-ass brush to light its eyes. Due to its "photographic" value, the queue to take a picture was easily fifty meters long.

The misty walk with orchids. Apart from the fact that orchid [specifically Vanda Miss Joaquim] is the national flower of Singapore, many Singaporeans do not seem to have any affinity with this species.

Dragon Gate - during the imperial times, it's a big deal to pass through the dragon gate as doing so signifies great power and prosperity for the future.

Taken at Resort World Sentosa. This huge revolving structure makes it difficult to take a close-up picture with my dad in it although on its own, it maintains a majestic presence in the sky.

Beautiful dragon near the casino's entrance. Bet there are some fengshui implications for its strategic placement.

Flower mascots were available for visitors to take pictures and i can just imagine how suffering it is to walk in stilts and wear thick, uncomfortable clothing under the hot sun!

By the way, don't assume all the mascots are female. This is a male for goodness sake!

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Location

Sentosa Island

Duration

Till 29 January 2012

Opening Hours

10am to 10pm

Map

As above

Additional Information

My post on Sentosa Flowers 2011 can be read via HERE

My post on Sentosa Flowers 2010 can be read via HERE

My post on Sentosa Flowers 2009 can be read via HERE

Jovyn's First Lunar New Year

Our dear bulldog cheeks baby is celebrating her first lunar year and besides dressing nicely for this culturally important occasion, she is also expected to visit a lot of relatives to showcase her progress!

The first thing she did in my house upon arrival was to take a big dump! In order to protect her purity, we have taken steps to ensure the modesty. Jovyn wasn't sold as you can see from her pissed off face.

Nonetheless, she was still pretty excited about the dragon year! And was freaking adorable in the outfit she wore to my uncle's place for a big gathering!

What i didn't expect though was her affection for the red packets.

Best Day to Start Work in The Dragon Year - Zodiac Sign

Most Chinese are superstitious and even if something has no scientific basis, we have to give it the benefit of doubt - the phrase "just in case" is always a valid excuse.

This table has been circulated via email for the past few weeks and from what i understand, there are people who stay faithful to its recommendation on when to start work in order to have a fantastic year.

For example, today is a public holiday (being the first day of the Dragon Lunar Year) but some office personnel purposely went back office to switch on the computer and reply a few emails to justify their start of work!

In their mind, there is no harm in doing so.

Speaking of which, it is already Tuesday (24 January 2012); tagged as "Good" for those under the zodiac sign of Monkey. Let me log on to my mailbox.

I am working from home.

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Not sure what is your Chinese zodiac sign?

Click HERE to find out!

My Chinese New Year's Eve (龙年除夕夜) 2012 - Reunion LUNCH (团圆饭) & Night Market in Chinatown

Lunar New Year's Eve is always a busy day for Chinese and i am no exception myself especially when the past few months have been so filled with work!

Nonetheless, i managed to tidy up my room before the start of the Dragon year. [psst, shall blog on the latest state of this room in due course].

There was also the very important reunion lunch! Most Chinese have reunion dinners but our family decided to have it earlier so that my sister can have her reunion dinner at her in-laws. Nothing's wrong with that since the purpose of reunion is togetherness and you can practice it even during breakfast!

To get into the festive spirit, mom and i took to the streets of Chinatown pasar malam! As expected, it was people mountain people sea (direct translation from 人山人海).

Maybe this picture is better suited to describe the Chinese idiom. In a way, i feel that the crowd is more manageable this time - i wasn't stuck in the intersections like in the past. Must be because of the incessant rain that started from late afternoon.

Although i was in the same market a week ago [look here for the post], it was during the daytime and there were some stalls that only start their operation at night. For one, i don't even remember seeing these tins of love letters for sale!

Super absorbent (according to the lady) floor mats for the new year! I don't remember seeing this either even though these solid colour mats were easily available in a lot of places.

Self-curling hair device - frankly, the organisers should allow only vendors who are selling products related to Chinese New Year (CNY) or entrepreneurs with unique wares to offer. Common floor mats?! *roll eyes*

These are quite special; fruits that resemble gourds. I have no idea what they are and am in fact, regretting not buying any to try out!

Balloon dragon dancing to the sky!

This stall selling Taiwanese mochi and festive sweets was already slashing price at around 11.30pm, attracting customers who could not resist the good deal! I could not blame them as it's better to clear these perishable festive stocks before CNY to cover the cost.

One big bag of goodies, filled to the max, cost merely S$5 (originally, it cost S$1.80 per 100 gram)! Our two bags of achievements cost only S$10 for 3.2 kilograms!

Good deals aside, i could not stand this auntie whose hand kept reaching out to grab the goodies (we counted no less than five times) even though she had already paid, filled up and received her bags! This was indeed ugly behaviour to the max! By the way, she was captured in the previous photograph. *smirks*

This stall at another street was actually quiet initially but once the vendor dropped the price from S$10 a bag to S$5 a bag, it was swarmed with customers within five seconds!

Sometimes, it is not good to wait till the last minute as well. Some products were already sold out before midnight and mom, who loves novelty peanuts, did not manage to get any.

Flowers at only S$10 for three bouquets. Since retail stalls are generally closed for the few first days of CNY, i believe the price would drop further after midnight.

Such 'roof' is necessary in case of rain.

And it did rain heavily fifteen minutes before the clock strikes twelve! As you can see, the street was almost devoid of customers - everyone was just looking for shelter to protect their purchases.

We went to the food centre where mom can rest comfortably while looking at the performances.

The cool weather required a cup of Teh-O. A handful of hawker stalls were open to cater to the drinking crowd and it was therefore not hard to find my tea.

This was where we welcomed the Dragon year! Visitors to Singapore, who always assume that Singapore is a sanitised society, would be in for a big shock here. Dirty dishes strewn all over the place, people openly gambling in the public etc etc.

One stall vendor was already done with praying when we took the street again twenty minutes past midnight. My parents heard that the best time to pray to the Jade Emperor is 5am this Dragon Year and woke up purposely at that time to pray for the family's well-being.

This was the same stall where we bought the goodies at S$10 for 3.2 kilograms; everything was cleared out!

Boxes of mochi at hugely discounted prices. S$10 for a bag and you squeeze as many as you can. On the sideline, i heard a happy customer commenting that he managed to put in fifteen boxes into the plastic bag.

Another place where you can get massive discounts - shops that sell decorative items, especially those imprinted with the Dragon zodiac. If they don't clear it, they have to wait for the next cycle which is twelve years away.

Human jam at Chinatown MRT station. Thank god the trains didn't break down or i can imagine the amount of complaint postings on facebook overtaking those with CNY greetings.

Mom did her first praying for the lunar year at this temple beside Amoy Food Centre. There was actually a reason for it - something to do with a dream. Ask her if you are intrigued.

By the way, Happy Chinese New Year!
龙年快乐!