Singapore Book Fair 2019

This year Singapore Book Fair is held at Capitol Singapore! Most probably, I spent the day reading, exploring Capitol Singapore mall and eating. It is near to Raffles City Shopping mall, my favourite mall. 

Click here to read more.
Nearest MRT: Cityhall MRT station

 Inside the beautiful theatre.

 The ceiling inside the theatre features 12 western astrological signs.

 Author giving talk.

Succulent Plants

I brought some beautiful succulent plants recently. Staff told me to water them once every 2 weeks or a month. Today is really hot and sunny so I just spray some water on them. Hopefully it can last 15 years.

Not Well This Week

This week, I have been coughing and sneezing and to my horror, I had fever this Tuesday. I rarely have fever and the last time I had fever was about 5 years ago. Normally my flu or cough will recover in a day or 2. But this time my cough persist for a week. Age is catching up on me and I am now in my late thirties. Think I better start to exercise and lose weight. 

I need to resume exercise routine, maybe aerobic dancing. How time flies, I feel so nostalgic so I watched my childhood idol Aaron Kwok MTV, the song that made him famous.  

Pulau Ubin, Rustic Island

 
If you want to visit rustic Singapore, head to Pulau Ubin, a 1020-hectare island where you can explore Singapore's last village or kampongs and Chek Jawa Wetlands with rich ecosystems. Recently, I went to another part of the Pulau Ubin where Outward Bound School is located via a ferry at Punggol jetty. To arrive at the other side of Pulau Ubin, the Chek Jawa wetlands, you need to take a boat from Changi Point jetty. 

Vesak Day in Singapore

In Singapore, Vesak Day celebration is on 19th May Day (Sunday). 20th May is a public holiday for all in Singapore. There are many events to commemorate the life of the Buddha: his birth, his attainment of Enlightenment and his passing into Nirvana. Based on  Buddhist scriptures, each of these occurred on a full moon in the lunar month of Vesak.

You can click this link to find various events. For me, I plan to go to Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum and maybe Palelai Temple. 

Buddha" Craving, with you I've been born again and again. But now you're reviewed and your power redundant. 

It is the nature of all conditioned to arise, persist for a while and then pass away. Investigate the impermanence of all conditioned phenomenon. For the tears of beings wandering through the samsara are beyond measure. One who is still attached to form, sound, taste, smell and physical sensation cannot find liberation from this world." 

The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings.
1)They are the truth of suffering 
2) The truth of the cause of suffering 
3) The truth of the end of suffering 
4) The truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering is the Noble Eightfold  path. 

The steps of the Noble Eightfold Path are  
1)Right Understanding 
2)Right Thought 
3)Right Speech 
4)Right Action 
5)Right Livelihood 
6)Right Effort 
7)Right Mindfulness  
8)Right Concentration.

To read more on my reflect on Buddhism, you can view my other blog on Buddhism here.

TulipMania 2019 at Gardens by the Bay

Every year from April to May, Gardens by the Bay will feature TulipMania at the Flower Dome. You can click Tulips link to see my other posts on TulipMania here. I love 2017 TulipMania that feature Vincent Van Gogh and his paintings. This year, I love TulipMania Garden trail informative brochure which lets you make paper windmill. I think its really creative and educational. Looking at the beautiful tulips at the flower dome, somehow I feel its not necessary to fly all the way to Netherlands to see tulips. 

Gardens by the Bay, Flower Dome
TulipMania will be displayed from now to 20 May 2019

 Make your own windmill from Tulipmania brochure

 I love the colour combination of light red and white Tulips Singapura. 

Inside the windmill

Vegetarian Choices at Soup Spoon

Raffles City shopping mall is one of my favourites shopping malls in Singapore besides the Jewel at Changi Airport. There are many vegetarian choices at Raffles City shopping mall.  Located next to City Hall MRT station at the East-West line, it is only 25 minutes time to Tampines.

As usual, after work on Friday evening or on Saturday, I will go to Raffles City shopping mall to read magazines at the bookshop, visit the Kikki.k shop and then eat at the restaurants. 

Last weekend I was looking forward to eating pesto mushroom flatbread but its no longer available at Soup Spoon to my disappointment. I chose the pumpkin soup set with tomato cheese toastie briowich and ice-lemon tea at about $11.00. 

Soup Spoon at Raffles City shopping mall

Nearest MRT: City Hall MRT and Esplanade MRT

Tomato Cheese Toastie Briowich. This briowich is good. I was actually looking forward to eating mushroom flatbread but its not longer available at Soup Spoon :( . I'm surprised by the simple combination of tomatoes, cheese and sweet onion with arugula leaves. 

 As usual I had the roasted pumpkin soup.

Ice lemon tea

Mixed Mushroom Dry Noodles at GreenDot

I went to Plaza Singapura to purchase some arts materials. Was happy to see GreenDot eatery there. Decided to try mixed mushroom dry noodles there. It really taste like zhajiang noodles. This is one dish I will order again.

Vegetable Burger at Mos Burger

Finally saw vegetable burger at Mos Burger! I haven't eat Mos burger for more than a year after I start on vegetarian diet. But I'm not sure if the sauce is vegetarian.I hope it is. If the restaurant is willing to spend time to come up with vegetable patty, they should also some time on ensuring the sauce doesn't include meat too. 

Saw a vegetable symbol so brought to try. This Hokkaido croquette is delicious and taste like filet o fish. Really crispy on the outside and smooth inside with similar texture to Macdonald filet o fish patty. Love the croquette. If the sauce is not vegetarian, I just order the croquette which is yummy.

Kranji MRT Station

Most attractions in Singapore are within walking distance from the MRT. At Kranji MRT station, the Singapore Turf Club is next to it. Last week we went to Shilin night market at the carpark at Singapore Turf Club. 

From Singapore Infopedia

History
Kranji MRT station, which officially opened in 1996, stands between Yew Tee and Marsiling MRT stations.3The station was built to accommodate the new industrial, residential and recreational developments outlined in the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s (URA) 1991 Concept Plan.4 The plan aimed to develop northern Singapore into an urban locale, with Woodlands as a regional centre.5

In 1991, the government acquired eight lots of land in the Kranji district to lay the Woodlands MRT Line. Occupied mainly by sawmills, the land spread over 58,500 sq m and was owned by the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC).6 In 1996, 15 plots of land at the Sungei Kadut Industrial Estate were further acquired. At the time of the acquisition, this stretch of land, lying between Yew Tee and Kranji MRT stations, was home to 15 factory operators dealing mainly in heavy industries.7

At the time of construction, the Kranji MRT station was built to serve the huge crowds visiting the Singapore Turf Club. The club, relocated from Bukit Timah Road, is about 300 m from the MRT station.8

FeaturesWith 8,000 punters expected to arrive every half hour during the first few races on race days, some special features were incorporated into the station’s design. One major feature is its size. At over 1,300 sq m, the station is sufficiently spacious to accommodate such a huge crowd. In fact, Kranji MRT station is the largest station on the Woodlands MRT Line. The station has 20 automatic fare-collection gates – twice more than the usual number – to speed up passenger flow. Other features include a bigger entrance lobby, a covered walkway linking the station to the turf club, more ticket-vending machines, four escalators and two flights of stairs.9

In the early days, the flow of traffic decided the direction of the escalators on race days. As punters arrived before the races, all the escalators were programmed to move downwards only to bring commuters from the elevated platform to the ground level. After the races, the escalators would move upwards only. On the whole, the station is designed to handle a crowd as huge as 50,000 throughout the day.10

In 2012, the station was installed with half-height screen doors to enhance commuter safety and to reduce the incidences of track intrusion.11