1 Out of 7 Billion
The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.
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Hong Kong
October 28, 2008
I spent the Deepavali long weekend in Hong Kong and what a relaxing weekend it was (my wallet got exhausted though).
This is my 4th visit within a span of two years and I think everytime I feel like going away for a long weekend I will book a flight to Hong Kong (instead of Bangkok).
Why do I love Hong Kong?
- The place gives me a sense of organised chaos which I welcome once in awhile.
- Shopping. I always go to H&M but I feel I’m missing out on a lot more good shops.
- Food
- I like hearing Cantonese.
- I have good friends who are superb hosts and fantastic party buddies.
I stayed at the Cosmo hotel which is one of the boutique hotels in the Wan Chai / Causeway Bay area. The location is not very ideal ; I always needed to take a cab to and from the place. However, the room space is just right for a short stay. Comfy bed too.
Good to sleep on a single bed for a change.
The couch area is where I would dump my shopping bags at the end of each day.
Sat, 25 October
- Got upgraded to Business Class on Singapore Airlines. It’s my 4th time to be upgraded (3rd on holiday). I initially wanted to upgrade my purchased Economy class ticket but was told no seats were available. Thanks SQ!
- Went to H&M shortly after I checked-in. Did some panic buying and shopping for family and friends. The selection was rather disappointing and I guess I can say that for most of the shops. They were selling winter stuff and I could only buy so much. May / June would probably be the best time to go next time, based on previous experience.
- Met up with Ron at Causeway Bay and walked over to William’s place. William, Grace, and Louis hosted an awesome dinner with hairy crab as the main dish. Met a few new friends as well. Struggled in eating the crab with my bare hands (havent done that in ages) but I can say it was worth the cracking and scooping effort.
Causeway Bay, one of my fave areas in HK
With Ron and William, my great buddies in HK
Hairy hairy crab
- Decided to have an early night after waking up for an early flight but managed to stay awake for an hour listening to a few singers in the bar at Cosmo hotel. I knew most of the songs so I was singing softly in my little corner. Ha.
Day 2 – Sun, 26 October
- I had to make another trip to H&M to see if any new stocks came in but since I arrived slightly earlier than opening time, I walked around to explore the central area.
Why dont we have H&M in Singapore?!
- Ros invited me to have lunch with her and her husband Blums over at Taikoo then went around the mall for any interesting stuff.
Catching up with Blums and Ros at Simply Life Bakery/Cafe
- I was supposed to meet with Ron and William but they were fairly busy until late afternoon so I decided to go back to Causeway Bay. There were two events happening. One at Sogo which had a brief show that featured Eunice Chen, one of the popular models in HK. The other event was a promotion for Minute Maid orange juice which had official endorser Eason Chan, a pop artist/singer, making a special appearance.
Eunice Chen - took me some time to figure out her English name from the people I asked in Sogo
Eason Chan
- Met up with Ron and William near my hotel and went to a revolving resto for a drink before going to Lin Heung bakery/ tea house at Central for dinner. Peiru suggested that I try the BBQ pork while in HK so I requested them to include this in our meal. One thing that struck me is that customers soak the bowls in hot water before using them. Never seen that in previous trips. William told me that it’s the usual practice in HK. He did the honor of doing that before our meal…
William's fingers in their first-ever close-up appearance in my blog
- Lyn (my friend from Malaysia who happened to be there for work+holiday) and Dorothy (friend of Ron) joined us for dinner as well. We then went to Peel Fresco Music Lounge a few blocks away for some jazz music.
William, Lyn, Ron, Dorothy, me
Day 3 – Mon, 27 October
- No set plan but to pack neatly and reach Kowloon island for the first time in 20 years (yes, only because my previous visits were all in HK island).
Not teary eyed but quite a nice feeling being back in this part of HK.
- Had lunch at Harbour City. I officially ended my shopping in that place.
- Headed to the airport via airport (train) express, bought a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for Pierre, Peiru and the SQ cabin crew, then boarded the flight. I arranged for an upgrade to Business Class previously so had a comfortable evening journey back to Singapore.
A Nation in Concert 2008 : Wish Upon a Sea Star
October 12, 2008
I first learned about this musical/concert through one of its cast members.
Now on its 3rd year, ”A Nation in Concert” is a venue for differently-abled individuals to showcase their talent and enable them to realise their full potential. The show is put up by hundreds of volunteers who either work behind the scenes or perform onstage, with majority sharing personal time beyond their daytime jobs.
Synopsis (from the official production website)
Meet Shelby the slowpoke Sea Snail, Cornelius the Alaskan Crab and Priscilla the Drunken Prawn – a trio of headstrong sea-bottom dwellers who are sick of being looked down upon for having feet (or in Shelby’s case, being just one big foot) in a world of arrogant but oh-so-graceful swimming creatures. They long to express their uniqueness by taking part in a talentime hosted at Madam Manta’s undersea lounge The Ai Hum Club, but all their hopes are dashed when the ruthless Petula Pufferfish threatens to buy up and tear down the club, and even reports the trio to the censors who are out to prevent ‘footers’ from getting too vocal!
Will the trio win their right to be heard? Will the Ai Hum Club survive the invasion of the sea-vil servants? What will it take for the whole undersea community to learn that difference should be celebrated rather than stigmatized?
Some random personal sharing:
- While my experience of being part of a production is quite limited and dates back to secondary school, I can say that putting up a show with many performers is an incredible challenge. I’ve seen some of the photos uploaded by Pierre and I can just imagine how many hours have been spent memorising the script, familiarising the blocking/dance steps, and generally rehearsing with the rest of the cast.
- I particularly liked two (2) segments : the ballroom dance with selected members of the Handicaps Welfare Associations (ladies in wheelchairs with a male partner)
Used with permission from Lawrence Ang and Jerry Siah
and
a dance interpretation of a remixed version of ”Apologise” (by One Republic) by the Singapore Association for the Deaf.
Used with permission from Lawrence Ang and Jerry Siah
- There were also sign language interpreters who made sure that hearing impaired individuals who are part of the audience also enjoyed the show.
- I was touched by the final video where participants shared how “A Nation in Concert” has positively affected their lives and continues to give them hope. (Video had “You Raise Me Up” as its musical score — very emo… hear the song with lyrics).
A former cast member told me that this show has “a lot of heart”. It does and I’m glad that it has renewed my interest in becoming more involved in community building and sharing my blessings with other people here in Singapore.
For those who have seen it, hope you found the show worth every dollar you paid (and perhaps even more). For those who missed it (the third and last show ends at around 5pm today), let’s hope there will be another one next year.
CAST
Chermaine Ang as Priscilla the Prawn
Pierre Goh as Cornelius the Crab
Darius Tan as Shelby the Sea Snail
Christina Sergeant as Madam Manta
Timothy Go as Tim-MER-thy the merman
Karen Tan as Hannah Hammerhead
Tony Quek as Petula Pufferfish
Scott Lei as AC the Electric Eel
Ben Xiao as DC the Electric Eei
Joakim Gomez as Mata Skipper the Police Chief
Terence Tay as Clarence the Clownfish
Levin Ng, Valenisha, Glenn Chow Zhen Wei, Nadiah btw Muhammad Salehuddin, Siti Annisa btw Md Kamsani, Ika Nita Nurrizkia, Jeremy Chui Jin Wei as Tetras
Ken Lim, Wei Lim, Kenneth Li Jun Hui, Jason Yip Yan Shen as Mussel Men
PRODUCTION
Jonathan Lim (Director), Jerry Siah Eng Kiat (Producer), Desmond Sim (Playwright)
And over a hundred differently-abled performers from:
Association for Persons with Special Needs
Handicaps Welfare Association
Singapore Association for the Deaf
Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped
Peiru and I gave a bouquet to Pierre (Cornelius the Crab). I'm sure Pierre will miss his costume. Haha.
Nikki with the AC and DC Electric Eels
With Mata Skipper the Police Chief (Joakim Gomez)
Ended the night with Kristy and Nikki at TCC
What I Did During the Hari Raya Holiday
October 1, 2008
Since the holiday fell in the middle of the week, I can’t help but consider today as a Sunday.
940am
Left my place for Takashimaya to claim what I was told to be a complimentary massage or foot spa at True Yoga. After a few calls by one of their staff, I didn’t have any choice but to confirm at least one hour that I can drop by such place. It’s free anyway. I arrived at 10am.
Welcome Lounge
I haven’t had a massage in ages so I chose to have that instead of the foot spa. It was just weird having a 50+ year old auntie sit on my back to do her thing (of course, in a professional way). As with any reputable spa, there was a thin cloth that prevented her hands from directly touching my skin (same set up as The Spa in Manila, Philippines).
I then prepared myself for the post-massage sales talk. The sales consultant offered me a package worth approx SGD 5,000 for 2 years (2 massage sessions + 2 foot spa + 1 facial treatment per month). Knowing how lazy I am in setting up appointments with places like that, I really could not be bothered spending that much for it. It’s also a big investment which I would rather spend on traveling, shopping, or topping up my insurance. Sensing that she was offering me something on a “you need to sign up now ” basis, I decided not to waste her time and mine. It’s so priceless to see a salesperson’s facial reaction suddenly change when he/she hears the hard and painful truth… Sorry, nice try though.
11.00 to 11.30 am
Grabbed a healthy snack from one of the stalls near Heeren then decided to go on a random bus ride. This time, I was bound for Yio Chou Kang.
11.30 to 12.45 pm
SBS Bus 162M left Orchard and traveled through the city hall area, back to Orchard (!!!), Novena, Bishan, Ang Mo Kio, then finally Yio Chou Kang.
National Museum of Singapore
Ngee Ann City / Takashimaya
Chinese temple
Temple #2
Singapore streets are soooo clean.
Ang Mo Kio (AMK) Hub
During the journey, I enjoyed being a cam whore and took multiple self-shots since there weren’t a lot of passengers in the bus.
One of the many shots taken during that hour.
12.45 pm
I alighted at the YCK bus terminal, walked a few meters (near the area where Nanyang Poly was located), and took bus 72 which was bound for Hougang MRT. I went down to get some lunch at a nearby hawker center. Had more than enough for a meal — noodles + (black) carrot cake. Could have done away with the black carrot cake but that’s my fave so had to get it.
The "Roasted Delight" had the longest queue.
2.00 pm
I was hoping to take the MRT from Hougang to Harbourfront but decided midway to take a cab from Potong Pasir (a station I have not exited from).
3.00 pm
Saved a few minutes, reached home, fixed some stuff, then went to Vivo to have my hair highlighted. Sorry, only “after” photos are available.
Highlights
New Hairstyle from 1st October
5.00 pm
Made a few rather impulse purchases in Vivo before buying dinner and deciding to stay home for the rest of the day.
What a relaxing yet productive Hari Raya holiday for me.
Singapore MRT/train routemap
