Month: November 2009

AFA’09 – Anime Festival Asia

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date November 24, 2009
No Comments on AFA’09 – Anime Festival Asia

I attended AFA09 – Anime Festival Asia on 21st Nov 2009, which was held at Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre. AFA09 is featuring merchadise, live acts and performances, anime / manga and Japanese popular culture. By the time I reached the exhibition halls, I was already greeted by a very long queue at the ticketing booth. I should have go and get the ticket first before I go for my lunch. 🙁

Anyway, regardless of the long queue, I still waited patiently for 45 mins before it was my turn to get the tickets. Adult ticket for one day entry is at S$15 and for weekend pass (2 days) is at S$25. I got the one day pass as I was unable to attend on the second day due to other appointments.

Walking to the entrance of the exhibition hall (403 to 404) where there are AFA crew to check on the tickets before letting you in.

First stop, Bandai booth for all your Gundam needs!

Art demonstration at the Imaginary Friends Studios booth.

Passed by 2 cosplayers where some folks are taking photos. Decided to take as well. 🙂

CoFesta 2009 booth.

Karaoke Joysound Wii at Xing booth.

Moe Moe Kyun Maid Cafe.

One of the few dollfie that I saw in AFA’09.

Another dollfie.

A booth that showcase artwork from various organizations as well as some individual talented artists.

Ben 10 booth.

Of course, Power Rangers are around as well. 😛

Cospa booth, where there have various merchandise on sale.

Tokyo Figure Show in Singapore – brought to you by Dannychoo.com & Good Smile Company.

Mirai Suenaga Figma.

Otacool (Worldwide Otaku Rooms) by Kotobukiya at AFA 09.

First Regional Cosplay Championship in Asia.

Two cute girls posing for the many cameras! 🙂

Replica swords on sale at one of the booth.

A group of cosplayers in the exhibition halls.

Live art demonstration at Storm Lion booth.

2 kawaii girls from Storm Lion handling out free paperbacks to visitors to hold the stuffs and information they have gotten from the exhibitors. Thanks!

Wow, they sell guns in AFA 09 too! Errm, replica guns …. 😛

Evangelion branded UCC Coffee at S$3. There was a few designs available but I chose the one with Shinji Ikari and Evangelion Unit 01. ^^;

Danny Choo special appearance on the stage at 3.30pm, where he spoke about his background, what he does, life in Japan, etc.

Danny Choo, the Tokyo Dance Trooper… in SINGAPORE!!! (Part 1)

Danny Choo, the Tokyo Dance Trooper… in SINGAPORE! (Part 2)

Danny Choo talking about his Storm Trooper armor maintenance.

Son Goku (Dragon Ball).

PG 00 Raiser. Pre-odering available at the Bandai booth at special price.

Level 1 of Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre taken from Level 3. There seems to be some other events going-on as well.

At level 3 of the exhibition centre, there are many cosplayers that gathered here for photo taking and is drawing a huge crowd. So of the cosplay photos below for your viewing!

Life in Singapore

Kusu Island

Here I am at Marina South Pier (滨海南码头) to take a ferry to Kusu Island (Singapore). There are also other regular ferries service heading for Saint John’s Island as well. It’s my first time going to Kusu Island!

Also I am not going to elaborate more about Kusu Island, as Wikipedia already contains huge information on it. In brief, Kusu Island is also known as “Turtle Island” and located on the island is a popular Chinese temple – Da Bo Gong or Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity).

You won’t see any big resort hotels like Barcelo in Tunis or Britannia Grand Hotel, Scarborough— overnight stay is not permitted here. It is probably to preserve the pristine beaches, lagoons and peaceful shrines. It is easy to visit for the day though, and very popular with people coming for a nice afternoon picnic!

Bought the return ferry tickets to Kusu Island at S$14 and was quickly hurried to board the ferry as it was about to depart. Took this when I was already comfortably seated in the ferry.

The interior of the ferry. During Kusu Pilgrimage Season (18 October 2009 to 16 November 2009), ferry services to St john’s island are suspended. The annual Kusu Pilgrimage Season traditionally falls on the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar and more than 100,000 devotees and visitors visited the tiny Kusu Island. Yup, I visited on the last day of the pilgrimage season so as to avoid the crowds.

After a 15mins ferry ride, I reached Kusu Island. Signboard above detailing about the history of Kusu Island.

Walking along the walkway and towards the popular Da Bo Gong temple (on the right).

Before you reach the Chinese temple, there is a wishing well where you can try to throw coins and hit any of the 3 bells in the lotus. If you manage to hit any of the bells, I believe it means that your wishes are heard and will come true! 🙂

The pavilion where the wishing well is located. Looks like most visitors try their hands at the wishing well!

Heading towards the Da Bo Gong or Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity) temple.

In the Tua Pek Kong (The Merchant God or God of Prosperity) temple, you can find many tortoises that are reared by the attendants. Some visitors use coins to strike the back of the tortoise, I suppose it’s for luck, wealth or prosperity, which I promptly followed as well. 🙂

The main building which houses several deities, of which, the two main deities are the Da Bo Gong (Tua Pek Kong) and Guan Yin (Goddess of Mercy). Offerings are sold at S$2 each.

After my prayers and offerings, I went to the food centre to grab some drink to quench my thrist. Although it wasn’t sunny but the weather was still pretty humid. Washrooms are nearby here too!

The food stalls at the food centre seems to be like a temporary setup, which occurs only during the Kusu Pilgrimage Season. There was only 3 stalls available during this time, maybe because it’s already the last day of the pilgrimage. Anyway, the nostalgic setup prompted me to try the food.

This was what I had – Pokka Green Tea S$1.50 and Oyster Omelet S$4.

Walking around the coastal line of Kusu Island, it seems to be a nice place to have a picnic. I also noticed that there were a few barbecue pits around but your barbecue will have to take place way before 1700hours as that’s the last ferry back. Overnight stay is not permitted on the island.

Pristine beaches and tranquil settings, away from the bustling city life. The swimming lagoon seems to be a nice place to enjoy the sun and sand.

Tortoise Sanctuary, where there are enormous amount of tortoises. 🙂

City skyline from Kusu Island. I can see the Singapore Flyer as well the upcoming Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort. The skies is turning black and seems like it’s going to rain pretty soon.

Didn’t want to get stuck on Kusu Island because of the upcoming rain, so quickly hurried back to the ferry terminal to catch my ride back to Marina South Pier. Last ferry is 1700 hours and 0vernight stay is strictly not permitted on the island.

Showing the interior of the ferry as this is a different model from the one I took when I came. You can go and enjoy the cooling sea breeze on the open upper deck. But it’s not a good choice for me as it’s going to rain soon!

After alighting the ferry, at another berth, I noticed this Chinese style cruise boat and believe that you can also take this and cruise around the Singapore waters. For more information, you might have to check out Singapore Island Cruise. Anyway, leaving you with the directions to Marina South Pier. Those who are driving, there are parking facilities nearby too!

Directions to Marina South Pier

Photos on this blog post are taken on Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera.

Tags beach, da bo gong, ferry, kusu island, kusu pilgrimage, marina south pier, oyster omelet, pokka green tea, singapore, tortoise, tortoise sanctuary, tortoise island, tua pek kong, turtle island, wishing well

Life in Singapore

Singapore Zoo

Just visited the Singapore Zoo (opened on 27 June 1973 with total land area of 28 hectares) on a Sunday noon. Yes, I got free tickets as well so did not visit the tickets counter. 😛

For more information on tickets, please visit Singapore Zoo official website. The day’s weather was pretty bad – it was raining and sunny at one point or another. Made it really difficult to roam around as well as taking photos.

Ah Meng Kopi at the entrance where you can grab some snacks – coffee, tea, toast, eggs, etc. Ben & Jerry’s, KFC, Pizzafari can also be found at the entrance area too!

Went in through the entrance and went straight to check out the map of Singapore Zoo as well as the animal shows timing. By the way, you will be also given a hand-held map when you go through the entrance.

Despite the weather conditions, there was still quite a crowd visiting the Singapore Zoo. 🙂

First up – Otters.

Babirusa.

Typical open-concept landscape that you will see in Singapore Zoo. Either you can walk around or go on Wild Discovery Tour, Tram Ride or Boat Ride where various tickets prices applies.

Beautiful landscape at Singapore Zoo. Made me feel that I am not in Singapore. 🙂

Hamadryas Baboons at “The Great Rift Valley of Ethiopia”.

An exhibit of a typical landscape that you will see in Ethiopia. If I remembered correctly, the above huts are used for grain storage.

African Spurred Tortoise having a humping good time!

Elephants of Asia – Seats are available for you to view the “Elephants at Work and Play” show.

Two playful elephants having a splash at the water and also to cool down from the hot weather.

“Rainforest Fights Back” show at the Shaw Foundation Amphitheatre.

Elephant rides at S$8 for each adult/children. Other rides such as wild animal carousel, horse carriage, pony are available as well.

Some ice for you at Ben & Jerry’s. Food also available at this area too!

An Meng Restaurant – which was themed after the beloved celebrity orang utan, Ah Meng. You can also attend the award winning programme “Jungle Breakfast with Wildlife”, where you can have breakfast with orang utans, elephants and snake. The programme runs daily from 9.00am to 10.30am.

One of the 3 white tigers we have in Singapore Zoo. The 3 white tigers are named – Omar, Winnie and Jippie.

Giant Tortoise are known for their long life, with average lifespan of 100 years or more.

Female Nyala.

Thanks for looking although I didn’t take much photos due to the rain. Anyway, Singapore Zoo offers more that what I have posted as it contain 315 species (16% of which are threatened species) and the total number of specimens is 2530. Also, Singapore Zoo also gets around 1.5 million visitors per year! So do consider to visit if you are in Singapore!

Photos on this blog post are taken on Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera and Canon EOS 400D Camera (aka Digital Rebel XTi).

Life in Singapore

A Week in Singapore 4

Wow! It’s been a while since I last done a weekly series of my life in Singapore so will continue with this blog post before I starting for forgot the details. Starting off with a set lunch at Yoyogi Japanese Restaurant – Tori Karaage Set S$14.50++.

Saba Shio Set at Yoyogi Japanese Restaurant S$14.50++. Both set lunch comes with green tea. Overall, I find the food tasty, fresh and worthwhile. Will be back for more!

Some home cook food (not cooked by me). 😛

Stir-fried Vegetables with Abalone.

Spicy stir-fried prawns with spring onions.

Steam Red Snapper.

Lotus Root Soup.

Pork In Sweet And Sour Sauce. Errm, what’s the sauce?

Here is the Sweet And Sour Sauce. It is purposely separated so that the pork will not be soaked soggy and still retain the crunchy outer layer. Need sauce? Just dunk the pork in the sauce!

Sea cucumber stewed with mushrooms, black moss (fa cai) and vegetables in gravy.

Wandering around at Raffles City, while waiting for a friend to join for lunch. Think it was a Monday noon and there wasn’t much people around. Wanted to do some window shopping but my friend turned up early.

Take-away dinner – Seafood Mui Fan (white rice served “wet”, with sauce or gravy on top) S$3.50.

Take-away dinner – Yi Mian S$3.50. We usually eat in front of the television and will lay old newspapers on the table so that no wiping is required after we finished the food. Wahaha!

Whampoa Food Center. You can find a lot of tasty food here!

Went to the older food center instead to have breakfast. It was about 9am when I reached.

Large Wan Tan Mee at S$3. Delicious! But I seldom pass by Whampoa area so maybe I have pen it down somewhere to come back and try other tasty food available.

Off to Clarke Quay to grab some booze. Day view of The Cannery @ Clarke Quay.

Wheat Ale 500ml (1-for-1 before 8pm) at The Pump Room @ Clarke Quay S$12++. Remembered that the happy hour 1-for-1 promotion on Monday is till 10pm. Will be back with whole gang then. Ha ha!

Second round – India Pale Ale 500ml at The Pump Room @ Clarke Quay S$12++. Those who have UOB credit card, please use it to pay for the bills as you will be entitled to 15% discount.

Night view of The Cannery @ Clarke Quay. It’s a nice place to chill out, dine and drink. Love the ambiance!

Passing by Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple and went in to offer my prayers.

The outside of Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, where you can buy fruits, flowers, stuff as offerings for Goddess of Mercy.

Went to a nearby food center to have Prawn Noodles S$4. This is one of the popular prawn noodles in Singapore and it’s very yummy!

Oh, beside Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple, you can find Sri Krishnan Hindu Temple as well. Most devotees who came to this area usually will pray at both temples. 🙂

In front of the Sri Krishnan Hindu Temple, there was a tentage and offers free food to the devotees who are queuing patiently for their turn to be shown their seats. Must be some festive or auspicious day!

Walking around in Bugis area and saw a car with many balloons sticking out of the sunroof. Are they trying to fly? 😛

Claypot Chicken Rice S$10 (for 2 person). Well, you have to fish out the chicken, Chinese sausages, vegetables from the claypot and put them on a plate. Then add dark soy sauce and oil into the claypot (both to each preferences) and mixed well. Once done, it’s ready to be served. Believe the main reason that most people separate the ingredients out is that we just want to season the white rice. 🙂

Side dish to go along with Claypot Chicken Rice – Herbal Black Chicken Soup S$3.

Also ordered some healthy Stir-fried Vegetables with Oyster Sauce to go along as the vegeables that comes along with the Claypot Chicken Rice is not adequate for us.

Queuing up to pump Shell FuelSave 98 promotion at S$1 per litre. I waited for around 45mins before it’s my turn to pump. Also heard from the media that this promotion cause huge jams all around as Shell offers this 1-day promotion island-wide. For info, the usual pump price hovers around S$1.80 to S$1.90 per litre region (before discount).

Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak (Ang Mo Kio). My above combination is S$4.

Take-away dinner again as we seldom cook at home. This time is Xing Zhou Mi Fen S$3.50.

Chai Tow Kway (Carrot Cake) S$2.50.

Some fashion event happening at Ngee Ann City. Passing by to head off to ION Orchard (check out my ION Orchard Walkabout post).

Large Katsu Curry at Tonkatsu Ginza Bairin (at ION Orchard) S$15.90.

This week post consists mainly of food. I will take photos of more places in Singapore to show you in the next weekly series!

Photos on this blog post are taken on Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera.

Events Life in Singapore

Code Android & SG-GTUG Oct 09 Meetup

Post author By Ronald Tan
Post date November 3, 2009
No Comments on Code Android & SG-GTUG Oct 09 Meetup

Yo Guys! On Sat 11am (31st Oct 2009), I made my way to Google Singapore office at Temasek Tower to attend Code Android Singapore meetup. Didn’t park at Temasek Tower as there are hourly charges before 1pm. Instead, I parked at UIC Building which is S$3 per entry for the whole day but have to walk around 5 mins to Temasek Tower. Morning walk is good!

Code Android Singapore is basically a Google Android™ Developers and User Group, where the community can learn about the platform, latest news, reviews and such. In the Code Android Oct 09 meetup, Hongster (Leong Hean Hong) will be talking about “ColorFilter For The Dummies” and Royyuru Avinash on “Monetizing on Android”. I didn’t take much photos during the Code Android session as I was really focusing on the talks (due to the unfamiliarity of Android platform).

Anyway, the above shows the pantry corner of Google Singapore office, where the Google staff can help themselves to the drinks and food. Thanks to Google Singapore that attendees of the Code Android and Singapore Google Technology User Group (SG-GTUG) enjoys the same privileges!

Fast-forwarded the Code Android session, I continued with Singapore Google Technology User Group (SG-GTUG) Oct 09 meetup, which is held at Google Singapore office as well at 2pm.

Singapore Google Technology User Group, or SG-GTUG for short, is a Singapore-based non-profit developers group to learn, share and know more about Google technologies. The group was started by a group of Google fans and enthusiasts who are interested in using Google’s evolving technologies and APIs.

Today’s topic is “Learn How to Ride the (Google) Wave” which attracted quite a turnout. Also, this is the second meetup session organised by SG-GTUG (more information here).

1:30-2:00pm Registration
2:00-2:10pm Announcements by SG-GTUG
2:10-2:45pm Talk + Demo 1 — Pamela Fox: Google Wave APIs Overview (via VC)
2:45-3:10pm Talk + Demo 2 — Nazrul Kamaruddin: Hello Roboto!
3:10-3.30pm Break for refreshments
3:30-3:55pm Talk + Demo 3 — Lim Chee Aun: Pentago on Wave
3:55-4:20pm Talk + Demo 4 — Shinchi: Video Conferencing with Google Wave!
4:20-4:30pm Upcoming Google Wave Hackathon, SG-GTUG matters, prize giving, Q&A
4:30pm onwards Refreshment & mingle

Ming from SocialWok setting up the video camera to capture all the talks/presentation for the day. Those who missed this or previous session may want to subscribe to SG-GTUG channel on YouTube so that you can view all the videos uploaded. By the way, Google and SocialWok are the corporate sponsors for SG-GTUG.

Pamela Fox, Google Developer Relations joining us via video conferencing from Sydney, Australia and speaking on Google Wave APIs overview. It took a while to get the video conferencing running, but after figuring for about 20mins, it was running smoothly and was awesome!

A short break for refreshments and some snacks. Attendees patiently queuing in-line for their turn. 😛

Break-0ut area at Google Singapore office. Well, you can have a game of table tennis here or just relax at a corner! What a nice office!

The far-right of the photo leads to Google Singapore employee’s work area, where, of course, we the attendees are prohibited from entering. Well, it will be nice to be brought around, just to have an insight into their work culture and blog about it. 🙂

More free food and snacks for Google Singapore employees. Just need to watch the intake! 😛

I got the above SG-GTUG T-shirt for S$18 in support and contribution to the non-profit SG-GTUG so that we could still continue to have more of this meetup sessions where ideas are shared among the attendees. Moreover, SG-GTUG was started by a group of Google fans and enthusiasts who are interested in using Google’s evolving technologies and APIs. So it will be good if any form of contribution/help can be rendered!

Next session of SG-GTUG will be touching on Google Maps and Google Earth. Please do check back on SG-GTUG webby if you are interested!

Photos on this blog post are taken on Panasonic DMC-LX3K 10.1MP Digital Camera.

Tags android, business, code android, developer, digital media, event, exchange, google, google Wave, networking, pamela fox, sg-gtug, singapore, singapore google technology user group, social network, socialwok, user