My December

IT IS now December 2010. I can?t believe how time flies. People say that if your perception of time is fast then you are OLD.

Time never flies. We’re just simply having fun. Time goes at its own rate…. not in tick tocks….because in between the tick and the tock is some TIME.

Well, since we can’t avoid to grow OLD … it’s better to decide to enjoy life and have FUN.

Why December?

December is one of the most celebrated months in the world … from Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa to a host of other holidays.

It is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. In Latin, decem means “ten”. December was also the tenth month in the Roman Calendar until a month-less winter period was divided between January and February.

December is the month with the shortest daylight hours of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest daylight hours of the year in the Southern Hemisphere.

How About My December ?

My December started in Singapore as my office conducted this year Management Conference in Singapore.

Singapore is an island country located between the Malay Peninsula and Indonesia in Southeast Asia. It is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north, and from Indonesia?s Riau islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. It is the world’s fourth leading financial centre and a cosmopolitan world city, playing a key role in international trade and finance.

We were so lucky to be able to stay at the Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore with the breath-taking Skypark built atop.

The highlight is no doubt the infinity pool which is 57 floors above the streets of Singapore and has been designed by architect Moshe Safdie. Of course if you suffer from vertigo or even aqua-phobia, this is not the place to be but for the rest of us, swimming here would be a lifetime experience.

And these were the chronology of the three days in December I spent in Singapore:

Day 1

We had lunch at the Convention Room of Marina Bay Sands Hotel and here is the picture of the fusion lunch buffet:

The lunch buffet was the standard five star hotel lunch buffet in Asia but they provided very attractive desserts:

After lunch we attended the conference which was lasted until 6 pm. Before we all went to our hotel room to get ready for the evening session, each of us got a red envelope with SGD 100 in it as our pocket money.

In the evening we had dinner at one of the restaurants in Clark Quay.

Clarke Quay is a historical riverside quay in Singapore, located within the Singapore River Planning Area which has since been converted into a pedestrian mall. And here is one of the special Singapore foods I enjoyed the most at the restaurant:

The famous Singapore Chili Crabs

This dish is best eaten accompanied by either steamed or fried mantau bread. Here we had fried mantau bread:

Day 2

On the second day, we were on city tour as tourists. First, we visited the famous Merlion. The Merlion (or Singa-laut) is an imaginary creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot of Singapore. Its name combines “mer” meaning the sea and lion. The symbol was designed by Fraser Brunner, a member of the Souvenir Committee and curator of the Van Kleef Aquarium , for the logo of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in use from 26 March 1964 to 1997

We only spent half an hour at Merlion, enough time to take pictures, then we spent the rest of our free time to have fun at Universal Studio.

Universal Studios Singapore is a theme park located within Resort World Sentosa. The park is 20 hectares (49 acres) in size, occupying the easternmost part of the 49 hectares (120 acres) Resorts World Sentosa. There are a total of 24 attractions, of which 18 are original or specially adapted for the park. It consists of seven uniquely themed zones which surround a lagoon. Each zone is based on a blockbuster movie or television show, featuring their own unique attractions, character appearances, dining and shopping areas

Jurasic Park

Revenge of the Mummy

Madagascar

Far Far Away Castle

For lunch, I went to Discovery Food Court?, the best place to savor Singapore?s best selection of laksa, chicken rice and other local delights here, the building that was featured in the original Jurassic Park movie. Beware of ferocious dinosaurs!

Singapore Chicken Rice

Singapore Laksa

Singapore Yong Tau Fu

And the drinks …

We can choose any of the drinks: carbonated soft drink/ ice lemon tea/ Milo ice etc) and they will pour it this unique Jurasic bottle.  

In the evening was party time at Zouk, one of the top 10 clubs in Singapore. Located in an old warehouse nearby Singapore River, Zouk is considered one of the city?s older clubs which is renowned for both local and visit travelers.

Day 3

On the third day was free time to go shopping at Orchad road. And this is the look of Orchad road in December 2010. 

I spent hours at one of the famous book stores “Borders’ and then went to Takashimaya (one of the big shopping malls in Singapore) to find something to eat.

I ended my December in Singapore at the Coffee Club and had their special sandwich ….

and a cup of my favorite cafe latte

then rushed to the airport to catch my flight and sing along with Linkin Park ……this is my December ….this is my time of the year ……