CNY 2012

Lunar New Year 2012 came and went. It has been great this year and the ambience is so much better than Christmas.

I was already in the holiday mood when last Wednesday came around. I went to cut my hair and the following day, did manicure in the purple and blue which turned out really cool. Red and pink are so yesterday. That evening, the family went to the Chong Pang area to do some last minute new year shopping and to soak in the festive atmosphere.

On Friday, originally we wanted to go to our usual haunt, Far East Flora but the queue was too long and thus, we went to Ang Mo Kio instead.

We had our reunion dinner at my uncle's house a day before the eve. It was the usual steamboat dinner but I did enjoy it as this is the only time throughout the year in which we get steamboat. Having steamboat at home beats having it outside because it is very casual and everything tastes so much better and superior.

This left us free on Sunday. We went to Far East Flora around 5pm so it was not as crowded. I managed to buy some beautiful cut flowers and my mother got 2 pots of plants. Afterwards, we headed over to Marina Square to meet the relatives.

It was a very smooth journey as most shops will be closed by then and most families will be having their reunion dinner. For the first time, the carpark at Marina Square was so empty and we can park wherever we like. It's fun seeing almost all shutters down.

We ate some snacks at KFC and thankfully, the drizzle ended and we walked over to River Hongbao where all the festivities are. I used to have an aversion going to that place because I remembered it being wet, congested with lots of people and generally being unpleasant. Therefore, it was a surprise to many of us when we arrived as it was so much more organised and roomy now. We even get to walk on the floating platform!

It was the usual visiting on Monday and Tuesday. On more exciting news, we went to Marina Bay Sands on Tuesday evening to watch the laser show at the waterfront and had dinner at Bazin. There was nothing special about the show as I have seen better ones at Sentosa in the past. Bazin is located at the waterfront and it is really cool with all the breeze and palm trees around. It's almost like we are on a vacation overseas. Too bad, reality is that day was the end of the celebrations.

CNY part 1

12th February 2010:

Today was the day that disastrous thing happened. But, what can I do? We wanted to do damage control, but the teacher (I should have known) did not want to give us a second chance.

Yes, I was working at this day. After my work, which ended at 10 plus, we made our way to Far East Flora. As per usual, the whole area was jam-packed full of cars since there are no proper parking system.

In the end, my father didn’t make his way down because there was no parking lot available and he had to mind the car.

We were to make the purchases alone. I went to the “Cold Room” alone to see if I can buy some exotic cut flowers. Wow, the whole small area was flooded with people! People can barely walk. The flowers are a plenty but they don’t seem to be of very good quality. Or maybe, I was late. I can’t find the right flowers to complement what I already bought. Besides, the prices are a little too high for me to be comfortable. I mean, they are flowers, not that they could last forever.

We bought narcissus, and another pot of plant.

It was nearly 12 am when we made our way down to McDonalds at Ang Mo Kio as I was hungry.

Surprisingly, the whole place was nearly full. People were still eating and chatting away. There were even some people who were playing card games! Wow, do these people never sleep.

We went home after eating twister fries and chicken wings. Slept at about 1am.

13th February 2010:

Today was the eve of the Lunar New Year, where the reunion dinner took place.

The entire dinner was a fun affair. The whole family sat at the table, enjoying the home-made steam boat. All thanks to my grandmother.

After that, we had plenty of laughter while taking unglamorous pictures, not me, but my brother and cousin.

At 12am, we ushered in the Year of the Tiger.

14th February 2010:

The first day of the New Year!

Woke up early and got ready to go visiting. Actually, for us, there wasn’t much visiting to be done. Just a couple of houses to go to before we headed straight to my cousin’s house. Then, we stayed there for the rest of the day.

Ate steamboat for dinner again with my auntie’s family. Am kind of sick of it now.

Fun days

Yesterday we went to Far East Flora to "see" and buy flowers. Almost had to leave due to the sheer number of cars and lack of parking lots. Luck was on our side though.

Went to the "Cold Room" where the cut flowers are kept. It's really cold. I was almost overwhelmed by the kinds and flowers and leaves in there. If you don't know me yet, I love flowers very much, particularly wild flowers and roses. It's practically every flower's enthusiast dream. Next time, I'm going for flower arrangement course.

So many different kinds of exotic and pretty flowers. The prices were not too bad, as in quite high for my liking.

In the end, we bought bright yellow and red tulips with tiny white wild flowers for the decor. Tulips and roses are the only flowers that are more brightly coloured.

As such, many people were attached to tulips and bought them in bunches. Unfortunately, tulips don't last long. I envy those who bought lots of flowers. I wanted to buy a lot too.

Bought potted flowers and plants next. I think we bought narcissus, some unknown flowering bulbs, and 2 potted flowers.

At least, my bad mood for the day subsided because of this. I'll put pictures of the flower arrangement tomorrow.

Love it! I'm still fascinated by the way the tiny white flowers grow. I still gushed about how cute it is.
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Today, went for Business Accounting 2 make-up lecture. Not many from my class turned up.

In the evening, went to Orchidville near Mandai. But, we didn't bought any flowers there.

I suggested going to Night Safari. Just on the outside though. I wanted to buy a wolf plush toy. Most unfortunately, there's a range of lions to cheetahs to tigers but NO wolves. Not even one! What is this!?

Between zoo and night safari, I thought that in Night Safari, I would have a better shot at luck.

Very disappointed. I bought a leopard keychain in the end. It was cute, but it's no wolf, that's for sure. Oh well...

Had some drinks while enjoyed the free-show. Night Safari has changed a lot, but of course, it's been ages since I last went there. Singaporeans have to support made-in-Singapore products right?

Like my mother said, if she is a tourist, she would buy a glow-in-the-dark T-shirt in Night Safari.

PS: My friend helped me bought a silver wolf charm from ebay. Thanks very much! How to return her money remains to be seen. That's the furthest I can get from the wolf charm on Bella's bracelet.

If given a choice and a variety in front of me, I would buy at least 2. One as handphone charm and the other as a bracelet charm.