Hot n Spicy at the Esplanade

At the spur of the moment, I decided to have a walk at the Esplanade after dinner. First off, we checked out Max Brenner, the chocolate bar opposite the esplanade shop. It's Veria's first time here, so i recommended the 'Suckao'(sort of like a fun DIY chocolate drink with chocolate tablets, milk and a spiffy container for heating up the concoction) to Veria. Me? I remembered that i read somewhere that before it was introduced to the masses, Chocolate was a drink mixed with spices and served only to Spanish royalty. So, feeling all adventurous and also wanting to indulge myself in the thought of being King for a day, i decided to try the 'Mexican spices and chilli hot chocolate', which was served in a 'Hug Mug'. Bleh- i paid for my vanity. Too hot, too spicy. We did find out though that chocolate does taste better with just a little tinge of spicyness. So...mixing the 'Suckao' and my spicy drink, we made a pretty great drink actually, not to mention a lot of fun. Hmmm.... in time, i shall make my own Nectar of the gods...

Anti-depressant, Aphrodisiac, Fights heart diseases - all good!

Next, there was a free performance by the Chicas – Blanco ey Negro at the outdoor theatre. Hot! I've always been enthralled by Latino beats, and these chicas were really sizzling. There were a few couples(both local and ang mo) dancing salsa beside the stage as well- seems like Singapore is on its way to becoming pretty happening. Not quite there yet, but it's a start! Brings back memories of my time at salsa bars in Lyon dancing away with Cristina, Turki, Carlos, Mila & Azumi. Hummm...

Chicas - Blanco ey Negro (performing again at the Union club, Amara Hotel)

Of Milk and Marble

"With the milk stones, the milk is what it is. It is not white paint. I could not create the milk... and that is what is beautiful and what is important...

Milk on stone it is so still so incredibly still. It seems like it can last forever... and it lasts only a few hours" - Wolfgang Laib

We've gotten slightly more high class and snobbish these days, going after higher pursuits like contemporary art and... and... (what other kinds of art are there? Is anime an art?) Oh well, truth is, we just paid a visit to the Wolfgang Laib Transit-Transition exhibition at the Laselle-SIA college of the arts(Earl Lu Gallery, open daily from 10am to 6pm till 7th of May 2006) coz it's 1) free 2) near my house & 3) we've got nothing else better to do. It really is quite cool, deep... but cool. Nevertheless, we had to add a little more fun to it.

Beeswax & Wood - Deep Stuff

Veria & her Ricemeals - quite a lot, but trust me, not enough

Happier with more rice meals!

The famed Milkstone

Kitty lapping up all that milk

Rice Houses - another profound exhibit

Let's go to the Zoo!

Must have been ages since i last visited any zoo, and this trip really made me relive my childhood days when i would visit the zoo everytime there was a new attraction. I must say, Singapore really doesn't have that many spectacular tourist spots, but our zoo is indeed among the best in the world. True enough, a large part of the original exhibit has been moved to the night safari, but it's still big enough to make me spend a good 4 hours just to check out all the animals and see one show at the amphitheatre and one of the feeding times, and we did'nt even stop for any meal. Check out the beasties!

Orang Utans, Probably Singaporeans' favourite zoo animals

My girlfriend spent 10minutes taking this pic of the Cotton topped Tamarin- got to put it up

so high-class we don't have regular tigers in the zoo, only white ones

By the way, check this interesting fact out. All white tigers are descendants of this one white tiger by the name of Mohan; in fact, they can only be bred in captivity through in-breeding, so their story is a pretty sad one. All of a sudden, i'm not all that proud of our zoo anymore. Check out the article 'white tiger fraud' in http://www.bigcatrescue.org/white_tigers.htm. Oh well, enough of the depressing stuff, another interesting fact. Did you know that a good many species of animals live in harems? Imagine one male with 7-8 females... it must be a very successful survival model if so many species practice that.... if only i can convince my girlfriend. Anyway, animals aside, i think the overall layout and design of our zoo is really nicely-done too. Check out the animal road signs and tropical rainforest-themed toilets.

No excuse for not being able to read English

Doesn't that make you want to spend more time peeing?

My First Lithuanian Friends

Had a chance to host my first Friends from Lithuania from the 6th to the 8th - Avydas and Jolita - a really great couple that i got to know through the Couch Surfing Project. It's really fun - had a chance to show them around Singapore, many of the places which are not the usual tourist spots. They were happy, i believe, and my family and i had a great time as well. Moreover, through the many conversations that we shared, Arvy got me pretty keen on going to Lithuania... hmmm... going to have to do some research soon. Anyway, check out some of the pics i took while showing them around.

Sultan Mosque by Night

Cool Antique shop

Kampong Glam is absolutely my current favourite place in Singapore. Nice Arabic cafes (love Cafe Samar), great atmosphere, what i think is the most beautiful mosque in Singapore and a really cool little shop at Bussorah street selling antiques and little trinkets from my childhood days. I'll be writing more about this district in my later postings. Keep a lookout!

An Ingenious Reverie: The photography of Yip Cheong Fun

Brought them to see a free photo exhibition at the Nationary Library. It's got lots of pretty photos depicting scenes of Singapore's past, taken by the late Yip Cheong Fun, a Cultural Medallion awardee and probably our most highly acclaimed photographer. The introduction in the library website describes this as "largest retrospective photographic exhibition by a single photographer ever staged in Singapore". Anyway, it's at the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library level 10 and it'll be on till the 15th may, everyday from 10am to 9pm.

View of The Oasis from Cosy Bay

Drove them to the condominiums near Cosy bay coz Jolita commented on how nice oasis looked when we were driving across Nicoll Highway, and yes, i was pleasantly surprised by the view myself too. I think they changed the colours of the lights at the Oasis, used to be more 'biang', i remember. It's a pity though that the spotlights that light up the top of the bridge linking the indoor stadium to cosy bay were not turned on - would have made the whole place more spectacular.

A Great Morning at Bollywood Veges!

A Ribena plant?

We had a really really great morning at Bollywood veges! (100 Neo Tiew Road) Not that i've been to many farms in Singapore, but i think this has got to be the coolest! Lots of different local plants clearly labelled and beautifully organised around the entire compound. Flowers, fruit trees, ponds - the whole works! It's really fun to explore the different sections of the farm, and I must say that a visit to Bollywood veges is a perfect day trip for city dwellers like us; even my new found Lithuanuan friends, who are already so acquainted with farms, seem to be absolutely fascinated by the range of tropical fruits and plants they have, especially the lemon grass, which they so wanted to grow back home in Lithuania to make more fragrant curry, their new-found favourite food. Special mention goes to Mrs Ivy Singh, owner of the farm, who so graciously gave Arvy some lemon grass plants and taught him how to grow them- really nice of her. Oh... and one last thing, i've got to say that Poison Ivy Bistro, the cafe at the farm, serves many delicious (and i presume healthy) and reasonably-priced dishes made with ingredients grown from the farm too.

Jolita & Veria at the Poison Ivy Bistro

Arvydas & Me

It's been Great Hosting you guys- Hope to see you again this summer in Lithuania!

Singapore Chic !!!

Oh Singapura Singapura!!! Feeling kind of patriotic right now. Taking the whole of 2006 off to do travelling,(Check out my travel blog) and so far, while meeting people from other countries, i'm always surprised at myself on not being able to tell my newfound friends about what's fun to see and do in Singapore. Is it really that boring? Nope, I don't think so, and i'm all out to explore and share my experiences with the rest of my fellow Singaporeans and also to the rest of the world. So... now that i've got time on my hands, i think it's time i did a blog on my own little sunny island, all the fun things to do and see, chic places to visit, nice food to eat etc. etc. COME SEE FOR YOURSELF LAH!