Playing with Macro Shots in Singapore Botanical Gardens

Dug up unprocessed photos that has been in the back burner for a while. These are some shots I took of the pretty flowers in Singapore Botanical Gardens waaay back in 2014! By the way, I recommend paying for entrance to the National Orchid Garden, as most of my beautiful photos are of orchids.

I gotta say I missed taking walks or cycling around to take some photos... And frankly, I'm surprised  of my photography skills 2 years before:

Visit to National Gallery Singapore

Correction: National Gallery in TripAdvisor corrected me: the museum offers Open-House ONLY on SELECTED Public Holidays (which are announced in their website), not all public holidays.

Christmas free treat (as a foreigner): https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294265-d8077179-r452873577-National_Gallery_Singapore-Singapore.html#REVIEWS

I highly recommend everyone to visit the extensive Southeast Asian art pieces in the National Gallery Singapore. Standard ticket for Non-Singaporeans is 20 SGD, which is not expensive given the exhibits offered at each of the ~7 galleries. The museum is FREE FOR ALL during selected public holidays, which are announced in their website. So I was finally able to visit during the Christmas holidays, and it was an enriching experience and unique treat for myself. I was able to see paintings by Fernando Amorsolo, Felix Hidalgo and a Juan Luna! I would like to go back after I get to know more about other pioneering artists in S.E. Asia like Raden Saleh, Liu Kang... and acclaimed modern and contemporary artists like Norberto Roldan... The architecture of the former Supreme Court and City Hall is also something to behold, and I was also able to see Singapore's historical documents at the former Chief Justice's Chamber.

Here are some of my favourites during my visit (I wasnt able to finish from Level 2 to Basement galleries):



And here are some useful links I have found and is worth exploring!
The Filipino Collection in the National Gallery Singapore  by Manila Art Scene
National Heritage Board, Singapore at Google Arts & Culture
National Gallery Singapore Website

Massage at Healing Touch Spa

Nice Birthday Treat for Myself: https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowUserReviews-g294265-d4355506-r411474016-Healing_Touch_Spa-Singapore.html#

There is no denying that spa and massage in Singapore is expensive compared to neighbouring countries, so I already expected the 50+SGD price tag to splurge for my birthday. It was a nice surprise for me that the 1-hour Asian Fusion Massage was of different style from the Thai or Swedish Massages I usually get, and I admit I prefer this type of massage for my mild scoliosis. My therapist, Alice, applied enough pressure to my liking, and she was also kind enough to pause whenever I flinch. The ambience of the place is soothing and clean which certainly made the impression of relaxation and professionalism. If the Orchard branch is located nearer to public transport then it would be perfect. Despite that, I would still recommend Healing Touch Spa for satisfying massages! Thanks so much! 

Visited August 2016

Better, Less Expensive Chilli Crab?

Visited my Trip Advisor account and I almost forgot I reviewed a restaurant when I visited Singapore as a tourist 3 years back: No Signboard Seafood: Expensive, but very good chili crab. Since then, I never went to other restaurants for chili crab. The Vivo branch is still the most comfortable for me, I hope the space have not changed since 2013. I went to Geylang branch a year after that, and boy was it crowded! I couldn't remember if the price are cheaper since it's an open-air restaurant. Last year, I brought a huge group of friends in Clarke Quay branch, and after that I started to get disappointed - they charged for every pack of wet tissue which were already placed in the tables. It wasn't much compared to the huge bill for the chili crabs, which made it more annoying.

Maybe this year, it's high time to explore other places for cheaper menu?

Remittances from SG to PH: DBS vs i-Remit

Hi fellow SG-OFWs. Have you noticed that the online DBS remit to Philippines (https://www.dbs.com.sg/personal/promotion/php-remit) has S$0 transfer fee when you remit to home, or is it just a Christmas promo?

Even if it's just a holiday promo, using DBS is now better than, for example, i-Remit. The forex in DBS is recently comparative to Philippine ones (S$1 SGD = 33.35 PHP in DBS vs =33.41 PHP in i-Remit). Additionally, Philippine remit services have about S$4.00 service fee per transaction, which would end up DBS to be cheaper. Not to mention that DBS transfer can be done online, while Philippine remittance needs to be a personal transaction with online appointment (https://ibilis.iremit-inc.com/), which would mean going through long lines in Lucky Plaza.

So, at least until the holidays are over, using DBS is way more convenient and sometimes cheaper than using Philippine-based services. Do you agree? How about other banks e.g. OCBC and SingPOST?

Good and Reasonably Priced Korean BBQ

Manbok Chinatown Korean BBQ & Steamboat Buffet Restaurant, Singapore

I celebrated my birthday dinner here with 3 guests. Reservation was done nicely and quickly for a Friday night, and we were allowed to bring 1 of our own bottle of wine at no corkage fee. The meats were seasoned very nicely and deliciously. A la carte menu were also very good. Even the steamboat which is the resto's additional surprise is very good. Then, they offer 4 free beers for a group of 4-people and the beers were a treat! We bought more bottles of it which is 10sgd per 750ml bottle, not bad at all!

The place is amply clean and the restroom is also hygenic. Service is very good for a buffet resto, the waiters even asked us about our experience. Uncle is also very kind to us...

We were very satisfied and agreed my birthday dinner was great! The buffet cost 29sgd per pax. Highly recommended!