My sister, who is based in SG, gave my mother a travel gift to Singapore on the latter's birthday. When my mother requested me to accompany her in this trip, I packed my things and flew to SG with her amidst the whirlwind of intertwining projects at work, to the rage to my boss.

Singapore has places that are NEVER-TO-MISS. Sentosa Island is a great place to go. You can go to Underwater Adventure, watch the Dolphin Show and have fun at the Luge. You can also drop by their zoo, or watch the safari animals at night or simply have a quiet time to the Botanical Garden. But, what I would like to present here are the mundane and the ordinary that adds flavor to the uniqueness only Singapore can spell out.

1. Murtabak

   This is an Indian food. It's mainly fish, with many spices, wrapped in a roti prata (an Indian bread of some sort). It is superb as it is healthy. There is this small halal restaurant in Killiney Road, right behind SingTel which offers this. My sister brought us there on our very first breakfast in SG. We enjoyed the murtabak so much that the next day, mom and I went there again and ordered two servings. We forgot that a serve is good for 2 - 4 persons!

2. Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee

   If you are in noodles, then fried hokkien prawn mee is for you. It's a mind-blowing piece of a noodle wonder! It's hokkien noodle sautéed with prawn and bean sprout and stuff. We has prawn mee at The Food Republic at Vivo City.

3. Kaya Toast Kaya

   This is  made of coconut jam of some sort. You will really follow its aroma anywhere your nose spots this amazing jam. It's usually spread on a toasted wheat bread with butter. I came from a country where coconuts grow everywhere but it was only in Singapore that I tasted kaya.

4. 3 for $10 Stores

   Singapore is not alien to Prada, Calvin Klein, Gucci and other big names in fashion and style. It has stores and malls that cater only to the richest in Asia and other foreign nationals. However, in its effort to serve the elite, it also serves the not-yet-so-rich and everyone in between. 3 for $10 store has an exciting collection of caboodles which you can get for every 10 dollars; from silver rings, shades, watches, hairpins, notebooks, t-shirts, wallets, earrings, picture frames, vases and everything else. Just perfect for anyone on a budget vacation.

5. Cold Storage

   I love this quaint and small store which offers just basically everything you need. They have friendly staff and the service they give is great. I was lost in somewhere in Kalang, when I went to see a friend who plays tennis at this gym of some sort there. I ended up buying goods from this store and the staff were nice enough to show me the back my hotel. Since then, whenever I need stuff for my kitchen, I only go to Cold Storage.

6. Fruits

   I am sure that Singapore doesn't have the luxury of land enough to supply the country's demand for fresh fruits. I don't know how they manage it but they have a wide variety of fruits sold at a very lovely price. Grapes, bananas, apples, peaches, kiwis, pears, ect…mom and I got them fresh. EVERYDAY!

7. Tissue here, tissue there, tissue everywhere

   Whether you are in Suntec City or in the public toilets in SG, a big fat roll of tissue paper awaits you in each cubicle. I happen to have this really bad experience of trying to relieve myself and walked into a toilet with no tissue paper. It was disaster! But in SG, even if you go to the ugliest building in the block in a very, very immediate time, CHILL! There is a roll of tissue paper. PROMISE.

8. Buses and Taxis

   Singapore has a very comprehensive transportation system. Each bus stop has a directory of buses with their routes, numbers, and time of arrival. They have electronic collection system that gives you the convenience of using top-up cards, saves you the time scavenging for coins after each time you get on and move down from the bus.
   
   Taxis are another story. Their cabs are equipped with GPS for easier address location, credit-swipe-card just in case you run out of cash and you opt to use your credit card, telephone and a service payment receipt.
   
   Drivers are very polite and very courteous. They are very neat in their crisp white long sleeves and their neckties. 10 points for them drivers!

9. Cleanliness

   First I would not believe it. Singapore is the cleanest country in Asia. So what?! There's got to be some place there which is not clean. Well, there is. BINGO! Little India, it's not very clean for sure. There are actually cigarette butts everywhere. But, who am I not to be forgiving when anywhere else in the city is SPOTLESS? I really made an effort to actually stretch my neck to see garbage. Well, what did I see instead? THE CLEANEST COUNTRY IN ASIA, if not in the WORLD!

10. People

    This country is a melting pot of Chinese, Malay, and Indian races working together in a very healthy manner such that a country's success like that of Singapore has been achieved. There are also quiet a good number of Americans, Europeans and Australian based there, representing their respective companies back home. Some, opted to spend retirement years in SG. Filipinos, Indonesians and people from mainland China choose to work there.
    
    Their co-existence is remarkable. If the world would treat and respect each other like these Singaporeans, then, world peace would not be so difficult to reach

The Summer months can see temperatures as high as 90 degrees, but the average temperature is 85 degrees. The Summer months are during May through October. The Winter months are from November through April. The temperatures have been as low as 10 degrees but only at night. The average temperature during the day is 78 degrees which is not much different than the Summer months. Yet, during the Winter Hawaii will experience the most rain. Flooding is not uncommon.

There are several little islands that belong to Hawaii. Depending on which side you live on will depend on how much dry or wet weather you will get. Typically, when you live on the windward side which is the northeast side you will get the most rain and the coolest weather. This happens since the winds are coming from the northeast. The driest parts of the island will be the southwest area of the islands. The southwest side is called the leeward side since the winds die down and the rains tend to lighten by the time it gets to the southwest side of the islands.

Hurricanes do not happen as often you may think. The last major hurricane that hit Hawaii was in 1991 which was the most severe hitting Inko, Kauai, and parts of Ohau. For the most part, hurricanes do not hit Hawaii. They may get heavy winds, but nothing too strong to destroy the islands.

If you are looking for a place to go on vacation that has the most reasonable and consistent weather then think about going to Hawaii. If you want to visit the higher elevations of the island then be sure to dress appropriately with pants and a sweater since it can get rather cold up there depending on what time of year you go. It doesn't just have natural beauty but it offers great weather.

“Chill On,” is Melbourne, Australia's first ice bar. The hot sizzling temperatures outside make the inside feel much more enjoyable. At $30AU per adult and $15AU per child (before 6pm kids are allowed in) the price includes gear to keep you warm while you're inside.

You're only allowed to enjoy your stay for 30 minutes and are given a buzzer when your time is up.

Your drinks are on ice, literally. The glasses you drink from are frozen ice, imagine that!

For more information check out their website.

1. Making a snowman

   A traditional classic and fun for the whole family. You can personalize it for and homemade added touch of uniqueness. Can also be made into many shapes and sizes.

2. Snow Forts

   Your snowy home away from home. How big, how small is all for you to decide. Can be a great addition to a backyard and is perfect for a snowman to watch over.

3. Snowball Fights

   The most used activity to accompany the snow fort (mentioned above). Compete with your friends in a head-to-head competition, and make the most out of your winter at the same time.

4. Shoveling Snow

   A fun way to clean up after a massive snowball fight, clear a driveway, or do something when you are alone. A fun way to keep healthy as well.

5. Ice Skating

   Its not exactly on snow but still a fun way to enjoy the winter weather. Enjoy gliding on ice while others talk. A must do winter event for the whole family.

Kopi (or Coffee) Luwak which originates from Sumatra, Indonesia is regarded as a rare type of coffee in the world. The current cost for a pound of Kopi Luwak is around $300 or more, making it the world's most expensive coffee. Besides the excellent taste of the coffee, the coffee is considered rare due to the way it is produced.

The coffee cherries are not hand-picked like the other premium coffees in the market. The beans are in fact collected from the feces of a civet cat animal (scientific name: Paradoxurus) which the locals call "Luwak". It is believed that these mammals are the world's best coffee cherry picker. They pick the ripe and red coffee cherries and eat them up. It is said that the coffee beans will undergo a fermentation process in the civet cat's digestive system, which may describe its exotic taste. The coffee beans will come out of the civet cat system (as poops) intact. The feces will be collected and the coffee beans will be cleaned.

Coffee lovers who have tasted this coffee said that it has a rich flavor with hints of caramel and chocolaty taste. Some also describe it as smooth, earthy and musty. Actually, similar coffee can be found in Vietnam and it is called “caphe cut chon” by the locals (which literally means fox-dung coffee).

2. Coffee Stout

A Japanese cafe manager in Mito, Japan came out with an idea to produce alcoholic drink using coffee beans. With the help of a local brewery, he introduced “Coffee Stout” which is packed in a 330ml bottle, costing 650 yen per bottle. The alcoholic beverage tastes sweet with smooth taste of coffee. In fact the innovative café manager plans to expand the idea of producing coffee-based drinks such as “Coffee Sake” in the near future.

3. Reishi Coffee

“Reishi” means red mushrooms in Japanese. Coffee blend which include Reishi is normally consumed for the maintenance of health and general well-being. This healthy drink has been commercialized by a number of companies and has increasingly becomes common now. However, the ones produced under an American brand called ReishiGo is quite unusual. This special blend of Reishi coffee contains the whole Reishi mushroom including the fruit body, cracked spores, and mycelium, which claims to be more potent in terms of de-oxidation and efficacy. Actually you can see the said mushroom floating in the coffee.

4. Cold brew

To most people, brewing coffee minus the heat is quite impossible. The idea of commercializing the method of brewing coffee without the heat or cold brewing came from a chemical engineer, Todd Simpson. It is said that in 1964 he got the idea in a small café in Guatemala. This is when he received a small decanter of cool concentrate and some boiling water upon ordering. This makes him wonder whether his mother, who couldn't stomach coffee, might be able to enjoy the cold coffee instead. Eventually his mother could and this leads him to develop the cold brewing device known as the “Toddy system” which is being commercialized now. In fact, Seattle's Best Coffee outlets have been using the Toddy system and there are also beginning to sell the Toddy device in the said outlets.

Todd Simpson believes that it may be an ancient Peruvian method, and coffee concentrates first showed up in 19th-century America. Another theory traces it back to Java. However, nobody knows for sure where cold coffee brewing method came from.

The device includes a plastic pitcher with a fabric filter, sitting atop a carafe that catches the finished product. There is no electricity needed as it works only on gravity, a pound of ground beans and nine cups of cold water, and also 10 to 12 hours steeping time. It is said that the coffee produced through this method is less acidic, less caffeine and also friendly to sensitive stomach.

5. Norwegian Egg Coffee

To most people, it is quite unusual to brew coffee with an egg in it. However, this is a traditional Norwegian method for making coffee.

How to make it? First, you have to break a single egg and mix the egg with a half a cup of water (about 120 ml) in a slow heated saucepan. Then, add a cup of ground coffee with six cups of boiling water (about 1.5 liter) and leave it to boil in slow heat for about 3-4 minutes. After that, add a half cup of very cold water and let it steep for another 9 minutes before serving.

I bet you would expect a coffee with a mixture of egg floating in it. What's unusual about this coffee is that, you will get a rich, clear coffee. This is due to the fact that the egg protein binds with the ground coffee and it settles the grounds, providing the coffee with the richness in its taste. This is when a half cup of very cold water is added suddenly to the mixture.

Note that there are many variations in making the Norwegian Egg Coffee. Some people may even use the egg together with the shell (broken up). In this case, the coffee must be carefully strained to remove pieces of egg shell. Some people may use only the egg whites. In any cases, whichever method you use, the result will still be the same, i.e. clear and rich coffee.