It’s Christmas once again!
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Quick Primer to Water Purifiers — Sterra, Wells, Livingcare and Hydroflux
While visiting a friend’s new BTO at the end of last year, I was quite enamoured by the hot/ cold water dispenser system that he had. One touch of a button, and nearly ice-cold water, or (very) hot water came flowing out. Best of all, it connected directly to the water inlet and so there wasn’t a need to refill a water tank every now and then.
Seatpost Options for Folding Bikes
A ‘normal’ seatpost designed for road and mountain bikes won’t work on most folding bikes because the length is simply too short for most people. Hence, you would need to find a seatpost that is at least 55cm to 60cm long.
Zoff: Cheap and Good Prescription Sunglasses
The eyeglasses market in Singapore has become a really crowded space in recent years. Zoff seemed like yet another Owndays wannabe until I discovered their unique selling point–really cheap prescription sunglass lenses.
Funan — A New Beginning
Funan has finally reopened its doors on 28 June, nearly three years to the day it was closed for redevelopment.
BlueSG — Car Sharing for the Masses
When BlueSG first came on the scene in late 2017, I thought it was a model doomed to fail. Costing between 0.33 to 0.5 cents per minute, it felt like a total rip-off compared to hourly car rental services such as Smove and TribeCar.
Paya Lebar Region: The Burgeoning Hub of the East
In the early 2000s, the area around Upper Paya Lebar Road and Paya Lebar Road (which we shall now refer to as the Paya Lebar region for simplicity’s sake) was Singapore’s equivalent of a chaotic mess, with major road diversions, temporary roads and the terrible traffic that ensued, all in the name of development.
Orchard Central: From Dying to Thriving
When it rains, it pours. In 2009, three shopping malls opened along Orchard Road in succession–Orchard Central, ION Orchard and 313@Somerset. Prior to this, there had been no new mall openings along Singapore's prime shopping belt in over a decade.
Both ION Orchard and 313@Somerset found their footing and thrived rather quickly, in part because they were located right next to the MRT, and in part due to their selection of tenants. Meanwhile, Orchard Central struggled.
Endless Wonder: Christmas 2017 along Orchard Road
December. It’s a month of nostalgia, of reflection, where you look back at the past eleven months, and marvel at how much you’ve progressed (or regressed?) since. It’s the Friday of the months, the season of giving, and a month of school holidays (and clearing leave, now that I’m an adult). And in the absence of snow in Singapore, at least we have the annual Christmas light-up along Orchard Road, a staple since 1984.
Capturing the National Day festivities and fireworks
With some spare time on my hands, I made my way down to the Promontory at Marina Bay, camera in hand, on 29th July, the final National Day Parade preview before the actual day. My intent was to get some practice with my new camera as well as to soak in the festive atmosphere despite not having a ticket to the show itself.
I had done this once before some eleven years ago with a Canon PowerShot camera. Back then, the parade was still held at the old National Stadium. But after that, it felt like such a chore having to lug a tripod around and camp for a good spot hours before.
This time around, I wasn’t that prepared either. I adopted an “anything goes” attitude and brought my D7500 with kit lens and 55-200mm along.