Rain rain rain... so much...

Source: http://imcms2.mediacorp.sg/CMSFileserver/documents/006/PDF/20100719/1907HNP003.pdf

It has been raining and raining in Singapore and flooding occurred again and again. Isn't the Marina Barrage suppose to prevent floods in the low lying areas? What happened?

Mistakes in the design? Miscalculations?

All in all, it doesn't look good for Singapore; these floods can be and should be prevented. 

But the above picture showed that Singaporeans are willing to help each other when someone is in trouble. And, that's nice. 

Sony Alpha 550

Now this camera looks very attractive to me... should I buy it? 

Source: http://www.sony.com.sg/microsite/dslr/promotion/promotion.html#a550

This is so true.

Fake ATM in Beijing

Source: http://www.china.org.cn/china/2010-06/21/content_20308444.htm

Oh my gosh... there is fake ATM in Beijing!! 

Some of the PRCs are really "innovative" to come up with this idea. 

佩服，佩服。

门当户对?

“门当”与“户对”最初是指古代大门建筑中的两个重要组成部分。 
门当原本是指在大门前左右两侧相对而置的一对呈扁形的石墩或石鼓（用石鼓，是因为鼓声宏阔威严、厉如雷霆，人们以为其能避鬼推崇）；户对则是指位于门楣上方或门楣两侧的圆柱形木雕或雕砖，由于这种木雕或砖雕位于门户之上，且为双数，有的是一对两个，有的是两对四个，所以称为户对。 
用木头雕刻的户对位于门楣上方，一般为短圆柱形，每根长一尺左右，与地面平行，与门楣垂直；而用砖雕刻而成的户对则位于门楣两侧，上面大多刻有以瑞兽珍禽为主题的图案。 
根据建筑学上的和谐美学原理，大门前有门当的宅院必有户对，所以，门当、户对常常被同呼并称。又因为门当、户对上往往雕刻有适合主人身份的图案，且门当的大小、户对的多少又标志着宅第主人家财势的大小，所以，门当和户对除了有镇宅装饰的作用，还是宅第主人身份、地位、家境的重要标志。 
所以，门当户对逐渐演变成社会观念中衡量男婚女嫁条件的一个成语，在今天，反而被人忽略了其原来的意思。 

In short, (a) doesn't match with (b) and (c) but (b) and (c) match. 

I am a 好汉!

Attempting to do star jumps... 

Hutong 胡同

Now, it is not easy to say Hutong like the Beijingers. They say it with a 'r' at the end, so it sounds like Hutongr. I am pretty sure that people from other provinces or countries will not say it as well as a Beijinger. 

Anyway, Hutongs are narrow streets within a neighbourhood. They are the corridors of Siheyuan , traditional courtyard residences. So imagine an area filled with Siheyuan and the streets between them are hutongs. 

 

Some paintings on the walls of a hutong. 

Singapore has Orchard Road and Beijing has Wang Fu Jing

All countries have their own unique and famous shopping streets. Singapore has Orchard Road and Beijing has Wang Fu Jing Night Market (王府井). There are many shopping malls along this street; some have been here for decades and some were only built a few years back. This is the place you should visit if you are to visit Beijing as there is a fusion of new and old stuff - you can find high-end brands such as Gucci and LV or you can turn around at the corner ahead and see traditional Chinese masks and keychains. 

The name of this street is derived from this well. Wang = King, Fu = Residence, Jing = well.

Look at the malls they have here, old ones are being renovated and upgraded while new ones are being built from time to time.

Inside this relatively new mall, I found a Uniqlo store!! Seems like Uniqlo can be found in most of the big cities. The large LED screen was showing a World Cup match and an area was furnished with chairs so that shoppers can sit down and enjoy the matches. 

One can find a lot of old Chinese stuff here... I tried the 冰糖葫芦 but didn't like it - too sweet for me. 

For those who are adventurous enough, you can try the fried scorpions or starfishes... 

  

There is a church here, St Joseph's Church. From wikipedia: "A small church was first established in 1653 on the open grounds by the Jesuit Father Lodovico Buglio.^[1] Later several earthquakes and wars gradually destroyed the church. It was rebuilt in 1904 as a Romanesque cathedral, with strong pilasters and one high and two low vaults displaying a grandiose architectural style. After the restoration in 1980, the church reopened. Because of its geographic location, the Church faces west."

The church as seen in the day.

Some interesting statues along Wang Fu Jing. 

Bird Nest? In Beijing?

Yup, there is a huge bird nest in Beijing. 

Unless you have been staying in Mars for the past 2-3 years, you should know this 'bird nest' pretty well. The official name for this place is the Beijing National Stadium and 'Bird Nest' is the nickname given to it (as it really looks like one). It was used in 2008 for the Beijing Olympics. 

The Bird Nest came into sight as our coach reached our destination.

The design is really unique and it really looks like a Bird Nest.

The weather was hot so this ice pop really came at the right time.

Now say "茄子"

Ready, Set, GO!!!!

World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai (Part 3)

The rainy weather made my pictures looked gloomy.

The South Korea's pavilion walls are decorated with the Korean words.

In short, the World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai is definitely worth a visit but do expect to see people and more people everywhere.

World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai (Part 2)

Queues, queues, people, people...

The Expo mascot.,, Haibo!

Some of the corporates' pavilions at Puxi

World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai (Part 1)

Some pictures from my trip to the World Expo 2010 @ Shanghai. There were long queues almost everywhere, waiting time for the Saudi Arabia Pavilion broke the record with 8 hours. This is crazy... Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience and I would recommend people to go and take a look. By the way, the pavilions over at the Puxi side are more interesting and more related to the theme, "Better City, Better Life".

The Singapore Pavilion looks better than the pictures; but still there are other more interesting pavilions in the park. 

Our Asean neighbors are located near to the Singapore Pavilion. 

Some performance going on at the Asia Square.

I kind of like the design of this pavilion, simple and nice. 

Canada Pavilion looks good, too bad the queue was too long. As a matter of fact, almost all pavilions have long queues.

This pavilion has straw mats covered all over it; a lit cigarette will definitely set the place on fire.

The design of the Egypt Pavilion is quite cool too... look at the curves... 

Because of the long queues, many visitors brought along their own stools/chairs.