11.38am
hows everyone today? i hope nobody is "missing" me too much..hahaha..i think i did mention before, long ago, that if i dont have anything to blog about, i wont blog. i dont like blogging for the sake of. i blog about relevant stuff that impacts me and my life (which can be anything and everything). as you know the saying - "if you have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all".
anyway, lets move along, shall we. so on tuesday 10/11/15 indians around the world celebrated their new year which is called diwali or deepavali. it was a public holiday here in singapore and my husband and i decided to make a trip to sentosa island. sentosa is about less than half hour away from where we stay, and about 15 minutes away from the city centre (CBD). this small island (about 500 over hectares) is home to universal studios singapore, themed attractions, man made beaches, cafes, golf courses, luxury homes/condos, hotels, spas etc. its a nice short getaway for the entire family as there's lots to see and do.
there was a good deal for the South East Asia Aquarium (or s.e.a. aquarium) which was going for only $32 for 2 pax on every tuesdays. value for money right! and so happened, diwali fell on a tuesday, so thats why we decided to go.
the sea aquarium (fyi, voted traverllers choice 2015 and its ranked top 3 aquariums in asia) is located next to the maritime experimental museum. upon entering the museum, there's an area allocated for asia's maritime heritage and archaeology where folks can learn a bit about the rich history of sea exploration and trade done in asia a long time ago. its like stepping back in time.
after we were done passing thru all these artifacts, reading up on some history and whatnots, we were asked if we wanted to check out the typhoon theatre. we were then ushered into a big room and sat on benches. it felt as though we were at the front of an old ship ( well i guess thats what the people who created this, were trying to re-enact and it kinda worked). its actually a shipwreck simulation enhanced by some special effects. oh btw, that cost us $4 for 2 pax for a 5 minute experience (hey nothing is free ok!)
after that short "performance", we entered the ocean gallery followed by the shipwreck habitat and then the shark sea area. i'll be posting lots of photos that i took from my iphone (sorry if the images arent super clear, but it'll have to do).
right so now, im gonna drop it like its hot. time to check out them pix i took. to start of, im just gonna be plonking in some photos taken at the maritime museum. lets step back in time for a tiny bit ok!
a huge courtyard area filled with shops and eateries and lets not forget universal studios singapore (oh kindly excuse my finger, small boo boo here).
just outside of the maritime museum and SEA aquarium.
upon entering the museum, there's the admiral zheng he's exhibits and places he's visited during his exploration and the photos below are shots of the "souk" (which means a market place/bazaar) from different bustling ports along the maritime silk route (which admiral zheng he had visited during his travels), that has been recreated for folks to check out.
some statues in traditional costumes from indonesia.
a reconstruction of a 9th century omani dhow ( also known as jewel of the muscat) is an arab trading ship that sailed from oman to singapore. it was built using traditional materials. guess they were trying to make it as authentic as possible.
a map showing admiral zheng he's (asia's greatest explorer) trading route for each of his major ports of call, dealing with trading of spices, silk, animals, treasures etc from china to africa. fyi - admiral zheng he lived during the ming dynasty in the 15th century.
worn by vietnamese folks is their famous conical hat, which happens to be part of their national costume.
china tradional costumes.
that's the statue of marco polo, who was a famous italian merchant traveller who made an epic journey with his father and uncle for almost 24 years. he also wrote a book - the travels of marco polo - that introduced europeans to central asia and china.
spices, beans, cloths etc from india
muscat, oman.
tribal folks from malindi, kenya. i think those are their traditional drums and fans (hanging on the ceiling).
we've come to the end of our short but sweet, trip down memory lane. next im gonna be dropping some photos taken at the aquarium.
this is the shark sea area and that's the scalloped hammerhead shark, an endangered species. there's actually quite a few of them in the huge tank but i managed to only capture this one swimming by.
this is either the silvertip shark or the sandbar shark, not quite sure.
lovely corals and fishes with their vibrant colors. spectacular i think.
its ze puffer fish merrily swimming along.
dont know the name of this huge mother of a fish but man, i never want to see this type of fish when im snorkelling as it would freak me out! (that's why im not taking up diving although i love the sea plus i have a fear of sharks after watching the movie jaws when i was a kid!)
polkadot jellyfish (please look closer if you cant see them dots)
octopus anybody?
not quite sure what this is but i reckon its some sort of a sea snail. it was swimming by and i quickly took a shot of it.
lion fishes!
the alaskan king crab and a starfish.
i love dolphins! if i were to re-incarnate, i would love to be a dolphin, seriously! smart, funny, cool creatures of the sea.
these corals are spectacular looking and so colorful!
more lion fishes!
some lovely "reefy" looking sea horses. mother nature created that! simply amazing!
not quite sure what kinda fish this is but definitely unique with its long shaped body and orangey eyes.
love these vibrant yellow seahorses! aren't they just so cute, as if they are floating on air!
aha! living fossils found in singapore! imagine that! see if you can spot 2 of them!
after exiting from the sea aquarium area, we come to the "bao chuan" cutaway. it features some of the stuff carried by admiral zheng he during his voyage for trading purpose, from animals to precious cargo.
ok, im done. finally. you guys have a great weekend and until my next blog (which is whenever) - be nice and kind to one another! stay healthy! peace out!
ttfn
3.53pm
p/s happy belated deepavali to all indians around the world! here's to another great year with more happiness and less sadness.
3.59pm
just last week, my husband and i headed back to kuala lumpur for a short trip to do our tattoos. it was the SG50 weekend. if you guys dont know or havent heard of SG50, its actually singapore's 50th year of independence. i heard it was a blast! unfortunately, we werent around to see/experience this epic (not to mention historical) moment. but oh well, life goes on doesnt it?
you see, on our last trip back to KL which was in june, my husband decided to get a tattoo. for years i was teasing him mercilessly, calling him chicken shit coz he didnt have the guts to do a tattoo. well well well, he surprised me in june by telling me he's going to be doing one! hahahaha he'd finally plucked up his courage and decided to get inked! he had to make an appointment via email beforehand with the tattoo shop (that he found online which was popular and positive feedback). they rarely do walk ins because they already have their schedule with people who had already made their bookings with them (via email) and you know that doing a tattoo takes time, depending on how big the design is etc, so as i said, no walk ins.
well, obviously for this 2nd round, we had to make an appointment with the tattoo shop and ours was set once we got back to KL (which was the day after we'd arrived). long story short, i decided to get a small one done and my husband got like a japanese design which incorporated waves and cherry blossoms (full sleeve, which means the whole length of his arm). his isnt completed yet coz they cant do his whole arm in one sitting as it would "stress" his arm and the healing process would take ages! thats why he's gotta come back and do portion by portion. bit of a long process for him, god and the pain!! ugh! and like i mentioned earlier, you cant rush these artists otherwise they'd do a bad job, which trust me, isnt what anybody wants.
anyways, i was raring to go. i couldnt wait to get inked but yet at the same time i was terrified, terrified of the pain and if i could tolerate it! its as though i was jumping into the unknown. thats why the fear. my dear hubby told me that it wasnt painful (between both of us, my threshold of pain was more than his) and when he'd done his previous tattoo (on his forearm), i was watching him and his reaction when the guy started doing the tattoo, my husband didnt blink or even wince in pain. so i thought "ok, it cant be that bad then could it?" thank god i kept my cool but i'll be honest with you, we definitely felt the "pain", "sting" whatever you wanna call it. i cant really describe the feeling. certain parts were kinda painful and certain parts weren't as bad. overall i can safely say, its tolerable on my part.
now, i'd like to share with you (in my opinion) on what you need to think about/do before getting your first tattoo, if you're planning to get one that is..
1) do your homework. when i say do your homework i meant think very very carefully about your design or wordings (ie font, size etc), where you want it placed on your body, what colors you want etc. you get what i mean. both my husband and myself (more so my husband) did alot of online research on tattoos and designs. dont do for the sake of doing and then later regret. to be honest, i cant understand why some people would wanna do a tattoo of a piece of sushi or a bowl of rice (well i guess that meant something to them, who knows!) but honestly, i saw those images ok! go google if you dont believe me. in my humble opinion, your tattoo has got to be meaningful to you, not just some random picture. so yeah, do give it some serious thought about what your design is like.
2) its important that you do read up on the tattoo artist/parlour/shop and see if they are reputable or not. you do not want to go to some place that's "dirty" or unhygienic! oherwise its you who would be paying the price, not them!
3) remember, before you get your tattoo, make sure that you are 100% sure of it because its gonna be staying on your body forever (well unless you want to get it removed by laser then its your call) and you gotta love it.
4) if you are of the faint hearted, my suggestion is dont do it. i was asking the tattoo artist if it was painful if i did it on my forearm (apparently, its the least painful part of the body to do a tattoo) and she was honest with me and told me that it depends on each individual and their tolerance level of pain. if any tattoo artist tells you that its not painful at all well then, i think you'd better walk away, because he/she is lying.
now im going to share with you some photos that i managed to take at the tattoo shop.
the tattoo shop as you can see is quite colorful, friendly, inviting and its clean too. heck, its gotta be clean! they dont allow people to roam about the shop freely especially when there's people being tattooed because of hygiene purpose (there's a designated waiting area).
here's the design that i wanted initially, a cutesy angel holding a heart and smiling. yes, yes, i know its a bit cartoonish but i wanted a simple one to start off with coz i didnt know how "painful" it could be.
so here's my right hand, a clean "canvas". i was getting scared at that point in time and trying to be brave about it. bit too late to back out hahahaha
here's the stencilled on bit before the real work started. you will notice that the angel is not as cartoonish as the one i wanted in the beginning. my tattoo artist found that from somewhere and then she showed it to me and asked if i liked it, which i did of course and i wanted my name in korean/hangul (which i had emailed her when we made the appointment). so she incorporated both the angel and my name at the bottom. looks good right? it looks like a japanese/korean angel to me rather than that one i gave to her.
BOOM, the end result! not bad huh? that took less than half an hour to do. i told her i was satisfied with it. well thankfully i could take the "pain" and didnt black out! you know what else, i also wanted to add a cartoonish airplane but somehow it just didnt gel right with this angel, so i omitted it out. less is more in this case.
before we left, they gave us some cream to apply on our tattoos and told us to take care of it and not to scratch it as it may scar( it will get itchy at some point especially when its "peeling" stage, its as if you are shedding skin). and lastly, let me just say that its not cheap getting inked. be prepared to pay! there's no price tag and each tattoo varies in prices. like for my tattoo, i paid RM$200 and i think that once my husband's forearm is all done, it would probably cost him a few thousand bucks.
i found this general diagram (online) of the level of pain( as above) when doing a tattoo (depending on which part of the body you're gonna be doing it) although im not quite sure if its a generic one for both male and female or just for males. so lets just assume its for both sexes.
i found another diagram online which is for females that want to do tattoo and the pain level. please note that the area where i did my tattoo (around my wrist) has the most discomfort! wow imagine that! as i told you guys earlier only certain parts (around my wrist area) were kinda painful but generally its tolerable. im afraid i cant pin point exactly which part though, coz i wasnt brave enough to have a look . but a couple of times however, i would sneak very quick glances when it wasnt that painful, as the rest of the time, i was distracted just trying to breathe in and out and telling myself over and over again that it wasnt painful hahahahaha.
lastly remember this - its important to remain calm, cool and not panic. dont drink alcohol beforehand and dont do it if you are sick/ill. oh ya, if you are on blood thinners, then very sorry, dont think the tattoo artist will work on you (you should know why). so with that being said, i wish you all the best and be brave IF you want to take the plunge and get yourself inked!
ttfn
6.01pm
p/s here's my parents and mom in law's reaction to our tattoos -
my mom in law - "Eeeeeeeee ouch..not pain ah?" (closes her eyes and winces as if she was the one who did the tattoo and she hates any kind of pain inflicted upon her)
my dad - (grinning from ear to ear) "later when you go pick up your husband (as he was still doing his tattoo at the shop), i want to go along to see how a tattoo parlour looks like"
my mom - (after checking out the tattoo) "i want to do a peace sign but since im old and wrinkled, better not coz my skin is all saggy..so wont look nice!" (btw, my mom is very slim and only weighs around 50kg)
pp/s update on my tattoo (21/8/15)
picture above is when the tattoo was scabbing
this was when it was peeling off.
voila! done deal. a proper tattoo now. took approximately 2 weeks to scab, peel and heal. it was a bit itchy though throughout the process, just so you know.
12.16pm
sorry it has been a while since my last entry. was busy. doing what you ask? god only knows! but im here now arent i? so settle down folks and lets get on with the "show" (ooh just so you know, this is my 101 blog entry!! yay! woot! woot!).
well let me start off by saying - a very good day to you my followers and those who were kind enough to stop by my blog to read all about Big Bang in concert held in singapore recently which was july 18/19. it was for their latest album titled MADE. for the past 4 months or so, every first day of the month, they released 2 songs and now they've just done another 2 more for the "E" bit. i hope you get what im trying to say here. to be honest with you, i've never heard of any groups or solo artists be it asian/international, releasing their songs to the public, bit by bit, month by month like how Big Bang does it. it feels as though they are "teasing" us in a way that makes us want MORE especially if you are huge fan of theirs. i dont know whose bright idea was it to come up with this kinda publicity "stunt" but kudos to them for thinking of it. quite a good marketing strategy dont you agree? just cant get enough!! love love! just so you know, it has been more than 3 years since their last group concert. during this time, each of my boys were doing their own thing like doing solo albums, solo concerts or shooting movies etc. therefore this is their first concert together after a 3 year hiatus and soon (not sure when) one by one, they will be enlisted into the army to do their bit for the country.
ok without much further ado, lets get on with the blog. i was counting down the days till i got to see my boo TOP perform (but aigoo he was kinda far away from where i was sitting...sigh..broke my heart, so near yet so far but *shrugs* nothing i can do about it. it is what it is). so i made my way to the indoor stadium around 4pm and by that time ooh it was very crowded. then prior to concert day, there were lots of tweets flying around informing the fans about some freebies that was going to be given out from kind souls who probably used their money (or whose ever money) to buy those items and hand out for free to the fans. i saw people holding fans (as it was a hot day mind you so it was a good thing that those handfans were given out to fans/vips) with pix of our boys printed on them, some held banners with wordings, etc. im sure there were more freebies given out like maybe stickers or cards, i dont know coz i didnt get anything at all. i was disappointed but nonetheless i let it slide coz i dont want to "act" so childish. gotta be matured about it hahahaha and not act like some crazy teen.
anyways, after scouting around a bit and checking out the merchandise at the merchandise booth, i made my way to the north entrance and parked my ass in the queue and waited until it was time to go into the stadium. that only happened around 5.10pm thereabouts. made my way inside, snapped some pix and headed up to my seating area. god...why the hell am i so freaking far away from the stage?? as i was sitting there soaking up the atmosphere, still cant believe that i was ACTUALLY there, D-Day to see my FAV korean group perform, i also cant help but feel slightly jealous of those young teens at the standing area next to the stage! they are all going to get to see my boys up close and where am i?? waaaaay up there! geez! i heave a BIG sigh just thinking back about it.
so yeah moving along swiftly to my story, as i said we were ushered into the stadium around 5.15pm onwards right up to almost 6.30pm thereabouts when the lights got turned off and lo and behold, there was a sea of brightly lit yellow crowns (which is Big Bang's official torchlight, if you didnt already know!) in the darkness of the stadium. it was simply magical. at that moment. oh but before the concert began, they were blasting music videos on giant LCD screens and the sound system was absolutely fab! i was lapping in the atmosphere as it was electrifying! so much excitement and screaming going on, was pretty deafening if you asked me. AND then the concert started! almost everyone i could see was on their feet and those near the stage was i think far more excited than we were coz we were kinda far away from the stage area (well thank god for those giant screens). oh thankfully i brought along my binoculars so that i could see TOP "clearer".
overall, it was a bloody brilliant concert! as i was saying the concert kicked off around 6.30pm and ended just before 9.00pm coz i checked my watch. it was full of energy and lots of colorful strobe lights that lit up the stage when they were singing, be it in a group or doing their solos. each of the guys sang their hits such as -
TOP - Doom Da Da
Seungri - Strong Baby
GD - Crooked
Taeyang - Eyes Nose Lips
Daesung - Wings
and then of course they also sang their old hits like "bad boy", "blue", "fantastic baby", "hands up", "lies" just to name a few and the current ones of course from their upcoming MADE album (which i think would prolly be coming out just before year end or 3rd quarter of this year) like "bae bae", "loser","bang bang bang" and "we like to party" . Daesung did an awesome job by playing the drums as they sang one of their current hits "sober". we also saw Taeyang and GD teaming up for their duet of "Good Boy". again, it was bloody fantastic just watching these guys do their shit! i mean come on, its what they do best right!
in between songs, there were short video snippets of our fab OT5 coz thats when they go and do their quick costume change. i think YG did this was to hype up the crowd, get the fans moving and not knowing what to expect next, you know what i mean, which i think in this case, didnt need much "hyping up" coz you could just feel the intensity in the air and the electricity flowing inside the stadium...was just mind blowing. overall i think they sang more than 20 over songs which was damn bloody awesome!
you know i was trying very hard not to just get up and shake my booty but of course since im "ms cool", i had to play that part hahahhaha and just "shake" from my seat. naturally, some people near/beside me were up on their feet grooving and shaking, youngsters, what else! ok enough banter, i think you guys are dying to see what i've managed to take right? ok ok. the wait is over.
i took quite a number of pix using my iphone 4 and they are not that great, sorry. but i guess it'll have to do for my blog. beggers cant be choosers right?! nonetheless i will only put the "best" photos in here.
as i told you earlier, there were tons of fans/vips at the stadium obviously and i took the picture (as above) was around 4pm when i had just arrived. there was already a super long queue to buy merchandise (thats why i didnt bother buying and i thought that i will try my luck after the concert when there's not many people and hopefully that the stall will still be opened) and fans lining up to get into the standing pen area.
heres the bunting for all merchandise on sale for the concert as well as price listing.
as you can see, those are some of the stuff/merchandise on display for fans to have a look see with the price tag. well after checking out what was on display, i wasnt that keen to buy anything just for the sake of, you know what i mean. i already have some stuff collected from previous concerts or bought at shops. and if i really want something i know i can always order from ygshop. so for you guys who cant/didnt go for the MADE concert (or previous concerts for that matter)and would like to purchase any of these items, just go online to YGshop and everything you want is there.
i dont know why laurier ( fyi for those who dont know, laurier is one of the leading brands in singapore selling sanitary pads for women :))set up a small stall at the stadium. whats the "tie up" with Big Bang (mind you its an all guy group) i have no idea. but hey i think its great that they "support" my darling boys!
this is the soundcheck area. i was using my binoculars trying to spot any other kpop stars or any of Big Bang's family members(i was actually trying to look for TOPs mom and/or sister but they didnt come instead it was Seungri's parents who attended the concert so i heard).
this pix was before the concert, music videos being played on giant lcd screens (as i mentioned earlier) and the crowd was slowly flowing in. fortunately there wasnt much chaos and it was all done in an orderly fashion. thank god for that. ah yes, by the side of the stage they added a transparent "floating" stage that could move from side to side only and the fans were below/underneath it(as it moved).
not too long after, look at the crowd that had gathered at the standing area. of course its more expensive to be that close to the stage! i wished i was standing there! sigh
this was the scene just after the lights got switched off(my god you should hear the screaming going on!), and a sea of bright yellow lights (which is the Big Bang crown torch) lighted up against the darkness of the stadium. what beautiful and a wonderful sight! by the way, i tried to upload a short 10 sec video that i had recorded to put in this blog but it wont seem to upload for whatever reason. sheesh! so no videos for you guys, sorry.
so here we go! start of the concert. i wont be "saying" much, just pictures for you to check out ok. no need to explain much unless i can think of something to share with you. these photos speak for themselves!
they actually brought in the statue (behind TOP) just for this song coz they used it every single time when they performed this song and its also in their music video.
see i told you that the floating stage could move! right now its in the centre of the main stage and the fans are beneath it. awesome huh!
ah there's my crazy sexy boo TOP doing his thing that he does best, rapping to his hit Doom Da Da.
then there's Seungri belting out Strong Baby.
more awesome and spectacular strobe lights everywhere! not to mention colorful too!
that's Daesung on the drums for the opening gambit of one of their current hits Sober. i didnt know he played the drums so well (he must have been practising quite a fair bit)! bravo to our boy!
more awesome lighting!
here's our fearless leader GD and Taeyang doing their duet Good Boy. i just love the dance steps to this song! have you seen it? Looks easy to do but trust me i've tried and its kinda tough if you're not a good dancer(i have 2 left feet so thats why its hard for me to follow)
my boys doing Sober!
TOP rapping to Bae Bae (also one of their current hits) oh be still my heart!
never knew an asian could look this hot wearing a cowboy hat! only my boo TOP can pull it off! (yes im biased so sue me!) unfortunately by this time, the concert was almost coming to an end. so sad! i was trying my darnest to suck in the atmosphere and keep this memory/evening locked inside my heart for a very long time!
Seungri and TOP gets closer to the screaming fans! aigoo, again i wished i was at the standing pen!! *brawling my eyes out*
the guys gave us another 2-3 songs (if not mistaken) for the encore. i didnt keep track of how many songs they sung coz everything was like surreal to me at that point in time.
managed to get somebody to take a shot of me as my boys were singing their final song during the encore. i had a great time (albeit by myself) singing and "dancing" in my seat, listening to my favourite songs LIVE and wondering when the hell will i be seeing them again. boo hoo hoo. as i left the stadium, i felt slightly melancholy and mixed up thoughts were running through my head ie "..huh? thats the end??? nooooo!! so fast! bloody hell, next time when/if they ever do another concert here i will HAVE to buy the standing area, pay a bit more, screw it.. *#$@ some bloody lucky fans got to get to see them up close! eh so where will they be jamming tonite..which hotel are they staying at....bla bla bla.." you know this time round i rush to the airport to "meet" them or send them off coz i didnt have the time nor the energy and i only did that once because i wasnt attending the YG concert.
so yeah thats it folks, thats the end of my blog. but before i go, i just want to say that for some strange reason, Big Bang has impacted me tremendously and oddly enough they've also in a way, touched my life..words cant describe it. you know what else, through out my life, i've not been this crazy over ANY group, EVER! tis my first hehehe well ok i think i better shut up now and i hope i didnt bore you to death.
oh ya, earlier today i was just skyping with my mom and i told her i was writing my blog and she told me not to be too long winded or tell grandmother stories as readers may find my blog boring and fall asleep hahahaha well i hope i didnt put ANY of you to sleep!
ttfn (and be kind to one another!)
4.20pm
P/S if you are a fan of Big Bang i strongly suggest that you TRY to go for their MADE concerts! i promise you that you will definitely have a good time!
P/S fyi - im adding a couple more pix below, which is clearer and sharper but unfortunately, these photos doesnt belong to me.
