Where is the Merlion?

Can you spot what is different in this picture?



Where is the Merlion? And what is that red building in its place?

It's... The Merlion Hotel!

Yeah.. I was equally as surprised as you (if you are an overseas Singaporean/ tourist familiar with Singapore). Is this Merlion Hotel for real? A permanent fixture?

Well.. yes and no. Yes, this is real, and happening right now. The hotel consists of just one suite, but it is a fully functional 5-star suite, operated by Fullerton Hotel. It is available for booking from April 4 to May 5. But, it is already fully booked.

It is not a permanent fixture but is an art installation for Singapore Binennale (an annual art festival) 2011. This is designed by a Japanese artist, 西野達 Tatzu Nishi.

From 10am to 6.15pm (last admission), it is opened to public viewing. I decided that I have to visit it while I am home for this spring vacation.

In the queue on a weekday afternoon, most of the visitors are either tourists or students on school excursions.

TIP

We have to remove our shoes before entering. We are given only about 7 minutes to explore the suite. We can take as many pictures/ videos as we like, but we cannot touch both the Merlion nor the furnishings in the room.

In the room...


Woaah.. this is the first time I am so close to the Merlion. It's huge!


Matching wallpaper




The bathroom with the Singapore river view

Great views...





I think you can watch the Marina Bay Sands weekend laser shows from the balcony, too.


Picture taken from the platform and not from the hotel balcony.

And a cheeky sign to remind hotel guests...



And with that, time's up... and I have to leave the Merlion Hotel. :(

I still miss the our iconic statue, the Merlion, though. It's seems so strange to see it boarded up. So, tourists, who visit Singapore during this period, will have to be contented with the smaller one, if you miss the visiting hours of The Merlion Hotel.

And here's the Merlion Hotel, whilst it last. After that, we will have our plan old merlion buddy back :)


大きな地図で見る

Museum of Broken Relationships

I went to visit the roving exhibition of the Museum of Broken Relationships yesterday.

Unlike usual museums which showcased items of historical value, this exhibition showcases donated items from the public (from all over the world, including Singapore) and their stories of their fruitless relationships.

Through this avenue, it hopes to offer a chance to overcome any emotional collapse through art creation.

Each item is tagged with a story. It will state the place, date (of relationship), length of relationship and of course, the story. The story of the now defunct relationship.

Some are really very touching.

Especially this one…

The story of the key…



And its story:



Out of love for her, he had stayed away from any sexual activity with her.
And she only knew why after he'd left her forever.

Next.

A very sad story.
Of a couple who loved each other deeply.
But destroyed by, I suspect, depression.



Click larger size to view the story.

And how though the relationship came to an end,
it has at least made a positive impact on someone.



Read the story:



Some other exhibits also included letters, diary entries.
It feels rather strange to read a breakup letter, or a Valentine’s Day letter of a stranger.
Through the few pages of words,
We try to form the story in our head.
The characters of the male and female lead,
The struggles each had..
Why it didn’t work out and had to end anyway...

It can get pretty sad… while browsing the exhibits
So visit it with someone.

It’s really worth a visit.
Catch it while you can.
(It's free admission,
and today-18 Jan 09 is the last day in Singapore)
Before it roam another spot on the world.
It has already being showcased in Croatia, London and Berlin.

And if you would like to share your broken stories too,
Click here.

Meanwhile, on the way to Esplanade (Lvl 2 Jendela),
you can visit the photograph exihibition,
which began as an online photo-journal-
"Days with My Father"
Very touching piece of work.
It's at the Esplanade Tunnel.
Also ending today :P

P.S: As it's a very impromptu visit,
I did not bring my camera...
thus, the low quality of the pictures above.
They're taken using my very antique 2G phone
:P

Error, Scrapbooking & Women

Finally the long-awaited long weekend is here :)
Did some catching up on my feeds... and found these very interesting ones...

What does this error means?
i tried out with the 404 error, besides explaining what 404 means, it also gives solutions.

And for all who loved scrapbooking...
Here's an online version... ScrapBlog

I do travel logs (not exactly scrapbooking, as it's only decorated with text and photographs).
Scrapbooking can be a rather expensive hobby, a trip to the nearest scrapbooking store has befuddled me with loads of fancy papers, stamps, shape cutters, ribbons, stickers etc. And they aren't cheap...

So for a cheaper option, you can try ScrapBlog instead. Mmm.. but perhaps the fun of getting your hands dirty (actual touch of the papers with different textual, arranging, cutting and gluing) may be missed though.

And finally the article on women - or rather gender discrimination
If Women Were More Like Men

Most studies on gender discrimination compares between men and women of similar work experiences and educational level (anyway by that standard, there's a gap too). But this case it's different. It comparing a transgender- from a guy to a gal, is there any differences in treatment that he -> she gets? Apparently so... though it may be masked by the fact that workplaces may have certain discimination hiring transgender.

Interesting... wonder if there's a study outta to read on?