… continued from Part 1.

I quickly moved on from the Car Park Garden towards the section of the park known as Flora Fancy, where there are various display plots that showcase various garden designs, concepts, products and home gardening ideas. Among those on display were some playground setups, a scarecrow garden and an orchid garden. Interesting.

As I trudged along in the heat towards the Glasshouse Complex, I passed by the Tree Garden. Nothing too interesting to me, except for a unique looking piece of log. The Golden Garden looked quite cheery with its brilliant sea of yellow, but I only stopped for 1 quick “photo op“.

And here we are, the climax of my HortPark experience, the Glasshouse Complex. As the write-up describes, this complex consists of a collection of large and small glasshouses that are designed to simulate different growing conditions (temperature, humidity, etc) of different climates and geographical regions. Contained within the complex was a plethora of various species of flowers and shrubs. The interior of the glasshouses was not accessible to members of the public, so I could only take pictures from outside, through the glass. Since it was a bright and sunny day, reflections were aplenty. Hence if you spot a green shadow “lurking” among the flowers, it’s probably my reflection.

Not only was there a breathtaking variety of beautiful flowers in the glasshouses, there were also beautiful flowers in the outdoor compounds of the complex.

After almost half an hour, I finally managed to tear myself away from the beautiful flowers in the Glasshouse Complex, and started making my way back to the Visitor Center. Along the way I passed by some interesting topiary. There were 2 pairs of dragon topiary, a tiger topiary and a pair of Merlion topiary. I think there was a chicken topiary too, but I didn’t take a photo of that.

I also passed by the Herb & Spice Garden as well as the Bamboo Labyrinth. I stopped for a couple of quick shots.

On my way back to the Visitor Center, I also passed by the Silver Garden, which features a collection of silver, grey and white hued plants set against a backdrop of green dominated landscape. I appreciated the serenity this section of the park offered. Despite all the greyness, I still managed to find bits of color hiding in little corners, and I marveled at the genius of the Creator, and the creativity of the landscape designer.

Finally back at the Visitor Center, I stopped for a breather and a quick drink. Before long, I picked myself up and made my way out of HortPark and towards my next destination, the Forest Walk. The Forest Walk consists of an Elevated Walkway and an Earth Trail. Originally, I wanted to try the Elevated Walkway, but it was a little too elevated for my comfort. (Have I ever mentioned that I’m afraid of heights?) I only managed to cover probably 1% of the entire distance, before I quickly (and carefully) scampered down one of the exit stairways (complete with cold sweat and shaking legs, no doubt). The Earth Trail is quite rugged and seemed rather deserted since most of the visitors chose to take the Elevated Walkway, so I give up on taking the Forest Walk. However, I did venture back up on the Elevated Walkway via another entrance where the height of the walkway didn’t seem so intimidating. I spotted a pair of monkeys, probably mother and child, but they ran off before I could even whip out my camera phone. Ultimately, I had to end my Forest Walk midway as it was already getting late, and I didn’t want to risk getting stuck in the forest alone. I did take some pictures, just so that I can tell my friends “yup, been there, done that“. Maybe if I can find someone to accompany me in future, I’ll try to complete the Forest Walk.

There are still other attractions on the Southern Ridges, which HortPark, Alexandra Arch and Forest Walk are a part of. I definitely will find time to visit  the other attractions when I get a chance to. And you’ll definitely updated when I do. Meanwhile, for more photos of my little date with nature, as well as my other photos, please visit the Photos page on this blog.

Tags: life, musings, Personal

This comes a little late, but since it was the beginning of the new year, there was a pile of work sitting on my desk, waiting to be cleared. As this post comes with photos, I had to spend a little more time than usual to select and arrange the contents, so please forgive me. The entire post is a little long, so I’m going to break it up into parts. Here’s the first part, while I continue working on completing the rest.

I was given the afternoon from work on New Year’s Eve. Rather than join the crowd who have gathered for the various countdown activities in and around town, I decided visit HortPark, the up-and-coming gardening hub in Singapore, which happens to be just 3 bus-stops away from my office.

It was a bright and sunny day, perfect for taking a walk in the park and taking pictures. Although it threatened to rain a couple of times while I was in HortPark, eventually the weather turned out fine. Armed with my camera phone, some maps and a bottle of water, I happily hopped on the bus that brought me to the footsteps of Alexandra Arch, the uniquely architectured bridge that links the HortPark and the Forest Walk. My journey begins here.

I crossed the leaf-shaped structure and arrived at the entrance of HortPark and started my trail through Floral Walk. I was greeted by a variety of flowers, shrubs and trees. Some of them are quite commonly seen along the roadside, some are more rare. Apparently, not all of them were in bloom, which was quite unfortunate, but it was still a beautiful sight nonetheless.

After a short walk, I soon reached the Visitor Center of HortPark. It was obviously decorated for the festive season. I didn’t stay here for too long since I wanted to quickly visit the other attractions in the park. Just outside of the Visitor Center is the the Water Garden, a beautiful pond with an interesting collection of aquatic plants potted in specially designed geometric-shaped containers. Oh, and did I mention there was FISH in the pond? Cool!

Beyond the Water Garden was the Car Park Garden. Imagine parking your car in a garden filled with various beautiful flowers and trees. Thankfully the car park was pretty much empty, so I could easily snap snap snap with my trusty SE K800i, without causing too much inconvenience to the car park users.

to be continued…

Tags: life, musings, Personal

I took the day off from work yesterday to catch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and also to roam around Orchard Road and explore some of the new malls that sprang up over the past few months. It’s probably my last chance to rest and relax a little before things start getting crazy at work.

The day started early with a trip to the dentist. Not the best way to celebrate a belated birthday. Indeed. I ended up with 5 fillings and a total bill of S$360.55. Ouch!   At least the dentist was pretty. Luckily, the company is co-paying S$100, but I’ll still have to fork up the remaining amount myself.

I quickly made my way to the nearest cinema, ended up at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. Remember I mentioned in my last post that I could get movie tickets for just S$6.50 on Tuesdays? That was for another cinema. Over here, I can get movie tickets for just S$6.00 on weekdays when I pay with my UOB credit card. After redeem the rebate points I had on my card, the ticket only cost me S$4.83. Sweet!

As I patiently wait for the Harry Potter movie to begin, while seated comfortably in my row of seats (I had the row all to myself as there was no one else seated on my row), I watched a couple of movie trailers:

• 
  Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
  
• 
  The Final Destination
• 
  2012

2012 looks interesting. Apparently it’s produced by the same people who produced Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, so it’s probably worth watching.

I personnally quite enjoyed the Harry Potter movie, which I watched in digital format. But somehow I think I preferred Order of the Phoenix. Perhaps it’s because I’ve already read the final book, so by now I already can tie much of the loose ends together with regards to each character’s actions and motives. But still, I think it’s still worth a watch for all Harry Potter fans. I’m looking forward to the upcoming 2-part finale.

After the movie, I went sightseeing. More accurately, I went “mall-seeing”. First stop, Singapore’s first “Vertical Mall”, Orchard Central. Orchard Central is 12-storeys high, easily making it the “tallest” shopping mall along Orchard Road, in terms of the number of retail levels. The shops are grouped into clusters, which is a totally new concept to shopping in Singapore. I think I only made it up to the open-air veranda on level 7. There was just so much to see, and I had so little time. Not all the shops were opened either. So I’m quite sure I’ll be back again to see Orchard Central in its full splendor.

One special feature of Orchard Central is the abundance of escalators within and outside the mall, coolest of which had to be the one that took you from ground floor to level 4, and the corresponding one which went from level 4 to the afore-mentioned veranda on level 7. I checked out the latter, and it was quite a breath-taking experience, especially for someone with a fear of heights like me. Here’s a panoramic view of Orchard Road from L7, if you’ll excuse my lousy “stitching”. The sun was burning bright, and my knees were wobbling.

Next, I made my way to my next destination. ION Orchard. It was opening day yesterday, so the mall was bustling with visitors. As in the case of Orchard Central, the mall has not been completely leased out, and many of the shops weren’t open yet. It was a pretty intimidating experience to step into the main halls of ION, since almost all the occupants I spotted were of major international designer labels such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, Christian Dior, etc. Not quite my retail cup of tea, but it was a good place to window-shop and people-watch.

This one particular shop caught my eye. It sells various assortments of wooden-crafts, presumably from Germany. I couldn’t stop snapping pictures with my camera phone, until the pretty store assistant told me that photographing is not allowed. Oops!

An interesting feature of ION Orchard is the interactive shop directories. They’re operated by touching the screens, and you can search through shop listings by category, level, and name. There’s always a friendly member of staff around to assist you should you need any help.

Although much of ION Orchard is occupied by expensive brands, the basement portion of the mall were filled with more “approachable” brands. There are a handful of food outlets there too. One fine day, I’m gonna come back and check them out. Maybe I’ll try to come back for a visit at night, when the building literally lights up. Same goes for Orchard Central.

Finally, I left Orchard Road and ended up at Vivocity. Happened to pass by the National Geographic store and noticed that they finally updated the main display window. Cool!

Didn’t stay here for too long, since my main purpose in coming was to get a new pair of earphones from one of the gadget stores there. After a few quick rounds, I made my move to get dinner and headed home. Whew! What a busy day indeed!

Tags: life, movies, musings, Personal, shopping, videos, youtube

I mentioned in my last post that I was gonna spend my birthday catching up with sleep and reading. That was half true. I did catch up with sleep, as I usually do on Saturdays. But I ended up catching up on watching movies on the computer rather than reading. Did I ever mention that I’m a procrastinating lazy bum?

On my playlist for the day were Ice Age 1 & 2, and Madagascar 1 & 2. Of the 2 animated series, I prefer Ice Age. Madagascar was a little too over the top for me. I mean, wild African animals that have become full-fledged New Yorkers (no offense)? That’s just too wierd.

I’ve got one less person to get birthday presents now, so I decided to double-pamper myself. Although it was a day late, I did enjoy a sumptuous fusion Japanese meal with Mom at Ministry of Food. Mom had the Unagi (sea eel) Hot Stone Rice, I had the Salmon Bibimbap (hot stone rice + bean sprouts + raw egg), and we ordered an Ebi (prawn) Toji (some sort of egg stew) to share. We also ordered a Chawanmushi (steamed egg) each. Sounds delicious right? It sure was! So delicious in fact, that we started attacking the food, the moment it was set on our table. So no photos this time, sorry!

After the meal, Mom & I decided to do a little “exercise” to aid digestion. We went shopping!   Actually, I had some birthday privileges that had to be redeemed within a week of my birthday. So we decided to make good use of the special member + birthday discounts available.

As the title of this post suggests, this is just part 1. I’m taking the day off tomorrow to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and to run some general errands, and perhaps visit the dentist (though I wouldn’t classify that as part of “celebrations” proper). Why Tuesdays of all days? Ha ha.. another member privilege of course! I have a membership to a certain cinema group in Singapore which entitles me to $6.50 tickets on Tuesdays, before 5pm. That’s $3.50 cheaper than weekends! It’s also less crowded, especially since the kids are in school. Which means I won’t have to put up with screaming children. That’s always a plus.

So watch out for my movie review, as well as the sequel to my little “Belated Celebrations” series. Meanwhile, here’s a nice trailer to set the mood.

Tags: life, movies, musings, Personal, videos, youtube

This is the day where I add 1 to my age again. Whoa! Has it been 31 years of existence already?! Does time fly or what?

And what better way to usher in my 31st birthday than to perform CHKDSK on my laptop harddisk and 2 USB external harddisks, followed by defragmenting everything in sight. All that coupled with multiple restarts in between. Getting organized is always a good thing right?

The past year has been rather eventful. My “twin” brother finally got hitched and has now been happily married for almost 8 months. My best guy-friend also recently got married, although I wasn’t able to attend his wedding. And just when everyone thought I would be the next one to start ringing wedding bells, I broke up with my bf of more than 4 years.

Continuing the theme of “broken”, I sprained my left ankle badly to leave it swollen for the next 2 months. It’s very much healed now. Except that I just got stepped upon by a rather “burly” young man in a crowded train on the way home. And he *had* to step on my left ankle (yes, ANKLE.. not foot), of all places. Luckily, nothing broke.

On the work front, it’s been a busy year. Lots of meetings, discussions, deadline rushes, etc. My product leader has also been kind enough to trust me with heavier responsibilities and opportunities to get my hands dirty with new and exciting project design and development. We’re all currently studying lots of new technologies and stuff in preparation for future projects. That’s always fun!

No special celebrations in the works. I probably will be spending the rest of this glorious day catching up with sleep, and lots of work-related reading.

It’s 4:40am now, and this newly 31-year old needs to get some sleep. Bye y’all!

Tags: life, musings, Personal