SengKang and Puggol Park Connector

Last year December, I showed some pictures of the SengKang and Punggol Park Connector along the Sungei Serangoon. This Saturday, I re-visited the place and took some pictures again. The same section had been completed but construction is still going on to beautify the place. It is still closed to public. I wish that this connector be open ASAP allowing Sengkang and Punggol residents have another nice track for jogging, strolling as well as cycling.

fire-cracker 鞭炮

i remember vaguely that when I were young, about 8 years old, I were still staying in those old attap house in a village. During Chinese New Year, we were still allowed to set off fire cracker. There were this one time when we were playing it. After the whole roll of cracker were set off, everything went quiet. After few minutes later, I were picking up one of those blind cracker (those that did not explored) and out of sudden, it explored in my hand. It was damn painful and I could fell the burning sensation, even now when I talked about it, I could still remember the pain. Anyway, fire cracker was banned in Singapore in early 1970 due to fire hazard particular attap houses.

Staying in China the last 2 years, I get to see or hear fire cracker very frequently after more than 30 years. The Chinese set off fire cracker whenever there are happy events occurred, such as marry, give birth, opening ceremony and many more. During the Chinese New Year in China, you get to see so many particular the eve as well as the 15th day. The best part is it is inexpensive. A roll such as this cost about 40rmb.

Keith posing with the roll of 5m long fire cracker.

where i stayed

I was browsing google map recently, noticed that it had updated it China satellite map. I started to locate the house that I stayed for 2 years. WoW! I manage to locate it (marked with a RED dot). Let me recap back the life staying in this house. Double stories with a garage to keep my 4 bicycle and a electric scooter. Wondering when would I be able to stay in such house in Singapore. Even can afford, the surrounding will be different. In China, the surrounding nearby has a lake and lot of green and open land. Maybe, I buy a house in China!

one year!

I was checking out some pictures that i took during china. noticed that time past fast. it has been one year after returning from china. woh! just can't believe it. I felt that it was like just yesterday.

some pictures to recap thing that were different from Singapore.

My first time riding mountain bike. This bike was a loan bike from the shop. We went to climb a mountain in Suzhou. It was May 2008. That time weather was rather hot. After this first time, i started to ride more mountain bike. Few weeks later, I bought my own bike.

holiday

keith's mid-year school holiday started on the 31st May and last for 4 weeks. we been thinking and looking for a place for vacation. finally decided for a short trip to Malaysia Desaru for a 2D1N full board fruit farm tour.

we were to head to Desaru by Ferry and back by Ferry. the ferry journey 35mins from Changi Ferry Terminal. The only issue is the ferry left at 7:15am in the morning. Thus, by 6:30, we are to reach the ferry terminal. Anyway, we made it and enjoy our trip to desaru.

In summary, it was a very good trip with good food. We got to have unlimited durian for dinner, unlimited fruits during most of the meal. One of the lunch include lobsters (though it is a little small). I put on weight after the trip. Damn!!!

Other high light of the tour include the fruit farm, Ostrich farm firefly. Enough of saying but pictures for your viewing.

Mediacorp Veteran Artiste Huang Wenyong was leading the tour.
Dragon fruit (龙株果)
Durian, my family favarite
Ostrich Farm
Feeding ostrich with corn.
Free flow of tropical fruit
Fresh Jack Fruit (好大的波罗蜜)
Durian
Aftermath. We had dinner and at least 10 durians. Look at the mess...
Butter crab
Lobsters
Resort
Resort
Beach

The Helix @ Marina Bay

The helix bridge located at Marina Bay was open to public on the 24th April. This is one of the key feature at the Marina Bay so I thought why not join the crowd and visit the bridge on the day of opening.

We reached The Helix at about 9:20pm so we missed the firework but it was still crowded at that time. With the crowd, it was not easy to take pictures, also the bridge is a little shaky when people moved and that made it worst for night shooting.

The Singapore Flyer and The Helix.

Wifey with the stilt walker.

Keith and me on the bridge. The background building is the Marina Bay Sand Casino phase 1 opened today (27th Apr)

The GREEN Helix
The PURPLE Helix
The ORANGE Helix
A close up picture of the Singapore Flyer in the night.

Do You know?

I cannot be sure if these are facts but just sharing something here...

Amazing natural picture

a friend emailed these pictures to me. there were very interesting pictures but I cannot for certain if the following text mentioned are true. anyway, here there are for your viewing.

This is a picture of a rock formation near a lake in Burma. The photo can only be taken on a specific day once a year when the sun rays touch the rocks at a certain angle.

Tilt your head to the left and then look at it again ….


Did you notice anything different? Yes or no?

Now we will turn the whole scene vertical

Lion Dance during Chinese New Year in Singapore

It is a very common sight to see lion dance in Singapore during the Chinese New Year period.

We were out having lunch at AMK Ave 4 hawker centre (for those who do not know what is hawker centre, it is basically food centre or a place where many cook food stalls are located with free sitting). While having lunch, we heard drum beat and gong approaching us. We saw then a group of lion dancers approaching and finally stop next to us. They are invited by one of the stall to perform lion dance for good wishes for the new lunar year.

Pictures for those not familiar with Singapore culture.


a plate of oranges for the lion to peel and give 4D for the stall owner
the drummer.
the lion working hard to do magic.

finally, the phrase FA CAI (发财) with a set of 4D for the owner.

those who saw this post, quickly buy...

Cycling with Family during CNY 2nd day

We had visited parents, relatives on the first day of Chinese new year, so 2nd day, we went East Coast Park for cycling as well.

This time we started from the most western part of ECP (near Fork Road) and headed east toward Hawker Centre. Just a mere 12km in total. Less than half the distance we did 2 weeks ago. It is also very crowded because we pass by the ECP Mcdonald section.

This distance is very short but we enjoyed it.

2010 HOROSCOPE

ARIES - The Aggressive Outgoing. Lovable. Spontaneous. Not one to mess with. Funny.. Excellent kisser EXTREMELY adorable. Loves relationships, and family is very important to an aries..  Aries are known for being generous and giving. Addictive. Loud. Always has the need to be 'Right'. Aries will argue to prove their point for hours and hours.  Aries are some of the most wonderful people in the world..   TAURUS - The! Tramp Aggressive. Loves being in long relationships.  Likes to give a good fight.  Fight for what they want. Can be annoying at times, but for the love of attention.  Extremely outgoing. Loves to help pe! ople in times of need. Good kisser. Good personality. Stubborn. A caring person. They can be self centered and if they want something they will do anything to get it. They love to sleep and can be lazy.  One of a kind. Not one to mess with. Are the most attractive people on earth! GEMINI - The Twin Nice. Love is one of a kind. Great listeners.. Very Good at confusing people... Lover not a fighter, but will still knock you out. Geminis will not take any crap from anyone. Geminis like to tell people what they should do and get offended easily.  They are great at losing things and are forgetful.  Geminis can be very sarcasti! c and childish at times and are very nosey.  Trustworthy. Always happy. VERY Loud. Talkative. Outgoing. VERY FORGIVING. Loves to make out. Has a beautiful smile. Generous. Strong. THE MOST IRRESISTIBLE.   CANCER - The Beauty MOST AMAZING KISSER. Very high appeal. A Cancer's Love is one of a kind... Very romantic.. Most caring person you will ever meet in your life.  Entirely creative Person, most are artists and insane, respectfully speaking. They perfected sex and do it often.  Extremely random. An Ultimate Freak. Extremely funny and is usually the life of the party.  Most Cancers will take you under their wing and into their hearts where you will remain forever.  Cancers make love with a passion beyond compare. Spontaneous.  Not a Fighter, But will kick your ass good if it comes down to it. Someone you should hold on to! LEO - The Lion Great talker. Attractive and passionate. Laid back. Usually happy but when unhappy tend to be grouchy and childish. A Leo's problem becomes everyone's problem.  Most Leos are very predictable and tend to be monotonous. Knows how to have fun.. Is really good at almost anything. Great kisser. Very predict! able. Outgoing.  Down to earth. Addictive. Attractive. Loud. Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Not one to mess with. Rare to find. Good when found. VIRGO - The One that Waits Dominant in relationships. Someone loves them right now. Always wants the last word. Caring. Smart. Loud. Loyal. Easy to talk to. Everything you ever wanted. Easy to please. A pushover.  Loves to gamble and take chances. Needs to have the last say in everything..  They think they know everything and usually do.  Respectfu! l to others but you will quickly lose their respect if you do somethin g untrustworthy towards them and never regain respect.  They do not forgive and never forget. The one and only. LIBRA - The Lame One Nice to everyone they meet. Their love is one of a kind. Silly, funny and sweet. Have own unique appeal. Most caring person you will ever meet! However, not the kind of person you want to mess with...you might end up crying. Libras can cause as much havoc as they can prevent.  Faithful friends to the end.  Can hold a grudge for years. Libras are someone you want on your side.  Usually great at sports and are extreme sports fanatics. Very creative.  A hopeless romantic.   SCORPIO - The AddictEXTREMELY adorable.  Loves to joke. Very Good sense of humor. Will try almost anything once.  Loves to be pampered.  Energetic. Predictable. GREAT kisser. Always get what they want..  Attractive.  Loves being in long relationships. Talkative. Loves to party but at times to the extreme.  Loves the smell and feel of money and is good at making it but just as good at spending it!  Very protective over loved ones. HARD workers. Can be a good fri! end but if is disrespected by a friend, the friendship will end. Romantic. Caring.. SAGITTARIUS - The Promiscuous One Spontaneous. High appeal. Rare to find. Great when found.. Loves being in long relationships. So much love to give.. A loner most of the time.  Loses patience easily and will not take crap.  If in a bad mood stay FAR away.  Gets offended easily and remembers the ! offense forever.  Loves deeply but at times will not show it, fee ls it is a sign of weakness.  Has many fears but will not show it.  VERY private person.  Defends loved ones with all their abilities. Can be childish often. Not one to mess with. Very pretty. Very romantic.. Nice to everyone they meet. Their Love is one of a kind. Silly, fun and sweet. Have own unique appeal. Most caring person you will ever meet! Amazing in bed..!!! Not the kind of person you want to mess with- you might end up cryi! ng. CAPRICORN - The Passionate Lover Love to bust. Nice. Sassy. Intelligent. Sexy. Grouchy at times and annoying to some.  Lazy and love to take it easy. But when they find a job or something they like to do they put their all into it.  Proud, understanding and sweet. Irresistible. Loves being in long relationships. Great talker. Always gets what he or she wants. Cool. Loves to win against other signs especia! lly Gemini's in sports.  Likes to cook but would rather go out to eat at good restaurants. Extremely fun. Loves to joke. Smart. AQUARIUS - Does It In The Water Trustworthy. Attractive. Great kisser. One of a kind, loves being in long-term relationships. Tries hard.  Will take on any project.  Proud of themselves in whatever they do.  Messy and unorganized. Procrastinators.  Great lovers, when they're not sleeping.  Extreme thinkers. Loves their pets usuall! y more than their family.  Can be VERY irritating to others when they try to explain or tell a story.  Unpredictable. Will exceed your expectations. Not a Fighter but will Knock your lights out.. PISCES - The Partner for Life Caring and kind. Smart. Likes to be the ! center of attention. Very organized.  High appeal to opposite sex .  Likes to have the last word. Good to find, but hard to keep. Passionate, wonderful lovers..  Fun to be around. Too trusting at times and gets hurt easily..  VERY caring. They always try to do the right thing and sometimes gets the short end of the stick.  They sometimes get used by others and get hurt because of their trusting.   Extremely weird but in a good way. Good sense of humor!!! Thoughtful. Loves to joke. Very popular. Silly, fun and sweet. Good friend to other but needs to be choosy on who they allow their friends to be.

 

cycling from ECP to Changi

Today, I went cycling with 2 other friends (Seng and Wee). Suppose to be 3 but this other one was having fewer so did not join us. We met at East Coast Park Mcdonald at 8am so I had to leave my place at 7:15am to ride there.

I rode 14km to reach the meeting point. After met up with the other 2, we went to the bike rental kiosk. It was closed. We checked the other and was closed too. Find a nearby bench along the beach and waited. While waiting, we were thinking to go to Pulau Ubin but Seng did not like the idea.

After an hour wait, finally the kiosk open. Seng and Wee got there bike and we headed toward Changi Point. It will be about 20km each way but I believe we all can do it. We were rather slow, doing at a speed of 15km/h and we had rest rather frequently. Reach Changi point at about 10:45am. We get ourselves charge up with food and drink. Actually, I was every hungry. Had only 2 slides of bread before 7am and after a total of 35km ride, how can I be not hungry. haha.

by 11:30am, we were done with our lunch and were fully charged up. This time, we were doing pretty ok, at 20km/h consistently for 10km. All due to the food that we had. By 1pm, we reached back the kiosk and they returned the rental bike. Both of them were complaining butt pain... haha... this is normal if you were not a season cyclist and not wearing those padded short. I had my fair share of butt pain when I first rode with the Suzhou riders.

Overall, a good leisure ride and more to come.

Pictures for your viewing pleasure.
East Coast Park is a very nice place. The path cater for roller blading, cycling and jogging. Only problem is that temperature is always HOT.
A cable skiing training centre nearby the ECP Hawker Centre. It was out of bound long time ago now it is opened to public for viewing.
Toward the east of Hawker Centre just before the Bedok Jetty, there is a newly opened (probably 1 year) extreme sport park cater for BMX, skateboard as well as roller bladder. This is built for those hardcore. It was about 9:45am, thus, it look rather empty.
A nice path with shade for cyclist, jogger, roller blade or just leisure walking.
On the left is Wee and right is me. For those who have not see me for the last 6 months, you will notice that I put on weight. A solid 4kg. Singapore food is too nice that I keep eating it. Excuse...
Seng on the left.
2 tones after a hard day in the Sun.