The Bridge.

Alan had seen this view before. He'd loved this view every time he did. The view from the Helix bridge summed up his entire love life.

To the right near the Esplanade theatres is where he had first met his wife. They both enjoyed the concert performance that evening with their friends. Alan and she stayed back for a few drinks. Their conversations revealed that both were orphans who had worked hard to succeed in life. There was a mutual admiration which turned into affection.

The Promontory to the far left was where they had enjoyed the fireworks in the Bay Area on one of their earlier dates. He remembered that the place was packed with people and that gave all the more reason for her to stay really close to him. They walked back home that night and were walking around through the next morning. That was when he realised how much he loved her.

Towards the left behind him was the giant carrousel, the Singapore Flyer, where he had popped the question to her. The setup was planned by him with close friends present while he went down on one knee and asked her to spend her entire life with him. Her answer had been a resounding Yes! Her tears had been those of absolute joy that evening.

To the right behind the theatres he saw the plush Mandarin Oriental where they had their wedding reception. With only their friends in attendance they had a small intimate affair. He remembered the crazy photos they had taken that evening. Even when she was making funny faces, his wife looked gorgeous.

Their favourite Italian restaurant was at the centre of this view. The last time they were there was to celebrate their wedding anniversary. He remembered they had shared a sinful dessert at the end of their meal, compliments of the restaurant. She looked radiant that evening!

Yes, his life with his wife was almost summed up entirely with the view that lay before his eyes as he stood on the Helix bridge.

But that life was now only a memory. His wife had passed away last week. He lost her in a car accident. Alan had been devastated since then. But now he was calm as he stood their admiring the view. He had walked down from his office to the bridge after a day's work and was still in his business suit.

Alan stood their motionless as he saw his life with her flash before his eyes. After what seemed an eternity to casual observers, Alan moved to take support of the railing of the bridge as he lifted himself up.

It is then that people around Alan noticed a handcuff around his left hand chaining him to the briefcase he was carrying. They realised what he was about to do. But before anyone could react, Alan had already taken the plunge into the Singapore river below and was propelled all the way to the floor due to the weight of the stuffed briefcase. An hour later when his body was recovered, his life was long gone.

Earlier that day Alan had decided to end his life. But wanted to have one last glimpse of all the places where he had enjoyed a happy life with his now late wife. He left a simple note on his work desk which read -

"Headed to The Bridge, one last time."

Let's Talk

I'm a software engineer by education. Well technically I'm an Information Technology graduate. But well, becoming a software engineer is the most obvious career choice. In my line of work, developing or customising applications is a major portion of the job description. Major, but not the only one. Documentation is an equally crucial and required aspect of application development, maintenance and modification. From simple comments explaining changes within the application code itself to drafting technical specifications detailing the approach and changes.

From time to time you also need to liaise with folks who aren't all that tech savvy and need to be briefed about the application. Naturally apart from written matter, oral communication forms an integral part of this interaction. And like most businesses across the globe, communication in our line of work also takes place in the Queen's English.

Trouble is that most folks in the IT industry aren't all that concerned about their communication skills. And no, I'm not being judgmental. This is based purely on personal observation and experience. And I'm not talking about violations to Wren & Martin's English, I'm referring to the utter lack of elementary knowledge or understanding of basic communication in the English language.

Trivial things such as pronunciation of certain words, forming simple sentences or even the correct usage of words and phrases seem akin to uphill tasks for these folks. And the worst part is that almost none of them are aware of the faux pas they commit on a daily (in some cases hourly!) basis. It's truly frustrating for someone who has been brought up to subscribe to the notion that communication should stem from use of proper diction, grammar and enunciation. I've come across examples of simple email communications gone awry due to the use of absolutely incorrect language. There have been phone calls where I've bit my lip from laughing at the funny pronunciations of commonly used words and truly creative rendition of standard phrases. And I cannot count the number of times I've had to mentally correct the other party when involved in face to face conversations.

So what's the problem here? Are the folks in the industry not interested in speaking and/or writing correct English? Or is it something beyond that? In my opinion this phenomenon can be attributed to a couple of factors.

Let's start from the start (Duh!) English as a first language isn't common beyond certain private schools in most countries globally. As a result education is imparted in another language and English becomes a second (or even third) language for many school children. Think about how proficient you are in a language you learned as an additional one way back in school! Not that good at conversing in high school French or Spanish are you?

As students progress through their high schools and later their colleges and universities, this starts getting to be a slightly larger issue. Students need to focus their attention to their subject majors which are usually related to coding. Little known fact about programming, most of the syntax and semantics aren't bound by the laws of regular english grammar! Oh yea, there maybe a subject which is meant to educate the kids on the importance of Communication and proper English. But let's face it, when you're studying to major in Advanced Database Management, conversing in English isn't on your top ten list!

Even the hiring process for fresh graduates is no different. A major portion of the evaluation process focusses solely on your technical abilities and puts quite a minimal amount of focus on your conversational or communication abilities. After all, the employer is paying you for your knowledge of writing that complex piece of code, not for your flair to use the right words when describing your Curriculum Vitae. Are they wrong in doing so? Not entirely. After all they ARE looking for technical experts, not Shakespearean orators. Any other skill, decent communication or otherwise, is simply an added bonus, not an essential qualification.

The industry too is not very critical of your lack of grammatical knowledge. Of course no one wants to spend (read waste!) their time attempting to correct the other person's communication. Partially because they don't wanna snub the other fellow, but mostly because they just want to get the real job done, the technical one. You'd be surprised at how many times I've heard Project Managers putting up with truly ungifted conversationalists simply because they didn't want to lose out on his technical prowess by correcting his (or her) god awful grammar.

And please remember that communication goes beyond just the proper use of grammar. Etiquette is an important aspect of communication as well. Something as common as clicking the "Reply" instead of the "Reply All" button when responding to emails or avoiding the use of brightly coloured or image heavy content when sending memos across to multiple recipients. Or even the tone and pitch that need to be adopted when speaking to someone over the phone or in person are lost causes.

So, the question is, does it matter that the IT folk can't hold up a decent conversation in English without succumbing to making grammatical faux pas? Well, that's something I'll let you, the reader, decide.

*Disclaimer - Although this post talks about the lack of grammatical knowledge among the IT folk, there is a very good probability that the author of the post himself may have committed numerous grammatical mistakes as well. Go easy on him alright. Do not feel obligated to post comments!

Wanderlust: Singapore OR A Noob's Guide To Visiting The Lion City

So this post is pretty much impromptu and totally random in every sense. This one's actually a mail to a friend who was enquiring about tourist hot spots in Singapore for her family (specifically her mom and sister). Although this is by no means a comprehensive guide to the Lion City, it's still a pretty nice primer for folks visiting the little red dot, especially during the holiday season. 

Most of the city is pretty much oriented towards shoppers, so there are ginormous malls in most areas. Although shopping isn't on their agenda, your sister and mom may enjoy just walking around these retail meccas for a while. Most notable ones are Takashiyama (Orchard road), Ion Orchard (Orchard Road), Raffles City (City Hall), Plaza Singapura (Dhoby Ghaut), VivoCity (Harbourfront) and Suntec City Mall (City Hall). And with the holiday season looming around the corner, these malls and shopping districts will be lit up like the 4th of July and will be absolutely picturesque!

If they enjoy taking walks around the city then I'd recommend taking the hop-on hop-off city tours. They offer the flexibility to explore pockets of the city such as Little India, CBD, Matina Bay Sands Hotel & Casino (the casino doesn't compare to the big Vegas ones, but is quite good), Singapore Flyer (similar to the London Eye), Botanical Gardens and Orchard Road. The most prominent (and I think the only one) player is Duck & Hippo. They offer great packages to combine multiple touring options.

The Singapore Zoo and Bird Park are also great destinations for a day trip and offer some great souvenirs to take back. For a unique experience they could possibly  try the Night Safari which is supposed to be quite good.

If they enjoy outdoor activities and wanna enjoy a nice bicycle ride (or skates!) along the shore, then they should check out East Coast Park (or ECP as its called by the locals). They can rent a cycle here and ride along the almost 7.5 km stretch of beach and park along the south eastern portion of the island.

If they can spare an entire day, they can also head to Pulau Ubin, a small island to the north east of Singapore and just a 30 min ferry ride away. Its a relatively under-developed fishing village but has some great cheap seafood options and an amazing bicycle trail that runs along the entire island.

If they'd like a short trek, there are a few options for that as well. Bukit Timah, Mc Rithcie Resevoir and Mt Faber are local trek hotspots. Although don't expect the rustic trekking trails of Maharashtra since all of these are pretty much man-made and have paved roads running through them. In fact, Mt. Faber also has 3-4 hill side fine dining restaurants.

There aren't too many great beaches (well not the kind you find in other SE Asian countries at least!) but a famous touristy beach is the Siloso beach on Sentosa, which another island to the south of mainland Singapore. Apart from the beach, there are also a rotating observation tower, Tiger Tower (so called because it's sponsored by Tiger Beer), The gigantic version of the original Merlion Statue and quite a few other activities and sights. Sentosa has a lot to offer and is a good day's outing. Sentosa is where they will also find Universal Studios which makes a good all-day outing.

I'm not sure if the information I've provided is what you were looking for exactly, but do let me know if you need any specifics and/or some other details or options.

Here are some useful links that may help paint a better picture about all that you've just read

Duck & Hippo Tours - http://www.ducktours.com.sg/ 

Resorts World Sentosa - http://www.rwsentosa.com/

Takashiyama - http://www.takashimaya-sin.com/

Pulau Ubin - http://www.pulauubin.com.sg/

Singapore Zoo - http://www.zoo.com.sg/

Bird Park - http://www.birdpark.com.sg/

NIght Safari - http://www.nightsafari.com.sg/

Singapore Flyer - http://www.singaporeflyer.com/

Christmas at Orchard Road - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaragorn1984/sets/72157625628528094/show/

And here's a link to my flickr set which has pics from the city - http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaragorn1984/sets/72157626694561885/

The pics may give you a better sense of what to expect at the various spots.

Like I said, this isn't an article for the Lonely Planet or Frommer's Travel material, but IMHO it's a pretty decent writeup about what tourists can expect when visiting Singapore.

Wanderlust: Malacca - The Conclusion

Firstly, my apologies for delaying this post by more than a month. A lot of changes on the personal and professional fronts have had me occupied almost all the time. Hope you guys aren't too disappointed with the end result.

So here it is, the final chapter in the Wanderlust: Malacca series. Gosh, almost seems so theatrical (especially since I JUST watched the final Batman movie). As promised, this post is ALL about the shopping experience the heritage city has to offer. And boy is there a lot to experience.

The city of Malacca has something to offer to every kind of shopper there is. From colossal shopping malls offering the latest in big-retail brands to kitschy momento stalls. You'll probably find tourists in either location!

Instead of bombarding you with words, let me try something new. For this post, I'll let the pictures do the talking (with a little caption help!). So here we go - 

Street side retail stalls like this one are a common sight near almost every historical landmark in the city. Selling from anything from bottled water, caps, tees, umbrellas, postcards, kitchenware and even interior decor items, these shops are clearly targeted at the average tourist and do not disappoint. Although you should be prepared to bargain since most of the prices are not written in stone and are always marked higher than expected.

The colossal structure at the far right, the Mahkota Parade Shopping Center, and the oddly shaped circular one at the center, the Dataran Pahlawan,  are two of the largest (and relatively famous) shopping malls in Malacca. Apart from the regular global apparel brands, you'll find quite a few boutique outlets housing some quite cool casual wear. Be prepared to walk a lot, cause the two malls spread across a pretty large mass of land. And if you do get bogged down by the size, you'll have plenty of options for some delicious grub.

The most prominent and famous shopping destination Malacca has to offer has got to be Jonker Street. The street comes to life over weekends with innumerable stalls setup along the sidewalks. These stalls  have everything from tacky keychains to designer wear. The serpentine dragon is an unmistakable landmark marking the start of Jonker Walk. Be sure to take loads of pictures of this one cause it sure does look great!

The infamous Jonker Walk.

Street food like these candied fruits (they're strawberries dipped in delicious chocolate sauce) are a common sight throughout Jonker Walk. Other options include flavored popsicles, satays, popcorn and even spiral cut potato fires. They make the perfect on-the-go snack whilst you wander around bargain hunting. And  they don't even put a dent in your wallet. Most of the items I mentioned are available for less than 5 Ringgits! So chomp away!

Towards the other end of Jonker Walk is this community stage which is more or less like an open mic where locals and I suspect even tourists can showcase their vocal skills and even shake a leg. And even if you're not standing up on stage, take a break and enjoy the lively performance by the some of the elderly locals here. You're bound to be leaving with a smile on your face.

After all the walking (and shopping) you'll be spoilt for choices when it is time to dine. Hawker stalls are omnipresent and provide delicious meals for a very reasonable price. If you're more comfortable with a roof over your table, then head to one of the many lounges, restaurants and bars.

One of the more upmarket places to shop along Jonker Walk, the Jonker Gallery offers great fashion buys albeit not very cheap when compared to prices elsewhere, but still a decent bargain.

And that folks marks the end to the rather long series of posts in the Wanderlust section for Malacca. Till the next journey ciao!

Wanderlust Malacca: Part 2

Our second day in the heritage city, started with at a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. A word of caution, since Malacca is a family tourist spot, be prepared to be swamped with noisy children at ALL times at family hotels such as the Holiday Inn.

Old Portuguese Wall

Me taking a pic of the wall!

After the sumptuous breakfast buffet at the hotel, we set out to experience the sights and sounds of Malacca. Our first stop was the remnants of the old Portuguese wall, which isn't really as eye-catching as some other walls, but has it's significance in the history of the city nonetheless. What was noteworthy was the array of canons right across the new street from the remains of the old wall.  We found a number of tourists posing along side these magnificent war-canons and for good reason! Check out the grandeur of these babies!

Another attraction close to the wall and the cannons is the Malacca Ricer WaterMill. When I say attraction, I purely mean for photographic purposes cause you can get some really neat snaps with the watermill as a background.

Our next stop was at the famous Stadthuys. The most prominent structures in this city square are the Melaka church, the administrative building, the fountain and of course the clock tower. If you're a photog like me, you could spend an entire afternoon here and still not be satisfied with the number of shots you would have taken on your camera. This place is THAT awesome!

The Stadthuys

There is also this one supposed war veteran sitting at the base of the clock tower with an array of war memorabilia who let's you take funky pics like this one for  nominal fee of 3 Ringgits. I am not sure how many he'll let you click but I was able to take about 3-4 before it got a little repetitive. The alley ways around the church are lined with shops aimed at the average tourist selling refreshments and memorabilia alike.

Next we made tracks to the other famous church in Malacca, The Church of St. Francis Xavier. Those of you who have been to Goa will instantly recognize that name because there's a church with the same name there as well. It so happens, that the two churches share more than just their names! The church looks absolutely stunning from the outside and is equally eloquent on the inside. We were even fortunate to witness a wedding in progress as we entered the church. 

By this time we were beginning to feel the heat of Malacca and boy was it HOT! And what better way to beat the heat than with a nice delicious cup of ice-cream. So we made a quick pit-stop to savor a local ice-cream favorite, icily. Icicy is quite conveniently located close to the city square and the St. Francis Xavier church. Using fresh fruits, a type of preserved low-fat cream base and quite a funky contraption that melds all of this together, the kind lady at icily concocted a delicious cream frozen dessert for us. The dessert was bursting with natural fruit flavors and it made the ice-cream simply irresistable!

 Before moving onto the next attraction that we went towards, let me share how we got there. So after coming out of the church and grabbing the dessert we decided to blindly explore the back alleys of the Stadthuys. Which turned out to be a bit of a bummer since we ended up in a kinda eerily empty spot of the city with stairs ascending to a crude structure on a hill. And to make matters a lot more interesting, the picture to the left was the view going up. Suffice to say, we were kinda spooked till we reached the top of the hill and discovered this - St. Paul's church.

Turns out we had taken an less frequented route to head uphill, cause the place was swamped with tourists. The church is essentially a ruin but still looks quite majestic. There is no roof but the outer walls and most of the inscriptions are intact, and even some tombstones. Again, you're bound to get some really great snaps for your collection. We sure did!

Descending from St. Paul's hill brings you smack in the middle of a long line of a variety of museums dedicated to philately (pertaining to stamp-collection and other postal for the uninitiated), the ruling political party, one on architecture and also another on the heritage of the city. Before you do walking towards the multitude of museums you'll notice another pretty photogenic landmark called A Famosa (which means in Portuguese), a fortress remnant from the Portuguese era. This structure earns the distinction of being one of the oldest surviving European architectures in Asia.

That's it for this blog post. I know I promised I'd talk about the shopping escapades in Malacca in this post. But the chronicles so far have taken up a LOT of the post space. So the next (and hopefully final!)  part in the series will focus a LOT on the shopping escapades at Jonker and other great places. Till then, happy reading!

Wanderlust Malacca: Part 1

Alright folks, here's yet another blog post in the Wanderlust series. This time, I'm gonna recount the travel experience as it happened. Which basically means, what you're gonna read is pretty much the itinerary of my trip, which should make it a considerably long post. Fret not. To avoid severe boredom to you, the reader, I'm gonna divide the post into parts. This also let's me ruminate and churn out the second post at a later date, so, it's a win-win!

Malacca Cityscape

My most recent trip was to the Malaysian heritage city of Malacca (or Melaka). My wife and I were super excited about the trip for two reasons; one we REALLY needed a holiday and two, we were celebrating our one year wedding anniversary.

Malacca was on my wish-list for quite some time. Being a UNESCO recognized heritage city meant that there were unique sights and sounds to experience. I had of course read up on the city plenty and was quite intrigued with the rich history. The milieu of colonial influences coupled with its almost bohemian culture sounded like the perfect holiday spot for a newly married couple like us!

There are a couple of ways you can reach Malacca, but the most direct and hassle-free one (from Singapore of course) is a bus ride which lasts around 4-5 hours and is usually directly to your hotel in Malacca. 

We departed early Friday morning (8:30 AM) from the Golden Mile Tower (check this correctly since there is also a Golden Mile Complex, although they're pretty close to one another). The journey was quite smooth, including the two immigration stops (one for each end of the border). Although the one at the Singapore end is slightly speedier (and neater!) The border is essentially the Singapore strait which separates the two nations. The connecting bridge (one of two) looks pretty sweet. It'd be a good idea to visit the washrooms while at the immigration stops since some bus services do not have any pit stops until the destination.

Our hotel (Holiday Inn) was at the edge of town (along the Straits). So our bus meandered through the heritage portion of the city, to reach our destination. This gave us an early, albeit brief, glimpse of the beautiful architecture and colors of Malacca. Although I was a little confused by the choice of roads that were taken by the bus driver to reach the destination since the GPS had a more straightforward route to the hotel. Ah well, we weren't in any rush and the road time in different parts of the city was quite cool too.

Menara Taming Sari

Our first stop for the evening was the Menara Taming Sari which offers a 360 Degree Panoramic View of the Historic City. The total duration of the ride is around 7 minutes (2 of which are spent in the ascent and descent). The view offered from this altitude is quite breathtaking. Rest assured you will get some really stunning aerial shots of the city (like the one at the beginning of this post!). Around here you'll also find a number of other touristy activities for the entire family, ranging from mechanical pony rides for the little tykes to back, foot and shoulder massages for the weary ones. 

Maritime Museum

Our next stop was the Maritime museum which is housed in the replica of a portuguese ship (At least I think it's Portuguese!). Another nice place for getting photos clicked of yourself as the captain of the vessel! Although for an entry fee of 3 Ringitts, it's worth the expense even if you simply wanna stroll around the ship and read up on the history. 

By this time, the sun had already set and the evening skies were turning dark. And the city also starts turning a little dim, since there aren't many street-lights (Well not all over at least!) This coupled with the numerous colorfully lit up riverside cafes and hotels on either side of the water body made the Malacca river appear even more picturesque. Walking with your significant other in such an atmosphere was simply delightful! If you're planning to grab a bite and want this view, head to Dutch Harbor Cafe or Harper's Restaurant And Lounge. Both have seating that faces the river in addition to quite delectable menus.

But we skipped the romantic dinner (Don't worry we covered up with a LOTTA other activities!) and headed to the infamous Jonker Walk. But that's gonna be featured in another blog post. 

The Malacca river is quite scenic so if you do get the time, take a river cruise to appreciate the beauty. But we found strolling along the riverside far more romantic and rewarding. So you know, to each his own.The Malacca river divides the heritage city into distinct sections with contrasting architectural styles. While most of the heritage portion lies to the west of the river, the east is dominated by  rows and rows of houses, many with Chinese influences on their styling. 

Dinner was at a cafe close to the hotel in a newly opened late night hot-spot called The Jetty. The place looks deserted during the day, but trust me, once the sun sets, the place is anything but quiet. With a number of restaurants, bars karaoke lounges and even a dessert hut, The Jetty is probably your best bet for some fun in Malacca post dinner time.

So that was pretty much what we did on our first day (well half a day to be fair!) The next post will give a little more about the many sights Malacca has to offer to the shutterbug and the tourist in you and of course the stupendously spectacular shopping experience at Jonker Walk!

The Lion City

The Lion City, a set on Flickr.

It's been over a year since I moved to Singapore. In the time that I have been here, I have been privy to the wonderful sights and sounds of the city.  With it's rich and diverse mix of people, cuisines, leisure centers, landscape and tourist hot spots Singapore always has something to offer to a budding photographer.

This slideshow is my small homage to the Lion City.