Shopping in Singapore

I had my first Christmas break in 13 years this year, and headed down to Singapore with my mum. It was also my first time spending Christmas in Singapore. Most people raved about the lights, but sad to say, the only lights I saw were inside a shopping mall. Hah Hah! I was a substantial donor to the Singapore retail industry! So much so, I did not even have time to take the camera out from my bag! Reflecting back on my 5 days there, I feel kind of disgusted with myself!

So I did the next best thing - I took some pictures of my shopping spree.

At the end of our First Day

At the end of our Fourth Day

The next time I go to Singapore, I shall not drive anymore. It was just too great a temptation to buy without hesitation as for the first time ever on holiday, I did not have to worry about luggage space!

My car boot

My general shopping tally:-

6 pairs of shoes

13 bags (all sizes)

11 pieces of clothings (1 white, 1 red, and 9 black!!! Only realised it when I was packing to go home on the last day)

1 Chinese teapot and 2 teacups

6 Kopitiam cups (got an earful from my mum when she saw it Heh Heh)

All my shopping, minus the clothes....

Culture Shock...hee hee

Hoteliers tend to be more critical of other hotels when we travel, and at the same time, are always on the lookout for new ideas from other hotels. I went to Kathmandu with 2 other friends - one a hotelier, and the other a banker. Well, imagine our astonishment when we saw our room door lock and hotel safe.

This is the 'hotel safe' located at the reception. We were asked to place our valuables inside the envelope, and just sign across the sealed flap. After which, the envelope was locked inside the Manager's office. We really learnt the concept of 'Trust' quickly!

Our room door lock was just as hilarious. I had to hold back my laughter when we saw it for the first time as the poor hotel staff just climbed 3 flights of stairs with our luggage to show us to our rooms.

Guess we really have to travel to appreciate what we have back home. But overall, it was a nice hotel and the manager and staff were really friendly. In fact, the manager actually took time out to walk with us and showed us all the nearby sights in the city.

Our Hotel

Having a welcome drink with the Hotel manager at the courtyard

Disneyland, LA

This was at one of our earlier trips to USA ~ Disneyland. This was one of the few trips that quite a substantial of the Tan Clan were able to go. Of course, it was also during a time that most of us cousins were still 'single' and 'sponsored'! Hah! It was in Year 2001, I believe.




This picture taken with Mr. Walt Disney and his most famous cartoon character ~ Mickey Mouse.

Some memories of this Disneyland trip that I still have:-

1. Listening to the "It's A Small World' song over and over again in the ride. Became absolutely irritating after a while!

2. Queueing up for some mountain ride.....ok, so I forgot what was the ride. But it was a damn long queue.

3. Being amazed at the efficiency of all the queues - they were long, but moved quite fast.
4. Absolutely loving the Indiana Jones ride.
5. Thinking 'what an absolute waste of time' inside the Haunted House.

All in all, we had an enjoyable time although I was kind of expecting there would more rides available.

Hanoi

Spent 4 whole days in Hanoi browsing through the varied shops along the narrow streets, braving motorcycles and fellow tourists. However, did manage to 'squeeze' in one morning of sightseeing - went to the HCM Museum and Residence. Unfortunately, his mausoluem was closed as his body has been sent to Russia for its annual 'maintenance'.

The weather was just nice this time of the year, sunny (but not hot) in the daytime and cooling during the night. Its strategic location around the Hoan Kiem Lake was also an additional appeal, and it was immensely enjoyable having coffee and even breakfast next to the lake.

There were lots of shops selling homewares, lacquerware, bags and shoes galore, etc and we spent many hours just browsing from one shop to another. The locals were overall friendly, and it is very normal for them to offer you a chair/stool to sit whilst you slowly browse through their products and negotiate the prices with them. We were even offered tea in one stall!

Another highlight of the trip was the trishaw ride - which seems to be a 'must' in most tour groups' itinerary. So...when in Rome...(in this case Hanoi), we also joined in the experience. Although the price was rather steep by Hanoians standard, it was a most pleasant experience and left me with free hands and eyes to take lots of pictures of the streets.

Oh My God!!!! A Rainbow!!!!

That's how polluted our city air has become, so much so that seeing the rainbow over Lake Fewa in Pokhara, Nepal created such a stir of excitement in us. In our excitement over this little 'discovery' we did an overkill on the photo-taking, and ended up with about 30 shots of that same rainbow!

Lake Fewa was truly tranquil and peaceful. For city folks like us, it was a stark contrast to our noisy lifestyle. A really good place to just meditate or reflect!

Seafood Restaurant in Guangzhou, China

In China, everything is built on a grand scale.

We were invited to a seafood restaurant in Guangzhou and it was no different. It is a stand alone double storey building, with at least 20,000 square feet of space per floor. The ground floor is segregated into an open air dining on one side, and live seafood on another side. The upper floor comprises 90+ private dining rooms of various sizes.

And as the saying goes, the Chinese eat anything.....

Crocodiles

Geoduck Clam

Looks like a shark, but I'm not quite sure...

Lobsters

What the....?!

This is the 'something something Cao Dai Holy See' religion. Vietnam is the only place in the world that practices this religion. Can't remember the full name! It's a dying religion anyway, majority of its worshippers comprise the elderly, and I do mean OLD! They worship the great big eye, reminds me of the all seeing eye a-la Egypt. Or the one on the USD - same eye, I think.

The Eye

The only cool thing about this place is that it is so colourful.

The religion began as a way to unite the Vietnamese people during some war (hee hee, sorry lah, but this is a blog of my travels not history!) and basically, they worship all the gods and all the great people of most nations.

The Various Gods

The place of worship is one long hall, where the worshippers will walk in 2 columns - men on one side, women on one side. The senior worshippers are in coloured robes, whilst ordinary members are in plain white robes.

The worshippers

Looking for my shoes!

On The (Chinese) Road

Does this look like it's on some highway somewhere in America? Well, it's not! It's actually somewhere in China! It is along the Silk Road route, and it stretches for miles. Our tour bus stopped for us to take photos of the Red Mountain (or something like that, I think, can't remember) across the road, but this was a better photo shot instead. The only thing I remembered about this day was that it was damn bloody Hot. Can't even remember where we were enroute to.

The Vatican City

The first sight is truly an amazing sight. (Somewhat akin to when I walked through the main doors of the Forbidden City for the first time) It's one of those places that you just cannot explain in words the enormity and space of the place. Unfortunately, I'd not the time to re-read Da Vinci's Code before my trip, so was not able to check out the places that was mentioned in the book.

St. Peter's Square

We went to the Vatican Museum first and were counting our blessings when we'd decided to pay extra by booking the tickets through the internet. We got to enter at 8am, and the general public only at 10am, but the queue had already started when we arrive at 7:30am. And by the time we came out of the museum at about 11am, the line had snaked all the way around the Vatican Walls for as long as.......again, one of those things that just cannot be explained in words! I would say from Park Royal Hotel to Concorde Hotel, or maybe longer....! I'd never been so pleased with myself for pre-booking!

Touching the Vatican Walls :-)

It is no joke that St. Peter's Basilica is the biggest church in the world. The interior is HUGE! Unfortunately my camera's not so good in the dark, so couldn't really take many pictures inside. There must've been easily close to a thousand people inside (and it's not even peak month).

Inside St. Peter's Basilica (Bernini's four column in the background)

To get to the top of Michelangelo's Dome, we had to queue more than 30 minutes, and climbed a few hundred steps. Another personal achievement for me! Towards the top, the stairs became very narrow and steep and it was spiralling, so we had to bend our body sideways and climb with a slight stoop! But I have to say, the view from the top was really worth it ..... after fighting off the other hundred people who got there before us!

View from the top of Michelangelo's Dome

Trevi Fountain

Our 3 nights in Rome seem rather insufficient, and there were quite a lot of sights that were left out. One of the most magnificent sights had to be the Trevi Fountain. Despite its cliche popularity, the first sight of the white figures was really something. Of course, we had to fight through the crowd of people to get to the fountain, and then had to fight for space for a 'perfect' photo opportunity. But it was definitely well worth it!

Where Do I Begin....?

Hmm...which destination shall I begin with? They're all so varied, and all so interesting in their own rights. Might as well start with the most recent! And that would be.....ITALY!!! I have always wanted to visit Europe and see its sights, and it was indeed a dream come true. I chose Italy as our first European country (UK does not count, somehow!) as it was where the true great civilisation started - the Roman Empire. The entire country is steeped with history and tradition. We visited 4 cities - Rome, Florence, Venice and Milan. Each city was as different as they were the same. Besides the binding language and food, each city had its own culture, identity, architecture, and quirks.

I shall begin with Rome, the Eternal City. One of the first great civilisations.

 

Colosseum

It was everything I'd imagine, and more! To see the real thing - Colosseum, the Forums, the brick roads. I can just imagine the Roman Empire soldiers riding their horse-drawn carriages entering the city, or the foot soldiers running along the brick roads. And the marble! Oh, the marble. Italy really has marble in abundance. The walls of the forums are so high and everything was plainly made from marble - the walls, the steps, the floors.

The Roman Forums

Vittorio Emmanuelle Monument

A Journey of A Thousand Miles must begin with A Single Step ~ Lao Tzu

This blog is dedicated to all the places I have journeyed. As those who know me knows, travelling is in my blood (I believe!) and there is no greater joy than being able to see, taste and feel all the things that I have read about and watched on TV. As the saying so goes, nothing is better than the real thing!

The anticipation of an impending trip, the excitement during the planning stage, the exhilaration of finally touching foreign soil (even if it's only interstate), the sights, the food, the shopping, and finally ... the agony of packing an already bursting suitcase. (Yes, for those of you who were there, I believe the very vivid memory of me sitting on my suitcase at the San Francisco airport trying to zip it shut will come to mind!)

And last but not least, The Ultimate Joy knowing that everyone back home is working. Hah Hah Hah Hah!