Walking amongst the Orchids

My mother in law loves Orchids so it was definitely on the cards to visit them. The choices were, The Botanical Gardens or Orchidville which claims to be the largest orchid farm in Singapore. We went there during the week so it was very quite and some of the attractions like the restaurant obviously only open on weekends. Admission if free and plenty parking available.

The farm is huge so we decided to take a stroll in the "Forrest" to admire the flowers and plants. Never knew there were so many varieties. Hanging, earth bound and very strange flowers although extremely delicate and beautiful.

The number of Orchids species number twice the number of bird species and about four times the number of mammal species. That is amazing. The name comes from the Greek ὄρχις (órkhis), literally meaning "testicle", because of the shape of the root.

The farm has a visitors lounge, spacious thatched roof area for events, parties and corporate functions and sell orchids, ornamental plants, garden accessories and nursery supplies with a in house florist. They harvest between 40,000 to 50,000 stems of orchids daily requiring the services of 20 expertly trained gardeners to process and pack the premium blooms.

Worth a visit and the farm is a stone's throw from the Singapore Zoological Gardens.

Here is a collage of photo's taken

Humaneity Inspires

About two months ago I volunteered myself and my wife to work at the Humaneity Inspires Event held at the INSEAD Business School this past Saturday. We reported for duty at 08h45 and were allocated front desk duty for the day, tickets, registration and brochure handouts. The official program started at 13h00 with Speakers arriving early to get their presentations setup.

It will be impossible for me to give justice to all in this posting but I have to highlight some of the extraordinary people we met on Saturday. 22 Speakers with topics ranging form Animal Rights, Poverty, Children's Rights, Environment Protection,  Looking after the Aged and many more to mention. The event was attended by some 200 delegates and this was the 1st of the Humaneity Inspires Series of Events that will happen worldwide.

These people are no ordinary citizens. They humble and inspire you with their dedication, self sacrifice and super human achievements that gives you a Burst of Faith in Humanity. Take Rebecca, volunteer who flew 5 hours from Perth, Friday night, arrived at 03h00 am Saturday morning and reported for duty at 08h00 only to work the full day and fly back on Sunday to get back to her real job on Monday morning.

Also met Singaporean, Thaddeus Lawrence who was handing out complimentary copies of his book Runaway Success - Life Lessons From Ultra Distance Racing. What a nice and exemplary human being. He is one of 87 individuals in the world that has raced 1000 kilometres in the hottest, coldest, driest and windiest deserts in the world. I am now the proud owner of a signed copy of his book and can't wait to read it.

I was fortunate enough to get my break and listen to Gregory Burns giving his talk and also chat to him during the breaks. Three time paralympian and artist who contracted polio as a child and has excelled and achieved international recognition for his achievements. Awe Inspiring human being.

As I said in the beginning, there were so many interesting and inspiring people I met and one posting can not do them justice. The full event has been video recorded and will appear soon on the Humaneity TV Website for all to enjoy. I will do a special posting once released so everybody can have a chance to listen to these exceptional human beings.

The event certainly inspired me and deepened my belief in What Life Should Really be About.

The Monster Arapaima

Our first stop during the family "Road Trip" in the Kranji Countryside was the Hausmann Aquarium. The farm has an aquarium store, fishing ponds, fish foot spa and other entertaining things like feeding Koi's. Thought it would be a nice visit for my 12 year old niece but I was wrong.

I skip right to the exciting part and my thrill of the day. Turns out they have large fish including something I never dreamt I would see alive. I have seen it on National Geographic "Monster Fishing" programs before but it is very different seeing it with your own eyes alive.

A monster Arapaima. From South America, a living fossil and one of the largest fresh water fishes in the world. They can grow to 2.5 meters long and can weigh up to 200 kilograms. No picture can do it justice so you will have to go and see it for yourself.

I have been to many aquariums over the years and this is a first. I got goose flesh standing next to the caged pond and looking down at the "Monster". Immediately went to buy some whole dead fish from the front desk and proceeded to feed the monster.  Actually, I was a bit terrified to feed this thing and the cage around the tank must mean something.

Turns out my hunch was right. They are quite dangerous and aggressive.

"Think Koi feeding is fun? Come feed a huge collection of exotic fishes from the Amazon basin, from the biggest freshwater fish, The Giant Arapaima to a much small Black Pacu. There are also other monster fishes like the Alligator Gar, Red Tail Catfish and Freshwater Stingrays etc."


Funny sign before entering the fishing ponds.

Feeding the Koi's. Bit boring after the earlier action.

Fungi Heaven

I love mushrooms and since arriving here have tried various new types available in the local Fairprice store and also from the Hawker centres. The variety available in Singapore is just mind blowing and so delicious. Mushrooms are very versatile and can be used in salads, omelette's, pizza, soup, stews, pies and just plain fried in butter and served on a fresh sandwich.

One of the trips we did with the family was a visit to the Mycofarm mushroom farm to go and check out just how these tasty treats are grown. Entrance to the farm is free.

We visited during the week being the only visitors but still got the tour from the young man working in the shop. He took us to the growing tunnels and explained that the actual growing logs are imported from China as it is very cost effective. Upon arrival the tiny little plants grow quickly between 4 - 6 days to ready for harvesting.

Once grown they are handpicked and we were fortunate to witness the pickers busy harvesting some during our visit. Mycofarm is the only specialty (exotic) moushroom producing company in Singapore with 19 growing houses producing some 20 tons of fresh mushrooms monthly. About 15% of the mushrooms harvested are processed and turned into soups, sauces, floss and crunchies.

Mycofarm mushrooms can be bought directly from the farm or from all leading supermarkets in Singapore. They also supply many restaurants with fresh mushrooms daily. They grow several varieties of Oyster, Shiitake and Willow mushrooms. Interesting and educational visit to say the least.

After the tour we visited the shop and stocked up with some freshly picked Oyster and Shiitake mushrooms. They also sell other products like mushroom soup and and get this, mushroom Bak kwa

Photos compliments of my sister in law.

Speakers Corner (Really ?)

During one of our outings with the family we ended up exiting the Clarke Quay MRT at the wrong end and walked down New Bridge Road past Hong Lim Park. Often getting lost you end up finding stuff you had no idea existed and so it was we came across Speakers Corner.

Yes folks. Singapore has a corner where you can "speak freely". Not Quite. Make damn sure you check the rules on this one very carefully as the fines for breaching the rules are very hefty and can include some jail time. If you are a expat or foreigner you are definitely excluded from using this facility.

Speakers Corner Singapore was launched on 1 September 2000 in Hong Lim Park as a "Free Speech Area" where speaking events could be held without the need to apply for a licence under the Public Entertainment and Meetings Act. It is based on the original and most noted Speakers Corner in Hyde Park, London which I did visit during on of my trips there.

Before you start blabbering your mouth of here are some basic "Guidelines". Speakers and organisers must be Singaporean Citizens. You must register your intention before the event but conveniently you can do it online. Speeches must be in one of the four official languages, English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. The rest of the rules are extensive so once again please make sure you know them.

An interesting fact I learnt in my research is that the Singapore political model is described as a representative democracy. Singaporeans have constitutional rights to freedom of speech and assembly under Articles 14 (1)(a) and (b) of the constitution of the Republic of Singapore. All non citizens enjoy only common law free speech.

After reading the extensive rules personally my advise to you is to take a stroll through the park , enjoy the nature and keep you mouth shut.

Other countries who has Speakers Corners include Australia, Britain, Malaysia, Netherlands, Canada, Trinidad, Tobago and Thailand.

Iconic Bishan Condo's - I Wish?

CapitaLand's Sky Habitat, 38 storey condominium development went on sale this past weekend. The development is considered on of the most expensive here and will be conveniently situated right next to the Junction8 Mall and Bishan MRT.

It's one flashy and modern development and living in Bishan the past 8 months, I know and can vouch that this is a very nice area to live in. The development is about 900 meters down the road from where we currently live and if I had the money this would have been top of my list.

Condo went like hot cakes over the weekend with about 70% sold in the first two days. Eight in ten buyers were Singaporean with most of the 3 bedroom units sold to date. There is a total of  500 units with 1, 2 and 3 bedroom configurations. Prices vary between $1642 to $1747 psf with the average price for a 3 bedroom unit about $2 million.

About R12 million in my money based on the current exchange rate. Guess, I will need to win a jackpot or something to afford one of those.

Singapore Sling & Shawarma

Took the family for the National Cocktail of Singapore at the Singapore Sling Boutique at Clarke Quay and also a first for me since coming here. I have heard a lot about this famous drink but due to it being quite expensive have not had the pleasure of actually having one until now. It certainly is delicious and one could easily have more than one but beware, the Original Mix packs a (45% Alc/vol) punch.

First created by in the early 20th century by the Hainanese bartender Mr Ngiam Tong Boon who worked at the Raffles hotel the sling has evolved over time. Inconsistency in taste and texture started to surface challenging the cocktails reputation.

Mr Chow Hoo Siong embarked on his quest to glorify and perfect the Singapore Sling more than 20 years ago. He derived a mixture that could deliver the original taste, colour and alcohol rush of the drink. In 2008 he decided to make it more accessible and convenient and developed a ready to drink cocktail (6.8% Alc/vol). They also sell Singapore Sling Chocolates. Pricey but definitely worth having one now and again as a treat.

"The Perfected Singapore Sling: Everything Else Is Just A Compromise"

Then for some Persian Cuisine and a nice supper. Arabic Shawarma's, which the family had never had before, from Shiraz Mazzeh. I have seen them at Clarke Quay and I frequent the one in Orchard Road. Juicy grilled meat on the spit (Chicken, beef or lamb) shaved freshly and stuffed in a wrap with your choice of toppings and sauce before being toasted and served. To die for.

Finished off with wonderful Turkish Ice Cream from a little vendor just next to the River Boat Cruise boarding dock at Clarke Quay. Includes some entertainment in the serving and tastes very nice.

Highest Pub in Africa

As promised here is the story of Sani Pass, the road between the border of Kwa Zulu Natal and Lesotho in South Africa. This was one of our "Bucket List" visits and we wanted to do it for two reasons. I had never seen or experienced real snow and the more important one, visit and have a drink in the highest pub in Africa, Sani Top Chalet.

We were living in Durban at the time so the trip to the Sani Pass Hotel was only a two hour drive where we stayed overnight to take a guided tour the next morning to the top. Sani Pass was still a dirt road back then and notoriously dangerous that required above average driving skills and a solid 4x4 vehicle. We got together early the next morning ready for the adventure.

It's a dangerous, 9 kilometre dirt road starting just above sea level and going up to the Sani Top Chalet at 2874m above sea level. The first few kilometres up to the border post was dry and fine. No Problem.

About two kilometres after that the "Fun" started as the road quickly changed from dry to wet and extremely slippery. At one point there was a queue of 4x4 vehicles on a very steep hill waiting their turn to go up just in case a vehicle slipped back and hit another vehicle in the process. At this point our guide stopped and fitted our vehicle with snow chains on the wheels.

The road is terrifying with sheer cliffs on the edge and car wrecks at the bottom from previous failed attempts. Our nerves were shot halfway up with the Land Rover constantly slipping and going sideways. On some stretches we got out and walked to allow the driver to get the vehicle up and even walking on the iced road was damn dangerous.

Things just got worse as we slowly went up and about a kilometre from the top the Land Rover started spinning, briefly stopped and then slowly started sliding back finally coming to a stop about a meter from the edge. I had enough, grabbed my wife's hand and got out and we walked the last stretch to the top with extreme difficulty. And believe me we were not the only group walking. Once you get over the nerves and terror the views up there is actually priceless.

Some snowball throwing ensued and I got one against the head. Bloody painful. Straight to the Highest Pub in Africa to indulge in some Gluwein to calm the nerves and warm us up followed by an out of this world pub lunch.

The trip down seemed to be much easier and less nerve recking. Not sure if the amount of Gluwein we consumed during the afternoon had something to do with that. All said and done a once in a lifetime memorable experience and highly recommended if you ever visit South Africa. The view from the deck, snowman and all.

The rest of the pics.

Blog of The Month - Wow!

My Blog has been selected as the Expat Blog, Blog of the Month for April 2012. Considering that I started the Blog eight months ago on 01 August 2011 this is a great honour and big deal for me. I started this as a simple way to stay in contact with family and friends back home and I am no writer to say the least.

The funny thing is over time this has become an integral and important part of my life and I take great pride in putting together the postings with the hope that my readers find it fun, interesting and informative. The blog has evolved and contains postings on my life here in Singapore, my life back home and anything else I come across and believe would be a nice and interesting read.

Putting together the postings take serious time, hours of investigation and I often re-write them several times before the actual publishing. Initially I was very excited to see 10 page views per day and comments always make me very happy.

To date I have done 125 postings with 5800 page views and now averaging more than 50 per day. My audience has changed dramatically over time with Singapore now in first place followed by South Africa, United States, Russia and the United Kingdom.

I guess the most surprising thing is which postings turned out to be the most popular. Often when doing a posting I think it will be a "Hit" only to find out it's not and vice versa. Weird, but it keeps me on my toes and make me strive to write even better postings.

So here are the top 5 most popular postings of all time

Different Singapore Houses - (Photos) (This one still surprise me)

Haw Par Villa - Tiger Balm Gardens

Sex in the City - Singapore  (No surprise here. Knew it would be a hit)

Models & Holland Village

The Amazing Journey & Verlorenkloof (Big Surprise)

I travelled the island, seen weird stuff, enjoyed awesome food, learnt new things and met some amazing people in the process. What a journey.

I would like to thank all my followers and loyal readers for continuing to inspire me to continue to the blog and take it to new heights.

Wonderful Light Show

One of the things we have been wanting to see and finally did in the past two weeks is the Marina Bay Sands "Wonderful" water and lights show. The show is free and the best place to view it is at the Event Plaza in front of the Marina Bay Sands shopping centre. It's truly amazing and although only 13 minutes long definitely worth seeing. It defies logic and the clarity is spectacular with great music.

This is a must see for visitors or anybody living here and have not seen it yet. For those of you who can not go and see it live I include the following link with videos and more photos. Enjoy

Light and Water Show - Wonder-full

Here are some of my photos taken at the show.

Freezing in Singapore

No, not some form of global warming, just a trip to the local Snow City in Jurong. My niece is 12 years old and this was her number one on her list of places to see during their visit here a week ago. Personally, I would not have done this one and think snow is highly overrated. It's wet, very cold and bloody hard as I found out when some fool hurled a snow ball and hit me on the back of the head when took a trip up Sani Pass in Lesotho back home. More on this in a separate posting.

This is one where Singapore can not claim to be the number one Indoor Snow Arena's in the world. Based on what I have read my expectations were much bigger. The snow covered area is only 1200 sq meters but still it turned out to be a lot of fun and certainly the coldest  I have been since coming to Singapore. Indoor temperature is maintained at -5 degrees Celsius.

We took the standard 1 hour package at $14 per adult which included the jackets and boots. I highly recommend you pay the extra money to rent some gloves and wet pants. After 40 minutes and seven tube rides down the slope we quit. In my defence, you have to walk back up for each ride. Everything was frozen and I never thought the Singapore heat would be so welcome. Trust me it was.

Cameras are not allowed in the snow dome but the resident photographers take "Hundreds" of pictures which can be purchased at the photo shop in the entrance. There is a curio shop and a nice little restaurant where you can buy snack food and a hot cup of Milo to help you defrost. If you are looking for a break from the heat and want to freeze your butt off this is certainly a venue to visit.

Snow City is conveniently situated right next to the Singapore Science Centre and Omni Theatre for some additional fun. A nice family day outing and loads of fun for a while.

PS. The lowest actual temperature recorded in Singapore was 19.4 degrees on 31 January 1934.

Bollywood Veggies & Let's get Naked

One of the farms we visited as part of the trip to the Kranji Countryside is Bollywood Veggies. It's a organic vegetable farm and a whole lot more. It's a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the city with beautiful gardens, birds, fishponds, food museum etc.

The farm is divided into different areas with names like Butterfly Dreams, Truly Frutti and The Jungle Maze. All plants and trees are clearly marked which makes it very interesting to stroll around and identify plants you did not know or have not seen before. The duration of the walks vary and is up to your discretion.

A absolute definite is lunch at the Poison Ivy Bistro which is situated at the entrance. Amazing food at very reasonable prices. The Farmers Platter was $10 and all the other menu options $6. The bistro has a air conditioned area as well a an outside deck area and is named after the founder Ivy Singh. I had the platter and it was absolutely delicious. All the food are prepared from fresh produce grown right there on the farm.

On the way out buy the famous and best banana bread in Singapore which I can vouch for. It is awesome and authentically wrapped in a banana leaf. It's a fun place for families to visit with interesting features like the lookout point, wishing well and all kinds of funny signboards in the walkways.

And then right at the furthest end of the farm just passed the Mr Pee Wee and the Jack-A-Loo eco toilet you get to The Sanctuary. During all my explorations I have come across many strange things I thought I would never see in Singapore but this must be the weirdest. Here it is for all those folks who enjoy an even more intense nature experience. The sign reads "Nudity is welcome in the Sanctuary - Be respectful - No cameras Please"

The Eviltwin certainly wanted to take a stroll around this establishment but with the family in tow this was not to be. I still wonder thou and had no problem leaving my camera behind. For the sake of my readers off course.

One more funny sign as you leave the farm. Highly recommended especially the food and do visit the food museum.

 Directions!

Place on a FIRM surface

Follow directions in the Circle

Repeat until you are anti stressed or  become unconscious

Eviltwin & The Frogs

Since the family arrived here two weeks ago I have been playing "Tour Guide" resulting in very little time to actually write postings and yet gather loads of material for some interesting and diverse new postings. Look out for them in the coming weeks.

The day before the family arrived I helped Trevor with the organising of his container arrival and during one of our chats asked him where he was getting his Singapore exploration information from. He promptly hauled out a book called Fun Singapore available from the 7-Eleven shops. I got myself a copy the same day and it is really a great guide for Singapore destinations and has been used extensively over the past two weeks. Great for Expats, Visitors and anyone looking for comprehensive information and not just the normal touristy stuff. Get one. I digress.

One of the places we did visit is the Jurong Frog Farm in the Kranji Countryside. I have always resisted the temptation to actually eat some frog legs as a result of a picture I saw many years back and just always come to mind when I have the urge.

This time was going to be different. We did the strolling around checking the American Bullfrogs in the growing cages and then headed to the Royal Frog Shop. Me and the wife decided to order a helping of crispy deep fried frog and give it a go. The guy behind the counter recognised my accent and he actually grew up in Kimberley. He personally prepared the little delicacy and served it with some encouragement in a very appropriate plate as you can see.

And now I have some very bad news for all you frogs out there. It is absolutely delicious and taste like chicken with a fish like texture. Yummie, served with a little sweet and sour dipping sauce. No longer will the picture save you little fellows tugging in on some legs. Bring it on I say.

The farm is worth a visit if just for some broadening of your horizons and have a nice little restaurant where the food is freshly prepared  and served on the terrace.

The Kranji Countryside Express is a daily shuttle (including public holidays) from the Kranji MRT Station to fifteen participation farms in the area. You can visit organic vegetable, fish, frog and herb farms as part of the route.