2nd Shot: The Real Shophouses of Bugis Junction

The future Bugis Junction looking from direction of Rochor Road. The real shophouses were demolished and rebuilt as Bugis Junction.

The four streets to be designated "Bugis Junction". They were later expunged from the street directory and rebuilt inside Bugis Junction.

When Bugis Junction was completed in 1995, I must have been fascinated. Here was a new shopping mall with an interesting twist - four shopping streets flanked by shophouses and under a glass cover, a first in Singapore. 15 years later with no major alteration to the facade, the place still teems with people and Bugis MRT Station gets pretty crowded because of that. They must have done it right with Bugis Junction because when the idea was replicated at Far East Square, I could not see not a single soul on weekends.

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The Early Bird Catches the Worm, the Late Bird Catches a Free Worm - My Visit to Pompeii Exhibition

Our NHB has habit of throwing surprises like proverbial free worms. Since Oct 16 last year, the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) ran an exhibition titled Pompeii: Life in a Roman Town 79CE priced at $12 for adults, $6 for Senior and NSF and free for students and children. Suddenly without warning, like Mount Vesuvius the protagonist in the Pompeii story, it was announced that admission would be free during the two weekends before the exhibition ends on Jan 23. In effect it was an undeclared Open House as I were to discover in NMS: admission to other galleries were free too!

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Mini Explosions on New Year's Eve aka How I Countdown to 2011

It has become a tradition to blog about my countdown activities on New Year's Eve and this year is no exception. For two years since Ah Tiong joined us in 2008, we braved the crowd for a good spot to catch the fireworks at midnight (here and here). I decided that 2010 would be different. After all it was a memorable year for me and deserved a special celebration. So on Christmas Day, I promptly whizzed off to the World's Best Island (Asia) for a week of fun - think the sun, the sea, my usual adventures - and to welcome 2011.

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One Answer to Two Quizzes - You need to turn the house

The dessert at the end of 2010

The appetizer at the beginning of 2011

I hope the dessert and appetizer whetted your appetite. Short of time and feeling lazy with energies focused on my nine days escapade, I could only whip up simple fare. My culinary skills must have been superb because the two are essentially the same dish, a fact lost on the visitors who savoured it.

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Amazing Red Dot Quiz (9) - Where is this disused bridge in Singapore?

This post is published using Blogger scheduled posting feature.

I have scheduled this to be published exactly on the dot, or rather on the tick of the clock at 12:00 am, 1 Jan 2011.

Edit: it seems like the auto publishing has failed. As I return to work today, it is still not published!! So I'm publishing it now. :(

As you read this, I may or may not be back in Singapore. For those celebrating the New Year overseas, I hope you had a wonderful time. I checked my hotel booking for 31 Dec 2010 and realized there is "free use of Internet with WiFi Connexion [sic]". Should I spam Facebook on the eve of New Year?

My last post in 2010 was a dessert, something light to end the meal. Similarly we will begin 2011 with something light. What else but an appetizer to start the course?

You know the rules. So where is this bridge in Singapore?