When Benjamin from STB told me about the boat ride, I was like “huh what boat ride? what’s singapore clipper?” Asked uncle google, and he told me it’s one of the boats that’s currently in a race – of which they are called Clipper Race. Singapore Clipper is (partly?) sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board, thus we had the opportunity to step on board.
The boat that we went up to
One of the many equipments on boardClipper around the world =) (this is a self-shot by the way)Raising the sail
I actually video-ed the process of raising lowering the sail. đ
Hard at workWell-equipped kitchen
Photos tell more than a thousand words. Check out my FB album for the other (selected & cropped) photos! We sure had fun!
Received an invitation from 20twentypr to attend a sneak peek of the upcoming exhibition at Asian Civilisations Museum – Treasury of the World.
What exactly is this exhibition all about?
Image courtesy of Š The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait (LNS 959 J)Treasury of the World is a stunning collection of more than 400 exquisite, jewelled works of art â from household items to ornate necklaces and ceremonial swords – from the glorious era of Mughal-ruled India.
For over 300 years (1526-1858), the Mughals dominated the Indian subcontinent and were renowned for their lavish lifestyle, love of beauty and vast collection of precious objects. Indeed, so astounded was the 17th-century British ambassador Thomas Roe at Emperor Jahangir dressed in all his finery, that he once described the latter as âthe treasury of the worldâ.
There’s more to the introduction, but I’m not going to bore you with that much information. đ
I’ve not seen those treasure myself, the ACM staff must still be busy unpacking at this time. But from the photos that we were shown, I’m interested to see them with my eyes!
The image you see above, is a Small bottle set with rubies, emeralds and diamond crystals. The entire surface of this bottle is lavishly set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds in gold. Bottles of these size were used for cosmetics? From what we were told, the bottle is really small.. But the artwork should be fantastic! Given the size of the bottle (approx 4.6 x 4 x 1.7cm) but the amount of decoration it had. Tsk tsk! Super rich leh!!
Image courtesy of Š The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait (LNS 2219 J)
Another photo (treasure I mean) that caught my eye was this! It’s like a 2-headed tiger that meet and kissed each other. The exterior is gem-set with rubies and diamonds, whilst the interior is adorned with champlevĂŠ enamelled floral scrolls.
So nice hor? If only I have one to call my own đ
I’m definitely heading down to take a closer look at these items! Heard that part of the display are actually lost-and-found ones! Those that were lost during the Iraq war in 1995 (I think I got the year right!). So cool!
Oh yes, the exhibition will be from 12 Feb to 27 June 2010!
Giveaway time!
Alright! Who want to accompany me to the exhibition? I have 5 pairs of tickets to give away! Yes yes FIRST TIME IN HISTORY! A big thankyou to Asian Civilisations Museum & 20twentypr for making this possible!
All you have to do, is to leave a comment with your real name, telling me how this exhibition is interesting to you. I will randomly select 5 winners. Of course, if I think your reason is interesting enough, you get a higher chance of getting chosen (at my own discretion of course)!
Contest ends 6 Feb 2359hrs
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I had fun at the event, though we could only see photos of the items. I love the henna on my hand!
Singtel has recently launched a new Motorola Android phone – Motorola DEXTâ˘. Was invited to the launch party at Helipad!
Had a chance to play with it – for 5mins. Thought it’s very iPhone-wannabe. Very similar UI, it being a touchscreen phone.
And it’s very N97-wannabe too (with the sliding keypad)!
Then what’s so special about it? Since it doesn’t have a unique identity of its own.
Motorola has introduced their new MOTOBLUR⢠platform with Motorola DEXTâ˘. One platform that connects you to many social applications – Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc.
One platform? Yes ONE platform! You only need to login ONCE and you’ll be connected to the many social apps 24/7! Cool eh?
It can also be used to login to corporate emails or personal emails (like many other business phones).
The interesting thing is, you get notified IMMEDIATELY when there are new updates from the social platforms / emails! (As explained by the product manager)
With the MOTOBLURâ˘Â platform, if you change your phone to another that also supports MOTOBLURâ˘, simply login to your MOTOBLUR⢠account and the new phone will be customised to your previously-set preference (on the previous phone)! Doesn’t need to be the same phone, as long as the phone supports MOTOBLURâ˘!
Another cool thing is, if you lose your phone (TOUCH WOOD), simply login to the MOTOBLUR⢠platform. You can choose to wipe off your current data, shut down the phone, track the location of the phone etc. Now this is COOL! *parties*
This phone is exclusively available only to Singtel. It costs from as low as S$0 – S$248 (on any 3G iFlexi Plans) or S$0 – S$348 (Singtel’s free-incoming plans).
Oh! With the launch of the Motorola DEXTâ˘, Singtel is introducing this value-added service called mSocial. It comes with unlimited local mobile data using the MOTOBLUR⢠platform – includes photo uploads, updates received, status updates on social networking sites. Also comes with 100MB of local data for internet surfing and email access. And it’s not expensive! Priced at only S$5.35/mth (for those on the free-incoming plans. Comes free with iFlexi plans)! Excess data is capped at S$30/mth too!
Hop on down to Iluma today (Sat) for the official public launch of the phone! You stand to win a Motorola DEXT⢠phone!
Enough information on the phone! đ
Gotta say that the party was great! Food was nice, (alcoholic) drinks were nice, ambience was nice too!
I’ve also got to say, it’s nice to receive a thumbdrive with the necessary information – word documents & product images. Saves time to type everything out đ
Was so excited when I saw 24Seven’s tweet on visiting Singapore Discovery Centre!
Reason being
– my last visit was 10yrs ago
– can’t forget the helicopter I saw there (I’m a fan of almost everything guys like)
– taking train to Joo Koon seems interesting
– my plurk khakis are going! (Victor, Huishan, Qiquan)
Woke up freaking early (you know I don’t wake up anytime earlier than 10am), met the group at Joo Koon MRT at 10am.
Was really excited about visiting SDC. Anything about Singapore!
SDC holds different exhibitions every 3-4 months. This time, it’s about SG Tidbits 365. An exhibition that tells you the best kept “secrets” about Singapore. I like the name of the discovery hall – The Shiok, The Ulu and The Obiang. Just the name alone you can feel the Singapore-English here.
SDC tells you a little bit of the Singapore history, and how it foresees Singapore will be in the future. Nothing government. A place not to miss if you’re new to Singapore and would like to understand more about her.
I like this pic! Photo credit: Qiquan
Thanks to the arranged-guided tour for the bloggers, we get to try the SAR21 rifle, which we were told it’s the exact same one the guys use in army. Feels shiok to be holding a rifle! :p There’s a pistol (SIG SAUER P226) shootout next door too, which we didn’t try.
As part of the package, we get to watch 2 movies at iWerks! Have long heard that the ticket price at SDC is cheap! $7 for all days! 3D shows inclusive! Beats paying $15 (i think) at GV for a 3D show!
I wonder how many of us remembered looking forward to trips-to-Orchard during Xmas seasons, when we were young.
At least I did. I loved looking at the decorations, though I loved more about the going-out with the family & cousins.
As we got older, as we start getting busy with our own lives, such trips get forgotten. Viewing decorations can be a way to bond the family members. At least.. that’s how I view it.
I’d stopped walking down Orchard Road during Xmas, for the purpose of viewing / appreciating the decorations. As years go by, you’d realise they’re actually all the same. They aren’t as interesting as they had been when we were young.
So what’s so interesting about this year’s light-up?
Was invited by STB to attend the light-up ceremony on 7th Nov (yes this is a super overdued post!). So together with Huishan, Victor, Qiquan, DK, Claudia, Lester & GF, we attended the ceremony as Media!
Feels very good ahhaha!
Guest of Honour was His Excellency President S R Nathan.
With some performances by JazzKids from Kids Performing & clients from AWWA Teach Me..
Photo credit: ClaudiaPhoto Credit: ClaudiaChristmas tree made up of recycled ornaments
And off we go to the arranged-Hippo bus that brought us round Orchard – that’s themed A Christmas All Decked Out.
The whole stretch of Orchard was split into 3 zones.
Blue Zone - where the Snowman stays with winter christmasOrange Zone - Reindeer comes out to playRed Zone - how can Santa be missed out?
Other than Orchard, places like Marina Bay (themed A Glitzy Christmas by the Bay) and Singapore River (themed Christmas by the Singapore River) are also beautifully decorated. A pity the hippo bus tour didn’t include these locations due to APEC. And being the lazy busy me, I didn’t had the time to check them out.
Of course, how can Christmas be fun without Christmas Sales? I won’t be able to tell you where and what (too broke to go shopping!), but you can check out STB’s Celebrations-Packed Singapore site to find out more!
I have a new-found love for walking down the lighted-up streets – friendship bonding. The photo said it all.
Thanks Benjamin for the invite! I had a great time!
Had a chance to go up the flyer (2nd time in 2 weeks) for the Singtel F1 Night Race! Woohoo~ (The previous visit was a trip sponsored by STB, by 24seven too!) [If I can get those posts up…]
Saw this tweet by 24seven, Victor, Huishan & me decided to try our luck. I didn’t get the tickets, but both of them did! So I still get to tag along! đ
Go flyer.. cannot forget Pinkys right? hahhaah
Found a box to house them!
Met Qiquan, Victor & Huishan for dinner @ Central Waraku. Saw the flyer Level-1-access package (which we later understood that it means access to level 1 viewing area but not the level 2 & 3 ones).
The Singapore Flyer – F1 pass allows us unlmited rides. Didn’t know what that orange strip was meant for, but we put it on anyway. (Only when we left the place did we realise that.. that is the media pass! *facepalm*) The card also gave us unlimited rides on the water taxi that ferries us from Clarke Quay Jerry to Raffles Marina Jetty and vice versa.
Water taxi leh! Who will take a water taxi from Clarke Quay to Singapore Flyer? Vaguely remembered reading about it sometime back, when it was newly launched. But I can’t seem to find any information on the web. Only managed to find a link for the River Cruise, which is SGD15 for a 30min ride. Oh! Found the link! But the boat we took was the one for the River Cruise. Bigger!
Since the practise race starts only at 10pm (missed the 7pm one), we decided to go for a ride up the flyer first. Capsule’s not very crowded, so out come the Pinkys!
(I usually don’t edit my photos unless I’m printing them. So what you’re seeing are the original ones! Zhiwei commented that I compose well after seeing the Dairy Farm Nature Park photos.. I don’t think that applies to this batch of photos leh)
The above photo, I was trying to get a feel of Yoshiko (that’s the name of this pinky!) looking at the circuit. I think.. it’s almost there?
She’s my favourite pinky coz of the sweet look she has on the face. But.. I cannot neglect the rest right?
This round of flyer, I took out 3 pinkys. Out of the 9 that I brought along. (The other 9, unfortunately, did not get to see the scenic view in the end)
I thought this photo look nice, with the CBD area at the back. =)
That’s about it for the Pinkys shots.. We took a breather somewhere and took another round up the flyer, just in time for the race to start!
My 6-yr-old camera failed me at my attempt for the F1 shots up the flyer. Hahahah.. It has only 3x zoom! The shots were so bad I didn’t want to post them here. Some of them are up on my flickr set though!
Huishan has some nice shots (she said only 3 passed her mark), but she hasn’t uploaded yet. Got those 3 from her!
Now that is the difference between my trusty Canon Powershot A80 to her Nikon D300 =X I need a new camera with more zoom!
Oh! I took a short video while up on the flyer! Listen to the ZOOM ZOOM noise! woohoo~
Shiok hor? đ
Went over to the race track (level 1 viewing area) and attempted some shots. Mostly failed, quite blur! Either settings were wrong or forgot to use macro hahahaha
One of the few that made the mark..
It was a nice experience being so close to the track. Thanks again @24seven (@claudia) for the tickets! It’s a nice birthday gift! đ
Took the water taxi back to Clarke Quay (which took us 1 hour to reach!). Headed over to Liang Court McD and a bit of monopoly deal, which DK joined us the moment he knew we’re there LOL. Played Deal till almost 4am, after which DK sent all of us back. Thanks DK for the ride home!
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Post edit: Forgot to include the link to the flickr set =D
First heard of the Singapore Slingers when Daphne Maia plurked/blogged about it last year. Missed last yr’s season for some reason, didn’t want to miss it again this year.
I’m not going to do any quotes, but if you’re curious enough to know more about the Singapore Slingers, check out their site.
Was half-hr late coz I was caught up with work. The moment I was at the North entrance, waiting for Daphne to pass me my ticket, I kept hearing “Wei Jian” from the commentator. Didn’t know who he was, since the only player I knew was Darren Ng. LOL. I know nuts about the players at all!
Initially I felt lost at the match, partly coz I was late, partly coz I know nuts about the players. Took me a while to realise which team is which, and who the slingers are playing against.
Once I got my facts right (which team – by the colour of their jerseys – to cheer for), I’m hyped up. That’s already at the 2nd half of the game *facepalm*
Nevertheless..
It’s my first time watching a live basketball match! Kinda cool, especially when I realise one of the referees is a female. Rare case!
So here you are, the orange jerseys being the Slingers, the white being the CoCo team =)
And the female referee being TYN! woohoo~ yes she’s a fren of mine! hahaha!
Though I’m not a basketball fan, it’s a great experience being able to support our own team in matches like this. No matter how big or small. Â Big thanks to Geekonomics for the tickets and Daphne for coordinating!
Now I’m looking forward to the match on Wednesday!
Even if you were asking as a friend, you’re still talking to a (not so famous) blogger. To think that I was so supportive of your projects over the past 2 yrs..
I’m disappointed.
So if any one of you’s interested in attending the event, I can help pass to him. But I need details like “Your blog, Stats, hits, genre. and include 5 friends”.
Remember, they “have to screen” and you have to be “as famous as Pat”.
Thanks Benjamin for the invite! I had a great time!
