off topic - bird's nest (鸟巢)

i arrived in beijing sunday morning from singapore.

i had thought of visiting the usual suspects like forbidden city or the likes, but decided to visit the olympic site instead. when i was last there, it was a piece of `mangled steel' work in progress. so, it will be great to be able to see china's latest pride and joy in the flesh.

i was pleasantly surprised when the concierge told me that i could take line #10 from guomao station (国贸站) where i was at. it's 11 stops away. i was doubly surprised that the ticket still costs 2yuan.
the olympic park is a sprawling place housing 2 of the most outstanding venues of the beijing olympic; the bird's nest and the water cube. i have to admit that i was little flustered by the hot weather. mid-30 degrees celcius is what i have to content with.

the bird's nest is now a major tourist attraction; it was reported that it attracts about 30,000 visitors daily from within and abroad. sunday was no different. scores of people were there; some in awe of the structures that lie before their eyes, some eagerly having their pictures taken at all possible angles. some both.
it is indeed an architecture marvel; as with the recent chinese pre-occupation with the beijing landscape reinvention we see around the city.

i balked at the 50 yuan (a$9) admission ticket into the bird's nest initially but relented anyway since it's not often i come here anyway. interestingly, touts are aplenty 10m from the ticket booth offering the same admission ticket. not sure if the ticket is the real deal, i didn't risk it.

disappointing is how i would describe the visit once i am in. there is nothing that points you to some of the historic moments in the olympics, you are just left to your own devices, wander as you like. there is actually a mammoth stage that's being prepared for the summer concert that's happening on 30.june.

after 15 minutes on the seat marveling at the structure, i walked on the ground of the stadium, on the bitumen that usain bolt set the world alight just 10 months back. thereafter, a visit to the souvenir shop with overpriced items on my way out and my pilgrimage is complete.

i walked over to the water cube but 30 yuan admission fee was enough deterrence for me after the bird's nest experience. that money can get me a different sort of water cube, the thirst quenching kind.

2 yuan and 30 minutes later, i am back in my hotel room for a cold shower.

anywhere else, the bird's nest sign will point to stuff of the edible kind

they are so proud of their high wire act that they left it all intact for all to see.

water cube - i have to say it looks better at night and from pictures you see

off topic - michael jackson

tribute to the king of pop is all over with his sudden passing, so i shall contribute my fair share as well. i found out about his death early this morning from my mother, who's turning 70 this year. it says two things:
1. michael must be somebody if even my mum can break the news to me. she is not exactly into western pop.
2. the internet is not as pervasive as i thought if my mum can beat the internet in breaking the news to me. or is it just me.....
i saw michael jackson `live' in singapore many years ago when he played to a 60000 crowd at the `still-to-be-demolished-and-what-are-they-waiting-for' singapore national stadium. i think i just left school not long after and went with a close friend of mine, siti aiza. we share the same birthday.
i think i kept the ticket stub somewhere in my treasure box (not sure if it is worth something now....).
my favourite all-time mj song is `rock with you'.
i also introduced michael jackson's music to my 9 year old daugther just last month when i passed her the HIStory cd. i was hoping to convince her that her dad was `cool' once too.
rest in peace, the king of pop.

a bit of singapore down under

"wow, curry puff!" was mingwei's reaction when he first saw them.

the kids have lamented about missing some of singapore's staple a while back; so the `food-gician' in the house (not me) whipped up the delicious curry puffs.

they taste as good as they look, of course with the able help from the little kitchen helper.

canora to glenora......

for a change, we needn't go house viewing this weekend.
how liberating..........

City of Whitehorse

let me introduce the municipal of whitehorse; where our suburb is bounded by.
we settled in the municipality almost by default. my workplace is here (forest hill), and a friend of mine who helps us settle in lives here too. we were also advised by friends, colleagues that eastern melbourne is the place to be. and since it is about 17km from melbourne city, it is not too far away if we need to be in town but far enough for a good dose of peace and quiet we crave.

the city of whitehorse, as it is called, covers an area of almost 64 sq kilometres and consists of about 16 suburbs. it has a population of about 151000 of which one third of them are born overseas. i guess we just added to that weightage.

we found that the name, city of whitehorse, almost funny and interesting initially. we later found out that it derives its namesake from a, what else, white horse dating back to the 1850s.

after 6 months, i have to say that we are completely comfortable living in this area. the suburb we are living now are peaceful and safe. there are also plenty of schools to choose from. the neighbourhood is a friendly one. there is really little (if any) that we can complain about. if there is one, that would be that it is `too hilly'; it puts off my cycling which i used to do back in singapore.

my personal top 3 reasons for living here are:

1. strong asian presence here but not imposing to where we are living now. if we crave for anything chinese/asian, whether food or otherwise, boxhill is 5 mins drive away where we can get good chinese/asian food aplenty and do asian grocery shopping. we can find our lee kum kee oyster source here, or the mjoyo mee that my wife craves for. the roast duck rice in boxhill is arguably better than any of the ones i had back in singapore. in short, it helps newbies like us settle in quicker.

2. parks abundance. this is a big plus. i found out that are more than 170 playgrounds and more than 330 open spaces within the municipality. we have a park and reserves land just behind where we live. i have recently started running again and the park serves as my fitness sanctuary; fresh air and traffic-free running paths are a dream.

3. convenience. suburbs' amenities are really well planned. there is no need to travel far for anything. the nearest supermarket is about 15mins stroll away. if i need anything urgently, i will cycle out for a quick errand and there is `no dramas' at all (an aussie expression i picked up). and 5 minutes drive away, we have a good size mall (forest hill chase) that we can go to and get a whole lot done. clinics, post office, etc. are all within reach.

i would like to add a fourth:

good designated cycle lanes around. i have not really gone for any (long) cycle trip yet other than in my neighbourhood but i notice there are a fair bit of cycling lanes set aside for cyclists. as a cyclist, this is heaven sent. to me, this is a hallmark of a good area to live in where the urban planners are conscious of the needs of the everyone. there are also good cycle trails close-by.

we fancy living here for a long time.

you can find out more about the city of whitehorse here: http://www.whitehorse.vic.gov.au

One for the memory

the kids have their school pictures taken recently. here they are.

as for the school, we no longer are pre-occupied with grades, CA this and SA that. i am only concerned with 2 things; that i) they are enjoying themselves in school, and ii) they are learning new skillset/knowledge. for kids their age, these are the only things that matters.

shankly chiew

paisley chiew

fagan chiew