A Present For Myself

Last month, my company was very generous to still hand out bonus even when the industry is not doing so well.  I got gifts for my children and wife, treated my family to a new year dinner.  I thought I'd get something nice for myself too and ended up getting this Seiko Baby Tuna SRP655K1.  It's a handsome diver watch.  You can check the specs from here: http://www.seiko-prospex.com/sea/srp655k1. 

Front shot of the dial

The First 25 Days of 2016

It's been almost a month into 2016 and this is the first entry in my blog this year.  I've been rather busy with lots of activities and rarely have time for photography now.  Both Chinatown and Gardens by The Bay have been beautifully decorated but I still can't find a good time to get some photos of the lanterns in either places.  

To start off, I finally moved Lincoln to a new childcare starting 1st Feb, so I and my wife spent quite a fair bit of time on his registration, withdrawal from current childcare, orientation, etc.  The childcare he's in right now costs arms and legs for the monthly fee, so the new child care gives quite a breather to my finances.  Aside from that, we registered him for English reading and Mandarin classes.  Weekends are pretty much dedicated to sending him to and fro his classes.  And on weeknights we will do revisions with him on his reading, Mandarin and maths.  This is a crucial year after all as he will be in Primary 1 next year.

Finally Went to (near) Orchard

Okay, I finally did it!!  Well, Tanglin is still within Orchard......  I still can't get myself to go to Orchard road to get the shots of the Christmas lights.  But on Christmas eve I brought the kids to Tanglin Mall for their annual snow avalanche.  More like soap really.....  But they do have the best "snow" show in Singapore.   

Anticipating a big crowd, I went with no tripod, my D750 and Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 and Nikkor 20mm F1.8.  The Tokina 16-28mm F2.8 was usable in the beginning when the "snow" started spawning.  But as I can't attach a filter onto the lens, I had to change to the Nikkor 20mm F/1.8.  At first I thought of bringing a tripod along to lose some of the crowd in the photos but I decided not to, and it proved quite a right decision.

We arrived early at about one and a half hour before the snow show starts.  I spent some time taking test photos while waiting for the blue hour to arrive.  So we went around the mall, had dinner and the kids played around in kiddy rides.  It was a nostalgic visit for me.  The first time I came to Singapore when I was 12, I stayed in Traders Hotel (now it's Jen Hotel Tanglin) which was right next to the mall.  Even when I attended English courses at the British Council I sometimes went to the mall for meals.

Before the show started the area was already packed with crowds waiting in anticipation.  I managed to went around and snapped some photos of the decorations, the mall and the crowd.  

The main decoration right outside the mall - D750 + Tokina 16-28mm F2.8

A Nice Weekend Brunch at Spathe

[UPDATE: Spathe has since been closed]

I don't usually do "reviews" of places I ate in since I don't consider myself some fancy foodie.  Delicious food is just plain delicious food, and great food should be shared.  As I haven't made good on my intention to go to Orchard road this week, I still don't have anything to write on the Christmas lighting.  BTW, there's fire again in Lucky Plaza this time and rat infestation in Orchard Central - Orchard road is extremely jinxed this year.

Since "Tri juga suka makan" (Tri also likes to eat), I think I will make a slightly different entry this time.  :)

Inside Spathe

Christmas Carnival at Gardens by The Bay

Well don't be so surprised, I did say I'm going to do this right?  I think by now you'd think I'm on their payroll (which I swear I'm not!!).

Anyway, my next entry will be on Orchard Road's Christmas decorations.  I've been trying to schedule a visit but the weather hasn't been permitting as of late.  And with the strings of crazy incidents in Orchard road (from burning trees, decorations, falling trees and man in a shopping mall and roofs in Hilton) I think I'd really pay attention to the weather.

And oh yeah, I pestered my wife to create a signature for me so I can put them on my photos.  After deliberations we finally decided on "Tri Suka Moto" = Tri likes to take photos.  Sounds Japanese, but really, its Indonesian.  ;)  

Okay, so Gardens by The Bay is in FULL Christmas mood.  I didn't have time to go to the entrance because when we reached the meadow area the bazaar caught the kids' attention and we ended up spending almost 3 hours there.  But the area was really fun and beautifully decorated.

When we arrived the kids were immediately drawn to the large carousel.  While it's not the first time they rode one, it certainly is bigger than the last one they rode and they simply had to go on it.  The cost for each child and accompanying adult was 3 tokens.  And so very quickly we parted with a good $12 there.

The Carousel - first attraction we tried in the carnival

Fairy Tale Display at Gardens by The Bay

Okay, another Gardens by The Bay entry, it almost seems like there's nowhere else to go here in Singapore.  In fact I'm planning another visit there sometime this month for the Christmas display.  Hahaha...

Overview of the Display Centerpiece