Terracotta Troupe

Nothing ever happens at the mausoleum of shi huangdi; might as well come out for some sun.

Furniture Mall

'Cept for its inaccessible locale along Beach Road, there's much to like about the Furniture Mall. On beds and matresses alone, the variety is overwhelming. There's Four Stars, Getha, King Koil, Simmons, Sweet Dreams, and many others. Spoilt for choice!

Insomnia

What's keeping you up at/all night? Stress? Caffeine? Bogeyman? How can we ensure peaceful, uninterrupted sleep? Does counting sheep help? How about drinking warm milk? Or doing light exercises on your bed? Or reading a really 'heavy' book like Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going by MM Lee?

JUSCO

Japan United Stores Company has found firm footing in several Asian territories. Pictured is one in Ipoh's Kinta City Shopping Center. But why isn't it in Singapore? Competition from Giant and Carrefour? JUSCOME!

The Golden Toad

Look! It's that frog character from SPIRITED AWAY! Insert one cash (read: Chinese coin) into his mouth and he'll heave out many, many golden ingots for you! (*Croak*)

Smart Phone Wars

Don't mind me sayin' this, but I'm as clueless as Alicia Silverstone when it comes to Androids and whatnots. So Google and Windows can co-exist on both mobile and internet platforms? What's dual booting? Does NE1 use walkie-talkie NEmore?

Our Pantry

Finally, after close to TEN years, my (new and current) workplace has a pantry! While it's no cafeteria, at least the 'bare essentials' are available: refrigerator, hot/cold/ lukewarm water dispenser, snacks...speaking of which, without those leftover pineapple tarts, I would've starved terribly yesterday morning :-S

Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan

One doesn't have to jet all the way to Tuscany, Italy, to behold the Leaning Tower of Pisa, because there's a so-called 'replica' - erected by Chinese builder Leong Choon Cheong circa 1885 - over in Teluk Intan, Malaysia.
Check out the pasar malam there, too!

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foursquare

Regardless of Yew Hong's explanation on Facebook, I remain unclear about the workings of foursquare (wireless or GPS?), which is capable of reporting the exact whereabouts of its members/users. As I mentioned, will there be a day when we see something like "Alan Tan (i.e. me) has just checked into Bukit Ho Swee public toilet cubicle #3"? :-O

Pomelo Street

Plentya SYTs here at Jalan Gopeng (correct?) promoting Tambun pomelos. Since every stall's selling identical fruits, it really boils down to which chio bu catches your eye.

Fragments of Nature

b i o d i v e r s i t y

THE FLINTSTONES

The Flintstone family never fails to amuse me. Albeit not a fan of this old-time Hanna-Barbera cartoon series, I always get a kick out of watching the denizens of Bedrock 'power' their cars using their own feet.

Duck Thigh Noodles

3Well-blanched slim noodles and double-boiled soft duck thighs in a fragrant herbal broth consisting of dried longans and wolfberries (RM 7.00). This is a signature dish of Pun Chun Chicken Biscuits & Restaurant and one of Bidor's most celebrated delicacies.

Nothing to See Here

It's an understatement to say that Marina Bay City Gallery feels like a subset of Singapore City Gallery. Whilst the former certainly focuses on our bayside/bayfront chrysalides, it's the latter that delineates this city-state's development on a national level. Again, this is all part of my petty opinion.

Annie Yi

For someone aged in the north of 40, Taiwanese singer-writer-actress Annie Yi looks amazingly youthful (catch her as a sympathetic judge in CHINA'S GOT TALENT). Could it have anything to do with, apart from the apparent scrupulous personal grooming, divorcing Harlem Yu?

Sungei Buloh Series

Having explored Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin and enjoyed it, Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Kranji was, naturally, next on the list. Good thing today's weather wasn't really hot (although it was rather humid).

5SMRT bus service 925 takes ready trekkers to the gateway of this 130ha oasis gazetted in 2002 and known globally as a stopover point for migratory birds.

5The Visitor Centre. Entry into the Reserve entails an admission fee of $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children, students or senior citizens on weekends and school/public holidays. Otherwise, it's free of charge.

5A specimen seen along the Butterfly Trail. There were also a myriad of live faunae ranging from birds, crabs, fishes, prawns, spiders, tortoises, mudskippers to monitor lizards. Cool!

5Relax. This one isn't real.

5Only for service personnel. The others have to travel on foot. Sorry!

Year Cake?

Took me some time to hunt down this slab of nian gao (top left), more so since CNY's over and all, but 'twas deemed worth it. After slicing and dipping the thing in prepared batter, and then deep frying it to crispy brown, a sweet tasty snack's (top right) done!

Tainted

MDIS recently found itself in the headlines for the wrong reasons: A (now) former lecturer and level head named Isabelle Krishnan, 38, divulged P&C English examination questions to three of her international students - 2 Vietnamese, 1 Chinese - for a fee of $450 each. Wonder what Dr. Eric Kuan has to say about this.

Need Money?

How does one work out the Math (or logic) here? 1000 bux equals 13 bux multiplied by 100 days? Oh, does it mean when you borrow $1000 you owe $1300 in return? Loan shark alert!

Farmland

Sweet potato plants cultivated sparsely in an open field. When harvested, their tuberous roots can be used for cooking the type of porridge our ancestors back in Tng Sua love to eat.

Facebook Places

Facebook's evolving and innovating at such a rate that, quite frankly, it's virtually impossible for the other social media platforms to pace up. And now there's this new (mobile) feature called Facebook Places, where - I believe - it allows you to know where your friends are nearby. What more can we ask for?

Baby Orch

Would anyone pay top dollar to watch a buncha diapered babies perform in a symphonic orchestra? Before you dismiss the notion, may we point out to you that these are musical prodigies who have mastered every intrument from trumpet and accordion to harmonica and ukulele.

Ling Sen Tong

Entrance to the limestone cavern at Gunung Rapat. Like Har Par Villa, there are many statues of gods, goddesses, demigods and demons. Enjoy!

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Bringing Back the Mammoth

There's been some debate and discussion about bringing back the extinct, frozen woolly mammoth from the Pleistocene epoch. Sounds preposterous? Don't rule out the scientific possibilities presented in Steven Spielberg's JURASSIC PARK - what with DNA and genetic adaptation.

'Charboiled' Water

What electric kettle? Without these handy kitchen appliances plus their own heating element, the best - and probably only - way to boil a pot of water is over burning charcoal, no? Do we modern city slickers even know how to start a coal fire the old-fashioned way?

Putian Noodles

This must be a newly introduced cuisine here in Singapore 'cause I'd never heard of it priorly. And if such's, indeed, the way the people in Putian, Fujian, China, prepare their noodles, then we've been missing much.

Happy Flanship Day

who says it must always be about lovers ?

Reminds Me of...

...who else but controversial Malaysian singer/ songwriter Namewee (AKA Wee Meng Chee)? Wahaha! Recalling one of his videos wherein he unreservedly lambasted the local Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB, their version of our PUB) for a blackout in his hometown of Muar in the middle of the night while he was trying to compose a song brings back a chuckle or two :-D

It's a Great Great Mess

With all due respect to Mr. Kelvin Tong, who directed the okayable RULE #1 (and, of course, THE MAID), his latest offering IT'S A GREAT GREAT WORLD is anything but. Another classic case of too many cooks spoiling the broth? That Aunty Lucy character was totally obligatory.

More of Under the Sea

swimming with the sharks' a dip in the tub compared to snorkeling with swordfish and stingrays

Reject Shop

EVERYTHING YOU CAN'T FIND AT COTTON ON AND UNIQLO, WE HAVE IT HERE IN BULK. IN FACT, WE CARRY THE BEST APPAREL FROM MANGO AND ZARA - SANS ONE SLEEVE ON SOME PIECES AND WITH AN EXTRA COLLAR ON OTHERS. WE'RE REJECTS LIKE THAT.

Eugene Tan

Meet the cynical, critical and often-than-not sarcastic ET (AKA Prof Tan and Teflon Man). Seems to me some things didn't change since the days we saw BEAUTICIAN AND THE BEAST together. And - boy - doesn't he have a love-hate relationship on Facebook with one Michael G Groshong.

Truckster

Bumblebee decides he no longer wants to be a wimpish compact car, so he transforms into a tenacious truckster transporting cobblestone at the countryside. Will Sam be able to recognize him?

Bored Dog

The wearisome life of a wandering and woofless watchdog.

Alberto Del Rio

I bet many of us hadn't even heard of his name until he pulled off the big one by emerging victorious against 39 other combatants at the 2011 Royal Rumble. But, still, who is Alberto Del Rio?

Lalang

"Ah-lala-lala-lang, ah-lala-lala-lang, ah-lala-lala-lang-lang-lay-lang-lang-lang..."

Spring in the City

As the idiom goes, "wake up and smell the roses". It's springtime here in Singapore and what better way to usher in the beloved Bunny Year than bask in a cityful of cultivated blossoms. Beware of pollen allergy, though!

头 七

Caught a glimpse of this evening's Lianhe Wanbao, which reported the supposed sighting of deceased crooner 岳 雷's specter by his close friend in the first seven days of his death. The Chinese have this belief that the dead will visit the living within the first week of its demise...or should it be the first forty-nine days? In any case, I won't be the one to dispute such a claim.

Curry Chicken Nasi Lemak

I've had enough nasi lemaks to last me a lifetime, but curry chicken in place of the usual fried chicken? That's a first for me! This local delight was sampled at Jusco Ipoh's (AKA Kinta City) Chatter Kopitiam. WY and/or LSK footed the bill. So paiseh.

My First Day in Bidor

After our cross-country coach SE Super unreliably broke down along the highway, good-hearted townsfolk gave us an early morning ride to the main street of Bidor, where we waited for a just-awoken WY to fetch us home. Now, that's the kampung spirit sorely lacking in Singapore!

Off to Bidor!

Selamat tinggal, my dear readers! I've hopped onto a Grasslander en route to the titular tiny town in the district of Batang Padang, Perak, Malaysia - and I'll only be back on Monday. So, miss me lots (and death to streak)!