1. High fashion divas know that chandeliers are not just meant for ceilings. If you second that notion, flaunt it in this irrepressible duo. $1,990 from On Pedder.

2. Attend an all black event in this ruby pair and you will do more than just blend in. $700 from Stuart Weitzman.

3. Strut down any five-foot way and turn heads with these striking heels. $250 from Sole2Sole.

4. Wonderful for that midnight rendezvous, this seductress will leave any man panting for more. $149.90 from GUESS.

5. Like Aladdin who took flight on a magic carpet, you too can embark on a journey of personal discovery if you put yourself in these carpet-inspired shoes. $160 from Nine West.

6. These girls will look sexy on you even you choose to wear nothing else. Slide into them and let them do the talking. $145.90 from GUESS.

7. Who’s Santa’s baby now? Even Mrs. Claus needs to strike out once in a while. $1,200 from On Pedder.

8. Add a come-hither dimension to that sweetie-pie look with these silver foxes from GUESS. $155.90.

9. You will not look like a stud in these open-toed steppers. $190 from Nine West.

10. Suitable for any woman who does not have the time to keep a pet, all she needs to do is walk these babies. $890 from On Pedder.

Address Book

GUESS #B1-24A/25-28, Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Rd., 6735-7363

Nine West #01-07A/10, Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Rd., 6735-6660.

On Pedder #02-12P/Q, Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Rd., 6835-2660.

Sole2Sole #03-11, Mandarin Gallery, 333 Orchard Rd., 6836-3230.

Stuart Weitzman #02-12/E, Ngee Ann City, 391 Orchard Rd., 6734-2331.

What made you decide to join this business?
It’s a family business. My father started it and I took over and run it alone now.

Do joss paper makers have a formal title?
No, we’re just businessmen.

How much does joss paper cost?
It depends on the grade. Low-grade joss paper is about $1.50 per bundle and high-grade joss paper is about $20 to $30 per bundle.

Is a particular type of paper used to make joss paper?
Yes, these days we use recycled bamboo paper. We’re just as concerned about the environment as everyone else.

Who designs the paper or is there a set design?
Some manufacturers come up with new designs but traditional joss paper has the gods of longevity, prosperity and health on it.

What is the most bizarre item you’ve had to import?
Joss paper models of a dressing table and a table lamp. Someone even asked for a car with a functioning door and headlights.

Is there a request you’ve had to turn down?
No, because we’re in the service industry therefore accommodating every request is a must. Our only concern is that the customer be able to afford the request.

Is the joss paper business thriving?
The business depends on festivals like Chinese New Year, Zing Ming (the Third Month) and Hungry Ghost (the Seventh Month). It’s during these times that we draw in the most cash.

Will your children take over the business?
I hope not. I would like them to do well in school and have a stable life.

Do you think there are enough joss paper bins in Singapore?
Yes, besides the bins, there are wells in HDB estates built for this purpose alone.

Is there anything else joss paper can be used for besides appeasing the dead?
Yes, we hope that by burning the paper, those that we burn it for will bring us luck and health.

Has anyone tried to be a smartass and pay you in hell money?
No, but when anyone asks me for money, I tell them to come and take what they need. Money is all I have!

What’s the exchange rate between hell money and local currency?
I’d have to be dead and in hell to tell you that!­

Getting Thai food in Singapore is pretty easy. Getting good Thai ingredients to make your own Thai food is slightly trickier. For the real stuff you need to head to Golden Mile Complex (5001 Beach Rd.), the authentic if, ahem, slightly dodgy Thai quarter of Singapore, best known as the place to catch a bus to Malaysia. We braved the corridors of Golden Mile and found these delicious food items lurking. All produce is available at the Thai supermarket on #02-64, Golden Mile Complex.

1. This ground dry shrimp and chili is suitable for almost anything. It can be added to soup, rice and noodles. being very spicy, it acts like good black pepper. $3.

2. These magic puffball mushrooms might not give you a high, but they’re the ideal ingredient for soups or for serving as an entree. $6.50.

3. Spice up your life with this Tom Yum hot and sour paste. small or large bottles, $2.50 and $5.90 respectively.

4. A sweet, spicy dip that is great for fried or steamed dishes, especially chicken. The supermarket sells the dip in bulk to restaurants, a testament to its quality. $2.50.

5. Buah salak, is like the mutant fruit—best described as a cross between a banana and a rambutan. A palm fruit, its flesh is light and juicy and tastes sweet and sour. $5.50 per kilogram.

6. Make your thai meal extra hot, hot, hot with hot basil used in curries and spicy dishes. it’s known to have medicinal value and is pretty as a garnish. $0.60 per bunch.

7. Add some sweetness to your tahi tang with this sweet basil. $0.60 per bunch.

8. Jump into an instant source of protein with these hoppers and crawlers. like beer nuts, they’re ready to be washed down with a cold Thai beer. $2 per packet.

9. You might thing we’re hopping mad, but these Dried frogs are meant to be Fried or thrown on the barbecue for a crispy finish. $1.80 small, $2 big.

10. Crack open a pack of crispy fried shrimps, the literal Prawn cracker. $5 per packet.

11. For a more portable version of the pungent king of fruit, try this Freeze-dried Tasty top crispy durian. Each pack contains a whole durian. $9.80.

12. If this all sounds too weird and wonderful, Wash it down with this array of brewed-in-Thailand thirst quenchers. Prices for coolers and beers range from $2.90 to $5 per bottle.

Fuel Up

Sweet Thai Café, #1154, 15-03 (odd unit number, but it’s what the owner gave us)

If you don’t mind the squeeze, then squish into one of the three tables at this joint—each of which seats four. The Singaporeans, Thais and Malaysians who frequent the cafe order an assortment of house favorites, including green papaya salad ($8), Thai beef salad ($8) and seafood soup ($5). Open daily 9am-8pm.

Nong Khai Beer House, #01-73

Donsuda Inmeeyuen is heralded as the best papaya salad maker in the vicinity. The cozy outlet can accommodate 30 people and serves mainly Thais and some locals. Signature dishes include grilled chicken ($5/$10) and grilled fish ($8). Open daily 11am-10pm.

Sin Lai Lai Snack House, #01-29/29/30/31

This eatery specializes in Chinese and Thai cuisine and serves a lot of locals. Dishes come in three sizes and cost from $4 to $12, and include Nham fried rice, Singapore fried bee hoon, Thai fried omelette and Hong Kong rice, to name a few. If you’re trying Thai food for the first time and are not sure if you will take to it, this is a safe bet, with familiar local dishes to retreat to. Open daily 9:30am-10pm.

Diandin Leluk Thai Restaurant, #01-67/68/69

With a seating capacity of 120, this is easily the largest restaurant in the complex. People from the cross-country buses that stop at Golden Mile, locals and Thais haunt the place everyday. With dishes like fried chicken in red wine sauce ($7), deep fried frog legs salad ($10), and Thai seafood otak on hot plate ($8) hailing from Northern and Central Thailand, this restaurant makes a great pit stop. Open daily 8am-10pm.

1. This blue cardigan from Martina Pink gets an upper hand with a little help from some pretty flower embroideries. $89 from Tangs.

2. Shoot to kill when you put on this striking Fab & Jo blouse. $140 from Front Row.

3. Not merely a plain singlet. This sought-after Kim Jones vest for men is hot, hot, hot! $155 from Front Row.

4. This flower power balloon skirt by ANKH is lovely for both Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, and is made from gorgeous kimono fabric. $300 from Front Row.

5. Highlight your artistic inclinations when you wear these green Playhound Capri pants featuring dripping paint motif. $99 from Tangs.

6. This collaborative T-shirt between Hooked Clothing and artist Kapok is as trendy as it gets. $69 from Asylum.

7. Set pulses racing when you put on this intricate necklace with a horse motif by Twinkle. $240 from Front Row.

8. This adorable set of earrings with Astro Boy illustrations will make you feel super-stylish, anytime. $25 from Tangs.

9. You won’t look square with this fluorescent orange handy bag from Style : Nordic, even if you try. $39.

10. This handmade fabric badge by Mistake is more than meets the eye. $33 from Asylum.

11. Bring out the animal instinc when you carry this “Forest Paradise” bag from 20 Bulbs. $175.

12. Want to make a statement? Look no further than this Lulu Guinness bag, featuring surrealistic motifs inspired by Salvador Dali. $775 from Sole2Sole.

13. Get the royal treatment with this lovely jewelry case that also doubles up as a mini queen throne. $35 from MiniBits.

How long have you been a nude model?
Two years. Someone asked me to do it and I was intrigued by the suggestion.

Are there many Singaporean nude models?
There are several. I don’t know all of them so can’t tell you how many there are exactly.

How beautiful does your body have to be?
You don’t have to have a beautiful body. I’ve met models of various shapes and sizes.

What do you think is your best asset?
My legs. They’re proportionate and have muscles in the right places.

Do you do anything special to prepare for a sitting?
No, but I refrain from drinking a lot of water because if I excuse myself from a pose, recreating it will be difficult.

Do you use props to assist your poses?
The artists provide the props. I’ve used a bamboo stick while stationary or in movement. Props help accentuate certain muscles.

What is the strangest position you’ve had to hold?
The “plough” pose. It’s a yoga pose. The legs go over the head and touch the floor. It is not only strange but also difficult and uncomfortable in the nude!

What is the one pose you’d love to try but haven’t had the chance to execute?
I’d like to pose with another model, male or female, skin to skin. When you have two bodies together, the silhouettes and energy are different.

Have you ever fallen asleep?
Once, I dozed off for a split second while doing the “Buddha” pose.

Does the air-conditioning in a room affect you...in any particular way?
Yes, it does. There’s shrinkage in places I can’t mention.

Have artists reacted to your body verbally?
They have told me I have an athletic body and have asked what I do to maintain it.

Who does more nude modeling—women or men?
All the studios alternate so I don’t know.

Have you been drawn in abstract form? What colors were used?
Yes, Chinese ink was poured on paper and the paper maneuvered to create shadows. It was very interesting.

Do artists recognize you on the streets with your clothes on?
Yes, they do. It’s me who often cannot recognize them!

Have you posed for anyone else, besides artists?
Yes, for a photographer. I had to hold far more difficult poses like hanging onto a doorframe!

Why do you do it?
I do it for the sake of art and to meet people whom I would not normally meet.

Fresh from her short-lived Parliament days, former Nominated MP Eunice Olsen is disarmingly friendly and chatty. Apart from pursuing the piano and volunteering her time to worthy causes, the ex-Miss Singapore-Universe is also co-hosting Art Central’s very upbeat arts program Front with Debbie Wong and Kumar.

What is your current state of mind?
While in Cambodia on a goodwill trip in May, I met a 13-year-old girl who was forced into prostitution. She had to have sex with at least 10 men every day. She tried to escape, but was caught and tortured. Today, her brains are slowly being eaten up by AIDS. Her plight has pulled me into reflection. What if I had been born there? What would have happened to me? I understand fully that it is the doing and not the reading that is most important.

Do you think apathy is prevalent in Singapore?
It doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist if you don’t see it. In Singapore, our system of education enables us. We should use it to enable others. That’s education.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to merge the piano and volunteerism. I write soppy instrumental ballads and pair them with my pictures of Cambodia. I’m finding more ways to merge all that I do.

What was your NMP experience like?
Amazing and invaluable. I miss Parliament. When you do the work it seems overwhelming, but you have to constantly bring yourself back to why you’re doing it. I look back and realize I was a part of something constructive. Parliament was dissolved before I could fulfill my two years. Now, I’m suffering withdrawal symptoms.

What is your biggest achievement?
I have two, to know that I helped initiate the child-sex tourism issue and the handicap ramps in buses / accessibility issue.

Do you think you’ll be an NMP again?
I would love to because I’m not done yet. I’ve always wanted to speak in Mandarin in Parliament. I hope to be given a chance to do that.

How do you spend your Sunday mornings?
My dad works in Batam and returns on weekdays, so family days are on weekdays. I use Sundays to read, play the piano, hang out with friends and try to go to church.

What is your idea of hell?
Not being able to find meaning in anything I do. Questioning myself all the time. Am I happy? Should I have done something else?

What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolates and more chocolates!

What inspires you?
My mum, dad and godmother. They always say whatever I choose to do, believe in it and commit to it.

How do you recharge?
Doing absolutely nothing. There’s a lot of pleasure in doing absolutely nothing.

What’s playing in your ipod/MP3/CD player?
Black Eyed Peas, Sergio Mendes, and “Absolutely Everybody” by Vanessa Amorosi.

What accessory sets you apart?
Watches. If I don’t wear anything else I must at least wear a watch. I wear my watches to sleep.

What did you believe at 18 that you wish you still believed now?
Oh! I was so young then! My perception on volunteering has evolved. You have to walk the talk.

What trait do you appreciate most in others?
Compassion. I’m drawn to people who are compassionate.

Which living person do you admire most and would like to invite for dinner?
Bill Gates. What brilliance and magnanimity! A great businessman with a greater heart … I want to know how we can hook up, man! Mr. Bill Gates, you’re invited to dinner, anytime!

David Regu

Forty-six-year-old David Regu’s journey into busking began immediately after he completed his national service. He busked for fun at numerous MRT stations for more than 20 years, before auditioning for the NAC and earning himself a letter of endorsement just last year. Now he busks “365 days a year, come rain or shine,” he says.

For most of his life, Regu has done contract work. After a particularly bad year, when he had no work, he decided to busk full-time as a vocalist and guitarist. His obligatory repertoire includes many hit songs, including “Have I Told You Lately,” “A Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “Hey Jude”. Although he doesn’t draw the crowd in droves like eight-year-old drummer Ethan Ong does, Regu is thankful that “the crowds’ response has been pretty good so far.” Last year, he was part of a funeral band, which paid him $150 on top of his daily $20-30 busking earnings. It has been tough but “even when cash is low, I need not beg, borrow or steal, as I have something to tide me over,” he says.

Regu has a host of other problems. Homeless and single, he showers at a friend’s office and sleeps on a bench at Riverside Point. To prevent thieves from pinching the pittance that he earns, he says “I sleep under security cameras so that anything that happens to me can be recorded.” However, this has not stopped him from being robbed twice and attacked by gangsters three times. Nevertheless, he relentlessly returns to his sleeping spot night after night.

Regu has been performing in a Clarke Quay underpass for a year now. He has tried Orchard Road a few times, but finds it too competitive there. “I also avoid places like Chinatown because most of the crowd prefers Chinese music, and I can only do English numbers.” To supplement his meager income as a busker, Regu started a cleaning business, but has yet to attract any client. While waiting for good tidings to come his way, Regu remains committed to busking and “will stop only when I die,” he says. There’s definitely no turning back for this admirable busker, who also adds that “busking makes me feel good and has helped heal my soul.” Regu also happily recalls a time when a sailor popped a $50 note into his box. “It was the first and only time that I received a $50 note from a single person,” he says.

Ethan Ong

Arguably one of the most talked about and successful buskers in town, eight-year-old Ethan Ong garners thunderous applause whenever he hits the drums along Orchard Road. This child prodigy busks for the love of it, unlike most buskers in town who are doing it to earn their keep. Coming from a privileged background, this devout Christian sees busking not as a means to an end, but as an opportunity to use his talent and break away from his mundane routine at home. Ethan’s father Bernard Ong, who accompanies him on all his performances, says that busking has contributed to Ethan’s confidence and “is the only way to practice.” Bernard adds, “It would be impossible to do so at our condominium, as the neighbors would get annoyed.” Asked why he busks, Ethan simply answers, “I like to share the talent that God has given me with everyone else.”

Ethan’s favorite hot spot is outside Paragon, where he performs from 3pm to 6pm every weekend. He recalls two particularly memorable occasions when “a lady jumped out of her car to give me money, and a man asked me for my autograph!” Despite the overwhelming attention, the little drummer boy, who reveres drum legends Akira Jimbo and Dennis Chambers, has managed to stay humble. His advice to parents who have kids who want to busk is to “stay committed and let your children enjoy the experience.” Busking is certainly not about the money for the talented Ethan. Although judging by the hundreds of supportive fans who gather around Ethan every weekend to watch him play, he could certainly do well for himself if he keeps this up long enough.

Star Light, Star Bright

We shed light on some of our worst and best buskers.

Leo Lim

Never mind that he’s been performing on the Orchard Road underpass for more than 20 years. This supremely untalented busker amplifies his voice using a battery operated amplifier, and is still going strong despite his non-singing voice.

Star Power: 1 Thumb Up

Gn Kok Lin

We’ll give it to the 72-year-old who can play a harmonica and juggle two tennis balls at the same time. But man, the noise that he makes with those clogs sure is cloying.

Star Power: 1 Thumb Up

David Regu

Regu’s repertoire of songs may be predictable, but his lively renditions more than make up for it.

Star Power: 3 Thumbs Up

Loh How Tong

Harmonica player Loh, who can be found mostly on weekends near the escalators outside Shaw House, plays evocative tunes that are reminiscent of film music composer Ennio Morricone’s.

Star Power: 3 Thumbs Up

Ethan Ong

What’s not to like about this amiable and energetic eight-year-old drummer who draws the crowd whenever he plays? We always keep an eye out for this small wonder every time we’re in town.

Star Power: 4 Thumbs Up

Mashruddin bin Saharuddin

At 53, this vocalist and guitarist with a Stevie Wonder-likeness plays mostly at the Tampines MRT and sings with heartfelt emotions. He’s certainly one of the most soulful we’ve heard.

Star Power: 4 Thumbs Up

How hard can busking be you ask? Follow us as we attempt to find out what it means to be a busker in Singapore.

How long have you been reading?
Ten years.

What drove you to it?
I saw a palmist and he insisted I pursue it. I was surprised he mentioned it because I didn’t think I had an inclination at all. The palmist was so adamant that I bought a book about tarot card reading. After spending a year learning the ropes, I resigned from my job and set up shop in JB. I returned to Singapore three years later.

Have you had weird clients?
Yes. Someone asked me if I could help him connect with Satan, and another asked if he was a disciple of Satan. I stopped the reading immediately.

Have there been people you’ve not been able to read?
Yes, on two occasions. One was not ready for a reading, and the other was blank. I presume he wasn’t ready too.

What do you do to break the barrier?
When someone is tense, I get him or her to relax by asking them comfortable questions or talking about things in general. These usually help. I tried using them on the two clients I mentioned before, but to no avail.

Do your readings come true?
Readings come true when people are proactive in making a change or decision.

Is it hard for you to relay the bad news?
I tone it down so as not to scare them. I’m only direct when they ask for it.

Can you read yourself?
In my rookie years, I could. But now that I do it professionally, I can’t. It would be wrong for me to use the gift for my own benefit. I also don’t read family and close friends. I have to stay detached for readings to be accurate. If there are external disturbances, the cards will be affected.

Do people return?
My clients are mainly repeat clients.

Who are the most believing lot, men or women?
It’s equal.

Has anyone come to you for cures?
Yes. If it’s a medical condition, I’ll ask them to see a doctor then return for a holistic reading.

How can we spot a fake?
You can’t. I don’t do parties or big events because of this. There are many people out there trying to make a quick buck. In my case, I win clients’ trust by telling them why they’re here and what their problem is before they tell me anything. And it is always accurate.

All cards deal a game of chance. Will you be seeking a space at the upcoming resorts?
Definitely not.