Singaporeans and tourists alike can now plan their journey and get to any destination in Singapore easily, with a few inputs on their smartphones. The best thing is, this app is available for free, unlike the paid app gothere.sg which I reviewed a few months ago. Released by TransLink, the bus and MRT operator, it even includes bus and train arrival times. What are some of the key features of TransitLink's How2Go mobile application for the iphone and android?

• Search using address, bus stop code, postal code, landmark, MRT / LRT station and road name. 
• 'My Location' identifies user’s current location (GPS accuracy is dependent on user’s iPhone**).
• ‘Bus Arrival Times’ provides users with the estimated arrival times of the next two buses of the selected bus service.
• 'Advanced Search' option allows users to customize their routes by selecting their preferred transport mode, payment, travel option, day and time of travel as well as specifying the fare type, maximum number of transfers, maximum walking distance, etc.
• Prompt user if the bus services have ended and provide suggested solutions for the following day, 0700 hours onwards.
• 'Browse Map' brings up the map of Singapore and clicking the 'Bus/MRT/LRT' icon will show the bus stops, MRT and LRT stations on the map.
• 'Places of Interest' (POI) gives a list of tourist attractions in Singapore.
• 'Tools' allows user to shift 'Start' and 'End' markers to customize the origin and destination points on the map.

The full review follows, do click more to read all about it! 

Download it right here: https://itunes.apple.com/cn/app/mei-yan-xiang-ji/id592331499?mt=8

How would you like all your photos to look flawless? Now you can with this amazing FREE photo application, 
美颜相机.

The worst haze in Singapore's history started on the 16th of June and escalated to alarming proportions on the 21st of June 2013. PSI went to above 400! Look at what caused it below, Satellite images and NASA data! This changes our perception of air quality forever, as for the first time, we are all without fresh, clean air. I've decided to put a real time monitoring widget of air quality in Singapore on my blog, so while you are reading, you can check the PSI!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/21/satellite-images-and-nasa-data-show-vast-forest-fires-blanketing-singapore-with-record-pollution/

Fortunately I had my ioniser at home, in my room. I decided to get more ionisers on the 19th, as I was starting to wheeze and itch and wanted to get a portable one. That was when I realized that a shortage of ionisers will soon follow, so I booked up ALL the stock Maier had. The full story follows!

If you bought a unit from me, you can click here for more information and an online warranty that I will consolidate and send to Maier as a collective. We all have a one year warranty.

Due to the haze, I haven't been updating Chanchop.com much. I was too busy trying to get air purifiers for my family and friends. These are the ionizers that I managed to get in 3 days, and they allowed my family and friends to breathe easy. While I tried my best to secure the one that I am using, MHI-6200($99.90), they were totally sold out. The manufacturer didn't answer his mobile, but I persisted in calling, whatsapping and smsing. Finally, I managed to book up ALL the MHI6000 ($79.90)  and the MHI1600($59.90) he had.

What an adventure! Jimmy, Uncle Jimbo the magician was also roped in to help deliver the ionisers when the courier company I was going to use to deliver the units stopped work as the PSI had risen to over 400, which was HAZARDOUS, and together, we managed to get the air purifiers to all my friends, putting all the units I had into his little van and going from one location to another. Some of my friends also came to my apartment where Keith helped to pass them the ionisers they had booked and paid for. In all, we managed to get a total of 78 purifiers out to my friends in the space of a day.

Phew! We all had fresh air in our rooms by the 22nd of June after the haze peaked on the 21st of June 2013. What a frantic few days! If you like to find out more about the air purifiers that we managed to get, do read on!

I downloaded the app really quickly and though it is $2.99, it is well worth it! It is also fairly sized, but it took about 2 mins to get fully loaded on my phone, using a 3G connection. This is THE month I challenge myself and start taking public transport! Armed with an iphone5, I roam the streets ... And promptly got lost!

Usually, I would either take a cab or my kind friends who are driving will pick me up, so public transport like buses and mrt is a little confusing for me.

I went for a half an performance ( yes, I perform, and I was a storyteller at the Tampines Regional Library today for POSB's roadshow. ) today and decided to take a bus back home since I was not doing anything much after the show.

I have never been there before, how am I getting home without taking the taxi? ( I took a Taxi there as I wasn't confident in being able to find the place in time. )

Gothere.sg was the site I went to before finding their amazing iphone app, Gothere.sg.

On that site, you can even embed its map on your website if you have one, or simply email the map to your friend. Read more if you want to find out more about this amazing application - yes I am gushing about it, because it is truely really useful!

Trip Color Application REVIEW
I've used an application on the iphone aptly named Trip Color for the recording of this trip. This application allows you to document your trip even after it is over, as whatever photos you have taken on your iphone will store information like date, time and location. This app allows you to read that information in your photo and automatically include that, pulling locations from foursquare as options for your selection as well. 

It allows you to have a chronological record of your trip without having to upload your photos in order, and it also creates an automatic travel blog for you, as seen here. I've paid for the app, and the difference between the free and the paid is just the ability to change your photo after you have published the post as well as the removal of ads. Though I read through the various reviews that supports just using the free version, I believe in paying for it so that the developers will improve and enhance this pretty useful application.

What I really like about this app is the ability to edit, crop, apply filters on your photos from the same app and use the enhanced photos immediately in the creation of your travel blog. It makes creating a travelogue a lot faster, especially if you have a few thousand photos to pour through after each trip.

Vacation recording is definitely easier with this app, but I wish it would allow us to customize the travel blog that it creates automatically, and give us the ability to export or reprint the photos into a book instead of just individual post cards. Also, being able to add an audio clip would definitely be handy, right next to the photo!

I am still looking for new apps I can test out, but Trip Color seems the most complete at the moment, and is able to upload the photos at a later time when internet is available without using up too much battery life from your iphone.