SINGAPORE SHORT STORIES

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net I called up a service provider today, enquiring about some matters regarding service delivery. Though I started off my enquiry in English, I was startled to hear the man on the other end of the line, a Chinese PRC, answering my enquiries in Mandarin. Well, though the customer service officer might have known that I am a local Chinese from my voice, however, should he not converse in English with English being the official common language of Singapore? I persisted in talking to the officer in English, however the latter insisted in replying my queries in Mandarin to my indignation that I have to speak to him in Mandarin too, as his spoken English, however few, was also hard to bear! Should Singapore aim to raise the standard of spoken English here, the Singapore Government should really ensure foreigners fronting customer service desks be conversant in good spoken English and to use English as the medium for interacting with custom

Mention Fengshan, and the image of an ordinary town will appear in the minds of many. Indeed, Fengshan is an ordinary town in the East Coast GRC, so what is the distinct landmark in this town? If you were to ask me the aforementioned question, I would unanimously say that Fengshan Food Centre at Blk 85, Bedok North Avenue is the icon of Fengshan. Every night, you would see that the food centre is packed with food lovers and the many owners of the highly acclaimed stalls are busy cooking and tending to their patrons! Just look at the food stall above which sells a mix of delicacies like Char Kway Teow, Or-Lua, Carrrot cakes, the owners are busy cooking and cooking through the dinner rush hours, serving steamy hot delicacies to placate the hunger pangs of foodies. Or Lua Char Kway Teow

NATAS Travel Fair 09 is currently ongoing at Expo Hall 4 and 5 and will be on till tomorrow. Another exhibition is also ongoing from yesterday till tomorrow though it is held on a more low-key note as compared to NATAS Travel Fair: Asian Food Delights 09 If you are thinking that the food exhibition is akin to the Singapore Food Festival exhibition, you will be a tad disappointed, for Hall 6 where the exhibition is held contains not only food stalls but also stalls of other household themes. Nevertheless there is still a slew of great stalls offering great food at good prices! Just look at the people eating: After my Dear and I toured the NATAS travel fair yesterday and decided on the plan, it was already past 9pm! Our stomachs were growling as we rushed to the fair right after our work to avoid the weekend crowds and to clinch an 'early bird' deal. How timely the food exhibition was! We proceeded to visit the food exhibition and with the closing of the food stalls at 10 pm, it

Go and fly kites today and tomorrow! Oops I am not scolding you, do not get me wrong! What I am saying is that there will be an inaugural Singapore Kite Festival 2009 held from today till tomorrow at West Coast Park from 4 pm to 7pm and admission is FREE! I must comment on the organizers for holding such a traditional hobby event. Kite flying is actually a great activity which can involve family and friends, build camaderie and simply rest and relax! Traditional and simple hobbies are fast fading, what we have these days are legions of computer games and entertainment which causes many of us to be "computer tubbies" For more details of the event, visit this link now!

My Dear and I just came back from the NATAS Holidays Travel Fair 2009 commencing today (28 Aug 09) and held till 30 Aug 09 (Sunday). Huge crowds thronged Exhibition Hall 4 and 5 right on the 1st day today! The NATAS Holidays travel fair was supposed to be where one could get the best bargains but for the destination my Dear and I had planned to visit, the price, on average, was quite normal, not really a discount. There was a mix of big and traditional travel agencies and many other smaller and newer travel firms. I believe if one were like to get a better pricing, the smaller and newer travel firms would be suitable, however for my Dear and I, we prefer the old and trusted brands. I believe trust of the customers is the barrier for the smaller and newer firms to cross. Finally, after a detailed planning and analysis, we chose a firm which offers the best value-for-money package for our destination. The number and type of free gifts in this fair is not as generous as the previous fair

This is Joo Chiat, one of Singapore's best haunts for foodies with its wide array of stalls offering Peranakan, Japanese, Korean and Western cusines as well as local ethnic dishes. Joo Chiat is not only about food, it is also about culture as one can see a slew of heritage buildings adorning the precint. I would encourage one to pay Joo Chiat a visit as it is indeed a colourful town.

Geylang Serai was a buzz of activity last Saturday with the launch of a community carnival at the annual Geylang Serai Hari Raya Light Up! The area was attractively lit with bright streams of lights, an annual attraction to usher in Hari Raya Puasa Geylang Serai becomes transformed into a hub of Malay heritage with the setting up of giant 'Pasar Malams'. Inside these beautifully set-up tentages, you can find almost everything related to Malay celebrations accessories such as clothes and lightings. I took a double glance at the giant billboard below and for some moments, I could not figure out which Malay community leader was in the billboard, it was only after sometimes that I realised it is Dr Ong Seh Hong, PBM, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC and Advisor to Kampong Ubi Constituency Grassroots Organisations. Regrettably, my Dear and I visited the area a bit late as the celebrations of the community event graced by Dr Ong has just ended an hour before. Singapore Sho

Last Saturday, my Dear and I tried the one and only Claypot Bak Kut Teh from Sin Heng Claypot Bak Kut Teh along Joo Chiat Road, next to Joo Chiat Community Club. Claypot Bak Kut Teh is Bak Kut Teh cooked using the claypot-fired method, as such the Bak Kut Teh that results appears to be finer and 'smoother'. With fried dough sticks and black sauce, the Claypot Bak Kut Teh surely is a delectable fare though my Dear and I would prefer white pepper soup as compared to black pepper soup. The Claypot Bak Kut Teh, though is not the best I have tried, but it is definitely worth trying. Joo Chiat where this stall is based, is a trove of Singapore's greatest food haunts, I will show you some of these great places for foodies in the coming few posts!

About 3 months ago, I have written a post on my visit to the temporary Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre which has become 'notorious' due to the mass food poisoning incident caused by customers eating poisoned Rojak from the "Rojak Geylang' stall. The mass poisoning caused the death of an old woman and a pregnant woman to lose her baby, it was such a sad case. Fast forward 3 months ago, the new Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre was finally opened! Confidence is definitely restored as my Dear and I visited the new spacious and swanky premise which looks like one large elegant giant Malay heritage cultural centre last Saturday. This new market and food centre is located near Paya Lebar MRT station in the hub of the Malay Village. There is a galore of food and new shops selling Malay costumes and accessories and I must tell you that hygience is defintely of the highest standards as there is a plethora of wash basins and restrooms which are really clean! The revampe

Yesterday, I caught one of the best Chinese Lunar Seventh month Getai shows ever when i was passing through the field next to the new Geylang Serai Market and Food Centre. The few rows of chairs were definitely not enough for the audience with part of the crowd spilling into the adjacent road and a two-lane road became a one-lane road, which caused mini-traffic jams and traffic police to interfere. I did not know when the actual Getai show started but I could tell that it was one of the stronger Getai with the popular Getai host, Lim Ruping as the MC; and true enough more popular TV artistes appeared: The artistes were the cast from the movie "Where Got Ghost", doing a promotion at the Getai. The cast as you can see from the photo included Mark Lee, Henry Thia among others. It was a hilarious night at the Getai yesterday with the Getai show peppered with a galore of jokes, some were quite crude, from the hosts. Overall, it was also an educational Getai show as the movie cast

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net Yesterday, when I was passing through Paramount Shopping Centre, a centre popular for its slew of pubs and bars, I got more than what I have expected: there were too many scantily dresssed girls of the bars and pubs walking around the shopping centre, some coming out from the toilets and others entering into the centre from other entrance points. The women I saw were really revealing too much of their flesh and cleavage. One hostess I saw, has her upper body held just by a pair of bikinis and her abundant cleavage was overflowing and seemed threaten to burst the straps of her tight biknis. There were also many other hostess outside the pubs or just wandering around, dressed in very tight, very skimpy hot and short dress or tight bottoms. I have read before that there were some fights before in this shopping centre famed for its pub and nightlife, it seems that things are still very hot or even hotter in this shopping centre!

Dear Readers, A very meaningful charity initiative and event is coming up! The media release of the event is appended below. Do give your fullest support to the event for charity! Thanks! NUS MEDICAL STUDENTS CYCLE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR NEEDY PATIENTS AND CONDUCT FREE PUBLIC HEALTH SCREENING 1) Ride for Hope 2009 Two groups of medical students from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine will take time away from their undergraduate studies on 29 August 2009 to do their bit for charity. One group will join wheelchair athlete Dr Wiliam Tan to raise funds for needy patients. The medical students will be going on an 80 km cycling expedition around Singapore. Another group will conduct health screening for the public. Both endeavours will be flagged off by Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan at the AMK Hub. Ride for Hope 2009, as the students’ cycling event is called, will see about 40 cyclists make pit stops at six public hospitals, whose patients will benefit from the $100,000 that the cyclists

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net How much insurance coverage do you think you as a Singaporean require? Many would say $100,000 would be enough. For others, they may not be having any insurance at all too. According to an article published in the Straits Times today, a typical average Singaporean would require an insurance coverage of $494,851, however the average Singaporean has just an average insurance coverage of only $165,628 with many falling short of this coverage amount! Though the pace of life in Singapore is generally hectic, one must really sit down and plan for his retirement, his insurance coverage because time and tide really waits for no man! Before you know it, 10 years will be gone in a flash! I have always know that to grow your retirement amount, saving is not enough, what one must really do is to invest your money into unit trusts etc! However, I have not done that, as the rates of return really do fluctuate with time but generally one can st

Today I woke up to the wafting burning smell of incense estate-wide. Yes, it is that time of the year again when the gates of hell are believed to open and where a myriad of ghosts make their reappearances back on earth. Many of the ghosts are coming to earth to relieve the good old times: the offerings offered by the streets, the entertainment galore in the ‘Getais’ (Chinese variety shows); to visit their relatives or some are even back with a vengeance! Though I am not a superstitious person, I would still rather believe in the ‘safety precautions’ to take during this hungry ghost month. Let us take a review of these top 10 ‘safety precautions’ I have compiled: 1) Avoid outdoors where possible (good suggestion, with so many of the ghosts on the streets, as believed) 2) Avoid outdoors at night (some believe the ghosts will lurk only during the night and not just the day). 3) Avoid swimming and water sports (you would not want to be ‘pulled’ into the deep seas!) 4) NEVER step on the o

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net With some time to spend today, I tried a service I have always wanted to try before: ear candling! As I have mentioned in the blog before, I am not really a rich man, however no matter how 'un-rich' I am, no matter how many people despise me due to my 'un-richness', who says 'un-rich' people cannot enjoy life and indulge in a little bit of pampering at times? Anyway the ear candling services I had today was at a discounted price for 30 minutes. Ear candling is touted to rid the wax residing in one's ear, eliminate toxins and possibly sinuses. There is also some skeptism about ear candling, saying that it is just a fad! and worse, some articles even report that during the candling, the wax can drop off into the ear and causes serious injury to the ear! When the ear candling treatment started, I was assured that the ear candle used was not an ordinary candle (not something like you see above). I do not r

Free Stock Photos for websites - FreeDigitalPhotos.net All of us were born like lions: when we were young, we dreamt of many big things, we dreamt of being a millionaire, we dreamt of having a big bungalow and we dare to dream! This is what I was when I was a young kid. I did not know the adult world, being sheltered and protected by my parents, living in an ivory tower, living in childhood fantasy. Time and tide however do not wait for man, soon like the others, I entered the adult world after graduation into the 'university of life'. I started to experience the rules of the corporate jungle. However, as a lion which has been caged in captivity for years, it was hence a cultural shock for me to learn the rules of the jungle where I saw colleagues scheme, plot and backstab; the rich and wealthy discriminating the poor like me, evil people plentiful in the world, and hence like a tamed lion freed in the jungle, the once fearsome lion hence became bullied even by a lesser animal

ASTONS Specialties, located at 119 East Coast Road, directly opposite Katong Mall is one of the dozen ASTONS stalls in Singapore. The restaurant is famous for its steak and other beef offerings, though it is equally well-known for other Western fare. There seems to be a perennial queue outside the restaurant everyday as the restaurant with its delicious fare at very reasonable prices (no service charge) is a hit with many Singaporeans. My Dear and I visited ASTONS Specialties at East Coast yesterday and we ordered a set of New York Strip (Beef) at just $14.70 and a set of chicken chop at $7.20; each set accompanied with two side dishes which you can choose. Though the frontier of the stall is small, it belies the average-sized restaurant setting inside. The waiting time was slightly longer than the norm, however when the set of New York Strip came, my Dear and I were simply awed as we became enveloped in the wafting aroma of the steaming and juicy beef served hot and fresh! We simpl

I was very hungry after the 10 km Army Half Marathon and Sheares Bridge Run hence we decided on a great feast that afternoon! First we headed to Aston for its famous steaks and other Western yummies! Well I would touch more of our great Aston experiences shortly in the coming post as there is really a wealth of great yummy experiences to share! After Aston, we proceeded to eat the Laksa that Katong is famous for! There are two particularly strong contenders for Katong’s No. 1 Laksa: 328 Katong Laksa and Famous 49 Katong Laksa! We decided to try the laksa from 328 Katong Laksa first! I have not been to 328 Katong Laksa for close to 3 years already! The walls of the shop are as before, adorned with pictures of the stall owner with all stars, either local or foreign! Displayed on the front of the stall is a picture of the owner with Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng too! I was a bit shocked but not really surprised that now one bowl of laksa at 328 costs $3.50 as compare

Today, Prime Minister Lee Hisen Loong would be making his annual National Day Rally speech in the Cultural Centre Hall of the National University of Singapore. Every National Day Rally is of significant importance to Singaporeans as the rally is often a platform for the Prime Minister to inform Singaporeans about the coming policies and incentives if any, as such it is the most closely watched talk for businessmen, investors and average Singaporeans. It is anyone guess on what Prime Minister Lee would be talking about, however I believe these are likely the topics Prime Minister Lee would touch on: a) Economic recession and whether Singapore's economy has recovered and whether any stimulus package would still be given out to tide Singaporeans over the reigning economic crisis b) Anti-terrorism efforts c) H1N1 d) Foreign talent e) Youths f) The search for Prime Minister's successor And who knows, with the General Election timeline approaching, Prime Minister Lee may giv

I just returned from the Sheares Bridge Run & Army Half Marathon (Singapore Bay Run) 2009! Waking up at 5.30 am on a Sunday is definitely a challenge to many, but I would call it a discipline, a committment to a cause; the cause being to run the annual Army Half Marathon 2009! The morning interval of the MRT was very long, resulting in my arrival at the Esplanade at exactly 7 am (start time of the 10Km race I would be participating)! No sooner than I exited from the Esplanade, I heard the blast of the horn and the race started! Everywhere around me was jammed packed with runners! There was hardly any running space at the beginning as due to the crowd, everyone just strolled slowly and it took me around 5 minutes to reach the starting point from where I was! After the starting point, the route was okay. "Run your own race" was definitely the mantra of many as you would need to know how to run the race. This race called for knowing just when, where, how to overtake other ru

This will be one of the dazzling scenes which will greet the international audience from 25 to 27 Sept 2009 when the live broadcast of the Singapore's leg of F1 which is also the world's second night race is shown to thousands around the world! As you can see from the photo, the stage has been set with the flood and flash lights all erected! The world has complimented Singapore for successfully hosting the world's 1st F1 night race last year. now the stakes are even higher for Singapore to host an even better F1 race! What might spoilt the race in my opinion are not the logistical factors, some slips-up may be possible but they may not be major enough to derail the whole show. What would really affect the smooth running of the race would be something which we could not control and that is the weather! It is not the rain that I can talking about! If it rains, the whole race can still proceed and it will be even more thrilling! What I am saying would be the haze which might

Singapore's largest science festival, Science.09 is here! Science.09 will be held from 14 August to end September and will kick off with X-periment!, a three-day science carnival at Marina Square Central Atrium from 14 to 16 August 09. Highlights at X-periment! include special performances by Dr Bunhead from the UK. Dr Bunhead is sure to be a hit with the kids and adults! So come with your family on Saturday, 15 August 2009 between 2pm and 5.30pm to Marina Square Central Atrium! Dr. Bunhead will perform twice during this time slot. The organizers will also be handing out special ‘Ask Why’ goodie bags to lucky participants! This year, the organizers are igniting that spirit of inquisitiveness at the heart of science, which has led to so many of its discoveries, with the theme – Ask Why. In that spirit, the organizers are encouraging Singaporeans to ask your science questions and who knows, you may win an Apple 16GB iPod Touch! To participate in the contest, please Submit your quest

Singapore's cityscape is always undergoing constant transformation and rejuvenation! It is hence no wonder that some tourists who have not been to Singapore for some years may find that certain streets are beyond their recognition already! Above is the photo I have snapped at Clarke Quay. You can see the silhouettes of the looming Integrated Resorts taking shape, with the opening of the Integrated Resorts expected at the end of the year! Though certain historical buildings such as the Old National Library have to make way for new development, I believe this is inevitable in land-scare Singapore. Overall, I believe Singapore has an excellent land use policy which maximise the best use of our limited land to accord Singaporeans the best in leisure, recreation, residential and cultural living.

The title for today's post is "Singapore Unlimited". Why do I choose such a title? Well, to many of us, Singaporeans, we always lament the fact that our country, Singapore is such a little country and there is 'nothing much' in Singapore owing to its small size. But I must say that though Singapore is very limited in size, there is an unlimited number of places we can discover in this little island! Just a few days ago, I stumbled across a place called "Robertson Walk" (see picture above, does it not look like a mini-resort kind of setting?) Well though some of you may have definitely visited this place, for me, it is my first time there. In a nutshell, what I must say is that in Singapore, there is still a suite of places that you and I may not have visited or stumbled before despites our persistent claims that Singapore is a small island. For some of the most exciting places I have visited in Singapore, please click on the picture hyperlink to the righ

Workers at Sim Ming Ave car workshops were having a normal day at work, when a nervous looking LION suddenly came out of no where...seemingly hungry because of how skinny his body looks. Everyone freaked out, jumping over each other, some locking themselves up in cars, some in the offices, and some just ran away...but one brave guy took the picture of this Lion without making a sound....and there was the SHOCK when the Lion turned around... Turns out that one co-worker had shaved his dog in such a way to look like a Lion.... A lion wannabe! (Disclaimer: Just another funny email I received :)

It has been some time since I tucked into the Burger King's burgers, hence I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that there was a change in bun used for the fish burger sold at the Burger King outlet. Instead of the usual sesame bun which I and I believe many of you have always partaken, I faced, for the first time, a completely different bun: a bun sprinkled with oats or wheat on top of it, it was like a bread bun! It was a nice change of buns! I have no preference for either the sesame bun or the oat bun as both buns when eaten together with the fillet and the sauce is simply delicious!

Changi Simei celebrates National Day with a Live screening of the actual parade at the open field besides Eastpoint Shopping Mall. Hundreds of residents flocked to the field, all decked out in red, ready to celebrate the joyous night with the community! Goodie bags were sold at $3 each, entitling the residents to a lucky dip, with great prizes to be won! The coveted prizes for many residents were the National Day's tote bags as these bags were only given to Singaporeans who attended the actual parade or its previews. The host of the night was well-known artiste, Pornsak and the signature item for the celebrations was none other than the largest Singapore's flag made of 8,000 cards containing the wishes of residents for Singapore! The flag entered into Singapore's National book of records! Everyone had a fun time celebrating the night in Changi Simei watching the parade together as one community! The air was poignant with the old kampong spirit! And celebrating National Day

This is not exactly a National Day Song but its one of the funniest songs about Singapore by artiste Hossan Leong! Enjoy!

One of Singapore's earliest top foreign Singapore Pop export, Kit Chan gives Singapore a beautiful, soothing rendition of "Home", another National Day Song of Singapore, the lyrics are so touching that it brings tears to even a grown up man like me. Enjoy!

This National Day song, sung by top Singapore Chinese Singer, Stefanie Sun is one of my favorites too! It truly rocks! Enjoy!

Yeah, I am going to my community National Day Celebrations later, me so excited and so looking forward to celebrating with my community! I have chosen this rendition of "We are Singapore" sung at last year National Day Parade, enjoy!In the video, for foreign readers, you can see the top leaders of Singapore too! However, I still love the orignal version of "We are Singapore", it brought me back a lot of memories of the past years! The two videos, I must tell you are almost 20 years apart, but the key few top leaders in Singapore are in both videos, this exemplifies the ageing political leadership of Singapore and Prime Minister Lee is currently looking for his successor in his 30s to be fielded in the next General Election.

Dear Readers, To celebrate National Day 2009 as well as to reward loyal readers of my blog, I would be partnering with many companies to offer loyal readers of my blog: special discounts and treats to many places of interests, restaurants and shops! If you have been reading my blog regularly or a new reader who have just started reading my blog, you are welcome to send in the following particulars to be eligible for the proposed dicounts and treats: Name: Email: Country: Its that simple! Whenever there are great offers and discounts, I will email you the offers! Do rest assured that all particulars received will be treated with the strictest confidentiality and addresses sent in masses will be included in the 'bcc' list. I look forward to your emailing to Singaporeshortstories@gmail.com Please titled your email as "Read & Win: Singapore Short Stories" . Happy Reading and have a Great Day ahead!

Today is Singapore's 44th National Day. To celebrate this joyous occasion, I have included the following video for all to view! This is actually my most favorite National Day song out of the dozens of National Day Songs over the years! Happy Viewing :)

(courtesy of 'Lianhe Zaobao') The picture shows what is supposed to be Singapore's biggest flag, measuring 700 square metres, erected on top of Singapore's Carlsberg Tower in Sentosa! The flag could even be viewed from the building in the Central Business District! But sorry, if you have not seen it and would like to go and take a look, the flag has now been removed! The flag was removed just hours after erection on Thursday due to logistical issues keeping the massive flag flying continoously! However, the authorities responsible for th flag are confident of staging this giant flag next year after learning from the 'lessons' this year.

Amidst all the joy and merry-making surrounding the celebration of Singapore's 44th National Birthday, it is indeed sad to learn of 12 year old Tng Jie Min being hit by a car after her National Day rehearsal at her school (read full article here ). She was just 5 days shy of making her appearance on National stage. Jie Min now remains unconscious in an Intensive Care unit in a hospital in Singapore. Indeed, I am sad to hear of such tragedy! The cause of the accident is not known, and I would like to advise all Singaporeans to cross the roads really carefully, even if the lights are in your favours to cross as pedestrians, do take a double check on all vehicles to ensure all vehicles have stopped before crossing the road. Many times, I was almost killed by reckless drivers who drive with blatant disregard for lives. Sometimes, I feel pitiful for people who are killed by reckless drivers: the victims lose their lives but the drivers would at most be sentenced to some years of jail,