Dongguan, China

This is my 3rd business trip to Dongguan, China and my 1st in taking some pictures. I managed to steal some time in between meetings to capture some photos.

We stayed at the Dongguan International Exhibition Hotel. The hotel is given a 4-star rating. I would not rave about its breakfast selections but given the hotel rate, it is an extremely comfortable stay. With its extensive amneties and toiletries, packing your luggage is less a hassle. Bath foam, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, sewing kit, comb, shaving razor and toothbrush are readily available. The place is new therefore, the rooms are clean enough to my standards. At least, we are able to sleep on the pillows without having an extra layer of our own pillow case without conjuring images of previous drooling customers.


One of my favourite places within the hotel is their huge display acquarium in their lounge. The acquarium is proudly inhabited by a few sea turtles as well as a few sharks.

A sleepy turtle who has just woken up:

A turtle going for a swim:


We also managed to travel to the city centre and spent time drinking coffee and eating cakes at Merci Cafe in Dong-Cheng. The cafe is quaint, surrounded by pretty pots of plants and flowers and reminds me very much of an European cafe.

Pulau Ubin, Singapore

The visit on the 26th April to Pulau Ubin was a fresh nice change from my weekly shopping routine. Upon reaching the Changi Point Ferry Terminal at Changi Village, you can take a tow boat to Pulau Ubin. The cost of the ticket was only SG$2.50 per person only. The ride was nice and breezy with occassional splashings of water from the sea.

What can you do at Pulau Ubin? Some people opted for fishing at the jetty. Since Pulau Ubin has a few quarries here and there within the island, some people fished at those places too. Nevertheless, the quarries are not accessible by the general public, there were warning signs for tresspassing and fine for tresspassers could set you back by SG$1,000.

Alternatively, you can rent bicycles to ride with your family or friends. The rental of the bicycle is only at SG$2.00. The rental of a couple bicycle is SG$8.00. Keep a watch out for mosquitoes though. It is advisable to bring mosquito repellant along with you on the trip. These jungle mosquitoes are starving for fresh blood. There are also some stray dogs around the island and they could be chasing you. However, the dogs look pretty harmless.

Of course, you could choose to eat at the seafood restaurants. There is a "First Stop" seafood restaurant and one of the more popular restaurants. However, we chose to lunch at the restaurant which is further in from the jetty. This restaurant has a good view of the sea and we enjoyed sitting by the seaside and enjoying the light breeze. Other than seafood, they serve a good soya-sauced braised pork. If I am not mistaken, the pork is from wild pig or boar which is rare in Singapore now. Other than the pork dish, we ordered a steamed whole fish with black bean sauce, stir fried clams and noodles. The bill came to about SG$80.

Nevertheless, it was a pleasant trip to be able to enjoy some time being closer to nature especially the sea.