X'mas in the tropics

...
Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh ...

Familiar with that song?? Yes... Christmas is coming ... Christmas is coming. I luv December as I can enjoy the Christmas songs and Christmas decorations, be with my family and I just like everything related to the Season. Fortunately, when I visited Singapore last week, even though it was only a short visit; I had a chance to capture the Christmas beauty in this small island. I know that this country always turns to be a beautiful country every Christmas. They usually start to decorate at the end of November to welcome the Season.

Here are some Christmas decorations in Singapore...


You can see a X'mas tree from a ferry approaching Harbour Front...

Orchard Rd welcomes Christmas



Decoration in front of Lucky Plaza


Orchard Road...


The Sweet Family - Mr. & Mrs. Sweet, Nicky, Holly & Chris


Inside HMV

Ohhh, do not forget the Christmas trees...


A big tree at Takashimaya


Another tree...


Coca cola X'mas tree


Trees at the Changi airport

A bit OOT, I saw the 'below' Chocolate tower, which was displayed in one of the malls in Singapore (I forget the name of the mall :)).

Wow, what a great work and two thumbs up for the Chef.


Last but not least, Merry Christmas 2008 & Happy New Year 2009 everybody. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

May your Christmas be joyful, peaceful, bright and filled with the love; and may God above will bless your Christmas day and everyday with peace and happiness.

Singapore's Icons

Singapore Icon

Esplanade theatre

Daylight


At night


Singapore Flyer

Merlion

Daylight


At night

Formula One Night Race... First Singapore Grand Prix

One of the F1 signboards

F1 night race... such a creative idea. Even I always watch the Formula One race on TV, I have never thought of watching the night race. This race will be the first F1 night race ever in Formula One history and the first Singapore Grand Prix. The event starts from September 26th, 2008 to September 28th, 2008. Around 80,000 tickets are on sale and the prices start from SGD168 to SGD 2,588.


Singapore GP circuit map ... the track is in blue colour (taken from www.singaporegp.com)

I walked along the road around Esplanade area and saw the preparation for the race. The race is not held on the purpose-built circuit, but on closed city streets. It is a similar concept to the Monaco Grand Prix in Monte Carlo.


The road which is included in the race track. Look at the red circle area ... very bright like daylight, isn't it?


Orange team's race car on display (Orchard Rd)

I cannot wait to watch this race on TV...!!

Mooncake Festival Decorations in Singapore

Singapore really is a festival city. They celebrate many festivals within a year, such as Chinese New Year, Moon Cake, Deepavali, Aidil Fitri, Christmas & New Year. A part of the city is always adorned with beautiful decorations during the festival. I was very lucky for having the chances to visit Singapore in two consecutive Septembers, when the Mooncake festival or Lantern Festival is usually being celebrated. The Festival is usually held in the Chinatown.

I upload some pics of Singapore's mooncake festival decorations (Sept 2007 & Sept 2008) in this blog and will write a bit about what mooncake festival is. Hope you enjoy them ...

Chinatown main road

Decoration 2007


Decoration 2008

Mooncake or Moon or Lantern or Mid-autumn festival or known in Chinese as Zhongqiu Jie (中秋節), is a harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people. Mooncake festival is usually celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month Chinese calendar. Therefore, according to the Solar calendar, the festival is always celebrated around mid or late September. This year the festival was celebrated on September 14th, 2008 and next year will be on October 3rd, 2009. As its name, the traditional food of this festival is the mooncake and you can expect to see paper lantern decorations during the festival. On that day, all the family members usually gather to have dinner and eat moon cakes together.

Paper lanterns

2007


2008

Others...

2007


2008

There are many versions of the moon festival legend. This is my mom’s version. Once upon a time, the earth had 10 suns. One day, the suns appeared together and burnt the earth. Then, the King ordered Hou Yi, a famous archer, to shoot down nine of the suns. Because Hou Yi succeeded in his task, the King rewarded him an eternal life medicine. He hid the medicine under a rafter. His wife, Chang Er, found and swallowed the medicine. After that, she noticed that she could fly and flew into the moon. Hou Yi was not able to bring his wife back to the earth. Then, he visits his wife once a year, on the 15th day of the 8th month Chinese calendar during full moon. Therefore, on that night, the moon is full and beautiful...

Short trip in Singapore

I went to Singapore in early June. I only had 3 days to visit S'pore... quite short trip. I started my trip at 8 am from Surabaya to Hang Nadim Batam by Mandala airlines. The flight takes 2 hours. Then, I bought Penguin ticket ferry to Singapore ... the ticket costs SGD 18 per person. It is cheaper to buy the ticket ferry at the airport than at Batam Centre (the harbour). I took a cab to go to Batam Centre and I paid 70,000 rupiahs. I checked in at the Penguin counter, paid the tax (SGD 3 per person), paid the fiscal and departed to Singapore at 2pm. The trip by ferry takes 1 hour. I arrived in Singapore at 4pm. So, all in total I spent 7 hours to reach Singapore from Surabaya.

I spent the night by walking around china town and orchard road on my first day of visit. They are just okey for me. Not too crowded ... may be because it was not holiday season during my visit. I had my dinner at the food court at the basement of Takashimaya shopping centre. The food was not that special.


Singapore's Icons

On the second day, I planned to go to visit 2 Singapore's landmarks, Esplande and Merlion; and some shopping centres, Raffles City Shopping Centre and Suntec City. I took Mass Rapid Transport (MRT) from Clarke Quay to City Hall Station. Then, I walked around 10 minutes from the City Hall MRT Station through an underpass which connects 4 shopping centres - Raffles City, Marina Square, Suntec City and Millenia Walk. From Esplande, I walked around 5 minutes through a bridge to Merlion Park. Merlion is the famous icon of Singapore known worldwide. It is the statue of the lion head with a fish body resting on a crest of waves.


Fountain of Wealth

I visited Suntec City to see the fountain of wealth. It is supported by four 13.8 metres high bronze legs and located on an area of 1683.07 metres. The Fountain of Wealth has been awarded as the "World's Largest Fountain" in the 1998 by Guinness Book of Records. The fountain represents wealth and life. I spent the night walking around Suntec City and had dinner at 'Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao' restaurant at the Fountain terrace. The food is good and the price is not that expensive. If you like chinese food, it is a recommended restaurant.


A dancing fountain coupled with laser

In general, Singapore is a nice and safe place to be visited. It is very easy and convenient to get around the city. Everything is very clear and I guarantee you will not get lost in Singapore. Have a nice trip to Singapore...