Saturday, August 27, 2011

Up close and personal with Terracotta Warriors

I have not been to China, so this trip was like a movie trailer for me. And going to museums and seeing ancient artifacts is like Disneyland for me just without the screams.

During my Primary school days, my ambition was to be an archeologist. However, having such a petite stature, which would not help me to fend off evil treasure hunters or bad ass guards of hidden artifacts and strength to dig secret burial grounds or hidden cities. And it doesn't help that I am bad with memorizing history facts.

So I decided to settle to being a frequent patron to museums, reading Egyptian books and watching History Channels. And you can imagine how the THE MUMMY PART 1, 2 and 3 (though part 3 was sucky, but anything to do with archeology would intrigue me) was such an indulgence for me. 




After lunch, took a slow stroll to the museum.

Walking through the history of Singapore at the Esplanade park....

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The Cenotaph 

The inscription at the base reads:
"They died that we might live."


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Each step marks the year of suffering of the 124 British soldiers
who gave their lives in World War 1(1914-1918)

I salute you




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Life goes on


The future influences the present just as much as the past.
Friedrich Nietzsche



♥ 




Entering the galleries

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 LIFE AFTER DEATH EXHIBITION: An installation by Justin Lee


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Terracotta Warriors: The First Emperor and His Legacy




All the artifacts presented have seen through the years of the history.


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 Moving on to other galleries .......








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Entering the history of Singapore once more....






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Can you spot me?










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Feeling all satifisfied with my feast for historical appetite


I headed down to Esplanade for a nice snack.







A picture that behold a special meaning for me that day


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Esplanade hallway exhibits








Visit the Terracotta Warriors Exhibition
Asian Civilisation Museum 
1 Empress Place
Singapore 179555

You might like to visit this month of August its going at $5 per entry, and thereafter, it would be back to $8.

The whole exhibition would last till 16 Oct.





Thursday, August 18, 2011

Magical Crystal Ball

Photo Credits: Trish


In the past, during medieval period, sorcerers, gypsies, fortune tellers uses it to look into the past, present and future.               









The magical appearance with its mystical powers and secrecy tempts you to lay your hands on it, and test it.











Yet, the magic of crystal balls doesn't stop here.........










I do admit he resembles alot like Edison Chen... 
haha but he definitely have more fun with something else here.



Love, Ariel



Thursday, August 11, 2011

Marie France Bodyline (Part 3- final)- Getting my dream bodyline


Three weeks ago, I started working with Marie France Bodyline to REGAIN my toned, healthy and shapely body silhouette.

Yes, that's right, to REGAIN, MAINTAIN and SUSTAIN my figure.

photo taken just last year
Any treatment can only help to reduce one's fats temporarily. In fact, the real hard work starts with the maintaining. And the most important part of maintaining is learning to eat healthily.






The nutritionist is Ms Jin Fang, whom you can see is very slim. With her sweet smile and amicable demeanor, she made me feel at ease immediately . And I couldn't help but notice her certificate on the wall, which of course proved that she was well certified to recommend me a healthy diet.



Jin Fang: What do you usually eat for meals?

Ariel: I eat anything and everything!

*Jin Fang's eyes open EXTREMELY wide, and she tries to maintain her composure.* 

Jin Fang: okay, let's start with lunch. What do you typically eat for lunch?

Ariel: I love duck noodles. Especially, drumstick! OMG! Best if it's accompanied with dumplings. I love chicken wings as well. Sometimes, I would gorge on drumsticks or chicken wings for break time, and for dinner (I just knew dinner was next, and so I answered that as well), I feast on rice with soup. Especially potato soup. If possible, I will also have an otak as a side dish. Oh, I also love prawns cooked in all ways....(I continue going on and on)

*Jin Fang stops short, raises her hand, and smiles.*

Jin Fang: Okay! That's good to know, Ariel.


Okay, the conversation is a little exaggerated.
Jin Fang: I guess we need to work on your diet.

*I chuckle sheepishly.*

Ariel: okay

She advised that I need to start eating fruits to detox and to help with digestion. Fruits will also help burn the fats at the tummy. She also suggested eating yogurt with cereals (sounds pretty yummy!), which is highly recommended because it's filling and low in fats.

She then showed me a list of food that estimates the amount of fat each category of food contains, and suggested that we should aim to take below 30 grams of fat daily.

Here's an example from my typical day food intake and how much fat it contains.

Breakfast: 2 slices of Rasin Bread      1-2 Grams

Lunch: Fried Hokkien Mee               30 Grams (dammit)

Dinner: Pan Pizza Supreme (3 slices) 12 x 3= 36 Grams
                                         TOTAL = 68 Grams of FATS!!!!!!

Yes, this is a typical day for me. Usually when I am out with friends, I would really eat all of types of food. And it doesn't help when I have a boyfriend that loves to savour many dishes as well. Hahaha. 

I noticed that in the list, the top five evil culprits for FAT contribution are:

5th in place: 26/29 Grams : Chicken Rice
4th in place: 30 Grams : Fried Hokkien Mee
3rd in place: 32 Grams : Nasi Lemak 
2nd in place: 38 Grams :  Nasi Briyani Mutton, Fried Kway Teow with cockles
And the 1st in place:  drum rolls....... goes to ..........






Indian Rojak!!!! with 48 grams of FATS!!!!!


Now that I know what food I should avoid, I must admit it's really tough. As a blogger, I am sometimes obligated to taste food, so well, I guess, there must be a balance. So I've decided to watch my diet and ensure that while I may not meet the target every day, at least over each week I should not cross the boundaries. Oh, I'm also going to start eating more fruits.






After evaluating my needs to reduce the fat areas on my abdomen and also on the arms, my consultant decided that I should undergo the Lympathic Therapy and Massage.

So here I am getting ready for my very first treatment. I was brought to a small changing room, where I could store all my belongings and a key was given to me for my safekeeping. They also brought me a hot cup of water, just to make me feel welcome and comfortable. Finally I was given a comfortable changing robe and slippers to wear.



The interior of Marie France is sophisticated and yet relaxing. It feels like a luxurious spa, and bathes me in a feeling of tranquility.









 Can't help taking a few photos. :)



 




Getting ready for my treatment!

To protect your clothings from any residue, they use cling wrap to wrap around your bra. So you don't have to remove it. (ahem, I am a bit too shy to strip down everything).



Throughout the whole treatment, she was very friendly and made sure I knew what she was about to do at every step.

The treatment: Lympathic Drainage Massage 






Lymphatic drainage is a holistic approach to promoting a healthy lymphatic system.

So what's the lymphatic system?

It's a body system carrying fluid that removes toxins, and also carries germ-fighting materials. Although fluid moves through the lymphatic system, it does not have its own pumping mechanism. Lymphatic drainage is a type of therapy that helps our body produce a more free-flowing lymphatic system.

The lymphatic massage is concentrated around the stomach area, and helps the lymph fluid move smoothly through the body. The massage will reduce any blockages. This in turn also improves other bodily systems such as the circulatory, respiratory, muscular, and endocrine systems.

My therapist Abbey expertly uses a special rhythmic hand stroke to perform this massage, which is very relaxing.





                                                                      Me all wrapped up!


The whole process was so relaxing and comforting. I did the wrap for about 40mins and I practically slept throughout it! Abbey was also extremely professional in handling the equipment and making sure I was comfortable. I went home fully recharged and in a single day had lost about 1.5 cm from my waistline.

The second time I went for the treatment was the same as before.


However for the third treatment, they added an additional treatment called the FAT MOBILIZATION SYSTEM.

The treatment is designed to deal with stubborn pockets of fat. It is an amazingly simple treatment and involves using a long length of cloth, which they would wrapped the clothe around me like a mummy! The special substance that they used the cloth to soak in, then causes the body temperature to lower, resulting in the stored stubborn fats being burnt off in order to compensate for this heat loss. This means that you can target specific areas and lose fat from precisely the places you want to: tummy, thighs, etc. It stimulates the metabolism at that exact spot to encourage fat burning.


However, because I was feeling too cold in the room, I had to shorten the procedure from 25mins to 10mins. hhaa, maybe no fats to keep me warm liao.

 
In all, I underwent four treatment sessions- the fourth was the same as the second treatment. By the end of the whole course, I had lost about 2cm around my waist! Isn't that awesome??

You can check out my lastest pics @  here!


In short, after four wonderful and relaxing sessions, I finally conclude that... this really works! 

Remember to visit Marie France Bodyline @


I have visited the.....
International Building Singapore
360 Orchard Road 
#08-01/02 
Tel: 1800-235 8030

For more Locations

I would like to thank Marie France Bodyline and Omy.sg for inviting to participate in this special treatment package!