Apart from experiencing the flood, we also visited one of the wonders of the world; Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat means 'Temple City'. Like it's name, it's the state temple in Cambodia and the country's prime attraction. It's also the world's largest religious building catering at first to the Hindu religion, then to the Buddhists.

It was raining when we visited all the temples, so we got to see Angkor Wat in a different light. Angkor Wat is HUGE. It's surrounded by a spectacular moat and it was simply amazing on the inside. Walls with carvings that are perfectly chiseled, each panel with a different story to tell.

The visit was also very special because the Ta Phrom Temple was used as a location for a scene in the movie Tomb Raider. As a film student, I felt very fortunate to be able to visit a famous movie location.

I shall leave you to the pictures now and let them do the talking:

Here's a ticket that you'll need in order to enter all the temples in Angkor Wat. They snap your picture and print it on the spot. Really cool souvenir.

The moat surrounding Angkor Wat.

And it was raining...

Stone carvings on the temple walls; Khmer soldiers marching to battle.

Such detail in the carvings..

Our tour guide for the day, Mr So Hun

Steps to go up and see the other side of the temple.

We saw this pretty lil darling on our way.

It was already flooded when we came.

Ta Phrom Temple

How efficient...

Can you spot a smiling face?

Faceless temple God.

Gates to Angkor Thom.

Spot any elephants?

A temple guard at the Bayon Temple. His head and part of his leg was stolen. So they replaced his leg. His head, I'm not so sure if he's going to get a new one..

Carvings of Muslim Soldiers

The Smiling face of Buddha.

There was a photoshoot going on while we were visiting.

This place is great for hide-and-seek. 

After the rain...

It's like a boardwalk through the temples..

Replicate statue of Buddha right there, with the golden yellow sash. The real statue was stolen, unfortunately.

That would be all for this post. If you're interested in checking out other pictures of Angkor Wat, drop me an email! Stay tuned for my other posts about Cambodia! 

Til then! Toodles, my noodles! 

Hey you! Have you heard of the Arts Fiesta?

If you haven’t, just know that you’re in for a treat! Our various performing groups will be showcasing their talents outside Munch, and at the Student Plaza. These mini performances will be on 24, 27, and 31 Oct, as well as 2 Nov.

Here's a sneak peek of what happened at Munch! There was a performance by the Contemporary Dance Club and other performing groups.

Members from hip-hop dance club New Revolving Age (NRA) were also selling tickets for their performance, The Carnival Act, which will be held on 4 & 5 Nov 2011 at the University Cultural Centre at NUS.

There will also be more ticketed performances by some of our performing groups, like the NP Voices, Indian Cultural Society, Concert Band Club, Chinese Orchestra Club and Contemporary Dance Club at the new MusicBox@73.

NP Voices Club's recent concert, Grandioso IV. (Photo credit: Lee Zhi Xiong)

What will they bring to the stage at this upcoming performance? )

The best part? All proceeds from the ticketed performances will be donated to the President’s Challenge 2011. You get to enjoy performances while doing your part for charity!

So grab your friends, and support the Arts Fiesta 2011! More information can be found here!

NRA Dance Club, formerly known as New Revolving Age was first founded in year 2000, with a crew of 8 members. As of now, their strength is about 300. THAT is how much this club has grown.

When the term grown is used in here, it's more than just in numbers. It also includes the definition of them growing physically, mentally, and most of all, growing together as a club.

One of the things NRA focuses on for their members in the beginner classes would be "getting the basics of the basics right". By that, Mohd Sophan Ng, Principal of the club means, "getting them down on the floor and getting their body frames right". The next fundamental would be, isolations.

Isolations, would be the moving of parts not done in daily life. In this case, chest and hip isolations.

"The basic trainings will last for about four to five months, and if they are ready, they'll move on to the next level," added Sophan.

After the basic trainings, there'll be choreography for the students to learn, and they never fail to have fun during class.

Trainings aren't the only things that these passionate dancers do. They participate in competitions as well. Some of which include the annual Suntec Dance competition and the Impressario Competition. Members can either choose to volunteer to join these competitions themselves or are selected by the trainers to form into a team. 

Sophan highlights, "When we pick people to join the competitions, we look not just at their abilities, but their characters as well. Person A may not be as well-trained as Person B, but if we see that he tries harder than the latter, we'll give him a chance to let him join the competition, hopefully it drives him to his maximum potential."

Danzation the event is synonymous to NRA. This event is a channel for current members to have their fair share of experience on the stage. It mainly serves as a platform for the members, to see if they have the tenacity to train under extreme conditions.

Danzation was supposed to be held next year, however, it has been pushed to 2013 so that it will be held in conjunction with Ngee Ann Poly's 50th anniversary.

Something I personally like about NRA, would be their fashion. Bright colours is a norm and colourful and pretty dance kicks (shoes) would be a plus. An example would be:

If you're looking to join NRA, be sure to join their auditions when they open up next year! And, fret not if you're worried about whether you can dance well or not, because this is what Sophan says:

Photo courtesy of Shane Chong and myself.

"We're looking for people who are willing to move; willing to go all out. The audition is their one-time chance to get something they want. It's not so much on whether they can or cannot dance, but more of whether they try their best and give it their best shot."

Started by three Ngee Ann students, Poshism is an online fashion community that marries fashion journalism and shopping in one. It allows users to upload their outfit ensembles onto the site together with where each piece was bought from, and also garner ratings for their look.

The founders behind it - Felix, Chester and Edwayne tells us that Poshism was started in hopes of providing a platform for people to express their own sense of fashion and for them to leave their own mark in the fashion world.

"We decided to start Poshism to introduce a fusion concept to Singapore. Ultimately, we feel that fashion needs to be shared. It is actually a good platform to inspire people to find their own persona and individuality", Chester emphasizes.

With Singapore breaking into the Top 10 list of Fashion Capitals in the world, Poshism could not be introduced into the local scene at a better timing.

"Despite the fact that the fashion industry is not at its peak in Singapore, and local designers lack the support and capital to grow and develop - the designers in Singapore definitely have great potential," Chester said.

Below are some of the looks that users uploaded:

Uli Chan's Summer Brights

Street Docs' On The Street with Suqin

Kenneth Geekface's Moves Like Jagger

Felix Loo's shot of Iskandar

Street Docs' On The Street with Liza

As long as the picture does not violate Poshism's policies, it will be featured on Poshism. Users don't have to worry about whether only certain styles of looks are accepted because Poshism doesn't seek to look out for certain traits in looks, because they strongly believe that everyone has their own fashion sense and how one expresses their individuality. Instead, they let users rate the looks that are uploaded.

With this being a fashion feature, what's a little fun without finding out what are the styles of the workers in Poshism?

Chester: My style when it comes to dressing up? It's definitely comfort first. If you're asking me about my daily wear, I'd prefer simplicity.

Cory: My style varies greatly day to day mostly based on my schedule of activities for the day. I have some days where I go crazy with my outfits but nowadays I'm leaning towards a more classy feel to them. Simple but chic.

As for Felix, his style ranges from classic wear to punk style.

As you can all tell by now, fashion in Singapore is definitely an industry with lots of hidden potential. And Poshism just proves to be a platform that helps anyone and everyone who are interested in the fashion industry to bring out their best. So if you're itching to start or pad up your fashion/photography portfolio, join Poshism today and start uploading some looks!

The holidays are here and I was at the Singapore Art Museum for the Night Festival. This year, it's called Voyage Night Festival 2011, and quite a number of exhibitions/installations play around with lights (also because that's a theme)!

One of the them includes 'Passage Illuminations', where the whole building is lighted up with different colours at an interval of 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, another colour will be lighted up as well, so the overall feel would be a kaleidoscopic display of light and shadows.

Another installation known as 'Le Parking en foile' (Parking Mad), makes use of Volvo cars parked in front of the Singapore Art Museum (SAM). The cars flash lights from their windows at different timings and it almost seems as though they're conversing with each other!

Other interesting ones like 'The Cloud' and 'Curiosities' also added to the beautiful lightings and colours in the night.

An interesting exhibit I made into a .gif:

Besides all the lighting fun, there was a huge installation, and I mean HUGE because of the space it took up. It's called 'A Dozen of Those'. It basically has 12 large, red helium balloons, each held by a faceless brown figure (which immediately reminds me of Domo-kun) sitting on a brown boulder. When you enter the Museum, you get greeted by this sight and it's just simply astounding(in a nice way of course).

Last but not least, one of the most memorable thing I took away from the Night Festival is this mini kopitiam. Daniella Beltrani's 'The In-between Food Court', was quite the hit because it was the only place (or so I know) that sold food (exclude the shopping malls because they're not part of Night Festival and they don't open past 12am).

They served simple local delicacies like Satay to Mee Rebus and Kueh Lapis. And what better drink to accompany these than our favourite Bandung?

I had a little talk with her and got to know that the reason why she suggested this idea to the artistic director of Substation, was because she just wanted somewhere where people can eat. Because when people eat, they relax.

She was better known as the "ang moh waitress" that night basically, this stand alone project she made was just this opportunity for her to interact and chit chat with her customers. If you think that's all, you're wrong.

Ms. "Super!" (her favourite catch phrase) also took instaxes of her customers, wrote their names on it, and then stuck them onto herself.

"It's a way of remembering them, really. Once this is over, I'll put all the pictures together and give it to the Substation. I feel that interacting with people is really important to people because these encounters we make, happen in everyday life as well," said the 'Walking Memory Bank', a title a customer had given her.

So that's what I did for the holidays so far. Tell us about the crazy things you did during your holidays!

If you've been keeping up with the latest campus hype, you'd know that C'ING 2011 has been running for 7 weeks, from late May to mid July. And the final concert took place on 7 August at the St. James Power Station!

C'ING 2011 (pronounced "sing") was organised to encourage the creation and composition of good, original music that's uniquely Singapore. It also aims to get people to appreciate the Chinese language through music. To run the campaign, the Chinese & Media Communication students who conceptualised the event had even set up their own productions company known as JIJ Productions.

I'll leave you with pictures of the artistes who showed up to perform!:

The Mainworks

Black Forest

Nic Lee from MiLuBing

Teresa Tseng & Jim Lim

Shuang Zi Zuo

The winner of C'ING 2011 was Nelson Tan! He took home cash and prizes worth over $2000, which included a music production course as well a publishing contract with SOMA Productions and Publishing and Universal Music Publishing Group.

Top honors goes to Nelson Tan (second from left) and his "Growing Up".

The team behind C'ING 2011 - JIJ Productions: Jessica Shen, Zhou Jingyi and Isaac Lim.

Ms Sim Ann, Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Law also showed up!

Jessica presenting Ms Sim with the token of appreciation.

Pictures courtesy of C'ING 2011

Check out the pictures from the local music showcase, CHANGE:

Just few weeks back, Schzm,

a company formed to promote the local arts scene, held an event at the new seventy3.

That event, is known as CHANGE (CH▲NGE).

What is CHANGE? Basically, it's part of Schzm's effort to help raise funds for the Red Cross Society Singapore. They invited local artists to perform, and in doing so, fans bought the tickets (which goes into the donation) to support their favourite stars.

Now, would you look at that long queue over there?

Before the event started, I walked around to find familiar faces, and indeed, I managed to!

Fellow blogger Dyan was there! (Despite being sick, he still turned up to support one of his favourite bands.)

To kickstart the event, our school's very own bboys, MnM, did their 'thang' and that got the audiences clapping!

This is cool, but kids, do not try this at home! LOL.

After which, Sixx came on and they definitely rocked the house down with their wonderful performance!

Aarika, female lead singer of Sixx.

Kevin, the rapper of the band. The two were so good I don't even-

Then came along Stopgap, a band consisting of mostly Ngee Ann's students/graduates.

Lead singer Adin lightened up the atmosphere once in awhile with his jokes.

Calvin does the acoustic-like guitar playing, while

Grayson did all the funky groove-to-the-beat strumming.

A performance from Ingride

ShiGGaShay with his awesome rapping…

till the point the audience moved from the back of the theatre to the front:

YouTube sensation Inch Chua came on too and I believe everyone at the theatre went speechless. She was just so good that words can't even describe her talent!

Inch's soothing voice touched the hearts of everyone.

The representative from the Red Cross Society Singapore thanking the audience for their support

The Schzm Team!

Photo credits: Chua Hanbin

It is one thing to spend your life behind your computer and television screens watching a peculiar yet brilliant star's rise to fame, and a completely different thing to experience the brilliance live in concert. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am one of Lady Gaga's devoted Little Monsters(her affectionate name for her loyal fans). 

After Singtel announced that Lady Gaga will be in town for her Born This Way showcase, my heart bursted at the seems, nervous and excited all the same. Nervous, due to the very fact that only 2000 people will be admitted into the showcase and that the tickets had to be earned, and will not be available for sales.  I have already missed her during her first two visits here and in the course of waiting, she has gone on a completely new level of recognition. Thus, my conquest to earn Gaga karma points began, participating in everything Lady Gaga related, in hoping that the universe would kindly reward me with tickets to the showcase. True enough, I won myself two tickets through Singtel's Little Monsters Go Gaga competition. 

Photo credit: SuperAdrianMe.Com

A still from my 1 minute Judas dance performance. Check out my D.I.Y Poker Face mask. 

The day finally came on the 7th of July, along with some of my close friends from Ngee Ann, we made our way to Marina Bay Sands Convention Hall, only to find that there are already so many people ahead of us. 

Here are some photos of us, while waiting for our entry into that coveted space for 2000. 

I adopted her hairstyle from during her 'The Fame' era coupled with the eye makeup from the Judas music video.

Joey and Matthias, both students from the School of Film & Media Studies, all decked out in eyeliner and black lipstick.

On the left is Chua Hanbin. He is a Year 2 student in the Diploma in Business in Information Technology. He was our photographer for that night. 

Channeling our inner superstars right before we were allowed into the hall. 

Our hearts became one with the other Little Monsters even before the showcase began. While waiting patiently, the fans decided to chant her songs to hype themselves up. After about half an hour of waiting, the doors were open and we were allowed into the Expo Hall. We had to wait some more, while Micheal Jackson songs were being played. That half an hour wait was probably one of my most nerve wrecking moments ever.

We got excited at the mere movements of the curtain, sights of vaguely feminine shadows as well as the occasional appearances by a middle aged Caucasian man. I bet the man(most probably the Stage Manager) felt like a complete superstar during his brief appearances. There was finally progress when The Muttons came out to hype the crowd further and in a matter of moments, the curtain dropped to reveal a woman's silhouette in a red lantern. This was no ordinary shadow, it was Lady Gaga's! 

The crowd roared in exhilaration. I, was gasping for air. She looked so beautiful in person! 

She started off with Born This Way, before before taking us back to the past with her first single, Just Dance. She sounded different live (in a very good way!), making her own melodious modifications to the way the songs were originally sung. She maintained interaction with the audience by integrating simple hand movements into her choreography as well as frequently asking them to jump with her. 

Little Monsters, with their signature "Paws Up". Could you spot me? I was four rows away from the stage!

After going for an outfit change after performing Alejandro, she came back in a dress, heading straight to her piano. She pressed a few keys, and chatted with the audience, sharing with them her insecurity. "People always say nice things to me, but I have only been around for 2 and a half years". She continued her succession of notes, before belting out one of her latest singles, Hair. 

Lady Gaga, tearing up, halfway through the second bridge of the song. 

It felt so surreal to be able to see Lady Gaga shed tears on stage. Hair, is an anthem about being free to express who you are. She was very touched by the fact that even though the single was out only three weeks ago, we had all learnt the words to it and meant every word of it. "Thank you for learning all the words in just three weeks, you crazy kids". 

She moved on with You and I, before performing her hit singles like Telephone, Bad Romance and of course, her latest, Edge of Glory. She headed out to backstage one more time before hitting us with her most controversial single, Judas. 

Judas was the crowd's favourite! I could feel the floor shaking underneath me, no kidding. 

She was elevated into the air at the end of Judas, leaving us wanting even more. 

It was only after everyone on stage got into a line and gave a bow, that the harsh reality of it all being a showcase hit us. The Little Monsters, however, waited, even until the stage hands came out to clear the set. Though she performed 10 songs, she left the show ending on a climax. The only thing left to do was to leave the place and start waiting for the Born This Way Ball in 2012. She promised her Singaporean fans that Singapore will be one of her stops for her World Tour next year. Before I go off, here are some photos from the after party. 

A photo of us, featuring Khairul Ikhwan, one of the Little Monsters, recently featured in Stomp and The New Paper for his brave outfits.

Joey, taking a rest after standing one and a half hours in eight inch heels!

A lucky Little Monster, who had her card touched by Lady Gaga. 

Matthias, trying out the wig. 

Joey, with prominent Little Monsters. On her left, Lauren Brodinette, well known for her Born This Way jacket. On her right, Luke Idham, the multi talented performer. 

Behind the crazy costumes and controversial songs, Lady Gaga inspires many, especially her little monsters. I hope this inspires you, "Do not allow people to dim your shine because they are blinded. Tell them to put on some sunglasses, because you were born this way!"- Lady Gaga.

All the best for your future endeavours and always, always remain true to who you are. 

Performing arts CCA group, Stage 52, recently presented their theatrical masterpiece known as The Guilty Ones at the Musicbox Theatre housed in the new seventy3. Set in the 1920s, the musical tells a tale of unlikely lovers and their struggles:

Synopsis

John, a businessman, along with his brother, Sam, are looking to buy over The Black Cat, the town's most famous club. However, The Black Cat's owners refuse to let go of their family business and resist the brothers' offers.

Things take a twist as John first falls in love with one of the club's singer-barmaids, Emma,

only to have the same thing happen with his older brother Sam.

Relationships are questioned, friendships put to the test, and the line between right and wrong becomes blurred.

With tradition, family, and love on the line, The Guilty Ones brings to light the complexities of the human relationship and the moral battles that come with them.

Here're some stills from the show:

Hariz Imran as John, the boy who two-timed girls because of his indecisiveness.

Tiffany Sandrasegeran as Emma, the barmaid who falls in love deeply with John.

Alessandra Cory Marcelo and Ievan Darwin Haikal as Lola & Frankie, two of the diva dancers from the Black Cat.

Frankie with the girls from the Black Cat with their stunning performance.

Mohd Nooradzuan as Sam, John's brother, who rapes Emma in the show after being overwhelmed by jealousy.

The workers at the Black Cat mourn for Emma's death (due to the failure of her abortion) at her memorial.

Fellow blogger Dyan Hidayat (second from left) was in the show as well! He was one of John's friends, along with Ryo Yamamoto.

Director of the show, Joshua Brandon, along with club president Dionel Desuzer during curtain call.

The cast and crew of The Guilty Ones!

Pictures courtesy of Joel Lee

"We're trying to break the stereotype that art is something you have to spend money and time on. You don't have to understand it. You don't have to interpret it. You just have to enjoy it," says Rebecca, one of the founders of the Facebook group: "Art Kaki".

What inspired a group of 4 girls: Skyler Tan, Yam Shi Lee, Adina Ang and Rebecca Liu, from the Arts Business Management course of 48 students to start the Facebook group, was basically the idea of encouraging Singaporean Teenagers to attend art events and performances.

"Art Kaki" ("Kaki" translates into "friend" in the Hokkien dialect) is a little guide or friend on Facebook that introduces people to the art scene through regular event list postings. With the ongoing Singapore Arts Festival (SAF), the girls are hoping that they can garner as much attention as possible to these events through the social network site.

Art Kaki's logo, designed by Rebecca herself.

Introducing the Founders:

And that, would be Rebecca Liu for you.

Shi Lee stops to enjoy the breeze that windy day.

Skyler in her any other regular day, having picnic.

Adina is the girl with the big smile, in blue hoodie.

Shi Lee explains, " We want Art Kaki to be something that's simple and easy to comprehend. For now, we're trying to get people to head out to watch Macbeth."

Poster for the Macbeth performance that's on-going now.

The Facebook page for Art Kaki has at least 60 likes now!

When asked about the future of Art Kaki, she says, "If it's a success (after the SAF), we'll continue the group in the future as well. Hopefully we can last for at least two months. " However, the main focus now is "to make it easier for people to give [them] feedback so [they] can measure the success rate of Art Kaki."

As this project of their sets out to actively publicise local art events through social networks, the more people attending these events would mean that they're on the path to success.

"Hello everybody, please go and like our page! Don't be shy! Go ahead and comment :D

The last question posted to the girls was this: If there was a slogan, what would it be?

Rebecca laughs, "You and Me and Art Kaki!" *Pokemon tune*