Discover rural village charms at Pulau Ubin Singapore

View of pristine white sands at Changi Beach near Changi Point Ferry Terminal

Exposed rocks near Pulau Ubin Public Jetty entrance at low tide

Flag-lined path leading to 'Welcome to Pulau Ubin' Entrance

The buzzing village centre near the Public Jetty on a weekend

Supposedly rare, quite a few wild boars can be seen around Chek Jawa

A tourist posing at the entrance of Chek Jawa

View of private jetty at Chek Jawa Visitor Centre

Coastal boardwalk at Chek Jawa

Mangrove trees spotted along Mangrove boardwalk

Solitary tree seen along mangrove boardwalk

View from Jajawi Tower at Chek Jawa

Chek Jawa Visitor Centre - Tudor style architecture

Maman beach - an idyllic retreat

Pekan quarry

How to get to Pulau Ubin? 

Pulau Ubin is accessible via bumboats at Changi Point Ferry Terminal. The bumboat operator departs when it has a full load of 12 passengers. The fare is SGD2.50 per person one way. Subject to the discretion of the bumboat operator, a discounted child's fare may be offered.

To get to Changi Point Ferry Terminal, you can take a 20-minute bus ride onboard bus service number 29 from Tampines Bus Interchange or a 30-minute ride onboard bus service number 2 from Tanah Merah MRT.

You may also be interested to read Pulau Ubin, a new book published in 2012 by Ronald Cohn Jesse Russell.

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.

Cricket Fever Grips Indian Subcontinent

Large crowds stood around coffee shops. Loud cheers rang out from time to time. Police officers were present to maintain crowd control. That was the scene at Little India in Singapore last Saturday.

That day marked the first match of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. The 2011 Cricket World Cup is the tenth edition, and is being hosted by India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

On that day, India was playing Bangladesh. According to ICC Cricket Test Teams Rankings, India is the world's top- ranking cricket playing nation, while Bangladesh is ranked 9th. India eventually won by 87 runs.

If you are an avid cricket fan, you may be interested to know the schedule of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup.

You can also catch the Cricket World Cup Live Streaming here.

The cricket fever that has gripped the cricket-crazy nations of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka has also spread to the Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan communities in Singapore.

Little India is a popular place among Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistan nationals, working in Singapore. On this occasion, it was not surprising to see them congregating at coffee shops to share in the moments, as the match was being played out on big screens, or broadcasted on radio.

Chinese New Year Sights and Sounds in Singapore 2011

This majestic towering statue just outside the Fu Lu Shou Complex represents the God of Prosperity. As we enter the Year of the Rabbit, the Chinese believe that their fortunes will change, according to their Chinese zodiac signs.

The base of this God of Prosperity statue is 12-sided, with 12 different panels, each carrying general advice in terms of fortune, prosperity and luck for the 12 zodiac signs.


Chinese New Year is a time of shopping for auspicious decorations, foods, flowers, and new clothes. Chinatown is especially busy and crowded just before the Chinese New Year.

Buying red melon seeds for blessing of having many children	Taiwanese sweets stall - Buying sweets helps to sweeten up one's life	Auspicious Chinese New Year banners
A German selling German sausages at Wuerstelstand	Shopping at Chinatown before Chinese New Year	Preserved Chinese sausages ("lap cheong")
Pomelo stall. Pomelo is a symbol of good luck and prosperity	Crowd thronging through the streets and alleys of Chinatown	Pumpkin stall. Halloween? Pumpkin seeds symbolise a wish for many male children

We bring you a clip on the highlights of the Chingay procession in Singapore.

Singapore Buzzing with Record Tourist Arrivals

The Singapore Tourism Board is definitely proud of its latest achievement - a record 11.6 million visitor arrivals in 2010, with Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia being the top 5 sources of visitor arrivals.

According to the news bulletin, these visitors spent a total of $18.8 billion, with the majority of tourism receipts being generated by shopping, sight-seeing, and entertainment.

Singapore is obviously a magnet for tourism. Here is my list of top 5 reasons for visiting Singapore, a few of which are already so obvious, as they have been mentioned above:

1. Invest-tourism: Despite cooling measures taken by the Singapore Government of late, significant drop in property prices is unlikely. When I visited the Altez condominium project launch showroom at Tanjong Pagar (right in the heart of Singapore's Central Business District) three days ago, the direct promoter from the property development firm confidently told me that prices will not come down. In fact, the property development firm will ensure that the price of the next unit sold will be higher, if not at least equal to the price of the last comparable property unit sold.
   
   Singapore's properties are definitely up for grabs, and with no foreign ownership restriction, a stable government, a clean and safe environment, these properties represent attractive investments.
   
2. Shopping: Orchard Road is traditionally associated with shopping in Singapore. After a SGD40 million overhaul over the course of 2+ years, starting from 2008, Orchard Road pedestrian walkways have been expanded, and there are Urban Green Rooms, to be used for art exhibitions, mini performances, and major events like Chingay. New retail malls have also sprouted up, including ION Orchard, Orchard Central, TripleOne Somerset, and 313@Somerset. You can check out the list of Orchard Road shopping malls here.
   
   But this is fast changing. You can also check out shopping malls at Marina Bay, HarbourFront, Vivocity, and even in the heartlands.
   
   If you are shopping for electronic gadgets, do pay a visit to Sim Lim Square.
   
3. Entertainment: The opening of Universal Studios Singapore in the Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort has brought the magic of Universal Studios movies to Singapore. You can now experience the thrills of rollercoaster rides, and other movie-themed attractions.
   
   If you are itching to try your luck at gaming, you can visit Resorts World Sentosa or Marina Bay Sands.
   
   You can also enjoy cultural and artistic performances at the durian-shaped Esplanade Theatre.
   
4. Sightseeing: The popular attractions include Chinatown, Little India, Kampong Glam, Arab Street, Sentosa, The Singapore Zoo and Night Safari, Jurong Bird Park, Chinese Garden and Japanese Garden.
   
   A recent attraction is the Singapore Flyer, which is a significant landmark in Marina Bay. Inspired by the likes of the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the London Eye, the Singapore Flyer is the world's largest observation wheel, offering passengers views of the beautiful Marina Bay skyline, and glimpses of neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia. You may like to read about the use of feng shui in deciding the direction of its rotation.
   
5. Eco-tourism: For those into eco-tourism, you might want to explore the nature trails of Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, explore the unspoilt Chek Jawa wetlands on Pulau Ubin (one of Singapore's offshore islets) or bird-watch at Sungei Buloh Park.

Welcome to sunny Singapore

Dear viewer,

Welcome to my blog. This is my maiden post, and I thought of introducing you to the sunny island of Singapore.

Singapore is an island state, that is situated around the Equator. That means, we do not experience four seasons. In fact, we only have two seasons – the rainy monsoon season that happens usually towards the end of the year, and the dry season in the middle of the year.

You can expect to have frequent spells of rain interspersed by occasional bursts of sunshine right at this time of the year. Weather check right now - sunny!

So for those of you who love to brown yourselves and get that beautiful tan, Singapore is an ideal location.

However, given that the sun rays are really strong here, you are advised to get some sun protection. For those of you who are determined to get that alluring bronzed look, don’t forget to bring your SPF 15 Protective Tanning Oil.

I leave you with a picture of the kitchen of KT’s Grill, where mouth-watering authentic New York Grill are being prepared. If you are craving for a taste of New York, head right down to Universal Studios Singapore on beautiful Sentosa.