Above pic: A second attempt at shooting the interior of Sojin - my piano. I'm gonna miss Sojin when I go off...Usually I open the lid to amplify the sound and make the piano sound as much as a grand piano as possible. Sojin is actually a really good piano (honestly!), and has a very good cantabile (singing) sound. She's just marvellous. She's actually 15 years old this year, but is still going on strong. Very strong, in fact.

Today was yet another awesome day to gallivant the streets with Ying Yi. And yes, it's already my 3rd last day in sunny Singapore. Can't believe summer just came and went like that. Next week, at this time, I'd be starting 2nd year, and won't have much time to update this space regularly. I do hope to continue posting new photos regularly though.

Anyways here goes:

Lunch was pretty simple, though superb. I had Hokkien mee of course...and although I had a much bigger plate of it yesterday, I never get tired of it. And of course, I snapped a picture of the wonderful dish in its full glory (quoted from one of my Chem professors)...


After walking around Suntec City, we decided to pop by the Civilian War Memorial...and take pictures of course. Honestly speaking, the Civilian War Memorial is a pretty cool place to relax in. Its surroundings are almost always bustling with people and traffic, but somehow it seems peaceful in here.




Our next destination was Swissotel the Stamford. We went all the way up to the 70th floor - from the Equinox area on the ground floor. And of course, the view was totally indescribable. It was like a sea of buildings below us. Tall ones, smaller ones...all dwarfed by Swissotel the Stamford. It was just awesome. Anyways here are some shots from the 70th and 69 floors...

View of part of the CBD from the 70th floor.


The city area and its surrounding regions...



Yet another shot of the CBD, this time showing more buildings and the Singapore river running through it.


North of the CBD.


A shot of the Singapore river and its surroundings. The oval towards the bottom right of the picture is probably the new Supreme Court, while the building with the green roof is the old Supreme Court.


I attempted to take a shot of the city through a wine glass...but failed quite miserably. So I ended up with this shot. Fair enough...


Afterwards it was up to the 71th floor - a bar-like area with lots of space to chill. And here we go: a swimming pool in the neighbouring building.


Yet another view of the city and the surrounding regions.


Raffles Hotel is in the foreground, and the city area (mainly Bras Basah Road) is towards the background.


A view of the mouth of the Singapore river, and the Integrated Resort aka IR (under construction). This landscape is ever-changing...of course. The Singapore Flyer is partially hidden behind the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and the Esplanade (dubbed the Durians) is in the bottom right corner of the picture.


Another view of the sea with the Singapore flyer.


Colourful HDB blocks indeed...


Yet another shot of the city...I just couldn't stop taking pictures of the city...coz the view was just so awesome. And it definitely feels different shooting these 71 storeys above ground.


Back down to the 70th storey after that, where I snapped shots of the restaurant/bar and the magnificent view it offered - the IR and Marina Bay, the CBD and many other places. The IR is shown in the first picture, while the CBD is shown in the 2nd picture.



And that concludes our adventures in the city. It was heaps of fun of course!! Do stay tuned for my next post yeah?

HAPPY NEW YEAR FOLKS!!

Time flies! It's already mid-February and I'll be flying back to Melbourne in a weeks' time. Before uni starts, I guess I'd put up even more pictures such that this space doesn't feel left out. More will be coming up of course!!! Coz Helios (the trusty dSLR who contributed many of the photos) will be coming with me! And so is my phone!!! Our veteran sidekick - the Nikon S200, who has contributed many older photos, would remain here in sunny Singapore, and I would use it whenever I'm back for holidays.

Anyways, here goes:

Pictures from park-hopping to the zoo, night safari and bird park, about 2 weeks ago, shown below:
1. Double act?
2. Raccoon chomping on some leaves.
3. Otters.
4. Snowy owl in the World of Darkness, Bird Park.
5. Another species of owl in another enclosure, still in the World of Darkness, Bird Park.
6. Arowana aquarium - Night Safari.








Pictures from Resort World at Sentosa (opened partially on 20th Jan 2010) and Sentosa itself, shown below:
1. Hard Rock Hotel lobby.
2. Some pastries at the Festive Hotel.
3. Cloudscapes at the beach. Notice the umbrella-looking cloud on the top right corner. :)
4. One of the many types of flowers at Resorts World.






Dessert from Haagen-Daaz, consisting of 6 different flavours of ice-cream. :)



Snapshots of the sculpture of Frederic Chopin (1810 - 1849) in different perspectives and angles, unveiled in October 2008. This sculpture can be found near Symphony Lake in the Botanic Gardens, as shown in the second last picture below.

Picture above: I anticipated that Min (my best friend) would be coming. The minute she stepped into the house, I was exhilarated, and gave her a big, slobbery kiss. She took my candid shot in return. And promised to write a story for me, titled "A Shih Tzu's Conversation". So here it goes:


I sit down on the floor. Then I realise that I'm slower than what I used to be. Min could easily catch up with me without having to move around so much. And she could take so many candid photos of me before I could even turn away - for I've always been camera-shy. I also notice that I've been balding - something that I've never realised till now. For I've not had a haircut for months.



I'm feeling sad - what seems to be going on with me? Am I really growing older? Does it mean that I'm going to be separated from my family members and Min soon?



I sit down and think hard. After much contemplation, I cheer up a bit. Growing old is part of life. But I could still stay young at heart. After all, I'm still healthy. A smile begins to creep across my face as Min approaches me - she's young, and she has made me smile - countless times.



Just then, Min sits down and tells me a joke. A really funny one. That sent me into hysterics. It feels so good to laugh! I laugh treacherously as Min tries to remain poker-faced, but eventually both of us ended up rolling on the floor clutching our bellies in laughter.



But soon the laughter dies down. "Humph," I say, "your jokes don't last very long, Min."



"Should I tell you another one?" asks Min. I gladly agree...



So I listen to Min, but I get a whiff of my lunch and my attention is diverted. I lick my lips, anticipating the (always) wonderful food I get daily.



I turn to the direction of the kitchen, where Mum seems to be cooking something delicious....



And YES! Mum is whipping up my favourite food! Rice with mixed veggies and chicken! I cannot wait any longer. I rush down to the kitchen, tail wagging furiously.



Lunch is over a little too soon though. I start feeling a little lethargic after about an hour.



My eyelids drooped and I could barely concentrate. Min's words sounded more like a lullaby...and her voice seemed to slur...I feel myself drifting into dreamland while Min strokes my fur and talks to me. I'm even oblivious to the camera lens pointing in front of my face......



"SQUAWK!" calls my parrot friend, Tom. I'm jolted (rudely) awake by his incessant noise. But I brush it off. After all, his incessant squawking has been an everyday occurrence. I can no longer get to sleep. I decide to hang around with Min and try my best to keep awake, before going back to sleep later in the afternoon.


And that's the end of my day. For now of course. Thanks lots, Ben, for the cool title, and thanks to myself for being such a great model!! :)