Quack! Quack! Who let the duck out?

May 4, 2013 Leave a comment

If you are staying in Hong Kong, it is impossible to miss this publicity stunt. Since its first appearance on 25th April, its pictures have appeared in all social and news media. It is even more popular than the H7N9 headlines.

Meet this gigantic yellow superstar “Rubber Duck“ – First popularised by Jim Henson in the 1970s with “Ernie and Duckie” in Sesame Street and brought back to life by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, the 16.5m tall inflatable sculpture has drawn tens of thousands to Harbour City since 2nd May. Dubbed for “Spreading Joy Around The World”, the Dutch artist wanted to put a smile on everyone’s face. Since 2007, the rubber duck has made appearance at Osaka, Japan, Sydney, Sao Paulo, Auckland, New Zealand, and Amsterdam. It will be at Hong Kong until 9th June (before the Typhoon Season).

Like the thousands of fans, I popped by Harbour City this afternoon to meet Ducky. It was incredibly packed with people! I have never seen such a big gathering like this at Harbour City! It is amazing to witness how a simple idea like this amassed such a big turnout! Afterall, Rubber Ducky is just a common bath toy. It bears no brand or identity. Yet, its symbol of “pure joy & happiness” is powerful enough to draw everyone (of all different age groups and nationalities) here to reminisce with their favourite childhood bath-mate. Ducky never left us, its magic is still in us all this while.

Smile. Smile. I can’t wait for it to sail to Singapore!

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Hong Kong’s Inflation!

April 28, 2013 1 Comment

Inflation hit Hong Kong last Thursday in the most unexpected way. Presented by Mobile M+, six uncanny giant inflatable sculptures (15.5m tall giant poo, roasted pig and cockroach) are installed at the at West Kowloon Cultural District. The exhibition opens 25th April to 9th June. The giant poo was deflated today as it was damaged during a storm 2 days ago. Hopefully, the organiser get their shit up together before the typhoon season.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Hong Kong

Hong Kong misses Gor Gor Leslie Cheung – 10th Anniversary

April 1, 2013 1 Comment

6:41pm, April Fool’s Day – Today marks the 10th Anniversary of Leslie Cheung’s death. 10 years on, Hong Kong pays tribute to the one of its most talented and greatest stars. At Causeway Bay, Times Square Hong Kong hosts a memorial exhibition “Miss You Much Leslie” (29 March – 1st May) to commemorate the late legend.  Leslie’s ex-lover, Daffy Tong unveiled a 5.5m tall statue of Leslie Cheung. Fans around the world created a new Guinness World Record for the largest display of origami cranes – 1,900,119 of hand-folded paper cranes are housed in a giant red transparent acrylic cube. The exhibition also showcases many Leslie’s collections – trophies, awards and some of the costumes he wore in the movies and concerts.

Over at Central (right outside Mandarin Oriental Hotel where Leslie fell 10 years ago), thousands of fans from all around the world poured in with flowers wreaths and photo-placards. Emotions were high and many came to pay tribute to Hong Kong’s favourite “Gor Gor”. Leslie may have departed this world but he lives forever in the hearts and minds of many. Truly a legend and a day well remembered. Rest in peace, Leslie. (Enjoy the music video below)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Keep Singapore Clean with 超级白 Super White 3X

March 24, 2013 Leave a comment

Say no to the new hefty fine-proposal (SGD$2,000 fine for 1st-timer litter-bug) by the government. There are better way to keep Singapore clean with stronger words and action! I have just received the latest 3rd Limited Edition “超级白” Superwhite T-Shirt! Thanks Eugene for the creative (and very additive/expressive/truly Singapore) design, excellent quality tees and superb service! I am a super loyal fan of the Singapore’s “Super White Series”! Always proud to hang out with it or simply hang them out! We are 100% the Superwhite Nation! For those who are interested to don your own 超级白 Superwhite identity, check out here: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreSuperWhite

Filed under Cool Stuffs

Reunion at Bintan

March 24, 2013 4 Comments

I always love the tranquillity of a sunny, breezy, peaceful beach life. I often picture myself buying a nice retiring pool villa at some remote beach towns, enjoying a quiet retreat with my family. It was Elkan’s March school holiday, Felicia booked a 3-day beach resort getaway at Bintan Lagoon Resorts. Since our last Bintan trip back in September 2011, I have been longing to return to its pristine beaches and world-class resorts. Elkan was as excited as us as he wanted to go swimming and kayaking by the beach.

It was a great retreat for the family. The resort is just 1 hour away from Singapore. The ferry brought us right to Bintan Lagoon Resorts – the immigration is located within the resort’s compound, there is no need to take any bus transfer. From the immigration office, it took us only 2-minute walk to check in into our room. Fresh morning air, powdery sands, clear waters, breezy shades under the coconut trees and super warm Indonesian hospitality, it’s a paradise here. I must say Bintan Lagoon Resorts are as good (but a lot cheaper) as those 5-stars Shangri-La Beach Resorts I have stayed. Life was so peaceful and relaxing. Felicia and I spent the afternoon lazing under the shades, watching Elkan by the pool and at the beach. Unfortunately, work tailed me to Bintan. Occasionally  I have to take a break from my paradise to answer some important work matters. Nevertheless, it was still a wholesome break for me – a good recharge I need for the coming months.

One of the sweetest things that happened in Bintan was bumping into my favourite cousin and childhood friend, Qianqian. She was holidaying with her husband and son at the resort too! Felicia spotted her at the pool and brought her to see me. I was so happy and surprised to see her! It has been over 5 years since we last met! Fate has been a great buddy of mine lately! (Unbelievably, Fate managed to bring all my Katong friends together just a few days ago!) Both of our sons connected with one another immediately! Elkan didn’t even know the other boy is his cousin! The boys had so much fun at the pool that Elkan kept asking for his newly-found cousin the next morning! Felicia and I had a great time catching up with my cousin and her husband over dinner!

It was a very rewarding trip for the family. Elkan mastered a new skill and successfully kayaked solo (and he met a new friend / cousin!). Felicia and I enjoyed a good break – something that we both needed badly before the hectic months of April and May. And best of all, we met up with Qianqian and her beautiful family. Enjoy our holiday fun video below.

Filed under Family, Life in Singapore, Travel

The Art of the Brick Exhibition Singapore

March 20, 2013 Leave a comment

Last evening, Felicia brought us to a Lego Art Exhibition. It is unlike anything I have seen before! Simply mind-blowing and unexpectedly impressive! Highly rated as the “Top 10 Global Must See Exhibitions” by CNN.com, artist Nathan Sawaya created 52 stunning and original art sculptures using the normal Lego plastic bricks as the sole art medium. The “Art of the Brick” exhibition is currently exhibited at the Art Science Museum, Marina Bay Sand Singapore. One of the most impressive exhibits is the 6m long Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton and the iconic sculpture “Yellow”. I am so glad to be back in Singapore to catch this magnificent show before it ends in May. The Art of the Brick is truly a great exhibition worth the money and time! Never underestimate the power of the creative mind and the little Lego brick. It does wonders beyond our imaginations.

Working with award-winning photographer Dean West, the exhibition “In Pieces” (see below) just finished its show from 28 Feb – 17 Mar 2013 at New York City. Check out more inspiring art forms at http://brickartist.com/.

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Life in Singapore

Wahbiang Wedding Shots by Phooth!

March 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Thanks to Phooth Photo Services – Great props and superb instant photo printing! All of us had so much fun at the Lionnel & Joey’s Wedding Photo Booth last night! Many guests were so engrossed in the photo shoots and the wedding helpers had a tough time to get them into the banquet hall. Check out all the funny shots at Phooth’s Facebook Page!

Filed under Cool Stuffs, Wahbiang

Where love begins for Lionnel and Joey (Updated)

March 19, 2013 1 Comment

Every wedding, I learnt new inspiring “Words of Wisdoms” on marriage and love. At Franics-Echo wedding, Juliana taught us the difference between a promise and a vow. “A promise is a pact you make with a person. A vow is a holy pact you made with God”, she said. Last night at Lionnel & Joey’s post wedding dinner, Jimmy reminded us the difference between wedding and marriage. “Wedding lasted only a day but Marriage lasted a lifetime. A lot of young people dreamt of a perfect wedding, they forgotten about the lifelong journey of a marriage.”

Last Friday, I flew back specially to attend the most important wedding celebration of the year – as one of the Men of Honor (aka “the brothers) for the matrimony of my best brother/friend Lionnel and Joey!  This is one wedding all of us have been waiting for a long long time! Lionnel possesses the best traits in our clan – he is without any doubt the noblest one within the band of brothers. He is humorous, selfless, attentive and most importantly, Lionnel is a man of filial devotion towards his loved ones. And he is possibly the richest golden bachelor in our group with all the thick hongbao collections he shamelessly collected over the decade.

It was a long tiring for all the old boys. At 7:45am, the brothers arrived at Lionnel’s home. All of us were already in our gears and he was still in his pyjamas! Lionnel’s mother and sister served us well. They prepared breakfasts and meals for us. While the brothers were discussing the strategies of “gate crashing”, Lionnel’s mother and sister were giving him their blessings and “Words of Wisdom”. It was a heart-warming moment. No matter how old Lionnel is, he is still the little boy in their eyes.

At 8am, the boys set off. Felicia came to provide videography support and Elkan was our secret weapon to woo the young bridesmaids at the other side. Lionnel and Joey picked a nice tall jeep for their wedding car. It is certainly the perfect vehicle to take them through all terrains in their new life.

8:40am – The Men of Honor arrived at Joey’s home. We did made our presence felt as the boys woke up the whole neighbourhood with loud horns at 8:40am on a Sunday morning. Many people stood by their windows looking down at us. We waited for 10 minutes… no one came down to fetch the groom. We horned again and this time, some of the neighbours responded with loud vulgarities and angry faces. Yifu reminded us to be mindful that some watchers may secretly taped and “stomped” us on social media. Hahah.. apparently, Stomp (the local citizen’s online news portal) has successfully instilled fear in Singaporeans. No one wants to be “stomped”.

8:57am – Time to attack the Bridesmaids! We sent our secret weapon, Elkan to woo, whine and tackle the ladies. Our strategy was to let Elkan dragged time closer to the auspicious hour so the old boys suffered lesser on those gate-crashing pranks. However, those heartless b**** destroyed our little boy effortlessly. Elkan walked back sobbing in tears.

In the end, the boys sweated it out. We have no choice because Joey put one tigress inside the door. The boys were abused and commanded to consume 4 standard items (Sweet, Sour, Bitter and Spicy dishes). Gareth and I weren’t push-overs too. We put the hong baos at the most inconvenient parts of Gareth’s body (the chest and the you-know-where) and dared the girls to take the packets out. In the end, the keys to the door were hidden in a bucket of worms. It didn’t shock the boys as  we were too seasoned for such pranks. Gareth grabbed the keys out of the bucket and we opened the gate. There was another door between Lionnel and Joey. Lionnel was compelled to pledge his life for Joey with a long matrimony contract of poo-clearing tasks, long-haul holiday trips and branded-handbag-pampering. Oh dear, my poor brother signed his life / freedom / rights away at that moment.

4:05pm – After a short 2-hour break, we arrived at the hotel where Lionnel and Joey held their wedding dinner. Joanne, Tracy and Kalinda were there since 3pm to dress up the space. Kalinda and Felicia spent weeks to make the props and decorations. The theme colours were in blue and white. Even Elkan’s Lego parts came into play! The girls constructed a Lego Ring Stand for the couple. It is so creative and cute!

6:13pm – Lionnel and Joey officially formalised their marriage in the presence of the Peace of Justice, families and friends.

8:10pm – The wedding reception was a great success! Instead of the conventional sign-in book, guests took instant photos and hanged their greetings and wishes on the branches (a great idea by Kalinda). The couple also engaged an onsite photo-taking services, Phooth (see next blog posting). The guests were so engrossed in taking the photos that I have to terminate the service in order to help the wedding helpers to usher the guests into the ballroom.

9:45pm – Dinner went on well smoothly. 2 perfect walkin and a powerful energy-charged Yam-Seng toasting. Walking though the tables was a breeze for the couple. Lionnel and Joey’s friends were pretty tamed – there were not much sabotaging or spiking of drinks.

The Wahbiang Clan were having a great time – photo taking and catching up with one another. Kalinda was snapping photographs for her port-folio.

By 10:25pm, the wedding dinner ended and most of the guests left. The Wahbiang Clan presented our wedding gift to the couple. It is a handmade photo-frame of little drawers filled with goodies and hong bao money. In the middle of the frame, it holds a printed book (produced in Australia) of our wishes and photos. A priceless and precious gift indeed as it has taken Felicia and Kalinda many months to produce. This may be the last Wahbiang Wedding Gift we made, unless we hear more wedding bells from the last 1 or 2 remaining members of the clan.

Thanks to Lionnel and Joey – they connected the brothers and sisters on their special day. Years of separations have eroded the bonds and ties of the clan. On this special day, the brothers and sisters spent lots of hours together – mending bad ties, laughing, gossiping and sharing. This is the perfect reunion we always wanted but ever have the time or commitment to make it happen. Thanks for this great night where new friends and family portraits were captured and printed! Those were precious keepers!

And thanks for making the brothers “feel young” again with the quirky pink-shorts-pink-bow-ties attire. We looked terribly attractive – surely defines the meaning of Ah Men to Boys! Congrats Lionnel and Joey – always live well, respect each other, protect each other and be happy in the long course of marriage. Always keep a healthy balance – work, life and love. Both have to be giving and forgiving.  This will be the sole longest journey you ever embarked together as friends, lovers, spouses and soon to be parents. The marriage path is never easy but it promises tons of rewards and happiness if you walk well together. Hand in hand, heart to heart.

Filed under Wahbiang

Jardine’s Lookout Hike

March 11, 2013 Leave a comment

We surprised many friends when we announced our first hike at this time of the season. It is almost the end of spring and we have just started our hiking activity. For the past 16 weekends, Harshad, Tracy and I were lazing around at shopping malls, cafes and movie theaters  Even the cab driver who took us to Jardine’s Lookout voiced out his concerns. “Hiking at 3:30pm? At Jardine’s Lookout? Are you late for hiking? It is late afternoon wor! Are you sure you can make it?”, he asked. “And you guys don’t even carry water with you? It is a long hike, you know.”

“Er…is it?… Well, it is heavy to carry water bottles. We decided to go light…” we answered. The cab driver was smiling in disbelief. He knew we were amateurs. Honestly, we have no idea how long or how difficult the hike at Jardine’s Lookout is. We saw the photos on the hiker’s guide book. It was a new trail that we haven’t explored. It is just a hike, how bad can that be, I thought. The cab driver counter-proposed other easier hikes but we rejected his offers. In the end, he drove us up the hill and dropped us at the entrance of the Wilson Trail. “Take this route, it is the shortest way to Jardine’s Lookout”, he said.

The cab driver is right. It isn’t a gentle hike but it is a very rewarding one. For 3.5 hours, we hiked 6km up to an altitude of 310m (elevation: Up 765m / down 1006m).

The view at Jardine’s Lookway offers an amazing panaroma of Hong Kong and Kowloon. Encircled by green mountains, we were at the midpoint between 2 jungles – concrete and nature. Facing north, we saw the buzzing skyline of Hong Kong (Central, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay) and Kowloon (Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom). Overlooking south, we saw the calm scenic forests, streams and reservoirs  From orange to green, the different shades of the vegetations revealed the changing of the seasons.

The hike took us to a cross road where one leads to Quarry Bay and the other leads to Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir. It was almost 6:30pm, the sun was setting and I thought we had hit the main road where we can take a cab home. Goodness, we were 3km away from the nearest public road! As I haven’t been hiking for the past 6 months, the steps uphill took a bad toll on my knees. Worst of all, I wasn’t even wearing the right footwear for this hike. I was in my sandals. By the time I reached the peak of Mount Butler, my knees were wobbling. Without any drinks or energy bars, I endured the aching knees and hiked down over 600 steps to Quarry Bay. (We ended up at a familiar trail that we didn’t complete the last time with Felicia and Elkan back in 2011!)

Despite the aching body, it was an awesome hike! In fact, I have never felt this good and fit! The hike was strenuous but it was very rewarding for both mind and body. (Yes, we also successfully tested our new toys – 5D Mark III!) Best of all, I received so many “likes” on Facebook and many friends requested to join us in our next Hong Kong hike.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Jojorazzi at Hong Kong Park

March 11, 2013 Leave a comment

This afternoon, Harshad, Tracy and I went to Hong Kong Park to test our new toys. Tracy’s dad and I just bought our new gadgets – Canon 5D Mark III. It took me 4 years to upgrade from my first D-SLR Canon 50D to the current collection. Thanks to my faithful and very supportive friends (Selena, Danielle, Wenxu, Joanne, Tracy and Echo) who shared the loads off my previous cameras and lens. I managed to upgrade and grow the collection slowly and steadily over the years. Looking at all past posts on my blog, I see big improvements to the photographs taken. This is one convincing “valid” excuse I am going to justify to my wife about my constant mindless splurges on these expensive heavy gadgets. (Almost there… just left with 2 more prime lens!)

There were lots of shutterbugs at the park. Hong Kongers are very passionate and crazy into photography. There were lots of professional hardwares (top gears) here. I can see Tracy starting to get hooked into it too! She totally immersed herself in the shoots. For once, she was so serious – other than playing “Candy Crush”. I told Harshad she might not pass the new toy to her dad. It is a great toy respectable hobby afterall!

And guess who we bumped into? We saw our colleague Stephanie and her friends at the park. She tried to run and hide her face from my lens. Sorry, it was a paparazzi lens and gotcha even at 20m away, Stef!  Hahaha…you can run but you can’t hide! (Oops, Stephanie was still awake at 1:30am when I posted this! Stef…I did offered you a nice portrait shot, you denied me hor!)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

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