Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Braving a Historical Journey at Fort Siloso

Today is the Day of Valor in our country, the Philippines.  This blog post might stir you up and think twice of my patriotism but I would just like to go on with this without much hesitation.  I'd just like to share with you how another country had paid tribute to the bravery of our Filipino soldiers.


Fort Siloso in Singapore was built at the start of World War II as a coast artillery battery to protect the land from Japanese troops.


Filipino soldiers among with the native Malays and Singaporeans were in service at "Fortress Singapore".


According to tales, the bravery of the Filipinos was exceptional thus taking the credit of the name of the fort.


The word siloso in the Philippines means a "jealous man".  But this does not mean that Filipinos were a jealous kin.  There was no written explanation on why the word siloso among so many other Filipino words.  But it was the thought that the fort must be named after something Philippinish.


In Fort Siloso, you can find life-size replica soldiers who are in action.


You can actually experience the commotion of a war scene because of the sound effects that would definitely startle you.


Aside from that, you can also smell some pungent odor whatsoever that could take you to the exact time when warring was on its height.


A tour in Fort Siloso entails you a reenactment of the drama during those times.  I myself had goosebumps and was frightened with the soldiers all around.


What if they will move?  What if they will fire at me?  When I was in one corner taking pictures alone, I suddenly realized to run to the crowd because of this imagination.


However, to an avid history fan like me, braving a tour at Fort Siloso was such an achievement!  Though I had imagined that one soldier might strangle me, I had fought that imagination away.  I had to be brave for the Filipino soldiers who had given their lives in service to the fort and in giving honor to our country.

Come over to Singapore!  Visit YourSingapore.com for more information on SG tourist attractions! :)

*All images used above are grabbed from YourSingapore.com.

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Tuesday, April 08, 2014

Treating the Tastebuds at Jalan Makanan

Then Joaquin treated Chichay with street food after a day of painting at Marina Barrage.  And where else did they eat in SG than the country's most abundant food lane, the Jalan Makanan!


Makan in Singapore means eat.  Jalan on the other hand means street.  Therefore, Jalan Makanan literally means a street of eating places.


Yeah, right!  In only one street, you can find almost all of the elements of the Chinese cuisine.  As the food street is located in Chinatown, well that obviously suggests what they serve in there!  Hawkers (the food stalls as they're called) are just around everywhere that have unique specialties at very cheap prices.


So to make your mouth water a bit, here are some snippets of a wide variety of food choices they have in there:

Chee Cheong Fan
Dimsum Galore
Different Kind of Ques
Hokkein Mee
Hainanese Chicken
My Ever Fave Laksa
And nothing beats ending a day with a glass of cold beer only at Smith Street Taps!  Smith Street is also just around the corner which is perfect after eating all the delicious goodies SG has to offer!


Come over to Singapore!  Visit YourSingapore.com for more information on SG tourist attractions! :)

Monday, April 07, 2014

Cute Little Somethings Along Haji Lane

Remember Got to Believe?  Remember Chichay?  Here goes where she painted murals in Singapore!!!  The Haji Lane! :)


Haji Lane is a street in Singapore where the most charming shophouses are situated.  


Shophouses are common in Singapore where a family can have both a shop and a house in only one rented part of a low rise building.


But the twist in Haji Lane's shopshouses is the way they are artistically designed and uniquely fabricated.  Now here are some pinterestingly fun photos of cute little somethings along Haji Lane:








So if you're gonna have a chance to visit Singapore, never miss to see Haji Lane!  Load up your camera with a full battery and an empty memory card so you could take snapshots in all corners of this eclectic shopping district in Asia.  

Come over to Singapore!  Visit YourSingapore.com for more information on SG tourist attractions! :)

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Oh, How I Wish to Officially Welcome the Year of the Wood Horse in SG!

Under the Wishing Tree for the Year of the Metal Rabbit 2011
Sentosa, Singapore

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Whimsical Wednesday: My SG Top Picks

Whimsical Wednesday shows my fancy in a myriad of beautiful things.  


There are places that once I see and experience, I would not want to go back again.  It's either I don't like it or I really made most of my time there that I already had my fill.  But there are also places that once I see and experience, I would want to go back again and again!  It's either I super like it or I really just couldn't get enough of it.  And one of my most fave places on earth is none other than SG!

For my nth time visit in Singapore, I could say that it is now a place I frequent.  It is not that I'm boasting here or what.  It is just that I am so privileged enough to have had an aunt who gifted me with my first SG tour, cousins who invited us for company, and of course, a sister who would just summon us for sleep-overs!  Since 2005, it has been la dolce vita ala SG!  

So what's with SG that keeps me coming back?  For years of SG-ing, I've come up with these SG top picks of eat, pray, and love!

EAT

Laksa - still nothing beats Katong laksa for my taste buds!  There is nowhere in the Philippines that I can find something like this.  Even me, I once tried out a simple laksa recipe courtesy of Del Monte Philippines' Kitchenomics but never did I taste something like the Singaporean laksa does.  Its playful flavors are just so perfect that I keep on missing 'coz I can only taste it there!

PRAY

Buddha Tooth Relic Temple - I maybe a Christian but I do believe that there is no religion that can save us!  For me, salvation comes with a proper relationship between you and your Creator.  So no matter what god (Jesus, Buddha, Allah, or Shiva) you are believing in, you yourself is the one liable for your salvation.  

In my case, I'm getting fond of visiting this Buddhism temple in SG.  Why?  It's because they have these Buddha paper prayers and wishes kind of thing.  I tested it the first time I went there and my wish got granted!  For my second time, I wished for guidance on what to do with my life then I got Fascino!  Then there came my third wish, fourth,  and so on.  Maybe for my next visit, I'm gonna wish for my love life.  Am I already ready for that?  Jeez!!!

LOVE

Light and Fountain Shows - may it be in Sentosa, Marina Bay Sands, or Suntec City.  SG has the most magnificent and spectacular fountain shows ever!  Every time I go there, there is always something new!  These never bore me and these still surprise me until this matured age of mine.  I can fall in love with them over and over again for they tell about life and living it to the fullest!  They bring to life all my wishful thinking of appreciating the beauty of life despite the odds its giving!

Indeed, I can consider SG as my second home.  I'm even more acquainted with all the corners there than our capital city, Manila!  Not to mention, I also feel confident in walking there than walking down the streets of Manila.  It's not just I don't love our own country.  It's just that, I wish that our country can also be as clean, as peaceful, and as disciplined as Singapore!


For those who did not know that I just came from SG, there ain't no pasalubong for you but you may win these SG trinkets!  
Just


1.  click the Tweet and Like buttons below
2. send name, address, and contact number to maryrosalieo@yahoo.com on or before September 13, 2013.

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Laksa: A Fusion of Different Cultures



Noodles, coco milk, curry, chilli, bean sprouts, dried shrimps, and other seafood - these are just the main ingredients of Singapore's signature dish, Laksa.  It is a spicy noodle soup that is fragrant, tasty, rich, but light.  It has a gritty texture with an explosion of a myriad of flavours that burst in your mouth. 

The assortment of elements in Laksa comes from the marriage of Chinese and Malay cuisines.  Through that, I can correlate the uniqueness of this dish with the country, Singapore.  As a dynamic country rich in contrast, it has a harmonious blend of cuisine and culture.  It is because there are three races in the country - the Chinese, Malay, and Indian.

To start with, the noodles in Laksa have its roots from the Chinese.  Chinese are always fond with noodles that it has become its staple food.  Next, the coco milk comes from Malay in origin.  Malaysia is a country with vast coconut plantation lands and their people had incorporated coconut products in their dishes.  And lastly, curry is a contribution from the Indian.  Indian cuisine always uses a plethora of spices most specifically the curry.    

Moreover, bean sprouts, dried shrimps, and other sea food are the added features of Laksa making it a complete meal.  Nonetheless, the extra chilli makes the dish more appetizing.  It is not too blazing hot but just enough to give the dish a kick.

As a whole, Laksa is Singapore in itself.  Just like its diverse ingredients, the country also has its diverse people, culture, and food.  When mixed together, it offers a unique blend that enthrals people from all over the world to come and have a taste of it.  Just like me, I didn’t go wrong in visiting the country.  For there, I had taken a bite in being a thrifty Chinese, a conservative Malay, and a stylish Indian.     

Friday, March 15, 2013

Feature Friday: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum

Feature Friday highlights businesses, people, fashion, and basically anything under the sun!


Buddhism is a religion having its roots from India that is based from the philosophy, beliefs, and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha.  Buddha, meaning "the awakened one" lived before Christ and taught his insights on ending suffering through eliminating craving for sensuality and acquisition of identity thus attaining the highest happiness (nirvana).
  
Older than Christianity, Buddhism never developed a missionary movement but Buddha's teachings spread all over Asia.  His followers developed its own religious structure in each country from where they came from.  Among these Asian countries are India, Cambodia, Taiwan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Japan, and China.  Among these countries, China has the largest Buddhist population reaching over 102,000,000 in the year 2012.  (buddhanet.net)      

As a country of mostly Chinese inhabitants, Singapore also practices Buddhism.  When the sacred relic of the tooth of Buddha was turned over to local Venerable Shi Fa Zhao in August 2002, the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum was built to house it.  The temple is based on the architectural design and style of the Tang Dynasty and Buddhist Mandala.  The 4-storey building stands predominantly along 288 S. Bridge Road, Chinatown, Singapore which was consecrated on May 2008 by the most Venerable Shi Kwang Sheng. 

A Great Statue Outside the Temple
The ground floor of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum consists of the Hundred Dragons Hall and the Universal Wisdom Hall.  The Hundred Dragons Hall is also called as the Maitreya Hall that houses one hundred statues of Buddha which were individually and intricately handcrafted by various master sculptors.
 Buddha Maitreya - The Buddha of Happiness
Devotees of the Buddha Maitreya will enjoy longevity and happiness.  
Happiness Surrounds Me Forever! :)
Buddha Amitabha - The Buddha of Infinite Light
On the other hand, the second hall is the Universal Wisdom Hall also known as the Avalokiteśvara Hall.  It houses the "Lord who looks down" alongside with his zodiac protectors.
Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara - The Buddha of Compassion
Zodiac Protector
Zodiac Protector
Devotees of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara will enjoy liberation from suffering and strife.

The fourth floor of the temple is the Sacred Light Hall or the Sacred Buddha Tooth Relic Chamber.  It is where the gold tooth relic in a stupa is being confined.  Buddha's tooth is the only remains of his body after his cremation in 483 BC.  Only the noble Sangha (a community of ordained Buddhist monks) have access to the chamber and visitors are only allowed in the public viewing area.  Picture-taking is strictly prohibited in this consecrated higher ground.


Details

Gate Handle
Bell
Joss Sticks Vessel
Prayer Requests and Wishes
My Wish Had Already Been Granted :)
With a Temple Monk
LIKE here for more information and updates of the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum.


                                                                       Photo Credits to:
                                                                     Mark Rimmon Sila
                                                                   June Ann Olandesca
                                                                    Harley Phanuel Que
    
                                                                         Related Posts:

                                                                             SG Parks
                                                                     Singapore by Feet
                                                                     Uniquely Singapore
                                                                       My SG Top Picks


".....you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.  You have made heaven and earth." - Isaiah 37:16

"They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands." - Isaiah 37:19

".....all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God." - Isaiah 37:20