iluvcruising2

We have a reputation as a Garden City. Not easy, given that land is scarce in Singapore and plenty of land is needed for all types of needs.

Still, we try.

This video shows you the Telok Blangah Hill Park, leading to the Henderson Waves, the tallest foot bridge in Singapore. Park of the Southern ridges park connector network.

This video shows you the Forest Walk, Southern Ridges, walking all the way down to Alexandra Road.

This video, a video log from 1st Jan 2016 (yes New Year's Day), shows you the rain in Singapore. Also the park connector beside a drain, where many locals go walking/jogging.

iluvcruising2

This was Lunar New Year 2016 season and I chanced upon this Wu Shu demonstration at a local shopping mall. It was very interesting because this is the first time that I was watching such a demonstration!

In the first video, the display starts with an energetic performance by a few fine young mean. Full of energy and vigour. Then, what was very surprising was when the emcee announced that a 10 year old Taijiquan exponent would come show his moves. Ten? Wow. Look at that chap. The moves look easy, but they are awfully hard. You have to keep balance, keep posture, focus, breathe... don't believe you try it yourself! Impressive patience for a 10 year old.

After that, we resume the more energetic performance with this young boy using a double sword. Very fast movements. He could probably slice his opponent into a thousand pieces, with a few swishes of this nimble arms. Awesome. I enjoyed it.

iluvcruising2

The next performance was another surprise. A young lady, looking fairly lean (and mean to a certain extent), came on stage and started her Taiqiquan moves. Her performance was clearly very polished. Just look at the movement, the rhythm, the harmony, the balance! Then she accelerated her motions (from about 1:45 of the video below) to show you that she has the swift moves too. I am sure in a real life battle situation, she could go even faster. I wouldn't mess with this young lady.

Later on, I found out that she is a World Champion! Wushu Gold medallist at the World Championships back in 2013. Wow.

http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapo...ld-wushu-champ

Next, the two young men demonstrated their sword fighting skills. I thought that I was seeing double but it turned out that they were twins!

After the demonstration routine, the young men did some further demonstration of three moves to ward off attackers. Funny to watch.

iluvcruising2

The so-called 'tradition' of "Lou Hei" or a prosperity toss is actually a rather recent invention, and popular in Singapore and Malaysia. It certainly has caught on.

Two family events.

First one

Second one

Happy Chinese New Year!

iluvcruising2

Wishing everybody Happy Lunar New Year! This is the year of the Monkey. (Chinese Zodiac Calendar).

iluvcruising2

A Prime Minister who can code. Screenshot of the Facebook post by Mark Zuckerberg.

iluvcruising2

We have the Singapore Airshow! This is the 2016 Airshow, currently underway.

Some of the planes featured.

Preparing the planes for the ground static display.

iluvcruising2

Our Singapore National Anthem (which is in Malay) being sung by a USAF military official at the recent Singapore Airshow 2016 at the opening of the US Pavilion.

How cool is that?

iluvcruising2

In recent times, the space in MRT trains and stations have been used more creatively.

In this instance, this is a public service message on financial scams, using cartoons. Quite funny.

In this instance, it is an advertisement for hair products, featuring models whom I later discovered were national athletes!

On a similar note, our public transport system is still expanding, with new MRT lines and new bus routes being rolled out. This video was taken on 31 Dec 2015 (New Year's eve) as we explored the opening of a new phase of the Downtown line. On this day, rides on the new line were free! From the video, you can see the driverless train. If you stand in front, you can see the tunnels ahead. Quite cool.

iluvcruising2

Oh! How could I forget? In S'pore, if you want to own a car, you first need to get a COE (Certificate of Entitlement). This is done through a bidding process. You can get your car dealer to bid for you, or in my case, I have been bidding for my own COE.

I bid through the ATM machine.

How do I find out the results? Online, and you can monitor the bid prices as they move. Exciting.

hdogan

Thank you for this! As a rather fresh expat in Singapore, I am really curious how the whole CoE system works! Sorry you missed your shot, though

iluvcruising2

Plenty of controversy and discussion over COE in Singapore. Most of us will buy through a dealer, and the dealer will bid for us. The dealers are also a bunch of business-people whose sole aim is to make more money for themselves, that's why I chose to bid on my own.

I have been bidding for my own COE since early this year. The video I showed above was my first virgin bid. Since then, I've bidded three more times. All the times I didn't get it. The demand for cars is quite robust. Even though the supply of the COE has gone up substantially this year, the price hasn't come down by too much. I will keep trying.

iluvcruising2

The Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at the National University of Singapore (NUS) is a very reputable international music conservatory, located at the National University of Singapore. The Conservatory offers degrees at undergraduate and post-graduate level.

They do outreach events, to introduce classical music to young minds. I had the privilege of attending such an event recently, with my family. The event was complimentary. Spread the word around! They usually hold this event once a year, often in March to coincide with the local one-week school break. Here are some videos I made from the event. Enjoy!

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Woodwinds Part 1 Let's Make A Musical Friend

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Brass Part 2 Let's Make A Musical Friend

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Strings Part 3 Let's Make A Musical Friend

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Percussion Part 4 Let's Make A Musical Friend

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Harry Potter Theme Part 5 Let's Make A Musical Friend

Yong Siew Toh Conservatory Woodwinds Sectionals Let's Make A Musical Friend

COTW

Love this thread. Recently talked a lot about this here (bit.ly/1R4Nh77). Mostly love how the city celebrates each of the individual cultures/religions that make up the population.

Also the use of English as the main language makes it easy to get around.

AA_EXP09

The latter part is actually something I have not had an issue with in other countries though (Malaysia, Philippines, HK...)