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Showing posts from January, 2010

Photos from the Quest for Immortality

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Here are some photos from my visit to the special exhibition Quest for Immortality - The World of Ancient Egypt in the National Museum of Singapore.  There were a number of statues showcased in the exhibition. Some of their faces looked so life-like. Could not really remember what the statues are called! Some of the statues are tiny, like this one here...   There were also some smaller pieces, dedicated to beauty. This is a tiny piece, probably less than 1.5 inches in height, that was used to apply kohl to the eyes.  And of course, all ladies need jewelery no matter which year you were living in. There are carvings...   ...and stelae . Stalae are stone slabs with carvings for funerals. I guess they are probably like the tombstones that we know today. From the exhibition, I had a sneak peak of the Ancient Egyption's extremely elaborate burial customs . They will go through the mummification process performed by a priest, where they removed internal organs, rem

The beach in the island of Bali

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{ July 2009 - Bali, Indonesia } We planned our Bali trip around spending times in 3 main cities - Sanur, Ubud and then Seminyak. We spent the first day in Sanur, drove up North to Ubud on the second day , spent our whole third day in Ubud and our last day in Seminyak. Day 4 (21 July) - Seminyak and back to Singapore We spent the night in Seminyak , after travelling from Ubud at night. After breakfast, we started walking along Jalan Raya Seminyak which is a congested and crowded road, with lots of pollution all around. There are rows of shophouses along the road, and it was definitely not probably at around the same price as Singapore. So, we just walked along the road window shopping, while trying to hold our breath when walking along the road. After awhile, we just couldn't stand the smell any longer, and escaped into a (very western looking) cafe for drinks and lunch. The menu were full of western food but we managed to order a relatively Indonesian looking dish. Af

Of monkeys and Balinese culture

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{ July 2009 - Bali, Indonesia } After enjoying the sun, sea and sand in Sanur, and the nature and culture around Ubud in the past two days , we were ready to enjoy more of Ubud . Day 3 (20 July) - Ubud We started the day, bright and early, and walked towards the Ubud Monkey Forest . It is a natural reserve, with temples and lots and lots of monkeys! The area was in a forest and so there were lots of trees all around. We spent some time in the sanctuary - watching and trying to avoid the monkeys, visiting Pura Dalem Agung (a Hindu temple), and enjoying the nature (amidst the people around us). After that we walked towards Penastanan, following the suggested walk in Lonely Planet. It was a great change walking along the roads and houses where the locals actually lived.   When we reached Penastanan, we were greeted with endless views of paddy fields. Too bad the paddy fields weren't on terraces - else the view would have been even better. We con

Sun, sea and sand with nature and culture in the island of Bali

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{ July 2009 - Bali, Indonesia } We went to Bali, Indonesia for four days in July 2009. While we, or rather, I am not a "beach" person, we thought that a short trip to Bali would be great pick-me-up from the daily work life. After doing countless research , we decided to spend our time between Sanur (quiet "family" beach), Ubud (the cultural centre of Bali) and Seminyak (the party and shopping central - after Kuta, that is). Day 1 (18 July) - Singapore to Sanur, via Denpasar Our flight landed in Denpasar around noon, and we went straight to Sanur. After resting for a short while in our hotel, we walked out to search for lunch and the beach. Lunch was a simple Nasi Campur, which literally means mixed rice. It has rice, noodles, eggs, vegetables and satay sticks (grilled meat on satay). We saw some interesting Balinese architecture in the houses we passed in search of the beach. And here is a lone "leaf-less" coconut tree in someone's garden.

Quest for Immortality - The World of Ancient Egypt

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We went to the National Museum of Singapore on Sunday, 17 January to watch the exhibition Quest for Immortality - The World of Ancient Egypt. Here is a synopsis of the exhibition from the museum... The ancient Egyptian world is often characterised by a fascinating and remarkably supple mental universe. Ancient Egyptians melded images in ways that often beggar logic. They linked material elements with a realm inaccessible to humans, as reflected both in their daily conduct and their emphasis on the afterlife that led to their quest for immortality. Quest for Immortality – The World of Ancient Egypt offers an insight to the ancient Egyptian’s attitude to life and the afterlife, and the preparations they made to ensure their transition from earthly existence to immortality. Discover the Egyptians’ means of equipping the dead – through mummification, provision of sustenance, magic and ritual – and explore the evolution of their burial rites as well as the changing relationship between m

Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami

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I have heard about Haruki Murakami , but has been quite reluctant to try reading his books. I found out that unless I really like the genre or the stories that the specific authors write, I usually cannot appreciate their books. These would include Neil Gaiman and even Paulo Coelho . While I appreciate their books, they are usually not easy reads - at least, not for me. However, I finally decide to buy and read one of his books, and I picked up Sputnik Sweetheart . I started reading the book without knowing the genre that Murakami usually writes. It was, fortunately, a quite easy read for me. I finished it within 5 days (with probably just an average of half an hour each day). It was one of those novels where you just could not put down. But here is the beauty of it - the novel touched me in many ways and made me think and wonder, but at the end of it all, I have to admit that I don't really know what this novel is about. The words, the prose, the stories are suspenseful and h

When will I watch Michael Bublé live in concert?

I wish. I wish. I wish. I wish that I will have a chance to watch Michael Bublé live in concert. Wonder when he'll come to Singapore, or anywhere around Asia? He'll be in Italy in May - that I know. I'm planning a holiday to Italy sometime in October. Maybe I should move it to May just to be in time to watch him in concert? For now, I'll make do with watching his music video ...

My Sister's Keeper - The Book

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I decided to buy and read this book after I saw the trailer of the movie based on the book. The movie starred Cameron Diaz and Abigail Breslin. I was initially reluctant to read the book as I read one of Jodi Picoult's book called The Tenth Circle and I remembered that I didn't like it all that much. However, after watching the trailer and loving the story line, and hearing good reviews about the movie, I decided to read it. The books which movies are based on are usually much better than the movies themselves, aren't they? The book is about a 13-year-old Anna who sues her parents for medical emancipation - for the right to decide what she wants to do with her body medically. You see, she is conceived and born to be the perfect genetic match to her older sister Kate, who has life-threatening leukemia. Considering the topic, it is not surprising that I ended up crying while reading the book. I also like the way the book is written. The story is told from the various vi

Weekend trip to KL (19-20 Dec)

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Today is one of those days when I just felt the itch to write, but not sure what to write about. So, I decided to write about the trip I took after Turkey - a weekend trip to Kuala Lumpur (or KL as we call it). It was for my colleague's wedding on a Saturday evening. I do not have any photos for this trip as all the photos were taken by my boyfriend, and I do not have a copy yet. [Image from Wikipedia. Clockwise from top left: Petronas Twin Towers, Petaling Street, Masjid Jamek and Gombak/Klang river confluence, Tugu Negara, Masjid Negara, skyline of KL. Center: KL Tower] Now, I have to admit that KL is not my favourite place in the world. I may even go all the way out and say that I pretty much detest the place. I was living and working there for a short 5 months in 2005. It was for my first permanent full time job. I found it messy, dirty and simply too chaotic to do much really. And of course, being robbed point blank about 2 weeks after I was there did not help much. I st

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010!

Here's to another brand new year of lots of travelling, hopefully!