Colleague's Baby

My colleague interrupted her maternity leave to visit us on her baby's 1st month. I couldn't take pictures of the baby as it's still very delicate (no flash photography please...) So I took pictures of the cupcakes. Prettily lined with pink rice paper.

Mine has a sugar sheep & pink frosting on top of a butter cupcake. The cutest has to be the bright blue rat with yellow lump of cheese.

Hanoi Shopping

Apart from the piles of lacquer ware, stone carvings and wood blocks I got on this trip, I also made time to select this. I couldn't decide on 1, so I got 2. Thank goodness I upgraded my luggage capacity before leaving Singapore.

A small selection of the stuff I got. Couldn't resist the shiny allure of lacquer. Or the brightly coloured stone carved vase & box. Now to find enough surface area to display all of it.

I was also surprised to find street vendors selling wood blocking. The old (almost ancient form) of print press. Based on old Chinese designs, the artisans have no idea what the characters mean or pictures refer to.

Hanoi Trip

A country where the main mode of transportation is the motorcycle.

For the eco-conscious, there is the bicycle...


I found out that you can carry anything on a bike, there are no laws. Wasn't quick enough to snap the boy balancing a table on his friend's bike or the delivery boy holding a 2m x 2m painting while attempting to steer his bike through the traffic.


The city overflows with colourful, natural produce. I wasn't quite sure if the banana flowers were meant to be eaten or displayed. It had this lovely sweet scent and delicate white & yellow blooms. Apparently, the locals use it in a salad.


So I caught a ride on a junk through Halong Bay (World Heritage site) and a short hike through the famous limestone caves. Knocked my head in the process climbing in between the boats. Then stood in line to get a look at a stuffed corpse at Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum.

Happily ending the trip with a shopping spree. Will share pics of the stuff I got next.

Valentine's Day

Love it! Thanks.

Disappearing Fishes

My family of approximately 50 fishes have been dwindling into just a few big ones and we could guess the reason why. This is the first photographic evidence that they are being hunted and eaten alive!

The black fish was vegetarian when we first bought it. I guess it's appetite grows as it gets older, tubifex worms and dried fish food just isn't enough anymore.

Just wish it didn't eat up my ornamental guppies (see the colourful tail hanging out of it's mouth). Now I have to buy plain silver fishes specifically for feeding.

Block Party

A cosy dinner with the family & all your neighbours catered by your friendly ZhiChar stall. You can only do this if you are part of a community. Held in the central area with BYOB, everyone just walks home after dinner.

The natural breeze was stronger than usual and the disposable cutlery kept flying off the table, along with the serviettes. The same can be said of the entertainment, the magician had trouble getting a hold of his props.

Lion Dance

Lion dances are meant to usher in the New Year and bring good fortune. Perfect for breaking the monotony of work on a Monday afternoon.




You can stick up angpows anywhere and when the lion dancers come in, they stop, do a little dance and pick up the angpow before moving onto the next angpow.



Also good for harassing your bosses, just stick a few more angpows around his workstation.