2.40pm
it was around 7am in the morning on the 23rd of march that i heard the sad news of the passing of a great leader of asia, founding father of singapore, mr lee kuan yew or also known as lky by many. how i felt? well, sad of course. although i may not be a citizen of this country, i have been a resident here for almost a decade (come next year).
but anyway, it was so disheartening to hear this kind of news so early in the morning. mr lee kuan yew passed away at around 3.18am. he was not well and was admitted to the singapore general hospital sometime in february this year and apparently died due to severe pneumonia most likely. (but please do not quote me on this ok! you guys can go google more about it).
over the years i have heard alot about this man. i heard that he ruled singapore with an iron fist. a very strong resilient man. i have also heard from some singaporeans complaining about the government etc but you know what, they dont know how good they've got it. sometimes i guess people are never satisfied with what they've got until its gone. like from where i come from, its a bit "chaotic". instead of moving with the times, i guess they want to take 2 steps back. you get the picture. i dont know, but its the way these "people" think, with different ideas, ideology, background...too complicated.
but mr lee was a visionary, a great leader, a pragmatic person. you know there's very few people whom i admire in my life (for the record one my mother is one of them) and mr lee is on my list. why do i admire him? ok..in a nutshell, this should speak in volumes as to why i admire this man. look at singapore then and now. basically they had nothing to start off with and look at singapore today, from 3rd world to a 1st class city, not to mention one of the most expensive cities to live in! how can you beat that huh? to be able to turn things around in about 40 over years its bloody amazing, admirable even. it took alot of guts and gumption, not to mention with his strong team backing him up every step of the way. thats why i say BRAVO and KUDOS to this gentle giant. (and honestly, he reminds me of my grandfather).
you know, i hate it when people (who clearly are jealous) just shoot crap out of their mouths by saying - oh singapore is such a small country, easy to control and do things bla bla bla - hey, excuse me, you think it was an easy feat? if you were in his shoes, could you have done it better?? its always so easy for people to just rattle off their mouths, not knowing what goes in internally, with the hardship, the stress, mental torture, sleepless nights etc... just to put this small tiny dot of a country on the world map. if you guys dont believe me, just read up on singapore's history. google it.
oh and by the way, i have a thought. if a country is too big and too hard to control, why not start on a small scale? start with a city and see how that progresses. gotta have the never say die attitude, dont knock it till you've tried it, who knows it may just work. dont just shoot down the idea. dont you know that everything begins with a first step, which is always the hardest. then once all the kinks and problems has been ironed out, things can run smoothly like clockwork. well thats my idea.
i believe and know that mr lee kuan yew has done his best with his given abilities and know-how, the then and now decisions made, too were made at that point in time, with no regrets. he is a man who is steadfast, trustworthy, reliable, fair, just, loyal, courageous, dedicated (leader, husband and father), has a remarkable foresight, whose humble, pragmatic, clear about what has/needed to be done,intellectually honest, no nonsense kinda guy and his never ending or should i say relentless pursuit of singapore's development/betterment. he also believes in integrity, transparency, credibility, corruption-free and no discrimination in his government/country. so to me, that is a recipe for a great leader not to mention a great country.
ooh i just remembered a saying that goes something like this - a stable home creates a stable family (or was it vice versa..whatever). so if a country is not stable, how can the government/citizens be? and if thats the case, how does a country even prosper and be successful like singapore, for instance?
i think that first and foremost, you've got to set in place a transparent government, with a no nonsense attitude, dont do any favors for anybody (so that you "owe" them later) but instead be self reliant..., etc. once the "foundation" has been laid is strong, only then would your fellow countrymen look up to you and give you due respect. just like what i've been seeing with my own eyes at these tribute areas. i saw some people crying or drying their tears and some paying their last respects to mr lee. i can see that they all loved him very much, despite all their grumbling and complaints over the years about the government. its funny but having said that, the citizens still cant help but feel a sense of great loss of such a great and wonderful leader, the founding father of this small and new nation, whose about to celebrate their 50th independence on the 9th of august.
ok enough talk. im getting sad again. i've included some photos that i managed to take today.
i took these at the singapore general hospital, block 7. there were lots of get well and condolence messages, balloons, prayer stuff, flowers, soft toys, etc all put by fellow singaporeans (and others). as you can see, its very organized, neat and tidy. that's how singapore is. i paid my respects, said a prayer before heading off for my appointment which co-incidentally was at the same hospital but at a different block.
now this picture above was at bedok town centre, one of the designated tribute sites. so, on my way back home after my appointment at hospital, i decided to stop by the tribute centre ( which wasnt too far from my neighborhood), to pay my last respects and to write my tribute to the late mr lee kuan yew. now, all over singapore, tribute centres were being set up so that the public can go to there or to their nearest community centres, libraries and designated areas to pay their last respects to mr lee . blank page books were put out for the people to write whatever they wanted. it was all done in an orderly fashion and people just follow whatever that was being told to them by the helpers at these sites. although there was a long queue, nobody complained whilst they were waiting which could take a pretty long time. it was quite solemn atmosphere. again i could see some elderly ladies shedding tears or blowing their nose (not too sure if its to do with the situation or they were just having a cold...)but whatever.
there were 2 different queues, one line for writing tributes and the other to go up on stage and pay your final respect to mr lee. all done perfectly without much hiccups. in some ways, im a bit OCD and i like things arranged neatly and it goes without saying in this kind of situation, everything was done very tastefully and not in disarray.
above picture is the stage to go up and give your final respect/bow or say a quick prayer. documentary on mr lee kuan yew being played (on loop) on a huge projector screen so that the public and sit and watch.
last but not least posters of a very brief history of what mr lee kuan yew did for singapore thruout 60 over years. you know this past whole week, i've been glued to the tv watching documentaries of the history of singapore, old news, archives as well as current news on the founding father and also interviews given from family members and ministers (old and new) or those that knew this great man.
before i end, i would like to thank mr lee for all that he's done for singapore, past and present. without his hardwork, unwaivering dedication and deep deep love for the country (perhaps even to a point of obsession), it wouldnt be where it is today. a bustling growing metropolis filled with people from all walks of life, a country that is rich in culture, heritage and whereby every citizen is treated as an equal, without discrimination. if im not mistaken, he once did say something along the lines of "...its not my country, its our country..." now those are wise words coming from a true leader! sad to say, not many leaders are or can be like him because he is FOR his country not FOR himself.
actually there's alot more that i would like to say but i wont go there. you guys get the gist of what im trying to imply in here. if you dont get it, just too bad then.
now i would like to end with a few quotes from the man himself -
" i have spent my life, so much of it, building up this country. there's nothing more that i need to do. at the end of the day, what have i got? a successful singapore. what have i given up? my life!"
on his life's work
"i have never been over-concerned or obsessed with opinion polls or popularity polls. i think a leader who is, is a weak leader!"
"what are the things important to me in life? my family and my country. singapore is my concern till the end of my life!"
"...even as you lower me into my grave and if i feel that something is wrong, i will get up!"
AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES A GREAT MAN AND A GREAT LEADER! I SALUTE YOU MR LEE AND YOUR TEAM! (if only some countries could follow in your footsteps...but that's just wishful thinking on my part). you ARE singapore and singapore WILL survive! you turned an impossible dream into reality! follow the rainbow, go ride it, sir! may you rest in peace and may your enduring legacy be continued on for a very long time. you may have left this world but you are definitely not forgotten.
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4.19pm
p/s if any of you would like to write your tribute, you can check out
www.rememberingleekuanyew.sg or you can go to facebook too (rememberingleekuanyew)
and here are some video clips for you to watch on this great man.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loWRruq3B74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8rPofi-AUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVDE0KPMaeY
updated today at 9.47am on 25 march 2015
live telecast of mr lee kuan yew's body (inside the casket) being placed inside a glass box and being taken on a ceremonial gun carriage. he will be ferried to the parliament house where he will be lying in state (till saturday at 8pm), so that the general public can pay their last respects to him,( which will be opened for 24 hours due to overwhelming response) and then on sunday, mr lee's body will be taken for a private cremation at mandai crematorium.
updated today at 4.03pm 26/3/2015
i took a little trip down to the istana (palace)/sri temasek (official residence of the late mr lee kuan yew and family) to pay my last respects to him at his home for the last time and wrote my tribute to him. well, its the little that i can do for this great man. photo 1 is just outside of the istana, with a few guards on duty. it was pretty quiet there and no crowd at all as most of them were at the padang, where the queue starts in order to get into the parliament house where mr lee's body is lying in state.
scene at the padang around 10ish this morning when i was on my way to the istana. there were tents set up i think, as makeshift canopies to sheild people from the scorching hot sun during the day, there were barriers set up and not to mention road closures to some roads leading to the parliament house area. there were heaps of people around! lucky thing all of this was properly organized and in an orderly fashion. kudos!
29/3/2015 5.15pm
last update from me on this very sad topic. finally today its over. as im typing this, the late mr lee kuan yew's body will be taken to the mandai crematorium. i was glued to my tv from 12.30pm till 4.45pm. i took 2 photos from the tv to show you guys.
21 gun salute for founding father. it was raining heavily yet that did not deter the people from standing in line and waiting to say goodbye to their leader. they stood in the rain (with or without umbrellas or raincoats) and waited until mr lee's cortege had passed by for the last time.
scene around pinnacle @ duxton, which was on the way to national university of singapore where the state funeral was being held. pinnacle @ duxton is a 50 storey public housing development which happens to be the tallest in the world (for public housing) otherwise known as HDB here in singapore. amazing architecture and design, this place holds a special place in mr lee's heart. finally, you can see heaps of people lining up the streets in the rain, bidding their last farewell and some throwing petals as mr lee's cortege was passing by. what a sad sad day and even the heavens are crying.
2.52pm
hello hello again. yes it has definately been a while since my last blog, which i think was before chinese new year. i've been kinda busy with my travels and whatnots and now that i have a breather i can sit down and do a quick blog.
well, this blog is like a part 2 of my previous blog which i wrote when my idol TOP (from the very popular kpop group Big Bang) came to singapore sometime in january to receive an award at the prudential eye award. and in that blog that i had written, i retraced his "footsteps" when he went to the singapore art museum (SAM). this time round, i retraced his "footsteps" to the art science museum at marina bay sands.
you see, all this while, we have to pay to go in to this museum but i saw a tweet mentioning that it was FREE entrance for the first monday of the month and i was like holy shit. that's awesome. why pay when they are making it free right? but of course there was a catch to it. patrons were only allowed to certain floors of the museum (if not mistaken there's 4 floors and i was allowed to go to the 3rd and 4th floor, well which was good enough!).
anyways, when i saw this tweet it was end of february (weekend) and the 2nd of march was just around the corner and thats when i decided to go there. so yeah, here's what i managed to see when i was there.
yes so this the view from the art science museum outside which is overlooking the river. you can see 2 round-ish domes in the distance which is the esplanade, a very tall skyscraper swissotel...etc etc so basically thats part of the city centre of singapore. lovely view isnt it? thank god it wasnt a very hot day.
picture one - upon entering the 3rd floor of the museum. picture two - outside the art science museum and picture three - inside the museum (one of the areas)
voila! my free ticket to the art science museum. how great is that! call me a cheapskate or whatever you like, i dont care but why pay when you can get in for free?
ok so these are some art pieces that i saw which looked pretty interesting, dont you agree? and no im not going to be explaining to you guys about these contemporary art pieces as i dont understand them in the first place nor do i know how to appreciate them. im sure you should know by now that i am not a big fan of art or museums. i only went to these places because....thats right you've guessed it...because of my boo TOP. i would never ever think (or suggest) to pop by a museum and to just wander around, whichever country im visiting (unless i've no choice).
aha! there we go! retracing TOP's "footsteps". so what he saw i saw too! hahaha ... oh as i mentioned earlier, i couldnt go down to other floors (1 & 2) coz i gotta pay! so i skipped that bit. well dear friends, should you ever get bored and have a bit of time on your schedule, take a peek at the art science museum! dont forget, for a free entry, go on the first monday of the month! but oh yes, please double check before going in case they dont practice this anymore.
right i think thats about it for now. stay tuned for my next blog. you never know what im going to be blogging about. until then, take care and be nice to one another! have a blessed weekend!
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3.31pm
11.26am
if you are fans of big bang, which is one of the hottest kpop groups in korea (and probably around the world too), you would know that one of their band members, taeyang (that's his stage name by the way and his real name is dong young-bae or youngbae. taeyang means sun in korean), came to singapore recently (just over the weekend which was on the 8th of february) for his solo concert called RISE. and from what i have been reading online, twitter and from other social media outlets, his concerts in malaysia and in singapore were sold out. he performed to almost 10,000 fans from both countries.
now i know what you must be thinking. since im such a huge fan of big bang's, the million dollar question is, did i go for the concert or not. well my answer is no i didnt go for it. coz not all the songs of his i liked and plus the tickets were a tad bit expensive. hey, im on an austerity drive here ok. housewife remember. im not just going to put my hand out and ask the hubby for money to watch a concert. well not unless its bigbang themselves (all 5 of them or just TOP or GD, then i will definately give it a serious thought).
just like the YG family concert, not all 5 of them came although TOP and GD did come (but you know its just not the same). on hindsight i wish i'd gone for it. ooh hey remember, i did go to the airport to see them (which technically, i did!) but oh well..no use crying over spilt milk. right, moving along with my story.
this photo that i took was for taeyang's fan gathering at bugis junction here in singapore. as i recall it was a saturday evening when my husband and i were there for dinner and i happen to chance upon this gathering at the courtyard. unfortunately though, taeyang wasnt there coz this was his fans gathering and the organizers for the event i think was doing this to create the hype and get the fans fired up before his concert. oh all this happened like a couple of weeks before concert day. kinda like a prelude, if you know what i mean, a teaser (as we like to call it in the advertising industry hahaha) and fans can win gifts during Q&A...stuff like that.
now 8 february was a sunday, so the night before i told my husband to follow me to changi city point mall (expo was just next door, where the concert was being held) so that he can hang out there for a bit whilst i go and snoop around at expo and check out what's going on there. plus i wanted to check out the merchandise booth too. oh prior to that, i'd already checked with the organizers what time they would be setting up the merchandise stall and they told me it was around 1pm. anyways, thankfully, my husband was a sport and agreed to go with me. off we went on sunday as planned.
we had lunch at changi point and then i left him at starbucks while i walked over to expo. found the hall (hall 3) where the merchandise tables were being set up as well as the concert hall.
see they were just setting up their stuff and that was probably around 12.45pm. they werent ready yet so i had to wait outside the hall. lucky it was indoor and air conditioned.
there were some fans/vips (as we bigbang followers are called) that were already waiting patiently. im telling you, some of these fans really are die hard followers. i dont know if they normally dress up that way or just for the concert day. i dont know man. you will soon see what i mean.
standee and signages set up just outside of the hall so that people will know where to go. pretty clear directions and organized i think. then, i decided to take a walk outside of the hall to see what was going on there. (coz i could see yellow iron barriers set up outside and i know definately that that was for the concert).
fans sitting and waiting for the soundcheck party. im not quite sure how the organizers are doing it, first come first served basis (meaning those who are first in line will get to stand closer to the stage or whatever, i have no clue as i've never been to a soundcheck party (which i would love to go if it was for big bang) and i think those ticket holders were VVIPs (which cost damn alot!). but hey, dont quote me on all this ok. im just speculating. but those people sitting in line are there for the soundcheck party and later on, watching the concert as well. i wish there was tickets sold just for the soundcheck party only, then at least if dont attend the concert it will be ok, you know what i mean?
this is what i mean when i say die hard fan. i've seen kpop idols dressing like that when they are performing or doing some kind of promotion etc. but this guy, wow..i give him 2 thumbs up. very bold of him. bravo! kudos to him, coz he stood out.
soon it was time to get in line coz suddenly a line started to form in front of the entrance to the hall and everybody got up and started queing ( but not those who were sitting outside). thankfully line wasnt long at all. they finally let us in around 1.35pm.
pretty organized as i said and not that many people yet coz we were all early and being "kiasu" ( its a hokkien and singlish word used to describe people who are anxious, selfish behaviour characterised by a fear of missing out) hahahahaha. the organizers set up a few tables and arranged the merchandise nicely so that everyone can see all the stuff and some fans i noticed had pre ordered their merchandise. wow.
there was a standee with images of all merchandise that was being sold and also each of us were given a piece of paper with the price list too so that we can tick/check what we wanted to buy and then pass this paper to the organizers mending the merchandise. easy process and fast too.
the merchandise table up close.
finally this was a huge hall. black huge curtains surrounded the hall area. i thought it was because there were not many fans attending this concert but i read that at least 4,000 came! wow. again, there were lots of barriers to guide fans where to go ie soundcheck party or standing queue (which if im not mistaken was for the mosh pit area).
so that was that. my sunday afternoon. i didnt spend alot of time there like i did at the yg family concert. took me about an hour in total. didnt buy any merchandise either. not worth it. actually there were only 2 reasons why i went there -
1) for my blog so that i can share with you guys the prelude to the concert and
2) to have a look see and maybe try and score some freebies (like how i did at the ygfamily concert here last year hahahahaha )
right, i've come to the end of my blog and hope you've enjoyed my storytelling. until next time, stay safe and be kind to one another! (even to animals!)
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1.02pm
11.06am
in my blog today its going to be about some places i've eaten at that i find rather unique, around singapore.
just last friday, my cousin and i decided to check out this cafe/bar/restaurant over at changi village. its called the coastal settlement or tcs. this place is away from the city so you get to be "closer" to mother nature. lots of greenery surrounds this restaurant. unfortunately, we got there pretty early (before 11am) and they were just opening up the place (guys were busy cleaning the windows, doors etc). luckily they let us in so that we could have a look around. fyi, they serve brunch on saturdays/sundays not weekdays. i had a glance of their menu and it was a tad bit expensive (to me). i also do not know how big or how small their serving portions are because we never got a chance to try out their food. maybe some other time, then i'll let you guys know ok? but for more info, just google - the coastal settlement.
now as you can see for yourself, this place is quite cool. its decorations, art pieces, paintings, furniture etc i think, are stuff collected (or bought) from the 60s, 70s, 80s and probably 90s era. gosh i love all the stuff in here. it does bring back fond memories of my childhood. come on, look at the stuff thats in this place! pretty awesome isnt it (if you're into these kinda retro stuff)
and if you are looking for a place to have say your engagement party or hmm...a small wedding celebration or even a birthday party perhaps, maybe you can consider this place. (no, i aint advertising for these people, but come to think of it, i should get paid since im "technically" blogging about them!) anyways, on to more photos, which im sure you're dying to see!
check out the retro furniture! at my grandmother's house, (bless her, she passed away a couple of years ago) my uncle has kept this similar retro looking furniture set(although its not in bright orange). bit too "loud" if you asked me but this color seems to blend in well with the deco and its "brownness" that surrounds the restaurant. it just pops!
and see here, all these photos, doesnt it take you back in time? vintage dont you think so? again i have to say, im loving this place! look at the vespa (yes, its being revived and i think its cool if done up properly and repainted nicely), the tv set (omg classic!), the record player (turn table) with a couple of vinyl records....etc etc etc... its so nostalgic. things that i've almost forgotten and now i wished my parents kept some of our stuff that we had long ago. i did ask my mom about it and she told me that if they were to have kept even half of the stuff from back in the day (or from my childhood), we'd have to have a mansion! oh-kay, sigh.
these 2 pictures (above) i took at harbourfront mall. the "kopitiam" (local cafe in other words) has a slight "retro-ish" feel to it. different types of biscuits in tins lined up the walls of the cafe. let me tell you that when i was a kid, i used to munch on these non stop. they're so flavorful, colorful not to mention crispy and fresh. so if you're ever at vivocity/harbourfront, sit down at this cafe, heavenly wang and have a cuppa then try their cookies/biscuits.
lastly, this is nothing to do with retro but i wanted to end my blog today with something korean (since i love korean food and all things korean). this is a new fast food joint at vivocity called paik's bibim bibimbap that sells basically korean noodles or rice in a healthier way - more veggies less meat. opened by renowned korean celebrity chef paik jong won (who also is the brainchild behind the popular korean bbq restaurant called bornga, which coincidentally is just next door). so anyways, i decided to try one of their popular dishes which was the warm noodles with soy sauce and it was perfect. a small bowl of hot broth and some kimchi are also given. really value for money as its affordable and under S$10.00. what more could you ask for?
and now i've come to the end of my blog. hope you've enjoyed it. so if you're ever in singapore and if you have the time to spare, do try out these places if you like. in the meantime, take care and god bless! be kind to one another.
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12.04pm
