The Dis-Jointedzone » Trips/Adventures

Mint Museum of Toys

Optic — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 11:01:39 +0000

Getting back into my Singapore coverage, Mint (Moment of Imagination and Nostalgia with Toys) Museum of Toys is a showcase of vintage toys from over 25 countries. Even though I told myself I won’t be going to any museum while I was there, I just couldn’t walk by and let this one slip pass since it was only a 5min walk from the Raffles Hotel. In addition, I was tourist so I get a 15% discount. ^^

Here’s a brief info copied from the brochure.

Mint Museum of Toys is the world’s first purpose-built museum for toys. Showcasing an extensive collection over 25 countries, such as Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, United States and even Bulgaria. It is regarded as one of the finest in the world and the largest in Southeast Asia.

God Dam, that’s not cheap. 0_0

Overall, a place worth taking a stroll inside if you love your toys and you wanna learn a bit of history about them. You really do feel nostalgia once your inside and the best bit for tourists, you get a 15% discount. Just remember to show them your hotel key card. :)

An Unexpected Encounter with Danny Choo

Optic — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:42:55 +0000

This post is more of a continuation of the previous post, Esplanade walk and The Merlion.

As already mentioned in my previous post, I had a surprise encounter with Danny Choo at The Merlion site. I thought myself, what are the odds in meeting him in person at Singapore and before AFA09?
I knew he was here for AFA09 but to meet him in person and see a live troopering performance upfront was a real treat since I’m just some ‘random’ guy from Australia. I’m no special than any other Aussies here regardless if I’m Asian or not.

Back to Part 1 of his Trooping video, if you stop at 0:54, you can see me on your right holding a compact camera in t-shirt and jean shorts. lol
Unfortunately, cameras are not great in recording video and the audio turned out crap. In addition, it was windy that day as well so that made the audio even worse but overall, there is enough videos out there to get the idea of his dancing style.

Finally to conclude it off, a picture with the man himself. :D

Danny, if your reading THANK YOU!!! ^^d

Esplanade walk and The Merlion

Optic — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:46:46 +0000

When it comes to sight seeing and getting one of the best views of Singapore then heading the to Esplanade, located just north of the Singapore River is considered one of your best options.
Not only you get to see a great view of the city and the Singapore River, it also links up with the famous Merlion, which is a MUST SEE for anyone making a trip down there someday.

Since my schedule was tight, this walk was cut short during that day. My aim was to get a view of the Merlion and head back to City Hall but I seem to have gotten more than that. xD
For any tourists wanting to check out this unique icon, I would recommend taking the train to City Hall and follow the signs to Esplanade from there.

Esplanade -- Theatres on the Bay. Very artistic indeed.

The view of constructions everyone

There it is from a far, walking along the Esplanade Bridge

Taken from The Merlion site

The surprise of the day was seeing Danny Choo at the Merlion site. Dam I was surprised to see him in person before AFA09 and since I’m more than 6000km away from home, I find this to be a rare opportunity I doubt I will encounter again.
As many of you already know, he was in Singapore for AFA09 and I know he couldn’t pass up in doing his famous ‘trooper dance’ there. ^^

Both videos (Part 1 & 2) is already out so do check it out if you haven’t.

Part 1

Part 2

Birds at Jurong Bird Park

Optic — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:17:43 +0000

Kicking off my Singapore coverage after spending just over a week there, the Jurong Bird Park is the first tourist attraction I had a chance visit. Accompanied along with a few good mates kodomut and scorchnroses, the Jurong Bird Park is one of Singapore key tourist attractions because of it’s famous zoo of birds from around the world.

Warning: Pictures extensive

Since this post is all about birds from many different species, I will let the birds do all the ‘talking’ so enjoy. ^^

I was surprise to see penguins here

Flock of Flamingos

According to the wiki, they are Caribbean Flamingoes.

Pelicans

I feel sorry for this rooster. While all the birds are running wild, this one trapped in a cage. :(

This reminds me of the Pteranodon cage in Jurassic Park 3.

Plenty of water is a MUST as you will be walking for hours

Overall, it was an enjoyable experience and a great place to visit. There is more than enough birds to satisfy your day and if bird parks is not what you considered fun, then this place is not for you.
The pictures only show a fraction of what species they have on offer. There is literally hundreds and hundreds of different species living there and you really need to be there to experience the bird like paradise within. ^^

Singapore Loot

Optic — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 14:54:46 +0000

After spending 9 days and 9 nights in the land known as the “Garden City”, I’m certain many of you know by now (or if you didn’t know, you know now) I don’t come home from any trip empty handed when it comes to otaku related goodies. In saying that, I don’t come home empty handed from any trip even though the items are not otaku related.
As many people take pictures of the trips to serve as memories of the places they visited, I kinda use this factor as well when it comes to items I bought from the various places I’ve been too.

So without explaining, as shown above is all the goodies I bought from Singapore.
Hit the jump for a complete low-down of each item and it’s price.

Before I continue onwards, I just wanna mention all the items listed are purchased from the local shops and from AFA09. I decided to make one post instead of 2 because I didn’t purchase all that much from AFA09. As I consider myself a ‘long time collector’ in this hobby, I have started being very picky and selective in my choices. I understand it’s a natural phase now since I’ve been in this hobby for quite some time and controlling my reckless spending is a need when other priorities comes first in life.
I will make a note on the items I purchased from AFA09 so you know which items are bought from there and all prices are listed in SGD.

Figures

Figma Shamal Knight Clothes Ver.: Free
Figma Drossel (AFA): 60
Nendoroid Raspberyl: 62
Nendoroid Nozomu Itoshiki(AFA): 43.50
Banspresto’s Konata Izumi ~Alto cosplay~: 50
Last Exile Grand Stream Box by Alter(AFA): 70

Figma Shamal was a gift from the zotaku team as a ‘welcome to SG’ present. This hit me by surprise as I advised Zen to order it for me over there so I can bring it back home to save money on shipping cost than buying it online but then again, she knows how to surprise me so thanks. ^^
The 2 great buys worth mentioning is the Banspresto’s Konata Izumi ~Alto cosplay~ and Last Exile Grand Stream Box. From my understanding, the Konata Izumi ~Alto cosplay~ can go as high as 70USD from ebay and this does not include the shipping cost, so grabbing it at 50SGD without paying any other extras is a steal from me. The Last Exile Grand Stream Box by Alter is another great find as well. Originally released back in November 06, it’s literally impossible to find a complete set in the market so to get a rare chance to find a complete set at AFA was very lucky for me and I doubt this chance will ever come back so it was a MUST GET!!!. Besides, I’m a huge fan of the Last Exile series so I had the motivation all along in not walking out of the store without it. XD

Games

Agarest: Generation of War: 80
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII: 45
Blazblue: Calamity Trigger: 75

When it came to getting games over there, the only platform I had in mind was the PS3. Considering Singapore don’t stock R4 Wii games, it was pointless in bringing any back home. The idea was to find the games that are not locally available here and despite many temptations on new releases which are considered cheap over there, I remained focus and stuck to my plan and the results are shown above.
Blazing Angels 2: Secret Missions of WWII is a game for my bro as he finished the first one on the Wii. The PS3 version of the 2nd one is literally impossible to find here anymore so it was only naturally to get it for him as I like to see him do more dog fighting in the skies. :D

Artbooks

Strike Witches Official Fanbook: 58.20
Fate/stay night Premium Fanbook: 28.70

Both of these fanbooks was picked up from the Kinokuniya store. It was my first time visiting an overseas Kinokuniya store and my god it was huge. I thought Sydney Kinokuniya was big but Singapore Kinokuniya was twice as big. Apparently I got lost when I walked in but who wouldn’t for the first time considering it’s a maze inside.
So what was the motivation in grabbing both fanbooks other than the fact I like Strike Witches and Fate/stay night? Well, I don’t like leaving the Kino store empty handed. lol

T-shirt

K-On! Black T-shirt(AFA): 43.50

During my stay there, I had planned to pick up another COSPA shirt. Since the COSPA store was coming down to AFA09, I’ve decided to wait till the event before I decide. As I expected for them to bring a variety of K-On! shirt’s due to it’s popularity this year, I decided to go for the group shirt instead of Yui Hirasawa alone even though I knew it was a tough choice.
I kinda wish I got the Yui Hirasawa now since I didn’t manage to spend all of my cash over there. -_-

Miscellaneous items

Fullmetal Alchemist Metallic poster(AFA): 11
Valkyria Chronicles cup(AFA): 16.50
Studio Ghibli 2-Disc Soundtrack: 18.50

Nothing all too special about these items as they were all impulse GETS!!!. I stayed away from many posters, clear files, pencil boards and other random items as I knew I wouldn’t have any use of them when I got home. They either will go up on the wall or in a clear plastic file where I keep all of my clear files and pencil boards now. In addition, I stayed away from wall scrolls as well since I knew it was gonna be a pain in the ass to bring it back home.
Basically, I stayed away from nearly all items which doesn’t have any use to me when I got home and/or will be a pain in the ass to bring it back home. This is why you don’t see any scale figures as well. -_-

Total: 661.9SGD (~522AUD)

Overall, I’m happy in what I got and I reckon I picked up some great deals. While many thought I was spending big there, that intention never really cross my mind unless I was in a dire situation. My budget for the time I was there which includes travel expenses, food and general shopping was 1000AUD and I just passed it by a few dollars which is nothing shocking in a way.

To sum it off, I would like to thank the following people who made my trip very enjoyable and entertaining. Even though it was my first trip alone, I never really felt alone because you guys and gals made my stay very fun everyday even though it was only for a short moment from a few you. I appreciate you all in taking the time out from your busy schedule to make this happen.

And they are: Guuzen, Kodomut, M, scorchnroses, YuKi-To, Zenical, zh3us.

Last but not least, I would to thank everyone else I was able to get a chance to meet and/or talk to. It’s been great getting to know so many people and I hope I will get that chance again when I come back in the distance future. ^^

Came Back Home to a Problem

Optic — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:43:42 +0000

It’s been under 48hrs since I came back from Singapore and quite honesty, it feels good to be back. Nothing beats coming back home since after all, Australia is my home.

While I can’t wait to get back home and get some well needed sleep since I literally lost a whole night thanks to the time difference, a technical problem was waiting for me, from my return.

I was advised my computer wouldn’t turn on anymore hence it’s dead. Apparently it died on the night I flew out and while I do appreciate my bro and sis not telling me while I was in Singapore since they didn’t wanted me to worry about my dead pc, the last thing I didn’t wanted to come home to was to fix a computer problem when I wasn’t the last one who touched it. -_-

It died shortly after I took this shot. -_-

After much diagnostics and another restless night, it has come to the conclusion the PSU is dead or dying should I say since the computer will still turn on from time to time but not for long. So at this point, I began my research in looking for a new PSU and a affordable one as well since I don’t won’t to widen the hole in my wallet.

After much research, I ran out today to pickup the Antec TP 550W from MSY for AUD$136. It’s still considered a bit pricey but many of ones I wanted has already been discontinued in the market and anything over the AUD$160 mark is a no go for me. 550W is considered a good choice for a low-end system like mind since I don’t game on my pc. I do all of my gaming on the PS3 . :)
As my pc is close to reaching that 4 year mark, it get’s laggy overtime but a reboot always solves the issue. I’m just hoping to squeeze another 3 years from this baby before I throw the whole thing out. lol

Well, that’s it for now. Once again, it’s feels good to be back. I’m still suffering from jet lag so please bare with me.
Besides that, I’ve got a lot of anime and gaming to catch up before I head back to work next Monday. T_T