Fireworks at the Bay

Ever since I participated in the National Day Fireworks team in 2000, I was fascinated by the fireworks. After that I was always chasing them. Every year during the National Day fireworks carnival I will be at marina bay to catch them. I used to take photos with the old fashioned camera and they turned out like crap so I stopped. Then when I first got my digital camera I thought it can do wonders...but the pics turned out like crap too. But I realised the fault lies with me. Haha..After .much consultation with the pros....I managed to take some decent photos...not really good but decent. I have a long way to go to get those real professional pics. But some things for sure after last night...I need a tripod, better location and early dinner...

The crowd at the Bay last night was unbelieveable. I had the feeling that the entire spore population turned up. Everywhere was packed. From the floating platform spectator stand to the esplanade, across the bridge..to merlion park (where i was) all the way to boat quay...every single spot near the water was packed...booked...whatever. I walked all the way from esplanade to boat quay and back at 7pm hoping to find a decent spot but all I could see was tripods, bags, shoes, drinks lining up at the sidewalk chopping seats for their owners. So I ended up at the steps in beside the merlion. It was a great spot to view the fireworks but not the best spot to capture them cos it was too close. So all I could get was the fireworks and nothing else. But it was a much better attempt than previous.

After the display was over I was so damn hungry cos I didnt take my dinner. I reached cityhall at 6 alone and was hoping to get dinner before I head over to esplanade..to my horror..every single restaurant was packed, reserved...fully booked. Even Macdonalds at Marina was filled with people. And being alone didnt help. After walking for one hour I realised I am not going to get my dinner..so I went with an empty stomach..bad idea. Alone and hungry I made my way back to suntec city and most restaurants were closed by 1030 already. In the end I have to settle for MacDonalds (which was still packed) and take out to eat at the benches inside suntec..poor me.


I like this shot...I was seated right next to the Merlion and I realised I have never taken a decent shot of this icon of Singapore before.

Be Strong..Geum Soon

Have been catching this drama faithfully for the past 4 months...100 over episodes of Be Strong Geum Soon...in 2 weeks time, it will end on CH U, but I got to see the last episode on youtube. Its damn touching...Watching her overcome all the obstacles and finally end up with someone she loves and find true happiness. I am beginning to like Korean drama, I used to think Korean dramas are all sad,same plot...cancer, amnesia, blah blah but after watching a few..I begin to understand why people prefer watching them instead of watching Singapore ones. Singapore dramas are really getting worse and worse...everytime I switch over to CH 8 around 7 plus, I see Xiangyun screaming...Its super lame..I really missed the old drama serials...like Golden Pillow, Samsui women, Unbeatables, Morning Express..nowadays Mediacorp just like to produce crap. They like to produce ridiculously long dramas just for the sake of filling up airtime. The scriptwriters have nothing to fill up 100 over episodes so they come up with crappy plots, unbelieveable relationships..add in some daily quarrels and there you have it..Mediacrap newly produced piece of shit. While I was watching Geum Soon, it didnt feel like I have watched 100 over episodes..you really feel for her character when she is happy or when she is down..the supporting characters are just as good and are given considerable character developments..unlike Singapore ones, you watched 100 episodes but you dun give a shit what happens to the characters. Here is a segment of the last episode of Geum Soon and an MV...nice..:)

Price Hike!

Its the time of the year again when the board of directors of SBS sit down and say "Hey lets up the bus fare again!". When I heard the news saying that SBS have decided to submit their proposal to raise the transport fares I was thinking..great, every year also increase, every year they also say "After careful consideration, they had no choice but to raise the fares to cover for rising costs"...I dun remember there was a year they said after careful consideration, we decided not to increase the fares. Of couse when SMRT heard that, they thought "kao! they also increase liao, if we dun increase we lugi!" and so next day, as expected SMRT also submitted their proposal after much consideration.

I must admit the Singapore transport services are quite efficient but they are really not that great yet to warrant a yearly increase. Besides, there is no competition! Its not like SMRT and SBS are competing with each other..they seem more like partners...increasing price one after another. Then came the news that there will be penalty for bus operators if the waiting time exceed 10 mins. Please... I cant remember how many times I waited for my one and only feederbus for more than 15mins...Who is going to monitor them anyway? Moreover, after years of price hike, I dont see any improvements in the transport services...On rainy days, I was appalled to see some buses with their upper deck seats totally wet as the roof was leaking. Many occasions I was sitting happily on the bus when I realised the aircon was dripping water on me. And talking about making places accessible to those handicap pple, our buses are way behind ...I saw buses in LA where people in wheelchair were able to board..boy was I impressed. Here, those old people have difficulties climbing the steep steps up the bus. Buses are always so crowded at peak hours and buses speed off bus stops without stopping just becos the front is packed and the bus driver cant be bothered to ask people to move behind. With all these they still have the cheek to increase the fare every year.

Talking about fare hike...there are so many merchants who took advantage of the 2% GST to increase their prices...can drinks selling for 1 buck now goes for 1.10, I bought a hotdog bun at Breadtalk this morning, previously at 1.20 now it cost 1.30..is that a 2% increase? How convenient...2% become duno how many percent..like those hawker..2% increase ah..my wanton mee at 2 bucks cannot become 2.10 ...make it 2.50 lor....

The end of Harry Potter........

Spent the rest of my off day yesterday reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Finally I finished it. I remember I started reading the first book in 2001 and its been 6 years already. I read an interview with JK Rowling and she said "Some people started reading the first book when they were 10 and now they are already 20 yr olds" Thats quite amazing to me...The book was quite boring in the first few chapters with lots of aimless wandering around but towards the end, everything just exploded..the last few chapters leading to the climax was one non-stop heart thumping ride that doesnt let up. In the end, everything ended well, all loose ends tied up..well almost..I have to start reading the first six books in order to refresh my memories on some stuff..Maybe to some, its just a children series but to many, myself included, its a journey..journey through the imaginative wizarding world of J.K Rowling and watch the three characters Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione change from innocent 11 yr olds to eventual fighters against the Dark Lord. Its quite a journey and maybe thats what makes Harry Potter series so special and I am glad I picked up the first book 6 years ago.