Singapore Garden Festival (15-22 Jul 2010)

Just 2 more days before the end of the Garden Festival, we headed straight down to Suntec Convention right after work!

It was also a good place for us to try out our Sony Alpha.
For those who have missed the exhibition, here are some of our shots.

Interesting plant, they look like a Choir.

Themed Garden

These were made of plastics! How cool and pretty!

An umbrella of universal values bursting with love and happiness augmented by bountiful showers of freedom aptly depicted by the wooden bamboos of rainfall.
~ Design by Irene Hee

Hampi as it is popularly known today was the medieval capital of Hindu empire Vijayanagara which translates to City of Victory. Now 500 years old still stands strong and bold. It is now listed as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Reading under the tree, how interesting.

Peering through the Pandora box, inspired by the movie "Avatar".


Jump

A Vietnam-inspired design


Balcony Garden




Bonsai Display

All these miniature displays were impressive.
We were impressed that our camera could take these macro shots beautifully too!

You won't be able to see it until you get an up-close look!



Orchids Display
Never knew there are so many species of orchids. Some look as if they are singing to me!








This exhibition also promotes the idea of eco-friendly practices for your garden.


A wide array of garden and floral display...



We spent almost 3 hours at the exhibition, split between Level 4 and Level 6 of the Convention Halls. For those who missed it, wait till next time...

Stair Climbing to Good Health!

All you need:

Locate a Point Block - 24 storeys and above.
Comfortable T-shirt and shorts
Any kind of footwear will do, even slippers.
A buddy if you like to chat or to listen to your grouses when it gets tougher along the way
Your pair of legs
Optional: Umbrella (rain or shine) - it helps... in my view.

Start climbing the stairs and enjoy the view when you reach the top.
Take the lift down* and start climbing again.
Making 2 trips could have gotten you almost 500 steps!
It took us approx. 5-6 mins for every complete climb.
* Walking down the stairs could strain your knee joints.

Caution:
Noisy barking dogs living on the higher floors who hate strangers, since hardly anybody would be using the stairs at those levels. We encountered that. Cute little ones can be very fierce.
And stop the climb if you get really breathless. In any case, take your time.
Fastest and most convenient way to get an excellent aerobic workout!
And best of all, it is absolutely FREE!

Tiny Steps to go GREEN

Earth is exhausted.
How much longer can she hold on for us?

Does it matter? Is there a need to? What's the point?
Before you start to doubt the worthiness of your effort, see more, read more, listen more.

Tiny little effort may seems insignificant, but you'll come to realise that there are many people out there doing that little effort.
Stop sitting on the fence.

Instead of adding +1 to the group who is ignorant or does nothing, join the group that does care.


Earth Hour 2010 is here! 8.30pm, Saturday 27th March 2010.
http://www.earthhour.org
Turn off your lights for one hour!
You think this is silly?
This beats drawing blood, for sure.

Green Mart at Aramsa The Garden Spa (@Bishan Park), Sunday 21 March 2010
http://www.aramsaspas.com/actfac.html#greenmart
Selling green products with eco- friendly and organic theme.
Forget about spending an afternoon in your cosy air-con room!
Go on and shop, and enjoy the greenery!

BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag)
Say no to cashiers offering to pack your one or two items.
Please, you have your hands, you're carrying a bag, do you really need to carry a plastic bag?
I don't think so.

Cycle, Walk
Not only will you feel better, you'll look better (in shape!) too.
To add on, you'll save $$ too! (ERP, Petrol, Parking, you know...)

Great Bonding can be rewarding too!
Find someone to go Green with!
Wen enjoys going GREEN with me.

Help spread the word around - say "GREEN"!

CNY10.. pity the trees

Day One of CNY. Year of the Tiger. Start of 2010.

The usual house visits and needless to say, collected my usual hongbaos (red packets).

While I was unwrapping the hongbaos, I was just wondering... what else can I do with them after taking out the money? Nothing. Throw away of course. I do not have a hobby of collecting the packet designs, and I believe at least 99% of the population do not have that as well.

Perhaps years later, somebody is going to invent an e-hongbao system in collaboration with iphone, the 'Santa' to bring a card to every house visits, and children (like me) could eagerly be waiting for his arrival, clutching onto our iphones. All Santa needs to do is to tap his card on our iphone, and in goes the money! Whatsmore, this saves Santa the time spent stuffing red packets the night before his dreadful $$ bleeding day.
Santa is happy, kids are happy, so are the trees.

As for now, I am not complaining about the heaps of crushed hongbaos in my trashbin.
I only pity the trees.