Best Places in Singapore - Part II: Clarke Quay

Another must-to-visit place is the Clarke Quay entertainment area. During day time you can take a boat ride that goes from Clarke Quay to the Marina Bay and back, but it is at night that Clarke Quay really comes alive as people in bars, restaurants and tapas places fill the sides of the canal. The atmosphere is truly international as restaurants from all nationalities are offering delicious food and drinks to a variety of Singaporeans, Europeans, Americans, Australians, Africans....

From the boat ride you can spot the national symbol of Singapore - the Merlion statue. The statue has the head of a lion and the body of a fish; "mer" means the sea. Singapore is derived from a Malay word that means the lion city. There are no lions in Singapore (except for the zoo of course :D) but at least according to a story a prince in the 13th century found the island with an animal he thought was a lion, so he named the island the lion city.

X Ang Moh Chick

Best Places in Singapore - Part I: Marina Barrage

This is the first post of the sequel of Best Places in Singapore. The sequel focuses on photos as I think they best bring out the feeling of the places. 

The journey starts in Marina Barrage which is a common place for especially Singaporean families to spend time during weekends, kids flying a kite and couples having their pre-wedding shoots with the silhouette of Singapore as a background. The place has a nice greenery perfect for picnic food with pleasant wind from the shore side cooling the hot weather.

The best time to go there is during weekdays, around 6pm so that you can enjoy the beautiful sunset and lights of the city centre at night.

You can enjoy the lovely breeze with your picnic food and favourite company (or book!), looking at the Singapore flyer, Marina Bay Sands hotel/shopping centre, Gardens by the Bay and other attractions.

Marina Barrage is also known for the large monument going around the entire area, forming a huge symbol of infinity.

Watching the sun set and the city lights brighten is also very romantic...

 

X Ang Moh Chick

Back in Singapore!

Sorry for the long silence! I'm back at home now in Singapore after an exhausting flight and 1,5 weeks of touring around the country with my mum and hubby. I will write a sequel of the best places in Singapore that every tourist - or local - should visit when coming here! In fact, many of the places I will introduce to you have been new experiences for my Singaporean husband ;)

 While waiting for the Best Places post, allow me to introduce my husband, the light of my life whom I've missed soooo much during the summer months. Interracial and intercultural marriage definitely ain't the easiest one I can tell you, especially as I just had to say goodbye to my mum once again :(

But isn't love the reason to exist?

Tell your loved ones you love them!

X Ang Moh Chick

Get some sun!

I know many Asians don’t really want to get tanned and there are also a lot of warnings about the harm that excessive tanning can cause... BUT tanning is only dangerous if you burn yourself or constantly keep tanning without sunscreen. 

In fact, there are numerous benefits from the sun! Sun is the reason there is life on earth, and sun has a positive effect on health. In countries where sun shines most of the year regularly (unlike in Finland!) people get flus less often and there is also less osteoporosis among the population. Vitamin D from the sun is super important for a healthy immune system, and exposing yourself to sun even 10-15 minutes can store up your daily vitamin D! In Finland when it got darker during the winter months, I always took vitamin D regularly as a supplement too. And I can tell you that, in fact, I did get sick less often! Even in Singapore I use a supplement on days that are rainy or when I’m too busy to get out in the sun for a while. Naturally the ´real thing´ from sun itself can’t be beaten.

 

In addition, sun has a great effect on mood; I can honestly tell you that in Singapore, I’ve felt less tired during mornings. The people are just looking at me like a weirdo walking outside the shelters while many women hold an umbrella over themselves on a sunny day ;)...

Of course if you spend a lot of time outside, remember to drink enough and use sunscreen.

  

I gotta go now, have some sun to catch! ;)

X Ang Moh Chick

 

 

Homemade Chocolate Snack

 

I came up with this recipe in the first place basically looking at the ingredients in my fridge, thinking of what yammy I could make out of them. As I can't eat dairy due to allergies, I wanted to try to make my own chocolate! All you need is unsweetened cacao powder (I used raw cacao powder by Navitas Naturals), oil (olive oil does fine) and honey. I added blueberries to this version, but you can use nuts, almonds, dried fruit... anything to compliment your chocolate. The chocolate is very taste all by itself too. Cacao is a good (and tasty!) source of antioxidants, iron and magnesium. Honey has tons of vitamin C. And everyone knows the health benefits of olive oil, the true superfood. So basically this chocolate is a health bomb! At least I finished mine almost right away ;)

You get about 10 large pieces of chocolate from mixing together 6 tablespoons of cacao powder, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of honey (taste the dough to add honey if needed). Add cacao or oil until the mixture is firm enough to be formed into pieces.

After the pieces are ready, place them in the freezer for a while. When you take them out, let them warm up a bit before biting, unless of course you want chocolate popcicles! The chocolate is great on a hot day, or with a large cup of cappuchino.

Enjoy! :)

X Ang Moh Chick

Yoga for beginners

This post is meant for yoga beginners or for people who haven’t tried yoga but whould like to try, or would like to know more about what it’s like. I’m a fresh beginner myself! So the poses may not look perfect, but the idea is to introduce yoga to you so that more people would be interested to try it out!

I believed for long that yoga isn’t for me – it’s slow paced, looked like stretching and I thought I would get bored and certainly would’t be challenged enough. How wrong was I! I went to a beginners class, and even though the poses were not the most demanding ones, later that evening I got back pain and my arms felt like I had done some serious weightlifting! So I got interested. It was obvious that yoga challenged my body in a way that no other exercise had done before.

In addition to the feeling that yoga actually worked on my body, I felt that it had a very positive effect on my flexibility; the poses at the same time stretch and build on body strength. There was something similar to ballet which I have practiced for years when I was younger. Not to mention the calming effect which is great during stressful times in life or work. There are numerous articles online about the benefits of yoga, so if you wish to read more, internet is an endless resource!

The following yoga pose series is a very quick and easy one – it works best as a warm up and as a mind calming exercise. Just focus on your slow, deep breathing. I had a chance to shoot this post in Finland where I’m visiting my family for the summer. Naturally doing yoga outside is wonderful but you might as well do it at home. If you do it in Singapore without a/c, I recommend doing it before you shower ;)…

1. Mountain Pose

Mountain Pose is often the first pose in a yoga class. It is done by standing with your feet together, your weight evenly on both feet, with a good posture. Relax your sholders, tighten your core. With a deep inhale, raise your arms from both sides over your head and place your palms together. Reach towards the sky and try to empty your mind.

2. Standing Forward Bend

With a deep exhale, bend down with your knees straight (not locking) and hands/fingers touching as close to the ground in front or beside your feet as possible. If you are very flexible, you can place your hands to the ground behind your feet. Remember to bend from your hips, not from the waist. Keep your heels on the ground while lifting your sitting bones towards the sky. This pose focuses on your thighs and works specifically as headache and insomnia relief.

3. High Lunge

Bend your knees so that you reach the ground with your hands, and with an inhale step your other foot backwards so far that your other knee forms a 90 degree angle. Keep the knee behind straight. Lengthen your upper body on top of your thigh in front but don’t place your weight on the thigh; your weight should be on your feet and arms. Keep your back straight in line with your back foot. Look forward. High Lunge focuses on you thighs, groins and calves, and it is said to help indigestion, constipation and sciatica.

4. Downward-Facing Dog

With an exhale, step the leg in front backwards next to your other leg. Push your weight towards your thighs so that your back straigthens and your body forms an ”A” shape. Spread your palms for better balance, and push your shoulders away from your hands. This pose is great for upper back stretching and is said to help especially in sinusitis.

5. Plank Pose

Inhaling, draw your body forward until your wrists are straight under your shoulders. Keep your body in a straight line, knees straightened. Keep your sholders away from your spine and neck. Push your tailbone towards the floor.

6. Four-Limbed Staff Pose

Firm your sholders, exhale, and lower your body parallel to the ground bending your elbows. Focus on your body being straight and your tailbone pushed towards the pelvis. Finally your body is on the ground, your legs straight and your elbows bended (as in the photo).

7. Upward-Facing Dog

With a deep inhale, stretch your legs back and push your upper body upwards away from the ground. Straighten your arms and keep your thighs firm. This pose also helps sciatica.

After this pose, you can return to 4. Downward-Facing Dog, followed by 3. High Lunge. From High Lunge you can step your foot behind next to the foot in front and move on to 2. Standing Forward Bend, and again 1. Mountain Pose. For the next round, you can repeat the poses but using the opposite foot as the backward and forward stepping foot.

Yoga is said to energize and strengthen the body, reduce fatigue and anxiety, stimulate the liver and the kidneys, calm the brain and relieve stress and mild depression, improve digestion, help in menopause and have a therapeutic effect on asthma, high blood pressure, infertility, osteoporosis and sinusitis.

For more detailed information you can refer to for example www.yogajournal.com.

Have a relaxing weekend ahead! :) 

X Ang Moh Chick

Hello readers!

I started this blog in the attempt to make both of our days, yours and mine, better, happier, more relaxed, and to share my thoughts and experiences of life. I focus on things close to my heart which make me happy, such as good food, fashion and new experiences. This blog is about whole wellbeing, and this means happiness, love, nutrition; mental and physical health all in a balanced package. This blog isn’t about the extremes, but about finding the balance in everything and learning to enjoy the small beautiful things in life.

I was born in the mid 80’s in Finland and I’m married to a Singaporean Chinese. I moved to Singapore early this year, and this blog is about my thoughts and experiences of a life here with western spices. I like thunder storms and heavy rain (not when I’m outside!), Finnish food, blueberries, liqorice tea, adrenaline rushes, animals (especially dogs, horses, pandas, turtles, my cats... ok all animals except for insects!), traveling, Italian cheeses, flee markets, starting a new project, shopping and spoiling myself. I dislike long flights between Helsinki and Singapore, days that feel wasted, fat free cheese, rooibos tea, carrying stuff, people who answer to texts two days late, wet shoes, messy hair and broken nails.

Soon coming posts will include the following: 1) An introduction to a 10-minute morning/evening yoga that you can easily do at home before/after work. The idea is to wake up gently and prepare your mind for work in the morning, and/or to relax and empty your mind after work. 2) A super quick and easy healthier (not too healthy!) DIY sweets recipe I’m in love with, 3) Tips of how to unwind during the weekend, 4) A tourist's tour in Singapore, and the way I see my new home country, and lots of My Look of the Day pics. For me fashion is about self expression and a way to easily cheer up and have a brighter day! In the future I will also be doing reviews about different products I use in the health and beauty departments. Stay tuned ;)! I'm hoping this blog will open new doors for me and give me a chance to capture my memories and spread the joy of life, thus make me and my readers happier!

I hope that you enjoy and please do let me know what you would like to read about!

X Ang Moh Chick