Le Grand Voyage de Pierre Corby

Messieurs Mesdame, je vous presente...(drum roll) Monsier Pierre Corby! There's only one word to describe this person, as he himself puts it so aptly- SUGOII! Everybody loves him! Whether it's his smile, his sincerity, his jokes or whatever, he's just great to have around. Adventurer that he is, Pierre has already been on the road for six months from Europe to Russia, Mongolia, China, and most of South East Asia, and for the next three heading towards South Asia, going across Sri-lanka, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to Yikes!- Iran, and Turkey before reaching home in Grenoble, France - nine months in all. Good news to all ladies - he's single, but seeing as to how much he is infected by wanderlust, it'll be interesting to see if anyone can keep him grounded.

Anyway, other than a little stroll around the Esplanade area,(lots of great free performances in May/June, check out the one below!) we basically brought him around on a little food tour- Rochor Bean Curd, Claypot Gong Bao frog legs with porridge at Geylang Lorong 9 and Fried Carrot Cake from what is probably the last mobile cart food hawker in Singapore.(location & identity kept secret coz it's illegal, i think- e-mail me) Think we fed him well enough for his journeys ahead - Godspeed Pierre!

Full Traditional Malay Orchestra performed by Siglap Secondary - Utterly Mesmerising!

Better than the French version, t'was not a bit left of our claypot frog legs

Nostalgic, ain't it?

International Museum Day 2006

It's International Musuem Day!(though its a good ten days of programmes 18-28) With free shuttle services, free/discounted admission on pre-determined dates and various special activites, it's an event that's too good to miss. So... over the weekend, yours truly thought of doing a little museum-hopping here in my own backyard, and well surprise surprise, it was really quite a delightful weekend. Read on... oh, and by the way, it's still on, so check out the website here.

First stop- Red Dot Design Museum. A haven for students of industrial design, it showcases lots of really neat inventions or rather improved designs of existing products. Not just from students, they feature stuff from some of the big names like Phillips & Tag Heuer just to name a few. Some are patent pending, some are award winning products already out in the market- Unisex urinals, jet propulsion life bouys, snazzy gadgets- all pretty amazing stuff, though not exactly my cup of tea. Oh well, i'm glad i'm only paying $2bucks to see it. (normally $5 for adults)

Some kind of chair which lights up with different colours

New-age layout

Next stop- Chinatown Heritage Centre. Had an amazing encounter here. Remember the Yip Cheong Fun photo Exhibition that i featured in an earlier blog? I met his son, Mr Andrew Yip, who's selling reproductions of his father's great work here for a while. A talent himself, he's written quite a number of poems to go along with his father's photogtraphs. I bought one, and i'm really glad about it! Back to the centre itself, what can i say, it's great! Really authentic stuff, portraying a really vivid image of what Singapore was like back in the 1900s, cramped quarters, food hawkers, opium dens, brothels and all. I think every grandparent would have lots of stories to recount after seeing all the stuff. There's even a really neat section that helps to retrace our ancestral hometown in China through our surnames. I think i'm from Hebei, if i did'nt remember wrongly. In any case, i think my $4 was pretty well spent for this visit.(usual $8.80)

Tai Tai having Dim Sum at traditional restaurant

Street Hawker: '来来 - "Fresh pomfrets 2 for $1!"

Cramped quarters at a Chinese shophouse

Day 2 morning- Singapore Philatelic Museum. I'm not a stamp person, so i shan't comment much on it. Should be fun for kids though, as there were quite a number of sections and guided tours catered for kids. Oh well, it's free, so no complaints.

Antique Postbox

Last stop- Asian Civilisations Museum @ Empress Place. Wicked! This one's really amazing- It was free on that day, but even if i had to pay the $5 normal admission fee, i'd say that it's well worth it. I've been to several World-class museums around Europe like the Louvre and the Hofburg palace, but i must say our our own ACM certainly holds itself well against them. Sure it's not as big or as grand, but everything is done beautifully- from the lighting of the displays to the decor of the different region-themed galleries. The whole place just emanates a mysterious but nevertheless impressive aura- loved it. One small complaint though- the Hydraulic lift. There's a sign pasted next to it that warns any user that it's a slow lift, taking about a minute to move between floors. Its not just slow, its REALLY SLOW. Take the stairs- you won't regret it.

Eerie-looking sculptures

Silhouette of an Indian Princess

A projection instead of real frescoes - Ingenious!

Meet Kate from Norwich City, UK

Typically, i believe, adventurous girls are usually wild and pretty talkative, while the demure quiet types are usually not so adventurous. Meet Kate, who's really adventurous,(21yr old English girl traveling by herself for half a year now through New Zealand, Australia and Indonesia, with another 2 months through Malaysia and Thailand) yet still sweet and demure at the same time. Though only spending a night here in Singapore, it was a pleasant experience for us to show her around the Esplanade\Merlion area, Clarke Quay and Boat Quay. Hope you had fun in Singapore Kate, and have a safe Journey home.

Boat Quay with the Fullerton Hotel in the background

If it's only one thing we've got, it's beautiful night scenery

Pulau Ubin - Our last rural Paradise

In my opinion, Pulau Ubin's the best place for cycling in Singapore- dirt tracks, beautiful scenery at the abandoned quarry lakes (well, all you non-locals may think it's not all that great, but that's all we've got), lots of trees, kampong style buildings and a resident wild pig called 'Jack'. Just a 15-minute bumboat away,($2 one-way) i'm amazed why i haven't visited the island for the past 5 years. Had a great time with my bud, my gal and her friends- gonna be back soon again, i hope. The next time will be to Chek Jawa, the wetlands area- gotta check the bookings.

Touristy pic i know, but i just have to take it

"The Return to Brokeback"

Freestyle Diving

'Huh? Where'd he go?'

Beautiful People

Happy People- Me, Veria & Terence

Chatting with the locals- Veria's new friend

'Hmm, who to save first, my girl or my bud?'

Of Mozzies and Mangroves

First time to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve,(7.30am to 7.00pm everyday, $1 admission fee) now i can say 'been there, done that' and strike it off my list. True-blue nature buffs must really love this place, what with all the birds and vegetation, but i guess it's not my cup of tea really. Don't get me wrong, i love nature, but i haven't got the patience to sit around waiting for birds to appear while swarms of killer mozzies feed on my blood, and to think we coated ourselves with a thick layer of 'OFF'! These must be the commando types, the totally-immune-to-insect- repellent kind that i used to encounter during my army days. Also, as far as fauna is concerned, it's mostly birds and retiles(saw a monitor lizard and a skink)- i hate reptiles. Couldn't find any furry mammal friends, maybe it'll be better with a guide around. But oh well, to be fair, it is a well-structured reserve, complete with boardwalks, well-marked walking trails, towers and viewpoints, and it does deliver an authentic experience- the smells, the sounds, and of course, the mozzies. Damn it- i hate mozzies...

Nature Beckons

'To the Aerie!"

Mudflat in all its Natural Glory

Monkeying around at the Mangrove Arboretum

View from a Bird Observation Hide

Abhijit from Calcutta

Hailing from Calcutta, India, my guest for 3 nights- Mr Abhijit Bhattacharjee. An extrememly knowledgeable man, we had a really good time chatting, from Food to Politics, travelling experiences to Travel tips, just about everything under the sun. I learnt a great deal about India from him, probably more in the few days than all the news i've heard(& cared to remember- the media always exagerate Indian-Pakistani tensions, but i'm told the locals are always on friendly terms with people from across the border) so far from TV. Moreover, he's more passionate about Singapore than many of us locals; he could even give me lots of local statistics that even i don't know. Anyway, among some of the places we brought him to was New Asia Bar for the view, East Coast Lagoon Hawker centre for the local fare, (hear this: like there's no chicken rice in Hainan, they don't have Rojak in India as well) and the Treetop Walk at MacRitchie reservoir for a nice stroll. (took the easy way out, parked at Venus drive) Check it out.

Famous Claypot salted Veges & duck soup, Satay Beehoon & Rojak

HSBC TreeTop Walk (9am-5pm, closed Mondays)

Pretty bunches of Wild Ixora along the trail