Category: Photos

Travel Log: Doraemon Expo, Kuala Lumpur

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It’s been some time since I updated the blog, and I am getting a little rusty at blogging. It had actually took me a bit of time to find the means to post the photos I have uploaded as a slideshow. The worse of it all there seems to be no ’embed slideshow’ option in Google+ and it wouldn’t have been possible had I not found out from here how I can ‘sneak back’ into the old Picasa site to do so.

Well, Google… It maybe a great idea to buy Picasa and make that a feature in Google+ as ‘Photos’. But if you are going to throw away the good features on Picasaweb and still expect us to use Google+ Photos as often as Picasa – – – D R E A M     O N!

The following pictures were taken at the Doraemon Expo in Kuala Lumpur some time in February 2014.

Personally I didn’t really like Kuala Lumpur. The ‘neighbourhood’ where my hotel is at around Bukit Bintang looked like what Geylang used to be, lined with prostitutes in the wee-hours after midnight. In the day, the place seems to be way hotter than Singapore but that can be said for parts of Hong Kong too. If it wasn’t for the company I had, it would have been a really boring trip. Of course, the best takeaway from that trip is Dim Sum at Marco Polo Restaurant, and some of the local fare in the vicinity of my hotel. Perhaps if I will go back to Kuala Lumpur, it will only be to get myself stuffed with the good dim sum and some of the food there.

By the way, the Doraemon Expo has now moved nearer to Singapore. It’s just across the Causeway at Danga Bay and it will be on until 21-Sep-2014. So catch it while it’s still there.

Navy Open House 2013

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It’s been two weeks since the open house and I finally got my lazy ass to pen this blog post.

It was a sunny day at Changi Navy Base on May 18th, and I was happy the transit from Singapore Expo to the base was pretty uneventful. I am pretty surprised to see that many ships at the base, and for a brief moment I contemplated that fateful Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.

I can’t remember when was my last Navy Open House visit. I believe it was at least more than 2 decades ago since I only remembered going there with one of my secondary school classmates. Those were the days when the navy was still at Pulau Brani, and the Singapore Navy’s largest warships were “missile Gun Boats with radars that looked like water tanks” armed with Israeli Gabriel anti-ship missiles. Yep, it has been a looooong time…

The Republic of Singapore Navy [RSN] has come a long way since then. It now has capabilities that I couldn’t have possibly imagined when I was a teenager. These days we have submarines, huge transport docks that has circumnavigated the earth, and even sent our warships to the Gulf of Aden to participate is counter piracy operations. The RSN has gone from a coastal defense force to one that is now fully capable of operating alongside some of the world’s most advanced navies.

I am no military buff so I will not go into details about the navy ships. For those who are interested it is best to perhaps read some of the posts [1] [2] [3] [4] from one of the experts here. David Boey’s observations are much better than mine, and his insights are far better than anything I can imagine to write. After all, I can’t even be bothered to visit all the ships of the same class…

Meanwhile, enjoy some of the photos I have taken.

Travel Journal – Phuket, Again…

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It has become almost an annual pilgrimage since my first visit in 2009, with only a break in 2011. I had wanted to post this right after I came back in April but only these few days I had only found time to sort out the photos I have taken over the past few months. No thanks to Ingress, in particular.

I almost had to cancel this trip because for the better part of the week before my flight, I was down with flu. It was particular bad two days before, when I was shivering in cold in spite of the warm weather. It would have been really sad if I had to cancel the trip, because I love Phuket and I would miss it dearly if I can’t go.

This time round I stayed again at the Woraburi Resort. There wasn’t much changes and the staff are still as friendly. What has changed, is that some of the staff can now speak Mandarin, perhaps as a reaction of the tourism industry in Phuket due to the number of mainland Chinese tourists flooding all parts of the world. Two of them attempted to speak to me in Mandarin even though they heard me conversing in English with my companions. When I told some friends of this, their reaction was horror, and even revulsion for being mistaken as mainlander Chinese. I have to say that Singapore appears to be the only place in the region that rejects the new reality of a resurgent China, even though we had no problem adapting to the influx of Japanese and Korean tourists in the past. For a predominantly Chinese place to reject Chinese, it has got to be another first for Singapore! The eradication of Chinese education in Singapore has been so successful that many Singaporean Chinese have become OCBC – Orang Cina Bukan Cina. Well done, PAP!

Anyway, rants aside. I had once again visited Phuket during the Songkran. The reason being that is the only time where I can play with water with abandon and not worry about getting soaking wet. While I would admit I hated being sprayed in the face and eyes with high-powered water guns, that doesn’t really happen very often anyway. It helps a great deal to get the stress and frustrations out of me as well.

I will end here and let the pictures speak for themselves. Unfortunately I ain’t very good at photography so I might not have captured the essence of what I saw very well. But I do hope it manages to bring out the beauty of the place so others may visit the place to experience it for themselves.

Photos – Night at the Merlion

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Went to check out the renovated Starbucks at Raffles City after dinner and half guessed I would met DK there since this was his favorite joint. So it was no surprise I saw him at the counter waiting for his order. He mentioned that he is heading off to the Merlion to take some photos and asked me to come along because September 15th is the Merlion’s 40th birthday.

I felt bad that as a Singaporean I didn’t even realise the eight-meter tall sculpture was set up in 1972 even though I have seen it all my life. I recalled I even tried to draw it when I was a boy and failed dismally. This is the icon that has watched over our nation for almost as long as it has separated from Malaysia. Since I have nothing to do and I also happened to have my camera in the bag, I went along to take some photos of our national icon and popular tourist attraction. After all, I haven’t really tested the Nikon D5100 at night. Met Geng Hui there as well while DK is set up and waiting for the musical show at 9:15pm.

I am glad I went because it’s been a really long time since I see the Merlion up close, even though until September 2009 it was just a short distance away from the office. The organisers of this event had put up a dazzling seven-minute light show titled “Merlion and I: An Inspiring Journey”, complete with a nice song, dance and pyrotechnics. The shows are repeated at 45 minutes intervals and it starts at 7:15pm tonight. Even for those who are not into photo taking, they can still enjoy the show and if I am not wrong, tonight maybe the last night so go catch it before it’s gone.

Here are the selected “spoils” of the night. I didn’t bring the stand out so some of the shots end up blurry and was deleted. And before I go, here’s my belated greeting to the Merlion –

Happy 40th Birthday, Merlion!

Photos – Army Open House 2012

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The best description of my feelings for National Service [NS] would be: It’s complicated.

My platoon mates and my officers know for a fact I am the worst kind of soldier. In fact, it is clear that I ain’t fit to be one since I am often lost and confused when in green uniform. The only good news is that I haven’t gotten anyone of them hurt (or worse, killed) during my Operationally-Ready NS training. Truth be told, I rarely passed my IPPT [Individual Physical Proficiency Test] and I am a regular visitor of Maju Camp for Remedial Training [RT]. That is why I have also previously mentioned that I probably won’t survive for long as a soldier if a war breaks out, and at times I really hated National Service and even considered it a waste of time. That said, RT has kept me healthy and fit as I do not have the discipline to exercise on my own. These days, I am just getting fat.

Yet, if you were to tell me about abolishing NS or reducing the conscription period further, you will see me jump out and defend it. That is not hypocrisy. Because whether I liked NS or not, if I won’t defend my country – then who will?

I am glad I visited “Army Open House @ Our City 2012” held at the F1 Pit building near the Singapore Flyer this year. I must congratulate the Singapore Armed Forces [SAF], the Ministry of Defense [MINDEF] and in particular the organising committee for making this year’s Army Open House a success. This has got to be the best Army Open House I have been to. Even if there are those who won’t feel the same, it is still one of the best Army Open House ever. This is much needed at a time when the institution of National Service has suffered some blow to its public image.

I had to say our army has come a long way. While it is the fighting men, and not the equipment or weaponry that wins the war, I am impressed by the array of equipment and armaments that the SAF has procured over the years. In fact, while I am not very convinced that our armed forces can fight any conflict over a prolonged period in the past, I am now more assured that we are better equip to prosecute such a conflict if it was forced upon us. It is not the state of art Leopard 2 Main Battle Tans or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) that convinced me of that, but the mobile kitchens and field washing machines that did so.

It doesn’t matter how well verse you are in Sun Tzu or von Clausewitz or how good a military history student you imagine yourself to be when you cannot appreciate the significance of mobile kitchens and field washing machines. What you have learn is all in vain if you do not understand how much soldiers appreciate a change of fresh uniforms and hot food in the field. However insignificant these equipment may look and no matter how useless they are in actual combat, it makes up by boossting the morale of the troops. The army marches on its stomach and combat rations can only last you so long. Freshly cooked food would be as good as godsend. Powder baths may keep rashes at bay, but a fresh change in uniforms goes a long way in keep a soldier comfortable on the front line. It also meant that the SAF no longer need to maintain a long supply line back to Singapore, since it can now utilise food and water in enemy territory on the move. The prospect of the SAF staying for extended periods would give opposing military planners pause when they consider plans to wage war against Singapore.

Before I bore everyone with a lengthly, boring lecture… here are the pictures I have taken at the Open House on Saturday (May 26th, 2012). Enjoy the pictures and see how far the SAF has come from the days of our fathers in the army to the time of their sons.

Recommended Reads:
Xinyun: Event: Army Open House 2012 ( #AOH12 ) @ F1 Pit
DK: Army Open House 2012

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