The story of Hypatia

I saw today an excellent movie, Agora. It may not be completely precise with the flow of history, but it still draws an interesting portrait of Hypatia, a female philosopher well ahead of her time. What happens to Hypatia, is considered end of what is traditionally known as Classical antiquity. And what is not important, but refreshing, is that there is not a single sex scene in the movie. The movie is now showing in Singapore.

New Selfridges website - finally!

Picture from the new Selfridges.com

British fashion and style heaven Selfridges is about to launch a new website soon. It is about time! Their current online service is very static and in fact, boring. I managed to get to an inner circle to view and test their upcoming site and it looks promising. They have improved graphics, usability and navigation of the site, there is going to be an online store, to name a few improvements. I am a bit surprised though, that they will not ship internationally. For international orders one has to make a telephone order. So last season!

Marina Bay integrated resort opens April 27

Straits Times told today that the Marina Bay's integrated resort with a casino, hotels and a shopping mall is opening its doors to the public on April 27. I took a picture of the building site today (above) and as you can see, there is still a lot to do before the launch. The official opening will be in June, though. I hope they get their act together by that time.

Financial Times' How to spend it magazine is telling that there will be a floating Louis Vuitton store and café in the resort. Could it be built just in middle of the picture?

The resort was in this stage in November 2009.

Alexander McQueen travels with me

Talented fashion designer Alexander McQueen is gone, but his presence can still be felt. Almost every time I travel I have a peace of him with me. Namely, his and Samsonite's collaboration bag, which zippers have McQueen's fingerprints carved in. This controversial bag gathers always looks.

A million windows

Picture taken from Meritus Mandarin hotel's roof top restaurant.

A Katong boy

I had a walk today in the Katong area. I had heard about the famous classy Katong girls, but I did not see any. But I met this Katong boy. A quiet guy.

Finnish candy in Singapore!

Tupla chocolates bars available at ColdStorage Bugis.

Cabin service Pam Ann style

Sadly this is not just hilarious comedy :)

Sydney, once more

If I lived in Sydney, I would buy my medicines from this pharmacy on Oxford Street just because of the beautiful sign.

This Swede has gotten his memorial garden far away. This is the smallest public garden I have ever seen. It is not much bigger than what can be seen in the picture.

Sydney's subway station poster typography looks almost the same as in London. Same designer?

Sydney skyscraper jungle. My hotel on the left side.

Is it christmas again?

CNY lights at The Heeren Shopping Mall.

Apology

Taken from Straits Times last week.

Sydney patterns

Glass ornaments of the Queen Victoria Building.

Floor mosaics of the same building, plus some ghosts.

Roof and clock tower of Sydney's former general post office, now a Westin hotel.

Facade of an office tower at Darling Harbour.

Bondi Beach

Surfers rushing to the waves.

Headquarters of Bondi heroes, lifeguards.

No journey to Sydney is complete without visiting the world famous Bondi Beach. I had a breakfast at a beach cafe and dipped my toes into the waves after that. It was too windy for swimming and most surfers stayed out of water. The place is amazing with the many meter high waves and white sand.

(Sorry for the poor picture quality. My camera went out of battery and I had to use my cellphones camera instead.)

Best gnocchi

If you are feeling peckish in Sydney, head to Bistro Moncur in the affluent Woollahra area and treat yourself with their delicious Gnocchi Parisienne dish. I have never tasted better (in this category).

A Sydney memento

I have not been shopping a lot in Sydney. Actually the only thing I have bought is a book about my favorite Australian, Dame Edna Everage. Since a little boy I have been a huge fan and I still am. So I could not resist myself getting a copy when I saw this recently published story of Edna at Dymocks. I can not wait to read it.

One thing I regret is I have not had a chance (so far) to see her on stage. Dame Edna is starring in a Broadway show All About Me later this spring (autumn from Australian perspective), but I do not know if I am going make it to New York. We will see.

Sydney Cove by night

Sydney Opera House

The Harbour Bridge

Rainy day in Sydney

Anzac Memorial

Guess which opera house?

Sydney Opera House, of course. I had to fly eight hours to see opera. It was an excellent, traditional version of Verdi's La Traviata. It is showing until late March 2010. Book here.

Sydney!

Finally at the destination...Sydney.

What a flight! I just arrived in Sydney, but via Melbourne which was not planned. A summer storm had closed down Sydney's airport and the plane had to be re-fuelled in Melbourne. Finally the plane reached the destination.

It was my virgin flight with Qantas A380. It must say I prefer Singapore Airlines' A380cabin layout more. Qantas has its economy class completely in lower deck, but Singapore Airlines has some economy seats in upper deck too and those seats have more personal space than those at the lower deck. And the color scheme in Singapore Airlines' A380 is nicer, more lighter.

Universal Studios Singapore opens on Valentine's Day

According to Straits Times the Universal Studios Singapore will have its soft-opening on Valentine's Day, 14/02. The official launch will be on March according Channel News Asia news tigger. Finally! I can not wait to see the theme park in action.

Hanging ducks

I eat almost anything, even raw chicken and horse. But what is this, dry cured duck? There they hang, on their last trip in Chinatown.

Sacré-Coeur de Singapour

Who says religious figures could not be enhanced with neon lights? Pictured here the Church of the Sacred Heart in Singapore.

More cats

The northern lion

These more traditional cats live at The CentrePoint shopping mall.

Flower tiger

Flower tiger in front of Mandarin Gallery.

Some florist has made a huge job. In front of newly opened Mandarin Gallery at Orchard Road stands a life-size tiger made of flowers. I guess this cat does not bite.

Something old, something orange

These days, almost everyone books their flight online. It is hassle-free, easy and can be made in the comfort of home. But what if technology fails? A computer breaks down or the wi-fi connection is not available?

There is a solution - Lufthansa timetable book. Call me old-fashioned, but I like it. It is nicely bright-colored and pocket-sized. It offers information of hundreds or thousands of flight routes on extremely thin shear paper. Lufthansa publishes the timetable book twice a year. The spring / summer issue is coming soon. I can not wait to get my copy. It reminds me of the old world, that is still here, hiding between the orange covers.

Sunday walk at East Coast

Tigers are everywhere

It is hard to miss the coming Chinese new year. As the year of the tiger is starting soon, tigers can be spotted everywhere. Even the manikins at VivoCity shopping mall have tiger heads.

My sign in Chinese horoscope is the snake. I just heard today, that snakes will have a bumpy year in 2010. Yikes!

New year, new toys

January 2010 was not my lucky month. I told earlier that my dear Rimowa suitcase broke down on my NZ trip. Two weeks ago my MacBook Pro's screen stopped working. I took my Mac to a specialist who told that the fixing would cost almost SGD1800. I did not think it was worth the money to pay that much for fixing a computer 2.5 half years old.

Now, after countless calls to my insurance company, I have a new suitcase and a computer. Here they are. I hope they will last longer than their predecessors.

Rimowa Classic Flight Jumbo 77 Aluminium

and MacBook Pro 15" 2.66GHz

One thing I miss from NZ

I have a sweet tooth. When I see new and interesting candy, I have to taste it. So I did in NZ. I found there a Kit Kat taste new to me, Kit Kat Chunky Cookies & Cream. It was one of the best chocolate bars ever! Sadly, this Kit Kat flavor is not available in Singapore. Maybe it is better that way. I will not lose my figure :)

Blair Road

House like a candy.

A window detail.

Couple of weeks ago on a Sunday walk I got lost in Tanjong Pagar and found myself from Blair Road. It is a short road, but full of character with beautiful traditional shophouses. Hopefully these cuties will be saved and not be torn down to make space for some ugly skyscraper.

PS: I love this cafe

There is one special place for having cakes, cocktails and even dinner just next to jungle in Singapore. It is PS Cafe at Harding Road in Dempsey. I had my breakfast there last Saturday. They have outlets along Orchard Road too, but the original atmosphere can be only sensed at Harding Road.