It is not a new obsession, just one that got rekindled after seeing a guy selling roasted chestnut running a pressurized kerosene lantern on his side-cart motorcycle. It was pretty bright and produced a comfortable yellow glow. I thought it was interesting and wanted to purchase one for myself to try it out.
The problem began there. It was so difficult to find a dealer for such things because it just isn't relevant in Singapore. The entire island is connected to an extremely stable electricity and water grid, there is little need for off-grid/emergency equipment such as a kerosene lamp. As such, lantern mantles are not cheap and kerosene is on sale for a whopping $3.40 per 500ml.
I searched high and low and realised that an old company in Singapore actually makes kerosene lamps and export it overseas! They are a brand named "Butterfly" from http://www.butterflyleahin.com
You can watch some videos about these lanterns made by people from as far away as the USA.
So I wrote an email to the company and asked if I could buy one and they said yes! But only for local customers as they typically deal with wholesale and container loads.
The only problem remaining was that I had to take leave from my work to purchase one of these beauties from their company. Oh well, I guess good things have to be planned for.
