River Hongbao 2015 (春到河畔2015) - Feel the Festive Vibe! @ Marina Bay Floating Platform [Singapore]

It has been five years since my last River Hongbao and frankly, if not for my parents' earnest request, you would not likely see me visiting as i could vividly remember how insanely packed it was in 2010! 

Anyway, i had to play my cards well this time and opted to pay it a visit before dinnertime. Despite the significantly higher parking rate, i made the decision to park my car at the less crowded Singapore Flyer!

My parents at the Singapore Grand Prix's racing track - Dad was actually a big fan of Grand Prix when it was held along Upper Thomson Road (at the area known as Devil's Bend) forty years ago.

A convenient walkway connecting Singapore Flyer to the Marina Bay Floating Platform - loving it when the crowd didn't appear as intense as i would have expected. 

Or so i thought until i stepped into the food street tentage! A frustrating scenario of people squeezed people, especially those undecided ones who stopped in front of a particular stall, considered for five second seconds before moving off! 

The pot is calling the kettle black; i am guilty of doing exactly the same thing although my intention was to check out the type of mouthwatering food for sale! For all you know, another blogger could be writing about some dim-witted guy who just could not stop taking photos! 

Oh well, you could not please everyone! Haha. Anyway, mom's main aim of attending River Hongbao was to check out the tight rope act by a Guinness World Record Holder and the first thing she did, after scrambling out of the food street, was to find a spot at the platform's grandstand where she can rest her feet.

View of the food vendor's preparation area. Not exactly an appetite enhancer but the same situation overseas could be much worse! 

In my opinion, this would be the centrepiece for the event this year; aside from long trail of peacock 'feathers', it took up a big part in the centre of the grandstand and towered over all the other lanterns. More on it later. 

As 2015 is also Singapore's 50th birthday, the theme this year was to allow visitors to recollect the moments of Singapore in the past 50 years! Honestly, i thought it was pretty well done even though i didn't quite check out the details and information of everything! 

Sun was on its way for its daily slumber!

Two performers acting out a scene from a Chinese opera to entertain the visitors. In other times, you may also find magic shows in the same performance area.

How could anyone ever miss out the 18-meter tall God of Fortune!? For most Chinese, life is often weighed by the amount of money you have and it's no surprise that many crave to be bestowed with money and precious metal. 

孔雀报喜 Let's Celebrate Together! A painful translation that didn't make any sense until you read the information panel placed in front of the elaborate lantern. You all did realise the two peacocks are male?

长廊灯饰 Entrance Walkway - nicely done up with "curtains" that could not close, adorned with festive flowers and an opera mask on top of each arch. 

Those who are tired of walking should make use of the free seating at the grandstand. Climb up to the top and be rewarded by the cool breeze and the spectacular city-scape in front of you! 

Making use of the miniature (diorama) function on my Olympus camera! As with previous years, you would find old school carnival rides that were still relatively common when i was child. 

A rough visual idea of the scale of River Hongbao 2015. Well, guess the scale doesn't seem to deviate from the past few years; in 2010, it was the same floating platform that was used to house the event.

Top of the grandstand - far from the noisy bustle at the foot, it was surprisingly quiet and rather therapeutic for the tired soul. 

桥头小拱门 Gateway Arch - entrance to the main section where most lanterns were located.

入口大牌楼 Main Entrance Arch - The gateway arch shall wait since due respect must be given to the main archway, which gave me the impression of a facade of a theatre back in the old old days.

Funfair rides for the kids - I didn't check out the prices and hence, could not comment further. 

Uncle Ringo - Master of all funfair operators in Singapore back in the 80s and early 90s. Anyone still remember the top gun and other adrenaline charged rides that was brought in to temporary fun fairs in Yishun, Jurong East etc? 

Sadly, it's no longer that exciting from Uncle Ringo nowadays; at least not for adults and teenagers. You could however reminisce some of the old times in game stalls like the above. 

Entrance Walkway again - the impressiveness can be felt as you slowly walk in; a vastly different experience if you enter from the other side, as we did. 

Okay, time to enter the main floating platform. 

舞狮贺年 Lion Dance Cheers! - Symbols of Chinese New Year (CNY); the firecrackers and the lion dances! It's a pity that firecrackers were banned in 1972 and even for me, the first encounter i had with firecrackers was when i was 10 years old, in Malaysia. 

Slide to entertain the young kids.

松柏之茂 Giant Pine Tree - not sure why this was here but it appeared to have been inspired by the movie, Avatar! Wait till the tree is lighted and you would know what i mean. What's more interesting were the butterfly information panels surrounding the tree; it offered you snippets of CNY celebrations in the past! 

欢庆建国50周年巨型壁画 SG50 Giant Mural Wall - at 50 meters long, this was another remarkable display and it illustrated the various icons of Singapore; Merlion, MBS, Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa, Changi Airport, bust of Sir Stamford Raffles etc! 

Not two dimensional by the way.

Main performance stage - unlike the smaller performance area i shared earlier, you need to queue up to be seated and charmed by the numerous cultural shows. By the time i realised, the queue was so snaking long; i think it would be best for mom to stay put at the grandstand. 

Lights up! 

The presence of the zodiac animals is a must-have in River Hongbao and aside from taking photographs of your personal zodiac sign (this year sitting on a boat); it's a norm to also read the information on / near the animal. 

Fortune for the upcoming Goat year! I usually don't like to have my fortune read as i believe it would make us more afraid of making decisions. We should embrace whatever life brings to us; things happen for a reason right?

As the star zodiac animal, there were three goats to signify their importance! Let's see how many monkeys there would be in 2016! 

Classic playgrounds that used to dot the HDB neighbourhoods in the past! At the moment, i think you can still find the dragon playground in Toa Payoh.

Picture of the peacocks from the platform - don't they appear to be gazing at one another? Hm... is there a subliminal message somewhere? 

独立桥 Merdeka (Independence) Bridge - why bother with fake painted water when there is the real thing a mere few meters away?! Anyway, i didn't know we have a merdeka bridge in Singapore! This bridge is still in existence and part of the Nicholl Highway now.

昔日狮城 Old Singapore River - i initially thought it was a normal display of ancient China township. Look closer and you can find something similar to home; the junkboat, the samsui women with their signature red headwear and the national theatre.

When it comes to Singapore, we are passionate where food is concerned although we don't really see the point of getting into petty arguments like where the dish originates from. 

好美味 So Shiok! - Regardless of the origins, what matters most is that your taste buds enjoy it. 

许愿井 Wishing Well - try hitting the bells with coins; your wish might just come try with each ring. What's funny was that a man next to me said he saw a young boy hit one of the bells with the following wish: May you have a son soon. 

Back of the lighted god of fortune. 

Re-entering the food street as mom asked to have something to munch while she waited for the start of the tightrope feat.

Those who prefer to have a place to sit and have your meals can consider checking out the area next to the food street and underneath the grandstand. The queue can be long for some stalls but it would not be as crowded and stuffy as the tentage outside.

Muah Chee for S$3 a box, a grilled squid for S$5 and a prawn skewer for S$3. 

Does look like they were smooching.... Bet this photographer would be commenting the same thing when he ran through his photos at home.  

Setting sun. The tightrope performance would only start at 9.15 pm which means i still had about an hour and forty five minutes to go! :( If you ask me, i am really not that interested in watching the performance. 

Took a picture of mum and i had to roam the street again. My sharp ass could not stand sitting in the same place for long period of time! 

Throngs of people after dinner!

Oh! Didn't notice there were two piggy banks at the feet of the god of fortune! From this angle, it also looked as if the coins were dropping down from the sleeves. 

Some more photographs for your viewing pleasure.

As usual, there would be stalls hawking traditional Oriental handicraft. I have gone past the age of being fascinated; furthermore, i dislike buying things that would eventually end up in a dusty corner of my drawer,

Frankly, the whole place does look more impressive when night falls and all the lanterns are lighted up. 

9 pm - another fifteen minutes to go and we suddenly heard people exclaiming and many were clamouring towards the god of fortune. What happened?!

It's time for the fortune shower! The shower shall take place daily at 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, 9pm and 10pm! Do note that wind would affect the direction of the shower.

To increase your "coverage", bring along an umbrella and open it up! For those seated at the grandstand, the sight was really quite hilarious! 

Many people had taken up positions at the grandstand and the atmosphere did feel a bit like the national day parade i attended back in 2012.

Most had their attention fixated at the performers for the tightrope feat. From the above photo, you should be able to see the tall platform with a 80-meter tightrope across. 

With no safety harness, it was indeed a heart in the mouth moment whenever the performers from he acrobatic troupe of Xinjiang China appeared to be at risk of falling off the height of at least 18 meters and no more than 22 meters! 

The middle section had a gigantic, inflatable mattress which could help to break the fall yet could not guarantee that the person will escape from serious injury. As you could see, everyone's gaze was with the performers then. 

One person crossing the tightrope is already a challenge; to have two persons

walking from each end who would eventually meet in the middle; what would happen? Would anyone retreat?

Easy; make one lie on the rope and then walk past him! Isn't that crazy!?!?!? 

Mum and Dad - satisfied while i was shagged out. Oh well, it is not as if River Hongbao happens every day and it is always nice to bring our parents out and spend time with them! 

That's what the Lunar New Year is all about. 

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Location

The Float @ Marina Bay

Layout Map

As above.

Open Until

Last Day would be Saturday, 28th February 2015. Do keep in mind that the tightrope performance is no longer available and the cultural performances at the main performance stage would be replaced by a singing marathon on 26th, youth night on 27th and harmony night on 28th February.

Website 

http://www.riverhongbao.sg/

Another CNY Routine - Visiting My Maternal Uncle's House on the Second Day of Lunar New Year!

Paying a visit to my mother's youngest brother is a must during lunar new year and the assigned day for "open house" has always been the second day! This time, i was tasked to buy yusheng for lo-hei as the coffee shops near my uncle's place were not open for business.

A steamboat feast was waiting for me; large tiger prawns, baby abalones, fresh squid, squiggly sea cucumber accompanied by CP chicken wings and nuggets! Food aside, it was of course awesome to mingle with my cousins, aunties and uncles! 

Time for Lo-Hei! Jerald had memorised those auspicious 4-character words for ingredients mixed into the basic set of shredded vegetables. 大吉大利 (for the sour plum), 金银满屋 (for peanuts), 年年有余 (for the salmon), 遍地黄金 (for that crispy stuff), just to name a few. 

Mayhem as everyone attempted to toss the ingredients as high as possible and mix them as thoroughly as they could! 

The final product.

Jovyn with two of her cousins. She might be the shortest and youngest but weight wise; she won both of them hands down. Poor gal was teased relentless on her chubbiness even though all of them could hardly resist her cuteness. 

Sexy Louise and Jerald - by the way, Jerald wasn't wearing pyjamas lah! After this photograph, someone stole my Olympus TG-3 and from hearsay, he / she had been disturbing everyone by snapping candid shots!

The first victim was me!! Anyway, the TG-3 is said to be shockproof and i guess it would child-friendly enough for this particular kid to go around the house.

Over a hundred photographs were taken with a high percentage that turned out to be too unfocused, overly bright and / or crap. The above was one of the better ones. 

The portraits he / she took of relatives were pretty good but as they were candid, the expressions were pretty hilarious and i thought i should not cause my relatives any embarrassment. 

My cousin, Joie who is eleven years my junior! As our families are close, i see her very often and even though she might deny this, i don't think i have any generation gap with her! Hahahaha.

This was only half strength! Some were in the bedrooms, others were in the kitchen and i have yet to include those who were still digging into the steamboat!

A shot of my lovely cousin whom i have not seen for ages! So pretty now and i just realised she works in a reputable steakhouse; damn, i miss my red meat!

A selfie by the culprit! 

KBB Korean BBQ Buffet @ Clementi City Vibe Mall [Opposite Clementi MRT Station]

It has been a long while since i last stepped into a buffet restaurant and i was in fact looking forward to having a satisfying, fulfilling meal at KBB Korean BBQ Buffet. This meal shall make up for the kilos i lost in Maldives! 

The decor was quite chic without relying too much on Korean symbolic yet traditional decoration. I did request for permission before taking the above photograph and was given the go-ahead. 

Only exception was the stretch of food section; frankly, with the prevalence of mobile cameras, it may earn the restaurant goodwill by either allowing photography or disallowing it totally. Having a half rule is just irritating. 

Nevertheless, my review continues; albeit with reduced enthusiasm. There wasn't any label at the raw food section and i could only roughly guess what the meat was; luckily i can still differentiate the red from the white. 

Variety was quite extensive (if only i know exactly what the meat was and the kind of marination that went into it) and if i recall correctly, there was soup and fruits. As with most buffets, there were free flow drinks like barley tea.

Grab their cooked food! The jap chae might not be as heavenly as the one in Bornga but it was absolutely irresistible; i had it more than the expensive meat! Enjoyed the Ddeokbokki too!

On the barbecued items, i am honestly unimpressed; the marination was weak in many instances and we had to make use of the sauces to season the meat further. Maybe that's the authentic Korean way even though i didn't face an issue in Ju Shin Jung?

Oh, before i miss this information out, you are required to evict after two hours. That's the time limit given to diners.

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Location

3151, Commonwealth Avenue,

#02-05, City Vibe Mall [Next to Clementi Mall]

Operating Hours

Lunch: 11 am to 3 pm

Dinner: 5 pm to 10 pm

[Open Daily]

Contact Number

6774-5712

Price

As above. The + sign refers to Service Charge.

No GST was imposed.

Repair of My Olympus STYLUS TG-3 Tough @ Singapore Service Centre

If you have yet to read the blog post on my Maldives itinerary, you might not have been aware that my brand new underwater camera had suffered from a serious bout of water damage!

Let me explain; i was 100% sure the two catches on the casing were secure and after a bit of canoeing with a couple of bumps to the camera (note, it was said to be shockproof too), a fellow traveller notified me that the catch was open! 

Too late - water had seeped in and the camera was hence rendered non-operational! Super duper sian lor; i was lucky i brought along my iPad mini and this allowed me to take more photographs (like the one above) for the purpose of my travelogue! :(

Upon returning to Singapore, i knew i had to check with Olympus service centre although i am sorely aware that water damage is most likely the fault of the user and the warranty would not be honoured. However, the quality of the catch was not a result of my negligence and i should bear no responsibility for this damage. 

I was all prepared to share my frustration and didn't even attempt to check out the numerous cameras and accessories on display in the waiting area. Must compose myself before the battle mah.

It's a pity i didn't get the name of the service staff attending to my queue number as he was very professional about my issue; not once did he point the finger at me and accused me it was my fault. In reality, he assured me that the engineer would check it out.

Last look of the dead camera before it was sent for investigation; as you can see from the edges of the LCD screen, rust has already set in. Both my batteries were also collected back as i could not recall which was the one affected by the seawater. 

Imagine my surprise when an Olympus personnel called me 5 days later to get a replacement for the damaged Olympus! I am so, so thankful as i really like the underwater pictures taken by the camera! 

To Olympus, thanks for investigating! 

And to the gentleman who assisted me, thank you too! :)