Best Posts Roundup!

This blog has been around since November 2003. In just a few months’ time, Sparklette would turn 4!

Yet it was only a year ago that I started taking my blogging seriously. Blogging whatever I wanted simply wasn’t good enough anymore. I decided that what I wrote should provide value to my readers. In other words, it should be something worth reading!

With that in mind, I spent more time and effort in planning and penning each post. I took more pictures. I gave more thought to my words. Eventually my readership grew to 2000 unique visitors per day, with more coming in each day.

Many of you started following my blog only recently, and there are a number of interesting posts from the earlier days that you may not be aware of. That’s what this post is for – to summarise the most interesting and noteworthy posts I have written over the years! I hope you would do me the honour of going through some of them!

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travel

When I was still a struggling undergrad, I travelled solo a lot. I have travelled with family, friends, lovers, and I find that the most fun I’ve had are still the times when I went alone. I value my freedom and independence way more than anyone can imagine. Of course, I blogged about all my experiences!

• Bangkok, Ayutthaya & Kanchanaburi – it was my first time going on a holiday all by myself! In Bangkok, I befriended the Thais, watched Muay Thai boxing matches, and rode motorbikes! I even took a train to Ayutthaya, a former capital city of Thailand, to see the ancient ruins. In another province, Kanchanaburi, I stood upon the infamous Death Railway, looked death in the eye and snapped a picture of a train heading directly towards me! That was the most amazing experience!

  

  Daily travelogue – Pick a day: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8

• Hong Kong & Macau – for my 21st birthday, I bought a trip to Hong Kong as a present to myself, and stayed at the swanky 5-star Le Meridien hotel! Unfortunately the trip was a badly timed one – it coincided with the monsoon season! On the very day that I turned 21, I took a ferry ride to Macau to gamble at the casinos! Macau was beautiful!

  

  Daily travelogue – Pick a day: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5

• Bali – for this trip, I stayed at the Contiki Resort. All expenses were fully paid for because I was there to review the resort! I stayed in a fabulous pool terrace room where I can walk directly into the pool! Too bad I can’t swim! Hahaha! It was a short but very magical and surreal experience. I hooked up with a cute blonde Aussie guy (he’s a cop!), visited ground zero of the Bali bombings back in 2002, and did a couple of bungy jumps (both forward and backward)! Awesome stuff!

  

  Daily travelogue – Pick a day: 1 · 2 · 3

The excitement, challenge and adrenalin rush in going solo cannot be understood by someone that has never done this before. The people I met and things I experienced wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t gone solo! Okay, I realise I have yet to go on a solo trip this year! I might do it in December. Ideas, anyone?

Some of the posts I wrote received more eyeballs than others. A few even made it to tomorrow.sg, a highly popular local metablog. Now, THAT sure gets everyone’s attention!

• Not using protection – I wrote a long article on why I’d rather not use protection. Many people agreed with me!
• My $2 pledge – I started a pledge to give $2 to every elderly person that I see collecting used drink cans for a living. These people are too old to find work. Most of them no longer have family. To make things worse, they are normally ignored by society. $2 buys them more than a meal – it shows them that we care! This is my most commented post to date. I was also interviewed by the flying dutchman on channel newsasia’s blogTV program.
• Boycott Bee Cheng Hiang – for selling badly burned bak kwa (grilled pork jerky) to consumers during Chinese New Year just to make a quick buck. Highly unethical and unscrupulous, and even more unacceptable, especially coming from a highly reputed company. Disappointing!
• Best (& Worst) Restaurants in Singapore (2006) – for all the restaurants that I have visited in Singapore in 2006 alone, I compiled a list of the best and worst ones, and gave each one a little trophy! Haha! I even made up several categories such as “best service”, “best design”, “best hawker stall”, etc. Several readers have used this as their little foodie guide!

• My baby kitten – I took in a newborn kitten that had been abandoned. I fed her milk, bathed her, and watched as she opened her eyes for the first time, learned to walk, and grew stronger and bigger day after day. I loved her so much!

  Pick a post: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6

• International Museum Day 2006 – I went to four museums in a day! It was fun! Photo galore!
• Kurt Wenner – his illusionist art is breathtaking! Luckily for us he came down to Singapore and drew live at the National Museum. I had the privilege of taking a picture with him!
• Living with passion – I wrote down a list of things that may make life worth living. I’m still trying to live up to my own words.
• Cute polar bear cub – a series of photos and video of Knut, the adorable polar bear cub that lives in zoo berlin and has won the affection of millions around the world!

• Only in Fairy Tales… – a write-up on the background of this blog design.
• Ripped design – my blog design was blatantly copied by another blogger, who has since shut down her blog after I published this particular post.
• Featured on Smashing Magazine! – this blog design has been listed as one of the “45 fresh, clean and impressive designs” by smashing magazine, a highly visible and prominent design website. Hooray!

Well guys, I can’t believe it took me this long to come up with this roundup! I sure hope this is useful! From now onwards, I should start doing roundups like this on a monthly or tri-monthly basis, to highlight certain posts that may go unnoticed by new visitors.

For now, do enjoy these posts, and keep reading!