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Showing posts from August, 2015

Concubine Lane gets a new look - 25 July 2015

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We revisited Concubine Lane and my oh my, what a change! If the change can preserve some of these buildings, then perhaps it's not bad. Hopefully, it will not commercialise the living & working town until it becomes a mere tourist attraction.  Inside one of the shops, which has been converted to a souvenir shop with a display gallery. Others  are turned to cafes, snack shops and homestays. But they're not the same. Unlike the nearby Kong Heng and Thean Chun coffee shops which have survived the war and changing times. Remains of an old 1902 newspapers on the wall, now framed up and part of the wall decor. We're fortunate to visit the Hakka Miners' Club at Jalan Bijeh Timah, which is just across the road after Concubine Lane.  It's one of the prominent heritage buildings in the old Ipoh town, and was so exclusive it used to be only opened to its club members, which were mainly the rich Hakka miners and towkays (men only).  Built in

Changi Walkabout - 12 July 2015

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By Xian Wei  Our family went to Singapore for the Maker's Faire. We stayed at Changi Cove, which was near the airport at the eastern coastline. The hotel rooms were awesome. We could even doodle on a part of the wall of the hotel.  The big o' tree of Changi Cove. This tree is called the Pulai tree and it is still standing although it is 150 years old!! The hotel must have preserved the tree because it was part of a forest and probably didn't want to forget the forest that was once there. The Changi boardwalk, which is very near from our hotel. People can walk, jog or cycle along the coast of Singapore. The boardwalk is also a good place for fishing   as it is near the sea. What a nice contrast between lime green and grey. The airport is nearby so we could see many airplanes close up and tried to identify which airline they belong to. At Changi Point Coastal Walk. You could rent a bike and cycle there. There's a ferry terminal ne

Maker Faire Singapore - 11-12 July 2015

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Maker Faire is a 2-day showcase of the DIY culture and wacky and fun projects in science, engineering & technology, art, craft and even waste materials.  We've not heard of it before this. But this is Singapore's 4th year in organising the Maker Faire which started in the US, now spread to all parts of the world.  We met makers from all walks of life, young and old, institutions, professionals, hobbyists, tinkerers, students and kids!  There's a lot of creativity vibes here. This is one event that's not limited by age and full of surprises to show what they're making and share what they're learning. As the boys're growing up, we threw away many of their old bicycles. Here, we learn that we can turn old bicycles into new inventions eg bike blenders to make smoothies, bike generators to pedal for power, bike mowers to keep the lawns tidy, etc. This is a fully-automated "Latte Art" drawing machine from Japan. The makers are n

Orang Asli Village @ Kuala Gandah - 21 June 2015

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Most of us have heard of the Kuala Gandah elephant sanctuary in Lanchang, Pahang. But within walking distance from this sanctuary is a small Orang Asli village, known as Che' Wong tribe. The tribe is a subgroup of the Senoi indigenous people group. They live near the villages of other races and close to the jungles. There are about 25 simple houses here, built with nipah, bamboo, rattan and wood. Thanks to the popular elephant sanctuary, there is a road access to the village, thus allowing the young ones to look for jobs in the surrounding plantations and factories. Due to easy access, they're quite used to visitors dropping by from time to time. However, the orang asli villagers are quite shy. When we first arrived, we could see children playing from our cars. But most fled when we came down....  The Che' Wong villagers still forage in the jungles, hunt and do some subsistence farming. Most of the times, the old folks, women and chi