Staycation at SG Hotel on Wheels

[Media Invite]

It has been a very long time since we slept in anywhere else other than our bedroom, where we, 2 adults + 5 children + our Maltipoo bunk in together! So naturally we were all really excited when we were booked for a one-night stay over at the latest talk of the town, the SGHotelonWheels recently. So to the East we travelled! 

I did wonder to myself on how our family of 7 would fare in a 40ft container but then again, we are so used to squeezing into small hotel / apartment rooms whenever we travel, that I think we would have absolutely no problem at all! In any case, we were booked into 2 containers, a 20-footer Retro Mambo and 40-footer Pop Art SHOWrooms for our staycation lor so all was good! Children above 12 are considered adults and there is a maximum capacity of 4A1C, 3A2C, 2A3C, or 1A4C for the 40-footer and 2A1C for the 20-footer SHOWrooms.

Front porch of our 40-footer SHOWroom.

We were ushered to our rooms upon the standard check-in at their front desk and it was really quite an experience to check into a container room lah. The small porch at the front with the fake grass turf, fake tree and beach chairs was a nice touch, adding to the vacay feel. No keys to hold too, because the room is secured with an electronic lock and you just need to key in your 4-digit password to unlock the door. The older kiddos were also free to go anywhere on their own after getting the hang of it.

This is our 20-footer SHOWroom.

Looks like your typical hotel room layout.

Very bright and cheerful!

Toilet and bathroom with rain shower.

Ok I shall address the cons first. The one biggie for us, would have to be the cost of the SHOWrooms, which ranges from $188 for a 20-footer on a weekday up to $358 for a 40-footer on a weekend (I checked from the website), may not be cheap for us lah! However, this is obviously not a problem for many, because the SHOWrooms were already fully-booked on many days liao, so you better hurry if you wanna try this unique experience! There are only 10 such rooms available and NTUC Members do get $30 off per night as well. 

Quite a lot of goodies!

Another thing that's missed (I cheapo lah), would have to be the inclusive hotel breakfasts. Even though we always sleep in late and miss our intercontinental breakfasts, it somehow still feels more complete with breakfast thrown in hor? But the rooms do come with quite a few free gifts from the sponsors lah, such as facial mask + ampoule from Allureskins Potions, disinfectant spray from Efil, corn snack from SHNACK, E.A mask + Bion spray from Ecom and even Vitamin-C tablets from Holistic Way.

A fully-functional kitchenette I would say in our 40-footer.

Very spacious toilet / bathroom too!

The booking of the containers does not come with any meals but our 40-footer does have a rather well-equipment kitchenette, with utensils and all. And the best thing would be Don Don Donki just within a short walking distance away to pack all our meals! There are of course lots of other eateries located at Downtown East and you will never go hungry for sure.

Kiddos enjoying their snacks while watching Netflix in our 40-footer. Protected by a giant ECOM 030+ air purifier too!

Your kiddos like the pool? But there's no swimming pool at the carpark lah. However all guest do get complimentary tickets to Wild Wild Wet nearby, which is a great thing IF you are booked over the weekend as the park is only open from Fridays - Sundays. Otherwise you can always utilize your tickets on another day lor which gives you more time to enjoy the comfort of the SHOWrooms lol.

Pardon the mess. But this is the view from our 40-footer bedroom.

There are your usual hairdryers and even an LED face mask for your beauty rest!

I would have honestly preferred waking up to nature, perhaps really just by the beach or in some forested area if I were to stay in the "portable" container SHOWroom again. But it is not as easy as plonking the container anywhere lah, considering the sanitation and utilities required. Plus, I would like to be able to buy all the food and stuff whenever I need lah. As of now, some fringe activities one get to try out after waking up in the carpark, would be complimentary bike rentals and discounted art classes by Fara Design Art Studio.

So was it still fun and enjoyable for us? Well according the the kiddos and wife, it was an overwhelming YES! The kiddos enjoyed the stay and loved how awesome our SHOWrooms looked and the wife even remarked that with Don Don Donki it felt as if we were in Japan, where we would just walk over to the nearest convenience store for our meal / snack fix whenever we felt like it! 

As for me, it was truly an unique experience, sleeping in the carpark while feeling as if I was on a cruise, but yet free to get onto land at any time. With the many fun amenities and F&B options over at Downtown East, a stay here can really be D’Ultimate XCape lor! With all the sanitizers and air-purifiers, I think it may even be cleaner than my house.

Go check them out at https://sghotelonwheels.com/ before end of Mar 22!

Latest D-Link Compact Full HD Wi-Fi Cameras (DCS-6101LH & DCS-6501LH)

[Product Review]

We had been using D-Link IP cameras for the longest time, since 5 years ago with our very first DCS-960L which we are still using now! I think it is a pretty hardy good camera that had performed really well over the years, but can feel a little pricy at $209. Along the way, D-Link came up with newer cameras that comes with better clarity, functions and compatibility with popular Smart Homes apps such as Alexa or Google Assistant. I have not reached that stage of having to automate every damn thing yet, and is happy to be using their free and very user-friendly mydlink app. 

Actually with their app, you will even get free mydlink cloud recording for up to 3 devices for a day. But if that is not enough, like in my case because I use so many cameras, you can also choose to subscribe to their plans starting from $2.49/mth. The app also has security features that can rival the banking apps as well lor, and comes with 2FA and biometric security features for that added safety!

Dun pray pray, 5-times Best IP Camera Brand Winner liao.

In any case, we are absolutely stoked to be reviewing their two latest cameras, namely the DCS-6101LH & DCS-6501LH because I know they would come in very handy for our home indeed. The DCS-6101LH is the smaller and cheaper one in the left of the photo above but let me share the common features for both of them. It is amazing how much technologies had advanced while the cost had been brought down.

Personally I find that no need so many packaging material lah, because the camera and cables are quite compact already. I find that the DCS-6101LH looks like one-half of a crab's eyes. Cute.

Shared Features

• Full HD 1080p Resolution
• Sound / Motion Detection
• Day / Night Vision
• Rich Notification (Take action from your lockscreen)
• Cloud Recording
• Smart Home Compatible (Works with mydlink, Alexa and Google Assistant)

Both screenshot of the camera view of my very messy house looks the same lah, because both are full HD 1080p resolution mah.

The above features would have been sufficient for our use, but with the DCS-6501LH which is slightly more expensive, you will get additional features such as auto motion tracking, microSD card slot, pan & tilt function, 2-way audio and WPA3 encryption. If you were to ask me, I think I wouldn't mind paying just $10 more for DCS-6501LH just for the pan & tilt function which can give you an almost 360 degree view!

The DCS-6501LH has a slightly bigger casing that houses the rotating motors for the pan & tilt function. I actually had to search for the microSD card slot because I never read instructions but had to refer to it to find the slot right below the lens, hidden from view and visible only when the lens is pointed upwards.

So if you have the intention of setting up security cameras for your house, the Lazada 7.7 Great Singapore Sale may be the best time for you to buy the hardware from D-Link. I do have a link (https://bit.ly/3oRh8Ju) for you to get a $5 voucher if you are a new user. Aiyah last time I also never believe in sales until I started using the app and realized one can save quite a lot with the discount vouchers that you can stack and D-Link (https://www.lazada.sg/shop/d-link-official-store-new) is also giving out vouchers too! Just do not fall into the trap of buying useless stuff.

 

After writing so much, I still never mention the price hor? Actually this is really the selling point for the cameras! I ever wrote in my previous reviews of their cameras that although they perform well and really lasts, their price can be a little on the high side. This time round, guess what? The DCS-6101LH is only going for $39 while the higher end DCS-6501LH is only $49! If you get a few of these and use the discount vouchers in Lazada, you can get them even cheaper lor! Best deal I say!

Scarred for Life? There's help from The Clifford Clinic.

Ok, I am not talking about some traumatic life experiences that I have gone through, but rather the physical scars I carry on my face due to my very bad acne during my younger days. There are different types of acne scars such as boxcar, ice pick, and rolling scars and guess what? Damn it, I have all of them and I even had an aesthetic doctor tell me before, straight in my face that "Erm, your face ah, difficult." In any case, I have also never looked into any treatments for my scars because since married already, with 5 kids some more I think no need liao lah.

But hor last July, I actually got the opportunity to try out some rather fanciful acne scar laser removal treatments in consultation with Dr Gerard Ee from The Clifford Clinic. Straight from the onset, I went with an open mind and with not much of an expectation, especially after my earlier first experience with an aesthetic doctor. But Dr Gerard was quite positive though and worked out a schedule of different treatments for me to try out, and we agreed to just see how it goes. I was thinking to myself, no harm trying too, since my face can hardly get any worst lol...

Infini Acne Scar Treatment

The Infini acne scar treatment was first treatment that Dr Gerard performed on me. So what this treatment does, is to penetrate deeper into the dermis so as to stimulate the production of new collagen fibers so as to "level" the skin. 

I tell you hor, this treatment no joke. I had numbing cream applied to my face and was forewarned that it can be a little painful. Of course I was scared lah, but had to act brave as I sat in the chair. So the good doctor went one round my face with the laser and it felt like someone stapling my face softly with a bunch of microneedles. Can tahan, a little discomfort at this point only. 

I look very cool and collected but I think I was 'luning' nia... 

Ok what... not pain leh I thought... Until he started going over my face the second time and then the third time, going deeper and deeper each time. By the second time, I think I was already struggling to keep a straight face and was so glad once the treatment was over. Miraculously the treatment only left my face reddish leh and I was already ok by the third day. 

PICO MLA Laser Treatment

I felt more relaxed this time round, after going through Infini, which was supposedly the most painful of the lot I was going to try. And yes, it was definitely not as painful as Infini and I only felt minor discomfort. However I was told not to be alarmed by how I looked after the treatment and I was told not to share photos of my face somemore lor! 

For this treatment I need to wear safety googles, looking much like Ultraman ya?

Ok take my word for it, PICO MLA acne scare treatment confirm got downtime. Expect bleeding which would stop soon after the treatment and for scabs to form. In fact my kiddos got a scare when I was home from the first time of trying it. The laser treatment is supposedly great for enlarged pores, fine lines, wrinkles, uneven skin texture and acne scars.

Edge Fractional CO2 Laser Treatment

Fractional CO2 laser was the last type of treatment I tried, which is meant to trick your body into producing collagen by zapping your skin with lasers. There was minimal discomfort experienced but being able to smell your own skin being burnt can be quite an experience. As scary as that sounds, it is really the mildest treatment of the lot.

This is indeed the least painful of the 3 treatments and you can see the grid-like marks left by the lasers.

What I loved about the very short treatment, is that my face suddenly does not produce as much oil as before for at least a few days after treatment. I can feel minimal scabbing, with only raised dots at fixed intervals. If it does really make the skin produce collagen hor, I really wouldn't mind going for regular fixes! 

Does it work or am I scarred for life?

To be absolutely honest, I never expected just 6 treatment sessions to have a very impactful change to the 'weather-ravaged pockmarked' face I had since teen. I am already used to friends making fun of my face by comparing me to Mark Lee, but hey guess what? His complexion also improved quite a lot over the years and was also seeing Dr Gerard too.

I had only undergone a total of 2 sessions for each of the 3 different treatments over the course of half a year. And my wife commented that some of the scars does seem to be less obvious, especially the shallower ones. I honestly cannot see the difference myself, because I see my face everyday leh but the clinic did take photos every time I visited and yup, you can see for yourself in the before / after photos. 

I am of the opinion that for people with deep acne scars like myself, it is already considered very good if treatments can lighten the appearances of the scars. Any effective treatment would likely have to be a long drawn process, if one needs very visible improvements. After all, if Mark Lee is still undergoing maintenance to date, I probably need even more sessions lah! Aiyah, if my wife can love a face like mine, I am happy already. Besides, there are also lots of photo editing apps if one needs any touch ups lah! 

The Clifford Clinic is located at 24 Raffles Place #01-04, Clifford Centre Singapore 048621. You can reach them at 6532 2400 to schedule an appointment.

Roborock S6 MaxV Robot Vacuum Cleaner

Robot cleaners has been in the market for quite a while now but as laggards (as usual), we finally managed to try out one recently. Even though we never thought of getting one, since we HAD a helper in the house back then, I had personally heard stories on cheap sets being bought and discarded within days because of lack of suction power, as well as sets being kept in storage as the owners spent more time rescuing them from being stuck! So yes, I know I needed to manage own my expectations for the Roborock S6 MaxV review set that we got recently.

She has got a little help now, since she always kenna arrow to vacuum also.

So after having used it for a while now, let me share with you on my experience with the Roborock S6. Call me mountain tortoise, but this nifty gadget is really high tech sia! All I needed to get the cleaner started, was to download the Roborock app from Play Store, set up my profile and just connect the cleaner to my home Wi-Fi network. The app automatically detects the cleaner and setup was as easy as can be! I never even had to refer to the instruction manual except the time when I needed to empty the bin for the first time and cannot find the receptacle opening in the cute machine.

For a laggard like me, the machine really quite hi-tech lor!

I left the S6 charging in the dock until it had full power before starting it on its maiden job in my house. I was really amazed by the very accurate mapping of my entire living room as I see the watch the map of my living room slowly materialize on the app. After a complete cleaning of my living room, I was able to see the cleaning limitation, with the various obstacles in my house reflected in the virtual map. For example, the S6 was not able to get pass the legs of the chairs to get underneath the dining table lor, and many nooks of the house are also stacked with lots of boxes. 

I  pity the robot... Need to navigate through lots of obstacles indeed.

In all honestly, I dare say the S6 would do a very good job at picking up all the irritating hair and food pieces in the house with its good suction power. I know, because I was amazed by the amount of dirt picked up in just one run when I emptied the bin! But the disclaimer would be, the area to be cleaned, also needed to be reasonably obstacle-free because the robot will end up avoiding all the occupied areas or risk getting stuck somewhere leh. This to me, is the most irritating problem because with 5 kiddos in the house, keeping the place tidy is virtually (and physically) impossible lah! 

Really quite a lot of dirt even after just one run!

The mopping function though, is kind of iffy. I mean we cannot seriously expect the S6 to replace the physical mopping done manually right? The floor does feel cleaner on the feet but any tougher stains would still require intervention by yours truly of course. I was thinking to myself, maybe if I add a little bit of disinfectant in the water tank, it can even sanitize the floors during this Covid time! I personally think adding a little bit of disinfectant would not affect the performance of the machine, but don't quote me hor!

You do need to clear the hair from the side brush though, so yes, you still need to maintain lah.

For maintenance, you can also refer to the app to find out when you need to clean the different parts. Recommended to clean the main brush and dustbin weekly and maybe the rest as required.

What I really liked about the machine is that you can control it anytime, anywhere and program it to adhere to your cleaning schedule via the app. You can even command it to clean certain zones in your house, indicating no-clean or no-mop zones as well. If you are really so bored, you can even watch the cleaning live on the app, through the lens of its camera and also send voice messages across to whoever is on the other side! You are not paying just for the machine, but the whole suite of high tech functions that come with the Roborock app!

Check out irregular shape of my living room as mapped by the robot. It is really accurate lor, but the shape is funny because of the numerous items all over the house!

In all honesty, I would imagine S6 to be extremely useful for those living in huge properties with lots of open space but for HDB-dwellers like myself, it may feel like a little overkill. One thing for sure though, is that it does give me some motivation to clear the mess left behind by the kiddos so as to allow the machine to perform its duty to the best of its abilities! I do have to admit that it seems to be a little pricey to be retailing at $659.90 on its official store on Lazada, but it sure beats buying a cheap knockoff from Tao Bao and then complain that that sucks because that does not suck? Pun intended.

You can even view the cleaner from its POV from anywhere while it cleans your house and even speak to anyone over through its microphone!

Nevertheless it still feels like a luxury item to me, but please go ahead and get it if you are confident of working it really hard and making your money's worth, but you still must clear your house of obstacles first hor! The Roborock S6 MaxV will surely fit right into your smart home, although it seems that S7 will debut in US later this month. 

Farm Florist: Flowers, Cakes and Many More

It was Steffi's birthday yesterday, and she is now officially a teenager! She was asking us if she would be getting a cake this year, to which I bluffed her and said I will not be buying her any this year due to budget cut. She sounded a little disappointed but I wasn't lying to her anyway. That's because for her birthday this year, Farm Florist had actually sent a her a birthday cake and a beautiful bouquet of flowers!

13 this year... How time flies!

They are actually having a promotional bundle just for International Women’s Day, which is celebrated worldwide on March 8. Well I do not think that we celebrate it as much here in Singapore, nor should we only celebrate women on just one day. But since they have this International Women’s Day Bundle, which included an Admiration bouquet, a cake and delivery at $80, why not enjoy the deal? You can surprise your lady just like I did with my young one, and it can be for any occasion lor. 

International Women's Day Bundle at $80 (Cake + Bouquet)

This one really taste like milk tea with jelly! Nice!

But a disclaimer here lah. The $80 bundle is supposed to come with a Chocolate Banana Cake but we got the Okinawa Milk Tea with Brown Sugar Jelly Cake which was totally awesome lor, albeit it may be a little sweet for those who cannot tahan sweetness, unlike me. You can check out their website for the various bundles available! Thank you Farm Florist for sending Steffi the bundle!

Her very first flower bouquet lor!

CNY Goodies from Pineappletart.com

Asked her for a different look and this is what I got!

Singaporeans are really spoilt for choices when it comes to CNY goodies. Just a walk along your neighborhood confectioneries and you will be able to see so many different types available. The supermarkets are also not letting you off easily too, with big areas set aside solely for these weight-gainers. I am being very honest here, I am really stingy and would usually wait till CNY eve to pick them up at a steal. But sometimes those 3 for $10 bottles really CMI lah... lol

Looks like a lot hor, but believe me... they will be gone before you knew it!

This year, thanks to the good people from 黄梨家 (https://pineappletart.com), we got to try out their "award-winning melt-in-your-mouth" Pineapple tarts and Kueh Bangkit. But being a non-foodie, I can only say that they were hard to resist once you have tried one and we actually finished the two bottles within a day or two! The same goes for the really crispy and tasty Salted Egg Crab Stick Cracker as well! I finished that one whole container on my own lor. 

I think there is indeed a difference in their premium stuff, for it seems that they are a little milkier and powdery, hence melts in the mouth. But their normal (and cheaper) versions are not bad also lah. In fact, all their pineapple tarts are good, and you can taste and feel the crunchy fruit bits too. I think their stocks are running fast too so you better hurry if you wanna order them online, with free delivery for purchase $88 up too!

Really delicious goodies. Hard to last you beyond CNY!

Breathe Carefree, With Airfree!

I speak for myself here ok? I usually do not bother about things that I cannot see, until consequences happen. And the classic example these days would have to be viruses in this Covid period. Who would have been this concerned about viruses or bacteria in the air (or anywhere for that matter) back then? Who would be disinfecting one's hands as often as we do now? Not me for sure. And lest you feel all safe and secure at home, just for your info, studies had shown that the indoor air pollutants can be many times worst than outdoor levels! 

One thing that would definitely help in improving the indoor air quality, would have to be air purifiers. Air purifiers in my mind, would be a device with built-in fan, that come with filters to trap air particulates. Or should I say, just a fan with filter. But the air purifier by Airfree that we were recently introduced to, is absolutely filter-less, much to my delight! This meant there will be no need for any costly filter replacements in the future just to keep the equipment running optimally! It doesn't even have a fan lor, so no fear of parts breaking down or moving parts slowing down due to trapped dust.

My first feel when I unboxed the air purifier was that it looked rather futuristic with its pod-like shape and it was really lightweight. The model I got was the P150 meant for rooms up to 60m² (such as living rooms) which I intended to use for my upsized master bedroom. It was plug and play with no need for any fixing up whatsoever and it does not even have any physical button. I simply turn on the power socket and it started working right away. The only thing which I can control if I wanted to, was the intensity of the blue light through a touch sensor button in front.

So how this machine works is via Thermodynamic TSS™ Technology, which simply means that air is heated up to 200℃ with 99.99% airborne microorganisms killed or deactivated, just like how we boil water before drinking. It works on bacteria, viruses, mould and organic allergens, through air convection without the use of any fan. Hot air rises and cool air rushes in from the bottom. The unit does feel quite hot on the top after a couple of hours, so one must take care to place it out of reach from young children. 

I had been using the air purifier for the past 2 weeks and I am damn honest one lah. I do not know if it was just my imagination or not, but I do feel that the room smells fresher these days. However, that is the only noticeable difference for me, as I do not have any validation of its efficacy. At the back of my mind, I also wonder how long the air purifying of a room would take, as I would guess it would be quite hard to "pull" allergens from one end of the room to the other where my purifier is located especially without a fan?

So how? Should you buy or not? My take on this is that if you suffer from any form of allergies to airborne particulates etc or if you want added protection from airborne viruses or bacteria for the whole family, this machine would serve as a good insurance. I am personally quite sold by the company especially by the impressive numbers of tests done by independent laboratories that you can find here. After all, it is just a one-time cost of the machine that comes with a 2-year warranty as well and you would feel good knowing that you are doing something to protect the family 24/7, even in your own home. Shop here now. 

Disclaimer: We were provided with a review set. No monetary compensation was received and all views were ours of course.