The UrbanWire

“Some Goths are religiously devout whereas others live in hedonistic extremes, but it’s very unusual indeed that a person will get ostracised by the whole for his chosen lifestyle.”

This was among the many ideas of what defines a goth, expressed to UrbanWire by attendees at this month’s Dark Friday event, targetting this fascinating subcultural group, at the Legends Bar, Orchard Towers.

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Now that the 2008 Olympics are over, SIN PHUAY HIANG shows you where else you can spend your evenings in the world’s new playground- Beijing.

Chill Out

If you want to chill out at local bars, visit the Hou Hai bars, which have prospered greatly over the past few years. In the area, you can find quaint teahouses, modern pubs with live music and the traditional Hutongs (alleys where traditional Beijingers live), with peculiar designer shops tucked within. A 25-year-old student from Shandong, Li Juan, comments, “It’s [Hou Hai] quieter and classier… the ambience is better.” Her favourite pub is Blue Lotus (Lan Lian Hua). On its draw to her, “It has nice lights with the floating lanterns, a lake and great scenery,” says Rebecca Lewis, 27, a teacher from London.

Shopping

Youths looking for good bargains in Beijing should head for the shopping malls in the district of Xidan. This is where you can buy anything from clothes to accessories from around 10 yuan (S$2). Li Wei, 25, says, “This is one of the more famous places in Beijing and the things sold are more hip.” For upmarket brands, head for The Place (Shi Mao Tian Jie) where you havea chance of running into Chinese celebrities such as Zhao Wei, Zhang Ziyi and newly minted Singapore citizen Gong Li. The legendary LED skyscreen, rivalling similar glitzy mega panels in Las Vegas, which is 30m wide and 250m long, and cost a breathtaking 250million yuan (S$32 million), is a huge attraction here.

Entertainment

For those who crave a rush of adrenaline, head for the Happy Valley (Huan Le Gu) Amusement Park which offers stomach-churning roller coasters rides among the 120 attractions and 6 themed areas within the park. “At 160 yuan, we get to go for every ride and experience the adrenaline rush,” says Kang Yan, 22, an undergraduate from Hunan. “So, why not?”

Karaoke-lovers can head to Party World (Cash Box), Beijing’s snazziest karaoke venue, complete with state-of-the-art sound system. According to Li Wei, “The ambience is nice, especially after the renovation.” She also comments on the good service and up-to-date songs. “The prices vary according to the timebelts and the amount of drinks,” she adds. It can cost between 39 yuan to over 300 yuan at a time.

Phuay Hiang was in Beijing as part of a media production and study trip organised by the School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

If only he existed, top British spy James Bond could well be sitting at a local nightspot and enjoying his all-time favourite drink, shaken, not stirred. After all, every variation imaginable from an A-tini to Z-tini is being made available at the Martini Innercity Festival 2008 (MIC). (Read more)

It was costumes galore at The Arena on May 31 as revelers dressed up as their favourite celebrities for a night of fun, games and serious partying to the turntable magic of the legendary DJ Cash Money.

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Fire Poi in Singapore

A traditional dance by Maori aborigines in New Zealand akin to a fire dance, now has a following in Singapore, with groups springing up and doing their own variation of the dance. Practices amongst the groups vary but Fire Poi fanatics come together at a local Fire Poi website .

Just as the sun sets over Tanjong Beach in Sentosa , the night comes alive with upbeat music, colourful people and a group of locals who fervently perform what is commonly known as Fire Poi .

The dance follows the rhythm of the music played at KM8 , a beach bar by day and a beach club by night.

UrbanWire caught the smooth dance moves of KM8’s Entertainment Manager, Sarong. With his long dark hair, he 42-year-old Javanese is one of the more popular Fire Poi players in Singapore and is the Artistic Director of a group who call themselves the WayangAloes with “wayang” meaning “theatre” in Malay and “aloes” meaning “refined” in Javanese.

Sarong started practicing firepoi on the beach in Siloso beach and quickly became a fan of the sport. He plays the fire poi in KM8 every Sunday at sundown to add to the “atmosphere” in the beach bar.

More often than not, other Fire Poi enthusiasts join him in his performance on the beach every week and they are only deterred by heavy rain.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a male-dominated activity. Female fire poi performers wield the poi just as bravely as the men and are undaunted by the risks of burns from the hot fire poi metal chains.

The acronym WWF is synonymous with the environmental-friendly World Wildlife Fund and the musical treat, the Worldwide Festival. Singapore was proud to be the host of one of the WWFs mentioned above – the Worldwide Festival 2008. Over the weekend of May 16-18, Singapore was treated to 3 days of music heaven created by DJ guru and record label owner, Gilles Peterson (UK). Known as a trend-setter in the music industry, Gilles spear-headed this music festival in France in 2006. (Read more)

Fashioned like a giant ferris wheel, the Singapore Flyer is the newest tourist attraction in Singapore. UrbanWire had a chance, less than a month after its official opening, to get a bird’s eye view up in the world’s largest observation wheel at 165m (approximately 42 storeys high), which is even taller than the London Eye which stands at 135m.

Japanese architect Dr Kisho Kurokawa of DP Architects, Singapore, is the man behind the brilliant design of this state-of-the-art structure. The London Eye and Eiffel Tower inspired its clean and simplistic design. This modern concept is also applied in the 28 cabins of the Flyer, which are fully fitted with UV protection to screen passengers from sunny Singapore’s rays. (Read more)

The pulsating rhythmic beats, that could be heard streets away from Ann Siang Hill, only served to heighten the awareness and atmosphere of the exclusive Tiger Beer Translate launch party on May 9. (Read more)

For a small country, Singapore certainly has a vibrant clubbing scene. The number of great clubs that entertain clubbers are many - Ministry of Sound (MoS), Attica, Home Club, the recently opened St James Powerstation - the list goes on and on. But the one club that triumphs over all other is without a doubt, Zouk. (Read more)

A three and a half hour flight will take us to the city of Hong Kong. Infamous for its ghastly pollution and overcrowding, it’s hardly an ideal holiday location. But once you step onto Central Piers, you’ll see a gamut of skyscrapers flaunting renowned brands like the Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) and the Bank of China . The buildings represent the country’s constant growth.
Just like its towering buildings, the standard of living in this financial hub is much like Singapore. Hopping on its high-speed “bullet” Mass Transit Railway or MTR (their version of our MRT) only costs HKD$6.90 (S$1.30) for a single trip. (Read more)

Good news! The beautiful people at Home Club are giving away a pair of free drinks each to 5 lucky UrbanWire readers!

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You’d think DJs are aloof people too caught up in their world of beats, rhythms and turntables to make anyone around them feel at home, right?

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From the distributors of the wildly popular online games Gunbound and World of Warcraft comes the free CABAL Online - The Revolution of Action at the Nevareth Carnival .

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Orchard Road comes alive this festive season once again and this time, it’s not just the annual Christmas sales that will keep you jolly. (Read more)

Thank God It’s Friday (TGIF)! You meet up with your best buds, plop yourselves down at your usual haunt to drink, stare into space, look at your friends, look at your drink, glance back at your friends with a mundane look… well you get the idea.

This Friday, Butter Factory gives you a good reason to drink and make merry at Colour Butter – a live mural art project held in conjunction with the Singapore Design Festival 2007 featuring Jon Burgerman, an internationally renowned United Kingdom (UK) artist. As you sip your glass of golden Tiger beer served complimentary from 7:00pm to 9:00pm, watch live art unfold as he paints a mural on the walls of Butter Factory.

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