R.I.P Eli Wallach

Eli Wallach, who played "The Ugly" in Sergio Leone classic "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", has died at the age of 98. His acting career spanned 60 years and he also had important acts in classics like The Magnıfıcent Seven and The Godfather Part III.

I have last seen him in 2010 Academy Awards and suprised to see him alive indeed. For me, Eli Wallach is Tuco of the most unforgettable movie of all times : "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". When I first watched the final duel scene of this movie in 80s, I was literally blown away. In those dark ages before internet the only option to watch it again was to wait for a TV channel to broadcast it again (usually a few years later) or beg daddy to rent a video of the movie which was not avail. Since the first time, I watched this movie at least 10 times more.

Below is the "Sad Hill Cemetery" Mexican duel scene. The Good (who indeed is not a good person), The Bad (who is not worse than the other two) and The Ugly (not ugly but crummy) fıght over money while "The Dead" are laughing at them (Sergio Leone wanted the music to sound like laughter of the dead from their grave).

R.I.P Eli Wallach.

Website that Simplifies Vacation Planning

Want to find the best travel deals available without having to spend hours visiting or calling multiple travel agents? Etravel Connect (www.etravelconnect.com) provides the solution for you.

Launched in January this year, Etravel Connect provides information on more than 1,000 travel packages from over 15 travel agencies in Singapore. The one-stop online portal allows holidaymakers to compare travel packages side-by-side and the firm also assists corporate personnel to locate the best travel packages for company and event trips.

“Etravel Connect makes travel planning easier,” said founder and director Cecilia Lohanata. “It allows travelers to search and compare travel packages – tour packages, free and easy, and land tours – across multiple travel agencies in Singapore.”

Specializing in travel opportunities to places around the globe, Etravel Connect allows vacationers to search for any travel destination by name, departure date, duration, or by a specific price range. The site maintains a comprehensive list of destinations from which to choose, before narrowing selection to a specific locale.

Complete information is provided for each travel package. Listings feature data on accommodations, transportation, guides and languages, along with any restrictions or special conditions. Individuals can read reviews from other travelers and obtain a complete itinerary. Those eager to take a break from a hectic professional life, find a family vacation venue, or travel on a budget will find options at Etravel Connect.

Travelers can choose from a myriad of tour packages to countries on virtually any continent. Individuals can journey to view the ancient wonders of Egypt, bask in the sun of Maldives, or sample the delights of Taiwan. Those seeking unique entertainments and amusements can choose from multiple destinations on the East and West Coast of the U.S.

For individuals and families who prefer a more leisurely pace, Etravel Connect offers free and easy packages featuring flights and accommodations. Itineraries are less structured and in many instances, visitors have carte blanche to set their own schedule for site seeing, attending amusements and enjoying leisure time activities.

“Tour packages are popular in Asia,” said Cecilia, “and travelers have had to visit multiple travel agencies to obtain brochures, compare prices and check availability. Our website eliminates this time-consuming and inefficient process.” Etravel Connect allows travelers to submit enquiries to multiple travel agents with a click of a button and the respective travel agents will respond within 2-3 business days. For those wanting a faster response, Etravel Connect provides “live chat” function for some travel agents.

The development and launch of Etravel Connect grew from Cecilia’s frustration with planning her family’s yearly vacation. It was a labor intensive process that involved hours of research on multiple websites. She and her programmer husband, William collaborated to create ETravel Connect to make planning a getaway easy and stress free.

The launch of Etravel Connect provides individuals, families and companies with a single website that collect, collate and compare prices for travel packages. The site features luxury land and tour packages, along with free and easy options for budget conscious travelers.

Etravel Connect continues to grow by listening to its users and giving them what they want – a travel website that is fast, flexible and finds the best travel package with no added fees and no fuss.

Costa Victoria cruise promotion 2014

Luxurious Costa Victoria cruise ship offers "Exquisite Italian Experience" in South East Asian waters. If you choose to cruise with this magnificent ship in your next holiday, you will not only allow this floating resort to take you many nice destinations in Asia, you will also enjoy vast amount of Italian cuisines on board. Elegant and totally refurbished, with new balconies, terraces and windows, Costa Victoria offers an unmistakeable style that marries traditional nautical style with essential design. The chic and original environments are filled with prestigious furnishings and works of art, making this ship a refined and stylish work of art.

Costa Victoria is owned and operated by Costa Crociere. She has a capacity to carry 1,928 passengers and features a panoramic Concorde Plaza, an indoor pool, the ultramodern Pompei Spa, and the seven deck Planetarium Atrium.

This cruise promotion running now offers 4D3N Costa Victoria cruise for only $338 per person instead of $675 which translates into a 50% discount. The cruise deal is for minimum 2 people and Inside Classic Cabin type of accommodation on the ship.

This luxurious cruise from Singapore offers a "Singapore – Malacca – Penang – Singapore" sailing and the deal includes cabin accommodation, all meals through the day, gala nights, on board entertainment, activities as well as Children’s Squok Club.

Costa Victoria 4D3N cruise promotion 2014

Treat your family or friends to a great time on board Costa Victoria to an exquisite Italian experience and make this the most unforgettable holiday yet! For details of the deal and fine print, you can visit this page : Costa Victoria Cruise: 4D3N “Exquisite Italian Experience”.

To have an idea of what is expecting you on board Costa Victoria, you can watch this 3+ minutes What Makes a Costa Cruise Unique? video below.

Cineleisure Auntie Zheng Po Po passed away

She was one of the well known street sellers in Singapore. Zheng Po Po, the old lady selling her stuffs outside Orchard Cineleisure unfortunately passed away today at 00.06 am. She was 84 years old. According to the media, she has died of colon cancer. The news first appeared on Tere Tan's Facebook page and later the post was shared by Project Awareness:

Guys for ur info. Zheng po po passed away today at SGH. Hold she really gave u guys memories of Aunty cineleisure. Guess she is now in the good hands of (God/laotianye/Allah) whatever.. Hope she rest in peace and move on to afterlife to find peace and hope.

According to Tere Tan's post, she was seen sick and in pain on May 31st:

This elderly lady looks familar outside cine? Whenever i saw her or at orchard seeling her goods, i would pass her 2dollar to 10dollars. But when i walk pass her or to visit her today (31/5/14), i realise she is in pain and she is vomitting non stop. I ask if she wan to go see doctor, she say too expensive. I asked her stop selling if she is not feeling well but she told me she cant cause she need to pay her medical bills. She is still selling there now and vomitting beside her at the same time.

I saw her selling there since i was 16 when i was working in kbox at cineleisure, but now i am 23,seeing her like this, i cant help to post this on facebook , see if i ever get any attention from anyone who is capable to give her a helping hand. I just stand there and my just "tahan" not to cry. She moved my heart but i cant do anything, i am not rich, i am just a normal boy earning normal wages and working hard. 


so Pls if anyone knws and fountation or charity. Pls help me to contact them on this matter:) anyone knows her details or where she stays pls pm me tooo

According to a June 2013 blog post by a Melbourne-based blogger, she was 83 years old. You can read the blogpost about her here:

Amidst luxury brands and high street stores Singapore’s Orchard Road is famous for sits an old lady just outside Mandarin Gallery peddling an assortment of eclectic wares. From packets of tissue paper to a bottle of dark soy sauce, I always wondered why she chose such a spot (without shelter) to sell her stuff. But she was one of those people at the back of my mind. I never cared for more than five minutes, sometimes stopping to pass her some spare cash on hand.

Data visualization training in Singapore - Half Day Tableau Software Introduction

If you are interested in Business Intelligence and Data Visualization tools and want to have a hands on experience with these software, then do not miss this Tableau training in Singapore by Knowledge Management Solutions (KMS). KMS, a Singapore based business intelligence and data visualization solution provider, runs a half a day free Tableau software training session named Build Your First Data Visualization Dashboard in half-day.

Tableau software is one of the most popular and best (according to Gartner Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms 2014 report) data visualization tools in the market today. Tableau allows anyone to connect to data in a few clicks, then visualize and create interactive, sharable dashboards with a few more. It's easy enough that any Excel user can learn it, but powerful enough to satisfy even the most complex analytical problems. Securely sharing your findings with others only takes seconds. The result is BI software that you can trust to actually deliver answers to the people that need them.

Who should attend?
Business people, General Managers, Analysts, Operations Managers, IT Managers, HR Managers, Finance Managers, Marketing Managers, Sales Managers, Service Managers, etc.

What you will learn during the hands-on training:
You will build an advanced Tableau Business Intelligence Dashboard.

This training will be provided by key KMS consultants who on average have more than 8 years of experience in Business Intelligence and Analytics. Seats are limited hence if you are interested, follow the link and register : KMS Data Visualization training in Singapore using Tableau. The data visualization session will be on 8th August 2014.

Syed Alwi Road body in suitcase

A "karang guni" man had a grisly finding at Syed Alwi Road at the Jalan Besar area in Singapore yesterday. A suitcase in a trolley he found contained a legless body of an unidentified man according to Singapore media. Singapore Police said they received a call for assistance at 6:04 pm, and that an upper body without legs was found in a piece of luggage.

According to the Straits Times, an eyewitness, Mr Goh, saw a middle-aged man attempting to carry the blood-soaked luggage. Mr Goh then stopped the man and called the police. According to Channel News Asia, A fruit stall owner  saw an "old man" asked two tourists for help in pushing a trolley with a suitcase. When they touched the bag, their hands were stained with blood. It prompted them to ask the shop owner for permission to wash their hands on his premises.

Later, Singapore Police have arrested two Pakistani men, aged 25 and 43 at around 3 pm on the day the suitcase was found. Police believes that the body in the suitcase belongs to a 59 years old. The victim's name is Mohamed Noor. Here is the Facebook post released by Singapore Police Force:

Police have arrested two male Pakistan Nationals, aged 25 and 43, in connection to the case where a body was found at Syed Alwi Road. 

On 11 June 2014 at about 6.04 pm, Police had received a call for assistance along Syed Alwi Road. Upon Police’s arrival, an upper body without both legs was found in a luggage at the said location. Upon receipt of the report, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department, the Police Intelligence Department, Central Police Division and Tanglin Police Division responded immediately and conducted intensive probes and ground enquiries including a systematic sweep surrounding the crime scene, in pursuing all available leads.

All 3 man were in Singapore for a short while and selling tissues to survive.

On Friday, Singapore Police  have recovered a pair of legs belonging to the body. The legs were found in the vicinity of Jalan Kubor.

The video below, which is uploaded to YouTube, shows a policeman opening the suitcase.

Dead body found in luggage bag near Syed Alwi Road

Qatar Airways Promotion 2014 : Hamad International Airport Celebration Fares

Qatar Airways is an airline I use a lot. The prices are quite good and the airline is definitely 5-star. But the airport in Doha was not. It was like a small city airport with everything is in separate buildings among which you travel by buses. Not any more. After many years of delays, Doha's new Hamad International Airport is open and you will have everything in a single, modern airport.

Hamad International Airport (HIA) has 1 terminal (Terminal 1) with 3 Concourses. National carrier Qatar Airways, and all other carriers have moved into the airport on May 27, 2014.

Celebrating the opening of new airport in Doha, Qatar Airways is now running a promotion for flights to many destinations in Europe. For minimum 2 passengers and bookings until 22 June 2014 and for travel period between 21st July 2014 to 14th November 2014, you can enjoy the following, relatively cheap flight tickets to many European destinations from Singapore. To access the deal, go to HIA Celebration promotion from Singapore page.

From	To	Economy Class fare from
Singapore (SIN)	Athens (ATH)	1,099 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Barcelona (BCN)	799 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Brussels (BRU)	999 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Budapest (BUD)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Copenhagen (CPH)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Edinburgh (EDI)	1,199 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Frankfurt (FRA)	999 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Geneva (GVA)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Istanbul (IST)	999 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Larnaca (LCA)	1,369 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	London (LHR)	1,079 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Madrid (MAD)	799 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Manchester (MAN)	1,199 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Milan (MXP)	799 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Munich (MUC)	1,099 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Oslo (OSL)	799 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Paris (CDG)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Rome (FCO)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Stockholm (ARN)	999 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Venice (VCE)	899 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Vienna (VIE)	999 SGD
Singapore (SIN)	Zurich (ZRH)	799 SGD

For last minute deals from Qatar you can check Fantastic last minute deals from Qatar. Book Now! page. For Qatar Airways flight deals and promotion visit, Qatar Airways - Singapore page.

Microsoft Xbox One in Singapore

The long wait for Microsoft Xbox One in Singapore is finally coming to an end. Almost 8 months after Sony Play Station 4 release in Singapore, Microsoft Xbox One will be launched in Singapore on September 23,  2014. The new XBox One will be retailed from $639 here. Motion sensing Xbox One with Kinect will cost $739.

Xbox One video game console was announced on May 21, 2013 and it is already released across North America, several European markets, Australia, and New Zealand on November 22, 2013. Singapore will be among 26 markets (others being Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and UAE). This successor of the iconic Xbox 360 directly competes with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's Wii U.

Xbox One is a real hardware beast : it has an 8-core CPU and GPU SoC (system on a chip), 8GB DDR3 RAM, a Blu-ray drive, and a 500GB onboard hard drive, HDMI in and out. One of the most important new features of the Xbox One is the x86 architecture, which is shared by the PS4, and could lead to a proliferation of console-purposed apps thanks to the wide development community.

In Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Microsoft also announced a spectacular lineup of games for Xbox One such as "Halo: The Master Chief Collection", "Sunset Overdrive", "Forza Horizon 2", "Fable Legends" and "Dance Central Spotlight":

A photo from Xbox One E3 Briefing

Flanked by some of video gaming’s most celebrated creators, Microsoft unveiled an incredible games lineup, including new iterations of its most popular franchises. 343 Industries lifted the curtain on “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” for Xbox One, which includes the complete story of the Master Chief on one console for the first time ever (“Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary,” “Halo 2 Anniversary,” “Halo 3” and “Halo 4”), including an entirely remastered version of the iconic classic that revolutionized online console gaming, “Halo 2 Anniversary.” A massive collection that lets you experience “Halo” in an all-new way, at higher visual fidelity running at 60 frames per second (fps) on dedicated servers, “Halo: The Master Chief Collection” features curated campaign and multiplayer playlists across all four games and features more than 100 multiplayer maps — authentic to their original release. In addition, “Halo 2 Anniversary” will include six all-new maps built from the ground up for Xbox One.
Source : Xbox Delivers Winning Lineup of Exclusive Games for this Holiday Season

  “Halo 5: Guardians” will be released in fall of 2015, but followers can satisfy themselves for a while from  November with "Halo: The Master Chief Collection" which puts more than a decade of first man shooter blockbuster into one disc.

Cool De Sac Singapore Indoor Playground, Suntec City Mall

Cool de-sac is a place in Suntec City where your toddlers and kids can play in relatively large indoor parks while you are enjoying a meal. We were planning to visit there for a while but we could only find chance to go there today.

Cool de sac Singapore offers an indoor playground for kids and a nice place to hang-out for the adults. Cool de-sac is in Suntec City Mall, near the overhead bridge connecting Suntec City and Marina Square Shopping center. Enterance fee in the weekend is 13 SGD per toddler between 7 months and 35 months and 26 SGD for kids over 3 years old. In weekdays, it is 10 SGD and 20 SGD. For infants below 7 months, enterance is free. 1 child entitles 2 adult entries. The place is open from 10 AM to 10 PM and these prices for unlimited access to the indoor playground for a day.

One of the most important thing for me is a separate playgrounds for older kids and young toddlers. My daughter is 16 months old and in playgrounds it is quite common that an 4+ years old hits her accidentally while running wildly around. Cool de-sac has a separate toddler area which is quite rich enough. The only problem is that this area is frequently visited by 5+ years olds who again run around and jumps on the kids so you still need to keep a good eye on your young one. And the management in Cool de-sac should do more to prevent them to go in or at least jump around in the toddler area.

The playground for toddlers is named Tots. The area is for kids under 3 years of age. Crawling babies and toddlers can enjoy playing with toys or in bubble pools.

Play Area is a large and secure area for kids aged 3 years to 12 years. There are some nice slides and tunnels. There is also another area for older kids named Tree House. These tree houses are connected with a suspended bridge and is a quite fun place for the kids.

Other than these play areas there are sections for video games, arts and dressing up (called backstage).

If you are planning to visit the place frequently, you can have a Cool Pass for $188 which entitles you for 10 entries within 6 months and discounts on food and purchased items. There is also an annual pass for 508 SGD which entitles you for unlimited access for 12 months and 20% discount on food, items and birthday parties.

Cool De Sac Singapore Indoor Playground in Suntec City Mall

Cool De Sac Singapore Indoor Playground is at 3 Temasek Boulevard Suntec City Mall #02-379/80
Singapore 038983 (near overhead bridge between Suntec City Mall and Marina Square).

The Trick Eye Museum at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS)

The Trick Eye Museum at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) is opening its doors to visitors today on June 8th 2014. And from today till June 22, ticket prices for tickets you buy at the museum's ticketing counter will be 50% discounted at $25 for adults and $20 for children and seniors.

This is the first and only overseas outlet of the Trick Eye Museum in Seoul, South Korea which was first opened to public in December 2010. The Trick Eye Museum Singapore features six theme zones (Love, Circus, Masterpiece, Safari, Fairytale and Adventure), with 80 three-dimensional paintings and optical illusion masterpieces.

The Seoul museum is located at the centre of Seoul's nouveau art hub, Hongdae, where various popular cultural events attract a stream of young art lovers. All works in Trickeye museum create illusions which allow the guests to perceive a three-dimensional object or scene. Featuring a good collection of 2D & 3D art and sculptures, the works are specially designed for photo opportunities. Consequently, these radical forms of art which require the active participation of the viewers became a draw for tourists. Trickeye has seen grown to be one of the best must-visit attractions for tourists visiting Korea.

Around 80 per cent of the exhibits in  The Trick Eye Museum at Resorts World Sentosa has not been seen in Korea says Sally Liang, Marketing Manager of Trick Eye Museum Singapore. "The Merlion piece here is one of the more unique ones created for the Trick Eye Museum Singapore."

The Trick Eye Museum at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS)

Mr Goh Chye Boon, executive vice-president of Resort Operations at RWS, said the museum is a great place for families to visit. He urged visitors to not just take photos, but to join in and interact with the exhibit as it will make the experience much more memorable.

The museum is suitable for young children with adult supervision, and even the elderly. Some exhibits allow multiple people to pose on it and the whole museum can hold up to 300 people at one time.
The exhibition is the main attraction on The Korean Strip, a mini-Korean themed 100-metre stretch. It is accessible via The Waterfront. It is located next to the Malaysian Street Food and Aston's Restaurant.

Curious case of scary looking Hougang doll

I saw this post in Ghost Files Singapore Facebook page two days ago. It showed a picture of a scary looking doll taken recently in Hougang. Apparently the doll has been used for black magic and the blindfold on it has "Allah" in Arabic spelt backwards.

The conversation and speculations soon flooded in Facebook and twitter. People started to claim that the doll was possessed and its owner dumped it there with blindfold to prevent the doll to follow her:

"So I was reading the tweets of the owner of the doll. This doll is possessed. They have found out that this doll is possessed when it moved when the owner is not around. So they bind and blinded it on a tree. Blind with the white cloth so it won't follow anyone. Interesting yet scary but the owner claims that the doll has vanished already ..."

The scary doll in Hougang looks like the famous Pontianak, vampiric ghost in Malay and Indonesian mythology. Pontianak are usually depicted as pale-skinned women with long hair and dressed in white, but they are said to be able to take on a beautiful appearance since they prey on men. So if you see this doll, run as fast as you can : Pontianak famously kills her victims by digging her way into the victims stomach by her long and sharp nails before sucking his eyes from his skull!

Scary looking doll in Hougang

Later another post appeared in Ghost Files Singapore Facebook page about the doll:

"We started something and we hope to clarify one key important point. The doll wasn't left at the tree. The owner of the doll, a young lady, has the doll with her at HOME. 

Lots of Facebook and Instagram posts about a curse and a doll wandering around Hougang. While that will make an interesting movie, it's false."

See also Dead body found in luggage bag near Syed Alwi Road.

Lost iphone in Singapore

Today we have lost our iPhone while we were travelling from Senkang to Serangoon. iPhone was probably lost when we were walking along the road from our house to the MRT station. It must have fall down from the pram or our 1.5 years old daughter had just threw it. Somehow, it has gone.

The strange thing was that when we have realized the iPhone was missing, I have called back the number and it was turned off. We were sure that it was fully charged and open when we lost it. So we have speculated that the phone is found and taken by someone (although I am quite sure that it was not directly taken from us) whos has just turned it off.

Anyway, I am writing this article to guide people how to report the lost iPhone or indeed any valuable thing you have lost. We have gone to police station but the IMEI number was not with us. The officers gave us an online address where we can lodge the report.

So, you do not really go to a police station to report a missing item. just go to www.spf.gov.sg/epc address and select report. There you will be guided how to lodge a report. To report a missing phone, you will need to enter IMEI number. This number is behind the original box of the phone. We kept the box for 3 years so we could enter it easily.

You should keep a separate note of your IMEI number in case you lose your handset or it stops working. In most cases, you can determine your device's unique identifier (or IMEI number) by dialling * # 06 # on your handset. The number should be displayed on the screen.

Dishes you should try at Nando's

Nando's delivery specializes in chicken dishes, so if you don’t like chicken then you might as well skip over their meal delivery for Singapore.

The Quarter Chicken Breast is a great place to start, if you’re not ordering for a family. Throw in a side of Peri-peri vegetables or fries and that’s probably the most popular starter combo on the menu.

Nando’s grilled Peri-peri chicken is famous for being the most succulent and moist chicken on the market. You can order your chicken to taste for level of spiciness.  Even the Peri-peri veggies are glazed in their famous zing. They arrive crisp and fresh, just like the fries.

Your customization of Nando’s famous chicken can be from gently mild to  extra hot and you can also then pick one of their famous Peri-Peri sauces of garlic and mild, to extra hot sauce. A safe bet for those who are sensitive to spicy food is the lemon & herb chicken with a side of garlic bread. You get more of an Italian flavoring, but with the hint of Nando’s famous Peri-peri chili.

Another amazing dish is the EspetadaRustica, a specially marinated chicken skewer with sides. This chicken is so juicy and succulent and tender, it just melts in your mouth with all the flavors that have marinated in it over the past 24hrs. Not only is it tasty, but it also looks just as beautiful, hanging vertically from a skewer, glazed with the Peri-Peri sauce as it cooks.  It’s packed with so much flavor and the sauce drip is captured by a bowl with the vegetable salad, giving the veggies a lot more flavor.  You can use the runoff as a dipping sauce by itself for your fries or other sides.

Once you cut into the chicken, you’ll see each piece of chicken is embedded with sun-dried tomatoes, red onions, and red chilli that adds the most intense flavor palette and zing to the chicken, your taste buds will be going crazy with every bite!

Other honorable mentions on the menu:

● Angry Mango Burger: Mango+Peri-peri chicken = heaven!
● Chicken Breast Fillet Wrap: Their signature Peri-peri chicken in the palm of your hand!
● Veggie Burgers and Pitas: Nando’s allows vegetarians to enjoy their Peri-peri, too!
● Portuguese Salad: Another taste of Nando’s heritage, not to be missed!
● Natas: A sweet Portuguese custard tart that is so rich and filling!