Southern Ridges

Would you think this is Singapore ?

Inspired by my BFF who goes walking every chance she gets, my current fav pastime is to explore the various trails. All you have to do is to go to the National Parks website & browse here. There are good descriptions of the trail, what to watch out for, how to get there & detailed maps. Most of the trails are well marked anyway so you don't worry about getting lost. If you don't feel too confident, by all means download the maps & carry it along.

The first trail we did was the Southern Ridges. It has been one that I've been meaning to go for a long time so I was really excited when we finally did so much so I pressed on even tho it was drizzling.

Old & very tattered cable car on display

You can start from either Canopy Walk (Kent Ridge Park) or the Marang Trail (VivoCity). It takes about 2-3 hours depending on how often you stop & trust me, there are many distractions along the way so take your time & enjoy the walk. We did it from Kent Ridge Park. It was a little nostalgic for me cos I have not been back in the vicinity of NUS since I graduated & boy, has that area changed ! (well I did graduate a long while back).....

The Canopy Walk

A very pleasant way to start

Up close & personal with the friendly monkeys

Do not feed them

If you'd not been there, I'd suggest spending some time walking around the Park

There's a spice garden, butterfly enclosure, weird & exotic plants....

and many playgrounds.

Be prepared to tear the kids away

Sculpture @ Hort Park

Ceramic tiles @ Visitor Center Hort Park

Alexandra Arch near the entrance of Hort Park

We like the Forest Walk

It's an elevated walkway around Telok Blangah Hills

You can see the forest below & I also mean to show you what not to do

Even if the walk is easy, slippers are not appropriate footwear

It was a lot of fun

Next highlight - the gorgeous Henderson Wave

It's a photographer's dream

I want to go there one evening to take pictures of the bridge at night

Next stop, Mount Faber

It has been ages ahem, pak tor days since I have been up Mount Faber so imagine my surprise when I discovered The Jewel Box with swanky restaurants & bars right next to the Cable Car Station. We had drinks at the Emerald Lodge, before you reach The Jewel Box

From there, the Marang Trail which would lead you to the finishing point, right at the entrance of Harbourfront MRT station. If you like, you could always hop over to VivoCity for a meal or refreshments.

It's an interesting & diverse trail. Lots of photo opportunities. Level of difficulty - none. Highly recommended.

Dali in Spain

Our recent brush with Dali gave me the perfect excuse to blog about our trip last summer to the Dali Museum in his home town Figueres. It was on the drive home from Barcelona & I could not pass on the opportunity to visit.

The surrealistic building embodies what Dali is all about - whimsical, funny & unpredictable.

The courtyard

& what do the statues remind you of ?

The dome within the museum

Can we tell what is this a painting of ?

Now can you ?

Funnily enough, with the naked eye, from afar you couldn't make out the image but when I took the picture with the camera, the image stood out very clearly

HIs fascination with drawers

I'm addicted to Bak Chor Mee

I've talked often about my love for noodles. Char Kway Teow, Mee Siam, Soba, Pho, Ramen, Wanton Mee but strangely enough for the first 20 something years of my life, that list didn't include Bak Chor Mee.

But since I moved back, I cannot seem to get enough of them. By far, one of my favorite is located in Hong Lim Food Centre # 02-16 rated 3 chopsticks - a die die must try stall by Makansutra. Thankfully this is near my office so I go there at least once a week.

The line at lunch time is always very long but it is well worth the wait.

So what is it so special about this bowl of Bak Chor Mee ? It's the vinegar. The perfectly cooked noodles. The slivers of liver & meat. The wontons & meat balls. My personal favorite, the piece of dried fish.

The most expensive museum in Singapore

I've put off going to the Arts Science Museum not only because of it's prohibitive entry fee of S$30 for adults & *gasp* $17 for children (to put this in perspective, the fees for the National Museum is $10/5) but because the idea of a museum that unites arts & science does not exactly fill me with excitement.

Right now, there are 3 three reasons to go 1. Van Gogh Alive 2. Dali 3. 20% OCBC card promotion.

You can't miss it, it's located inside the iconic Lotus Bud / Palm structure in front of Marina Bay Sands which apparently collects rain water to be recycled in the restrooms.

Dali is in town

Do you agree ?

The Van Gogh Alive does not actually show any of his paintings per se. Instead, it's a multimedia projection of his paintings within the gallery. The images juxtaposed with one another & seem to take on a life of their own. The best way to enjoy this is to sit back, relax & immerse yourself in the music & the art of Van Gogh. Highly recommended.

The museum is extremely kids friendly. Interactive games like *Spot the difference* or *Re-arrange the picture*. The activity area had paper crafts for us to take home - all related to the current exhibition.

Then of course there was Dali with his unmistakable moustache, clocks & drawers.

Madman or Genius ?

Finally something to leave you with.