Crime in Sing City?

(The following post may contain disturbing images. Parental guidance is advised.)

I thought I was witness to a crime scene.

'Gruesome' sums up my whole experience.

There were four 'corpses' in the art installation. A common theme that runs through is death by impalement. By not one instrument, but multiple ones. Murder weapons range from brooms, toilet bowl brushes to saws and screwdrivers.

Louie Cordero drew his inspiration for this art installation 'My We' from the recent spate of murders of people single Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' in Filipino karaoke bars.

I certainly hope there are no copycats in real life.

Take a step in Simon Fujiwara's mind, as you wander through 'Welcome to the Hotel Munber'. He spins a tale of oppression and release, with inspiration drawn from his personal experiences living in his parent's bar and hotel in Spain in the 70s.

There are 2 other art installations at the Singapore Art Museum, as part of the Singapore Biennale 2011. These include Julian Gothe's 'Events during Flood' and Ryan Trecartin's video works.

Stay tuned while we bring you other highlights from Singapore Biennale 2011 in future blog entries.

Celebrating Singapore's 100 years of aviation

16 March 2011 was a landmark date for Singapore's aviation history.

It marked exactly 100 years of aviation. To commemorate this event, the Singapore Aviation Centennial Celebrations was launched last night with a gala dinner.

Indeed, Singapore has come a long way. Visit Singapore and see the iconic air traffic control tower below, as you land at the Changi International Airport.


Don't forget to visit the old Kallang Airport, which is also one of the venues for this year's Singapore Biennale 2011.

This year's Singapore Biennale will feature the works of 60 artists from 30 countries.

Crave for a tasty American burger in Hanoi?

I have been scouring the streets of Hanoi. I constantly risk my palate to continue bringing you the unsung food outlets, bars and restaurants.

Sometimes, the disappointments have been so bitter. But I choose not to write about them.

On this occasion, I find something truly worthy of sharing.

Introducing: My Burger Mỹ

They serve the Super Works Mỹ Burger - an absolutely mouthwatering burger, with nice char-grilled beef petty, jalapeno peppers, chillis, thin strips of fried bacon, toasted cheese, and hot buns. A real bargain at VND125,000.


Also seen in the picture above is a glass of totally refreshing strawberry smoothie, specially made for me. It wasn't even on the menu. They serve smoothies made from seasonable fruits. What's in season now are pineapples, bananas, and mangoes (VND30,000). The mixed fruit smoothie is made from those fruits, and strawberries (VND35,000). As it's a special order, the strawberry smoothie costs VND35,000.

Besides burgers, they also serve Mexican food (e.g. nachos, burritos), and ice cream.

All these wonderful food brought to you by a wonderful American chef, who has been living in Hanoi for 3 years already.

My Burger Mỹ
Address: 5 Hang Bac Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hanoi
Tel: 84.4.73090777
Mobile: 0912 223 966

The Race To Save The Hồ Gươm Turtle

Everyday, for the past two weeks, a crowd will gather during the day to watch the rescue obsession.

The hapless victim: the reverential Hồ Gươm turtle

I understand from my Vietnamese friends that news about the rescue mission has been broadcasted daily. I witnessed the news broadcast about the turtle today.

During the day, they will even peer through a mini-telescope from their office building overlooking the Hoàn Kiếm lake to see the progress of the mission.

Why is there such great interest over a turtle?

Well, the Hồ Gươm turtle is no ordinary turtle.

According to Vietamese folklore, the Golden Turtle God, Kim Qui, gave a magic sword to Lê Lợi, who became an emperor of Vietnam and founder of the Lê Dynasty.

One day, when the King was out boating on a lake in Hanoi, he saw a large turtle surface. The turtle told the King to return the sacred sword that had helped him defeat the northern Ming aggressors now that peace had returned. Lê Lợi unsheathed his sword and threw it to the turtle, who dove into the depths of the lake. Efforts to find the turtle and sword were unsuccessful. Lê Lợi acknowledged that the sword had gone back to the Kim Qui, and renamed the lake "Hoàn Kiếm" (Lake of Returned Sword).

Given this backdrop, it is not surprising there's so much excitement among the Vietnamese when they see the turtle. In fact, seeing the turtle is supposed to bring them good luck.

What happened to the Hồ Gươm turtle?

The legendary turtle has been injured by red-eared turtles, an exotic species. My Vietnamese friend said these red-eared turtles came from China, and may have been initially adopted as pets, before they were eventually released into the lake.

Pictures of the injured turtle have captured the imagination of the nation. They have revealed injuries on its neck and shell. Scientists have also claimed that it is suffering from fungal infection and pollution.

According to VietNamNet, it is an endangered species. Besides it, there are only three other giant turtles in the world, including one in Hanoi’s Dong Mo Lake, one in Hoàn Kiếm Lake and two in China.

You can read 'The death of the giant turtle in Ngoc Son Temple' for more information about the last giant turtle to die in Hoàn Kiếm in 1967.

Don't miss the cherry blossoms this year!

The cherry blossom festival beckons.

Around this time every year, Japanese waits in eager anticipation of the cherry blossoms (桜 sakura). The cherry blossom festival heralds the arrival of spring, and marks the beginning of the school and business year in Japan.

Starting from last year, thousands of volunteers have taken part in the Sakura Project to track the arrival of the cherry blossoms.

Japanese will lay down blue mats on the grass patches in parks to indulge themselves in their traditional custom of flower viewing (お花見 Ohanami),and drinking sake while viewing the cherry blossoms (花見酒 hanami-zake).

In the video that follows, you can see many mesmerising images of the sakura blossoms from last year.

Cherry trees blossom once a year, and cherry blossoms do not last long.

If you want to catch the cherry blossoms this year in Japan, you have to book your flight and accommodation soon.

They assumed the food was good :P

This was the customer feedback form that triggered it all.
I was so inspired I decided to write a review 'They assumed the food was good :P' on TripAdvisor.

During the process of submitting the review on Khazaana, I was prompted to rate the place. In the process, the link to the image I was trying to upload was dropped.

I failed to notice this, and as a result, the image was not uploaded, even though the review specifically mentioned about the 'offending' picture. :P There's also no way right now for me to refresh the review and upload the picture.

What will you have done if you see the form? Feel free to leave your comments. I will love to hear your views. :)