PokéXciting! Event at Changi Airport

November has turned out to be an exciting month for the Pokemon fans, especially with the PokéXciting! celebrations at Changi Airport.

Plenty of long queues for the many events and I had to queue for hours just to get the wristbands for the Pokemon Parade (includes the 27 starter Pokemons and of course plus 2 Pikachu) last Sunday (8th Nov). The rush to get access for the Pokemon Parade was especially bad because the Parade was available for only two days (7th and 8th November). Suffice to say that we have some unhappy fans too, because the instructions for obtaining wristbands were not that clear and they could not get entry despite coming early to queue for the wristbands. Oh well, the fans without the wristbands could also queue right outside the rain vortex area to look at the Pokemon Parade (actually this latter method gave a more close up and clearer view of the Pokemons).

Changi Jewel Rain Vortex

Pokemon Parade Rain Vortex Changi Jewel

Besides the Parade, there are many chances to take photos with these starter Pokemons with the many stations scattered around the entire airport. There were also other Pokemons including MewTwo and Snorlax.

Fuecoco

Quaxly

Sprigatito

Besides Changi Jewel, there were also many activities in Terminal One, Two and Three. We had the DJ Pikachu hosting parties at Terminal Three plus activities teaching TCG, purchase with purchase, and of course Pokemon Go!

Pikachu Stage - Changi Terminal Three

Spinning 5 particular Pokemon Go Pokestops spread around the airport (4 terminals and Jewel) for "chops" (part of the stamp rally) and the players would get the blue hat Pikachu with special background. I didnt manage to get all 5 though.

The event also has a regional spin, i.e. one more regional Pokestop in Terminal Three that gives you that same blue hat Pikachu (special background) as part of the stamp rally spanning across Asia (KL, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok) - other cities gave different Pikachu with different backgrounds. Here's a snapshot of the various events. 

Other than the Parade, other activities would still be available until 3 Jan 2027!

Generation Coffee Roasters - Tekka

Being a hawker in Singapore is tough - generally all food & beverages businesses operating in our high labour cost, high rental cost environment would need some unique proposition to attract and retain their customers.

So it was a (pleasant) surprise to me when I first heard that a hawker stall started offering barista coffee at Tekka Hawker Centre, and there were actually queues during morning & lunch hours. Now that I have some time, I decided to try their coffee when I was around the Tekka area.

Generation Coffee Roasters - Tekka Hawker Centre

Generation Coffee beans

Indeed there was a queue when I reached the stall around noon but the wait was not too long - around 10 mins before I made my order. Prices are also reasonable ranging from $3 to $4 for espresso / cappuccino (hot), and they offered other drinks including our traditional kopi / teh, as well as macha latte, dirty macha etc. I ordered a hot cappucino and I saw others with various iced drinks. The coffee is quite good actually for an after lunch drink.

I think I would continue to support them if I happened to be around the area. They have a couple of other outlets (e.g. Tanjong Pagar, Hong Lim), and for those who wanted to support our local F&B, you could also buy their beans from their website (Generation Coffee Roasters).

Pokemon KFC Collaboration in Singapore (2026)

Extremely excited about the Pokemon KFC collaboration in Singapore - 5 KFC outlets would be transformed into "gyms" both in real life as well as in Pokemon Go game, while other KFC outlets would be a Pokestop. There are other activities e.g. TCG tutorials and merchandise too as part of this collaboration.

These 5 KFC outlets would become "gyms" of different elements. I took a trip down to 2 of them - Ghost Gym at CompassOne, and Water Gym at Serangoon Nex. For PoGo players, spinning these gyms would also give you special "gifts" commemorating this collab. I guess I am happy that there are more gyms with more raids and generally more Pokemon related activities.

Ghost Gym CompassOne

Water Gym Serangoon Nex

Water Gym Serangoon Nex

KFC is also selling Pokemon merchandise, although I think I might be too old to use these stuff. Nonetheless I bought more KFC food stuff, including their Nanban burger and fries (plus the usual fried chicken and such). The food boxes came with Pokemon print but was too oily to be cleaned and kept. 

KFC Pokemon Pouch

The collaboration will run till sometime end Sep I think, at least after the various TCG tutorials. Was tempted to sign up for the TCG tutorials but again I guess I would be awkward to be the senior among the many kids there. Maybe I would pop by just to take a look, and buy more fried chicken.

Gengar

Mimikyu

Oh by the way, there would be more Pokemon related activities and events - The World Championship 2027 will be held in Singapore, mid-August 2027! Am looking forward to the event and the associated promo activities as well as the many merchandise for it.

New Phase of Life - Semi Retirement

Earlier in this year of 2026 I've decided to embark on a new phrase of life by quitting the corporate world. It was not a hasty decision but rather one made after much consideration. It took almost two years to prepare for this change.

Nope it was not nasty bosses nor because of any retrenchment / redundancy at the workplace; I had the good fortune of meeting many supportive bosses and colleagues. You could say that it is both a bit of a push factor as well as pull factors of planning ahead. The push factor was simply burnout from years of corporate life where the projects and work scopes are simply... not interesting anymore. I caught myself during pessimistic moments of being a naysayer when evaluating many colleagues' proposals, while on hindsight I would say, why not give the projects a try? Just simply because I had seen many failed examples of similar projects shouldnt mean that these new proposals would go down the same doomed path. Those moments were minor but clear indications that perhaps I should re-examine my place in the corporate world.

Likewise I had asked myself if I should financially plan for recurring income for retirement, a process that would take quite many many months. Eventually it lead to a moment when I decided to give "barista FIRE" a try. So here I am, away from a full time work phrase into this somewhat new, strange and admittedly frightening phrase of "retirement". The word is "retirement" because if it doesnt work out I might go back to the work force at some point. 

So far so good I guess - I have time for long evening walks and literally touching grass. It is nice to pause and look at flowers & wild animals, instead of daily brisk walks between meeting rooms. It is also nice to catch up with old friends and visit places that I had not been to for a long while.

Flowers

Squirrel

The occasional visits to the library, and many "free" hours to simply spend on hobbies are truly refreshing after tiring decades of powerpoint works and workplace negotiations. Waking up without the need to accommodate any meeting schedule is... nice.

Making bread

I am not sure how long this phrase of life would last before I get bored or if I need to be financially active again due to some unforeseen events. Maybe give it 6 months and I would find a more meaningful use of my free time. Along the way I should plan for more exercises and maybe a better  / healthier dietary programme :)  

 

Lego Shophouse Experience - Orchard (ended)

The Lego Shophouse Experience that started since mid March 2026, located at the 2nd floor of Design Orchard, has ended today (4th April 2026). It was a great exhibit of the different Lego pieces and definitely drew some crowds of Lego fans. Centering around the "shophouse" theme, there was a signboard carved with the Lego name in Chinese characters, inked with gold paint, right at the entrance of the exhibition pop-up. 

Personally I enjoyed the short but interesting exhibit (couple of rooms). There was proper crowd control by the Lego staff, with fun enough activities e.g. that post card activity with 6 stations for "chopping" different colour inks to form a picture, that helped to engage both the fans and whichever friends they brought along for this visit.

I like that Peranakan theme too, since that is something unique to this part of the world. The featured wall at the entrance formed from Peranakan mosaic tiles gave a good classy touch that fitted well with the Shophouse theme. Oh, those who managed to complete the postcard stamping activity could also claim a free Lego mosaic set (while stocks last). Pity I didnt manage to get a set.

It was also good that Lego featured some pieces from their fans e.g. this Nespresso Machine Piece besides their usual impressive sets e.g. the Marvels and the Star Wars. 

If that is anything that is not to mark, I would say that the "sales area" is somewhat small and located across the junction at the Takashimaya side (i.e. diagonally across). Maybe some unique sales sets right at the exhibit areas at the Design Orchard side would have been great (yah I know there is a much bigger Lego store).

Christmas Tree Decoration using recycled materials

Happy New Year 2026! Every time when I stepped into the new year, I would have thoughts about what I can do, or do better in the new year, aka new year resolution. Among these thoughts would be a renewed effort to save the environment. This is sometimes ironic because December is a time for celebrations, and normally there would be excesses, be it food (buffets, pot lucks etc) or others like gift wrappers.

This time round, post Christmas, I have decided to reuse a few of the items and make a Christmas Tree decorations that I can definitely use in 2026. I had recycled that Nespresso capsule, i.e. one with a nicer design. Not much effort there except to dig out the used ground coffee and clean that aluminum capsule (the ground coffee is visible in the background). I had to widen that three holes in the aluminum capsule as a prep for the next step. The next reused item is a Christmas log cake deco piece with three round red "berries" and golden leaves. Finally I scraped some copper wires from an old spoilt electronic, which took some efforts because it is quite hard to peel off the rubber tubing.

Raw recycled materials

Next step is to poke the Christmas log cake deco straight into one of the three holes, and tie the copper wires around the deco, with both ends of the wires poked into the Nespresso capsule through the remaining two holes. I used a masking tape to tape the wire ends within the capsule (not visible in the photo). Viola, a usable and decent looking Christmas tree decoration for 2026!

Final product - Christmas Tree Deco

Ok, wish everyone a Happy New Year 2026 and great health throughout the entire year!

Disney Singapore, Cruise, MRT & More

It is year end and often times the period for celebratory events and promotions. So indeed it is nice to see many promo, and among them the ones by Disney stands out. We see Disney Cruise promotions, i.e. Disney Adventure (and the first such cruise in Asia) marketing materials on MRTs (see the photos below) although I think the actual start dates would be from March 2026 onwards. When the hype dies down (and prices become more affordable) I would want to book and experience it at least once.

Would be fun to have breakfast with the characters and have Disney themed rooms, much like those at the Disneyland hotels.

Disney Adventure - MRT 1

Disney Adventure - MRT 2

Disney has also launched promotions at Jewel Changi since November, and we have seen the Rain Vortex displays multiple times, complete with Marvel characters and such. I am not sure if they would refresh the displays by Feb in time for Chinese New Year.

And then I am surprised to see the Singapore exclusive Disney themed T-shirts at UT Uniqlo. I guess these would make good souvenirs for tourists to bring back home. Mickey at various locations like Emerald Hills, MBS, shophouses and many others, would form good designs for casual T-shirts affordable priced at $19.90.

Uniqlo Mickey Shophouse UT

Uniqlo Mickey Kaya Toast UT

Taking this chance to wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year 2026! Christmas in 5 days time!