The City of Love – Venice (Updated)

December 13, 2012 1 Comment

All 3 of us fell in love with Venice the second we saw the City of Water at the horizon. It was so mesmerizingly beautiful that it erased the 15-hour-overnight-train fatigue and our gloomy Paris experience instantly. Like a magic spell, it put the smiles and warmth back into our heart and refilled our minds with indescribable happiness. When we were on the boat towards San Marco, I saw the smiles and excitements on Felicia and Elkan’s face. At that moment, I knew we were in a very special place.

These big words aren’t overstatements or exaggeration. Birthplace and home of the great explorer Marco Polo, Times named Venice as one of the most romantic cities in the world. The New York Times described it as “undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man”. For those who are looking for a romantic getaway, I would strongly suggest Venice over Paris. It is not difficult to understand why.

The entire city is listed as a World Heritage Site. Venice is sited on a group of 117 small islands separated by canals and connected by over 400 bridges. Shaped like a fish, there is no car or even bicycle in the city. This is the largest car-free zone and possibly the 2nd richest city in Europe. To get around in the city, there are the private-&-very expensive water taxis, public ferries (traghetti & vaporetti) and the classical gondolas. Due to the absence of motorized vehicles, the mood of the city is very calm and relaxing. We stayed in a very nice hotel, Hotel Flora (recommended by Lonely Planet). The location is simply fantastic – right in the heart of San Marco and close to all the key attractions and branded outlets. The decor of the hotel and its courtyard are covered with vines and greens.

Venice is ideal for travelers of all ages – from kids to young love couples and to old family groups. The magic of Venice lies within its massive network of alleys. It is more than just taking a gondola down the narrow water passage. It is about getting lost, walking along the narrow cobbled lanes. There are so much to see, explore and discover – churches, museums, glass-blowing workshop, gelato parlors, masks galleries, leather goods shops, art galleries, cafes, leaning towers (yes, lots of leaning buildings) and the ravishing buildings. It is a very colourful city with distinctive characters and styles. Lost? Don’t worry, the Venetians are very warm, friendly and helpful. There are many young Chinese retail shop staffs – clearly, the Venetians are well-prepared to welcome the cash-strapped Chinese visitors.

Venice is a great place for photographers. Every corner is a photo opportunity. Thanks to the iconic buildings and mishmash of styles, colours & textures – every photo turns out like an oil painting. The smooth and calm reflections made the canals so enchanting. The city changes colour at different time of the day. Warm orangeish at dawn and pinkish at sunset. At night, the streets lit up with festive lightings – it is just so romantic and beautiful.

Unfortunately, the city is disappearing soon. According to NBC news, Venice is now sinking 5 times faster than thought at an alarming rate of 2mm/year. It is also tilting 1-2mm eastwards to the ocean. The tilt is so obvious to the naked eyes that you can see it. With the threat of rising sea level, 70% of the city suffered its worst flood on 11th Nov (merely 30 days ago). It must be devastating for the locals. Scientists have warned of recurring floods. This is going to be a new sad reality for the Venetians.

We were fortunate to avoid the recent flood. Felicia, Elkan and I truly enjoyed our stay in Venice. We spent 2 days walking and exploring the lanes. I have so much to capture on film. Felicia was so intrigued by the local crafts and arts. Elkan, he was in his own make-believe world – chasing pigeons and jumping over bridges. For once, Elkan didn’t grumble about the long walk. Surprisingly, he didn’t ask for our iPAD or iPhone. It’s one truly enjoyable trip for the family.

When it was time to leave Venice this morning, we felt a little sad. Surely, we will come back again to enjoy its wonder before it disappears. For one spur of moment, I seriously considered to relocate here – since my Fengshui master says I should be near water at all times! Thanks to its mythical and magical charms, Venice is the by far the most beautiful city I have been. And the one place where all 3 of us will remember and miss for a long long time.

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The Darkness and Brightness of Paris (Updated)

December 12, 2012 3 Comments

Paris, Paris. This is one destination where all girls want to visit with their love ones at some point of their life. The city of lights / art / cuisine / romance / love / dream / liberty / passion / fashion – whatever the city portrays itself, in my opinion, is nothing but an overrated destination. Yes, it houses some of the world’s most remarkable landmarks and international brands but the city is losing its shine. Sadly, it is rotting from within with its petty crimes, ruggedness, vandalism and snobbishness.

We had high expectations of this city. Afterall, it is Paris – we read so much about this city. This is where Chanel lives, Mona Lisa smiles and Eiffel Tower sparkles. When I alighted from the Eurostar train at the Paris’ Gare Du Nord station, I was disappointed with its messy state. What a big difference compared with London’s St Pancras station, I thought. There were lots of conmen stalking out at the station offering “cheap rides” to unfamiliar tourists. It felt like 3rd-tier Chinese cities and this is the capital of France! I asked the information counter for direction to the toilet but the assistant simply gave me direction in French! That wasn’t very useful. In the end, it was a Chinese retail staff who politely pointed me to the right direction. I wasn’t surprised – afterall, the French is notorious for their indifference and impatience towards the English-speaking tourists.

Our hotel is just a 5-minute walk to the world’s famous Eiffel Tower. The sandy path leading to the tower was littered with fresh dogs’ poos and uneven pot holes. It wasn’t pretty at all. We were also approached by a group of young Gypsies girls asking us to sign up for fake donation. These are the same old cliche tactics that were practiced in other poorer Asian cities. We ignored them but this bad experience dampen the good impression we had of Paris. Nevertheless, we were so mesmerised by the tower’s beauty that we soon overlooked these minor flaws. The Eiffel Tower is indeed a charmer. It didn’t disappoint at all! We spent 45 minutes walking up 669 steps to the 2nd deck of the tower. It was an exhilarating climb for Felicia and me. The view at the top was simply breath-taking!

Despite all our “not-so-nice” first encounters with the French hospitality, Felicia, Elkan and I had a wonderful time exploring the city. We enjoyed the bright and dark sides of Paris. We spent the next 2 days exploring the city’s rich past – Musée du Louvre, Notre Dame, The Centre Georges Pompidou etc where I shot many nice photos. Seeing Paris at day and Paris at night was 2 completely different experience. It is a beautiful city to explore on foot – every turn’s a surprise. We saw a beautiful double-decker carousel along Avenue Victoria outside Place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville and Elkan jumped right onto it! The boutiques were decorated with stunning window displays.

On our last day, my worst fear happened. Felicia was robbed at Galeries Lafayette (one of the hot spots for pick-pockets) less than 5m away from a mobile Police Station! The robbers were quite physical – they pulled her arms and pushed her around. In the state of confusion, her purse was stolen and she lost all her money and cards. While she was making her statement, 2 Japanese men walked into the station and cited the same crime story. Incredible, there is nothing the Police can do to make any difference. These crimes happened right under their noses in broad daylight!

Overall, we left the French’s capital with very mixed feelings. It is like the Mona Lisa Experience. Many came to see the painting – only to find out that it is so small and you can’t go close to see her in details. We love the old gems and charms of Paris – the museums, the historic landmarks and the big brands. We were unimpressed with its people, their indifference and snobbishness. One positive thing that came out of that negative pick-pocket incident – It taught Elkan a priceless “real life-encounter street lesson” that we need to stay vigilant at all time, how we faced & dealt with the crisis and moved on.  In my opinion, Paris is still very much living on its past architectural marvels / glories, fashion brands and rich heritage. With such snobbish attitude towards its visitors, Paris is certainly not ready to welcome its new wave of Chinese travellers. To be fair, it will take me many more visits (and French classes) to fully understand and appreciate its diversity. Perhaps I am having the Eiffel Tower Effect – Parisans found it an eye-sore when it was first built and it took them a while to discover its beauty. At the first glance, Paris is not romantic at all. To me, it is merely cosmetic for now. 

Filed under Family, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Good Old Sunny London (Updated)

December 10, 2012 Leave a comment

London is the best gateway into Europe – especially for English-speaking holiday-makers like us. It feels so good to be back in London (since my last visit in 2008) with my wife and son. And I am so glad to make this as our first stop on our 10-day Europe tour.

Mother Nature has been very kind to us. I was expecting London to be grey, gloomy and wet at this time of the year. We were very lucky. For 3 consecutive days, we were blessed with blue sunny sky! It was superb for outdoor photography and sight-seeing. We had such a good time here – crossing bridges along Thames River,  shopping at Harrods, chasing pigeons and squirrels at Hyde Park, boarding a battleship and intruding royal grounds. On our last day, we spent some quiet cozy time at Hyde Park.

3 days were indeed too short for us. It was difficult for us to say goodbye to London. We felt so comfortable here. We love the old buildings, the food and the people. London is home to many great World Heritage Sites. Grand, authentic and majestic are words how Felicia described about London. Old on the outside, new and modern inside. We met so many nice locals – that made me wondered why the Englishmen I know in Asia are so crude. The local English we met were so warm, chatty, helpful and kind. Elkan got teased a lot (on the bus, immigration counter, in the hotel). An old Englishman at a public pay-toilet insisted to refund me some pennes after I mistakenly slotted Elkan’s share inside the machine. I didn’t know it is free for children. He came out from nowhere to hand me the coins after we left the toilet. He must have seen us over the CCTV and came out to pass us the refund. I didn’t expect him to go all the trouble just for a couple of pennes. That’s remarkable.


Here are our Top 5 favorite Moments in London:

NUMBER 1 – BRIDGE-CROSSING ALONG THAMES RIVER
Spanning over 4.4km, passing 6 iconic bridges – We took a 3-hour walk from Trafalgar Square to the Tower Bridge. There are so much to see along the Thames River. On Southbank, I took a beautiful shot of the London Eye and Big Ben. A few meters ahead towards the Waterloo Bridge, there are a lot of small stores lining along Festival Pier. There is also a semi-underground skate park with lots of interesting graffiti arts.

Further up, we arrived at the world famous Millennium Bridge that connects Tate Modern and St Paul’s Cathedral. We then stop by Borough Market to grab some local bites.

London Bridge is disappointing for Elkan. He heard about the song and was expecting a different bridge. And when we got there, he didn’t believe that was the London Bridge. He was giving us the “huh-expression”. It was so comical!

Just before arriving at the iconic Tower Bridge, Elkan dragged me to board a battleship “HMS Belfast”. The nine-deck floating war museum is open free for kids under 16! For adult, it costs £14.00. Felicia didn’t board the ship as she is not a fan of “the boy’s stuff”. Elkan was so excited to board the vessel as he have seen them in action in the movie “Battleship”. It was like a maze inside. Climbing those small steps proved difficult for an old chunky man like me. I could never catch up with that little brat. All I heard was his yelling “Faster, Daddy! Wow…more holes and tunnels!”

After a tiring drill inside the HMS with my boy, we decided to go back to our original itinerary.  However, we lost sight of Felicia and for a good 30 minutes, I couldn’t reach her on phone or sms. Elkan was getting so worried for his mum. In the end, Felicia texted us her location. Elkan cried when he saw his mum. He ran to her crying and gave her a big hug. He scolded her for walking away and smiled in tears when Felicia assured him that everything is alright. Such a charmer.

Finally, we reached Tower Bridge. This is one of the most recognisable and iconic bridges in the world. It is simply majestic!


NUMBER 2 – BRITISH MUSEUM
Free for the world – The British Museum houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive and important collection of Egyptian works – over 100,000 pieces outside Cairo. Amongst the 8 million collections, its most famous collection “The Rosetta Stone” was the most visited object since 1802. Well known for its inscriptions, the Rosetta Stone helped historians to unlock the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. There are 3 inscriptions on the stone –  the upper text is ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the center is Demotic and the lower is Ancient Greek.

Elkan had his first mummy-encounter. This month, the museum showcases a 5.5 thousand year-old mummy. Thru modern CT scan, the museum revealed his long-held secrets, from his age at death to the surprising way that he died.


NUMBER 3 – THE TOWER OF LONDON 
Tower, castle, fortress, prison, royal mint, palace or torture chambers – The Tower of London has many names and stories. Today, it is home to beefeaters and the Crown Jewels.


NUMBER 4 – BIG BEN (ELIZABETH TOWER)
Thanks to the movies and posters, this is one of the most iconic landmarks in the world – Big Ben (name of the big bell – the clock tower is now officially renamed as the Elizabeth Tower). Completed in 1858, it holds the largest four-faced clock in the world and is the third-tallest free-standing clock tower. Unknown to many, Big Ben has starting tilting since 2003 at a rate of 0.9mm/year. You can’t leave London without taking a photo with Elizabeth. Or her bells “Ben”.


NUMBER 5 – TRAFALGAR SQUARE / BUCKINGHAM PALACE
We couldn’t leave London without waving goodbye to the Queen. We decided to drop her a visit at her official residence – Buckingham Palace. A pity, her gates are closed and the side compound is filled with cars. What a grand royal carpark, I thought.

Our final stop – The Trafalgar Square. Named after Britain’s naval win over the French in the War of Trafalgar,the square is used today for political demonstrations, community gatherings and festive celebrations. At the square, I saw men setting up a big Christmas Tree. This is no ordinary Christmas tree. Since 1947, The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree has been an annual gift to the people of London as a token of gratitude for British support of Norway during the 2nd World War.

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Bang! And we arrived in Europe!

December 6, 2012 Leave a comment

Surprise to many, this is the first Christmas vacation without the traditional companionship of our extended “family” – Tracy, Harshad, Kalinda or Lionnel. Due to our little disagreement in this year’s travel destination, we decided to go our own separate ways.  Felicia, Elkan and I head out to Europe while Harshad, Tracy and Kelly head for Bhutan (earth’s happiest kingdom). Europe has always been one of my top travel destinations since 2007. I am so glad that we finally made it this year. (At least, if the world really did end in Dec 2012, there will be one less regret to ponder about.)

We took red-eye to Rome and Tracy was very kind to escort us to our gate! I was very touched by her gesture and company! While waiting for our flight, I managed to take a photo with the work I created on the last day of its promotion. (Hahah…I am so proud to pose in front of the concourse shop! The security guard thought I was a weird tourist posing with the bottles.)

It took us a total of 22 hours and a few heart-attack moments to fly from Hong Kong to Rome and to London. We suffered 2 very unpleasant flights. Our flight to Rome was a terrifying one. 15 minutes before landing, there was a bright blinding orange spark inside the cabin, followed by a loud bang. The spark came from the wing. Passengers on board were whispering “what was that?”. Seconds later, a big lightning strike near the plane. I feared for the worst. Thankfully, we landed safe and sound  – this goes down as my worst flight ever.

Blame it on my kiasuism, I booked our next flight to London with a 5-hour gap. We parked ourselves at a cafe – no wifi, 3G. We were restless and bored. I went to the post office to send out a couple of postcards to my dear pals in Hong Kong. (It was more expensive to send postcards (€12) versus signing up for a 1-day €10 wifi package! No wonder not many write postcard these days.)

Our next flight to London was just as bad as the first one. It was a small plane and there were a lot roller-coaster moments due to the severe turbulence. The worst was the landing. The pilot failed the first landing and we had to attempt a second one. We were heading down too fast and the pilot made a steep climb. When flying over the Alps, Felicia took this stunning photo (below). At least, there is one beautiful moment on board.

The good news for me is there will be no more air travel from now till 17th Dec. For the next 10 days, we will be on the road (taxi, foot and rail) from London to Paris to Venice and to Rome. This will be one very exciting Europe trip for my wife and kid and I can’t wait to share more photos and stories here with my family and friends back home!

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Thanksgiving Weekend with Dad

December 2, 2012 Leave a comment

2012 has been a long and hectic (and very rewarding) year for me. I am so glad things are finally slowing down and I got a couple of free days to spend with my loved ones. The cold spell arrived earlier this year. Dad’s visit certainly warm up our days.

Dad and his buddy Uncle Bok (my 142nd HK Visitor!) arrived on Thanksgiving Day. We spent a relaxing weekend at Shenzhen. It is always a great joy to be with the old folks. Time is never enough for us. Most of the time, we were chilling out at the cafes, spas and bars. There were so much to catch up. While they were sharing the latest news from Singapore, I was encouraging them to retire in China. We spent 2 days gadget hunting at the IT districts,  the old duo bought many unusual stuffs – bluetooth speakers, iphone battery packs, laser bulbs, CCTV recorder etc. It was so fun to watch them bargaining prices with the retailers. I also showed and taught them about the latest mobile apps. The most exciting part of the trip was when Dad dropped his handphone and we managed to trace back our steps to recover his lost phone.

On their last day, they visited my wife and boy in Hong Kong. We had a small farewell dinner at Lee Garden, Causeway Bay. Elkan was very happy and excited to see his grandpa. At the restaurant, he wanted to share a mug of beer with the old boys. From Elkan’s expression (see photo below), he wasn’t quite man enough for the strong brew. He gave us a good laugh for the night.

Early Tuesday morning, Dad and Uncle Bok flew back to Singapore. I took a long 12-hour sleep to recover my sleepless nights with the old boys. Throughout their 5-day stay, Dad and Uncle Bok slept late (3am) and woke up early (6am) every day. I couldn’t keep up with their stamina. I was wrong about old people – their batteries are more lasting than mine. Like what they said to me, life is so short – make every second counts. Thanks for the wonderful time (and all the fatherly advises)! And I hope to see you guys next year, same time, same cities.


Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong

Action Heroes Conquer SinCity!

September 11, 2012 Leave a comment

Alright. Budget cut. No fancy overseas trip this year for our team building. We decided to plan our Team Building Day somewhere closer to home. We couldn’t think of another better destination. Certainly not Shenzhen or Lama Island. Macau seems to be the perfect choice. It is Asia’s most flamboyant SinCity and I am sure there is a place for Action Heroes like us.

At first, I was skeptical about this destination for team building. It was just a short 1 day + 2 nights trip, how is it possible to achieve any decent team bonding? Surely not card-counting over blackjack tables. Or pimping our younglings. Thanks to Chowpo, Mayee and Kelly, they made Macau as exciting and meaningful as our last team building trip! Thanks to the generosity of the team, Felicia and Elkan were able to join me in our team building trip.

First stop – Macau Tower. This is where notorious Edison Chen broke the world record attempting the world’s tallest bungee jump back in 2006. Nope, we were unable to attempt any record-breaking stunts (thanks to the budget cut, we can’t afford the HKD3,000/head jump). Instead, we suspended ourselves, like puppets out on the ledge 233m above ground. The only things which prevented us from doing our own free-fall were two 1cm-thick ropes. It was a walk of faith. We could trust no one but the ropes.

Elkan, being the youngest and smallest-sized in the group, was instructed by the guide to lead the SkyWalk. Having no concept of fear, he was like a hyperactive monkey out on a leash. He was screaming in ecstasy, jumping and running freely out on the ledge.

For the some of the other adults (I was forbidden to mention any names), fears and anxieties sipped in. High life at the top of the world wasn’t as glamorous and indulging as they expected. I was thankful for this experience. I witnessed the weaknesses, strengths, courages and transformations of my team. And how they overcame fear with courage and determination. It was this moment when all of us stood as equals, watched each other’s back and walked the talk together as one united team – under the rain on the pinnacle of Macau. Bravo!

After our successful (disruptive and noisy) stunt outside the tower, we went a storey down to the 60th floor to enjoy a sumptuous lunch at 360° CAFÉ – Macau’s highest revolving restaurant. It was certainly a much more relaxing and cozier way to enjoy Macau. I am sure David, Wing, Mayee, Clara and Stephanie fully agreed with me. Opps, I wasn’t allowed to mention any names.

Our next stop – Casino Wine and Gourmet on the 59th floor! We grouped ourselves into 3 teams. Each team was given a bag of chips. We were given 1 hour to win as much chips as possible. The team with the most chips win! There were 3 casino tables in the room. For each station, we were asked to taste different types of wine or cheese. Through tasting, we have to bet our chips on the right answer to win! It was certainly not an easy task for the Asians. (Harshad and  I cried “Kelong”!! This game is 100% setup for the Guai-Los to win!). My team decided to focus all our resources on one particular table which gave us the best winning chance. Our strategy paid off! The team of Hongkies, Singaporeans and Indians won the English-French team by a big margin of 9,000 dollars! Sweet!

Our last stop just before dinner, we “chilled out” (literally) at Asia’s largest Ice World at Venetian. Under -15 degrees Celsius, we braved through the 45-minute exhibit. It reminded me of the Harbin trip we had last Christmas except this time, I was in shorts and sandals. Even with the blue overcoat, it was freezing cold! For a minute, the team packed ourselves in a small igloo. It was so warm and cozy inside. The igloo actually worked!

Dinner was at a Brazilian restaurant, FogoSamba where it offered “eat-&-drink-all-you-can”. The “eat-all-you-can” offer didn’t really appeal to me. After 5 servings of roasted meats, I decided to call it a day. It was just too stuffy and oily for me. For once, I complained having too much meat and I went to get more vegetables to balance off the meaty meal.

It was a superb team-building day. Overpacked with activities but the programmes were all very very interesting, refreshing and meaningful. Felicia, Elkan and I took the 1030pm ferry back to Hong Kong right after dinner. Thanks David and the organising team for planning such a wonderful trip for the company and my family. I look forward for another great year. And next time, we shall conquer Mount Everest/cage diving/dance with the crocs and bet on the different Indian curries and durians. Just let Harshad and me do the planning.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Family, Jo's Thoughts, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Ball Time!

September 9, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong – Elkan dragged all of us out to the park for a mini football session. He outran all of us. I was panting and aching after 30 minutes of running.)


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Eat, Play, Love – with Felicia and Elkan

September 9, 2012 Leave a comment

10 good days. Sweet, yummy and delightful. Felicia and Elkan packed our small apartment (and my big tummy) with so much love and joy. It will take a couple of days to readjust back to my lazy monotonous expat life.

Felicia spent her first night in Hong Kong cleaning up my messy apartment (and granted me a “visa” to celebrate Harshad’s birthday across the border). When I came back the next morning, it was a completely different apartment – everything was so sparkling clean and tidy. My table was stacked with new copies of 8-days magazines and Singapore newspaper. She brought so many yummy ingredients from Singapore. Over the past 1 week, she cooked many of my favourite Singapore dishes – Black Carrot Cake, Ice Glass Jelly Drink, Almond Jelly, Hokkien Fried Noodles and Mee Rebus. One one hand, she was asking me to lose weight. On the other, she pampered me with all my favourite high-carbo food.

While Felicia was taking care of my tummy and heart, Elkan was terrorising my mind with his endless pranks. He was the complete opposite of his mum. I couldn’t keep up with him anymore. He tore the places apart with his loud noise and messiness. He was so into the recent pop songs – Gangnam Style, Last Friday Night, Part of Me, Price Tag, Whistle, Payphone). Poor boy, he is too tall and big to share bed with Felicia and me. He volunteered to sleep on the couch. The living room was littered with his toys. He “invaded” all my new gadgets (AR Drone, Jawbone Jambox, Sphero, Gopro) and “confiscated” a couple. He blasted our quiet mornings with his shower-time concerts and he “vandalised” the glass walls of the shower room with “invisible” soap-drawings (only visible under hot steam). He drew hearts and scribbled love notes on the walls – for us to discover. Creative, lovely and cheeky.

They joined our company’s team-building trip at Macau. Thanks to David’s generosity, he paid for all our accommodation and food at Macau Galaxy. Felicia and Elkan attempted the SkyWalk with the team. Elkan and Felicia were the first ones out on the ledge – 233m above ground. I was so proud that my boy didn’t chicken out. He was fearless (perhaps no concept of danger). While some of the older adults were struggling with the height, he was jumping and swinging freely on the ledge. We had a great time at Macau with my colleagues. Elkan made new friends (dumping his best buddy Harshad). And yes, he terrorised almost all the pretty girls and old men in the group.

On our last day at Macau Galaxy, Elkan asked for a dollar coin. He said he wanted to make a wish. To my surprise, he made a noble wish. Closing his eyes and praying sincerely, Elkan wished for “I wish for happiness everyday”.  A very wise, “sustainable” and priceless wish, I thought. I expected him to wish for an iphone or something short-term. His wish is certainly far better than a toy or a passing fad. I patted his head and gave him a big warm hug.

Our 10 good days are coming to an end. Felicia and Elkan are packing now. We are heading out for breakfast and leaving for the airport. In another 6 more weeks till we eat, play and love again.

Filed under Family, Life in Hong Kong, Travel

Days and Nights at the Museums

August 30, 2012 Leave a comment


BLOG BY FELICIA (29th August 2012)

Most of us would have thought the museums would be boring, seeing old, historical stuffs. The Singapore Museums have done a great job and installed exhibits not just for the historical values. They have exhibits for family and kids too! There were many good programs and mostly interactive ones that were really interesting and kids loved it!

Here’s our 4 days trip to the Museums over 2 weeks!

The Peranakan Museum
(Armenian Street)

Thinking it would be just a showcase of old Peranakan heritage objects, furniture and outfits, I didn’t have much expectation. But I had always wanted to come coz the museum building was my formal primary school (Tao Nan School) building back in 1912! By the time I enrolled in this school, she had moved to her second home at Marine Parade.

Elkan and Jovin were wondering around this small three-stories building looking out for motifs to be embossed on their little handouts where upon completion of all the motifs found in the museum, they will receive a small gift! They get to do some fun ink stampings on postcards. And we watching Elkan and Jovin did a stint pretending to be a character in “Emily of Emerald Hill”, a famous play about a young Peranakan bride in the 20th century. They were both all dressed up in the sarong and kebaya! After the stint is recorded, we get to view other videos, and vote our favorite!

My mum and me walked around looking and admiring the exhibits. I must say the exhibits was really a great collection and well presented. The famous bead works on their traditional shoes was amazing! So much details made from the tiny beads. We came visit this museum two days in a row as Elkan wanted to do more embossing and try the stint again, pretending to be another character. We spent a good 2 hours there each visit. Better than straying in the malls!


Singapore Art Museum at Q8
(Queen Street)

This is a museum just for kids! There was not many exhibits but more interactive and little fun activities to engage your kids with handy crafts and drawings. There was a round table tennis table which Joe had blogged before. Unfortunately, when Joe was back then, the museum was closed that day. So we came back again.

A giant octopus that flashes colourful lights from its body when it sensed that you are near! A thrill for young toddlers. Grow a night garden in the city! Learn to fold flower and butterfly origami and grow them in a glowing night garden. Scream…. kids! And see what comes out from your screams on the screen! Doreamon, flowers, cartoons or super heros?? Dance silly and have a good laugh! Save mother earth, colour and plant your own trees on the wall. Use mummy’s cloths peg from the kitchen and make nice repeat patterns on a piece of clay.

We went there twice too. Elkan sweats it out with other kids in a game of table tennis at the outdoor round table tennis table. While I sit comfortably on a sofa indoors with aircon, gaming on my iphone :p. Heee…..


Singapore National Museum
(Stamford Road)

We signed up for a museum tour about weddings old and new from 200 years ago, Victorian styles to our local weddings of different ethnic groups. So we got up early that day, arrived on time. But found out that we were the only ones who turned up……. Well, the organizers decides to go ahead even with just two of us. So while waiting…… Suddenly, a Caucasian lady dashed into the exhibit hall frantically and crumbled onto the ground, crying loudly! Elkan was shocked and hid behind me. I was taken aback too. But after a while I realised that it was an act! An interactive performance with the audience to help this lady plan her wedding. Haha… it was a brilliant idea.

And so, she relates to us, showing us her awful bright green wedding dress that was supposed to be white. And all preparations were not ready for her wedding which falls on the next day. So help came when another performer walked in and introduced himself as a wedding dress designer and we got involved in this wedding planning! Elkan managed to find some veils, gloves and picked his favorite dress design and put together a wedding dress for the lady. Learned interesting customs like breaking a glass to signify congratulating to a Jewish couple. He even helped wrote a wedding vow for the lady, completing a simple poems that rhymes. No prizes won. But was great fun.


Singapore Art Museum
(Bras Basah Road)

It’s a colorful event of the Night Festival. A series of light installations that stretches from The School of the Arts (SOTA) to the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Singapore Management University (SMU) and the National Museum of Singapore.

There were enlarged children’s drawing of fairy tale characters lighted up outside SOTA. Musicians and dancers attracted lots of passerby to stop and enjoy their performance along the streets and in the big open space within the SMU compound. The projected images on the facade of the SAM and National Museum was fascinating! Old, new, nature, faces, animals, and architectural images were flashed onto the building. It was sightisfying!

Filed under Family, Life in Singapore

Australia Trip Video HD (2011 June)

July 30, 2012 2 Comments

Yes, I know it is one year late. I have been too lazy to edit and put these footages together. Here is something special for the family (and Lionnel’s girlfriend, Joey! Now, you know what you have missed! You should see how Lionnel was tortured by Tracy at 5am at Gold Coast!). Guess it is a good feeling to watch this video 1 year after. Well, at least it is nicely edited and it is in HD quality! So enjoy.

Filed under Family, Travel, Wahbiang

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