Happy Holidays! (Dec 2010)

Christmas Stitch (outside Inter-continental Hotel, Singapore)

Here's wishing all readers "Happy Holidays!!"

I shall be back with more "exotic travel pictures" soon..

Singapore - Resorts World Sentosa (Aug 2010)

There is life after sunset at Resorts World Sentosa and I am not just referring to the Casino. The rides at Universal Studios Singapore may be closed but the restaurants (in and around Universal Studios, as well as at the basement near Casino) are open. There is also a "theatrical circus spectacular", Voyage de la Vie, starting at 8:30pm (Wed-Sun nights) at the theatre next to the Casino. No animals are involved, just human acrobats and a male singer.

If you can choose, request for seats at the front rows closest the stage. You will feel more "immerse" in the performance and enjoy the show more. Do note the performance is "closed for maintenance" from 12 - 23 Sep 2010.

You can find out more about the performance, showtimes and book your tickets here:

http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/EntertainmentNightlife/VoyagedeLaVie

Well, at least the show's ticket price is cheaper than the entry levy for locals into the Casino.. :-)

Singapore - Final NDP Rehearsal at Marina Bay Sands (31 Jul 2010)

For the final National Day Parade (NDP) rehearsal on 31 Jul 2010, I caught the flypast and mobile columns from the overhead bridge leading towards Suntec City.

I then made my way across Marina Square Shopping Mall, the Helix Bridge and onwards to Marina Bay Sands. During the playing of the National Anthem, look up towards the SkyPark and you would see a dazzling light show!
Look who had gathered to catch the best views of the fireworks? No other than the marching contingents!
They were actually there to participate in the finale of the National Day Parade, One Voice 2010, to recite the pledge and sing the National Anthem on 2010 hrs. It was quite impressive!

P.S. On all the Saturdays when I caught the NDP finale firework displays from various locations (Esplanade Bridge, Marina Bay Sands, Helix Bridge, and I am sure everywhere else), there was always appreciative applause after the firework display ended. If only the firework display can continue every Saturday.. (sigh!)

Singapore - Marina Bay Sands (June 2010)

Inspired by the Business Times article found here (http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/393588/MBS_Makings_of_a_big_star.html), I decided to make a trip to Marina Bay Sands on 26 Jun 10.

Marina Bay Sands (website: http://www.marinabaysands.com/) is more than a casino. There are shops, restaurants, lounge, an outdoor area for you to see the Singapore skyline and a SkyPark for you to get a bird's eyeview of the surrounding islands. In year 2011, there will be performance theatres, exhibition halls and maybe even "sound and light" shows on certain nights.

Besides the surfboard-like SkyPark, you may noticed some "flappers" outside the 55-storey hotel. These are collectively known as "Wind Arbor". The flappers created a water ripple-like effect when the wind blows and look nice both daytime and at night. Inside the hotel main lobby (above, bottom row, right pic), look up and you will see some steel spider-web like structure, called "Drift".

The buildings opposite the hotel are the shops (or "shoppes"). Near the outdoor area, you will see an inverted dome structure. This is NOT a wishing well, so please do not throw your "lucky coins" down the dome. This is also not a litter-bin. There may be security cameras trained at the structure, so good luck to the person who attempts to throw rubbish down this dome. :-)

It is actually called a "rain oculus", designed to catch rain water which will drip into a "canal" in the shopping centre. If you happened to be at the "shoppes" when it rains, you may like to take a look at this rain-catching "oculus" from the basement. I spotted some drain-holes in the "canal", so I am confident it will not overflow and flood the basement shops during extremely heavy rainfall.

One function of the "canal" is for the romantics who may like to catch a sampan ride (as opposed to a gondola ride) in the shopping centre. I would not expect the sampan ride to be "rocky", even when the weather outside is stormy.

In the main hotel, there is a lounge with 'live' music playing, called "Fuse" (top row, left). Next to it (top row, right) is an international buffet restaurant called "Rise". At the other end (bottom row) is a Chinese restaurant called "Jin Shan" ("Golden Hill" in Mandarin).

I shall not mention the other Chinese restaurant located at the casino area which is served by 2 slow lifts. If both lifts broke down while the guests were already in the restaurant, the Singaporean restaurant patrons may have to pay Casino Levy (S$100 per Singaporean) to leave the place via the Casino.

Marina Bay Sands has a "kids club" for you to "park" your kids, while you "park" yourself at the casino, shops or restaurants. The kids will be entertained by electronic games, cartoons and the staff would even play table-tennis or table-soccer with your kids if they wish to. The "Casino" signboard is popular with non-patrons (especially those below the age limit) to take a picture to show they have been near a casino.

Singapore - NDP Rehearsal at Marina Bay Sands (Jun 2010)

If you happen to be at Marina Bay Sands on any of the Saturday evenings in the month of July, you will notice a group of people gathering to view the Singapore waterfront between 6:30pm to 8:20pm. They are actually there to see the flypasts (between 6:40pm to 7:15pm) and fireworks (8:10pm to 8:20pm) of the National Day Parade Rehearsals from a new viewpoint. If you are lucky enough to purchase a ticket to the SkyPark during that period, you may get to view the flypasts and fireworks from up in the sky!

The full works can be seen on National Day (9 Aug 10). Unfortunately, you cannot see or hear much between the flypasts and fireworks, unless you have a mobile phone or laptop which can stream the parade 'live' on 9 Aug. Otherwise, you may be better off getting a drink or taking a stroll at the 'shoppes' between the flypasts and fireworks.

Have fun!

Singapore - Resorts World Sentosa (Apr 2010)

A trip to Resorts World Sentosa (http://www.rwsentosa.com/) and Universal Studios Singapore costs only S$2 by public bus RWS 8 from Vivocity (or Harbourfront MRT). You can check out the website (http://www.rwsentosa.com/language/en-US/Attractions/UniversalStudiosSingapore) for the entrance fees to Universal Studios Singapore. You need 1 whole day to try the unlimited rides and attractions. As I only reached Sentosa island around 11am, I decided to just view the Universal Studios from outside.

Local citizens and Permanent Residents have to cough out S$100 as entry levy just to step in. For overseas guests, you just need to show your passport to gain free entry. 

Above are 2 other interesting hotels at Resorts World Sentosa.

Japan - Osaka Universal Studios (Oct 2007)

With so much excitements about the opening of Universal Studios Singapore [at Resorts World Sentosa (http://www.rwsentosa.com/)] and another in South Korea soon, I thought of sharing some photos I took in Oct-07, from the outside of Universal Studios Osaka - I did not purchase the day-pass to go in.

Egypt Guided Tour - Cairo Arrival (Dec 2004)

Being slightly naive, we thought of having a "free and easy" day before our guided-tour to explore Cairo on our own. We were armed with only the Lonely Planet (Egypt) guidebook and our knowledge of English language. We did not took the tour's hotel transfer because we arrived a day before the tour started.

We were stuck at the Egyptian Customs for an hour plus! Apparently, this Customs officer seldom saw young (late-twenties/early-thirties) Chinese Asians with Singapore passports visiting Egypt for pleasure back in 2004. He took a very long time trying to establish that our passports were real, even to the point of trying to remove the photograph pasted on the passport!

Thanks to an English-speaking Egyptian tour-guide who noticed our uncomfortable situation, the tour-guide managed to convince the Customs officer to let us through.

We checked into our hotel and visited the Cairo Tower nearby.
We were surprised to see how developed Cairo was, with all the buildings, cars and roads. From the Cairo Tower, we spotted the Giza pyramids in the horizon. We could not wait for our "Wonders of Egypt" guided tour to start..