Amelia's Nest: April 2011

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Hong Kong Trip: Disneyland Resort

One of the highlights of our trip in Hong Kong was our stay in Disneyland Resort. We are all excited especially the kids. Honestly I have the heart for Disneyland character since I was a child and up until now. We spent our last two days there, one night stay at Hollywood Hotel. On our package we have 2-days pass in the theme park.

We arrived at the hotel around 2:00PM of August 22, 2010. The staff were all very accommodating and pleasant.

our room

view from our room

The two-days pass in the theme park was so superb. We tried almost all the shows and rides. Meeting the Disney characters was one of the things kids enjoyed. Patiently waiting for their turn to get closer to Minnie, Mickey, Pooh, Goofy, Pluto and etc.

jungle river cruise

the road show, shower of water

Kids love everything in Disneyland and I personally love it and enjoyed it all. This is one trip of a lifetime. And hopefully more to come.

Singapore Election 2011

The heat is on here in Singapore as it's election time. Last April 27, 2011 politicians have filed their candidacy and opposition has contested in various parts of Group Representation Constituency (GRC) and Single Member Constituency (SMC). Some GRC's has a three-cornered fight while others have a head-to-head battle.

People's Action Party (PAP) lead by the founding-father of Singapore, Lee Kwan Yew,also father of the incumbent Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong being the ruling party has the most candidates. But the ruling party faces a lot of criticism among the Singaporeans. Locals are not happy with the present government for various reasons amongst of them are the rising cost of living, affordability of the housing, high salaries of the ministers and the rising influx of the foreigners which Singaporeans views as a big competitor when it comes to employment, housing affordability, and many others. Singaporeans feel threatened having the foreigners around (and sad to say I'm one of those foreigners). This turns-out to be one of the debate and issues for this year’s election and gives the opposition a chance to contest and push forward.

But for me, the government has done a lot of things for their locals. Moving from a third world country to first world was indeed a great achievement. They have alleviated the living condition of their citizens. Provides comfortable living, housing, transportation and education system. But having said that I can still hear locals who have expressed disappointments in their government. Maybe because I only see the facade or the surface of their political situation. But whatever the outcome of this election maybe it will surely impacted all of us here in Singapore, citizens, permanent residents, investors, foreign-workers and maybe tourist.

Come May 7, 2011 Singaporeans will cast their votes. I together with the other people (who doesn’t have the right to choose but has a high interest on this election) will be monitoring the result of this election. Whoever Singaporeans will vote for I hope and wish that they choose the “best" for all.

Friday, 8 April 2011

Tale of Cambodia : Angkor Wat

The first place that we visited when we arrived in Siem Reap in Cambodia last April 3, 2011 was the famous Angkor Wat. This vacation was planned for me and my husband since our Japan trip was cancelled and so we push for another place. Without any tour guide or a specific itinerary on hand we just decided to go where most of the visitors go. Upon arrival at the hotel we talked to a driver of "tuk-tuk" (a local motor tricycle bike) to bring us to the places written in a piece of paper.

And when we talked about Cambodia, the first thing that will come into everybody's mind is Angkor Wat. Having been named as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Site, the place was visited by thousands of people from different parts of the world and from all walks of life.


Angkor Wat

On the top most part of Angkor Wat

This place was built by King Suryavarman II during 1113-1150. It is located inside the Angkor temple complex. The temple was offered to god Vishnu of Hindu religion. Angkor Wat is said to be the world's largest religious structure.

South Wing of the temple depicting the Mahabharata epic

When I first saw it, I was in awe and was so amazed with is immensity and stature. It was indeed necessary to preserve and conserve the place for other generations to see, appreciate and learn how people live centuries back. Was just so amazing!

Saturday, 2 April 2011

Buttered-Cheese Puto

Puto or steamed cake is one of my favourite food in the Philippines. Almost all of the bakeshops in the Philippines sell this bread. Haven't eaten the bread years ago makes me craved for more. And so last month I decided to make this. Following the recipe I got I was able to make with perfection (modesty aside) at least close to the real taste.

But nonetheless, I improved the measurements and was able to satisfy my palate. And so, I am sharing this recipe. You may want to try this and served to your family and friends. My family love it and do hope my friends too. Enjoy and happy cooking.

Mixture in the molds

Buttered-Cheese Puto

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

4 cups flour, sifted

1 cup sugar, sifted

3 tablespoons of baking powder

1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 piece raw egg

slices of cheese

water (for steaming)

Direction:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients flour, sugar,and baking powder then mix well.

2. Add the butter, evaporated milk, egg, water then mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

3. Prepare the molds, pour the mixture in the molds

4. Put the cheese on top of the mixture or you may put the cheese after steaming (for quick-melt cheese)

5. Prepare the steamer, pour the water in the steamer.

6. Arrange the molds in the steamer then steam for about 10-15 minutes

7. Remove the puto from the mold, let it cool and arrange in a serving plate

8. Serve with coffee or dinuguan :)

Earth Hour 2011

Singaporeans from all walks of life joined the world in celebrating Earth Hour this year. While many of them did their part within the comfort of their own homes (by turning off non-essential lights at 8.30pm), thousands others converged at the Marina Bay area to show their support in a public event organised by World Wide Fund Singapore.

I as an active supporter of this cause since 2008, I was of one the first to arrive at Marina Bay to show my support.

Earth Hour celebrations at the Marina Bay Promontory area.

The first thing that struck me was how that instead of spotlights, the organisers used small light bulbs to illuminate the stage area. I was impressed!

During the event, Ms. Amy Ho, Managing Director of WWF Singapore, stressed the importance and relevance of the Earth Hour and offered a prayer the people of Japan. She also shared that Earth Hour was not just about turning off the lights for one hour, but that the practice of making the conscious effort to save the environment should be embraced as part of our everyday life. I was glad to hear that Singapore would be taking steps to remove electrical appliances that did not satisfy energy-saving standards from the market and that energy saving techniques and best practices would be shared nation-wide.

I was also quite intrigued when I saw many people wearing black shirts and carrying a placard emblazoned with “Earth Hour Night Walk”. Later, I found out that organisers had also planned a 3.5 km walk around Marina Bay to raise awareness about Earth Hour. I wish I had known about this earlier because I would have loved to join in! Thankfully, the organisers did not neglect those who did not sign up for the walk. We were treated with the screening of the award winning documentary film - “The Age of Stupid” at Marina Bay.

The Stage

The Volunteer for the Earth Hour Walk

More Volunteer

Boy Scouts

Actually, to be honest, when I first learnt about the programme line-up, I was rather disappointed since I was expecting a star-studded event like how the celebrations in some other countries were done. However, despite the simple and small-scale celebrations, I thought the event was meaningful and a success. I was entertained by the performers, which included the three finalists of NEA Ecomusic Challenge. Check out their creation (http://www.nea.ecomusic.sg/index.php). Besides the on-stage performances, there were also booths selling eco-friendly products. Coca-Cola provided complimentary water and coke for all and assured that it would recycle all the plastic containers that was used at the event.

I hope people will always remember the event’s significance. People should start to be concerned about the environment and be an advocate to save Mother Earth for the sake of our future generations.

You may ask how I will be playing my part? Well, right from the beginning. I make a conscious effort to save energy. At home, I turned off the lights when they are not in use. I only turn on the aircon at night, with temperature regulated at 24C. I never use the dryer.

Even back in the Philippines, my mother and my late grandmother would scold me and my siblings if we were caught ironing clothes while watching television. At first we thought it’s such a “kill joy”, but later I realised that if you use too many electrical appliances all at the same time, it could be “kill earth”. That is why I have started educating my kids on the appropriate use of electricity. For example, they can only watch television for three hours after school and one hour before bed time. :(

I am a firm believer in good governance. The fight against global warming is a serious issue and it will only be feasible if there is political will to do so. With good leadership and governance, it change is possible.

Classic example of this is the ecological drive to save Pasig River in the Philippines. Pasig River is a popular river in Metro Manila that is connected to Manila Bay. Since I was in primary school, non-governmental organisations, schools and private institutions have been campaigning to save the river. I remember back in school, we used to have a “Piso para sa Pasig” (One Peso for Pasig) fund raising campaign to save the river. Unfortunately, up until now, despite numerous campaigns and fund-raising events, nothing has been done to really revitalise and clean up the river. More needs to be done!

Here in Singapore, the Government is actively drawing up and reviewing policies and initiatives to preserve the environment. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle; and Plant-a-Tree are some of the initiatives that they have done. I agree that these government-led efforts are commendable, but at the end of the day, the onus is on the individual citizen to play their part and be committed to the cause of preserving this environment that we all share.

Note: this post has been published in www.sg.com, click this link.