Playing Catch Up @ Christmas

Taken outside Centrepoint

Christmas holiday is always a good time to catch up with friends and family and indulge in things we either neglected or procastinated on.

First, my family had wanted to go see the Orchard Road light-up and soak in the festive mood. So I thought great. This should be fun while I can experiment more photo-taking with my new camera.

Christmas tree outside Heeren

Christmas tree outside Paragon

Orchard Road was a lot more lively compared to previous years. I must say STB did a marvellous job puting the festive mood into Orchard Road this year. There were many festive show performances dotting along Orchard Road and still playing past 11 pm.

Christmas lights-up along Orchard Road

Carolling outside Specialist Centre

One of many street shows.

My family and I did have a wonderful time at Orchard.

Second, we saw the Singapore Garden Festival exhibition at Suntec. I didn't know gardening can be such a piece of very creative art. It was really an eye opener for my family and I. Feast your eyes on a sample of them below.

Next, we visited some friends. Christmas time was always a good time to catch up with old friends to shares stories and update each other. I was amazed at how fast my friends' kids were growing up! Maybe because I didn't see them for a while.The last time they were definitely shorter than I, but now they are all much taller! Some are even starting their O levels next year. I can still recall my time, when I was in O levels and preparing for the exams. Oh, time really flies :(.

A visit to the Ng family always bring out the good memories. We knew each other since Uni days.

Cheng Hwee and Annie are very dedicated parents. The only friend I know who school their kids at home. We were colleagues once.

Ahh. These are my childhood friends since Primary.

And these are the gen-y kids. Go figure out who the parents are!

PJ, the only eligible bachelor standing among the gang! He was our class monitor.

Lastly, I am starting to get used to my DSLR, but I know I still need to practise more on framing the shots. I will be more than happy to get tips on this.

Vacation @ Tasmania (Part 2)

TASMANIA has some pretty dramatic pictureque spots. Below are some scenic spots we visited, one being the Cataract Gorge @Launceston and the other is the Freycinet National Park with a view of the beautiful Hazards mountain range.

Cataract Gorge @ Launceston

The Hazards mountain range @ Freycinet

IT is easy to fall in love with the charms and natural beauty of Tasmania, even if you are not in peak condition to trek the terrains (like me). I was snapping away pictures after pictures with my new DSLR and I realized only after my return that I have snapped close to 10GB worth of pictures. I will let the pictures below do the talking ...

Close-up view of the Hazards granite mountain

Beautiful sunset @ Coles Bay

By the way, I noticed, unlike in Singapore where seeing a clear blue sky is rare, here in Tasmania, I can always see blue sky with hardly any clouds. Not only that, the seawater and lake water here are really blue, deep blue. (Now I know the meaning of deep blue sea ! ) The locals told me due to the thinning ozone layers in the Southern hemisphere, the UV light is much stronger. And it's true. On half a day, with hardly the kind of heat you get in Singapore, I was totally fried. I was fooled by the chilly weather. It wasn't a good experience. So I would highly recommend anyone going outdoor in Tasmania, to put on a generous layer of suntan lotion to protect any exposed skin surface. It also helps a lot, to put on a good cap that can cover the ears while out in the Sun here.

This is Sleepy Bay. Just look at the rich blue sea water and the green seaweeds growing around the rocks. The brown coloured rocks made me want to just sit there the whole day,looking out to the Tasman Sea.

Looking out from the top of Cape Tourville, it felt as if I could
see out to the edge of the world. Just magnificient.

This is the historic lighthouse on top of Cape Tourville

I also noticed as we drove from one small town to another, there was hardly a soul on the street or in the town itself. Coming from Singapore, it was quite a scary experience. I could literally drive for hours and not see more than 2 cars passing me by, either directions. We were wondering where these people were hiding. And yes, there were definitely more sheep and cows. I found out later there is only about 7 people per 1km of land in Tasmania, on average. This is the place to go if you don't want people to bother you and to get away from the city pace.

Look at the natural rocks formation.
I got to see many of these rocks around Sleepy Bay.

Believe it or not, but I read that Wineglass Bay is rated as
one of the top 10 beaches in the world

The time my family and I spent here will be well cherished. I am sure the feeling is the same for the other two families on this vacation with us. These are pictures that will remind us of the wonderful time we spent in Tasmania. Will post more pictures again.

Vacation @ Tasmania (Part 1)

Wow, Tasmania is awesome!

IF you are into trekking and mother nature stuff, Tasmania is one place you do not want to miss. Very scenic and lots of nature stuffs to see & do. My family (plus 2 others) just spent 10 days here and we totally enjoyed it, not to mentioned we are happily exhausted. Twelve of us (6 adults and 6 kids) rented two MPVs and roamed (almost) the entire island state free and easy. Really fun taking in the sights of mother nature and the company of each other. Here goes my story ...

The SQ flight from Singapore to Melbourne (transit) took 8 hours and the domestic flight via budget Jetstar took another one hour before we finally landed at Launceston. It was our first time taking a budget plane. And it was surprisingly a smooth and comfortable ride.

Our first stop was at Cradle Mountain where we put up in a very cosy wooden cabin complete with a fireplace. Though it was the beginning of summer in Australia, the weather here was crazy. We woke up to a light snow (yeah, snow at this time!). It was the first time my kids saw real snow!, and I could see the excitement in their faces. I was sure the temperature was slightly below zero Celsius.

Once we reached the beginning of the Cradle Mountain trek, the sky turned gloomy and it started to rain. Very quickly, the rain turned into little hailstones and we had to run for cover back in the MPV. It was like we were suddenly being attacked. See the gloomy but beautiful Cradle Mountain with the Dove Lake below it (picture on left). We did manage to trek around Dove Lake later and it took us some 3 hrs including a stop for a half hr lunch picnic.

Later in the evening we went to see up close what the Tasmania devils look like and their habitat. In case you do not know, these animals can only be found in Tasmania. Apparently, the Devils are closed to being endangered and are now monitored closely by the local officials.

It is impossible for me to share with you our experiences in one posting. I will share more in my next posting. So maybe if you like what you are reading and seeing, drop me a comment or feedback :)

Happy holidays!
-DigitalShare