Little Big Suitcase: October 2015

Photo taken in Bedok Reservoir Park. #sgflowers

Scientific Name: Alpinia Purpurata
Also Known As: Ostrich Plume, Pink Cone Ginger
Able to grow forming dense thickets and displacing native vegetation principally in moist habitats such as riverbanks, edges of wetlands and mangroves, and the understory of moist secondary forests. They look like full bloom but the true flower is the small white flower on top.
Uses: Commonly planted for ornamental purposes

Plant - Saturday, October 24, 2015

Flower Of The Day: Red Ginger

Photo taken in Bedok Reservoir Park. #sgflowers Scientific Name: Alpinia Purpurata Also Known As: Ostrich Plume, Pink Cone Ginger...

Halloween is approaching and the most appropriate fairy tale for the occasion has to be "Hansel & Gretel". This dark fairy tale has been regarded as too violent and disturbing for children - children abandoned by their parents, encounter with a cannibal old woman and shoving this old woman into a pot to burn her to death.... Now you know why we never get to hear this fairy tale in school. But hey just like all fairy tales, despite the terrible encounters, there is always a "Happy Ending".

Enjoy. :)

Once upon a time, there lived two children, Hansel and Gretel, with their poor woodcutter father and stepmother.

The stepmother did not like the children as there were little enough to eat and there are too many mouths to feed. The stepmother finally persuaded the woodcutter to abandon the children in the woods in order for the both of them to survive.

The next day, they brought the children to the deep forest and told them to take a nap while the woodcutter and her continue their way to chop wood.

When they woke up, the fire was burned out and the moon rose high in the sky. They were all by themselves.

Hansel comforted Gretel and walked through the night when they finally came upon a cottage. What a wondrous cottage it was for its walls were made of gingerbread, its roof was made of frosted icing and candies, and its windows were made of biscuits.

“There,” Hansel pointed. “We shall have a glorious feast!”
The children ran to the house and began nibbling. Hansel grabbed a handful of the gingerbread wall. Gretel bit into the clear sugar window.

A sweet voice called from inside the house,
“Nibbling, Nibbling like a mouse. Who is nibbling at my house?"

The sweet voice belonged to an old woman and she came outside to see Hansel and Gretel nibbling at her house. The children were frightened but the old woman was kind.

"My, my you dear children, who has brought you here? Come right in and stay with me. No harm will befall you."

They followed the old woman inside the house. They ate until they were stuffed and fell asleep in soft beds, thinking they were in heaven. Ah, but they were terribly deceived for the old woman was really an old witch with wicked intentions. She built her house of sweets to entice children inside. Once she trapped the children, they became her…dinner!

The wicked witch locked Hansel in a glass chamber and forced Gretel to cook something good for her brother to fatten him up. Once he's fat, she will eat him up!

Weeks have past and the wicked witch decided today is the day to cook Hansel. She filled a huge pot with animals to extract flavors and nutrients. Once she get the right broth, she told Gretel to check the flames and simmer the broth. She was planning to push Gretel into the pot and eat her too.

Luckily Gretel saw what she was up to and pretend she did not understand the instructions and asked the wicked witch to demonstrate for her.

As soon as the wicked witch climbed up and placed her body above the huge pot, Gretel pushed her into the huge pot filled with piping hot soup! The witch is dead now!

Gretel quickly unlocked Hansel's cage.They took the gold and jewels in the witch's house and finally found their way home. It was a happy reunion for the children and the woodcutter - but not a happy one for the stepmother who has unexpectedly passed away in an accident too.

Hansel took out the gold and jewels,
"Look, Father! We're rich now . . . You'll never have to chop wood again and we'll never be hungry again."

And they all lived happily together ever after.

The End.

Celebrate - Thursday, October 15, 2015

The Tale Of Hansel & Gretel

Halloween is approaching and the most appropriate fairy tale for the occasion has to be "Hansel & Gretel". This dark fairy ...

Photo taken in Toa Payoh Hub. #sgflowers

Scientific Name: Hymenocallis Occidentalis
Also Known As: White Spice, Woodland Spider Lily, Hammock Spider Lily
White flowers shaped like pinwheels decorate pinwheel jasmine, a charming shrub that will bloom anywhere – even in partial shade.
Uses: It is poisonous and medicinal uses include inducing vomiting when wounded by a poison arrow. Cultivated as an ornamental flowers because of its showy, sweet fragrance.
In the language of flowers, spider lilies mean "elope with me."

Plant - Monday, October 12, 2015

Flower Of The Day: Spider Lily

Photo taken in Toa Payoh Hub. #sgflowers Scientific Name: Hymenocallis Occidentalis Also Known As: White Spice, Woodland Spider Lily,...

Our original intention was to start from Venus Drive and proceed to the Treetop Walk. Unfortunately at the fork, instead of turning right to Peirce Track, I saw the sign wrongly and we turned left into MacRitchie Nature Trail... hahaha It was a super long walk and we finally completed the trail and exited at the Visitor Center after 4 hours of walk.

We were very excited when we arrive at the Venus Drive entrance and equally disappointed when we realised we missed the turn to the TreeTop Walk!

Getting ready to venture into the woods!

MacRitchie Park is a popular spot for jogging.

Taking a break, enjoying the view at MacRitchie Reservoir.

At the end of the trail, last glance of the park before we leave.

Chill - Sunday, October 11, 2015

Trekking MacRitchie Trail

Our original intention was to start from Venus Drive and proceed to the Treetop Walk. Unfortunately at the fork, instead of turning r...

Exactly one year ago on 7 Oct 2014 - we dropped everything in Singapore and went on a 3 weeks adventure in South Korea. We started from Seoul then to Busan, Geojedo, Samcheok, Sokcho and finally back to Seoul to take our flight back to Singapore.

One of the village that left a deep impression was Gamcheon Culture Village in Busan. It reminded me of Positano and Burano Island in Italy.

Gamcheon Village (also known as Taeguekdo Village) was established by refugees from the Korean war back in the 1950s, resulting in a very run down area until it was transformed into an arts and culture village in 2010. The village, on side of a very steep hill, is an offbeat art-filled suburb that has emerged from the depths of poverty to become one of Busan's more unique architectural and cultural locations. Best of all, there's no entrance fee. Although I will recommend you to buy the English map (2,000 KRW) which is very useful and helps to donate to the village.

Although the village is not very huge, there are a lot of photography spots, I will suggest to spend at least 2-3 hours to stroll through the whole village and grab a coffee, some snacks at one of the rooftop cafe and enjoy the views!

However if you only have a limited time, I would recommend to visit these 'must-see':

Little Prince & Desert Fox
Stairs to See Stars
Village Information Center Rooftop - best place to take photos from above
Fish in Alleys
Facing Each Other
People, and Birds

Chill - Wednesday, October 07, 2015

Busan Gamcheon Culture Village (부산 감천문화마을)

Exactly one year ago on 7 Oct 2014 - we dropped everything in Singapore and went on a 3 weeks adventure in South Korea. We started from...

Photo taken in Bedok Reservoir Park. #sgflowers

Scientific Name: Tabernaemontana Dvaricata
Also Known As: Crape Jasmine, East India Rosebay, Nero’s Crown
White flowers shaped like pinwheels decorate pinwheel jasmine, a charming shrub that will bloom anywhere – even in partial shade.
Uses: A sweetened infusion of the leaves is used as a cough medicine, the pounded roots are applied externally for eye diseases (unspecified) and an unspecified part of the plant is mixed with other herbs to make a medicinal snuff for treating nasal ulcers. In Indonesia a decoction is used as an astringent anti-diarrheal.

Plant - Monday, October 05, 2015

Flower Of The Day: Pin Wheel Jasmine

Photo taken in Bedok Reservoir Park. #sgflowers Scientific Name: Tabernaemontana Dvaricata Also Known As: Crape Jasmine, East India ...

One of my favourite local cake - Pandan Cake! Pandan cake is a light, fluffy sponge/chiffon cake of Indonesian and Malaysian origins. 'Pandan' is a plant widely used in Southeast Asian cooking as flavoring. By adding the juice of the Pandan leaves, it gives the cakes a light green tone and fresh aroma. There are a few bakeries in Singapore that sell very good Pandan cakes - the favorite among many tourists is Bengawan Solo. Even though I find their Pandan cakes quite pricey, they are quite delicious. A few other options will be Prima Deli, Pure Pandan, Pine Garden, Polar Puffs & Cakes... maybe I should setup a Pandan cake tea party some time... :)

Eat - Sunday, October 04, 2015

Pandan Chiffon Cake

One of my favourite local cake - Pandan Cake! Pandan cake is a light, fluffy sponge/chiffon cake of Indonesian and Malaysian origins. ...

The Toa Payoh Dragon Playground is one of the iconic landmark of Singapore. It was introduced by HDB in the early 1970s - along with other animals, fruits and vegetables themes. It holds a lot of memories for many of us. Unfortunately, 90% of these local theme playgrounds have been demolished and replaced with imported ones made of rubber mats and plastics.

This dragon playground located in Toa Payoh is the one and only dragon playground that is still filled with sand in Singapore.

I used to freaked out while trying to climb the Dragon because of the gaps between the spiral metal back. I always thought I will fall... but once you made it, sliding down from his head is really a very cool reward for all the hardwork! :)

Here's my attempt to re-create the playground and bring our Playmo kids to the actual site.

Find a high res photo of the Dragon.
Print out mirror images of the Dragon on cardboard quality photo paper. Do not print on normal paper, you need some weight on the paper to stick them together.
Cut it out and stick them together using left over from the photo paper.
To make the slide, make a small fold at the end and cut the edges slightly. Glue the parts together - I will recommend using UHU glue (the tube with transparent liquid, not UHU stick)

Chill - Friday, October 02, 2015

Do You Remember The Dragon Playground? #SG50

The Toa Payoh Dragon Playground is one of the iconic landmark of Singapore. It was introduced by HDB in the early 1970s - along with oth...

Another DIY project - this time building a tiny mushroom fairy house! The challenge is not building it from scratch but more of piecing together these tiny furniture and accessories. This has to be the smallest house I've built by far.