The Mini Traveler

The other side of Singapore

2009-11-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

The Kallang Bus Terminal located in Geylang. Certainly a very different bus terminal from the rest of the bus terminals. (: Very scenic view from where I was standing with the blue skies. Too bad it rained in the end.

Beautiful entrance into the old airport. Extremely grand. Too bad the picture of the tour bus spoil it. (too lazy to crop it hehe!) I always passed by here wondering what's inside and now I finally got to walk in. The answer is: A deserted road and a beautiful river. (pretty muddy but the whole flora is pretty much untouched). The only people there are bus drivers (of tour buses), random people and canoeists. It's pretty deserted though, wouldn't say it's very safe for one person to go alone. I only wandered in there because I was lost. Thankfully that sick uncle didn't follow me in there.

The path where the canoes go. Lovely pathway into the river with lovely plants to accompany it. The rocks are uber bumpy, super fun for balancing. Teehee! (:

Pity these are probably going to be torn down sooner or later.

Going back to the past

2009-11-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

Today, Sharon, Joshua Poh and I went back to the past in Chinatown. The heritage center was awesome. The whole display set is simply so realistic, we were transported right back into the past in Chinatown.

Sharon the domesticated housewife who is hanging clothes. (:

ME WASHING MY HANDS! Whee!

The whole museum allows me to feel extremely blessed being born in such an era. We always complained how difficult life is for us just because of minute obstacles that seemed to get in our way. We never really thought of the small houses that used to house 10 people and yet we complain about how we have to share rooms. We complain about cold water, dirty toilets but the toilets in the past doesn't even have a flush system. We complain about how we have so much to do, nothing to do, whatever, we won't stop complaining. Have we ever thought of the lifestyle of those who had built up this comfortable for us? Sure, maybe some of us aren't as lucky as the others but I think we ought to feel blessed for what we have now.

I can't say that this is going to be easy though because with all the expectations we have, all that is expected of us, and the fast-paced lifestyle in the society. I guess we can just try complaining less. (:

Next, we went to Kampong Glam (near Bugis Area) and we actually went to view a mosque. In my entire 18 years of living, I have never stepped into a mosque. Stepping into the mosque was probably one of the most memorable things that I have done during this holiday. I was extremely enlightened (with information) by the guide's thorough explanation of their culture. I was also awed by the entire structure of the building and how they devote themselves so much to their religion. It definitely gave me newfound respect for Muslims.

Amber, Poh, Sharon in front of the hall.

It started raining and we tried to get out of Kampong Glam to Bugis Junction. So we found many shops (actually mainly boutique stores) at Arab Street or Haji Lane. I cannot resist but to snap a picture of this:

So fantasy-like. Lovely!

Ok that's the end of my trip.

Raffles Biodiversity Museum

2009-07-23T23:40:00.000-07:00

Think that Singapore has no natural museum? Think again! After reading the Sunday Times article about the gigantic Whale bone that used to hang from the ceilings of the Singapore museum. I happened to read about the Raffles Biodiversity Museum. Apparently, it's a really small museum in Singapore but cool enough!! Being inspired from the biology classes on Ecology that week, I decided to check out the museum located at a pretty secluded corner of NUS. To my surprise, it is extremely informative. (:

A tapir.

A gigantic turtle found off a coast of Malasia.

A leopard. I almost thought it was a cheetah.

Otter.

Giant Clams found off the coast of singapore. (:

Bangkok- Chinese New Year 2009

2009-06-04T04:11:00.000-07:00

Hello my dear readers,

I apologize TERRIBLY that I have not update this blog at all. In fact this is a post that I have promised everyone months ago but failed to blog it because I just have so much things to do, being an IB student like the Extended Essay, ToK Essay, countless IAs and every other nonsense. So I am so sorry! But the good news is that the post that everyone has been waiting for (or maybe not) is finally here! And the second piece of good news is that since it is the June Holidays, I have more time to spare to walk around Singapore and update this blog more often. Say "Yay!" because it's a super long post! I took like a damn long time to upload and squeeze my brain juice to write this!

To anyone who wants their blog/ blogshop/ website linked, just tag me on my Chatbox. (: Remember to leave your link.

Many loves,

Amber

(Personally one of my favorite pictures of the murals found at the Golden Palace, Bangkok. The monster is really cute no?)

Day 1:

We arrived at Thailand, Bangkok Airport. The strangest thing is that I actually led my parents around the airport because it's their virgin trip there but my second time in Bangkok Airport. (my first time was in 2008, transfer flight to Chiang Mai)

Upon arriving at the airport, swarms and swarms of taxi drivers, travel groups literally swarmed around us, asking us if we needed a tour or a taxi. Unfortunately for them, we had to find the tour agency who will send us to our serviced apartment-- Centrepoint. This got us waiting for 2 hours in the airport because the other family had forgotten about finding the tour agency and went for duty-free shopping. So finally the family was found and we set off from the airport and into BANGKOK CITY! :D

What amazes me is the blending of the periphery and the urban areas in one city. That's certainly one thing that you cannot see in Singapore. Upon hitting the core of Bangkok, I had the opportunity to snap photos from the mini van due to a heavy jam that left us stuck in the same spot for 10 minutes! >.<

A roadside stall shot from inside the van. Nice eh? I love how the stall just stores everything. There are many of these roadside stalls in Bangkok and I must say some of them do actually look quite yummy! And they are actually quite crowded too. I wanted to try them but then my mum got pretty ill so we didn't try any of the stores in the end.

Back to the serviced apartment, it is located in a very shabby corner of Bangkok. I love how we are able to exit the serviced apartment through a shop. It's so private! And not to mention, the serviced apartment we lived in is just so classy and the pool and sauna is really lovely! I suppose serviced apartments are actually much more cosy as compared to hotel rooms. Hotel rooms have that certain foreign feel about it whereas the serviced apartment just seems so welcoming! And not to mention, the view from our apartment during the sunset is just superb! The only thing that seems unpleasant was the fact that we are facing a shabbier apartment next to ours. Not that it's an unpleasant sight, I just puzzle over the huge contrast.

The view of sunset from the balcony of our serviced apartment.

I guess we did not do much in Day 1 because by the time we reached the serviced apartment, settled down and stuff like that, it's pretty late. :( So we walked to the nearest shopping mall and ate at the food court there. As how all food in food courts are (ok I know I am stereotyping but...), the food was not that nice. :( And by the time we finished eating, all the shops were closed and everyone was going home. So we walked back home and bought fruits (oh the Jackfruit is certainly the best I ever tasted!) and I saw my favorite food: STEAMED CORN! The corn is so BIG, SWEET and JUICY! I wish we actually have more of that in Singapore because it's really delicious! :D I don't know if it's chemically treated or not but I never tasted corn like that before.

Day 2:

Nothing much! Shop! Shop! Shop! Shop! Shop! We memorized the terrain of the city and we walked our way from shopping center to shopping center. In the morning, we took the Tuk-tuk (ok I don't know how you spell it) around the city area. However, we realized that we were not brought to our destination so we ended up in some secluded area and walked back to the city in the end. Oh wells. I guess it can be that scary when you are alone in a foreign country. And don't get me wrong, the driver was not some baddie or anything, I think he just didn't know what we wanted. I love the Paragon though. The sports section just made me melt so much. They have so many sports equipment ranging from running (the usual) to even DIVING! Diving equipments in a department store! How often do you get that? So we walked until our legs almost break before we head for dinner. Dinner is a pleasure! We ate a Teo Chew Restaurant. The food is so good that we almost want to come back next year just to eat it (but no money ^^)

Day 3:

I guess out of all the days, day 3 is actually the most fruitful day of all! We actually engage a taxi driver to drive us around the scenic places in Bangkok since we are all sick of shopping. :D I am just going to upload pictures and caption them because this is starting to feel like some extended essay on Bangkok.

The Golden Palace

2 handsome demons guarding the entrance/ exit. They are really really huge! :D

Yet another 2 guarding the entrance. A bit like the 2 lions you see outside every temple eh? And now you should know why it is called the Golden Palace. The main building is just covered with gold. It is amazing that it is so well-preserved. :) And that my friends is called sustainable development.

Another of my favorite mural on the wall. Very mystical and well preserved. I love how these murals tell a story. (:

I love how they use colored mirrors around the whole palace. It just makes it look so sparkling and grand! And just look at how intricate the carvings are! :D

I guess I am lucky enough to catch this scene of a woman praying. Kind of culturally significant. HAHA!

One of the guards. They aren't exactly what I would call "happy" people. But that's their job of course. HAHA. :D

And this is my favorite part of the palace. It's new and modern and yet the old architecture is still preserved and maintained. I love how the colors blend in so well with each other. Don't you?

After the trip to the golden palace, we went to a temple where they bury dead bodies of certain princes and kings as well as normal people. That's the temple with the biggest sleeping buddha I ever seen in my life. I didn't take much quality pictures there so I am not going to upload them here. But the next destination is actually more exciting!!! We took a river ride! Absolutely incredible and you get to see another part of Bangkok which you never seen before in the city. :D

The River Ride

Our boat! The best boat ever! Our boat uncle can steer very well! Wheeee!

The obaa-san from the wet market. I actually bought a lot of souvenirs from her! But then my mum misplaced it at the spa and then we lost them ;'( Sorry people, that's why I bought elephant magnets for you guys. >:( But kind of cool when you actually come so close with her sailing back from the wet market. When all else fails, maybe I shall migrate there and sell stuff there too! :D

It is after we met her when we actually saw a dead alligator. *shivers* I wonder what will happen if the boat capsized. I think we will be eaten alive by alligators. And the water is so murky, it's impossible to see what's beneath you...

Look! A river shop! :D So cute right? I wonder how people park their boats and buy stuff.

And looking at this just makes me feel quite horrible about myself. To think I complain my head off when people are living in conditions like that. Ok it may look like big houses but it's just a squatter site. So people, don't complain about how life is a bitch when things don't go well for you.

And it amazes me how they still are able to enjoy life...

An extremely old sofa, and newspapers as shelters. And they are a friendly lot waving at out boat too! :D What a simple, happy life!

From the river ride, they stop us at a very very dilapidated zoo. I guess my favorite animal is the Bengal Tiger but I am unable to take a picture of it because it is pretty much locked up in meshed up wires. But it's really really handsome. Rawr! I want to date a Bengal Tiger now. xD

The dead reptile thing we saw in the river is approximately the size of this. Do you know why I shudder at the thought of our boat capsizing now?

Now there Mr. Iguana, don't be a grumpy old dude! BAHHH! SMILEEEE! :D :D :D It refuses to smile and only allowed me to take one good shot of it before scampering away. Hmph :/

And then we u-turned and took a ride back to the jetty! Certainly the best river ride I ever been too. :D I learnt so much about Bangkok after this ride.

And then comes to the last night in Bangkok, we watched the Cabaret. The taxi driver managed to get tickets for us even though I was underaged to watch it. And the reason I am underaged to watch it is because it is not a normal cabaret but it is a cabaret performed by transvestites. How exciting! And the disturbing part is that those "women" really put normal women to shame. They are absolutely stunning! Sigh... The magic of PLASTIC SURGERY!

Very grand right? I love the setting, it's like going back to the 1940's Shanghai to watch a show. I love the ambience!! :D

The opening act. And remember, whatever that is female WAS male.

My favorite act! He is so funny! This is unfortunately for you, male. He just cross-dresses that's all. He is extremely funny and I was just laughing away at his acts. :D Wish I took a picture with him at the end of it but I was a little too shy. :D

Something about the legends in Thailand. I love the costume! It's so exotic. But somehow it reminds me of some ghost story. Hmm, I wonder why.

I love the setting! The pink flowers are just so pretty! :D And it's not melodramatic at all. (:

Day 4:

Very unfortunately, we have to catch the plane back to Singapore early. So the taxi driver fetched us back to the airport and we board the plane back. And I must say that I like Cathay Pacific more than SIA. :D Next time, I shall take Cathay Pacific planes. ^^

Sorry for not Updating

2009-01-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

Hello people!

Sorry for not updating for such a long time. (:

You see, school has reopened and I have no time to go trekking. Even if I did, I bet everyone will be bored of my Henderson wave bridge thing.

But bear with it. I will post here asap when I get back!. (:

Another Walk

2009-01-13T05:11:00.000-08:00

Hello dear readers,

I had another walk at the same place again. I think soon I will be pretty sick of that place. But I must say that I would rather walk through the same place again and again, see the trees again and again than go SHOPPING. Shopping is boring unless I really need to buy stuff. Of course, I have my own time where shopping therapy actually helps. (:

And as you know, my camera died off on me, so I am left to snap pictures with my phone. The results are not as good as my old camera of course. My phone is only 2 megapixels and my camera is 7 megapixels. See the difference?

But of course, my camera is said to have SCRATCHES and a DENTED BODY when I sent it for repair today. And then the guy was pointing at the dent and saying: See your camera has a dent. Make me feel so bad about myself. BUT, I never dropped my camera once. And I treat my camera with absolute care. It cannot help it if my camera has gone through every damn rough trip (excluding Chiang Mai) and been inside the sea with me holding it. So of course, after 3 years, my dear camera is feeling a bit exhausted. (: Poor camera.

Enough talk about my camera. It gets me heartbroken. And I better get on with the pictures. (: And description.

Love,

Amber

We met at Harborfront MRT station, went through Marang Trail to Mount Faber to Telok Blangah Hill to Hort Park and then walked all the way back to Harborfront MRT station. (yeah it's the same route on Sunday) But this time, with pictures. (: (although they are just nature shots)

I guess the walk was really good. The terrain was rough enough to make me feel exhausted (and even happy to get out of that place).

But all in all, the scenery, and the kind of wind that you get at the top of the hill (or at least 78m above sea level) is nothing you can enjoy at ground level, rather I should say at the city's hustle and bustle. I would definitely say it's worth every step I take.

Despite knowing the fact that whatever surrounds the trees are actually buildings, I think just a change in environment is actually quite refreshing- to be surrounded by trees instead of shopping malls, to be freshened up with oxygen and wind instead of the air conditioner, and to hear the insects sound (even though I do not appreciate the very existence of insects at all) instead of car horns and what have you.

And on with pictures:

A landscaping shot. I really just love this place. We suntanned here on our way back and that explains my red rudolph nose. The bridge is just AWESOME, AWESOME, AWESOME, of course, a distance must be walked before you can just experience how beautiful and wonderful this place is.

I love the forest that you see behind this bridge. But there is no real road that lets you trek through the whole thing. How sad is that? Sighs, I wish I can just walk through the whole jungle. But oh wells. (:

And on the other side is the CITY. Somehow the word URBAN SPRAWL has to keep popping up in my head. The roads look kind of nice from the top view though (even though I don't fancy the city much) Looks like SIM city eh? HAHA. A reality version of course.

Our Adventures (:

Random Random

Found this really cute! (: Teeheehee!

And we saw the characters of the Wizards of Oz:

And this is Dorothy! HAHAHA, she looks so absurd. Made out of pots and sunflower eyes. HAHA. I love the grey dog. I forgot it's name. But Dorothy ahahha LOOKS WEIRD!

The scarecrow... BOO CROWS!

HAHA, big head LION. Reminds me of the chow chow somehow.

My favorite of the rest <3

And the EVIL WITCH!!!

Nature shots of some plants: (to those who enjoy nature, here it is for you)

(: I love this tree. Don't you just love the ferns? Isn't it pretty? Gives me a very christmassy feeling. Teeheehee!

I just love this flower. It's so pretty! It looks like those plants where fairies will sit around and um gossip? HAHA! I just love this plant. It's going to be my favorite plant!

This flower looks really plastic. Looks like it is made out of plastic strings. Oh wells. (: Still love the flower above?

P.S will anyone give me the names of these flowers?

And I will sign off with my zennish picture. I took a very long time to get this picture taken. Like 3 shots and lots of stumbling and falling. But (:

Teeheehee!

Cheers and happy adventuring! (:

Walk and Another Walk

2009-01-11T00:11:00.000-08:00

As my camera is spoiled, I cannot offer much pictures. But here is a shot of nature from my phone. I was walking at Mount. Faber and I saw this HUGE spider and my father wanted to take a picture of it with his phone. HOWEVER, his phone being new, he doesn't know how to use it, so I was forced to snap a picture of the spider and edited it. So yeah. the only picture of the day I can leave on my blog. (:

Just in case you ask:

I went to the same trail- park connectors from Kent Ridge all the way to Mount Faber and walked to and fro. Then I took a cable car from Mount. Faber all the way to Sentosa. And the cable car was so rocky I almost slept inside. ZZZZZ.

Another walk

Date: [please discuss]

Time: 0930 (excluding breakfast)

Meeting point: Harborfront MRT Station Control Station

Starting point: Marang Trail

Ending point: Kent Ridge Park

Walk back from Kent Ridge Park to Harbourfront MRT

To trail: Earth Trail

Fro trail: Canopy Walk

Please wear long pants because the earth trail is disgustingly full of insects.

And bring at least 3 bottles of 500ml bottles.

The 8-hours walk

2009-01-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

What happened

Meeting point: Harbourfront MRT station

Station 1: Haw Par Villa

Pretty nice place isn't it?

I read up on Haw Par Villa and remembering reading something that this theme park is built by the Haw Par Brothers (which is the founding brothers of your Tiger Balm Oil). I don't know if they got any help or not. But I think it's awesome- with labor or without labor to build such a big theme park.

Of course, now it is a pretty abandoned place, and I would not expect one to go alone. But going in a big group should be fine. I think it's pretty amazing and you learn pretty much about the culture from there.

Some may find it a pretty silly place but hey, if the admission is free, why not give it a shot? It's not that bad- both for a walk and just sightseeing.

Stuff that you can expect in Haw Par Villa:

Ten Courts of Hell. Pretty Gory right?

And if some of you are asking, the chinese phrase means:

Looking back, you see the shore.

The bitter sea has no end.

Pretty sad but then again the first phrase is pretty meaningful. After all, we all die one day and we will leave earth only to see earth right? Ok, that makes it sound very outer spacey. Hehe!

I like this scene a lot! I think it really look like those water scenes in China where people fight on water. Or they take a brush, fly around and write stuff on rocks. I think I watch too much chinese dramas. But I actually do enjoy this scene the best.

Here is a simulation of an underwater cave. I wonder if such things really do exist or does it only exists in fantasy story books? Like old stories and stuff. I think it would be cool if such a place really do exist on Earth! I would definitely dive down to explore that place! I guess I didn't manage to get a good shot of this underwater cave, partially because I was trying to keep a lookout for any creepy crawlies (which thank goodness only existed in my imagination).

And lastly:

Squeezing yourself into edges and little corners of structures and camwhoring there. (my arms look so muscular here I just love it!)

Station 2: Kent Ridge Park

A very undisturbed park located at a very discreet corner in Singapore. It is really serene and silent and definitely for those who wants to enjoy a quiet and peaceful moment. I love the fresh air there. Breathe in deep and you seem to absorb the freshest air that you don't seem to get in any other parts of Singapore. I am absolutely in love with that place. But I would not advise one to go alone again.

For Health nuts:

You will definitely enjoy the fresh air, steep slope (Walking that slope once a week will just tone your leg muscles), the many different exercise stations to choose from.

Station 3: Hort Park

This park is awesome, awesome, AWESOME! The whole place looks like it is a reality of my game Vside. I love it as much as Kent Ridge Park. Hort Park however is more commercialised. Judging from the outlook of it, I think people actually go there to purchase Garden decorations.

However, those who enjoy looking at different kinds of plants and flowers should go to Hort Park. I think they have a real and wide variety of flowers.

In short, Hort Park merges nature with modern architecture. A definite relaxation corner for the urban dweller. (I should not be surprised given the number of offices located nearby.)

Pretty Nice shelter isn't it?

Station 4: Telok Blangah Hill

Of all the times that I walked the bridge, I CAN NEVER FIND MT. FABER!!!

And then I realised you got to walk the Henderson Wave Bridge. But too bad, we were all aching from the walk and we didn't want to carry on further because it is getting dark. Telok Blangah is a pretty awesome park. However it was getting dark so we kind of rushed down the hill, unable to appreciate the park's beauty.

I was unable to get a shot because my camera just have to spoil at that moment! So now, I got to get a new camera!!! T_T Oh wells, I am not surprised, my camera has undergone all my rough trips with me and it has been working well for 3 years. *pets camera*

Ending point: Vivo City

With that I shall end off here too.

Goodnight! (: