Sentosa Flowers (圣淘沙春节花会) 2011

This is gonna be a pictorial post because someone complained that i was posting lesser and lesser pictures! Another reason is that the Sentosa Flowers will end on 13 February 2011; a mere 3 days away!

Get your butt going if flowers are your interest!

The newly opened Sentosa Boardwalk is the starting point for the Sentosa Flowers this year!

In a way, visitors can get a preview of the Sentosa Flowers since no entrance fee is required until you reach the other side of the boardwalk!

Don't assume it's gonna be a long walk all the way! Travellators are available at some point to provide some relief to the walk and shelter from the glaring sun!

View from the boardwalk! I shall make another trip at night. Bet it will be another view altogether.

When i said preview, i meant it as really preview. The flowers on display were pathetically little compared to previous years. Thank god it's not the case once you enter the main area on Sentosa Island itself.

Finally, a pair of evil looking rabbits welcoming you to the first integrated resort in Singapore. The red eyes should have been replaced with black colour to make the rabbits looked less scary!

Beds of vibrant flowers dotted the entrance and this is what i really considered as a better preview!

Contemporary sculptures by Romero Britto. They are really eye catching due to elements of cubism, pop art and graffiti (as taken from wikipedia).

I think this was placed just to fill up the big empty space in the middle. Traditional no doubt and something out of the blue!

At 14 meters high, this green rabbit in Festive Walk is humongous!! Look funny though; at certain angles, it does have a goblin face!! Some colors must be added to the eye to make it more lifelike!

Chinese Zodiac animals made of flora! This hopping rabbit is just too adorable!

The monkey was weird though. One hand was defending its private and the other hand was covering the asshole. God knows what has happened!

By this time, i was hot, sticky and tired! As mentioned many times, i wish Singapore has a year round temperature of around 15 to 20 degrees celcius!

Another flower display that had the rabbits donning pink 'ribbons' on their ears. Seriously, the eyes need a change in color!

Papa merlion taking its position in presiding the flower exhibition, as it has always been for the past few years.

Although this innovative display of "Sentosa Flowers" was pretty, it's quite difficult to take a full picture of the words with Kon and Van!! The most i can manage is the word "Flowers".

There are many, many flowers on display and i am going to spare you the scientific names for the moment! The least i can do is to have some nicer pictures around in this post.

I was telling Vanessa that the artist designing this rabbit must be thinking of ang kong (tattoo)!

Picture is not doing this giant bird display any justice! Given a steeper gradient, the 'painting' decorated with 40,000 assorted flowers will definitely be more spectacular.

Don't they look like papers smudged with purple/red ink?

These giant, fiberglass tulips should be surrounded by real tulips. Unfortunately, due to the hot climate, they survived for a short period of only 4 days after arriving in tropical Singapore.

As usual, you can see a lot of photographers with top notch equipment capturing the beautiful sights! DSLR is indeed getting very common.

Love this photograph!

Befitting the year of the rabbit, there's a rabbit trail that i thought would have displays of live rabbits. Disappointingly, it wasn't the case.

More flowers!

Easter preparation so early in the year? Only possible during the Rabbit lunar year!

Spare me the fake flowers!!! Give me real flowers or at least enhance it with flowers!

The Orchid Walk with cooling mist provided a cool though temporary respite from the heat.

Flowers overdose! You should be thankful i don't publish them one by one! Hahaha.

Chinese New Year wish that is only available at a price of S$2.00 each.

Cute bunny cacti! Each rabbit cactus has a pair of ears! Look more carefully and you can find some with one ear and others with more than a pair!

Salvia (or firecrackers) flowers in its various shades and hues!

A hum sap rabbit! What the heck is it peeking at?!

Floral egg in a nest? Where are the birds? I remember the placement of flower swans at this area last year!

Shutter speed is a damn cool function! Having a camera stand to ensure stability is preferable for such shots. Having said that, i guess i am too lousy to bring it out and drag it around.

A whole stretch of yellow Chrysanthemum!

When i was in kindergarten, a drawing of rabbit will guarantee many carrots right beside it! These gigantic carrots have vegetables planted around them.

By the time we completed this event, the sun was already on its way to go home! Would have love to take more pictures at night but we were too tired! Furthermore, both Kon and I are working the next day!

=====

Location

Sentosa Island

Duration

Till 13 February 2011

Opening Hours

10am to 10pm

Map

As Above.

My post on Sentosa Flowers 2010 can be read via HERE

My post on Sentosa Flowers 2009 can be read via HERE

Mid Way Through Chinese New Year (CNY) 2011

Happy Birthday!

Today's 人日 (ren ri) also known as People's Day; the traditional seventh day of the first lunar month that Chinese celebrates the birthday for everyone. Despite the fact that i should only be 31 years old based on the gregorian calendar, i am in fact 32 in Chinese terminology.

And in Singapore Chinese custom, today is by right the official day to 捞鱼生 (lo-hei)!

Each ingredient is followed by auspicious sayings that wish for a better year and usually in terms of prosperity and wealth! In the picture above, my brother in law was saying "whole floor full of gold bars"; signifying that the whole year will be (hopefully) full of wealth for the family.

This colourful Singaporean dish is only completed when all family members partake in the messy mixing!

So how is my Rabbit Lunar Year so far?

The first day was filled with visits to my relatives on my paternal side! The above is a picture of the three Teo siblings in my eldest uncle's house wishing everyone a Happy Rabbit Year!

Second day was the annual visit to my second uncle's house on my mother's side. As usual, it was a delicious steamboat lunch with loads of big, fat prawns and golden needles mushrooms!

Bratty Jerald was damn happy because there were so many kids his age! The poor mummies had to take turns taking care of these monsters! Gosh, all the more why i would not want to get married and have kids!

Almost synonymous with CNY is gambling! After most of the relatives had arrived, we knew it's time to "open the table" and play blackjack!

My lady luck wasn't shining on me; a bad omen to the new year when i had a really crappy one for the last. Night time was a visit to Swee Yi's house at 10pm! Gosh, it was the latest "pai nian" i ever have but it was really enjoyable! Pity Priscilla could not attend!

Third day was a visit to Vanessa's place for lunch! Alex insisted in helping auntie with her cooking and judging from his usual lack of personal hygiene, i was thankful i am still standing today!

In addition to my favourite game - in between, weirdo Alex suggested playing a really stupid yet fun game where each of us select a card (without knowing what it is) and place it on our forehead. Since we can see what the others have, guesses were necessary to see what our card was and raise the stakes accordingly! A bit like Texas Holdem!

Last day of the four-day holiday was spent in another cousin's house! And that was the day i realised the kid above has to call me grand uncle!!! Argh!!!!!

I am only 31!!!!! How come the generation can jump so much!?

Stopover @ Yong Peng, Malaysia

A stopover at this place by the name of Lucky Garden is guaranteed for almost 80% of all coach trips originating from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Genting Highlands and/or Cameron Highlands.

There may be other similar rest-areas for coaches in Yong Peng but this is by far the most popular. Strange indeed, considering how overpriced and mediocre the food are.

No matter what, i still need Lucky Garden for a very important reason; toilet! My bladder cannot tahan (withstand) the hold-up liquid pressure for up to 10 hours on a trip to Cameron Highlands!!!

For those who are craving for snacks, there are some stalls operating 24 hours that sell anything from fried chicken to pancake and cup corns. Like what i mentioned above, the food is generally pricey and tastes pretty normal.

There's even a 24-hour supermarket!

It may not be necessary for a "to" trip (except for chewing gum that is) but when i am going back to Singapore, the supermarket is the right place for me to spend all the ringgit i have in my wallet!

Ma Ti Su, Chewing Gum, Chewy Squid, Kai Zai Bing, Satay Fish and so much more!

=====

Location

I have no idea except it is a short distance from the Yong Peng exit of the North-South Highway.

Interesting Reads @ FMyLife.com

For most people, the last thing they do before sleeping is either count sheep or evaluate how the day has been; fruitful, busy, waste of time?

That's for normal people.

For weirdo Cavin, it's to check out the latest update on fmylife.com using my iPhone.

F means a four-letter word used for swearing and as the name implies, something is seriously wrong with a person's life when it's really F-Up!

 Each 'story' begins with Today and ends with FML (short form for FMyLife)! The above is the top FML at the moment and such sexual content is common so be prepared if you are really shy (or doing your best to act shy)!

FMyLife.com is a free portal and anyone can submit their ftheirmylife situation(s)! Of course, not every story is published; you need the users' vote and also the approval by the team of fmylife.com.

As part of the interaction for the general public, you can click "i agree, your life sucks" if you feel that the usually hilarious situation is a result of bad luck and the sender's life must be pretty screwed up to encounter it.

Alternatively, you can run your finger to "you totally deserved it" for those who seriously don't deserve any sympathy from us! At times, culture plays an important role when a stupid situation you thought to be the latter turned out to have more votes for the former.

Since each day guarantees one or two pages of updated postings by the hundreds of millions of net users, i am always eager to turn on my iPhone, launch Safari and click FMyLife from my bookmarks!

Most anecdotes do make my day and i can empathise with some that i personally have faced before! Not gonna tell you which one even though they are a mix of "i agree, your life sucks" and "you totally deserved it"! 

A few more just for fun and laughter!



So what are you waiting for? Click on http://www.fmylife.com/ now and add it to your bookmark!!!!  

Marina @ Keppel Bay

In the midst of our fast pace life in Singapore, we are at times so obsessed with work and money; relaxation is a luxury, not a necessity.

Added to the many complaints that Singapore should have NO place for relaxation, you are now faced with unmotivated citizens who are unwilling to explore any further.

I take pleasure in exploring the various nooks and corners of Singapore, helped greatly by a car, a curious attitude (mix with an adventurous streak) and friends who are keen to share information!

Marina at Keppel Bay is a result of such info sharing. Situated right opposite the touristy Sentosa Island, this enclave is still relatively unknown and is currently, for the moment, a great place to rest and relax.

Definition

the term "rest and relax" differs from person to person.

Some people said it should include spa, massages and maybe shopping! For me, the simple pleasures in life like reading a book while drinking a cup of tea, is sufficient.

The view that greets you when you enter the clubhouse at Marina @ Keppel Bay. It was a dark and gloomy sky the two times i was there! Therefore, it was definitely not the best of quality.

Yacht, an affluent symbol for Singaporeans, is in abundance here at keppel bay, an area poised to be damn 'atas' in the future!

A panoramic picture is necessary although i managed to capture at most 50% of the marina. Nevermind, i still love the stitching function in photoshop! Wahaha.

Coffee, tea, breakfast, lunch and dinner can be taken from any of the restaurants stated above. The most popular seems to be Prive.

After a romantic meal with your loved one, a leisurely walk along the promenade fronted by the touristy Sentosa Island, is confirmed to be beneficial (my doctor said so).

Another panoramic picture; I guess you will be able to see the CBD when the sky clears up! It is now super hot in Singapore but i am seriously too lazy to drive all the way to Keppel Bay.

Flowers lining the promenade that can definitely do with more trees! We all know the heat can be unbearable on a hot, sunny day!

Big cruise ship leaving the Singapore Cruise Centre a few hundred meters away. Don't be shy; smile widely and wave to the many passengers who are more than willing to wave back!

With such heavy boat traffic, i am surprised to know that the coral community is thriving in such supposedly polluted waters! According to this, many creatures and plants exist under the sea surrounding keppel bay!

"Reflections at Keppel Bay," an imposing yet weird looking condominium provides the backdrop for this marina. I bet you this will be the most sought after property (for condos) once it's completed!

=====

Location

Keppel Bay is an island (named Keppel Island) that used to be accessible only by boat! Now, there is a 245-meter cable bridge providing convenience for everyone! You can even walk there!

Here's the map as taken from Streetdirectory.com! As usual, the red star is the location of the Marina at Keppel Bay.