Splash'n Sunday at Cafe Del Mar

First time at Cafe Del Mar in Sentosa. Always thought it was a place dedicated to poseurs and ang mos... but gee, i think i enjoyed myself quite a fair bit there too. Cool concept, nice decor, a free gig, and an occasional babe in swimwear strutting around (there were fat ones too unfortunately) - Nice place to hang around with pals on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Hanging around at the Jaccuzi pool

Cafe Del Mar couple of the day

Beach Babe chilling by the pool

"You're not the only one, staring at the sun..."

Long live HC & CS!

It's been a long long time since i last accepted guests to my home. How long has it been? 10-months? Miss those times, but i guess it can't be helped since we've run out of spare rooms and i've started to work full-time. (plus extra time) In any case, couchsurfing and hospitality club still lives in my heart! Come a year or so later when we have our own place, we could start contributing again. In the meantime, here are some long overdue pics of my last few guests: (I'm so sorry for the delay!)

My co-host Jenna with Christian from HC, now a regular visitor to our Sunny Island

Uber-Cool Ryan from the states (whom we met at Sipadan), Hannah & Markos- nice sweet CS couple from Germany, & us

Sweet American Couple

In all honesty, Americans were never my favourite people. A lot of bad press and media reports sort of vilify them to a certain extent, and what little experiences that i used to have with people(some, not all) from the leading superpower have also led me to stereotype Americans as being loud, rude and quite ethnocentric. Seriously, i believe many Americans think Singapore is a part of China, and usually, they are utterly amazed when they hear a chinese speak fluent english. However, i must say my more recent experiences with them changed my view a whole lot, like Troy and Daija, one of the nicest and most interesting couples i have ever met. Adventurous and with lots of stories to share, yet very polite and well-mannered, they really made me think twice about stereotyping Americans again. After meeting Troy & Daija, coupled with all the great experiences my brother wrote about life there (My brother's blog), i kind of want to visit the states now...

Having Supper at Chomp Chomp

Remote Controlled Kite Flying at Clarke Quay

The German that hates beer and eats durian

Stephan Zimmerman- Cool, funny and a great storyteller, conversations with him are never boring. Moreover, he defies sterotypes by being the only German i know that does'nt like beer and the first 'Ang Moh'(singlish for caucasian) that passed the Durian test. Check out the pics we took at one of the many durian stalls at Geylang:

Prepping up by having a sip of coconut juice

'Hmm?', followed by a 2nd and then a 3rd...

Le Grand Voyage de Pierre Corby

Messieurs Mesdame, je vous presente...(drum roll) Monsier Pierre Corby! There's only one word to describe this person, as he himself puts it so aptly- SUGOII! Everybody loves him! Whether it's his smile, his sincerity, his jokes or whatever, he's just great to have around. Adventurer that he is, Pierre has already been on the road for six months from Europe to Russia, Mongolia, China, and most of South East Asia, and for the next three heading towards South Asia, going across Sri-lanka, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to Yikes!- Iran, and Turkey before reaching home in Grenoble, France - nine months in all. Good news to all ladies - he's single, but seeing as to how much he is infected by wanderlust, it'll be interesting to see if anyone can keep him grounded.

Anyway, other than a little stroll around the Esplanade area,(lots of great free performances in May/June, check out the one below!) we basically brought him around on a little food tour- Rochor Bean Curd, Claypot Gong Bao frog legs with porridge at Geylang Lorong 9 and Fried Carrot Cake from what is probably the last mobile cart food hawker in Singapore.(location & identity kept secret coz it's illegal, i think- e-mail me) Think we fed him well enough for his journeys ahead - Godspeed Pierre!

Full Traditional Malay Orchestra performed by Siglap Secondary - Utterly Mesmerising!

Better than the French version, t'was not a bit left of our claypot frog legs

Nostalgic, ain't it?

International Museum Day 2006

It's International Musuem Day!(though its a good ten days of programmes 18-28) With free shuttle services, free/discounted admission on pre-determined dates and various special activites, it's an event that's too good to miss. So... over the weekend, yours truly thought of doing a little museum-hopping here in my own backyard, and well surprise surprise, it was really quite a delightful weekend. Read on... oh, and by the way, it's still on, so check out the website here.

First stop- Red Dot Design Museum. A haven for students of industrial design, it showcases lots of really neat inventions or rather improved designs of existing products. Not just from students, they feature stuff from some of the big names like Phillips & Tag Heuer just to name a few. Some are patent pending, some are award winning products already out in the market- Unisex urinals, jet propulsion life bouys, snazzy gadgets- all pretty amazing stuff, though not exactly my cup of tea. Oh well, i'm glad i'm only paying $2bucks to see it. (normally $5 for adults)

Some kind of chair which lights up with different colours

New-age layout

Next stop- Chinatown Heritage Centre. Had an amazing encounter here. Remember the Yip Cheong Fun photo Exhibition that i featured in an earlier blog? I met his son, Mr Andrew Yip, who's selling reproductions of his father's great work here for a while. A talent himself, he's written quite a number of poems to go along with his father's photogtraphs. I bought one, and i'm really glad about it! Back to the centre itself, what can i say, it's great! Really authentic stuff, portraying a really vivid image of what Singapore was like back in the 1900s, cramped quarters, food hawkers, opium dens, brothels and all. I think every grandparent would have lots of stories to recount after seeing all the stuff. There's even a really neat section that helps to retrace our ancestral hometown in China through our surnames. I think i'm from Hebei, if i did'nt remember wrongly. In any case, i think my $4 was pretty well spent for this visit.(usual $8.80)

Tai Tai having Dim Sum at traditional restaurant

Street Hawker: '来来 - "Fresh pomfrets 2 for $1!"

Cramped quarters at a Chinese shophouse

Day 2 morning- Singapore Philatelic Museum. I'm not a stamp person, so i shan't comment much on it. Should be fun for kids though, as there were quite a number of sections and guided tours catered for kids. Oh well, it's free, so no complaints.

Antique Postbox

Last stop- Asian Civilisations Museum @ Empress Place. Wicked! This one's really amazing- It was free on that day, but even if i had to pay the $5 normal admission fee, i'd say that it's well worth it. I've been to several World-class museums around Europe like the Louvre and the Hofburg palace, but i must say our our own ACM certainly holds itself well against them. Sure it's not as big or as grand, but everything is done beautifully- from the lighting of the displays to the decor of the different region-themed galleries. The whole place just emanates a mysterious but nevertheless impressive aura- loved it. One small complaint though- the Hydraulic lift. There's a sign pasted next to it that warns any user that it's a slow lift, taking about a minute to move between floors. Its not just slow, its REALLY SLOW. Take the stairs- you won't regret it.

Eerie-looking sculptures

Silhouette of an Indian Princess

A projection instead of real frescoes - Ingenious!

Meet Kate from Norwich City, UK

Typically, i believe, adventurous girls are usually wild and pretty talkative, while the demure quiet types are usually not so adventurous. Meet Kate, who's really adventurous,(21yr old English girl traveling by herself for half a year now through New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, with another 2 months through Malaysia and Thailand) yet still sweet and demure at the same time. Though only spending a night here in Singapore, it was a pleasant experience for us to show her around the Esplanade\Merlion area, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Hope you had fun in Singapore Kate, and have a safe Journey home.

Boat Quay with the Fullerton Hotel in the background

If it's only one thing we've got, it's beautiful night scenery

Pulau Ubin - Our last rural Paradise

In my opinion, Pulau Ubin's the best place for cycling in Singapore- dirt tracks, beautiful scenery at the abandoned quarry lakes (well, all you non-locals may think it's not all that great, but that's all we've got), lots of trees, kampong style buildings and a resident wild pig called 'Jack'. Just a 15-minute bumboat away,($2 one-way) i'm amazed why i haven't visited the island for the past 5 years. Had a great time with my bud, my gal and her friends- gonna be back soon again, i hope. The next time will be to Chek Jawa, the wetlands area- gotta check the bookings.

Touristy pic i know, but i just have to take it

"The Return to Brokeback"

Freestyle Diving

'Huh? Where'd he go?'

Beautiful People

Happy People- Me, Veria & Terence

Chatting with the locals- Veria's new friend

'Hmm, who to save first, my girl or my bud?'