Monday, 4th August 2014 As shared through one of my tripadvisor postings (with some edits) :- I was at the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294265-d302109-r219636846-Shangri_La_Hotel_Singapore-Singapore.htmlShangri-La Hotel Singapore on a two-day business seminar in August 2014. As soon as I entered the hotel premises, I was greeted by the spacious lobby and the view of the beautiful swimming pool. Even though I wasn't on a vacation, the peaceful oasis surrounded by plenty of greenery made me feel thoroughly relaxed. On both mornings, the staffs greeted me with plenty of smiles. It really helped to start my day well even though I was cooped up in the Orchid Room for most of the time. During tea breaks, the lady servers that I met were very thoughtful and showed great initiative to make us feel at home. Lunch at the Line Restau... read more

Saturday, 26th July 2014 On our third day, we shifted somewhere closer to the city centre where the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g255066-d256363-r218196073-Mantra_on_the_Esplanade-Darwin_Top_End_Northern_Territory.htmlMantra On The Esplanade was located. This was a hit-and-miss affair even though our spacious bedroom came with a fine sea view overlooking the longish Bicentennial Park. Within the park grounds, there was a mini beach and an impressive Memorial dedicated to the USS Peary, the American warship that sunk off Darwin Harbour by the Japanese bombers in February 1942. We spent most of our day at Bicentennial trying very hard to catch the sea breeze that would start sending our kite to the skies. This was a relatively futile attempt even though we had some fun out of it. Since our new room no longer came with an attached kitch... read more

Thursday, 24th July 2014 I wasn't expecting too much out of this visit to the Northern Territory but it turned out to be a relatively good experience. There were some sights that I was really keen to explore and it helped that H was very accommodating throughout this trip. As the days went by, I managed to check off those places from my wish list one by one. As soon as we cleared off the Australian Customs, we hailed a blue taxi which would bring us to the url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g255066-d498785-r218190569-Mediterranean_All_Suite_Hotel-Darwin_Top_End_Northern_Territor.htmlMediterranean All Suite Hotel located within the mini CBD District. The time was 7.34am as we entered the near-empty Stuart Highway. About 15 minutes into the journey, we had arrived at our accommodation where we were warmly greeted by one of the nice ladies at th... read more

Sunday, 6th July 2014 Where: Bras Basah Complex When: 3.00 - 5.30pm What: A Xinyao reunion concert held at Bras Basah Complex as a backdrop for the documentary, 我们唱着的歌 (The Songs We Sang). In the 1980s, the Bras Basah complex was a staging point for budding local young talents to showcase their new music compositions. I was too young then to be able to attend these concerts. It was certainly heart-warming to catch them "live" in action today at the very same venue after a span of 30 years. From time to time, the huge crowds sung in unison when familiar tunes were belted out on stage. This was a fantastic afternoon to relive those memories that we grew up with. The years might have passed but memories such as these were never quite forgotten. Certainly, ... read more

Saturday, 24th May 2014 This was a last minute decision to stay over for the weekend at Bukit Indah, Johor Malaysia. Given the relatively long commute via public transportation from Singapore, it made logical sense to stay over without the mad rush for home on Saturday evening. A couple of hotels had sprouted around the neighbourhood recently and for the purpose of this weekend stay, I made a go at the Princeton Hotel. The hotel was roughly 10 minutes walk to Jusco and along the same stretch where the massive Kaki Kaki Reflexology was located. There was nothing to shout about in terms of amenities at url=http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g298278-d3706555-r206945566-Princeton_Hotel-Johor_Bahru_Johor_Bahru_District_Joho.htmlPrinceton but it made up by having a rather comfortable room that came... read more