GoPro-ing Orchard

The hotel we stayed in was right at the edge of the main shopping district in Singapore, the famous Orchard Road. What better way to do the field test of the new GoPro than to take it out shopping.

With limited time on my hands, I had to plow on and learn how to use the camera practically in the fly. As I mentioned, i wasn't expecting much at the start. I got more than what I bargained for.

Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant somewhat hidden in the end of the streetWaiting for lights to turnCelebrating the Year of The DogsI spent most of the time taking photos rather than videos. I then noticed that the battery needed managing. Good thing I bought an extra battery from the off.

Weather was great. I only managed half the way down the street, turning back at the Apple Store. I also noticed that the shutter lag cost me a few shots. The learning curve was steep.

Pigeons The GoPro can't cope with the wide dynamic range and flaresAt least the weather was gorgeous

There is always time for ice-creamI really loved the wide angle fish-eye effect coming from the lens. The deep blue from the capture also caught my eye. It had problem handling the highlights though - it tended to have a blue tinge to it. The dynamic range was also limited in earnest. I had to carefully pick my angles, which could be tricky when capturing wide angles.

The lens also had issues with flares - another thing to watch out for when a opting into the sun.

A happy cellist heading for a spot on the street to buskThe architecture was a mixture of many cultural elementsMore shopping malls

Plenty to learn. And plenty to enjoy as well.

Apple Store Singapore

Apple opened their first official South East Asia store in Singapore. Located right at the heart of Orchard Road, the store proved quite tricky to find. Yes, there was the big Apple logo at the front of the building - typically an all-glass facade - but it proved difficult to spot.

Ironically, I had to use Waze to find it.

The main entrance to the storeWhat was there? Nothing special actually. The only item which caught my eyes were a portable printer, connectable via wifi where you could print directly from the phone wirelessly.

It uses heat to print, so there were no need for ink. Unfortunately I didn't have time to explore the device. It uses a disposable cartridge for the prints, which may be tricky to get hold of in KL.

The unmistakeable symbolOn the retail floor. Yes, the staffs were wearing red.They displayed the usual fare but nothing I wouldn't be able to find back home. But what was unique about the store was the upper floor. To get up, you would use the gorgeous stone staircase, at each end of the store. That was where they had an open space, used for events and product discussions. I had to queue to get upstairs and decided to give that a miss.

I ended up coming out of the store without spending a dime. Frankly, there was nothing there which I craved. Maybe next time ...

St Regis Singapore

I really made an effort to get there. Anita had a good deal booking into one of the suites at the hotel. It would be such a waste of we let it passed. Especially when everything had been paid for.

Arriving at 4 am meant that we wasted a day's stay. But still checking in was straight forward and we declined to be sent up, opting to make our own way there. Straight away we ordered some food - more like a super early breakfast for me.

A quick shower and I was already in fairy land. I was really tired. The bed and the shower were just amazing.

The main lobby. Rather quite in late morning.The next morning, I woke up for some omelette as a second breakfast. The breakfast in the room were part of the package of you opt against going down to the café. Limited selection but in mornings such as this, it was priceless.

I spent the next day walking with my camera while Anita did some exploring in the hotel. The Butler we were assigned to confirmed our booking for the Night Safari later in the day while I had an afternoon nap.

The exterior looked unassuming Time for afternoon teaWe got back from the safari at 11 pm, straight away into the shower while the boys sat in the bath. The next morning, we had a proper breakfast by the pool - again amazing food.

Even though our stay there was short, it was enjoyable. I would definitely recommend it although the pool at Marina Bay Sands was hard to beat. The location being near Orchard Road was a plus if shopping was part of the plan.

Should I have more time, I would've sampled the pool. Maybe next time ...

Friday Prayers at Orchard

During my recent Singapore overnight stop, I had the chance to visit one of the mosque there for Friday prayers. It was only a 10 minute walk from the hotel we were staying and the timing was just right as we were going towards a lunch recess.

The mosque, called Masjid Al-Falah stood right behind a Holiday Inn hotel in the middle of Orchard Road, the main shopping district in Singapore. It was at a simple building, only marked with some simple letterings. It was already crowded when we arrived, and we got a spot on the upper floors where the Muslimah usually attend.

The toilets and the absolution area was clearly marked and conveniently placed. And this being Singapore, they were spotless.

Impressive. The whole setup was great. The sermon was in Malay and the subject matters were straight to the point and easy to digest. None of the political connotations we were preached to in the mosques in KL. Towards the end of his sermon, the khatib then switched seamlessly into fluent English in summarising his talk.

We could do with some of that back home as the mosque I went to in Gombak had a large Yemeni and Somalian community attending.