City of Logos
February 28, 2009 Leave a comment
Hong Kong Blooms
February 28, 2009 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Mong Kok, Orchid Bauhinia – Hong Kong National Flower)
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Colourful Temple Street
February 28, 2009 Leave a comment
Thanks Gareth for "leading" me back to Temple Street once more! Just 1 note – it is certainly more colourful and spicy than our favourite Geylang Lorongs.
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Headline News From Shanghai
February 25, 2009 1 Comment
My ex-fireman colleague and business partner "Francis Chay" – he is sure making headlines in Shanghai!
Mmmm.. nice pix too! (at least Mr Chay can give me a tiny line for photo credit!)… 🙂
Click here to read more: http://www.brandrepublic.asia/Media/Greater-Chinaarticle/2009_02/McCann-Healthcare-wins-Claritynes-engagement-programme/34510
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My 115-Year Sole-mate – BATA
February 22, 2009 Leave a comment
I am a self-confessed BATA shoes lover. Cos’ it has been my favourite sole-mate since primary school days. Back at home, we call it "Buy And Throw Away". BATA isn’t seen as an international shoe brand – more like a neighbourhood one. Seriously, I always had the impression that BATA comes from Thailand or Malaysia (Urgh… those were the manufacturing countries!). I would never imagine BATA being an European brand – and certainly not a brand that have lasted more than a hundred years!
BATA is named after its founder "Tomas Batá". It was founded back in 1894 – now Czech Republic (yes.. 8 years younger than Coka-Cola and 61 years older than McDonald’s). Today, BATA can be found in over 50 countries and throughout its 115-year hertiage, it was estimated that BATA has produced more than 14 billions pairs of shoes. Impressive origin and marvelous heritage. I bet many of you didn’t know this.
It is no wonder when BATA opened in Shanghai – an orindary pair of BATA business shoes can fetch up to RMB1,000 (SGD200!). The same pair back home in Singapore only cost SGD89. Perhaps BATA is going back to recognise its roots. Surely (for me), BATA Shoes are very affordable and comfortable. It has been my sole-mates over the last 20 years – walking me from school to home, pathing all my life adventures. I wore them during my graduation. I wore them into my new home. I wore it during my business-setup days. And I am still faithfully wearing them today.
Not just buy and throw away. More like buy and travel again.
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A Visit to “Long Island”長洲
February 22, 2009 Leave a comment
Yesterday, the weather was good… little fog. So we decided went "island hoping" once more. This time, we went to Cheung Chau Island.
The ferry took us about 45 minutes at very little cost of HK22 per pax. We sat in the "Deluxe Deck" – Elkan ran out to the open deck with his binoculars. It was very windy and cold. As usual, sea-sick Mummy was meditating quietly – ignoring our pleas to sit out at the open deck.
Cheung Chau is a totally different island from what I have imagined. I thought of it as the "Pulau Ubin" of Hong Kong but it offers much more! It reminds me of Taiwan’s 淡水 village. Cheung Chau is an old seatown of a population of 30,000. Despite its old settings, It is quite an interesting & lively place. There are lots to see, shop and eat. It is really a nice place to spend a weekend. No wonder there are many small temporary motel kiosks outside the ferry terminal. You can easily rent a room for less than HK600. (There is even a mini HSBC bank and Mcdonald right outside the ferry terminal.)
We spent 3 hour hiking around the small island (and twice, we have to look high and low for Tracy’s urgent toilet request!). The beach is pretty narrow (but much cleaner than the one we saw at Discovery Bay) and we saw a couple of people wakeboarding and wind-surfing there. The over-publicised 3,000 year-old Rock Craving is an overstatement. It is small and isolated (not worth the hike to see).
This small town does have its own authentic and unique offerings (but limited) – like the "PingAn Buns" and "dried seafood". There is a small shop along the beach where you can find "Tornado Fried Potato Chip". Shopping is relatively cheap (compared with HK island) but there aren’t a lot of "local products". A lot of the handicrafts shop carry products from Indonesia and Philippine. (Sigh, another example of Tourism Erosion – where a place loses its cultural authenticness to mainstream tourism).
Seafood is great – as good as what we had back home in Singapore. Especially in this cool weather, it is a great joy to dine in the open by the pier and watch the sunset. And it is an eye-opener for me, watching those "boat people" cooking and eating on their own boat-houses.
I do enjoy myself a lot here. It is a good getaway from the over-congested Hong Kong. And it is only 45-minute away from Central Pier. A nice and affordable place to chill out.
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A Very Beautiful Movie
February 20, 2009 Leave a comment
The plot of this movie is so simple and beautiful. The screenplay is just so compelling, real and emotional. A heart-warming tale, the "Slumdog Millionaire" truly deserves its 10 Academy Awards nominations. And one Hindi movie that you shouldn’t miss.
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Mobile Spa
February 20, 2009 Leave a comment
(Photo Taken: Parked outside our house, Hong Kong)
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Days Away from Home
Singapore Blog Awards Finalist 2013
Singapore Blog Awards Finalist 2010-2012
Proud to be part of the Singapore Memory Project
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