It’s the time to renew my passport again~ Even though we can’t travel abroad for now, it’s better to renew it when you can. As a foreigner living in Singapore, passport is somewhat needed as well, for instance for the transaction on your bank. Since we are in covid period, there is a protocol that we need to follow before we can renew our passport. They have limit on how many people they can serve in a day to avoid getting too crowded, so we have to make an appointment online at their website.
Website
Clicked on “Daftar” then pick the date and time. After you’re done, you will get the confirmation email.
Documents to be prepared : Old passport, Singapore Identity Card (IC), Form Perdim 11.
Make a copy of passport and IC each on A4 paper. Also don’t forget to buy a smartpac (small) at post office. Put your address detail on smartpac envelope.
Fee for passport renewal is $35, cash only at that time. I didn’t know this so I didn’t bring any cash and had to go elsewhere to withdraw money first. I wonder how they don’t use non-cash payment for this.. when other services are encourages to be cashless, our passport renewal still need cash payment.
Anyway.. on the day of appointment, I came there 15 mins before the time. Reported to the security and was asked to show old passport to the guard. He then gave me a visitor tag and a queue number. Mine was A91.
The queue number was at A60 when I entered the building. That’s a lot! I waited until they called my queue number. It took around 40 mins before they finally called my number. I went to the designated counter, submitted form perdim 11, old passport, copy of old passport and copy of IC. The officer asked me if I have smartpac. Yes I did, so she gave me a new form to fill out and sign. It’s a disclaimer form that they are not responsible for the delay of delivery or if the package is missing on delivery.
Once I signed and submitted all the form, I waited again to be called for photo taking and finger prints recording.
This time, I didn’t wait for long and they called me. I went inside a small room on the left. Got my photo taken and my finger prints recorded. It’s quite fast. Next, I just need to pay the fee at the cashier. $35 in cash only. So really make sure you bring cash.. or else you will have to find nearby ATM (which is not that near) to withdraw money. Like me 😦 It was quite troublesome.
The new passport was sent to my house around 3-5 days after. And I love my new passport! Every page has different picture and they are all uniquely Indonesia ❤
That’s my experience in renewing my passport here in Singapore. Hope this helps! Thank you for reading 🙂
Two weeks ago, I passed by the National Museum of Singapore (NMS) on a bus on my way to Somerset area and I saw the installation of Doraemon on their front yard! They were still preparing but I could see a lot of Doraemon statue in many poses. I’m not a hardcore fan of Doraemon but still it made me excited somehow. Maybe because I grew up watching him on television every Sunday morning. Two weeks later, which is today, I decided to visit the museum by myself. It was an impromptu decision because I was not in a good mood and needed refreshment.
It turned out to be a good decision! When I reached the NMS, I saw a lot of people at front yard. At first, it kind of turned me off to see so many people there on Thursday afternoon, but I continued walking into the main building. Since I’m not Singaporean nor PR, I have to buy the ticket to enter the other exhibitions. The Doraemon photobooth and ourdoor area are free admission though, also the exhibition on basement. So, I didn’t buy a ticket. I just need to see the Doraemon (and take photos, of course). Besides, I don’t think I have enough time if I went around the whole building and exhibition. It was already late afternoon and they are closing at 7pm.
Anywhere door at the entrance
The guy at reception was very nice. He let me know where to go (and make sure I don’t go to the paid exhibition lol) to the photo booth. I went straight behind the staircase and saw the Time Machine exhibition! There was a queue to enter the restricted area. I wasn’t sure if I wanna queue, since I already took some photos from outside and I didn’t have anyone to help taking my photo.. but I saw the queue was not bad, so I went ahead and stand there. It took me maybe about 10 minutes and it was my turn already. They called up about 8 people each time, to enter the area.
There are only 2 exhibits there. The time machine with Doraemon on it, with background effect that made it look like moving forward. The other one is Dorami, his sister. I took some photos of them and didn’t plan to get my photo taken, until someone asked me to take their photos. Chance!! I asked them for help in return 😀 And voila! I got photos with both of Doraemon and Dorami. Happy me~
Time Machine
Dorami
There’s nothing more to see there so I went outside of NMS to the front yard. Did the safe entry on the entrance to exhibition area, then started taking photos of the cute Doraemon. Sometime I got lucky to find someone to take my photo too! There was a closed area where we couldn’t go in because they were doing maintenance (or maybe still installing more Doraemon).
Safety Protocol
Lastly, before I left, I queued to take photo with the famous door of Doraemon, Anywhere Door (or Doko Demo Doa in Japanese). It’s also my favorite Doraemon’s invention! I could go every where with that door, especially during this covid situation.. Okay, back to happy thoughts.. happy thoughts.. I asked someone to help me take the photo. It was hard to take photo without someone on the background but I think this is good enough.
Overall it was a great exhibition. There were not many things to see for the free admission though. I’m not sure whether they still have another exhibition for Doraemon inside (need to pay the General Admission Ticket for non-Singaporean and non-PR). From the website looks like there is something else.
Tip before you go there :
Wear a cute clothes, and mask (because mask is needed at all time)
Bring someone else to help taking photo of you (and of course, you help them too). If you go there alone (like me), you can ask for help from the stranger next in line, but make sure to clean up your phone and hands afterward.
I think it’s better to come early in the morning, or even late in the evening, to take photo with Anywhere Door. Less people around is better. For other part of exhibition, coming as soon as the museum open is maybe a good idea too.
Most likely I’ll visit it again next time with a friend (and this time I will go to the paid exhibition area), but before that I need to think of another pose for the Anywhere Door! Any idea? 😀
This is it! My first time doing outdoor adventure. I’ve been wanting to try it out since I was in Indonesia but didn’t have the courage (and chance). So, when Pris asked me to do Forest Adventure, I was very interested (and scared on the other hand). I don’t like high places so I thought this would be challenging, but I REALLY wanna try it.
The place is in Bedok Reservoir Park. We made an appointment for 10am session on Friday and we had to be there 20 minutes before. I took MRT to Bedok Reservoir MRT Station, met Pris there then took exit B together. From there, we walked toward the park, did the safe entry and tried to get to Car Park A. It’s easy when you found the car park. Just follow the sign.
Forest Adventure Bedok
After done with the safe entry for the place (the previous one was for the park), we went to the counter and bought the ticket. 2 Grand Course tickets. Each S$50. I was hesitating for a bit before I paid for the ticket.. A lot of ‘what if’ were happening in my head. Then I thought ‘What is the worse thing can happen up there? I won’t fall cos the rope should be very strong. This is Singapore, where the safety is upheld. Maybe I could get injured. Or.. maybe I could faint.. (and embarrassing myself). Okay, I can do this!’ And with that I paid for the ticket. Kachink! Then the cashier gave me a paper armband with initials.
Armband with initials
We both brought a backpack and it’s better to leave it down, but we didn’t want to just leave it out there on the bench. There is a locker right at the entrance that we can use. It can be used by inserting a new S$1 coin. We didn’t have the coin so we tried exchange it on the cashier. To use the locker, insert the coin in the coin slot, put all the stuff inside the locker, close the door then lock it. There’s a rubber band on the key so you can bring it on your arm. We only took the water bottle out and put it on the empty table. All set, and we were ready to go.
After waiting for a while (not long though, just until the other group finished with the briefing), a lady asked us to come to her and put the rope on us. Wearing a comfortable shoes and clothes is a must. I wore a easy-to-dry t-shirt and a yoga pants so it would easy to move around. She, then, explained the do’s and dont’s stuff when we’re on the track. There was no other people who needs a briefing other than us, so it felt like a private tour 😀 She was kind and thorough in explaining everything. I asked her ‘what if I can’t finish the course?’. She smiled and said ‘don’t worry, you’ll be fine’. I wasn’t sure actually.. really lol. I couldn’t sleep well the night before, also a bit hoping that it’s gonna rain so it’s cancelled.. Yes, I was THAT scared. After she finished the safety briefing, we had a chance to try putting the pulley on the track and using it also how to use the carabiner on the Amazon bridge (crossing platform using only a piece of rope to stand and another one to hold onto) and mini zip line (which I turned around and landed on my bump).
Grand Course – Forest Adventure
The armband was marked on ‘I’, for completing the Introduction, and the next one was ‘G’. It stands for Green, which is the easy track. For this course, we have to follow the track all the way to the end. There’s no ‘easy’ way. On the next level, there’re some obstacles that has an easy alternative, so you can choose which way you wanna go. But not this one, since this is the easy course. Pris put her pulley on the track, followed by me. She has done something like this before so it’s good to see her go first and watch how she does the obstacles.
The obstacles that are steady, like stepping between blocks, are easier. The real challenge was everything hanging on a rope, because they were all very shaky. I had a hard time starting the obstacle with nets, where I had to move between nets that are hanging separately. It was scary because.. first, there is no surface to step on, only knots and rope. Second, whenever I tried to step on it, felt like…sinking! It took me a while until I finally manage to land on the first net. But after I got used to it, it was actually the same as the other hanging obstacles, just more shaky. One thing I realized was I needed to use a lot of core muscle to move around between obstacles, to keep the balance. Some of the obstacles also need upper body strength. Not too much though, as I don’t have much strength either. So if I managed to do it, I’m sure you can do it too.
It took us about 1 hour to finish the easy course. The last obstacle was ziplining through water to the end. I need to learn how to keep facing front when ziplining! It always made me turn around and landed on my bump. Although… I think it’s safer than landing on my legs..? (Based on the speed of my landing on the sand).
Grand Course – Forest Adventure
There is no time limit to finish all courses. I watched on Youtube, on average people finished them in 2.5 hours, but you definitely have all the time to do it. They didn’t rush you at all. You can take a break between each course, then continue taking the next level course. We sat down after finishing the easy course, drank our water and just resting. The next level is red line, medium level. I didn’t have any energy nor courage left lol. It was unexpected (by me) that I could clear it. And that already an achievement for me 😀 I decided to drop out, didn’t continue to the next level, especially after I heard about the jumping obstacle on red line. It’s on the start of red course, where you have to jump off the platform, swing to the big net across, grab the net on first try (if possible), then climb up to the next platform. But actually, you can opt for the ‘easier’ route which doesn’t include jumping. Still didn’t do it. I was already tired. Should exercise more to strengthened my upper body and core muscle!
My friend, Pris, did it. So I decided to take photos and videos of her doing the medium level. She finished it around 1 to 1.5 hours, I think. And we both were very hungry by that time, so she didn’t continue to the last level. Hmm at least she did 2 courses. Better than me..
After experienced it myself, I can share with you on what to wear or bring (also for my own note for my next trip). Here they are!
Wear a comfortable clothes, pants and shoes. Next time should add half gloves and arm cover. We hold on the rope so much that it’s good to wear gloves, but half-gloves is good enough just to cover our palm. The arm cover is to protect our upper arm from rubbing the rope too much. There are some obstacles that can be easier if we hold ourselves on upper arm / armpit. And it can be hurtful after a while. Or.. you can also wear a long sleeve / half sleeve t-shirt instead.
If you want to bring your phone up there, it’s better to use a small crossbody bag. A belt bag would be too bulky and make you harder to move on tight spaces.
We can take off our mask when we are on the course, but need to put it on right away when we’re done. It’s good to have an extra mask on your bag that you put in the locker. Because the one that we wear before the course will be dirty and wet by the time we finished the course.
It’s okay to wear watch if it’s securely locked and not easily detach (like mine..). My smartwatch was almost fell when the band suddenly detached while I was moving between ropes. That was scary! So maybe next time better don’t wear it.
Wear contact lens, if you can. I usually lazy to change my glasses and wear contact lens, but for this activity I did it. Wearing glasses is okay actually, but when you’re sweating sometime the glasses also dropping on your nose, and it can be annoying when that happen.
Mosquito repellent. Always a good idea to keep away from mosquitos so I might get it next time.
Sunblock. It’s an outdoor activity, so better put some sunblock before, even when it’s not sunny.
That’s all! I had fun and will do it again next time. But first, I need to exercise my upper body and core muscle 😀
For more information, please check out their website.
After procrastinating since December 2019, we finally went to see the exhibition Disney: Magic of Animation at ArtScience Museum. The exhibition will last only until 29 March 2020 so if you haven’t visited it, you better do it soon. During this period, however, they will limit the time to 30 mins per visit to avoid too many people inside at the same time. When we were there it was empty so we could enjoy it with no rush. In the end, we spent around 1 hour inside the exhibition.
Steamboat Willy real life size
Mirror mirror on the wall
Snow White
Classic dwarf drawing
Pinocchio
Aww love this pic of Pinocchio
Fantasia
Dumbo
Bambi
Cheshire Cat
Sleeping beauty castle
Lady and the tramp
101 Dalmatians
101 Dalmatians Storyboards
Draw your Disney character!
Wonderful arts by the visitors
The Jungle Book
Story Sketch The Jungle Book 1967
The Little Mermaid
Beauty and The Beast
Beauty and The Beast Figurine 1991
The Lion King
Mulan
Mulan
Interactive Game with Mulan Movie
Big Hero 6
Moana Digital Arts
Wreck it Ralph
Frozen and Frozen 2
From drawing to animation
From drawing to animation
Frozen 2
Souvenir Shop
I hope you guys enjoyed the photos. Stay safe and stay home if you can. We need to stop the spread of the virus.
It’s end of August! Which means the time for mid-autumn festival. I’ve been looking for information about the event this year (only yesterday actually 😅) but couldn’t find anything.
Today, I went to Vivocity to collect my ezcharm from Golden Village (GV) cinema. I’m not familiar with the mall layout and ended up at 3rd floor where I saw a sign about VivoCity’s Curious Adventures and it is about Alice in Wonderland lanterns!! I walked excitedly to the SkyPark and there it is! The lanterns 😍
I was there from 5.20pm to 5.30pm. Didn’t take too many photos because I thought it would be better if they are on. I left the park and continued with my original plan. Go to GV cinema. Once I’m done, I had dinner in one of the resto there. The whole time I was eating, I was contemplating between going home and waiting for the evening sky. After further consideration (and some suggestions from my friends), I decided to wait until it’s dark (or at least until the lantern is on. I went up to the SkyPark again around 6.30pm and sat near the pool.
At 7.00pm, they turned on the lantern!! Soooo pretty ❤ I only have my Samsung phone with me and the first few shots were not that good because all I can see is the lights inside the lantern individually, not as one whole object. Hence, I switched the mode to Pro mode. There I could set the ISO to 100, and set the apperture so I could balance the lights. And voila, here they are :
Since I was there already, I decided to wait for a little while until the sky darker and took another round of photos. Still using pro mode on Samsung phone.
This mid-autumn lantern will last until 22 September 2019 at VivoCity Mall. If you want to visit, come at or after 7.00pm when they have turned on the lanterns. There is another event as well related to this Wonderland, you can read more here.
Where to go for my next mid-autumn lantern obsession? Maybe Gardens By The Bay!
Thank you for reading. Happy shooting the pretty lanterns 😉