Singapore 2014 : Gardens by the Bay - Christmas Wonderland

I didn't do Singapore justice if I don't write about the beautiful Gardens by the Bay. The idea of this garden smacked in the center of Singapore was conceived as early as 2006 and was finally open to public in 2011. This is my third visit to the beautiful gardens and it has once again left me dumbfounded with awe.

Christmas Wonderland was the theme for last year's "winter" edition of the gardens. The flower exhibits change every quarter if I'm not wrong. I've visited during Halloween and Spring and to be back for Winter brings yet another wonderful experience. 

It's the most wonderful time of the year..... Teddy bears ready to rock this Christmas! 

What's a garden without the beautiful flowers? 

These are at the Flower Dome, one of the two gardens which require an entrance fee. 

 Beautiful exhibits from the Flower Field! Do you want to build a snowman?

Flower Dome houses plants from the Mediterranean, sub- and semi-tropical regions. You'll be greeted by Australian, South African, South American, Californian, Mediterranean plants, olives and baobabs in this beautiful dome.

Meters-high cactus will also be there to greet you.  

If you've purchased a two-domes entrance ticket, you can also visit the Cloud Forest and behold the great Falls. This 35-meter man-made waterfall will leave you in awe for sure! 

Then take a leisure walk around the forest and get to know some really beautiful plants from the Tropical Montane regions. 

There's also a side for Crystal Mountains to educate people about the various stones. In addition, there is an Earth Check lab for adults and young to learn more from the staggering figures and facts pertaining to the condition of our beloved planet today and the repercussion of climate change and habitat loss to our ecosystem. Continuing on the line of education, visitors will also get to visit the +5c lab to have a visual experience on the impact of rising temperature on planet Earth. I particularly enjoy this virtual experience which will leave imprint in our hearts to do our part for our planet. 

 

What's visiting a touristy place without a souvenir shop? Get some locally crafted gifts for family and friends if you're here for a visit. 

Apart from the Cloud Forest and the Flower Dome, visitors could also visit the Heritage Gardens. This part of the gardens is free to visitors. It is divided into Indian, Chinese, Malay and Colonial gardens. 

Last but not least, the Supertree groves! In total, there are about 18 of them and some can be as tall as 16-storey high. Up to 11 of these trees are embedded with environmentally sustainable features, which you can learn more before you exit the +5c lab. At night, you will also be entertained with lights performance accompanied by music, similar to the ones you see in Hong Kong Harbour.

And what's Christmas if there's no snowman? Photo props were put up around the garden for all visitors to fully utilise.  

Finally, a photo from the lookout area to capture a part of this wonderful creation in Singapore. My photo does not do it justice so if you're in town, do go for a visit.

And just a tip, you could get a better deal if you purchase your entrance tickets via online shopping apps such as Qoo10. There are travel agents who sell their tickets on such platforms and the price differences can be up to 20%!

Malaysia 2014 : Sekinchan

Hello!

Not too long ago, I was brought to Sekinchan for a visit. 

Sekinchan is a fishing village, which is located around 1.5 hours drive away from Klang town. If you're looking for a short day trip, it might be a good choice to get yourself away from the hustle and bustle of a city life. 

The ride towards Sekinchan is quite uneventful, because it was drizzling all the way. However, once we reached the little township, we were greeted with this beautiful vast expanses of paddy fields. A feast for our eyes indeed!  

If you've been following the local Malaysian cable TV, Astro, for a while, all these sights would look fairly familiar to you because a lot of filming were previously done here. As we were taking photos, we also noticed a crew of cameramen taking videos of the surrounding. Looks like the Chinese New Year programs have started! 

These vast expanses of paddy fields belong to private companies. There were quite a number of signs like the above so it's probably a shared piece of land. However, the owners are probably aware of the tourism boom in the little township so there were no barriers to prevent people from entering for a photo opportunity. 

Just like many other little townships around Malaysia, you would also find such dilapidated buildings which are now used for bird nest farming in the cities. Sekinchan is also no stranger to such industry. 

It's a small little township, with not much traffic even on a weekend. So if you'd like to observe the migratory birds or just to feast yourself to a view of golden paddy fields, you could always make a short day trip here. 

We headed out to the coastal area in search of seafood and that brought us to a little fishing village among the many other villages around this little township. This was one sight that greeted me behind a very famous restaurant (since there was a long queue just to have lunch). Unfortunately, the area is not very well-kept and I didn't even realise the cat until I make a closer look. I wonder if it was killed by the toxicity of the water or it was thrown into the muddy area after a roadkill.

Fishermen were just back from the sea as we reached the area so we were greeted with tongs and tongs of fishes. The men were hard at work transferring the freshly-caught fishes into ice buckets for delivery. 

The ladies on the other hand were repairing the nets used for fishing. I used to see this when I visit Pulau Ketam in the past but it's been a while since my last visit so this sight was very heartwarming to me. 

This is what the fishing village looks like. Just like many other fishing villages around Malaysia, these fishermen and their families still live by the river. Basically, you could see that their lives revolves around this little fishing career that they've build up themselves, or was passed down from generation to generation. 

This is the wooden plank that the fishermen used to haul up their findings from the sea after a long day at work. 

And finally, if you've a fan of salted fish but never know how it was made, here's a photo of a local fisherman uncle who allowed me to take this picture while he sundries his salted fishes.

If you'd like to learn more about Sekinchan or just to drive there for a fresh and relatively cheaper meal of seafood, here's a website you might want to check out!

Malaysia 2014 : Penang, The Heritage Footpath

Hello there. Finally an update on Penang, a place that has fond memories in my heart. This trip is my third time there, for a friend's wedding as well as to visit a good friend.

The post will mainly speak of the cultural path that we embarked on with the information from the tourist information centre on Beach Street. But first up, my friend brought us to Pulau Tikus for a hearty breakfast and once again, I saw really nice street vendors who allow me to experiment making my own putu mayam using the most traditional tool!

Penang's ever friendly street vendor. You can find this uncle and his wife near the famous coffee shop and morning market at Pulau Tikus. And his putu mayam is awesome with just some gula melaka and dessicated coconut! :) 

Penang is one of the most touristy states in Malaysia. In fact, its tourism industry is so matured that it has a well established website for visitors to discover more information pertaining to their heritage trails and walks.

We didn't sign up with the tour since the whole area is pretty much walkable if you can bear with the heat and humidity. 

The fire station is probably one of the nicely maintained heritage building along Pitt Street.

On the art front, if you head on to Armenian Street, you'll be sure to find street arts in the form of wired art, murals, and many more. You'll also be sure to find a lot of markers to tell you where you are. 

Of course, I wasn't the only one roaming the street to take picture with the popular little children on bicycle art mural.

After another round of breakfast and to hide from the sweltering heat, we headed off to the clan houses in town. This is one of the many ones, with the popular one being Khoo Kongsi. 

Cheah and Khoo are one of the many surnames for the Chinese ethnic in Malaysia and Singapore.

If you're not up for walking, then hire a bicycle.  

You can get them just about anywhere.

 And if it's really too hot, stop for some shaved ice.

 Or even ice lollies - those old school snacks!

One of the other highlights from such heritage walks is that you're bound to see some traditional items like these wooden clogs! It sorts of blast you into the past and you stroll past these streets, imagining the lifestyle decades back.

After clan houses, it's time for clan jetties!

Penang is generally resided by the Chinese community and many of them are either merchants from the past or part of the residents who worked for these towkays. 

These settlements are now very popular, particularly after some movie filming in the area. 

Of course, local residents would soak up such popularity by converting their homes into small souvenir shops. 

You could even find photo props prepared for tourists, and for just a small fee, you could utilise them to make your own memories in digital copies! 

We walked on along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling and we finally stopped by the St George Church. It's a really beautiful structure, fit for occasions like a wedding ceremony. Next to it is the State Museum. Having been away from Malaysia for years, I thought I'd give the State Museum a visit to see how different it is from the museums that I've been to around the world. 

We were first greeted by these vintage cars at the door. The museum seems to be managed by a small Malay family and the entrance fee was only RM 1. 

There were quite a lot of exhibits given the building size. It explains the history of Penang and the cultural part of Penang based on its myriad of races.

One particular exhibit that caught my attention is the lotus flower feet. I knew about this from my grandparents though my grandma didn't have her feet bounded. But it never crossed my mind that the size of the shoes are this small! It must have been so torturous for the ladies in the past, thus allowing them to only make those dainty steps. 

There were also old stationery like the typewriter which I've used when I was younger. This brings back some really fond memories. I recall I've one that's made by brothers (the brand). 

Penang being a straits settlement like Singapore, also explains its history from way past during the times of colonisation. There is a nice exhibit on the second floor which shows paintings that depicts the scenes of the past as well as some cultural games like congkak.

After the short visit to the state museum, my wonderful host rejoin us after a day at work. We went for a simple dinner and proceeded to a cafe for some light snack and catching up. 

Penang is now home to many cafes as well. Many of them are themed cafes and amongst the more popular ones is China House. 

However, this time around we visited a new place for a special coconut dessert and "dragon's breath"! 

The props in the cafe makes everything feel so cosy and homely! 

This is the dragon's breath! Basically it's popcorn mixed with liquid nitrogen to have that smokey effect. 

If it's still around, you might want to drop them a visit at The Safe Room on Campbell Street!