Our Staycation at Quincy Hotel Singapore (10May2014)

In a highly stressful society like Singapore, everybody needs to take some time off to unwind every now and then. Limaran and I were honoured to be selected by Quincy hotel for their upcoming commercial. On top of that, we were given a free one night stay! So read on as I'll show you what happened during that 2D1N stay at the Quincy hotel.

We arrived at Quincy Hotel at around 1pm and we had to change to our 1st segment's outfit for filming already. Limaran and I have done quite a number of photoshoots before but it was our first time filming. We were so excited and nervous at the same time, not knowing if we'll be able to meet the hotel's expectation.

Just before filming.. So excited

There were quite a number of guests having their meals at the restaurant and some of them were being affected due to the big amount of space that had to be cordoned off for the filming process. So sorry to disturb your meal guys.

The 1st segment was the breakfast scene and we were supposed to just enjoy our meals as they filmed us. Of course there were a few gestures done to make it look more lively but apart from that, it was pretty easy! =)

Caught playing with our phones during the break! #firstworldproblem

After the 1st segment, we had to quickly change to our "Check in" outfit.

Did someone say strike your best pose?!

2nd Segment was done just outside the hotel, showcasing the beautiful facade of Quincy Hotel. It was about 2.30pm and the sun wasn't showing us any mercy at all! 

Limaran looking absolutely gorgeous

We then had a 1 hour break while the team went around to film the facilities that the hotel had to offer. And of course, we went back to the room to sleep!

Had some time for selfies too!

We did a room scene but sadly didn't manage to capture the 'behind the scene' moments. The hotel manager did take a panoramic view of us in the room. DRINKING WINE!!

Next was Art Jamming session, a programme that couples get to do when they have their staycation on Saturdays. There are so many interesting concepts of this hotel which I will touch on at the later part of this blog.

It was our first time painting together

Nicely painted by this cute couple!

The dinner scene was next and we were back at the restaurant for this segment. There was quite a wide selection at the counters and we were starving!! So how? Whack lah!!!

Quincy Hotel settles your every meal!

2 more scenes before the filming was done; gym & movie by the pool. We didn't manage to get any photos from these 2 scenes too so remember to watch out for the video.

The evening can't end without a photo with the beautiful Ericia, the person responsible for getting us on board this project! Thanks Ericia!

We woke up really late the next morning and had a quick breakfast before heading to the gym & pool!

Here are some photos of our room:

Some photos of the facilities:

And of course, a STRONG pool view! =)

Quincy Hotel offers a Qool Weekend experience where it is an all inclusive package. All you need to pay is the room fee and everything else is included:

- Welcome drinks
- Mini Bar
- Lunch, Dinner+Cocktail & Day 2's Breakfast (the restaurant's counter will have snacks & refreshments all day, includes pastries by Dean & DeLuca)
- Afternoon Programme: Art Jamming
- Evening Programme: Movie by the pool

Limaran and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at Quincy Hotel! If you're considering a staycation weekend where all your meals and activities are planned for, Qunicy Hotel will be the perfect choice for you!

Click here to find out more & start planning for your staycation today!

Till the next post..Take care & God bless!

We are featured on Sunday Times Hot Bod Section

So many friends have been coming up to me telling me how lucky I am to have a fit & beautiful wife like Limaran. To be honest, I can't agree more! 

Limaran and I got to know each other in 2007 during our freshmen year. Even though we were from different courses, it was the SIM RMIT pageant that got us to become friends. She was also supposed to be my pageant partner, until the organiser found out that she's one of the tallest contestant and I was one of the shortest. So how? Got to change partner lah!

Can you spot a Mediacorp actor in our midst?

We then found out that we were in the same department in Student Council and had to plan for a department chalet together. One thing led to another and we eventually got closer. 

I can't believe that was how we looked in 2007!

During one of Student Council's many events

Back to present time, the year is 2014.....

Limaran and I were selected to be featured in Sunday Times Hot Bod section. We were really excited to be able to get featured together as a fitness couple. Many people have the mind set that once you're married, there goes your physique. But Limaran and I will beg to differ. If fitness is something that you're passionate about, it should be done for the rest of your life. I'm sure that there will be a difference in the type of workout you may choose at different times of your life, but keeping yourself active is something that should be a priority for everyone of us, especially in a highly developed country like Singapore.

A moment to be remembered

A short blog post to add into my blog. Hoping to motivate and inspire couples to start working out together and be a good example to friends and family members around you!

Happy Vesak day to all our Buddhist friends and Happy Holidays to the rest of us!

Take care and God bless!

Product Review - Polar Loop

When I was given the opportunity to try out 4 fitness wearables: Phyode W/ME, Scosche Rhythm, TomTom Watch & Polar Loop, the Polar Loop was the 1st band that caught my eye!

With it's sleek & stylish design, is this band really as good as it looks? Let's find out.....

I believe everyone knows Polar as the brand that produces really good heart rate tracking devices. So when Polar first launched their Loop band, the heart rate tracking function is a clear must have in its list of capabilities.

So what is Polar Loop?

The Polar Loop is one of the first fitness/activity tracker that has the function of tracking your heart rate real time. It also provides users with the information of the amount of calorie burned based on the activities performed.

As I wan't given a brand new set with the box, I had to grab some photos from Polar's website for this part of the post.

Like most of the fitness wearable, the band will be connect to your PC/Laptop for charging as well as data syncing purposes.

When having the Polar Loop on my wrist, it felt really light weight and comfortable. The main body can be unscrewed from the strap if there is a need to have the strap replaced. Which I personally found really cool. 

The down side came when I found out that the size of the band can be adjusted by cutting the strap to your desired length. Owning a Nike Fuelband SE myself, I find that having size options will be much better than to cut up your brand new band!

One really cool feature of the Polar Loop has is that the charging point of the band doubles up as an activation sensor. Without the contact of skin with the metal ring, the LCD display will not work. I believe this feature will help to save on the battery life especially when the band is not worn.

Functions of Polar Loop

Heart Rate Tracking

Polar Loop can be used as a standalone band or paired with the H7 Heart Rate Sensor. I was quite disappointed to find out that the heart rate tracking function requires an extra device, which in my opinion, makes no technological advancement from watch & the heart rate sensor. What was even worse is that for people who currently owns a Polar watch & heart rate sensor, your heart rate senor will not be able to pair with the Polar Loop unless it is the H7 Bluetooth version. 

Activity Tracking

Polar Loop did a wonderful job tracking my daily activity. I was able to get the following information from the display screen:

- TIME 

- STEPS (Estimated number of steps that I've taken for the day)

I will like to spend some time to elaborate on the ACTIVITY LEVEL function.

At the Activity Level function, there is bar that shows my daily goal and how much more activities to be done to have it filled up. What is really cool is that the band will give you the 'To Go' information, telling you how much more activity that is required before meeting your set daily goal.

The 3 information given will be:

- Walk (Duration required to walk before you fill up the bar)

- Jog (Duration required to jog before you fill up the bar)

- Up (Duration required to stay active before you fill up the bar)

As compared to the Nike Fuelband SE that only displays your current fuel points, the Polar Loop took an extra step to advice users the amount of activities that is required.

So what's my take after trying out the Polar Loop?

Price: 10/10

Design: 8/10

Usefulness: 8/10
Battery Life: 7/10
Usage with the H7 Heart Rate Sensor: 8/10

I personally find the Polar Loop a really good product as compared to its competitors. If you're someone who's looking for a band that tracks your day to day activity and at the same time allowing you to set some activity goals, then the Polar Loop is the right band for you!

The Polar Loop is retailing at SGD 149 at all EpiCentre. A beautifully designed fitness/activity band that will match your every outfit!

I'm really excited to announce that next product I'll be reviewing is the Samsung Galaxy S5 LTE & Samsung Gear 2. If you're a Samsung fan and will like to find out more, please stay tuned!

Until then, take care & God bless!

Our Pre Wedding Photoshoot (Apr 2012)

I've heard from my slightly older friends so many times that wedding albums have helped save tons of marriages. And after browsing through my pre wedding photo shoot album, I can truly see the reason why.

Don't get me wrong... Limaran and I are still very much in love. But while flipping through the album, I can still vividly remember most of the happenings that took place in that 2 days!

Before I go any further, I will like to make it very clear that all information given in this blog is based on my experience 2 years ago. Things may have changed so please take what I say with a pinch of salt!

In December 2011, 1 month after proposing to Limaran, we started preparing for our big day(Damn kiasu I know). But looking back, it was really a good thing that we starting looking around early. Like every other couple, we set aside a full Saturday to comb the entire Tras Street. Went in to quite a number of reputable bridal studios (Z wedding, Le Grand, Di Gio, etc) as we've gotten some reviews from our friends who have used their services. At that point in time, Limaran was already very clear with the kind of gown she was looking for and style that she wanted, both during the pre wedding photoshoot as well on the big day itself. As for me, I had no idea at all!

Our 1st stop was Z wedding and the 1st thing that caught our eyes were the beautiful photos in all the albums. Every album seemed to have a theme and the photos were all so nicely taken. We then found out that Z wedding was working with a renowned photographer, Chris Ling. I thought that we've hit the jackpot.. no more hunting required. But when we went to browse through the gowns, there was nothing that Limaran liked at all! As the staff could sense that Limaran wasn't really pleased with what she was seeing, they recommended us to their sister company, Le Grand, where they carry gowns that are more "Up Market".

Le Grand had really nice gowns but they didn't allow any customisations to their gowns as well as their packages at all. Their packages didn't really seemed very value for money either. So we moved on.

When we enter Di Gio, we were immediately noticed by their boss and he said that he wanted us to be their model couple if we signed a package with them. They also allowed Limaran and I to have a set of fully customised gown and suit. He also promised a big discount on our package! We decided to hear him out but the more he spoke, the more we freaked out. It sounded like he was going to choose the style for us and we had no say at all.

The last stop was at Sohpia and we were there because that was the only store that was still opened. We were not very impressed with this studio when we were browsing through the albums. The lady then asked Limaran the type of gowns that she's looking for so that she could bring out afew. And that was when Limaran got hooked, their gowns were so beautifully made and the lady seemed to understand what Limaran was looking for! That was when the problem came, we've found a place with really beautiful gowns but photos were not that impressive. We highlighted this problem to the manager in charge and she too wanted us to be their model couple.

Limaran and I discussed and came to a conclusion that we should be the one coming up with the themes for our photoshoot and make sure that the photographer will be able to capture what we were looking for.

So here's the deal we've gotten.

45% discount from the usual price of $8888/-,
100 photos for pre wedding photoshoot album
100 photos for actual day wedding photo album
3 outfit each for pre wedding photoshoot
Day & Evening gown fully customised (Evening gown to keep)
Day & Evening suit fully customised (Day suit to keep)
2 days pre wedding photo shoot
2 photographer + 1 Videographer for pre wedding photo shoot
(Sounded like a pretty good deal to us so we took it)

Enough of talking.. Here are some of the photos taken. Hope that the photos will give those of you who are planning for your pre wedding photoshoot some ideas on the theme as well as the various locations =)

Day 1 Morning Studio Photoshoot
Location: Studio

Day 1 Morning Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Henderson waves

We were abit disappointed that it was raining but the photographer used it to our advantage

Day 1 Afternoon Studio Photoshoot
Location: Studio

Day 1 Afternoon Photoshoot
Location: Wa Bar

Day 1 Evening Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Pierce Reservoir

This were the places we went on day 1. So tired after a full day of shoot but wait.. there's still day 2!!!!

Day 2 Afternoon Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Ben & Jerry (Dempsey Hill)

Day 2 Afternoon Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Caterbury Road

Day 2 Afternoon Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Tanjong Beach, Sentosa

Day 2 Evening Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Sentosa Board Walk

Day 2 Evening Outdoor Photoshoot
Location: Marina Barrage

And that's all I have for you in this post. I hope you guys enjoyed looking at the photos as much as I do!

Finally, may I end of by giving you readers 2 simple advice:

1. Please get in shape before your pre wedding photoshoot! These photos will stay with you for life!!

2. Guys will usually take the back seat when it comes to all the planning. Be more enthusiastic throughout the whole process. It's very tiring but the memories will be priceless!

Thanks for reading and God bless!

Product Review - Phyode W/Me

As some of you may already know, I've been approached by EpiCentre a week ago to test out a total of 5 fitness/lifestyle gadgets. So my job was to play around with these toys and give a "talk" for 3 days at EpiCentre @ Ion Singapore! By the time you're reading this, the 6 sessions of talks should already be over.


I'll be taking some time off to write about some interesting products. Not all of them are worth mentioning.

The 1st product that I decided to test out was Phyode W/Me. I was told by the product manager that it's lifestyle wellness monitor. So what does it actually do? Let's find out...

What is Phyode?

Phyode W/Me is a Taiwan product that uses this technology called the Life Spectrum Analyser (LSA) to detect your body's harmonic frequency.

Using the app, the band will be able to map out your subconscious mental state. It takes 3 minutes to do the measurement and during the 3 minutes, you'll be able to see your heart rate real time.

The Phyode W/Me has 2 senors on the band, one on the outer side and one one the inner side of the band. Each of the sensor has to be one of your hand.

This sensor will be touch your wrist when you're having it on

Place your index finger on the sensor of the outer band

Now all you need to do is to keep calm and hold it there for 3 minutes. During the 3 minutes, this is what you'll be seeing on your screen.

You'll be able to see your heart rate real time. The signal was unstable because I had to take my finger off to do a quick screen shot. Nothing to do with the device. At any point in time where the signal is unstable, the timer will stop counting down.

And 3 minutes later, your results will be ready...

The cursor will show you which quadrant your current mental state is in

Apart from measuring your heart rate & subconscious mental state, it also measures your Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Age & your Mental Agility Score.

I have a mind of a 17 year old?

Pretty good score ya?

Apart from these measurements, this band also has a function where it coaches you how to breathe correctly. It has a total of 5 different levels for users to work their way up!

Some other cool functions that the Phyode W/Me has will be the find your phone function. With a touch of a button, your phone will ring if it is within the bluetooth range.

Your band will also automatically vibrate whenever you receives a phone call.

Last but not least, you're able to use your band as a remote for taking phones through the Phyode W/Me App.

So at the end of the trial session, here's how I rate this product.

Design: 5/10
Usefulness: 7/10
Battery Life: 9/10
Bluetooth connectivity: 6/10

Overall, I find this a really interesting product where it provides me with information about my mental health! Many people will think that it's enough to just be physically healthy but I feel that it's equally as important to be mentally healthy as well. As for the design, the part where this product lost most of it's points is from the fact that there's only one size. Most ladies that tried on this product complained that it's really loose on their wrist and it will not be something that they'll be wearing all day. I also did experience quite bad connection from time to time, where it became really pointless if users want to take some time off to check on their mental state.

Here's a link for you to find out more about the Phyode W/Me: http://www.phyode.com/about.html

And you'll be able to grab one of these from the EpiCentre at SGD269.

Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday!