Free Attraction at Gardens by the Bay

If you are searching for free attraction in Singapore, one the best free attractions is at Garden by the Bay outdoor gardens be it Chinese, Malay, India and Heritage gardens.

Whenever I'm free, I like to relax by walking and enjoying scenic view of lush greenery and blooming flowers at the Gardens by the Bay.
In the evening, you get to enjoy OCBC Garden Rhapsody when the Supertrees is dancing the night with the dazzling light and music.

For more information on Gardens by the Bay, click here.

At the Dragonfly bridge linking Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, you can admire the beautiful view of the Super trees and flower dome conservatory.

It cost $28 to visit two conservatories and $5 to Supertree Grove.

At the scenic Dragonfly Lake.

A blooming flower at Malay Garden

Chinese Garden

Entrance to Chinese Garden

 Sculpture of Chinese Diaspora

 Love this tranquil place in the midst of busy city.

 Chinese Characters craved on the garden wall

 Common Chinese flowers and plants

 At the Heritage Gardens

Sculptures in Singapore: Momentum

At Raffles Quay,near Raffles Place MRT station, you can find Singapore's tallest public sculpture, Momentum by Israeli sculptor David Gerstein. The 18.35m tall colourful steel sculpture "showcases spiraling layers of hand-painted metal figurines to depict the spontaneity, vibrancy and dynamism of the Central Business District." This sculpture was commissioned by the developers of One Raffles Quay and Marina Bay Financial Centre.

Twinkling Momentum

Momentum at Raffles Quay

Esplanade Visual Arts: Soaring Dragon 飞龙在天

From 13 Jan to 30 March 2014, you can enjoy visual arts Soaring Dragon by Carl Cheng Chi Ming 郑志明 from Hong Kong, at the Esplanade concourse steps. This installation is held in conjunction with Huayi Chinese Festival of Arts 2014.

Synopsis ( From Esplanade website)

"Soaring Dragon is based on the qian chapter of the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), one of the oldest Chinese classic texts and a book of divination and wisdom. 

The title of this installation is taken off a translation of the fifth “nine” (unbroken line) of the qian trigram, “When a dragon is in the sky, it will do good to meet with a great person – everyone who sees him may count himself blessed.” With the dragon a symbol of greatness and the sky a symbol of transcendence, Soaring Dragon suggests that people of greatness are now in the right places to lead others to success.

This new work is made of 200 firm bamboo ladders (symbolising one of four aspects of nobility and good social standing in Chinese culture) constructed in the form of a dragon; it represents the economic and social success of the Chinese, achieved through hard work."

 Soaring Dragon

Singapore Motion Time Lapse Video

This is motion timelapse videos on Singapore that feature Singapore iconic buildings and area of attraction by Mr Poh.

National Museum of Singapore: Wormhole Bamboo Installation

Saw this big bamboo installation that resemble a temporary habitat outside National Museum of Singapore. It is a art installation by an Indonesian artist for the Singapore Biennial 2013.

 Wormhole Bamboo Installation by Eko Prawoto from Indonesia

National Museum of Singapore

Esplanade Visual Arts: Tropical Zen Garden

From 17 Jan to 2 Mar 2014, the underground to the Esplanade presents Visual Arts: Tropical Zen Garden by Singapore Oh Chai Hoo.

 Tropical Zen Garden

Singapore, the Most Expensive Place to own a Car

To discourage Singapore residents from owning a car, Singapore government imposed a series of measures like Certificate of Entitlement, Electronic Road Pricing and parking fees. 
Before you can own a new car, you need to purchase Certificate of Entitlement which gives you the right to own a car (a piece of paper). This year February, for Catergory A (Cars up to 1600cc and 130 bhp), the COE costs $76,109.00. 

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) gantry

CAT A     Cars up to 1600cc and 130bhp [View Past CAT A Results]  Quota Premium Change Prevailing Quota Premium Quota Bids Received $71,564  $726 $76,109 362 719

CAT B     Cars above 1600cc or 130bhp [View Past CAT B Results]  Quota Premium Change Prevailing Quota Premium Quota Bids Received $75,300  $3,700 $82,333 360 523

CAT C     Goods Vehicle & Bus [View Past CAT C Results]  Quota Premium Change Prevailing Quota Premium Quota Bids Received $51,002  $1,001 $58,989 267 364

CAT E     Open [View Past CAT E Results]  Quota Premium Change Prevailing Quota Premium Quota Bids Received $77,003  $1,807 - 208 351

                COE RESULTS  2014 Feb 2014, 1st Tender ( FromSgcarmart)

                        Hollywood Stars shocked by Singapore car prices.

Getai Performance at River Hongbao Show 2014

Last Friday, I brought my parents to the River Hongbao Show and we were happy that we could watch free Getai performance and have good seats. Getai is literally translated from Chinese 歌台 which means song stage and is normally performed during the Hungry Ghost Festival but is now performed in other Chinese festivals.

My parents enjoyed the getai performance hosted by humorous Chen JianBin who could sing and act. We also managed to watch the fireworks near the Singapore Flyer as another major event Chingay was also organised. At the end of the day, I'm glad my parents enjoyed the performance. 

I really look forwards to next year River Hongbao show. Next year will be the year of Goat. Really appreciate the organisers which include Singapore Federation of Chinese Clans Association, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry.  

The majestic Horse in the city.

Pineapple and durian 

The hosts Chen JianBin and bilingual Lim RuiPing who could host both Mandarin and English fluently. 

The four performers sang popular Chinese New Year songs.

The singer sang in Teochew, one of the Chinese dialects.

Chen JianBin can really sing well.

Glitzy stage lighting and live band. I love live performance.

Fireworks for the Chingay event.

The finale

Late dinner after watching the performance.

Tradition in the city.

Ming Dynasty emperor and empress lanterns

Entrance to the River Hongbao show.