Earth Hour Singapore 2011

It was a much hyped event here in Singapore so not wanting to be left behind we visited Marina Bay yesterday . For all those people who are wondering what exactly is earth hour here's brief history . The earth hour first took place in Sydney in 2007 organized by WWF ( world wide fund for nature ). Since then it's become a annual event being held during march end with more and more countries participating every year . The earth hour lasts for one hour with all major buildings pledging to switch off lights and reduce power consumption for that period .

Now the 100 $ question does it help ?? In my opinion not much . How will it matter if we switch of the lights for one hour and then indulge back in over consumption .

But on the brighter side it helps in raising awareness that we as individuals should do something to take earth hour beyond mere one hour time .We went to Marina Bay yesterday at 8 pm and were eagerly waiting for the earth hour which was supposed to start at 8:30 pm .

There were many events going on at marina bay that time . There was an open concert and the famous light show coming from marina bay sands resort . From below pictures it's clear that there was a over consumption of lights just before earth hour .



And this happens daily . Well I guess Singapore needs to have these kind of attractions , it's one of the major tourist destination .

Exactly at 8:30 the street lights went off . The place where we were sitting was dark except the lights coming from the neighboring food joints . The lights were still on there . As far as the major buildings are concerned the Maybank started a countdown at 8:30 and switched off it's lights than . The neon lit logo however came off only after 10 minutes .Other buildings soon followed but nothing was dramatic . Marina bay sands had still lights on , and from the end where we were sitting we could see the Chanel logo still shining brightly , at least they could have switched off that bill board . We waited for 20 minutes in a hope that all the lights will be turned off , but nothing happened . I guess not everyone wanted to take part . Nevertheless it was nice to see some effort being made by
certain people .

Before

After

We waited for around 15 minutes from the start of earth hour to see complete darkness but that dint happen so we left the place around 8:50 .

Now the most important thing how can a individual contribute to this noble mission in long run ? We do the following on our part

• Switch of lights when not needed
• Shut down pc everyday in office
• Take public transportation ( this one because it's cheap and best mode of transportation here ) .

I hope each one is you is doing there bit to save earth .

Thai Delight

If you are a foodie then Singapore is the best place to be.Singapore is a multi -cultured society so you can see people from all parts of the world.You can find cuisines like French,Italian,Japanese,Chinese,Indian,Thai,Vietnam, Indonesian ,Malay ,Arabian and Indian in almost every corner of Singapore.

Naveen and myself are vegetarians so half the fun ends there.We have not even tried the ever prominent Chinese food here because of the limitation they have.There is hardly anything vegetarian available in Chinese cuisine and we never bothered out to venture out of our comfort Indian food zone.


But today was different.My colleagues decided that all of us should meet up outside office.We zeroed in on a dinner in a Indian restaurant .When we went there we came to know that the restaurant has moved out from there. We dint wanted to go back empty stomach so all of decided to try out Thai food.

The restaurant is called Mai Thai and its in Holland village.The street has many different restaurant offering variety of cuisines all lined up on one side. We decided to sit outside .The dimly lit candles provided a great ambiance .


For starters we had tom yum soup,fish cake (of course I dint' have this),spring rolls,mango salad and deep fried tofu.But the winner clearly was tom yum soup.I was not aware that Thai cuisine is very spicy.Th soup was nothing like I ever tasted before.It is spicy and lemon ish and it contains all kinds of vegetables-small tomato ,lemon grass ,mushroom,and some green leaf (this were the only ingredients I recognized !!).We were already impressed with the starters.
Pineapple rice


The main course was pineapple rice, Parsi noodles both veg and non veg version,Veg gravy consisting of fresh tofu and chicken gravy.The pineapple rice is awesome.The rice is served inside a half cut pineapple.I am not sure what spices they put but its very different from the pulav that we are so used to having.


For deserts we had sliced mango served on sweet sticky rice and tapioca dipped in coconut milk.It had right combination of sweetness and healthiness. I have already become a fan of Thai cuisine and will be going there again over this weekend with Naveen .

The whole food experience has taught me one thing there are so many things out there that we hesitate trying.From now on I am going to be bit adventurous and try out different cuisines .The next on the list would sweets near arab street. I heard they have lots of variety there.

But my new found enthusiasm doesn't mean I will step into the un known zone of non vegetarian food.I still don't understand how can people eat the stuff they eat with specific reference to octopus and all other sea food.

For all people like me I would like to say come out of your comfort zone and you will be amazed at nice tasty surprises you will stumble upon.