Hello Everyone,
please pardon my absence from the blogging scene as I have been really held up with so many assignments and projects for my part time studies. I will try to blog as often as I can but I can’t promise that I would be able to blog daily.  Well, today I am going to introduce to you this place known as the Bottle Tree Park located at 81 Lorong Chencharu (Yishun).

As Baby and I have been thinking of visiting the local parks to see the latest eco-developments, and I wanted to do some Longkang Fishing, we decided to head down to Bottle Tree Park to take a look. When we arrived there, we were so amazed that such a place do exist in Singapore as the drive in to the park felt rather “Malaysia”.

When we reached, we saw the bottle trees (they were imported from Australia) and we were so amazed by its shape and size!

After taking a few photographs, we headed to the fishing area which were bustling with so many children and adults. Here, you can choose to do prawning, longkang fishing, or just fishing, and the rates are pretty standard across the board.

The Fishing Area

Patin Pond Rules and Regulations

$5 per Fishing Rod (Quite a reasonable price. However, should the line break, you got to pay another $5 for a replacement. When trying this out, please be extra careful if you are bringing children along as I know of one incident where a child went blind because the person who cast the line accidentally hooked the eye of the child)

This is how Aggressive Fishing in the Patin Pond Can Be, So Please Look Out for Children Behind/Beside You

The Prawning Pond is Not Bad A Place to do Prawning. Price is Similar to Their Competitors.

Being a child at heart and wanting to relieve my childhood memories (my mum brought me to Kids Kampong @ Pasir Ris Park to do longkang fishing before but it’s no longer around) of longkang fishing, I decided to go down to the pond and fish for some tetra fishes. It was an easy task for me as I more or less know the technique of catching the fish using the net provided. The cost of lonkang fishing is $10 (inclusive of the net which is to be returned after fishing, and a tank which you can keep and put the fishes that you have caught). The best part is, there’s no time limit.

The Longkang Fishing Area

That’s Me Trying to Spot for Fishes

A Kid Putting Her Catch into Her Tank

My First Catch of The Day

After Two Hours or so, This Were What I Caught

For more information about the operation timing for fishing and the exact prices, you may click here <–

After the longkang fishing, Baby and I took a walk around the park and found out that there are a few restaurants (Japanese/Chinese/Seafood/Bar) which we might consider trying someday. There is even a paintball arena (Red Dynasty Paintball) and a circuit for RC car racing.

For more information about the paintball arena, you may click here. <–

For more information about the RC car racing circuit, you may click here. <–

Swan Paddling

What Bottle Tree Park has to Offer

Seriously, there’s so much things to do at Bottle Tree Park and they even have venues/function rooms available for ROM/Meetings/Conferences. If you ask me, Bottle Tree Park is definitely worth a visit and its really suitable for families to get together (plus there’s activities for children to keep them occupied). In fact, Baby and I are definitely going back there again to try some prawning. To find out more about Bottle Tree Park and what you can do there, you may click here. <–

Hello Everyone,
thank you for all your valuable feedback regarding my blog in terms of design/articles/entertainment/layout and etc. I really appreciate your honest feedback and I will definitely be working hard to improve on the above-mentioned aspects. As I go about revamping the blog, I really hope you will be patient with me and give me some time to fine-tune the design and layout of the blog. I promise you that more and more contents will be made available to you soon.

If you’re using an iPad to view my blog, I am happy to inform you that the customised content is now made available so as to enhance your interactivity with my blog. Also, I will be launching a series of contests for my blog and do stay tuned for more updates. For now, I apologise if certain contents are not available and I thank you for your understanding and patience.

Hello Everyone,
this blog entry is dedicated to Steve Jobs, a man whom have brought about a change in the world through his brilliant inventions and innovation.

Well, early this morning, Baby sent me a message through Whatsapp and told me that Steve Jobs had passed away because of cancer. When I received the news, I was saddened and quickly browse the Yahoo! website for news about Steve Jobs.

Honestly, I don’t know Steve Jobs personally. But he did made a significant difference in my life through his invention of the Ipod Nano, Iphone and Ipad. Because of Steve Job’s vision and futuristic thinking, he has revolutionised the world of computing and technology. He is a very good example of a history-maker and a world-shaker. Despite his battle with cancer, his undying enthusiasm and commitment towards his passion in making the world a better place through his inventions is something that we should remember Steve Jobs for. Although he was the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs was never interested in getting rich for his personal gains; he was paid a salary of $1 as the CEO of Apple.

Just as Thomas Edison was the greatest inventor during Thomas Edison’s generation, Steve Jobs is probably the greatest inventor in our generation. His creative flair has led to many innovations and improvements made in mobile phones, mp3 players, tablets, and even laptops & desktops. If you have read up about Steve Job, you would have known that his success today was the result of overcoming many past failures and challenges. He was fired/sacked from Apple (although he was the founder of Apple) by the previous CEO before, and his childhood were by no means glorious. But yet despite his past, Steve Jobs has made Apple one of the biggest brand names in history.

The world has lost a brilliant inventor and innovator and without Steve Jobs around now, it feels as if a part of us is missing. We can’t say for sure how the future of Apple and its products will be, but whoever is going to lead Apple, I pray that he/she would have caught the anointing and impartation from Steve Jobs to make Apple an even better company coming out with products that will impact the world and improve how we interact with one another in our daily lives. (Just like how Elisha caught Elijah’s anointing)

Steve Jobs has indeed left a legacy and this legacy that he left behind will always be remembered for generations after generations. I hope that one day, I will get to meet him in person and thank him for his contributions to the world (in Heaven of course). He has been an inspiration to me and I will definitely remember him as someone who was ordinary but yet did many extraordinary things!

Hello Everyone,
this post is long overdue but I am still going to put it up anyway.

So yes, as you can read from the heading, this entry is going to be about my first experience to the F1 race that was recently held in Singapore. This F1 experience would not have been possible if not for my Uncle who proudly sponsored the tickets for us to the F1 race.

Seriously, I have never been a fan of F1 nor have I actually keep myself occupied with the progress of the race. And honestly, even after attending the F1 for the first time this year, I doubt I would really keep up with the race.

What Was it Like Being There?

Well, if you’re ever attending the F1 next year, DO NOT drive/take the bus/or take the taxi. The road blocks are a pain in the ass and it resulted in massive jams all over the city. The best form of transport would be the MRT. So when I met up with Baby at the Raffles City Shopping Centre’s Starbucks, we went to the nearest entrance and presented our entrance tickets. Outside, the loud zooming sound coming from the race cars were really deafening. I don’t really understand how some people could put up with the loud sound for such a long time but Baby and I decided to purchase the ear-plugs and protect our ears for $2 (I think they odd to have ear-plugs included in the ticket price/have some sort of goodie bag)!

The food and beverage inside really cost a lot, so you are recommended to have your own meals outside before going in. Also, its really crowded at certain areas, so do take care of your own belongings. Prior to entering the race track, there would be a security checkpoint where you have to get your ticket scanned and have your bag checked. If you purchased a ticket that permits you to sit at the Grandstand, you don’t necessarily have to sit at the seat that you have been allocated to on your ticket (this is because most of the time, people rather walk about then stay put at a certain place).

After a long day of walking and experiencing the F1 race, I concluded that I probably might not attend the F1 again because of the many inconveniences. If I really want to, I would probably just watch it on the television. However, whether or not ticket sales for next year’s F1 would go up (because its the last year for Singapore to host the F1), I really don’t know. To me, I feel that the novelty idea of Singapore hosting the F1 has somehow dwindled and only true blue fans of the F1 would continue to support the F1.

For me the exciting part of the F1 was only hearing the zooming sound of the F1 racing cars (which gets pretty annoying after awhile), and watching the racing cars crash into something. Other than that, seeing racing cars zooming away is probably boring for 30++ laps!

Here are some photos of the event taken with the Iphone:

It’s pretty amazing that the Iphone can capture this shot!

Hello Everyone,
today I am going to share with you a really nostalgic and beautiful side of Singapore that probably is one of the rarest place you would come to know about (those who have been to OBS would probably know this place)

So anyway, after a really long day yesterday due to school project, Church service and all, I was at the Punggol Marina/Park together with Baby and her mum. When I reached the place, it really brought a lot of fond memories to me (the first time I was there was when I was in Secondary 2, and the reason why I was there was because I had to take a ferry to Pulau Ubin for a team-building camp organised by the Southeast Community Development Council). The last time I went there, it was full of tall bushes and trees, you know, like a jungle actually. But now, the place has really changed a lot and there’s even a viewing/fishing deck, similar to the one at East Coast Park (known as the Bedok Jetty).

When I went there yesterday in the evening at around 7pm, it was low tide and you could see people streaming down to the beachfront building sandcastles and catching crabs/fishes. Nearby the area, you could see a Kelong (fishing farm) and the surrounding islands. The air there is fresh and its not as crowded as East Coast Park. But a word of caution here, as the street lamp posts are not in operation, certain areas of the park are pretty dark and deserted at night, so I STRONGLY DISCOURAGE you to travel there alone or even in a group, especially at night.

By the way, there is a Police Checkpoint there to which you can get help, if necessary. And also, to get there, there is only one bus in and that is Bus 84 from Punggol Bus Interchange (waiting time is really long, so be prepared). If not, you could either hail a cab or drive there if you have a vehicle. For those of you students wanting to learn more about how the Japanese conquered Singapore, you can head down to the World War 2 Punggol Beachfront Site which is about 5-8 minutes walk from the viewing/fishing deck. If you’re sensitive to paranormal activities, DON’T head there (I mean the WW2 Beachfront Site) at all, especially at night (like I said, its World War 2), so you get what I mean.

Seriously, other than being cautious, I’m really sure you would enjoy the scenery there and also feel the nostalgic scene of Singapore (those uncle and aunties/parents in your 30s/40s would understand what I mean when you go there). Its in fact a very nice place to bring your children to. So, if you have the time, do check out this beautiful place before it gets overly crowded (probably in another few years time). Here are some photographs taken by my baby (pictures taken at night using Iphone, so quality ain’t very good)!

Hello Everyone,
time really fly and we are now coming to the end of the month. Very soon, it will be the start of a new month with many exciting days to come ahead of us. As of today, we have welcomed 1413 viewers who had visited our blog ever since we started in July, and the month of September was just fabulous as we had a more than 100% increase in the number of visitors to our blog as compared to the month of August.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all for your continual support and we really hope to bring  more and more exciting and interesting content to you.

Some Exciting Piece of News:

1) The “September Starbucks Giftcard Giveaway Contest” organised by us is now officially closed. The two lucky winners for the contest are Ong Zhen Zhao and Jenny Soo! A Big Hearty Congratulations to the both of them! “You should be receiving your prizes via registered mail by next Thursday! Upon receiving your prizes, please take a photograph of yourself with the Starbucks Giftcard and submit it to us for uploading onto our blog. Thank you so much for your participation and we hope you will enjoy the goodness that Starbucks brings!”

2) For those of you who loves shopping on the internet, especially for watches/gifts/apparels/perfumes/accessories/bags and etc. from the United States, we are proud to announce that we are now providing a service for you to shop through us and have your purchase delivered personally by hand to you.

How this is going to work?

• First, let us know exactly what you are shopping for. Provide us with the direct link of what you want to purchase and we will quote you a price in order for us to ship it in to Singapore for you.
• Upon receiving the price quotation, you are to pay us directly via Paypal or Internet Banking for your purchase.
• Once we have placed the order for your purchase, an order confirmation will be sent to you via email or via mail (upon request).
• Your purchase will then be shipped to our warehouse in the United States and from there on, it will be shipped to our warehouse located in Singapore.
• Once your purchase arrives in Singapore, we will personally hand deliver it to you at no additional charges.

Hello Everyone,
I had the honour and privilege to attend the Gala Premiere of the movie, “Real Steel” that is set to be released on the 6th of October, after winning a pair of tickets from participating in a contest organised by Nuffnang.

Both my girlfriend and I were blown away by the movie and we both rate it a 5/5. The movie is really heartwarming and during the fighting scenes between the robots, you will definitely feel the excitement and adrenaline to want to stand up and cheer on the protagonists in the movie. (of course we didn’t stand up, but seriously, I reckon the little ones might)

This movie is suitable for everyone, young and old, families with children, people who love action-packed movies and etc. Seriously, I don’t want to spoil the surprise any further, so do remember to catch the movie when it’s released! I reckoned that the movie will be sold-out and might have a good chance to be the number 1 movie for the week. So, you might want to consider booking your tickets early to avoid any disappointment!

Here’s a short synopsis of the movie as extracted from Wikipedia:

Robots have replaced humans in boxing. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) loses a chance to become a boxing champion when robots take over, and he becomes a small-time promoter. When he has difficulty making a living, he reluctantly teams up with his son Max (Dakota Goyo) to build a robot that can contend for the championship.

The Movie Poster

Real Steel, Releasing On 6 Oct!

We had to deposit all our electronic devices (mp3s/phones/cameras/laptops) before we were able to watch the movie!

That’s Atom, the Nimble and Agile Robot in the Movie!

Yes, That’s Me Posing with Atom! (I think only The Cathay have this replica)

Hello Everyone,
yesterday, I participated in an outdoor game, “Rush Hour 2” which was organised by one of my friends from Church. I was very impressed with how the game was organised and readers to my blog might want to consider using this methodology which would in fact help save you manpower and costs.

About This Game (Rush Hour 2) and How It Was Played

Everyone of us were divided into groups of 4 and within a time span of 2 hours, we were to locate 6 checkpoints as a team and solve missing riddles that would direct us to a place where we had to take pictures as a group in order to receive our next clue. The final checkpoint would be where groups are to play a game which consists of two tasks and which would ultimately determine who the winning group is. The mode of transportation for this game is a single seater bicycle for every members in the group and at least one double-seater bicycle per group. Note that this game is a simple adaptation of a treasure hunt game played in a very different way.

Manpower Required to Organise this Game
2X Game Masters

• Organise the groups
• Conduct a site recce prior to the start of the game
• Conduct a briefing as how the game is to be played, the rules and regulations involved, and etc
• Monitor the progress of the groups
• Issue out clues and verifying the clues sent by groups

1X Safety Master

• Conduct a safety briefing to groups as to what are the things to look out for and whom to contact in case of any emergencies
• Check the weather and lightning forecast periodically
• Be stationed at key and essential points where accidents frequently occur/Roam around the area to ensure the safety of participants
• Carry out first-aid when the situation arises/need be
• Know where the nearest medical centre/clinic is should a casualty evacuation be needed

Logistics Required

1 X Smartphone with Camera  (must have Whatsapp installed) per group and for the Game Masters as well
1X First Aid Kit (sufficiently equipped for cuts, bruises, falls and etc.)
1X Bicycle per member in the group and for Safety Master + Game Master and 1X Double-Seater Bicycle per group for 2 hours (can be rented from the various Bicycle Rental Kiosks)
2X Balloons, 1X Styrofoam Cup with Holes Punctured, 1X 600ml empty bottle, 1X 1.5L Distilled/Plain Water (for the final showdown) per group
and
Prizes for all the participating groups

Prior to the Start of the Game
Game Masters are to plan out the routes which the various groups will take and the various clues/riddles that they want the groups to solve. In this blog entry, I would focus solely on the concept that my friend came out with, hence, the way to planning and playing this game can vary as to what you might want to come up with.

Rush Hour 2- Our Own Local Adaptation of the Famous Treasure Hunting Game

Mission: to locate 6 checkpoints within 2 hours as a group using single-seater and double-seaters bicycles as a mode of transportation within East Coast Park.

Note: clues to the next checkpoint are only sent out after the completion of the present checkpoint. A group photo must be taken at each checkpoint and sent to the Game Masters via Whatsapp as evidence that the group was physically there.

Our First Checkpoint: -a place where prince and princess lives happily ever after

                                                                   Our Second Checkpoint:- list the 9 terms and conditions regarding the usage of the Xtreme Skate Park in descending order

 

Our Third Checkpoint:- locate the 76527 panel at the Bedok Jetty




   Our Fourth Checkpoint:- locate the number “12” rock

   Our Fifth Checkpoint:- what is the price for unlimited wakeboarding and water-skiing at the 360 degrees lagoon






   Our Final Checkpoint:- locate me; I am tall and yellow in complexion, I am only useful at night and not in the day. I guide the ships safely to the docks.

   

Alright, after completing 5 checkpoints, we had to journey all the way back to the Bicycle Rental Kiosk and take a group photo as evidence. After which, we received the final clue to our last checkpoint for the entire game! As mentioned above, our clue was to locate a yellow lighthouse at ECP and well, it was pretty easy for us to know where it is. The only issue was that we had to journey all the way there on foot (the distance is approximately 1.2km and below). My apologies that I do not have the photos for this part of the game as they have not been uploaded yet. Nevertheless, when we reached our final checkpoint for the day, we had to complete two tasks:

 
1) Count the number of steps from the bottom of the lighthouse leading all the way to the top of the lighthouse. (40 steps is the answer)

 
2) Fill up a 600ml Empty Water Bottle with Sea Water using only 3 items given. (a styrofoam cup punctured with holes, and two balloons). Note that the bottle has to be stationed on top of the lighthouse at all times.

 
-Being the team leader, I divided my group into 2 so as to quicken the process of gathering the sea water and at the same time ensure that there isn’t any need to run up and down the lighthouse too many times. Within 2.5 trips, we managed to fill the 600ml bottle with sea water and emerged as Champions for the entire event! (the trick is to use the balloons given as balloons have a larger capacity than the punctured styrofoam cup)

Advantages of Using Technology to Organise An Outdoor Game

• Little manpower is required to organise this game as there are no need for Game Masters to be stationed at the various checkpoints
• Costs is efficiently managed as all correspondences between Game Masters and Group Members are via Whatsapp, unlike traditional treasure hunt games where clues are issued in hardcopy format.
• Minimal supervision required by the Game Masters as cheating in the game is greatly reduced

Disadvantage of Using Technology to Organise An Outdoor Game

• Using Whatsapp is a great way to manage correspondences between Game Masters and Group Members. However, there is a downside to this because when there are a flood of messages and pictures being sent between the Game Masters and the Group Members, it might cause  a lag time where clues/riddles are sent out really slowly. Hence, resulting in time loss for the Group Members. To overcome this, it would be good to have 1 Game Master to liaise with 1 Group directly.