Our Scoot Experience - On the Way to Gold Coast

Sera was very excited to board the plane. To her, it was her first time onboard an aeroplane. Actually it was her second time. She could not remember her first time onboard an aeroplane as she was too young then.

It was quite cold onboard the Scoot aeroplane, similar to other full service airlines.

After taking off at about 2.30 am, the airline staff (the scootes) went around the cabin with their Scoot cafe's snacks and beverages. Anyone could buy from them. We were already full at that time so there was no need to get any food.

We managed to sleep for about an hour or so. After that, it was quite difficult to fall asleep again for Ardon, Lynn and myself. There were a lot of "ding" sounds arising from passengers pressing the "call for help" buttons which were located at the side of the seat handles of every seat. While some were genuine calls for help, others were pressed accidentally. This included myself and Sera. I accidentally pressed it when I came back from the lavatory as I held onto my seat's handle for support to sit down. Sera accidentally pressed it while she was asleep.

Meals (included in our FlyBagEat package airfare) were served at 6.30 am (Singapore time). Lynn was too tired to eat so she only ate a bit. Sera also took a few bites only. Canned drinks (Coke or green tea) and Toblerone chocolate bars were served with our combo meals. As Lynn and I did not want to consume the canned beverages at that time, we paid another $8 in total for a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. I thought we could keep the canned beverages for later consumption. I only noticed that there was a water dispenser near to the lavatory much later. Then at about 7.30 am, we realised that we had to disembark at the Sydney airport to go through the security checks at the airport again before boarding the same flight TZ 3 Scoot aeroplane. We were too full to drink the Coke and green tea. We had to disembark at around 12.45 pm Sydney time (Sydney is 3 hours ahead of Singapore time). The flight arrived early at around 12.20 pm Sydney time. We had no choice but to leave the canned drinks on board :(. 

After boarding the same TZ 3 flight at around 1.15 pm Sydney time, the plane took off at about 1.55 pm. From Sydney to Gold Coast, there was a baby onboard the flight who kept crying. It seemed that the baby was having some problems and needed medical assistance. The air crew had a busy time doing first aid work.  The plane arrived at the Gold Coast airport at about 3.20 pm. Before landing, there was the strange smell again.

We were told to remain in our seats as the medical team had to come up first to check and help the baby. So, we waited for another 15 minutes or so before we could disembark. We had to walk down a flight of stairs from the aeroplane and take a short walk before reaching the Gold Coast airport terminal building. Luckily we didn't have a lot of carry on baggage with us.

At the airport's public area, there was a cafe so we ate some food before going to our holiday accommodation - the Swell Resort.

Taxis were readily available at the airport. There was someone there to guide us to a Gold Coast cab. The cab driver helped us to load the luggage into the cab and helped us to unload when we arrived at Swell Resort. Such excellent service!

Related posts:

Planning - Booking of Flight
Booking of Holiday Accommodation and Visa Application
At Changi Airport Terminal 2
Day One in Gold Coast
Day Two in Gold Coast
Day Three in Gold Coast
Day Four in Gold Coast
Day Five and Day Six in Gold Coast
Our Scoot Experience- The Return Journey

At Changi Airport Terminal 2

Our flight to the Gold Coast was on 25 Nov 2014 at 1.45 am. This meant that we would have to be at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on 24 Nov 2014 at 10.45 pm, 3 hours before our departure as advised by Flyscoot. As we were early, there was no one in the queue and we were able to check in almost immediately. 

After checking in, we cleared immigration and customs and went into the departure area. As it was an eight hours flight, we went to MacDonald's to eat as we were not sure what time we would be served food on board the flight (we booked "FlyBagEat" with Flyscoot) .

After eating, we had a bit of time before we had to go to the departure gate. So we took a leisurely stroll in the departure area and eventually saw the "Enchanted Garden" and "Orchid Garden and Koi Pond" in the departure transit lounge at level 2.

We were told to be at the boarding gates at 12.45 am, one hour before the flight's departure time. No boarding calls would be made to remind us. So, we kept track of the time and arrived at the departure gate on time. 

We could not bring in the distilled water we bought from the convenience store near MacDonald's through the security checks so we drank most of the water and kept the bottle to be refilled later after clearing security. We waited for a short while before we could board the plane. The plane was able to take off on time at 1.45 am without any delays.


Related posts:

Planning - Booking of Flight
Booking of Holiday Accommodation and Visa Application
Our Scoot Experience - On the Way to Gold Coast
Day One in Gold Coast
Day Two in Gold Coast
Day Three in Gold Coast
Day Four in Gold Coast
Day Five and Day Six in Gold Coast
Our Scoot Experience- The Return Journey

Booking of Holiday Accommodation and Visa Application

After we had booked our flight to Gold Coast Australia, I sourced around for a suitable holiday accommodation.   Our flight back to Singapore on 30 Nov 2014 was at 9.25 am which meant we had to be at the airport around 6.25 am. So I was torn between booking an accommodation in Surfers Paradise (central) and one nearer to the Gold Coast airport (further from the theme parks). 

I had read that Surfers Paradise could be noisy at night. In the end we booked a two bedroom apartment at Swell Resort as the resort is just a 15 minutes drive from Gold Coast Airport and the apartment has a king size bed in the master bedroom. 

After we booked the apartment, we sent an email to Swell Resort just to check and confirm on a number of things. They also gave us the instructions on after reception hour check in procedure. Their reception hours are 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays, 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays and 9 am to 1 pm on Sundays.

For Singaporeans, we also need to apply for a travel visa to enter into Australia and this can be done online.


Related posts:

Planning - Booking of Flight
At Changi Airport Terminal 2
Our Scoot Experience - On the Way to Gold Coast
Day One in Gold CoastDay Two in Gold Coast
Day Two in Gold Coast
Day Three in Gold Coast
Day Four in Gold Coast
Day Five and Day Six in Gold Coast
Our Scoot Experience- The Return Journey

Planning - Booking of Flight

We had the intention of going for an overseas trip this year. I was looking for information on Taiwan, Gold Coast or Perth in Australia, Vietnam and some parts of China. I could not decide which one because of the costs involved and other uncertainties, but my preferences at that point in time were Taiwan and the Gold Coast, Australia.

By the time we could firm up our departure dates, many of the departure dates for tours to Taiwan did not coincide with the dates that Ardon could take leave for. Doing free and easy in Taiwan seemed to cost more and the air tickets to Taiwan were also quite expensive during the holiday season. The cheaper airfare from a full service airline involved a stopover in another country's airport before reaching our final destination. This would waste too much time and time was not on our side. Seats from budget airlines to Taiwan were limited on the days that we wanted.

My next choice was the Gold Coast, Australia. However, after checking with Flyscoot and other airlines, the airfare, including their surcharges and taxes, would cost between $3300 to $4000+ for our family of four to just get onboard the aeroplane. So it seemed like an impossible dream. Perth was not on the list due to the schedule of the flight time. Effectively we would only get 2 days there. Comparing carefully between the tours in Vietnam and China, for the places that we wanted to go, the tours would cost at least $1000 which means $4000 or more for the whole family during the holiday peak season. In order to visit those scenic places in Vietnam and China, joining a tour group would be much easier. I nearly settled for Bangkok. However we had just been there a few years ago, so I would prefer to visit another place.

Then, the impossible happened. One evening, I checked my email and realized that Flyscoot was running a promotion with one way fares to Gold Coast at $98. What's more, the dates that we wanted qualified for the promotion. This meant that - inclusive of surcharges, taxes, meals, check-in baggage allowances, seat selections and travel insurance - it was about $2500+ for the whole family. That was a total discount of $1000! So, naturally we booked the tickets on the same day. The journey to Singapore to the Gold Coast would involve a one hour stopover at Sydney airport. However, the return journey was a direct flight from the Gold Coast back to Singapore.

Related posts:

Booking of Holiday Accommodation and Visa Application
At Changi Airport Terminal 2
Planning - Booking of Flight
Our Scoot Experience - On the Way to Gold Coast
Day One in Gold Coast
Day Two in Gold Coast
Day Three in Gold Coast

Day Four in Gold Coast
Day Five and Day Six in Gold Coast
Our Scoot Experience- The Return Journey

Our New Kitchen Door

Our kitchen door could not close properly for more than a year. A few weeks ago, it finally came off its hinge at the bottom when Sera pushed it. Ardon managed to push it to lean against the wall and luckily no one was hurt. By pushing the kitchen door to the side, it obstructed the door of the storeroom and made it quite difficult to take things out of the storeroom. The kitchen door was a wooden bifold door which was quite heavy and already more than 13 years old. So it was about time to get a new one rather than just repair it. 

Old kitchen door 

Hence we began our search for a new door. I was attracted to the eco series from Ministry of Door and contacted them for some information. One of the staff then came to take measurements first and gave me some information about what types of door we could install at the kitchen entrance. Actually I would prefer a sliding door but, due to some design constraints, a sliding door was not feasible. If we really wanted one, we have to install the frame in the living room and it might not look good. The person who took measurements told me I could consider either a bifold door or a swing slide door. He told me the swing slide door that their company used was not from PD door. We can slide the door to any point up to the midpoint (not necessarily at the midpoint) and swing it open, unlike the PD door where we have to slide it to its midpoint before we could swing it open. So we fixed an appointment with Rachael at the  Ministry of Door to visit their showroom (by appointment only) so that we could test the mechanism of the bifold door and the swing slide door to make a better decision.

Rachael explained to us that the swing slide door could actually swing open 180 degrees (same as PD door). However, it does not have the mechanism on top of the frame that holds the two panels of the door together at midpoint that the PD door has (before pushing the door to swing out). I have read some online comments/reviews that the PD door often got stuck. We have also tried the PD door before in some relatives' home and realized that it was not so easy to slide it to the correct/fixed middle position to swing it open. We were glad to have found a better alternative (in our view, as some people may prefer it to slide to the middle fixed position before swinging the door open as it is more stable). We preferred the swing slide door to be able to swing open more easily so that our children will also find it easy to open and close the door. Since we were going to install the door in such a way that it would be swinging towards the kitchen, it did not matter even if we could not close it nicely in the middle position. I preferred something different since we were getting a new door anyway and I was reluctant to use a bifold door again. A normal swing door would require more space to swing open as the kitchen door would be quite wide. A swing slide door would be the best option.

Satisfied with the slide and swing mechanism of the door, we finally opted for it. The brand was SK brand. I had previously tried to look online for reviews on SK swing slide door but could not find anything so I thought it might be a good idea to share with you. The designs were more limited (eco series not used for this swing slide door) when compared with the bifold doors from Ministry of Door but we thought that the mechanism was more important than the designs. We could always decorate the door later if we wanted to. We could mix and match the colours of the acrylic panels used for the door. We chose frosted glass (it was actually made of acrylic) with cream acrylic in the middle. The frame was made of aluminium.

After paying the deposit, the door was ready to be installed about one week later. We had the door installed with the door swinging towards the kitchen and to the right looking from living room. 

View of SK swing slide door from living room

View of door swung open without sliding fully to the middle

View of door swung open with door fully slid to the middle

Top of door frame

Two hinges on the right side of frame

Side view of door

You can see from the last picture above that the door was quite slim. We couldn't swing it open 180 degrees due to space constraints. The sliding feature would be useful to open the door halfway when we wanted to open the storeroom door to get something. We do not need to close the door fully so anyone can still go into the kitchen without too much problem. 

Here is a video of Sera demonstrating how she opened and closed the swing slide door. I told her to open and close it gently and she was able to do so with ease.

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Hyundai Clothes Dryer HYCD-8070

Giant was having a promotion on a Hyundai Clothes Dryer model HYCD-8070 about two weeks ago. It was sold at $69 instead of the usual $100+ (don't remember exact amount).

Ardon and I had been contemplating to buy this type of clothes dryer ever since we saw one a few years ago. However, we put off the idea as they usually cost more than $100. Here was a good deal to buy a clothes dryer at $69. Furthermore, with the rainy season coming soon, this would come in handy.

There is a knob at the bottom of the Hyundai Clothes Dryer where we can set the timer for the clothes dryer to work at intervals of 30 minutes. I usually set it to 120 minutes (2 hours).

When I turn the knob clockwise to the timer side, a small red light will light up beside the "on" label.

When the clothes dryer is in operation, it will be inflated with hot air as shown in the picture below.

When I first used it, I put about 12 pieces of clothing and set the timer to 120 minutes. Once the time was up, the children's dresses and Ardon's long sleeved shirts were already dry but the sleeves of the adult cotton T-shirts were still wet.

After trying a few times, it seemed that it was better to put about 7 to 8 pieces of clothing that usually dry fast on normal sunny days (drying indoors, not directly under the sun). All of them would be dry after 2 hours in the clothes dryer. Children's clothes, adult sized sleeveless T-shirts and handkerchiefs will be dried in 2 hours in the clothes dryer. 

This clothes dryer will not damage our clothes since it does not tumble dry. It cannot dry a lot of clothes at one time but it is still useful to speed up the drying process on rainy days. Otherwise, we would have to use a lot of space to hang all the wet laundry.

Just hope that it can last...

Note: I have never used a tumble dryer before but I heard that clothes will tend to shrink a bit each time they are dried in the tumble dryer.

• Qoo10 - [HYUNDAI] ✖THE RAINY DAY SAVIOUR✖ HYCD-8070 Clothes Dryer/ INDOOR DRYI... : Home Electronics
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"Incisive Great Teacher" 《犀利仁师》

About 3 weeks ago, I found this "Incisive Great Teacher" 《犀利仁师》drama serial on the Jia Le on Demand channel on Singtel MioTV. What first attracted me to watch this drama was, of course, the lead actor who is Nicky Wu (吴奇隆). Next in line was the lead actress who is Cecilia Liu (刘诗诗). They were also the lead actor and actress in "Scarlet  Heart 1" 《步步惊心》 and "Scarlet Heart 2"《步步惊情》.

"Incisive Great Teacher" 《犀利仁师》is a period comedy drama. Liu Ao Tian (starring Nicky Wu) is a government agent sent to work undercover in Hong Wen College (the school appointed by the emperor to implement the new policy of girls attending school). His mission was to ensure that the new policy would be implemented successfully and to prevent sabotage of this policy by the "traditional forces".

Lu Yun Fei (starring Cecilia Liu) also went to work in the same school upon the challenge of Liu Ao Tian. Thus she became the first female teacher. She was very good in martial arts but not so good academically. As such, Yuan Fang and his classmates were doubtful of her capability as a teacher. Through her efforts and some help from Liu Ao Tian, she eventually got the 3 bells, one from Nie Wen Xing (starring Huo Zheng Yan) who represent the teachers, one from Murong Yue who represent the female students and Yuan Fang who represent the male students so that she could continue working as a Teacher. 

Fan Da Tong (starring Ye Zu Xin) enrolled himself in Hong Wen College to be close to his ex-fiancee Murong Yue in the hope of wooing her back. He was assigned to a hostel room with Song Wen Wen (starring Wu Ying Jie). Fan Da Tong and Song Wen Wen initially had some disputes prior to entering Hong Wen College. However, after being classmates and room mates for some time, both of them had learned to care for each other. Once, they were practicing for their kick ball game (now known as soccer). Song Wen Wen passed out and was sent to the sick bay. Liu Ao Tian, who also assumed the role of the school's physician, took Song Wen Wen's pulse and realised that Song Wen Wen was actually a girl. He then questioned her intention of disguising as a boy and asked her to quit school before getting into trouble. By disguising herself as a boy, it is considered as deceiving the emperor in their times which could result in execution. (I think she dressed as a boy in order to get the scholarship as the scholarship was only meant for boys).

At some point, Fan Da Tong knew that Song Wen Wen had to quit school if she could not win the soccer race. Hence, he was determined to help her and in the process, did not concern himself over Murong Yue. In the mean time, it was his good friend Wu Tian Bao who helped Murong Yue to get the cheerleading lead dancer role. Song Wen Wen was touched by Fan Da Tong's care and help. Fan Da Tong was also very concerned about Song Wen Wen. However, Song Wen Wen could not reveal her true identity to him. There was once when Song Wen Wen got drunk and said she should give her blessings to Fan Da Tong and Murong Yue. This caused him to misunderstand that Song Wen Wen was in love with Murong Yue. He felt upset but could not understand why.

Throughout the 24 episodes that I have watched so far, the characters in the serial kept mentioning the emperor but did not mention the name. I deduced from the English subtitle that the emperor was a lady because it was typed as Her Majesty. So, the emperor should be Wu Ze Tian. A check on the internet proved that I was right. The drama serial was set in the Wu Zhou dynasty (an interuption of the Tang Dynasty) when Wu Ze Tian was the emperor. Wu Ze Tian was the first and only female emperor in the history of China. I am not sure if Wu Ze Tian would appear later in the drama serial. 

It was also mentioned many times that Liu Ao Tian could never be an official in his lifetime but the reason was not made known to us yet. So, in working undercover as a teacher, he also put his heart into teaching the students how to be a good official by imparting certain values to them. In episode 24, he gave the students the task of investigating the reason behind the price hike in rice. He said this is important in helping them to understand how this could accelerate into a major problem that could rock the country's stability if it was not handled properly. In this instance, he was teaching the students practical economics. He also asked his superior to inform the emperor of the price hike situation and to intervene before the situation got worse. 

The drama serial was very funny. I think this is the first time I have watched Nicky Wu acting so cute and funny. His other drama/movie characters were usually "cool" and serious. His character, Liu Ao Tian was usually serious when teaching and talking to other people. However, whenever he was with Lu Yun Fei, he became very cheeky. 

Lynn happened to see me watching this drama and was hooked on it too. She found the drama very interesting and hilarious at times. As this was a period drama set in a school, there were many chinese poems, idioms, proverbs etc. used. It's an alternative way to learn chinese and more entertaining. 

There are another 20 episodes to go. Waiting impatiently for Jia Le Channel to continue its broadcast...

Lean Pork with Preserved Vegetables

I got the idea of cooking this dish from the MediaCorp TV drama serial,  "Spice Up" 《幸福料理》. I thought it was quite easy to prepare so I tried it out two days ago.

I did not follow every step exactly as it was shown by Gao Mingjun  (starring Patrick Lee) in the show. This was what I used.

250g lean pork (frozen pork)

80g preserved Vegetables

Steps:

1. I cut the lean pork into smaller strips. I used the preserved vegetables that were bought from NTUC. No further cutting was needed for this.

2. Then I added some salt, pepper, 1/3 egg white, sesame oil and tapioca flour to the lean pork.

3. I heated up some oil in the wok, added some garlic and stir fried them. 

4. I put in the marinated lean pork, stir fried until they were about 60% to 70% cooked.

5. Then I added the preserved vegetables to the pork and cooked until the pork was tender. 

6. I added some chilli powder to the dish. (original recipe used fresh red chilli). 

This dish turned out quite nicely. The pork was tender and the colour was white instead of the usual light brown. I believed it was the egg white that made the pork tender and white. Lynn almost thought it was chicken meat. The preserved vegetables wasn't as crunchy as Gao Mingjun's dish since I did not soak them and squeeze out the water like what he did. We didn't mind though. So overall, I would think it was an appetising dish. This turned out tender and tasty.

Episode 14 to Episode 20 (Last Episode) of 《祖先保佑》("Blessings")

Meiren had suspected Wenrou of getting a man ( Wensheng, who happened to be Wenrou's cousin) to stage the robbery that caused Wenrou to temporarily lose the use of her legs. However, Wending refused to believe that a nice girl like Wenrou would do such a thing.

Wending initiated a breakup with Meiren so that he could take care of Wenrou who was handicapped. Ouyang Xuan and Meiren's father came up with a plan and made Wending realise that he should be with the one he loved, i.e. Meiren. Wenrou was, of course devastated and decided to up the ante. She got Wensheng to splash acid on Meiren. Luckily he did not succeed. In the end, Wenrou wanted him to set fire to "Xiji". Meiren saw Wensheng walking past her nail shop and followed him to "Xiji". She saw Wenrou and Wensheng inside "Xiji". Wensheng was pouring kerosene inside "Xiji". Meiren told him that she had already called the police. Wensheng scurried off in fear.

After some arguments, Wenrou set "Xiji" on fire accidentally. Meiren tried to help Wenrou even when the fire had already spread but Wenrou pushed her away. Wending managed to get there on time and carried Wenrou out of the fire scene. So both Meiren and Wenrou were saved from the fire.

Wending kept having the nightmare of Daxi, Shuangxi and Alicia disappearing. This dream arose from the conversation he previously had with Alicia (his great-granddaughter). Alicia (the only one who believed that Wending travelled forward in time when he first told her) reminded him that if he were to stay in this era and marry Meiren, then Daxi, Shuangxi and Alicia would not have existed because he did not marry their grandmother/great-grandmother. He then brought up the topic of breaking up with Meiren again. He told her he was actually from the 1940s. Of course Meiren thought he was either bluffing or he was delusional.

Meiren then got Daxi to find out the truth behind Wending's reason for breaking up with her. Daxi and Shuangxi searched Wending's belongings and found an old box with a picture of their father, Mengyong (who had passed away a few episodes earlier) and their grandfather but the face of their grandfather was already torn off the picture. Based on the scar on the hand of their grandfather, they deduced that Wending could indeed be their grandfather. They also recalled that Mengyong had called Wending "Dad", Wending had mentioned a few times that he was their grandfather plus the DNA testing. They found it incredible.

They could not contact Wending. Alicia then mentioned that he could have gone back to the 1940s. She said he came to the present on the night of the Mid-Autumn festival last year, so he had to go back on the Mid-Autumn festival this year and all other conditions must be satisfied. After Meiren went out to look for Wending, Shini went into labour.

In the next scene we saw Wending jumping into the swimming pool where he first arrived in this era (2014). He came out of the pool wondering what had gone wrong. He wore the same clothes at the same place and the same time. Then Meiren came to look for him. At the same time, Daxi was praying to their ancestors at home to bless Shini with a smooth delivery of his nephew. At this point, a mysterious force pulled Wending away and, in the next scene, he was at the river and Xiaomei pulled him out of the water. After some confusion, he realised that he was back in his time (1948). He realized that he was only inside the river for a few minutes but it seemed like a year had passed. He told Xiaomei that he had a "strange dream". He learnt that if he wanted happiness, he should have the courage to pursue his love. Hence, he wanted to marry Xiaomei.

Fast forward to 2014 again.  Wenrou turned up with her boyfriend to congratulate Shuangxi and Shini on the opening of a new branch of "Xiji". Shuangxi and Shini had a son and a daughter (Alicia). Shini was pregnant with a third child. Daxi and Ouyang Xuan were a married couple, and surprise, surprise, Mengyong was still alive (unlike the strange dream that Wending had). There were reporters interviewing Mengyong. Daxi was an award-winning writer who had written many popular novels. Shuangxi was the able assistant of Mengyong who had created many highly popular new flavours. 

Mengyong told the reporters that his father always did things that baffled people. There was one year, whenever it rained, he would stay in the house and not go out. He was afraid that he would be killed by a falling tree. The reporter wondered if Wending could foretell the future. Ouyang Xuan then told the reporters it seemed that he could foretell the future. She mentioned that there was also once when he suddenly wanted to move house. Two days later, the old house caught fire. Wending did these because he learnt from his "strange dream" that he was struck dead by a falling tree on a rainy day at the age of 40. Hence, he would not go out whenever it rained in that particular year so that he would not die young. He moved house so that his wife would not get caught in the fire and hence, would not die too. In preventing his and his wife's early deaths, he was able to pass on his superb pastry making skills to his son and grandchildren. In doing so, "Xiji" was still enjoying a good business and reputation to this day.

Another surprise? Wending and Xiaomei were still alive in their 90s.

Old Wending was at the park and saw Meiren. Meiren was pregnant and her hubby was Yuanbing (her ex-boyfriend in Wending's "strange dream") Then, Xiaomei came to him. Both of them held each other's hands and walked off...

So did Wending just have a dream or did he actually travel forward in time from 1948 to 2014? Did he change history? I supposed it's up to us to decide or figure it out.

I really enjoyed this drama serial. My only dissatisfaction was that there was no mention of what happened to Xiulan, the girl whom Wending was supposed to marry. How did Wending get away with cancelling his marriage plans with Xiulan when his parents were so adamant in wanting him to marry a girl of equal status?

Related post:

Episode 1 to 13 of 《祖先保佑》("Blessings")

Episode 1 to 13 of 《祖先保佑》("Blessings")

《祖先保佑》("Blessings") is a MediaCorp drama that had started airing on Channel 8, on 23 July 2014, every Monday to Friday at 9 pm.

Lian Wending (played by Shaun Chen) was the only son of Lian Xuegeng (played by Li Wenhai), the boss of "Xiji". "Xiji" was a famous traditional Teochew pastry shop in Singapore in the 1940s. Lian Wending was in love with a songstress Lin Xiaomei (played by Jesseca Liu) but his father arranged for him to marry a rich merchant's daughter, Sun Xiulan (played by Sora Ma).

Xiaomei was upset over Wending's decision to marry Xiulan. At about the same time, Xiaomei's mother (her only kin on earth) passed away. Xiaomei lost hope and attempted suicide at a river. Wending, upon receiving her suicide note, ran to the river and tried to save her. The next moment, he was saved by someone at a swimming pool. He was delighted to see a woman whom he thought was Xiaomei. It turned out that the woman just happened to look like Xiaomei. 

He had a hard time trying to get back to "Xiji". He was fortunate to meet a kind hearted girl, Ouyang Xuan (played by Youyi) who brought him back to "Xiji" and offered him some doughnuts to fill his stomach. 

Upon arriving at "Xiji", Wending realised that it looked quite different and the bosses were Lian Daxi (played by Chen Hanwei) and Lian Shuangxi (played by Yao Wenlong). Business at "Xiji" wasn't good either. It took him some time to realise that he had actually travelled forward through time, from 1948 to present day (2014) Singapore. Lian Daxi and Lian Shuangxi were his (future) grandsons. Lian Shuangxi had a wife named Du Shini (played by Yvonne Lim) and a daughter. Lian Daxi and Lian Shuangxi thought Wending was their relative from China and took him in. Wending was a very competent pastry chef and proved to be of great help to "Xiji" .

Lian Mengyong (played by Chen Shucheng), father of Daxi and Shuangxi, recognized Wending as his father when he first saw him. Mengyong was senile so nobody believed Mengyong when Mengyong said Wending was his father.

Subsequently, Daxi tested the DNA of Wending and Lian Mengyong and showed that they were father and son respectively. As Wending looked so young, naturally people thought of him as the son. Who would have thought that he had travelled from the past to the present?

Wending also got to know the woman who looked like Xiaomei as She Meiren (played by Jesseca Liu), the boss of a chain of bakery shops called "Le Kalla" in Singapore and also the boss of a nail shop. She Meiren was also the godsister of Ouyang Xuan. 

Wenrou (played by Sora Ma), Du Shini's cousin from Malaysia came to Singapore later. Wending was shocked to find that Wenrou looked so much like Xiulan, his fiancee from the 1940s. Initially, Wenrou set her eyes on Daxi and treated him and his family very well hoping that Daxi would get her to be his girlfriend and, eventually, his wife. She appeared to be very virtuous. However, after some time, she realized that the girl whom Daxi loved was Ouyang Xuan. By then, she herself also had a change of heart. She was pretty much impressed with Wending. So she initiated a breakup with Daxi and tried to get on Wending's good books. 

Initially, Wending had a few misunderstandings about She Meiren and thought that she was a shrew. Eventually he got to know that she was actually a very kind soul beneath the strong and seemingly "heartless" exterior. He fell in love with her and they began going steady .

There were a few scenes which showed Wenrou eavesdropping on the conversation between Wending and Daxi, peeking at the contents of Daxi's laptop and checking on Meiren's background. That got me thinking. Was Wenrou as good as she seemed to be? Now, I am wondering how the story would go on. Could it be that Wenrou was actually not that virtuous? Maybe even devious? There were also a few occasions when Mengyong saw Meiren and called her "mum". Could it be that Wending travelled to the present so that he could make the right decision on his life partner in the 1940s (apart from the task of reviving the business of "Xiji")? I shall continue to watch to find out.

On a side note, there was this song "明月千里寄相思" sung by Xiaomei in the drama. I thought it sounded very much like it was sung by Jesseca Liu herself and I checked the credits shown at the end of one of the drama episodes. Indeed, it was sung by Jesseca Liu. Perhaps MediaCorp should consider giving her a role in a musical drama if they ever do film one.

Related post:

Episode 14 to Episode 20 (Last Episode) of 《祖先保佑》("Blessings")

Episodes 2 to 24 of 《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2")

After watching so many episodes of 《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2"), it's time for me to provide an update on the story so far.

The lady who looked like Zhang Xiao was a model named Lan Lan. Yin Zheng was the stepson of Kang Zhentian.

Zhang Xiao had an accident in one of the earlier episodes and lost a part of her memory; in particular, her memories of her past life and her recent encounter with Yin Zheng. She got to know another guy, named Kang Sihan, who turned out to be the eldest biological son of Kang Zhentian. They subsequently fell in love.

Yin Zheng, on the other hand, got to know Lan Lan. Thinking that she was the woman he had been looking for all his life, he fell deeply in love with her without knowing much about her past. He also thought Lan Lan was the lady whom he had met at the museum.

It turned out that Lan Lan used to be an assistant of Yin Zheng's uncle, Yin Chenggui. Yin Chengui was involved in illegal activities in Thailand. Lan Lan failed to run away from Yin Chenggui's control and subsequently suffered injuries from a car explosion. This might be due to her disobeying Yin Chenggui's instructions. She was badly disfigured. She subsequently ran away from the hospital.

At around this time, Zhang Xiao's father came into the picture and revealed to Zhang Xiao that she had a twin sister. So, instantly, Zhang Xiao knew that Lan Lan was her twin sister who was separated from her since young. What was unexpected was that Zhang Xiao's father was not her biological father. He just happened to save Zhang Xiao's mum and brought her to the hospital. Zhang Xiao's mum passed away after giving birth to Zhang Xiao and Lan Lan. Zhang Xiao's adopted father did not have much income then and could only afford to raise one child. Thus, he gave Lan Lan to another family for adoption.

It also turned out that the lady in the picture which Kang Zhentian had was the biological mother of Zhang Xiao and Lan Lan. Their biological father was a good friend of Kang Zhentian. Zhang Xiao's adopted father was the expedition guide who led Kang Zhentian and his friends on the expedition in the 1980s.

Yin Zheng was demoted to be the manager of the logistics department after he got Zhang Xiao to pose as Lan Lan to act in their company's mini-movie. Kang Sihan was naturally promoted to be the acting Vice President of the company. Yin Chenggui somehow managed to fake the death of Lan Lan to make Yin Zheng get over her and work on taking over Zhen Tian Corporation.

At this time, Zhang Xiao's best friend, Xinyi came back from overseas. As it turned out, Kang Sihan was the ex-boyfriend of Xinyi. However, Xinyi would not give up on him and was bent on reconciling with him. Zhang Xiao, being a very kind hearted girl, did not want to hurt Xinyi. Hence, she kept her relationship with Sihan a secret and decided to give up Sihan. In episode 23, we realized that Xinyi was pregnant with Sihan's baby. Upon knowing this, Zhang Xiao was even more determined to break off with Sihan. Sihan finally proposed to Xinyi after much internal conflict. 

In episode 24, Yin Chenggui somehow managed to insert snapshots and videos of Sihan and Zhang Xiao's moments spent together (which he got someone to take secretly during the couple's trip to Hong Kong) on the slideshow that was shown to their (Sihan and Xinyi) wedding guests. 

• Qoo10 - DVD Scarlet Heart 步步惊心 (Eng Sub) Complete Series China Drama : CD

• Qoo10 - DVD Scarlet Heart II / Scarlet Heart 2 步步惊情 (Eng Sub) Complete Series ... : CD

《红蜻蜓》("Red Dragonfly")

On youth day last year, I shared this song《我的朋友我的同学我最爱的一切》(“My Friends, My classmates, My Most Beloved”) which I liked in my younger days.

This year, I would like to share this song 《红蜻蜓》("Red Dragonfly"). This song was sung by 小虎队 (Little Tigers)。They have always been my favourite boy band. The lyrics were written by 李子恒 and the music was composed by 长濑刚.

This song is very lively and brimming with youth. It makes people (especially me) feel young.

    

歌词：

飞呀飞呀
看那红色蜻蜓飞在蓝色天空
游戏在风中​​不断追逐它的梦
天空是永恒的家　大地就是它的王国
飞翔是生活

我们的童年也像追逐成长吹来的风
轻轻地吹着梦想慢慢地升空
红色的蜻蜓是我小时候的小小英雄
多希望有一天能和它一起飞

当烦恼越来越多　玻璃弹珠越来越少
我知道我已慢慢的长大了
红色的蜻蜓曾几何时
也在我岁月慢慢不见了

我们都已经长大　好多梦正在飞
就像童年看到的红色的蜻蜓
我们都已经长大　好多梦还要飞
就像现在心目中红色的蜻蜓

Which can be translated as:

O Fly O Fly 
Look at that red dragonfly flying in the blue sky 
Playing in the wind, pursuing its dream 
The sky is its eternal home, the earth is its kingdom 
Flying is its life 

Our childhood was like pursuing the wind that growing up brings 
Gently blowing our dreams, slowly rising up the sky
The red dragonfly was then my little childhood hero 
How I wish I could fly with it one day.

As more troubles piled up,  marbles got lesser
I know I have slowly grown up 
The red dragonfly has since
slowly disappeared from my life. 

We have grown up
A lot of dreams still flying around
Just like the red dragonfly we had seen during childhood years. 
We have grown up
A lot of dreams still left to pursue 

Just like the red dragonfly in our memories.

Happy Youth Day!


Related post:

《我的朋友我的同学我最爱的一切》(“My Friends, My classmates, My Most Beloved”)
《叫你一声 My Love》 (Call You My Love)

《梦不完的你》("My endless Dream of You")

《梦不完的你〉("My Endless Dream of You") was a song sung by Nicky Wu (吴奇隆) in the 1990s. The MV below was also filmed in the 1990s. So, Nicky Wu was likely to be in his 20s. This is one of my favourite songs of his. Both music and lyrics were written by 李子恒. 

I think this song was about a guy who had to go somewhere due to some circumstances and had to leave the girl whom he loved. Hence, he was having endless dream of her as he could not forget her. He was hoping for a miracle that one day, he might meet her again.

歌词：

扮过痴狂的风
挣脱蜕变的痛
青春是一场接一场的梦
守着寂寞的夜空
回想往事如虹
这份感伤有谁来陪我

流浪天涯的我
不能同行的你
等待彼此盼望相遇的心
岁月把你的从前
还给我的蓝天
一朵白云是我的所有

梦不完的你
陪着梦不完的明天
梦不完的我
陪着无尽的风雨
每个明天的你
牵引我的未来
未来才是我做梦的勇气

梦不完的你
陪着梦不完的青春
梦不完的我
陪着无尽的晨昏
也许不再相遇
也许还有奇迹
只要有梦
就会有黎明

Which can be translated as:

Played the role of the crazy wind 
Got rid of the pain of transformation 
Youth is an endless dream 
Guarding the lonely night sky 
The past was like the rainbow 
Who can empathize with me 

I wandered to the ends of the world 
While you could not travel with me
Waiting for the time when both of us look forward to meet each other 
Your past 
Was returned to my blue sky 
The cloud is all I have

My endless dream of you
Accompanied my endless dream of tomorrow 
I, the one having endless dream 
Accompanied endless storm 
Each future you 
guiding me to my future 
It's the future that gives me the courage to dream on. 

My endless dream of you
Accompanied my endless dream of youth  
I, the one having endless dream
Accompanied the endless dawns and dusks
Perhaps we will not meet 
Perhaps there will be a miracle 
As long as I have a dream 
There will be dawn

I particularly liked this "等待彼此盼望相遇的心"(Waiting for the time when both of us look forward to meet each other ). I also liked the last part "也许不再相遇, 也许还有奇迹。 只要有梦就会有黎明" (Perhaps we will not meet, perhaps there will be a miracle. As long as I have a dream, there will be  dawn). As long as one still persists or still have hope, there will be miracle.

On a side note, MediaCorp is currently airing 《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2") on channel U at 10 pm, from Mondays to Fridays, starring Nicky Wu who is now in his forties. He still looked so cool and handsome!

Episode 1 of 《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2")

Yay! MediaCorp had started broadcasting the TV drama Serial《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2")  last night at 10 pm on channel U. from Mondays to Fridays. I was pretty much looking forward to this. 《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2") was the sequel to《步步惊心》 ("Scarlet Heart").

《步步惊情》("Scarlet Heart 2") started off with emperor Yong Zheng (played by Nicky Wu 吴奇隆) saying "If you can't return to this world, I'll look for you in your world". He put a jade ring and hairpin in a small treasure chest and gave instructions for the treasure chest to be sent to the northwest - Ruoxi's  homeland. On their journey to the northwest, the troops escorting the treasure chest and other valuables met a sandstorm. 

Fast forward to the 1980s. Five guys went on an expedition to find the legendary treasure chest. They met with a tornado, survived it and miraculously found the treasure.

Now, back to the modern era. Zhang Xiao (played by Cecilia Liu 刘诗诗) woke up from her coma in the hospital. For three months, she kept visiting the museum every day to look at those paintings and other stuff that were once familiar to her. 

One day, she saw a person who looked like emperor Yong Zheng (played by Nicky Wu) and tears just kept flowing down her cheeks. Later she found out that he was the manager of Zhen Tian Corporation and his name is Yin Zheng. She subsequently applied for a job there and her interviewer was someone who looked like the tenth prince. This tenth prince look-a-like did not intend to employ her. The chairman (played by Damian Lau 刘松仁) of the Zhen Tian Corporation happened to pass by, had a short conversation with Zhang Xiao and decided to employ her. Later, he instructed his staff to do a family background check on Zhang Xiao. Then, there was a scene which showed a picture of a lady with long hair who looked like Zhang Xiao. Now, I am wondering. What was the relationship between the chairman, the lady in the picture and Zhang Xiao?

Episode 1 ended with Zhang Xiao walking at the stairway. She saw a lady who was dressed in a Qing dynasty costume fall down. When that lady got up, Zhang Xiao was shocked! She looked like herself (Zhang Xiao). Was that lady Ruoxi? Now, who is who?

I shall continue to watch and find out the answers. 


Related posts:

《步步惊心》 (Scarlet Heart)

Universal Studio Singapore

We finally visited Universal Studio Singapore at Resort World Sentosa last Sunday.

Universal Studio Singapore opened in 2010 at Resort World Sentosa. So what took us so long to visit it? Actually, I was waiting for Sera to grow up and, hence, taller so that she could go on most of the rides.

We drove the car into Sentosa. We parked the car at Beachfront Station and took the Sentosa Express to Waterfront Station.

View of Merlion from car

After we purchased the tickets, we saw this before entering Universal Studio Singapore itself.

Yes, now Sera could ride most of the attractions. You can check the riders' guide on the Universal Studio Singapore website or just click here.

We had our lunch at Mel's Drive-In restaurant at the Hollywood zone. Halfway through our lunch, we saw some men singing at a small stage outside the restaurant. They were singing and dancing to rock-n-roll songs. What a great way to enjoy lunch!

I had intended to watch the Monster Rock Performance just opposite the restaurant after lunch but upon seeing the warning at the entrance, Lynn was not interested. The kids were concerned that the band might be too loud and deafening for their "delicate ears" :( .

Moving on to the New York zone, we saw characters from Sesame Street such as Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie and Bert singing and dancing at the steps outside the mock Public Library building.

We went back to the Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase for the ride after watching the Sesame Street performance. 

It was a slow moving ride suitable for young children too. 

Accelerator

Lynn initially wanted to ride the Accelerator at the Sci-Fi zone. Upon seeing the spinning in action, she changed her mind. The spinning was so fast that she was worried that she might get dizzy.

Below were some pictures taken at the Ancient Egypt zone

Next we visited The Lost World zone.

Dino Soaring Ride

It was always a pity that we could not take pictures of ourselves when we were in the rides. Fortunately for Ardon and Sera, I managed to snap a shot of them when the ride stopped.

The next stop was the Far Far Away zone.

We had a 4-D film experience. This was our first 4-D movie. It sure was fun although the kids weren't too happy about being sprayed water :p.  It was also the kids' first visit to a movie theatre. 

After this we went to watch the Hollywood Parade which started at 5.00 pm. 

After that, we went back to the Madagascar zone for the carousel ride at King Julien's Beach Party-Go-Round.

Adults could also ride on these, yay!

We did some souvenir shopping and then left Universal Studio Singapore.

The queue for the Sentosa Express was very long. A sign board showed that the waiting time was 20 minutes for the train to Beach Station. We walked to Imbiah station and had dinner at the KFC restaurant there. 

After we had dinner, it was home sweet home. 

Related Posts:

S.E.A. Aquarium and Maritime Experiential Museum in Sentosa
Sentosa Trip (Ace Swan Blog)
Tourist penguin tours around Universal Studios Singapore! - Part 1 (Ace Swan Blog)

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