Alvinology | Singapore Guide Blog

Toy Story 4 is the fourth installment in Pixar’s Toy Story series, and the sequel to 2010’s Toy Story 3. It is directed by Josh Cooley (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Andrew Stanton (who had co-written the first three movies) and Stephany Folsom; the three also conceived the story alongside John Lasseter (director of the first two installments in the franchise), Rashida Jones, Will McCormack, Valerie LaPointe, and Martin Hynes. The movies stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Ally Maki, Jay Hernandez, Lori Alan, and Joan Cusack.

Toy Story 4 continues from Toy Story 3, where Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear, among their other toy friends, have found new appreciation after being given by Andy to Bonnie. They are introduced to Forky, a spork that has been made into a toy and embark on a road trip adventure together.

For those who are old enough like yours truly, the first Toy Story movie was released back in 1995, a good 24 years ago! It’s amazing how timeless the tales of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and their friends are. It is 2019 now and my son and I are still enjoying stories about them.

Asher and I caught the preview screening of Toy Story 4 over the Father’s Day weekend and we both enjoyed it very much:

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What better way to spend Father’s Day today than to catch the preview screening for #toystory4 together with my son Asher! The first #toystory movie was released back in 1995, a good 24 years ago! It’s amazing how timeless the tales of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and their friends are. It’s 2019 and my son and I are still enjoying stories about them. Toy Story 4 will be out in Singapore cinemas from 20 June. Go catch it! Oh… If you swipe on… Asher brought me to his favourite noodle place in Toa Payoh for dinner after that and ordered the dishes which he thinks both of us would enjoy. He even told me it would be value for money and that he can just order a $2 pumpkin porridge for himself to save money. #fatherandson #fathersday

A post shared by Alvinology.com (@alvinology) on Jun 16, 2019 at 8:59am PDT

Other than the fact that the Toy Story series is such a timeless classic that can be enjoyed by all ages, my other big takeaway from the movie is that toys come in all forms and Toy Story 4 is really a celebration of diversity.

In the movie, there are toys like Forky who is made from recycled material (or trash), toys won from funfairs as well as vintage toys which are more like collectible antiques. What constitutes a toy is not as straight-forward as it seems and we ought to be inclusive.

Toy Story 4 is a beautifully animated movie with an entertaining storyline and engaging timeless characters. Just like the other Toy Story movies, it is a crowd-pleaser that is set to deliver big at the box office. Without giving away too much of the plot, the ending is a surprise outcome, but an adept way to wrap up the movie series (for now).

Toy Story 4 will be out in Singapore cinemas from 20 June. Go catch it!

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The Queen’s Corgi is a Belgian animated feature film based on Queen Elizabeth II and her corgis’ friendship. The film follows a corgi named Rex, who gets lost and tries to find his way home.

As the British monarch’s most beloved “Top Dog”, Rex was an obnoxious prick until he lost track of his mistress due to a series of unfortunate events. He went on to meet a clan of dogs who engage in prize-fighting, among other events along his journey to find himself back home. In the process, Rex fell in love and also discover his true self.

This basically sums up the very typical self-discovery storyline of the movie.

Personally, the movie didn’t appeal that much to me as I found the storyline too linear and predictable. There are not many endearing traits to Rex which makes him hard to like or identify with as the lead. He was born into a royal lifestyle and ended back in luxury after suffering some very minor setbacks. Right… what a sad life.

To add to the humour, there were some scenes spoofing the current American President Donald Trump and his wife, Melanie Trump, but these two have been spoofed to death by just about any comedians or media outlets out there and the portrayals were not much more interesting or engaging.

Nonetheless, the movie would probably appeal well to pet lovers, especially dog lovers and even especially more so for corgi owners. It falls into that genre of animals and pets movies which will definitely appeal broadly to this group of audience. For the mass audience, it is reasonably enjoyable and entertaining, but you will not walk out of the cinema raving about the movie or downloading desktop or phone wallpapers of Rex and his furry friends.

The Queen’s Corgi is now showing in Singapore cinemas. Go catch it if you love animals or dogs or more specifically, corgis.

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There is a new kids playground in town and it boasts a large 18,000 square feet space. The new Kiztopia is the largest in-mall kids playground in Singapore and is now officially open at Marina Square shopping mall.

We were invited for the media preview and here’s what you can expect at Kiztopia:

Touted as an “innovative edutainment park”, Kiztopia hosts a roster of fun experiences suitable for children aged 12 years and below. It is the first kids themed playground in Singapore with its very own Intellectual Property registered characters and also the company’s first venture in Southeast Asia outside of China.

Helming the park are 11 original characters that are developed by Kiztopia – Dr. Chen, Mark the monkey, Chichi the chick, Tiger, Raby the rabbit, Bell the bear, Pepe the pig, Tina the turtle, Pio the penguin, Honey the bee, and Eli the elephant.

Each Kiztopia character comes with its own distinctive personality, profession, and story, that accompanies specific play areas within the park. The diversity found in the characters is said to help cater to the various interests of children, which could assist them in identifying and mapping out their own aspirations through play.

Kiztopia seeks to build on the concept of interactive learning through active play. The playground is divided into 18 different play areas. Each play zone is said to be designed with specific learning objectives in mind for kids to cultivate their social, emotional, and motor skills.

Building on its motto, “Play to Learn, Learn through Play”, Kiztopia has its own curated educational programmes and facilities; this includes an indoor driving school, role play rooms, Augmented Reality studios with arts and sports content, function rooms, and even its own themed café. I am not sure about the learning part, but my eight-year-old son certainly had a lot of fun playing at Kiztopia, running around the various zones and making new friends.

Expect slides – lots of slides and huge ball pits to keep kids happy and occupied. The interactive plays like the basketball simulation game and a touch-screen water game were also pretty entertaining – not just for kids, but for adults too!

For parents, one of the plus point about Kiztopia is that each admission pass accounts for the entry of one child and one adult. This is said to be part of Kiztopia’s mission to encourage parents to interact with their kids at the park and foster a stronger parent-child bond. Kudos to the management at Kiztopia for this versus charging extras. There are also sufficient rest areas for parents to hang around within the playground while your kids go wild.

To supplement the educational value of the child’s time in the park, Kiztopia has developed an extensive range of educational programmes and activities curated by a team of professional trainers. Recognising how education goes beyond textbook learning, Kiztopia will be offering a range of daily programmes and activities aimed at facilitating learning-through-play experiences. The classes are open to the public and will start in August 2019.

On top of enriching the mind, Kiztopia wants to take care of your kids and your bellies too.

Known as Bell’s Pantry, the in-park café at Kiztopia is named after the oversized bear character, Bell. The cosy café is decked out in vibrant colours and boasts a healthy, nutritional menu curated by Neil Bailey, who has had a hand in the F&B divisions of regional brands such as Hard Rock Café and Smoothie King.

The classes and the cafe were not open yet during the media preview, but they are both meaningful extensions for park attendees to have the best experience and everything taken care of within the park itself.

With more and more kids-centric attractions, enrichment centres and retail outlets opening up in Marina Square, Kiztopia’s location in the mall makes a lot of sense to draw from this pull of parents-kids shoppers.

Entry into Kiztopia is ticketed, with Single Entrance tickets ranging from $28.00 – $48.00, depending on duration of play. From now until mid-July 2019, Kiztopia is offering early-bird and grand opening promotions for all Single Entrance tickets,15-times Admission tickets, and Annual Passes.

Kiztopia also offers event and birthday party packages that allows families, schools, or organisations to host events within Kiztopia’s own function rooms.

Address:

Marina Square
6 Raffles Boulevard, Level 1,
01-09, Singapore 039594

Email: hello@kiztopia.com

Opening Hours:

Sunday to Thursday:
10am to 9pm

Friday & Saturday:
10am to 10pm

Transportation: 

Drive: 
Pick-up / drop-off point at Level 1 along Raffles Boulevard.

MRT:
City Hall MRT Station, Esplanade MRT Station, Promenade MRT Station

Bus:
1N, 2N, 3N, 4N, 5N, 6N, 36, 36A, 36B, 56, 70M, 75, 77, 97, 97E, 106, 111, 133, 162M, 171, 195, 195A, 531, 700A, 857, 960, 961C, NR1, NR2, NR5, NR6, NR7, NR8

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Imagine walking along the street along a well-used and familiar canal in your neighborhood. You know that the water’s dirty and that trash is expected to be there in the form of paper bags or plastic items. Then you notice it’s dirtier than usual, and that the plastic rubbish in it are numerous, floating and funny-shaped–wait!

According to a Facebook post, a canal in Bangkok was seen to have innumerable floating condoms and condom wrappers in a canal. The post was made by Facebook user Nai Pan, who says that he noticed the used condoms on the way home.

From the post above, you can see that the length of the canal is practically teeming with used rubbers and their wrappers. Here are photos of the canal:

This is not simply a case of one or two contraceptives floating to the surface after being disposed of guiltily.

They actually line most of the canal!

A closer look reveals really disgusting details that we’re sure you didn’t want to see.

It’s still good to know that a lot of people know how to use contraceptives, even if they don’t know how to dispose of them.

If you think about it, whoever cleaned this mess up did it without the payment from the hotel. Poor cleaners.

According to a report, the condoms came from a cleaned-out septic tank from one of the nearby hotels in the Yai District. Usually, the contents of the septic tank would have been disposed of properly as these are considered biological waste, and the hotel said that they had never encountered this problem before, with their biological waste being disposed of in a different manner before this.

The hotel in question would allegedly most likely be the West Inn on Charan Sanitwong Road. Hotel officials said, though, that the disposal of the stuff in their septic tanks aren’t their responsibility, as the pumping is outsourced. So if these used contraceptives came from the septic tanks, then used condoms are just one of the nasty thing in that canal water.

The hotel officials also said that the cleaning company was tasked to remove plastic waste from the septic tanks every few months. There were five septic tanks, and the hotel was usually charged around $800 every six months to do the task.

“We’ve never had this issue before, but the hotel will take responsibility and be charged for this, for the evidence very clearly points to them,” Bangkok Yai district office director Karuna told the media.

Since the used contraceptives came from a septic tank, these must have been flushed down many of the hotel’s toilets. According to Columbia University, flushing rubber contraceptives down a toilet can clog plumbing and even finally make its way into our water supply.

Experts say that the best way to get rid of rubbers is to wrap them in toilet paper and throw them in the proper trash receptacle. From the looks of the canal, not a lot of people know how to dispose of their used contraceptives.

Further reports say that as of June 16, the canal has been cleared of the debris and the fine has been paid.

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Rainforest Lumina has returned to the Singapore Zoo! 14 June 2019 marked the start of its second season, with various zone enhancements from last year.

Created by award-winning multimedia entertainment studio Moment Factory, Rainforest Lumina blends the sights, sounds, and scents of nature with the latest in light, projection, and audio technology. As visitors navigate the 1km long trail, virtual animals appear in interactive storytelling elements where they work together to overcome challenges.

The magical, multisensory night-walk seeks to convey the message that humans and nature are interconnected, and that each has a vital role to play in sustaining life on earth. This is the central theme of Rainforest Lumina—We Are One.

Rainforest Lumina runs from 7.30pm – 12am each night, after the Singapore Zoo animals retire for the day. The last admission is at 10.30pm.

General admission is S$18 for adults and S$14 for children, students, and senior citizens. Guests who purchase tickets online can enjoy a 10% discount. Also, visitors to any Wildlife Reserves Singapore day parks (Jurong Bird Park, River Safari, Singapore Zoo) need only top up S$10 to complete their wildlife experience with Rainforest Lumina.

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CBD folks now have a Japanese premium gourmet option for lunch. GOCHI, which just opened at Capital Square on 13 June, offers six different Japanese food concepts, ranging from Japanese heritage food brands to modern day treats.

Making their local debut are conveyor-belt sushi chain Chojiro, Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant Pronto, unagi specialty restaurant Unaemon, and frozen fruit bar Paletas.

Leading luxury confectionery and chocolatier Morozoff and Hokkaido’s No. 1 soup curry eatery Suage round up the line-up. Morozoff sells fine chocolates, best-selling cookies, and cream cheesecakes. Suage will cater to the busy lunch crowds with an express counter at GOCHI.

Location: Capital Square, 23 Church Street, #01-02/08
Opening hours: Monday to Sunday, 11.30am – 9pm

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AirAsia is having its BIG Sale now! From 17 June 2019 to 19 June 2019, book your tickets on their site or mobile app for travel between 1 November 2019 and 8 September 2020.

5 million promotional seats are up for grabs with all-in AirAsia BIG Member promotional fares from as low as SGD50 for flights to Penang, Langkawi, Kuching, Miri, Kota Kinabalu, and Phuket, or from just SGD59 for flights to Bandung, Bali, Yogyakarta, Chiang Rai, and Cebu.

You can also get to Chengdu, Taipei, Osaka, Fukuoka, Seoul, Perth, Honolulu and many more with AirAsia’s Fly-Thru transit service via Kuala Lumpur from as low as SGD134.

Plus, guests get free flights with a flights-plus-hotel holiday package! For those booking separately, there are discounts of up to 50% on selected hotels and up to 30% on selected activities.

AirAsia BIG Members who have saved their debit or credit cards (including DBS or POSB cards) to BigClick will enjoy zero processing fees. They will also be able to redeem promotional seats for as little as 500 BIG Points on the BIG site or mobile app. Terms and conditions here.

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Over 45 pre-schoolers from Global Mindz Eden Preschool gifted their toys during a visit to Children’s Festival 2019 at Gardens by the Bay today. They were participating in a toy donation drive that is being held in conjunction with the Children’s Festival, which runs till 30 June.

The toy donation drive builds on the community element of Children’s Festival, an annual free event at Gardens by the Bay where children gather for an enjoyable time with family and friends amidst nature.

Children’s Festival hopes to foster community spirit where visitors are encouraged to bring along new or pre-loved soft toys, play sets, board games, and sports equipment, to the toy collection point at Supertree Grove. The toys collected will be gifted to some 300 children under the care of The Salvation Army, TOUCH Community Services (TOUCH Child Care), and Food from the Heart, at the end of the Festival.

This year’s Children’s Festival at Gardens by the Bay sees the transformation of Supertree Grove into a colourful carnival filled with family-friendly games and activities, inspired by Buzz, Woody and the gang in an all-new Toy Story adventure.

The event is made possible as part of the three-year collaboration between Singapore Tourism Board and The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia to provide unique and fun experiences at Singapore’s attractions and precincts themed around Disney’s popular stories and characters.

Admission to the Children’s Festival is free. Visit here for more information.

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When you ask kids these days what they want to become when they grow up, you’re likely to get answers like an astronaut, a YouTuber (yes, that’s a thing), an F1 driver, or even a makeup artist. For Dr Ganesh Ramalingam, his dream has always been to become a doctor. His passion for helping others through medicine was born when as a kid, he used to look up to the way his family GP was always able to heal him and his family members when they got sick.

As Dr Ganesh Ramalingam got older, he developed an interest in surgery and now works at the G&L Surgical @ PanAsia Surgery as a specialist in bariatric, gastrointestinal and advanced endoscopic/laparoscopic surgery.

Much of his day-to-day work involves laparoscopy and endoscopy. Laparoscopy specifically, is also often referred to as “keyhole surgery” because it enables surgeons to access the insides of their patients by making small, low-risk incisions instead of large and unsightly cuts.

That way, doctors get to see what’s inside the patient’s body and potentially spot diseases early. Plus, because it’s a small incision, the patient’s recovery time is significantly reduced.

When asked what his advice would be for someone that wants to stay healthy, Dr. Ganesh Ramalingam is clear in his answer: moderation is key. This doctor’s prescription for a healthier life involves exercising restraint and avoiding overdoing anything, whether it’s food, treats, alcohol or work. Yes, Dr Ramalingam lists stress as one of the major hindrances to health that most people have to deal with, and the best way he fights stress is by playing football with friends, spending quality time with family and writing. Exercise and rest are also important and pretty much anyone can stay fit these days according to him.

Interestingly enough, Dr. Ramalingam has always believed in temperance and balance, a philosophy which has served him throughout his life. At the age of 17 he played for the national team in the 19th Asian Schools Football Tournament in China, and then straight after high school he was recruited by the National Service as a Commando.

Dr. Ramalingam is obviously passionate about his work and often advises his patients and people in general to get a colonoscopy or gastroscopy screening on a regular basis. It’s a non-invasive procedure that most patients feel super relaxed throughout because of the mild sedative that’s administered. In most cases, no abnormalities are found but when they are it’s usually still early enough to fight by using simple treatments.

Although he’s a surgeon himself, Dr Ramalingam is the first to point out that surgery is not some magic silver bullet. There’s the recovery process afterward which is different for everyone.

Also while bariatric surgery can help obese patients lose weight, they still need to work towards adopting healthier lifestyle habits so that they can keep the weight off and reduce any risk of developing certain diseases.

At the core of Dr Ganesh Ramalingam’s work is his desire to help people and that’s where his passion lies. As a result, part of his future goals include spending more time doing medical aid volunteer work and even taking part in overseas missions.

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Generally speaking, business loans are designed to provide funding for a business to go through a rough patch or to expand further and boost their sales volume. If you are looking for the best business loans in Singapore, then you’re in luck. Singapore business loans are now simplified. With some support and guidance, you can now quickly and easily find affordable business loans, which are certainly going to come in handy to meet your business financing needs.

However, it is a good idea to learn about the different business loan options in Singapore before you make a decision. Each type of business loan in Singapore has its own features, so here’s a list of the different types of business loans in Singapore to help you make an informed decision.

This is the most conventional type of business loan. A term loan is offered over an extended period of time (usually up to 5 years or even longer). A business term loan is usually a good choice if you are looking to purchase assets that are sure to generate income over time, provided that return is higher than the loan itself. Whenever the overall return is higher, the loan is worth it.

Asset financing is another type of business loan that is commonly used to purchase fixed assets. These loans are normally secured against the asset that is being purchased.

Cash flow can be a very tricky issue for many businesses. Your clients or customers may pay for products and services at an unpredictable rate. That’s why some lenders are willing to provide cash in exchange for a share of outstanding invoices. The borrower is required to give up a certain percentage of the outstanding invoice amount, but if the cash flow is particularly low, this business loan can be a great option for you. In some cases, the lender will even offer to recover the unpaid invoice amount on your behalf.

Businesses which manufacture goods or trade products face certain challenges when starting new ventures. Suppliers will require certain guarantees that contracts will be paid in full, but payments for the end products might release long after the project is completed. Providers can offer trade financing, usually in the form of guarantees to your suppliers. This can help your business to overcome the issue of how to pay for supplies & find a good business loan in Singapore.

Banks and other financing institutions might be reluctant to offers loans to small businesses since, in their view, the risk involved is more than the amount of money expected. However, there are many private providers who are willing to offer micro loans to such businesses. Such micro loans can help your business to overcome cash flow challenges or to fund stock or equipment purchase. The fact that lenders offer unsecured loans and ensure a simple application process is another major advantage.

Equipment financing enables SMEs to buy important pieces of equipment that are vital for the business on lease or hire purchase. This enables them to overcome cash flow challenges to ensure the smooth running of the business.

Businesses can guarantee their property held for working capital to grow their business. A type of secured loan, the interest rate is particularly very cheap for property loans.

There are numerous types of business loans in Singapore and the best one will be the one that suits your needs and offers a low interest rate. If you want to compare all of your business loan options, https://loanowl.sg offers a list of loans that are ideal for business owners.

All the recommendations are thoroughly researched and listed based on the provider’s market scope and reputation as well as the rates and requirements of business owners, so you can make the best decision for your business.

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