SimplyJesMe

Some parents like to ask kids to go out and play and not stay at home and play computer games. Nowadays, you can go out yet still playing hand phone games.

What is CPF? A retirement fund that all Singaporeans and PR have to contribute every month so that you will not be a burden to society when you are old. The dream is to still be healthy

I have been to Georgia aquarium in US and also Chitose Salmon Park  in Hokkaido but I am ashamed to say that I have not been to my own country's second top attraction.. the SEA aquarium ! I just had to go there this year. It opens at 10am everyday and closes at 6pm to 9pm so be sure to check the opening hours before you plan your activities.

Having watch the  Nanta show in Seoul and the  AO show in Ho Chi Minh, I was thinking why not try being a tourist in my own country and watch a local play. I found that for this period, there is this play called 'The emperor's new clothes' produced by Wild Rice. Starring Benjamin Kheng and Sezairi Sezali

After going to more than 20 wedding banquets over the years, I guess I have attended the more popular hotels time and again. So I have listed down some factors to help couples to decide. All these are based on my personal experience and taste buds:

A holler out to all big savers: There is One account for you I have decided to do something about my UOB Campus account finally! I have graduated long ago and this account does not gives any interest but I still keep it because it is linked to my CDP account. I looked for an account that has higher rates and  UOB One Account  seems suitable. I was surprised that it only took 5 minutes to breeze past the set up. I don't even have to go down to the bank, the picture of my IC and signature could be uploaded through their website.

Due to a monthly salary of 15k, it seems that everyone is jumping on the wagon to join politics readily without first considering what they can do for the people and the country. However, the increased number of people interested in politics will hopefully translate to having the cream of the crop for our leaders. I normally look at these 5 criteria when deciding on a good candidate: Parliament house at night (Source: wikipedia)

Guest post by Coftea A few months ago, I came across a good piece of software that helps people to see and understand data. I actually tried it out using publicly available data and the resale prices released by HDB quarterly seems like a good data to analyze. As it turned out, my output wasn't too shabby and I think it might be useful to some readers out there. I call it a HDB resale price checker as it allows you to select your town (or estate) that you're living in and view 1. 2015 1H Stats - The latest figures, namely number of units sold and average resale price for 1st half of year 2015. 2. Historical trends since 2011 - The trend of the above two figures since year 2011. Note that the number of units in 2015 accounts for 1H figures only. Use the selection panel on the left to start. Remember that you can select multiple towns, check which type of HDB you're looking at and adjust the time period you wish the trend to reflect. Have fun!

No matter how much you hate the government and Singapore's politics, you can't deny that Mr Lee Kuan Yew was a great man who fought his whole life for our country. He deserved my respect and admiration for sacrificing whole heartedly to serve Singaporeans and I am sure he inspired many to join politics because of that. Looked how developed we become in just 50 years! (Source: wikipedia) All these insights because I just finished the book on The Singapore Story: Memoirs of Lee Kuan Yew. The book talked about how he brought about independence from 1927 and the stories that inspired his every decision. I also got to know him better as a person, albeit a bit too late. Some interesting details on why he sought to be free from colonial and communist rules: 1) Most British were only concerned with top jobs and high pays and never in the advancement of their colonies 2) Racial prejudice where Chinese and non-British were considered mud-blood and were looked down...

Guest post by Coftea (co-founder of SnackFirst ) alantankenghoe I have lost count of the number of times I have been told that Singaporeans who already own a HDB flat cannot buy another private property. I actually believed it until someone knowledgeable enlightened me. Being an aspiring HDB cum private property (or properties!) owner, getting the facts right on this subject is important. If a HDB owner can purchase another private property, what are the prerequisites and restrictions? After researching the truths online via official sources, I realised there are 3 major misconceptions which I hope I can provide some insights to.

I have resisted writing about Mr Lee Kuan Yew as there are so many great articles on him and I can't beat  this article about the opposition's daughter  and this poignant Mr Brown's story . I was touched by the many tributes and eulogies but I can't contribute as I have not had any personal encounters with him.

Not to all the shareholders. Only to a selected lucky few and after more than 20 years of taking their buses, I finally got lucky! What do I mean by it? Woohoo! Glad this money sucking machine is on MC today. What are the chances of all 4 card readers being out of order? Yesterday was such a day! The driver just waved us in, saying that it's spoilt and no need to pay. Everyone walked in smiling. If only we could have free public transport once a year, it will greatly boost the 'Leave your car at home for a day ' campaign. And hopefully make 'under happy' Singaporeans happier a day, that's a mini-start. Ok, I know the shareholders will vomit blood to see such non profitable occurrence. Just feeling lucky now... don't spoil my daydream =) Apologies if you are misled by the title. And now, the ultimate question.... when will ERP be down? Just once, any one time will do... hehe.

"I never thought he would bring me out to do something this wild on my birthday. We are not together and this is one of the first few dates but I really appreciate that he did something different from other guys. I feel stupid saying this but I think this was the pivotal moment that made me decide to accept him as my boyfriend." No, this did not happened to me. This is how my best friend related her story, which gave me an idea to try iFly out. iFly boasts of giving the same experience of sky diving from 12000 to 3000 feet. There are instructors to guide you and even kids as young as 3 years old and grandfathers as old as 103 have tried it, so it has gotta be extra safe. iFly building just beside the beach tram station The minimum per person is 2 skydives at $99 which is not cheap at all. But, real skydiving cost more at around $300 and what's more, you have to go Australia or some other countries to try it. Booking online for iFly is easy enough and saved m...

Price: $39 for adults, $25 for kids Opening hours: 730pm to 12mn Included in my 4D3N family itinerary Night Safari is the world's first safari park for nocturnal animals and I was dying to see it long ago! The steep entrance fee at $39 for adults will scare locals off but since it's once a in a blue moon visit, I decided to pair it with River Safari tickets (Park Hopper) to get a better deal. You really have to be there to experience it as no photos can do them justice. I tried taking some pictures and it turned out like this: Can't take many pictures at night.. =( What is unforgettable I like the sanctuary, the loud cricket noises, the wild life experience and trekking along the trails. I walked the whole 4 trails namely the Fishing Cat, Leopard, East Lodge and Wallaby trails. Each takes around 20 minutes. My suggestions is to walk all the trails first then travel by the trams. The trams are very crowded from 7 to 830pm and to avoid wasting at...

Price: $25 for adults, $16 for kids Opening hours: 9am to 6pm Included in my 4D3N itinerary for families  Sleep more or you have their eyes... The main attraction of River Safari has got to be the pandas, Jia Jia and Kai Kai. It's a great joy to see these chubby animals lazing around in an air-conditioned environment. Lucky creatures. I have seen them in Taipei Zoo upclose so it was nothing special for me. However in river safari, there are others animals that are quite cute too, like the squirrel monkeys, manatee and stingrays. The stingrays.. I only think of belachan chilli to eat it. The Amazon River cruise looks kind of adventurous but I went too late and missed it :( You sure I can see so many animals? What is unforgettable I like that they explained about the different rivers in the world and how Amazon rainforest works. You will see an aquarium but it is different from the underwater world. The animals like manatee, cat fish and others are those that live...

Many people expressed disbelief that Singapore is at the top of Lonely planet's destination to visit in 2015. Instead of even thinking that our government paid them off with lots of money, how about try to find out the reasons why we are at the top? Usually, the tourists will visit more attractions than the locals, making it kind of ironic when locals are asked to introduce their own countries. Locals will cite high price, crowds, lack of time and 'there is always a chance' on why they have not been to all the attractions. Red Dot Museum 28 Maxwell Road, 069120 Price: $8  Weekdays : 1100 - 1800  Weekends: 1100 - 2000  *Check online if they are closed for private events.  I don't believe most of you have been to this Museum, or any museums for that matter. Own up? Anyway, this museum is more into exhibiting the designs to solve our common problems and move into futuristic creativity. Reminded me a lot about this 30 things you had no idea you needed  ar...

Sim Lim Square has recently been hit by a series of high profile scandals. Seriously, this has been ongoing for a few years but they are going overboard with their tactics and now, finally the authorities are looking into this. The first scandal is about a Vietnamese tourist being asked to fork out additional $1500 for a 1 year warranty package that was completely unnecessary, and being not really fluent in English, initially thought it was free and signed the contractual agreement. The shop would not give him the $950 phone unless he coughed out the extra for warranty, making him cry as he has saved up very long for this and begged for a refund. It was solved only when the authorities were brought in. The second was about a couple getting a refund for the $3000 that they have overpaid for a iphone 6+. The Small Claims court ordered the rogue merchant to refund them by $1010 and they retaliated by giving the amount in coins. These people are so brazen in their corrupt actions and ...

Food... the definite attraction in every countries, a simple way to discover the differences in culture, the very thing that had tourists coming back excited for more.. These stalls are chosen for their taste, uniqueness and accessibility to nearby attractions. 1) Tian Tian Chicken Rice #01-10/11, Maxwell Food Centre, 1 Kadayanallur Street Closed on Mon, Tue - Sun: 11:00 - 20:00 The famous stall My favourite chicken rice of all time is located in Maxwell food centre. The rice is fragrant, chicken is tender and juicy with the fats melting in your mouth, but the highlight of all is the chilli! Spicy with a tinge of sourness and leaves a lasting sweet taste in your mouth.  It's like throwing a chili padi bomb into my mouth, every taste is a delight,  I can happily eat the chilli sauce on it's own.  How to get there Nearest MRT is Chinatown (Purple line NE4). Take Exit A to get to Pagoda Street and walk straight down until you see South Bridge Road on ...

I had a hard time short listing the attractions as it seems like 4 days 3 nights is just not enough. I had to be selective by assuming that travellers like to see the most unique and exotic side of Singapore. For theme parks, please check out the other post for families. 1) Sentosa- SEA Aquarium Price: $38 for adults, $28 for kids Opening hours: 10am to 6 or 7pm depending on season Check out my review here . 2)  Marina Bay Sands Skypark Prices: $23 for adults, $17 for kids Opening hours: 930am to 10pm, 11pm on Fri, Sat, Sun Rooftop pool with spectacular bird's eye view! (Source: Wikipedia) Singapore's highest view at 57 floor will not disappoint you, it is even taller and better than the  Singapore flyer . Besides the 360 degrees scenery, you can also pass by the rooftop swimming pool which will definitely entice you to stay there next time. To get the bang out of your bucks, be there during sunset to catch the lovely colours. How to get there Nearest MR...