Chestnuts!!!

In September, I went to watch the comedy-musical Chestnuts. Chestnuts is a play which recaps the major events and highpoints of the year that has just passed. In it, actors sing, spoof and poke fun at headline-grabbers all throughout the world, though there is naturally a focus on events close to the hearts of Singaporeans.

I thought I was going to break new ground this year - indeed I was determined that, having watched Chestnuts in 2008 and 2009 and being so thoroughly awed that I watched both editions TWICE, this would be the year when I watched it only ONCE. I was wrong... This was how the conversation with Jac went a day after I watched Chestnuts the first time this year....

*Ring ring...*
Jac:- Hello. How are you?
Me:- (In a serious tone)Jac. You know I've never begged you before. I'm going to now.
Jac:- Oh my God. It's money right? You had a bad quarrel? Problem at work? I think it's money. How much do you need?
Me:- Far worse. I know you said you do not like plays. But please. I'm begging you - I watched Chestnuts yesterday. It's so good if you watch it I think you'll watch every year.
Jac:- (Mightily relieved at not being pecuniarily affected)Ok, but only because you begged me.

I reproduced the conversation because Jac had been steadfastly refusing my entreaties to watch Chestnuts since 2008 and it was only by having her believe that a catastrophe of seismic proportions had taken place that she agreed to go watch with me - more out of relief than anything else. I dare say, however, that she will watch the next edition on her own volition.




This is a picture of me at the intermission. It is by far not the most flattering shot you could get of me but I think it is an apt advertisement for the show, which runs yearly.



Unlike so many plays where the actors are inaccessible, for Chestnuts, all the cast stayed back after the show and mingled freely with the audience. I was very happy to get a picture with Jonathan Lim, one of the actors and the one who wrote a lot of the songs and script. This guy's crazy but so brilliant.



I also managed to get a picture (on the second day) with Judee Tan and Dwayne Lau, who were no less spectacular. Pity about the picture quality though (blame Jac!)

Macau-Hong Kong Double-Bill -HK

Some of you may later ask why there are so few pictures from the second part of my journey. The reason is because I lost my lap-top soon after we arrived at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. CCTV later showed that the bell-boy inadvertently left my lap-top bag in the boot of the taxi. When the police contacted the taxi driver however, he said he could not find anything. Just swell.

When I did get over it the next day, I found it in myself to take some pictures of the International Finance Centre as well as the shopping complexes at Causeway Bay. Nothing off the beaten track admittedly, and probably familiar to most who have been to Hong Kong.





Lunch at Soho was a bit more interesting however... It was at a gourmet burger joint, where I ordered the biggest, meatiest burger for size... I had trouble finishing it, but I'm sure the two mutts which I later saw having their Sunday walk would not have found it challenging....





This nifty contraption is what accompanies you while you wait for your burger to be processed. When your order is ready, it lights up and vibrates!



And this be my burger meal...



Just before I left for Singapore, I had some time to burn so headed for Citygate at Tung Chung, since it is so close to the airport. It contains a discount outlet for just about every well-known brand which you could name in Hong Kong. I know more than one girl who would go absolutely batty over there...




I spent a bit more time photographing at the Burberry's outlet because one of my best friends is a big fan. I was just about to snap a picture of a row of shoes which would surely have gotten her excited when the manager came running out from a hidden alcove, gesticulating and yelling that I was not supposed to take pictures. Oh well.. You can't be too careful nowadays. As part of my diabolical plan, I was so going to sell their top secret shoe formula to their hated competitors...

Casino Review - City of Dreams In Macau

I had intended to do a 'Casino-Hop' in Macau, going from one Casino to another but the lack of time, my Dad's late arrival from Singapore and the heat put paid to that. So I only tried out the nearest Casino - the City of Dreams near the Hyatt Hotel.

The gaming area was spacious and well-designed, with there being a competent blonde group of dancers doing various numbers on stage - quite good for people who need a muse, some distraction or an opportunity to rest their eyes (to a limited extent, I suppose, cos some of the girls were gorgeous). Obviously, I couldn't take pictures so you have to take my word for it....




The gaming was fine. The City of Dreams has the usual glut of jackpot machines as well as more than ample table games, the most popular of which are the usual suspects - Sic Bo (Da-Xiao or Big-Small) and Baccarat.

The tables are not too crowded and you do not need to push your way past a horde of people in order to place your bet. There is however, sufficient volume, and, at least for Baccarat, the games develop quickly enough for those who choose not to play at every opportunity but prefer instead to wait for a 'desirable' pattern to emerge.

The croupiers are adept and competent generally, which means that payouts are made quickly and correctly (those of you who know what I am talking about thus far will no doubt be familiar with novice dealers who sometimes take an age to deal cards and calculate winnings), leaving err...investors to concentrate on... investing. The investors I encountered were generally polite and did not complain when I leveraged on their bets to surmount the Minimum Bet threshold.

As I generally do not like... investing during holidays, I played just a few games to get a feel of the place, made 100HK (for those of you who like to skim-read, it's 100HK, not 100k - please breathe), and then went off to walk around the nearby environs...

Macau-Hong Kong Double-Bill - Macau

All right. I know you people are asking why I need to go to Hong Kong so often. As I have repeatedly stated, it has to do with an incredible feeling which infused me with a thirst for life when I first set foot there in 2008. Maybe it had really more to do with the circumstances then, but part of me wants to believe that it was the place. So there.

Besides, I had one free night's stay at a Hyatt Hotel which I had to use up before the end of August and the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong was as good a place as any to spend a weekend sojourn. And as further justification, I was going this time with my Dad, he who toiled for more than three decades to bring me up and who, although semi-retired, to this day still does most of the cooking and laundry. A free trip for him is thus hardly an adequate show of filial piety.

My Dad's presence however, did have a heavy bearing as to where we went. You see, I originally hoped to go to Shenzhen for the cheap and good food before drifting down to Hong Kong but my Dad favoured the...investment opportunities that nestled in Macau so oh well... Filial piety right?

Only problem was that by the time it was confirmed that my Dad was coming, I had already booked my flight for Hong Kong. No problem though, nothing modern transportation and a little planning couldn't solve. So after touching down in Hong Kong, it was a quick transfer to the airport ferry service to Macau. Haven't they thought everything through?





For some inexplicable reason, there was a thick haze pervading Macau that day. But all the same, the Macau city skyline beckoned invitingly.




There is a real surfeit of top-class hotels in Macau and that fact is not lost on the traveller the minute he disembarks...



But I had already pre-booked my hotel - the Grand Hyatt Macau at the 'City of Dreams'. Bonus loyalty points, see? Here are some shots of the place as well as the hotel room.








For dinner, we when to Rua da Cunha (Guan Ye Jie in Chinese) for mixed shark's fin and seafood soup. The taste was above average but the ingredients were plentiful, with there being a real surfeit of seafood and shark's fin.

We also had high quality bird's nest. The texture was a little to fine and the taste a little underwhelming for me but my Dad says that this is the mark of top bird's nest so who am I to argue with the old man?

YOG - Table Tennis

I was going to let this event slip away into history until I realised that the YOG was unlikely to come back to Singapore again during my lifetime, and not, in any event, soon enough for me to remember what the 'Y' in YOG stood for.

And that is why I made it a point to go watch at least one event 'live' - and that was table tennis at the Indoor Stadium. What I didn't know at the time I made the decision was that tickets actually came with some nifty souvenirs, which was kind of cool.



The atmosphere at the Indoor Stadium was good too....





The last major multi-sports event Singapore hosted was the SEA Games in 1993. I was half my age, two thirds of my present weight and had double the enthusiasm towards life and the future. Oh, I was also a student Guest Relations officer at the Games. It was with that nostalgia in mind that I asked to take a picture with this particular bevy... I would not have been able to do this in 1993 mind, for I was far too shy then...

YOG Full Dress Rehearsal

On 7 August, a friend had tickets so we headed down to the floating platform for the full dress rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony of the Youth Olympic Games. I was skeptical at first but it took just a few performances for me to conclude that this was one of the best spectacles I had ever seen. The atmosphere, the surroundings, everything... I was so proud I almost cried.

In fact, I told myself I would never pay money once more to watch a Cirque du Soleil performance. Why pay to watch foreign acts in an enclosed auditorium when you can watch an equally splendid performance by the future of Singapore under the stars, with the city skyline as a backdrop?





The Ceremony was divided into Chapters... Each with a different theme, but all equally stunning. My only regret is that we had to leave early so as to honour a barbecue appointment....