Singapore Arts, Beauty and Inspirations Male Blogger

I had a staycation with mum over the weekends at Sofitel Singapore City Centre, nestled in the heart of the central business district. I was rather surprised at first since I wasn't expecting to find a luxury hotel around Tanjong Pagar, especially directly above the MRT station.

The hotel was rather elegant to begin with, as my mum and I stepped in, making our way towards Racines, a French and local Chinese restaurant for lunch before checking in. Chilled soup and bread was served as we waited for our mains to arrive.

My mum ordered the braised Ee-fu noodles with scallops, XO sauce, mushroom and chives ($24.00). It was really savoury and tasty. Sad to say the Squid dish ($28.00) that I had ordered was really disappointing. Tough squid stuffed with glutinous rice and the portion was really small and unfulfilling.  

After the meal, we headed to the twin-bed room to take a look around. Pretty cosy with a view overlooking rows of shophouses. My eye lit up as soon as I caught sight of a bath tub. Yes I did soak in it for an hour or so around 2am in the morning as well as the next day before checking out. 

The hotel provide a welcome drink which could be claimed anytime during the stay from 1864 bar. My mum and I both picked the mocktail of blended mint leaves and lychee. Refreshing drink to go with some complimentary snacks.

I did use the hotel facilities such as the gym that night as well as sitting by the swimming pool the following morning. I did not enter the pool since it was too small for laps anyway. Too bad there wasn't any sauna or steam room available in the toilets.

It was definitely as nice staycation as I got to spend time with mum and to relax.

Marvel Studios: Ten Years of Heroes Exhibition was held from the 9th June to 30 Sept 2018 at Marina Bay Sands' Art Science Museum. I visited with a group of friends who were also keen to find out more about the exhibition.

Basically, there were many panels of introduction of each characters throughout the exhibit which I would skip like most people do. The main focus would probably be the life size figures of Marvel characters since it they were photo worthy and instagramable.

I love how they tried to incorporate digital technology into the exhibition. The part where different iron man suits were flashed onto a plain "mannequin", groots' movement detection, Dr Strange's portal & reality warping as well as digital ants & wasps.  

Overall it was considered a fun tour around with plenty of photo taking going on. Thankfully people do queue and wait for each other to finish taking individual photos with their favourite hero (except Thanos), at least on that day I was there. Too bad my favourite Scarlet Witch was no where to be found. There was even a retail space selling Marvel merchandise at the exit. 

#MARVEL10ASM

I have been wanting to do face laser treatment ever since my army days, hoping that such a treatment could at least lighten my acne scars that had haunted me for years.

Since I am just lazy to do a detailed research on face lasers procedures as well as pricing, I decided to just stick back to the same skin specialist clinic which I have been visiting every few months for my keloid jabs and purchase of skin products.

I opted for a 6 session package which cost me around $2500+ and religiously scheduled each session every month for 6 months. For each session, the procedure was smooth, except that the waiting time could be a little unbearable after 6pm for Fridays (peak timing). The longest I had waited was 1.5 hours since the weekends would be perfect to stay home and away from staring eyes. 

After the nurse have cleansed my face, numbing cream is applied for up to an hour for it to take effect. I usually kept requesting for the timing to reduce to half an hour instead since I could withstand the pain and did not like waiting too long. The pico laser procedure was quick, just like a scanner scanning through my face up to twice for deeper scars. As for being painful? Just don't ask me because my tolerance has increase due to countless painful pimple extraction from facial outlets I had went before.

After each pico laser session, I would leave IDS clinic red-faced and wearing a mask to hide my face. (As you can see from the picture below, it gets pretty red.) Depending on the intensity of the laser session, the redness varies. Of course the pain varies as well. A cream was given for application to reduce the redness which I felt was hardly effective and just decide to let the redness subside on its own. The downtime was about 5 -7 days before my face wasn't red and I wore mask to work to prevent stares. I also diligently applied sunblock and carry an umbrella just in case.

Don't get me wrong as this is not a sponsored post. I just wanted to pen down my thoughts about laser treatments as I had always thought that such treatment does miracle to faces. Don't daydream of having porcelain smooth skin after 5-6 sessions of treatment but as least I could see my acne scars being lightened to a certain extent. Thank you doctor! 

I thought it was mandatory to visit Kuching Cat Museum the following day after a fulfilling time at the Rainforest World Music Festival 2018. Since the locals fondly called their city 'Cat City' due to the fact that 'Kuching' means 'cat' in Malay, why not visit their cat museum and check out their collection?

My friend and I cabbed over to Kuching Cat Museum, located at Bukit Siol. We were greeted by a cat head arch at the entrance which prompted me to start snapping pictures. Admission is FREE, however, a very small fee is needed for photography in the museum itself.

I was definitely awed by the huge collection of cat related artifacts in its gallery, all neatly categorised. Browsing through the collection, there were paintings, cross stitch, jewellery, sculptures, miniatures, toys of anything 'cat' I could imagine. Even iconic cats such as the Hello Kitty and Garfield were not left out of its collection. 

I admit I wasn't exactly a feline lover and I had a quick browse through. At least I had pictures for references unlike Kuching's Natural History Museum and Textile Museum which doesn't allow photography.

Do not miss the souvenir booth if you know friends who love anything to do with cats!

It was purely a coincidence that the Rainforest World Music Festival held yearly at Kuching (Sarawak ; Malaysia) falls exactly on the week I was there for a short getaway. My friend snagged tickets for 2 few days before we arrived at Kuching.

A quick search on Google tells me that not only does this 3-days international music festival from 13 - 15 July involve just music performances but also a cultural enlightenment for most of us. Activities include wellness programs, hands-on workshops on how to play an indigenous instruments and more.

My friend and I arrived at our destination by free shuttle bus in the afternoon on Sunday (the last day of Rainforest World Music Festival 2018). Booklets were given out and time slots were allocated to different activities.  

Since it was held within the compound of Sarawak Cultural Village, I had a great and exciting time exploring the place, climbing up and down log-cut ladders which might look scary for the faint hearted. I took many photos as well, especially with nature and homes made from nature.

Be sure to wear comfortable clothings as it was quite scotching in the afternoon. Food and beverages were not allowed to be brought in but fear not since there were a couple of food tents with seatings available. Mosquito repellent is necessary for mozzi magnets like me since the Rainforest World Music Festival is held among forest area after all.

The musical performances started slightly before nightfall, stretching all the way to midnight. It was the first time in my life to enjoy a series of life musical concerts performed by international musicians, in the midst of a Borneo rainforest literally! Not forgetting the star lit sky as well! How thrilling could it get?