The Big Reveal – The Making of Women Generation and Super Senior

July 5, 2012 Leave a comment

I am sure the new members of Women Generation and Super Senior are going to slaughter me for this post. Remember the fancy photographs in my earlier post? Now, revealing the secrets of “digital cosmetic surgery” makeovers (by Kalinda, Mann Chuan and Felicia). From these “behind-the-scene” images, I was very impressed by the level of re-touching! I can imagine the amount of coordinations and hard work put in by the clan to create the birthday cards. Once again, thanks guys for your effort and tireless photo-shoots. I am sure you had lots of fun doing this! At least, the makeover experts did you justice… I can see all of you had a pretty convincing and fancy upgrade! These are superb face-jobs! Really, I start to believe we can create our own S-Pop soon!

Enough said, see the “before” and “after” touched up works below. (Gosh, my head looks really tiny there…like one of those escaped alien convicts from MIBIII.)

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Singapore, Wahbiang

A Walk in the Gardens by the Bay

July 3, 2012 2 Comments

I am so glad to be back in time to visit the newest Singapore’s attraction, Gardens by the Bay. Opened on 30th June 2012, the world’s largest column-less greenhouses (Flower Dome and Cloud Forest) attracted over 100,000 visitors in the first two days. The iconic egg-shape domes possess both external and internal beauty. As today’s Youth Day (no school for Elkan), I brought Elkan to the new attraction. (Tracy, who missed my belated birthday party yesterday came to join us! Thanks to her “Passion Card”, we got 10% discount.)

My first impression… It is stunning! Beautiful and spectacular. Unlike the other greenhouses I have visited which are often warm, stuffy and humid, the domes at the Gardens by the Bay provide visitors a very comfortable cooling environment. Temperature in the enclosures are kept between 23˚ – 25˚C. Air current in the domes are well circulated, the air is fresh and not stuffy at all.

Inside the Flower Dome, there are lots of odd-looking plants (from all parts of the world). There are lots of colorful flowers and strange-looking trees. There are cactus that look like pebbles and ferns that look like dead leaves. The friendly volunteers did an excellent job introducing the specialities and uniqueness of each plant. Before exiting the dome, there are giant touch screens and 3D holographic displays for visitors to interact and learn more about these amazing plants.

The Cloud Forest Dome is my favorite enclosure. The 35m waterfall “Cloud Mountain” is spectacular. The mist from the waterfall forms a perpetual rainbow under the bright sunlight. Visitors enter into the mountain and take a lift up to the peak of the structure (Lost World). There, visitors “spiral down” the manmade mountain on suspended metal bridges (perhaps not for those with height phobia). There are a lot of cavities inside the mountain for us to explore and discover. Do check out the natural limestone stalactites and the giant multimedia wall.

Overall, it is an amazing experience. It exceeds my expectation. I believe this will be a top attraction for many tourists. It takes about 3-4 hours to complete all the enclosures. Don’t rush through the attractions. Spend more time and take a relaxing pace to explore the domes. Best time to come will be between 4-7pm (when the Supertrees lights up enigmatically at dusk and enjoy the nice sunset by the bay).

How to go there: (It is about 12-min walk from Bay Front MRT Station to the domes. Visitors can take the overhead bridge connecting Marina Bay Sands Casino to the park. Tickets priced differently for local Singaporeans (SGD20) and overseas visitors (SGD28). There are discounts for senior citizens and children. Check the website for more information: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html) 

Filed under Life in Singapore, Travel

Funtastic Party with “Women Generation and Super Senior”

July 2, 2012 Leave a comment

Yes, you read it right. It says “funtastic”. Great fun and tasty BBQ by the beach, this is an unforgettable belated birthday bash with my very own newly created W-Pop Bands – Women Generation and Super Senior! (That is the power of great cosmetic surgery and photoshop skills!) All thanks to my sweet and lovely Wahbiang buddies and family, they organised a “surprise” party for me this evening. (Supposed to be a foolproof surprise party for me until a few accidental leaks of information to me last week. It wasn’t difficult trying to piece all the missing puzzles together.)

This is my 1st birthday celebration with my Singapore’s family and friends since 2005. Gosh, I have been away for such a long time. They put in so much effort just to make this a special occasion for me. 1 week before this big day, they conspired over hundreds of whatsapp messages. It was a well-organized party – great food, great company and very very special birthday gifts.

Most importantly, we had great fun together. My friends are like my very own family. They complete me. They are  my most important asset. They are always there for me whenever, wherever I need them. I am very blessed with their presence and love. Despite my absence, they keep the clan intact over the past 7 years. Many of them put in extra effort and flew in to spend many important occasions and festives with me overseas.

So, bear with me with the long “Thank you list”. Thanks for all the hard labour and good spirits. Thanks for spending your precious Sunday with me. Plus the wonderful and special birthday gifts. Karen, we love your chicken wings! And your excellent skills controlling those young rebels. Auntie Amy, you should really consider starting your own BBQ bean-curd business. They are really tasty! And if you do, I will fly home to help your business! Charlie, thanks for bringing in the food and got drenched in the thunderstorm. Jimmy and Gareth, thanks for the great brotherhood love, be it here or in China – and keep it that way. Joey and Meijie, thanks for babysitting Elkan and me from Friday to Sunday, enduring all the late nights (oh yes, thanks for stopping my impulse purchase of another Apple product). Kalinda, thanks for the beautiful songs last night! And remember our next trip to you-know-where. And not to forgot to thank you for keeping those cards safe and dry. Joanne, thanks for capturing this evening’s beautiful photos (you have redeemed your fiasco on my wedding proposal night when you shot blank).  Juliana & Duuk, thanks for participating in the evil plan of the card making. It will take me quite a while to reset my beautiful impression of my favorite K-pop idols. It took me so long to identify you Juliana – must be a big cosmetic job. Tracy, your AR Drone is superb! Well tested and flown (up to 6m high). The drone frightened the old boys for a second but it is a great gift! MC, it is great seeing you after 6 years! You never aged! And I look forward to see you out there with me! And sister, thanks for the great gift! Exactly what I wanted to get 3 days ago. Last of all, thanks my wife for the card designs, cosmetic works and fine touch ups. You have given us stardom! Thanks for enduring my years of nonsense and snoring. And not forgetting the children for destroying the bedroom, in exchange for the peace they gave to their parents. (The younger boys did a great job for inspiring Elkan to cycle. Now, he can ride a bike finally!)

Enjoy the very exclusive limited edition “Super Senior and Women Generation” pictures. Till we meet again.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore, Wahbiang

You are the best gifts of my life

June 15, 2012 Leave a comment



Thanks to all the great birthday wishes I received last year, I had the happiest and the most fulfilling year of my life.  Looking back at all the past year’s blog postings and photographs, I was blessed by all the love showered by God and my loved ones back home. Be it work, love or family life, it has been a colorful and amazing year for me! Every day is a new gift for me. There is always something new to look forward to.

Despite away from home, I had many great reunion times with my wife, son, father, mother and friends. From my last birthday celebration in Gold Coast to icy cold Christmas at Harbin, I have visited many new places with my favorite travel-mates (Kalinda, Tracy, Meijie, Felicia, Elkan and Harshad). Many friends flew in regularly (brothers like Gareth, Francis, Jimmy, Desmond, Meijie, Cousin Bin and Yei) to light up my lonely weekends. 2 visitors I missed most are my dad and mum. In their presence, I felt like their little boy. For some strange reasons, I miss their nagging. It is a great feeling to roam the streets with them, have dinner together and live under one roof. Thanks to my mum, she has been imparting family recipes to me during my past visits back to Singapore.

Whenever there is reunion, there is goodbye. I have a love-hate relationship with both Changi and Hong Kong airports. Despite so many years and countless farewells, I admit it is not my strongest attribute. I still find saying goodbye difficult. Especially to my son and wife. (mmm…also my dad and mum too!)

Thanks to all my friends in Hong Kong, they made me feel at home. My clients and my colleagues are wonderful friends. Not to forget that I have the 2 most faithful and supportive souls around me everyday – Harshad and Tracy. Gosh, I see both of you every minute of my life for the last 3 years (okay, maybe not for Harshad.. Sorry that I abused you badly at work.) Back in Singapore and Shanghai, I have a group of friends that I can 100% count on. They are always there whenever I need them.

Looking back at all my birthdays. It is never about the gifts I received. It is about the people I love and miss most. It is their presence I long for and not the presents they give.

It is my birthday today and I want to say a big thank you to all of you. Thanks for filling my days with so many colorful memories, tons of whatsapp/QQ/Facebook messages. You are one of the key reasons why my blog exists! Thanks for being there with me during my low and high periods. Thanks for being there with me virtually, physically or sometimes durianfully. Thanks for understanding me so much (in fact, I don’t quite understand myself as much as you do). And thanks for remembering my birthday (even though quite a few of you sent me greetings 2-3 days earlier..including my mum!) You are the best gifts of my life. And thanks for another 365 happier days.

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

Little Towkay at his first flea market

May 28, 2012 1 Comment

BLOG BY FELICIA (27th May 2012)

It has been a tiring but happy day for me. I got a flea market booth at a new mall called Scape. Located just behind Orchard Cine Leisure. There were booths from the ground floor to the 4th floor. Ground floor booths are mainly selling new stuffs. While the 2nd to 4th floor booths are for resale of preloved clothes, shoes, bags and toys. We got a spacious corner on the 4th level. In less than 15min setting up, we got our first sale! Sold 2 pairs of sunnies!

This is Elkan’s first flea market experience. In the beginning when customers were browsing the clothes, he came to me and ask: “Mummy, that t-shirt so old! Can still sell?” …. the customer smiled at us and left….. So I explained to him what he should avoid saying especially when customers are around. Or at least whisper in my ear.

Later in the afternoon, Elkan started to get bored as the sale slowed down, so he started playing with his iPad. He was playing a heated game of ping pong with Kenneth and Karen (my sharing partners for the booth sale). Not a wise choice as those 2 are supposed to be the “key salesmen” of the booth.

Towards the evening, Elkan got bored again and started doodling and drew very nice $2 price tags and started shouting out to the crowd: “$2 clothes here! $2 clothes here!” So unlike me, quiet and shy. He was so bold and such a natural!! And he attracted quite a bit of attention. Other booth owners were taking pictures of him and also started shouting like him too. The flea market got livelier and was bustling with shouts from different booths.

We managed to sold lots of Joe’s collection of Transformer toys! A guy was happy to find our very old but well kept box of Risk board game! Shrek soft toys were more popular than Pooh bears! Poor Elmo was molested by so many customers but still not taken. I suggested to Elkan, maybe he should hug it and walk around the whole floor and shout: “Elmo for sale!!” And he did that! I hear people saying: “So cute!!” but still Elmo came back to us. Nevertheless, it was a good try and Elkan was enjoying himself. He even made friends with other booth owners, getting their names and guessing their age. They let him stand at their booths and shout $2 bucks sale driving crowd to our corner!

The sale ended at 8pm. We were quite exhausted. After packing up quickly, we had a nice dinner over at Orchard Cine Leisure before heading home. I think I may try get another booth soon to clear more stuff and Elkan will be my very good sales kid! 

Filed under Family, Life in Singapore

E-Interview (Singapore Blog Awards 2012)

May 28, 2012 Leave a comment

When did you start blogging and what drew you to it? Where do you get inspiration for your blog content?

2,407 days. 980 blog postings. I wrote my first blog entry exactly 6 years, 7 months, 3 days, 23 hours, 45 minutes ago. Back then in 2005, there wasn’t any Facebook or other social media platform for us to record and share our stories, photos and words. I started blogging to keep my good friends and loved ones connected.

When I left Singapore in 2006, my blog became one of the main channels for my family and friends back home to stay tuned with my new overseas life. My blog is a journey of my life outside Singapore. There are many postings of happy reunions and heart-breaking goodbyes. During my loneliest expat days in Shanghai, blogging helped me to download release those heavy emotions off my chest. There were many beautiful moments when I was alone, blogging was the only way I could share those beautiful moments with my wife and son back home.  Over the last 6 years, my blog readers and me went through many beautiful and remarkable journeys. My blog is a vault of my memories and emotions. It is my priceless heirloom for my little boy.

My blog would be empty and colorless without my friends and loved ones. They are my biggest source of inspiration and support. They are also the ones who keep my blog traffic going. My son, Elkan is one of the biggest “traffic drivers” to my blog. He has lots of fans out there who love to tune in to read his stories. My wife, Felicia is also one of the key contributors for my blog. She is a better writer than me. Whenever there is a big family outing, she will email me the family news and photographs. I always remind myself how short and precious life is. We should always remember and celebrate the most beautiful side of life.

How do you feel about being one of finalists in Singapore Blog Awards 2012? How do you feel about the other Finalists in your category this year? How do you think you will fare compared to them?

I would like to thank the Singapore Blog Award Team and judges for shortlisting me for this year’s award. There are a lot of good bloggers in my category and I wasn’t expecting to be in the finals again. (This is actually my 3rd consecutive finals) All of us are different and special in our own ways – that is the beauty of bloggers. It is going to be very difficult for the judges to pick an individual winner. Nevertheless, blogging is never about winning or losing, making money or pursuing fame. It is about being true to yourself and that is what makes a good blogger stands out amongst the crowd. Be original. Be bold and be free to make your own expression.

Give a reason why readers should visit your blog and vote for you?

If there is a reason why readers should visit my blog…this is what I want my readers to remember: We are the authors of our own lives. Your life, your path. Don’t let someone dictate your life. Always look at the positive and beautiful side of life. Happiness is the currency of life. Spend it wisely.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore

1,394,400 Aliens in Singapore

May 22, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: An interesting photo-taking promotional booth for the new movie Men-in-Black 3, Bugis Junction, Singapore – In other countries (such as China and USA), the immigration department labels foreigner as “Alien”. So, if you aren’t Singaporean, you are officially an Alien. According to the Singapore Statistics Bureau, as of 2011, out of the 5.1m people in Singapore, 1.39m people are Aliens. This means 1 out of 3 people in Singapore is an Alien.)

Filed under Life in Singapore

A Round of Table Tennis Game at the Museum

May 22, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Playing Table Tennis at the Singapore Art Museum – Waiting for the high ball to land, Elkan was having a great time playing with the art curator at the “Ping-Pong-Go-Round” table – created by Artist Lee Wen. We skipped our afternoon hike at Fort Canning Hill and explored the nearby museums instead. It has been almost 12 years since I last stepped into a museum in Singapore. The facades and interiors of the museums have gone through quite a lot of upgrading. Despite their grand new looks, I feel there are a lot more we can do to attract more visitors. Time to bring in more vibrant content and make heritage interesting for the new generation. I was disappointed that we need to flash a NTUC card to gain free access. The main permanent galleries of the museums should be opened freely to all Singaporeans. If not for the very least, give free access to our students and retirees.)

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore

Love is a Journey. Marriage is one of the Destinations.

May 22, 2012 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken by Felicia – A bus ad by “Marriage Central under National Family Council” along Bugis Street, Singapore – I disagree with the copy on the bus. Marriage, under sacred vows and registered by law doesn’t guarantee perpetual love. According to the “Marriage Central” website, almost 50% of divorces in Singapore happened between the 5th-9th year of marriage. Thanks goodness, I just passed the 10th year! A couple needs love and more to make a marriage last. Being married doesn’t mean everlasting love. Love goes beyond marriage, seperation and death. Therefore, I believe love is the ultimate journey. Marriage is just one of the destinations.)

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore

And when he danced…

May 15, 2012 Leave a comment

I am so glad to be back and just in time to catch Elkan’s debut stage performance at the Singapore National Library last Sunday (Mother’s Day). Being the only boy (and shortest) in his hip-hop class, Elkan rocks and shines on stage. This is the first time I watch him dance on the big stage, in front of an live audience. (Elkan is shy and dislikes showing us his dance moves at home!) And when he danced, Elkan was a different person. He was so confident (his expression, his moves) and he fired up the stage! I completely lost myself in his suave hip-hopping moves.  This is the perfect Mother’s Gift performance for Mummy Felicia and his favorite grannies. Indeed, Elkan is a natural charmer amongst these beautiful roses! I can’t wait for the official DVD.

Filed under Family, Life in Singapore

← Older posts

Newer posts →