Singapore Trip: Sis' Convocation Ceremony

I had a short couple of days un-paid leave (common cost-reduction measures in the corporate world in this uncertain economic climate) break in Singapore to attend my sister’s convocation last week. This populous little island neighbor has been my family’s most frequented holiday destination since I was a little kid. Having most of my relatives, especially aunts & cousins from mom’s side currently residing there, we always had a place to stay whenever we go for a visit, without having to put up exorbitantly pricey hotel accommodations. It’s become like a home away from home for me; I’ve gotten well acquainted with the city after a couple of visits, thanks to the super efficient & tourist friendly public transport system. I actually enjoy exploring the city on my own, meeting & catching up with friends working there over a cup of coffee. I like how everything is so orderly, convenient, so squeaky clean & safe over there, a huge contrast from JB in the mainland just across the causeway. I guess that’s the gap between a 1^st world country & a 1^st world country wannabe. Though, the much faster & hectic pace of life there would take some getting used to. There’s always something new & exciting to see, each time I drop by for a visit, though the difference may just be mere months. The Marina Sands is progressing quite fast, & so is the Universal Studios at Sentosa, expected to welcome its 1^st visitors end of next year. Going over has always been very family-affair, catching up with aunts, uncles & cousins who’d generously pamper & keep us well fed =D

This time wasn’t any different; it’s the first time we’ve gone out together in full force(my dad, mom, sis & me) for vacation in years. Shared the room with my mom & dad which, I haven’t done so since I was a little kid (when we used to stay under a roof with all of dad’s other sibling’s family). By the end of the trip I sported panda eyes, coz I had to cope with both of the snoring choo-choo trains going off early at night! =p

Brought my camera gear along; there were many interesting subjects to shoot during the course of the trip, but the shutter bug was also on vacation… the prospect of hauling my bulky camera gear along thru the MRT onto the crowded streets of Orchard Road or City Hall did not seem inviting… maybe I should come along with a kaki-photographer fellow traveler next time…

I graduated again!

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Took some family photos at a studio on the morning of my sis’ convocation day ~ for SGD250!!!

The only time I took the lens cover off was for the convocation ceremony at Orchard Hotel. Here are some of the shots:

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Congrats sis ~ you’ve finally graduated!

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~ the ‘V’ictory sign is about the only pose she knows… -_-

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Quite a grand venue but a relatively small scale function with only handful of international graduates from all over ~ have seen quite a number of Malaysians, Indonesian, Filipino, Hongkie, Indians & an African but only a handful of Singaporeans. Small scale coz the main ceremony is held at the main campus in Australia & there's also another at KL…i think

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Eagerly waiting for the defining moment…

*didn’t get a good shot here, but we already paid SGD50 for the convo photos which should come out in a weeks time*

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One for the family… except for the ang moh who came out of nowhere ^_*

* now that the PC fair is coming to town this weekend, my sis' definitely going to bug me to get her that EeePC as her graduation gift... xp *

That's all folks! =)

Shots from my previous trip:

Day01 ~ Part I

Day01~ Part II

Day02

Day03~05

Trip damages ~



SGD7.03 for the pack of imported low-fat chips i couldn't resist ^_^


& over RM200++ in calls over a 5-day period of roaming. I must have somehow forgotten that i was out of the country then... ~ & yes, my line got barred *_*""

my favourite-est shot of the trip

~ a night view of Toa Payoh skyline from the 10th floor of a HDB flat;

Settings: ISO 80, aperture ~ F2.8, shutter speed ~ 6s (felt like an eternity just to take the shot), with flash & perched on a standstill at the edge of the veranda (luckily did not encounter strong gush of wind that will likely blow my camera off & send it tumbling, crashing down 10 storeys to the ground) =p

~ & its day time equivalent shot;
Settings: ISO 80, aperture ~ F7.0, shutter speed ~ 1/180 without flash
Okies, the camera was in auto mode all along. I'm still a noob at this; just experimenting & trying to figure out the suitable settings to use when taking shots. It's a good thing that its got shot settings recall mode for the photos taken. *All photos of this trip was taken using a point-and-shoot Samsung L100 digicam. What's next ~ investing in a entry level dSLR? =D

Singapore Trip ~ 05~07/07/08

From the 3rd day onwards, it's all about enjoying good food, yum cha-ing, & having a good time catching up with relatives, cousins & old friends alike. After all, it's been almost half-a-decade since my last visit. My mom & sis tagged along on this trip also, & had been staying with my aunt since day one; they've always welcomed us to stay with them whenever we drop by for a visit ~ really grateful for that, else i'll definitely be emptying my piggy bank just to stay another night or two. Hotel prices are yikes!-like steep at the moment with the Singapore great sale going on. Accommodation aside, on one-to-one basis , the living cost is actually quite reasonable & comparable with back home. It's just that there more places & more stuffs to spend your $$ on here. Public transport system is also a gazillion times much more efficient & conveniently accessible, only dreameable back home. That too, is affordable, unless you intend to buy & run your own car.

The closest i got to Sentosa:

Dian Xiao Er @ Vivocity ~ famous for their herbal roasted duck

with aunts, cousins & chek kong
catching up with some x-colleagues at Bugis Junction

2nd consecutive Japanese feast for the night ~ with Julian, Lester, Eugene & co.

It's become a mini Kuchingnites gathering in Singapore. All of us have worked for the same company at one time or another, & now they're (ones that left) also working in the same company over there. How ironic... Nevertheless, we had a great yum-cha session =)

Ah kong too, dropped by just to say hi, on the way home ~ good to see you, buddy!
*as usual, he insists on having his Tu Shen request ~ censored la*

3rd appointment of the night ~ September! An ex-ex-colleague of mine during my Agilent internship days from nearly half-a-decade ago. Great to catch up with you again. Hey, you haven't changed at all! =)

Along with 2 expatriate friends, Michiko & Asami, one of whom happens to be a freelance writer. Cool =)
It's been nice meeting you guys, though it was quite a brief meet up at McD, before we had to run after the last train near midnight to make it home. Ha, that was quite an experience ~ "It's 11:45pm, you can start running to the MRT station, coz the last train will depart in 2 minutes time". Well, I did made it back to my aunt's place in approximately 21 minutes =p

The big city life is like a global melting pot where you get to meet people from all walks of life, from diverse cultures & with interesting backgrounds, to learn from, exchange & draw inspiration. This is the aspect that appeals to me most.

Changi's new T3 ~ so squeky clean & green

Sis had to leave a day earlier...

Toa Payoh, Lorong 1 Chicken Rice ~ even the neighborhood kopitiam is packed to the brim well past lunch hour. There is no place to dine without having to queue up, except at home lar.

my cousin, Donald's ride. I dig that aggressive & muscular look. Not a WRX, just 1.6 AWD variant though, but sharing that same boxer layout. Quite a fuel guzzler that returns 8 - 9 km to the litre. The real deal WRX STi would definitely be one heck of a drinker!


@ Suntec City


Yup, I've been an uncle for quite awhile now =p

Debra & Marissa ~ ^_^

& Bree, the most recent addition =)
That about wraps up my trip for this time round ~ it's been a great one! =)

Singapore Trip ~ 4/07/08 Day02

I had initially planned to go for an early morning workout at the gym, but had problems waking up on time from a blissful sleep ~ must be the bed, too comfy.

Luckily made it in time before the breakfast cut-off time at 10:30am. Starting the day with a hearty breakfast brunch ~ almost puked when handed the bill totaling a cool SGD80++; thankfully it's complementary; bill for acknowledgment only *phew* =p

Camwhoring with my partner in crime ~ Old Voon *there's also Young, Round & Long Voon in our department*


I may seem like I'm covering for an auto-salon of some sort, but really I'm just passionate about cars. Brace yourselves for auto-overload! =D


Old Voon seemed to be very passionate about this particular car: the Honda Odyssey







Sooo mannyyy ultra-rare exotics to drool over....

The creme of the crop

~ the prancing horse in red that does not need any further introduction

A Ferrari F430

Also spotted a couple more Ferraris, Lamborghinis & the all new R35 GTR running around town. These are cars you normally see & read about on TV/internet/magazines only. The sights & sounds of one in flesh & in motion is truly captivating.

O Merlion, where art thou?




Finally down to business...


a photo engineer should get this shot right!

What we all love about attending seminars/conferences ~ is the door gifts! =p

The session wrapped up around evening time; we got a taste of Singapore's Friday evening peak hour jam in the financial district ~ a near a freakin' full hour of traffic snail crawl just to get 500 metres down the road to do a u-turn! xp

Out of the jam, we were whisked to Turf City for another seafood feast courtesy of our Gigaphoton vendor =D

If Michael Owen were a seafood entrepreneur...

Worn out when we finally reached our nesting point for night number 2, somewhere in Bugis district. This is what you get when your company accomodation budget is measily RM300. Kinda looks like Fata Hotel. & it cost a freaking SGD165 per night. We'll have to fork out from our own pocket for the extras -_-

Okay, it's not that bad, but when you downgrade from a 6-star to a 2&1/2 star you'll need to grapple with the huge contrast. The whole room shrunk to the size of only the bathroom equivalent size of the previous place. Oh yea, what happened to the flat screen TV? Downsized to at minuscule 15" CRT. Dammit, you get what you pay for, hotels ain't cheap here in Singapore, unless you want to try the ones in Geylang.