Fishing or Prawning in Singapore????

Sorry that I have not been updating in a while. I went on a 2 weeks holiday to Hanoi and Laos in Dec 11 and Jan 12, and it was Chinese New Year! In my opinion, it is the most celebrated festival in Singapore where 70% of Singapore Citizen is Singaporeans (and about 1 million of PRCs are working in Singapore although I reckon most of them will return home to celebration this joyous occasion.)

Anyway, for those of you who are thinking of coming to Singapore, one thing you can consider is fishing or prawning!

Fishing
If you want to go fishing and there are not many of you, you may want to go Pulau Ubin! Of course, that is if you have your own fishing rods. I have not seen anywhere with fishing rod rental. You can fish in the morning and cycle in the afternoon or vice-versa. If there are more of you, you may want to consider chartering a fishing boat. It costs approximately S$300 including the boatman for the whole day (8am-5pm), and can carry a maximum of 10 people! That is S$30 per person for a whole day in the sea where you can play cards, drink beer, and of course to fish! The price does not include bait, fishing rods or lunch though. The boat will leave from Changi Village (which is quite close to Pulau Ubin).

Leaving the Pier and Uncle Tong helping me with the knot!

Did not even notice the fish because I was taking a picture

First Catch of the Day!

Halfway through our fishing trip

At the End of our Trip

Biggest Catch of the day! (caught by the boatman)

Prawning
Well, prawning is not nearly as fun as fishing, however, you probably catch a prawn more quickly than a fish, and the thrill of pulling it out of the water is still exciting. Been to 2 prawning ponds - Bishan Park and East Coast Park, and Bishan Park is much better in my opinion. The management of the prawn farm in East Coast Park is a bit more stingy in their prawns, and did not want to put in more prawns although no one has been catching. We paid for 3 hours, and only used 2 hours which we only caught 3 prawns with 2 rods. Although we are not that good, but it seems like no one there was catching many prawns unlike the one in Bishan Park. The management usually releases more prawns every 1-2 hours! You can also get beer there and drink while waiting for the prawns!

Waiting, and waiting, and waiting...

Well, these 2 options are activities that you guys can consider doing when you are in Singapore rather than the normal tourist spots! 

I will find some time to time to post about Hanoi and Laos soon!!!! Ciao~

2nd Year Anniversary!

We are 2 years old!!!! Just celebrated our 2nd year anniversary on 19 Nov 11. Thank you everyone for joining us in our joyous celebration, especially Gil and Mr Wong who came all the way down from KL just to join us! :)

Honestly, we did not have much pictures. I was drinking since 8pm when the food arrived, and did not stop till 1am. It was a good, tipsy night! I think the only 2 pictures we took were on Mel's phone.

We catered a 9-course dinner so that our guests/friends can taste our local delights and gave each of the guest a free beer to join us.

Some people may wonder why did we spend so much money on a celebration? Honestly, our profit margin is not high (I am not sure about other hostels) and this celebration itself, has cost me about $600-S$700 (including the free drinks that I gave to my staff). Well, I think it is an achievement to have survived for 2 years in this dog-eat-dog world.  This is also sort of like a staff party whereby most of my staff came back to the hostel to eat and drink. Quite a good timing for them to relax since most of them are in the midst of their exams.

Well, nothing much to write about since it is just a eating, drinking night. Hope to see you guys during ZoukOut! :)

Iain and I, and a few of my previous guests who are now staying in KL should be coming. Hope to see you guys!

Singapore World's First

Was bored one day and just googling about Singapore. I was quite amazed to see certain facts that I did not know about a country which I have stayed in the past 20+ years! Yes, I am not that old, I am still in my mid twenties. :)

• The Guinnes Book of Records named the old Kandang Kerbau Maternity Hospital as the hospital where most babies were born in a year. In 1966, 39,835 babies were delivered.

Well, I was born in Malaysia (Johor Bahru) but I know that many of my elementary school classmates are born in KK Hospital. I guess since Singapore has one of the highest population density in the world, it is not all that surprising. 

• World’s Highest Man-Made Waterfall - With a fall of 30m, Singapore houses the world’s highest man-made waterfall. This is located within the aviary at the Jurong Bird Park which was opened in January 1971.

I just went to the Jurong Bird Park 4 days ago and saw the waterfall. Well, I will say that there is nothing very special about it. No much comments on this.

• World’s First Night Zoo – Found in the north western part of Singapore, The Night Safari is the world’s first night zoo, spreading over 40 hectares of land. It was opened in May 1994 and entertains about 900,000 visitors a year.

The Night Safari is actually quite interesting. Basically it is like a night zoo but some of the animals are more active because they are nocturnal. However, it really depends on luck because if the animals do not stand where the spot lights are, you basically cannot see anything. The Creature of the night show is a must see if you go to the Night Safari!

• World’s Largest Orchid Display - The National Orchid garden within theSingapore Botanic Gardens has the world’s largest orchid display with more than 60,000 plants.

The Orchard Garden in the Singapore Botanical Gardens also has an area where they showcase plants in temperate climate. After walking around for a couple of hours in the heat, it is really refreshing to go into the greenhouse where it is air-conditioned! :)

• Worlds Largest Fountain - The Fountain of Wealth at Suntec Cityentered in the Guinnes Book of Records in 1998 as the World’s Largest Fountain. It has a base area of 1,690 sq m and from this base is a four-legged bronze frame that weighs 85,000kg. Water from the fountain shoots up to as high as 30m.

This fountain has laser display on certain nights (can't seem to find out which nights they have the display). Have been there during the display a couple of years ago and remember it as being quite beautiful. Apparently, it also brings you good luck to walk 1 round around the fountain while touching the water.

• World’s Fastest “SMSer” - Kimberly Yeo, a 23-year-old Business Administration student, took only 43.24 seconds to sms “The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrsaalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human.” That earned her a spot in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s fastest SMSer.

This is a bit weird. I know that Singaporeans love to text message more than anything else. We will rather spend 20 smses than talking on the phone for 5 minutes. Kids in Singapore also start getting handphones when they are still in elementary school.  Maybe Ms Yeo got lots of training! 

F1 Drinking Night!

Dear all,

I should really update my blog more often! We bought a portable BBQ pit and had a BBQ a few weeks ago, unfortunately, the pictures are with Sean (a colleague) and he still has not sent me the pictures until now. Thus, when he finally (if ever) send me the pictures, I will post the pictures on the blog!

This entry is really about an F1 drinking party that we had about 2-3 weeks ago. Well, after I got Gerald to help me doing the operations, I had a lot more time to think about events to organise and F1 is one of those event! Thank you Gerald, if not, this event will not be possible.

I started off the night by giving a free bottle of Gin to guests of the hostel. Someone has to start the ball rolling right? Beers are also sold by the bucket which is cheaper than if you buy individually (which is cheaper than if you buy in pubs/clubs). This has to be encouraging to a certain extent. But let me emphasize, we encourage people to drink responsibly.

Most of us were drinking outside the hostel at the beginning.

After a couple of hours when everyone is getting a bit tipsy, we decided to play a drinking game: Ring of Fire. For those who did not know what game it is, it is basically a drinking game where everyone will most probably get drunk pretty quick.

First, you lay all the playing cards in a circle (hence the name). Next, everyone will take turns to pick a card from the circle. Whoever break the ring will have to finish whatever he/she has in his bottle/cup.

Each individual card will have a specific meaning (Eg. Girls drink, Boys drink, Rule card where the rule master has to set a rule where everyone has to follows, if not, he/she will have to drink, Point to the Sky where the last person to point to the sky will have to drink... etc etc)

We ended the night at around 12 midnight. I was really tired. Think I am getting old and I really can't stay up as late as I used to. Anyway, it was quite a successful night! Thank you everyone for attending the drinking night! We will have more of these to come! :)

Drop Inn Surfing!!!

Wavehouse in Sentosa Island, SIngapore, has been opened for about 2 years since 2009. It opened at around the same time that Drop Inn was opened, but I only had time to go there for the first time on 9 Oct 2011. Well, theoretically, I had been there a couple of times before, but it was just for drinking purposes because they had a promotion that you get a buy-1-get-1-free for everything with RedBull! :) Being slightly alcoholic a good host, of course, I had to bring my guests there to take advantage of such a good deal, especially in an expensive place in Singapore!

9 Oct 2011, it was the day that I tried surfing in Wavehouse for the first time. I must say that I was really scared. Since I was a kid, I was never really an athlete. I was so afraid that I will embarrassed myself! That explains why I did not take any pictures of myself (actually I do, it is just that I looked really really fat, and I do not want another person to comment that I look pregnant).

 That is Camilla trying it on the board! However, she seems to think that bodyboarding is more fun than surfing. Well, I did not try bodyboard, so I have no idea!

Thanks Phuong for these beautiful pictures at the expense at yourself! You helped us to take so many pictures, that is why I do not have many pictures of you. 

This is our group at Wavehouse! It was a bit dark, but because this is the only picture I had of the whole group, I had to put it up! :)

Haikal is my friend is has been to Wavehouse 5-6 times (Accordingly to him). He is the most pro among us! He is also the one who organised this surfing trip!

Simon, I am so sorry I put up a picture of you falling. It was one of the only pictures Phuong had of people falling, thanks for the sacrifice! It is greatly appreciated!

Well, I think this is overall a good trip. The only bad thing is that we had to wait a couple of hours for our turn. Wavehouse does not allow booking over the phone, and by the time we get there, we only managed to get the last slot (10pm-11pm). Iain and I got the membership (which only lasts for 3 months) that gives us a buy-1-hour-get-1-hour-free deal! Each hour costs S$30. Well, it is not exactly the cheapest thing to do, but it is definitely an experience! I have tried surfing (quite horribly) in Bali and wakeboarding in Singapore, and I think that the feeling is more similar to wakeboarding compared to surfing. Even the controlling of the board is similar to wakeboarding!

Great experience and everyone had fun!!!! By the way, we are having a BBQ this Friday (14 Oct 11), join us if you can! :)

How to Choose Accommodation in Singapore?

Mid Autumn Festival 2011

Mid Autumn Festival is a Chinese Festival which is widely associated with playing with lanterns, eating mooncakes and drinking tea. It is celebrated on 15 Aug of the lunar calender where the moon is the biggest and the brightest.

Story on Mid Autumn Festival

According to Wikipedia, Celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival is strongly associated with the legend of Houyi and Chang'e, the Moon Goddess of Immortality. Tradition places these two figures from Chinese mythology at around 2200 BCE, during the reign of the legendary Emperor Yao, shortly after that of Huangdi. Unlike manylunar deities in other cultures who personify the moon, Chang'e simply lives on the moon but is not the moon herself.

There are many variants and adaptations of the legend of Chang'e that frequently contradict each other. However, most versions of the legend involve some variation of the following elements: Houyi, the Archer, an emperor, either benevolent or malevolent, and an elixir of life.

One version of the legend states that Houyi was an immortal and Chang'e was a beautiful young girl, working in the palace of the Jade Emperor (theEmperor of Heaven, 玉帝 pinyin:Yùdì) as an attendant to the Queen Mother of the West (the Jade Emperor's wife). Houyi aroused the jealousy of the other immortals, who then slandered him before the Jade Emperor. Houyi and his wife, Chang'e, were subsequently banished from heaven. They were forced to live on Earth. Houyi had to hunt to survive and became a skilled and famous archer.

At that time, there were ten suns, in the form of three-legged birds, residing in a mulberry tree in the eastern sea. Each day one of the sun birds would have to travel around the world on a carriage, driven by Xihe, the 'mother' of the suns. One day, all ten of the suns circled together, causing the Earth to burn. Emperor Yao, the Emperor of China, commanded Houyi to use his archery skill to shoot down all but one of the suns. Upon completion of his task, the Emperor rewarded Houyi with a pill that granted eternal life. Emperor Yao advised Houyi not to swallow the pill immediately but instead to prepare himself by praying and fasting for a year before taking it.^[3] Houyi took the pill home and hid it under a rafter. One day, Houyi was summoned away again by Emperor Yao. During her husband's absence, Chang'e, noticed a white beam of light beckoning from the rafters, and discovered the pill. Chang'e swallowed it and immediately found that she could fly. Houyi returned home, realizing what had happened he began to reprimand his wife. Chang'e escaped by flying out the window into the sky.^[3]

Houyi pursued her halfway across the heavens but was forced to return to Earth because of strong winds. Chang'e reached the moon, where she coughed up part of the pill.^[3] Chang'e commanded the hare that lived on the moon to make another pill. Chang'e would then be able to return to Earth and her husband.^{[citation needed]}

The legend states that the hare is still pounding herbs, trying to make the pill. Houyi built himself a palace in the sun, representing "Yang" (the male principle), in contrast to Chang'e's home on the moon which represents "Yin" (the female principle). Once a year, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Houyi visits his wife. That is the reason why the moon is very full and beautiful on that night.^[3]

This description appears in written form in two Western Han dynasty (206 BC-24 AD) collections; Shan Hai Jing, the Classic of the Mountains and Seas and Huainanzi, a philosophical classic.^[4]

Another version of the legend, similar to the one above, differs in saying that Chang'e swallowed the pill of immortality because Peng, one of Houyi's many apprentice archers, tried to force her to give the pill to him. Knowing that she could not fight off Peng, Chang'e had no choice but to swallow the pill herself.^{[citation needed]}

Other versions say that Houyi and Chang'e were still immortals living in heaven at the time that Houyi killed nine of the suns. The sun birds were the sons of the Jade Emperor, who punished Houyi and Chang'e by forcing them to live on Earth as mortals. Seeing that Chang'e felt extremely miserable over her loss of immortality, Houyi decided to find the pill that would restore it. At the end of his quest, he met the Queen Mother of the West, who agreed to give him the pill, but warned him that each person would only need half a pill to regain immortality. Houyi brought the pill home and stored it in a case. He warned Chang'e not to open the case, and then left home for a while. Like Pandora in Greek mythology, Chang'e became curious. She opened up the case and found the pill, just as Houyi was returning home. Nervous that Houyi would catch her, discovering the contents of the case, she accidentally swallowed the entire pill, and started to float into the sky because of the overdose.

Some versions of the legend do not refer to Houyi or Chang'e as having previously been immortals and initially present them as mortals instead.

There are also versions of the story in which Houyi was made king as a reward for killing nine of the suns and saving the people. However, King Houyi became a despot who either stole a pill of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West or learned that he could make such a pill by grinding up the body of a different adolescent boy every night for a hundred nights. Chang'e stole the pill and swallowed it herself, either to stop more boys being killed or to prevent her husband's tyrannical rule from lasting forever.

Our Journey

We set off from the hostel at approximately 7:15pm. Well, the mass lantern procession was supposed to start at 7:30pm at the open field near Outram Park MRT station. However, we had a hard time trying to find the open field because it is such a vague description! By the time we finally found a field (which we still do not know whether it is the open field which the organisers were talking about), it was about 8pm. We were not sure whether the event got cancelled because of the rain or that we were too late. Eventually after asking a few people, we ended up in Chinatown where we saw tonnes of people and I knew that we were on the right track!

 There was even a makeshift stage with skimpily beautifully-dressed chinese ladies playing the traditional chinese instruments!

Well, by then it was about 8:30pm and all of us were starving!!!! Thus, we decided to get some food before we decide what we are going to do next. 

We found a random restaurant and ordered about 9 dishes for 9 of us. Beers were really cheap there! It was only S$6 for a big bottle! That was probably the reason why this guy puked just beside our table. Sorry Phuong, Simon and Iain. All 3 of them got the puke either on their hand or feet. :(

For some reason, Simon seems very amused with chopsticks and I have no idea why Camilla had that expression on her face. It is funny, so here it is!

After dinner, we decided that we were not going to let the rain stop us! So what if it rains? So what if no one else was playing with lanterns! We had already bought the lantern, and we were not going to let anything stop us! 

Poor Iain. He had to hold all the girls' lanterns when we went to the toilet.

Special way of holding lanterns

All of us with our beloved lanterns! 

We walked from Chinatown to Clarke Quay. Was not that far. Maybe around 10-15 minutes walk? After that, we bought a couple of beers and just sat on the bridge to drink. Much cheaper than going to a bar! Imagine a drink costing about S$15 for a pint in a bar, compared to a 6-pack beer for S$20. Much better deal!

Many thanks to our photographer for the night! This post will not be possible without you! :)