Deroldication@LIFESTYLE

2010, the Year of Travels

2011-01-25T17:07:00.002+08:00

how do i put it without sounding arrogant? haha..but seriously, 2010 saw me travelling the most number of times, for leisure that is.

first up, it was Penang and then KL in Q1, 2010. Then April saw me flying for the 1st time to HK for 10 nights. I rounded up H1, 2010 with another visit to KL. Aug saw me flying to Phuket and Oct another KL trip. Dec flew me to Taipei and HK!

2011 will be relatively quiet, so far with Bangkok in Feb and potentially Melaka in Feb and Cameron Highlands in Mar for now. No further plans due to new job starting in Mar.. haiz.. but still feeling excited due to the new work environment coming up!

2011 will be a blast i am sure!

Haiz....

2010-05-11T16:02:00.001+08:00

Sooooo tired of waiting...

Jetaway Holidays!!

2010-05-03T16:47:00.002+08:00

So far so good.. so good that I can't find time to blog!!

Since Dec 2009, I've been travelling every month!! wow! So nice.. wish that this can continue forever!!

Dec went to Thailand, which was updated in my previous entry. Then End-Jan went Penang via Jetstar until Early-Feb. Nice makan session throughout!! Next was the CNY, mandatory visit to JB to my granny's. Early March flew Jetstar again to KL, visiting Genting at the same time. All photos can be found via my shutterfly website. Then came the big one.... my birthday trip in April, also via Jetstar!!

It was my first visit to HK. The whole experience was peaceful and relaxed as I lazed around in the city for 8 full days (excluding arrival and departure days). Highlights included Disneyland and definitely my birthday dinner at The Peak. Unfortunately it was a foggy day so didnt see much. This 10 days away was continued with yet another Jetstar flight to KL immediately upon my return. This KL trip was for business, my 1st business trip since my 2008 Helsinki trip. Stayed at the wonderful Crowne Plaza hotel with the view of the Petronas Twin Towers.

5 Jetstar flights in 5 months. They should give me an award or something... kekeke.. Too bad May wont be travelling anywhere.. June potentially going to Melaka or KL (yea I know, again).. Then July potential company trip to Macau (I got a feeling it will be via Jetstar as well.. kekek).. Then Aug definitely via Jetstar to Phuket!!!

After Aug, it will be 3 full working months before I see the airport again... and potentially it may be a Jetstar destination as well.... shortlisting Korea and Taiwan.. Fingers Crossed.. keke.

2010-03-11T19:21:00.001+08:00

so tired with work.

holiday hangover

2010-01-07T17:42:00.002+08:00

Was on leave from 22 Dec 2009.... that's 13 days of leave away from work.. well, not exactly 100% away from work.. I still managed to ring back SG while i was in BKK for 10 mins.

Now back at work, that blissful days of leave seems so far away......... and i'm missing it so much!

6 full days and 6 nites in Thailand saw me going for massages 5 times! Day 1 massage, Day 2 facial massage, Day 3 massage, Day 4 massage, Day 5 shopping, Day 6 massage.. haha.. the most number of massages consecutively ever! This was followed by 2 consecutive days of 11hrs sleep... (photos at http://deroldee.shutterfly.com/4284)

Getting back to reality at work seems a torture after that. but life must still go on, rite? have to work hard to get my efficiency level up to where it was in Dec 2009... THis year will be a great year for me, cos i believe it will be. Things will be smooth. Already packing the 1st 4 months with holidays, and planning 2010 year end escape.. keke.. now i need to plan for mid year and 3Q holiday break le.. keke..

Stay funky everyone!

Jetstar-raising

2009-12-29T22:10:00.002+08:00

Lotsa Jetstar trips coming up.... Just ended my Thailand trip to Pattaya and Bangkok, next up, Penang in Jan 2010 and KL in Mar 2010.... starting to get hooked by these budget travelling! You dont need to spend too much on air fares and hotels.... Everything budget pricing... and the best part? You get to take a break a few times a year! This beats taking only 1 expensive break a year as it helps to rejuvenate one from all the work's stresses and worries. This means Europe, Africa, Americas are all out of my planning scope for 2010. However, I've always have a soft spot for Australia, provided cheap deals come along the way..... Till that time comes, I'll be on the look out for more Jetstar's cheap destinations!! keke..

Managing Expectations

2009-12-19T15:29:00.007+08:00

Over the past few days since i posted the entry 'Bloody Year End', I've been doing some soul searching. That entry, which i have deleted, was filled with anger and frustrations on the relationships between people, between friends.

All of us make friends along the way. Some of this relationship lasted just for 1 day. Some that are truly fortunate may last for decades. And sometimes, we take these relationships for granted. For me, I usually tried my best to join as many gatherings as possible with my various groups of friends: The Yuppies (my sec frens), my uni frens, my CKS frens, my army frens, my present colleagues etc. The groupie which i've devoted most of my time to is The Yuppies. Afterall, 17 years of friendship is hard to come by. But with so many groups of friends, it is understandable that the amount of time i can devote to each group will reduce, especially for The Yuppies. As my social circle expands, so will my time with them dilute. I feel that this is alright. I have attended all the birthdays, x'mas and CNY celebrations, not because i felt responsible to, but because I want to. But of cos, i cannot join all the other gatherings.

I have been asked, sometimes jokingly, why i have not been meeting up with some groups of friends. It's tough to stay in contact sometimes. Work load is increasing by the month. I did receive complimentary words at work from my bosses for my hard work and initiatives. Such gestures helped lift me up a lot, especially when impounded by work due to 3rd parties issues. But just when i'm slightly feeling relieved, I do not know why, friends will usually give me craps during this fragile moment of my time where i was surrounded by my stresses and need to concentrate. Comments like, 'You no heart, so long also no contact' or 'I'm tired to call you out again' keeps banging me throughout this year from various parties. But when i do make an effort to arrange and meet up, these frens sometimes do not attend either! Or it could be they do not like my plans to meet up etc. But I do not recall me having to say similar things to them... only recently when my pressure point is beginning to tip the scales.

I've been talking about managing expectations at work, but I feel like I've failed to manage the expectations of my frens. Some frens feel that meeting up is the only way to keep a close relationship. Some will always be there even if we dont meet up so often. Frenship is a tricky issue to manage. How do I manage their expectations of me? It's seems to me that when i've tried my best, there are always some who feels I'm short of trying.

I foresee some frens must be thinking: I have no more expectations of you. This, will be very sad. But, taking a leaf of yet another fren, maybe I should not be too bothered. It could be a case of people changing perspective of things while others have not. A clash of ideology usually will create eruptions. So in the end, no one person can really be blamed for any distancing of relationships.

showerers, beware!

2009-11-25T17:52:00.004+08:00

the past 1 month saw me losing 2 pairs of underwears... in the GYM!

This is a sickening beahviour of an unknown stranger. The underwear i have lost were dirty ones which i have worn for the enitre day! Why would anyone in the right mind wanna take my dirty underwear!?!

The underwears were stolen when i went into the shower cubicles. I hang the undies on a hook just outside the shower curtian, and after shower, it was gone! Definitely not because it fell onto the floor. Definitely not because the cleaner picked it up. I've checked with the cleaner and search the entire area. Definitely not because the person showering next door took it cos it was vacant when i went in and when i was done with showering!

What a pervertic behaviour! I was so angry that i wrote to recommend installation of hooks within the cubicle itself. This has got to stop! I dont want to lose 2 pairs of underwear every month!

this almost sound fiction.... anyone who knows the animae Rama will know that granpa who steals female undies... this is unbelieveable.

TCM, the way to go.

2009-11-18T14:21:00.003+08:00

the past 2 months saw me experiencing several abnormal health symptons... Giddiness, gastric & tummy pains, muscle twitchings etc.. went to see the doc so many times these 8 weeks (i think around 5-6 times!) But still, it seems the root of the problem was not solved... until last night.

I finally went to visit a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medication) practioner. After an hour long consultation, I was finally diagnosed as having too much Yang in my body. This means the heaty-level is too high. This was the cause of my tummy-gastric pains and giddiness. In fact, he was pin point accurate when describing the side effects i had to only nod my head most of the time! ie: I couldnt sleep well at night due to the heat, even though a/c was on.

And after taking the 1st batch of med last night, my tummy-gastric was gone in 1 hr! I had previously taken 2 pills from the doc yesterday morning and afternoon to no effects!

On on a 7 days course. Hopefully, it will solve my giddiness and muscle twitching problems as well. Too bad TCM is not recognise for insurance claims and MC.

S.A

2009-10-16T17:25:00.002+08:00

This Monday, i woke up feeling sheepish. I was on my 1st ever leave of doing nothing!. hahah. Intend to stay home and really do nothing on a supposedly blue monday.. but guess the future has other plans for me. I experienced severe pain in my adominal region for the entire day! oh, well, it's not that the pain persisted non-stop. It came in waves.. but after 9pm that night, it was really bad. I had no choice but to visit the doc the next morning.

The doc quickly diagnosed it as suspected appendicitis (S.A)! That was not something i would have expected! Given 2 kinds of med and went home, still feeling the pain through out the day. The Med Did Not Work!!

So Wednesday came and i dragged myself to work, and to seek another doc's opinion. He gave the same disgnosis, which disappointed me. Gave me stronger pills, and surprisingly, the pain slowly subsided! I still managed to work the entire day despite given MC.

Thursday came and I felt almost normal! I even attended my colleague's wedding the same evening! Hopefully it's not in remission and returns later to haunt me. but it was surely a scary encounter to know i was suspected of having appendicitis!

Snap Snap Snap!

2009-09-17T16:21:00.002+08:00

I got my first ever SLR on 12 September 2009 finally! This was a very very long wait since I've decided to upgrade my Canon Powershot in early 2008.

Nikon D5000, 12.3MP, comes with 18-55mm & 55-200mm lenses, cost me less than SGD1450! This is around SGD 170 cheaper than normal retail rate (& COMEX)! However, I have yet to really explored this little gem of my yet. Was it due to the long waiting that has come to past that made me lost the spark to engage in this new toy immediately?

Not really. I've been spending the past few days reading the manuals and guide to taking photos. It's something that i normally will not do! My Canon Powershot's manual book was long gone in the dust. My iMac's instructional book is still nicely packed in its box. My iTouch's manual still in the clear box. But this time round, i really wanna find out the theory of adjusting the bits of my D5000, and the rewards were really great! I've found out how to manage the aperture and shutter to obtain optimal effects. Collecting TODAY's weekly article on using NiKon also helped. All those guides to set the correct settings for different effects.

Now i can safely say that i'm 70% confident with my 1st ever SLR snapping trip this weekend! Hopefully I can capture something really nice. This will be an important exercise for me before my long-awaited Bali trip next week!

Yupieeeeeeeeeee!

the day my shirt was ripped

2009-09-15T14:16:00.002+08:00

what a day it is today. was sitting at my desk at work in the morning... doing some simple stretches, and all of a sudden, my shirt ripped opened from behind! the tear was at least 10cm long and occurred on the upper back area. Lucky for me, my chair has a tall back rest. Lucky for me again, i have my blazer with me. I immediately put on my blazer..

Went to the washroom for some damage evaluation. the split was huge! and there were 2 splits! Have i grown fatter? last i weighed, it was 62.3kg, far from my heaviest 65kg in Apr, 2007. It must be the brand.. Topman. All my Topman shirt has some problems here and there. But this time it's the ultimate!

I had to wear my blazer for lunch out in the heat and humid GSM... lucky i got gym wear later, will have to change into that b4 i step outta work!

muscle aches

2009-08-03T14:00:00.002+08:00

for many frens around me, i was usually viewed as the 'healthy' one... mainly due to my frequent gym work out sessions. In truth, I exercise 3-4 times a week on the average. Also in truth, I'm not as fit as many would think i am.

Recently went for my IPPT on Saturday. I've been training on my running for the past 2 months. Well, i wasnt afraid of my 2.4km run.. i usually do quite well even with very little training. My greatest fear is standing broad jump.

For the first time since i started passing my IPPT, i failed my SBJ. i jumped a miserably 207cm, just 5cm short of passing mark. I tried at least 8-10 times of jumps until I really could not jump any further. It was so disappointing. And of cos, it affected my 2.4km run which follows... my timing of 11.04min could have been faster if my legs were not extremely tired due to the many jumps. But it was good enuff for a B grade.

Lucky thing is, I only need to retake my SBJ the next time. and the next time will be nex Wed during my ICT! Need to start training asap... But my whole body is now in great pain! I've not experienced severe muslce ache for a few years. I've always been working out here and there to prevent such a scenario from happening. However, this time was different. I was experiencing pain almost immediately upon completing my 2.4km run! and the pain was excruciating the next day, my entire leg (calves, trunk, tighs etc). Lasting from Saturday until today, and potentially will extend a couple of days more, this is my most severe pain for sure, especially I was already well toned b4 the IPPT!

Looks like i'm not as fit as I tot I was.. haiz. better start training harder!

the year of travel BBBBBBbssssss

2009-07-24T15:06:00.002+08:00

2009 can be considered a year of many Bs, mainly due to the many 'B's destinations I will be visiting. Reviewing 2009 trips plan (oh so many.. keke):

April 2009: Kuala Lumpur / Melaka Trip. Ok, no B here. but it was my 1st holiday trip of the year, and it was to celebrate my 29th birthday! Great time relaxing and doing nothing much in KL while we makaned all the way in Melaka

June 2009: Batam. My 1st trip to Batam. Stayed at the fabulous Harris Resort which has lotsa activities! Tried cable ski for the very first time! My advise, bring a pair of lousy used gloves. The force exerted on your palms could cause u blisters! great BBQ dinner by the pool, with live entertainment where staff gathered all present to a sing and dance session. Shiok!

Sept 2009: Bali. Bali is one of the world's most famous island with its sandy white beaches and clear blue seas. can't wait!

Dec 2009: Bangkok. Bangkok is starting to turn into my most visited cities! Thsi will officially mark my 7th visit to the bustling capital of Thailand! That's just after Kuala Lumpur where I might have visited around 8 times! Oh and not forgetting 6 times each to Mumbai and Delhi, but those were biz trips, not counted.

See, lotsa Bs.. too bad other more exotic Bs are not in, like Bolivia, Boston etc.. Potentially planning another trip in end Aug 2009.... this year could potentially be my most travelled year (holiday travels i mean)! keke.

iras call-up

2009-07-24T11:53:00.002+08:00

i received a call from an unfamiliar number yesterday. I picked up the phone and on the other side was a lady saying: 'hi, this is calling from IRAS'. My heart sank. I quickly raced thru my past records in my head: have i paid my tax? Or have i missed out on any declarations?

turns out this lady was responding to my 'recently submitted' resume. 'Are you available for a temp position at IRAS?' she asked. I was stunned! I've not updated my resume since September 2007! It will be a horrific task for me to even try and locate my resume. She claimed that my resume was submitted online in July 2009 for this position. When i told her that is impossible, she laughed in disbelief. I told her that i'm in my current job since 2007, and had not applied for another since.

Her response was, it was an online resume submission, so it will not be possible for those who are not sincere in applying to submit the Word doc. Both of us were bewildered by this. With a laugh, we both hang up our phone.

My colleagues, who by now have guessed what was going on while i was on the phone, told me that it could be someone trying to use my resume to apply for a job.

Or was it a ghost?

life is fragile

2009-07-20T17:39:00.002+08:00

within a span of 4 days, 2 people i know passed away as they lost their battle to cancer. the first was a neighbor, RouLin. on the 15th July 2009, i received an sms from my mum on this update. the first reaction was of shock. She was of my age. We went to the same tuition class when we were primary 6. After primary 6, however, we did not keep in touch. that was 1992. I've heard about her only via my mum once in a blue moon. To think that 16 years down the road, i will meet her again at her funeral at the void deck. She was a beautiful young lady with a successful career. during the funeral, the pastor told her history. apparently, she had a finance degree but she went on to do a law degree and was working with her new employer for slightly over 1 year prior to her death bed. Her diagnosis of stomach cancer was in Nov 2008, but she went through chemo by herself w/o informing her family until a stage she could not keep it from them.

At the funeral, frens and relatives and neighbors gathered with grief faces. i've not seen a more sombre funeral. Perhaps it was due to her young age, everyone was feeling that her lose was really a great pity. it was at that time that it struck me life was really fragile and precious. Death can happen to anyone, successful or failure, young or old.

My deep heart lingered for the next 2 days as i tried to focus on the more positive things in life. Then came this morning at work that i found out that a colleague had just gave in to cancer. Mr Anthony Sim was a very friendly mentor to most of us, partially due to his seniority. He was the oldest member in my firm. he had such memorable laughter that he won the Most Gregarious Laugh last year during my company's x'mas event! always friendly and smiling, this grandfather was also generous. he would bring his home grown big fat banana for us. and it was the best banana you can ever have. thick red and sweet, nothing you can find in the stores.

When i found out about his death, it was already 2 days late. he passed away on 18th July 2009 in the morning. Some of my colleagues went down this afternoon to his funeral. the atmosphere was quite different from Roulin's. mainly due to his age and that he has lived a full life. everyone was pleasant and smiling.

however, there was still a sense of loss in me. 2 back to back deaths involving cancer is intimidating. another colleague is now away from work to nurse his mom from cancer as well.

All these events pierced hardly into me. Sometimes, when life is good, you tend to overlook on things around you. I need to learn to appreciate those around me more. Maybe I shd start to venture outside my box from today. Maybe I shd get a full body check up.

No one knows when is each's expiration date. one can only try to make each day a great one while still breathing.

RIP Roulin and Anthony.

control control

2009-05-22T17:17:00.002+08:00

perhaps due to some stresses, my ability to control my temper has reduced recently. hopefully i've not offended too many ppl around me yet. apologies, apologies if I have offended you (unless u really deserves my scoldings) :P

nokia versus iTouch

2009-04-15T17:53:00.002+08:00

i so wanted to get an iPhone, but now with my new iTouch, i get to experience wat iPhone is (almost) like... and my nokia phone is nowhere near it's usability!

Advantages over Nokia
1. the wider screen
2. the better sound quality. Music just sounds soooo much better on iTouch
3. the multitude of applications and games you can install for free
4. it's interactive touch screen (granted, nokia's new models come with touch screen as well)
5. it's very wide and generous screen
6. it's super compatible with my iMac

Although iTouch does not have camera or voice recording function, it's still a dream to have it. next year, just wait for 1 more year b4 my contract with M1 expires. Then i will join Singtel for the iPhone package! cant wait.

my humble pre-birthday celebrations

2009-04-13T16:02:00.000+08:00

hmmm.... the yuppies managed to host yet another great and fun celebration for me on Good Friday itself. we had potluck at JH and VVN's place, and i played WII for the very first time.. it was really great fun! Good to have one at home.

I made apple crumble, and it ended up as my birthday cake. hahah. so from now on, all Yuppies birthday, the birthday girl or boy has to make his or her own cake! Great fun..

1 week to go b4 my birthday... received so many greetings via FB.... also got iTouch as a present.

Thank you everyone!!!! So exciting, going to Malaysia for my birthday celebration!

me a grass fragrance person?

2009-04-08T17:23:00.002+08:00

Just completed a test, with results I dont really agree:

You are the Grass-Fragrance type:

You have very strong will, not dependent on others, and gives an impression of being a lone-ranger. You are extremely curious and sensual, living a clear-headed, modern life. At first glance, you place yourself on a pedestal, and are difficult to get along. But once others talk to you, they know you are easygoing. And when the relationship develops, they realise you are affable. You have an androgynous charm, which makes you popular with all genders. But you don't like your weak side to be seen. You might look cool on the surface, but beneath it all, you are really passionate. Only people who know your true self can maintain a long-lasting relationship with you.

Rude Hawker

2009-03-31T17:25:00.002+08:00

Just been abused by a rude hawker last Sunday. Went to Clementi hawker center for breakfast. wanted to buy fried carrot cake. There was no one there in the queue. I went to approach the hawker who was busy cooking... he didnt even bother to entertain me at all after standing there for a while. When he finally saw me, he hushed me to his assistance who has all along been facing her back to everyone. Before I could place my order, she told me off in a rude vocal: "We got many orders, need to wait at least 15 minutes!" Then she turned her back to me again without checking whether I mind the wait.

What a rude hawker! The store number is #01-42 and they sell Fried Kway Teow, Fried Oyster and Carrot Cake. Dont go there!! (will try to upload the pic i took of the store front soon)

lucky drew me

2009-03-24T16:55:00.003+08:00

wow.. I've not been really lucky with lucky draws.. but today I won a 8GB thumbdrive!

Took part in a Safety Crossword Puzzle quiz.. we got over 10 of us from my firm participating... I got the 10th prize while another colleague got the 5th prize, a 2GB MP3 player.. Happy with my thumbdrive cos it was sold out when I tried to buy it at the IT fair earlier this month...

happy for the simpliest reasons. hehe..

healthy living.. it's all about discipline

2009-03-19T15:28:00.002+08:00

Recently, i've been hit by the healthy living bug... well, not yet a health freak, but starting to take notice of things around me.

I've been starting to abstain from oily unhealthy food as much as i can, removing the fat underneath the duck skin etc.. then again, i just cant bear not to eat the skin.. haha.

I've also changed my work out routine... instead of weights focused, I'm more cardio inclined now. Running on the treadmill at least once a week, plus 1 yoga session a week, with reduced weights work out from 3 times a week to just once now. Maybe i'll get fitter with lesser body fat? :P

my 2009 1st quarter creations

2009-03-13T14:29:00.003+08:00

made 4 cakes of 2 flavours...

1st: cheese cream sponge cake with fruits. Same flavours but 3 different designs

2nd: chocolate sponge cake with chocolate creams and berries. Gonna make another one with exactly same flavour but different design soon!

fortunate traveller me

2009-03-06T18:25:00.003+08:00

It just dawned to me that I've actually travelled to so many places even before hitting 30 years old, over 100 various towns and cities world wide!! So fortunate am I that I've even travelled to more Chinese cities than my Chinese friends, and more Indian cities than my Indian friends. I might have even visited more Malaysian cities and towns than my Malaysian friends! I remember once when I was studying in Australia when my local OZ fren told me he's never been to so many places compared to me downunder.

Singaporeans are such frequent flyers that sometimes we don't realise how fortunate we are. Even in times of recession the NATAS fair still is doing so well! We just need to travel to another country!! I guess this addiction is understandable. I'm also one addict myself... based on the targets I set myself last year to visit at least 4 places I've never visited. I've done that with Malacca, London, Helsinki, Espoo and Chiang Mai. This year can't be that ambitious.. maybe 2 unvisited destinations? :P Planning a potential of 4 overseas trips this year.. wosh! sounds a lot.. but mainly short trips... Shall have a big one early next year during CNY? fingers crossed.

Worst Army Experience

2009-02-24T18:20:00.005+08:00

I was recalled for a silent mob sometime in Feb this year. It proved to be the worst army experience ever!

Called at 1.45pm, told to report by 3pm. Thank you for the last minute information. Recalled for me should be 2hrs in advance. Rushed down and then ferried to the manning area to set up. Set up was so bad. SAF got so much $$ but not enuff to get decent PC. Our tablet kept hanging and we had to apologise for the cock up! Talk about SAF not owning up to their errors. M hour being 5pm, means we can leave only at 1am. Then head to the equiping centre where we just waited. The reason? Cos it was too late and no public transport. So they wont release us until the next day. Crazy. I heard from internally there was a timing cock up! Supposed to be having M hour at latest 4pm, most prob ard 12-2pm. For their cock up, we have to suffer! No bunks, no shower, just sat and lay on the concrete flooring... in a multi-story carpark!!! Most of us couldnt even sleep! I rather leave camp and take a cab. Ops, i think they are afraid of people wanting to claim for cab fares!

We waited for the sun to raise before we were allowed to book out at around 9am. So tired I had to take the next Monday off to sleep at home. Most of my fellow camp mates do not have such luxury and slogged back to work with only 30% operating capacity.

Then I found out that I was paid for my service from 2.55pm to 11pm on that activation Saturday!!.. so furious I wrote in to complain... Finally they changed.. Read below's email and u will understand why I became more furious after reading that! And to think the gals tot we guys were fortunate for receiving that miserable $100 of Relief Package (fyi, this year I no receive cos I got it last year!). Please bear in mind that we guys have to burn our weekend for errors on SAF part sometimes. Come to think of it, for all the errors and time wastage and burnt weekends, that should work out to roughly $10 or less per day for my sacrifice. Not a bad pay really, considering SAF's standard.

Dear Dian-Hao

National Service is a duty to the Nation. NSmen are given service pay for each day of NS Training, including Saturdays & Sundays. While this cannot fully compensate our NSmen for their commitment and contribution towards NS, service pay serves to recognise each day of contribution made by NSmen.

For oyur recent NS Training, your NS Unit had since amended your attendance to 21 Feb 09 (1455hrs) - 22 Feb 09 (0800hrs). As the total duration is less than 18 hours, your Service Pay for this NS training is still calculated based on one day ($ xx.xx).

Since you did not suffer civilian income loss due to this NS Training, you will not be able to claim make-up pay from MINDEF. Make-up Pay is the difference between your civilian income loss and your service pay for the NS training.MINDEF understands that it is not possible to fully compensate our NSmen for the sacrifice they have made to NS, we appreciate and recognise their contribution through various ways such as granting of NSmen Tax Relief and in the form of additional allocations in asset enhancement schemes such as the GST Credits and Growth Dividends.

We thank you for your feedback and look forward to your continued support of NS.

Lai Hung Yin(Ms)
Customer Service Officer
MINDEF Shared Services -
NPCFOR AND ON BEHALF OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

-----Original Message-----

To:SAF
Subject:Make-Up Pay Claims

To whom it may concern,

I would like to refer to my recent silent mob call up on 21 Feb 2009. On the http://www.ns.sg/ website, it was indicated that my call up lasted from 1455hrs to 2255hrs. The following queries I have that I would like to understand:

Since the activation was on a weekend, my employer will not be making any claims to SAF?The $xx.xx was the Vocation Pay i was entitled for my being called up?

I belonged to the advance party team where we received the 1st call at 1345hrs. I reached and reported to Jurong camp at 1455hrs. However we stayed at the recall centre until 1am as the M hour was 5pm. We were then transferred to Maju Camp for equiping and only allowed to leave the camp at around 0830hrs the following day. However, these timings were not captured in the system.

Based on the MUP, I was entitled $xx.xx for my service from 1455hrs to 2255hrs on 21 Feb 2009. This was an 8 hours time frame, which is inaccurate. The more accurate timeframe should be from 1455hrs on 21 Feb 2009 to 0830hrs on 22 Feb 2009. This will reflect a 17hrs 35min time frame, which (based on the $xx.xx for 8 hrs) will mean a MUP of around $xx.xx.I believe this is a system error. However, if this is not, then it would be unfortunate that SAF would incur the extra time of their working NSmen without being fair and justified with the MUP. Because of this unexpected overnight call up, most of us ended distracted and tired for work the next day.

I hope to receive your response soon.

Thank you.

my 15 days of cny 2009

2009-02-09T22:37:00.001+08:00

Christmas has its 12 days. CNY has more at 15 days.. and this year's 15 days of CNY has been different and especially nice.

The 1st 2 days were in my previous entry, so i shall start wtih my 3rd day. I stayed up really late till 1.30am just to reply my work emails. According to my animal horoscope, it is auspicious for me to start work on the 3rd day. Since me on leave dat day, so no choice reply at home. Day 3 was a peaceful day where i drove my parents for a nice and simple breakfast in Jurong West.

Day 4 was office day for me. the office was almost empty as most were still on holiday. time jus zoomed by.. same as with Day 5, which is a friday. The weekend was peaceful.

Day 8 was the 1st Monday of the new year, where most ppl reported back to work. and I got my 1st angbao from work that day courtesy from Jessica. Thanks!! The next 2 days were spent in anticipation for Day 11's CNY LoHei by the firm. Anticipation was natural as our boss has the practice of giving very big angbao. Last year's was $288!!!

This year's LoHei was at Nobel house. It was a nice event, not as great as last year's dishes though.. but it doesnt really matter... the most important part of the lunch was when the bosses became the Fortune Gods!! I will not say how much this year's ang bao was.. but it was a sweet surprising moment for everyone. :)

The next day was another great day. My 1st ICT of 2009 was short and sweet. Dinner at PF's place with my 1st KFC meal of the Cow year. Then came the gambling. Not an avid fan of gambling, we played blackjack for around 1.5hrs where i lost $16... after resting for a while (the length of a Hancock movie), i joined my fren with majong... combining power with CF, we both won an astonishing $150!! My 1st win in so many years!! hahaha.. but the drawback, i slept at 6am.. so straining....

Last day of CNY, day 15... My dept had a LoHei at Beng Hiang.. Nice place with great food...

wat a nice 15 days of CNY

photos will be uploaded onto www.deroldee.shutterfly.com

My 100th Entry: Happy Bull Year!!!

2009-01-29T17:25:00.004+08:00

My 100th blog entry!!! and i've becoming lazier and lazier in updating my blog these days. haiz...

Since x'mas 2008, i've been on holiday mood, taking (and clearing) my leave. The super long weekend for CNY helped to uppe the holiday mood as well. Took 2 days off to make it a 6 days break!

Rented a Ford Lazer 1.6L car for 5 days... and practically drove all over SG!! Upon collection, I drove my parents to the Salvation Army, BT Timah, Seng Siong and Woodlands to buy cheap and good seafood. The day ended at Holland V with XO Bee Hoon. Damage done by my parents' wallet? over $300. They couldn't stop buying especially at the seafood warehouse!! There alone burnt up $200!!

Day 2 saw me driving to Bedok for lunch. That was followed by a durian treat and dessert at Red Hill hawker. With not much time to spare resting at home, we headed for ABC market for dinner and then to Alexandra Food Centre for a cuppa nice and rich avocado drink.

Day 3 was another packed day. Driving to Bugis to pick my sis up from gym class, then followed immediately by lunch at Seng Siong Jln Bahar. Nex up, a nice and scenic drive to my granny's place in JB via the 2nd link. The drive was better and smoother than I've expected, and we reached there in just under 35 mins. 2 hours of shopping at nearby Giant before we went to my granny's place for the reunion dinner. The day ended with sparks of fireworks at the stroke of mid-night. nice..

Day 4 was a lazy day, with relatives visitng my granny... we left for SG in the mid afternoon and arrived home just in time for a quick shower. ANd then we were off to our 1st ever reunion dinner outside!! We dined at a steamboat rest at Bugis... the food was not really fantastic, but it was an experience nonetheless. After a very full dinner, we had to walk off the calories. A visit to Mt Faber the Henderson Waves did the trick. The more than 1km walk was sufficient to make all of us sleep a soundful sleep.

Day 5 was a late day. Breakfast was at Jurong Point as it was the 2nd day of CNY.. and most shops were closed. This was followed by some more grocery shopping.. Lunch was a Casurina Drive for the nice pratas. Filled to the brim, we went for a walk at Lower Pierce Reservoir. This was followed by a scenic walk at the Marina Barrage where we witness tonnes of water being released into the sea. DInner was at Subway at Downtown east before we embarked on our tree walk from Alexandrea Arc.

Day 6 was the most relaxing day. Drove out for breakfast at Jurong West old market before the car was finally returned.

Total car rental cost? $450. I think the total petrol cost came up to $ 120. So it was around $114 per day for the car, and it sure did save lots of trouble and brought everyone closer together during this period.

A new Year, hopefully a better year ahead for everyone!! Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

my 2008 blockbuster holiday... ...

2009-01-05T17:53:00.003+08:00

my annual blockbuster holiday saw me flying off to the neighbouring country of Thailand. The land of a thousand smiles was warm in inviting me, and i've not felt such great for a long time. Days seem to whizz past and there was no boring moments. I reckon I've spent around $1200 with all the shopping and makan and massages. With so many activities going on, this trip, however, will truly be known as the Great Thailand Makan Trip!!

First on my plan when i reach bangkok was to tailor some shirts and a pair of trousers. Then it's makan and makan and makan!!! Time jus flew and then it's time for my domestic flight to Chiang Mai!

Chiang Mai, the 2nd largest city in Thailand, is a pleasant place. The December cool weather made the stay even more accomodating. My room with Holiday Inn was upgraded (I supposed due to the recent riots, the holiday must be quite empty) and I've got a pleasant view of the city outskirt.

Staying in Chiang Mai for 4 nights, I've been to a flea market every evening! It was just plain walking down the streets of crowded people (just doesnt feel recession at all). The cummulative effects of these 4 walks? Countless bottles of deliciously refreshing mandrain orange juices, 1 t-shirt, 2 bags, and lotsa road side local delicacies!! And oh yea, I managed to chomp down a couple of bugs in one of the nite markets. hehe.. and they dont taste as disgusting as they look!

This is truely a relaxing and free and easy trip in Chiang Mai. Joining 2 day trips to Doi Ithanon and Chiang Dao Mountains were basically the main highlights of my Chiang Mai stop. Di Ithanon is Thailand's highest peak, over 2500m high. We were lucky enuff to have clear blue skies when we arrive there, but nonetheless, it was still brrr brrr cold!!! Due to the cool temperature, the flora there were jus amazing. the lush greens and waterfalls made the entire nature reserve look like a post card picture!

Chiang Dao caves are limestone caves where we get to see the various formations. nothing much except the surprisingly hot temperature!! It was just sweaty, slippery and humid in the cave. Not exactly pleasing walk.. A visit to the 5 minority tribes followed where the locals would rushed forward to sell their crafts.

Returning to Bangkok, the weather seemed to cool down somewhat. The count down party preparations can be seen everywhere in the city. Being lazy, i was back in the room by 11pm... However, i did not miss out any sparks of the new year... at the stroke of midnight, fireworks began spilling the dark skies with dazzling colors from the view and comfort of my room!! what a way to enjoy the spectacular view!!

Time truly whizzed by extremely fast for this trip.. so relaxed and so in control.... the 9 days of fun will definitely etch a wonderful memory for me. Chiang Mai is definitely worth revisiting... anyone interested? :P

Photos can be viewed at www.deroldee.shutterfly.com

Merry Christmas

2008-12-22T16:36:00.003+08:00

Wow, time really flies... it's time for my year end last blog entry again!! So far have not been really consistent with my entries... just too many things happening, and so many events happening.

Last week, I co-organised my company's x'mas party. It was quite fun as i introduced the C&W Awards thing where everyone has to cast their votes on 8 categories like Best Hair and Gregarious Laugh Award. And my boss reward me (as well as my co-organisers) gift vouchers!! Now that vouchers came as a surprise as we have been really hard at work trying to reduce the cost. Our final tally came to 70% of the inital budget. Well, even with the vouchers, we are still within budget. :P

The next day was another activities packed day, with a hi-tea session at Novotel where I ate to my heart's content for only $18 (cos a fren got a 50% discount voucher). This followed by the annual Yuppies X'mas gathering, this time at JH and VVN's new abode.

I got a few presents... A nice long sleve T, quick dri towel, a CD rack shaped like a beer barrel only it's made of obvious plastic, a chic glass wine cannister, an Evian special edition specially flown in from France and a $40 Taka voucher. Not bad I should say, generally satisfied with the gifts. Then we played with our presents.. starting with Bingo where i eventually won $6. We followed up with this silly board game REHAB, with silly cards like Dry Humping the nearest chair... and yes, i was the one who got that card. :P

So far so fun for X'mas 2008. . . and hopefully it will get better.. x'mas day itself will be in bangkok, my 2nd overseas christmas! (1st was in 1993 in Brisbane with my family on a family trip)

Just read about my horoscope for 2009, seems really good. Hopefully it turns out as well as it has been predicted!!..

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone whom I do not have the chance to wish you in person!

gongxi gongxi

2008-11-18T13:52:00.002+08:00

2008, a year of many weddings... well, at least for me. so far, i've attended at least 5 weddings, missed around 3, and with 3 more to go before 2009 arrives. Out of these, i've been and will become brothers for 4 of them and MC for 2. A great 2008 filled with happy couples!

My wedding circuit is gonna start real soon, this sunday will be Emily & Gerard's Wedding where i will be MC cum Brother. Then nex saturday will be JH & VVN's big day where i will be brother, and then Dec's 1st sat will be PF and Derric's wedding. Can be quite tiring, but fun as well... it's a great way to meet and catch up with old frens, since you cant really say no to such a joyous invitation.

To all my friends tying the knot, Congratulations to You!! And many many great years ahead!!

pounding all the way... ...

2008-11-02T21:33:00.002+08:00

It's almost always that someone near me will say i'm skinny and odd to put on some weight. I was at 65kg last year for a brief 3 months period b4 it plummeted down to 60kg... and then everyone was again back to informing me that i became thin and skinny....

truth is, i also no wanna lost weight, but gaining weight is not easy for me. since last year till last month, i managed to hover ard 61kg only... tat's up to only mid Oct 2008.... for no reason, i began piling up my weight, 0.1kg per day... shocking to me.. and then the real bomb came... last tuesday i was at 61.7kg.. and on Wednesday i was weighed at 63.3kg!

Could it be that my met rate is starting to fall now? heard from a fren that met rate will fall quite suddenly.... Or have my weight gaining tactics finally seeing the light of day? anyway, i'm still targeting 65kg.... hmmm... :P

derold travel planner

2008-10-29T15:38:00.003+08:00

It's the end of the year again!! And it's the mood for holidays!! Well, this year should be a rather gloomy year for everyone of us... due to the cloudy economic crisis. My company has begun its retrenchment process for the USA and Europe. Fingers crossed, APAC region will be strong enuff to weather it off....

Anyways, time to think about holidays! For those whom have not yet plan anything, I shall offer you lazy bums some interesting holiday ideas!! Not that I will be going to these places this year.

Sway Away at Surat Thani

9 Days Escape to the wonders of Southern Thailand

Day 1
Depart via Jetstar Asia Flight 3K 511 at 0710hrs, arrive Bangkok at 0835hrs. (SGD115 per pax)

Transfer to Airasia Flight FD 3185 at 1340hrs, arrive Surat Thani at 1455hrs. (SGD 52.81 per pax) Proceed to check in Surat Thani Town Hotel (Tapi Hotel).

Free & Easy walk around, visiting the town’s own attractions and night markets

Day 2
Wake up early to visit the Oyster Farms. Lunch at Oyster Farms area. Then head to Wat Khao Suwan Pradit for a panoramic view of the seascape before heading for dinner at Laem Pho or ak Nam Tapi (Tapi River Estuary).

Day 3

Take a ferry from Surat Thani to Ko Pha-ngan’s Pha-ngan Ferry Terminal (ard BHT250). Rent a car (ard SGD50 per day per car) and drive to the resort. Wind down and enjoy the beaches and the resort.

Day 4
Wake up as late as you want, relax at the beach and the swimming pool. Have a lazy afternoon. Head for the Full Moon Party.

Day 5
Check out from beach resort in the afternoon and head to Surat Thani. Check in to Surat Thani Hotel, and explore the town sights. Visit the famous Night Market of Surat Thani and feast your dinner senses with the local delicacies.

Day 6

Check out Hotel in the early morning and head to Surat Thani Airport by 9am. Depart via Airasia Flight FD 3182 at 1045hrs, arrive Bangkok at 1155hrs. (SGD33.30 per pax)
Check in to our hotel and take a refresher before hunting for lunch. Enjoy the many malls in the Pathum Wan area, which includes MBK, Discovery Centre and Siam Paragon, an up-market spacious super mall. Catch a movie experience at Siam Paragon with the deluxe cinematic novelty!

Day 7
Sawatika! Welcome to ancient Thailand. Today shall see you exploring the historical sights in Bangkok. Lesson 101: Wat is Thai for Temple. And since Thailand is mainly a Buddhist country, there are plenty of temples around!!

The Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaeo, 8.30am to 3.30pm ( Baht 200 per pax)
Wat Pho (Sleeping Buddha), 8.00am to 5.00pm (Baht 20 per pax)
Wat Arun, 7.00am to 5.20pm
Wat Benchamabophit, 8.00am to 5.00pm (Baht 20 per pax)

Enjoy the famous river cruise along the river market.

Night falls, and it’s time to be awake! Time to visit the night spots of Bangkok! Chill out at the many innovative bars such as Bed Supperclub and Q-bar.

Day 8

Wake up to a day of Flea Market shopping! Brace yourself for at least 4 hours of hot and sweaty walk through the maze of small shops selling everything from clothing to pets to food stuff at the famous Chatuchuk market!

Wrap up the day with a relaxing spa experience before heading down to the red light districts of Patpong and Silom districts. Happy hours all night long!!

Day 9
Wake up late from last night’s party and prepare for packing and check-out. Depart via Airasia Flight FD 3505 at 1645hrs, arrive Singapore at 2005hrs (SGD 126.99 per pax)

As always, you can never squeeze in everything with just one trip. Great sights and magnificent company will always make a long trip seems rather short. Till the next trip!!

Estimated Airfare Total: SGD 328.10 per pax
Estimated Hotel Cost Total: SGD 400 per pax (est $50 per pax per nite)
Estimated Entertainment Cost Total: SGD 500 per pax (over budgeting by 20-30%)
Estimated Admission Fees Total: SGD 50 per pax
Estimated Shopping Cost Total: God-knows. Haha

Estimated Grand Total: SGD 1,300 or SGD 144 per day (all inclusive)
Estimated Min Grand Total: SGD 1,000 (based on more economical accommodations)

The Great Java Trail

7 Days Journey of Discovery

Day 1
Depart via SIA SQ 958 at 1240hrs, arriving Jakarta at 1315hrs. Free and Easy in the Capital City of Indonesia

Day 2
Wake up early next day. Transfer to morning train departure for Yogyakarta. Arrive in the afternoon and check into Hotel. Explore Yog’s city bazzar and night life.

Day 3
Wake up for a relic getaway to the sacred grounds of Borobudor, the largest building of Buddhist worship place in the 9th Century. This ancient structure has 9 levels, depicting the 9 levels of Heaven.

Located just 17km from the city centre lies Prambanan, also known as the Most Beautiful Hindu Temple in the World. Soaring 47m, the 10th Century structure has 3 main temples in the primary yard, plus several hundred smaller ones surrounding it.

Located Just beside Prambanan lies Candi Plaosan, also known as the Twin Temple. It has 116 ancillary domes and 50 ancillary temples

Experience the wondrous relaxing power of the Javanese Massage.

Day 4
Yogyakarta to Jakarta via Train (Overnight Train)

Day 5
Jakarta, Free & Easy

Day 6
Jakarta, Free & Easy

Day 7
Head to Jakarta International Airport for our SIA flight SQ 967, departing 2015hrs, arriving Singapore 2250hrs.

OktoberfeSt

2008-10-20T17:50:00.003+08:00

Wow, it's been almost 5 months since my last entry! Time really flies. The past 5 months have been sooo busy.... rushing through work, OTs, 3 weeks ICT... now finally things are slowing down a bit...(yea, the economy as well)..

October is like the month of new starts... Firstly, my office moved to Ocean Tower, and a new (but smaller) desk for me. The new open concept takes quite some time to get used to (still not used to it yet) as people talks without partitions.... can get a bit annoying sometimes. Well, I sometimes am guilty of that as well. haaha... So now I'll been occassionally seen with ear-piece and perhaps humming some tunes while i work my way through heaps of administrations. :P

October also presents my first holiday trip, well, even though it's KL. Going there really soon this weekend. Gonna really do nothing and eat and shop (not a lot though) and think nothing. hahaha.. Be a himbo (even though i'm not good looking to qualify, but perhaps dumb enuff?) :P

October also see me joining yoga for a change. Yea, pressured by a bunch of friends to take it. Went for 1 lesson, and it was alright.. haha. Elementary class lesson 1. Well, I know nuts about yoga.. so see how lor.. :P

October also may potentially see me record my 2nd single (Love Departs) on my iMac. 1st one done (but not published to all my frens to listen yet) last month... took me so long to complete the 2nd song's arrangement.. haiz.. what to do? Me lazy wat.. :P But must buck up more.. 10 songs in total to be recorded.. stressed.. -_-

What a busy October month. ahhah..

my montage

2008-05-30T15:14:00.007+08:00

Been feeling a bit silly and bored lately and scrolling my over 3000++ online photo album. Sure sounds like a lot of photos, but actually not really so. Then this crazy idea to chronicle the pictures according to the years i've posted my online photos.. and the result was just crazy.. haha. i didnt know i could actually look fat in some pictures.. :P well, 2007 and 2008 will be out soon.. :P

The Emperor and his Men

2008-05-12T16:37:00.002+08:00

Why is it always the men who are nervous and worrying for the Emperor when he himself is not at all worried?

2008-04-18T16:50:00.002+08:00

As my birthday draws nearer (7 more hours to be exact, taking into consideration it's 5pm now), I'm beginning to have that new year feel again. It's that goals and aims I wish to accomplish before my nex birthday. Yes, it sure does sounds like another resolution in the making. Well, everyone has unlimited wants, so here goes:

1) My target of 4 new destinations for 2008 is nearly there, with Melaka, Helsinki and London visited. So from tmr, I shall set another target... I wish to travel to another 4 overseas destinations this year, regardless whether I've been there before or not, or whether it is near or far. If my tentative Dallas conference in Oct comes true, I should have no problem attaining this target. Plus my plan for either Hokkaido or NZ in Jan 2009, suddenly this target seems not so tough already. :P

2) I hope to take the A380 SIA flight to somewhere far. Then again, SIA flies her A380 to destinations of at least 8hrs.

3) I hope to out perform with my work. So far I think I've done much more than I expected of myself, but it always seems not enuff at work...

4) I have been delaying buying of my recording equipments. Hopefully this year I will still have time to write and record at least 5 songs by year end, and 10 songs before my next birthday. But first, need money to buy the stuff.

5) I hope to find time to do some cooking, this time less with the sweet stuff, and more on my favourite savoury dishes... perhaps coming up with some new recipe at the same time.

mm.. seems not too daring with my targets.. but should be attainable bah.. :P

April Surprise

2008-04-12T00:26:00.002+08:00

10 April 2008, my 1st birthday celebration of the year. My great gang of ex-colleagues and now great frens. Had a wonderful dinner cum chatting session at Swenson PS where I had a sliced birthday ice-cream cake. Then when we were abt to leave, they presented me a brown box with the brand Raoul on it. The first thing that came to mind was cuff links, or maybe even a tie. As I unravel the ribbon and opened the box, my anticipation turned into a pleasant surprise. It was a watch! To think just 2 weeks ago I had almost lost my watch, and just last week I was thinking of finally buying myself one. With this new watch, it will mean an unbroken chain of free watches since secondary school.. haha..

After dinner programme was just a party of 5 at Clementi coffee shop with drinks and sinful fried chicken. But it was yet another great session.

Thank you all of you from Club CKSian!!

Europa Adventura 5

2008-04-12T00:24:00.002+08:00

My 3D2N stay in London was very action-packed, tiring and cold... to some point even miserable. But i maganed to make new friends with my room mates. The unexpected snow (the 1st snow in over 20 years in April) brought several unexpected surprises: the sight of people scurrying to see the snow, and also the unexpected coldness that attacked me.

It was so cold that I only showered once in london. On the 2nd day, it was too cold to shower at night, and in the next morning as well. I had to check out and then explore London in unclean clothings... and then took the TUBE to the airport... and a 12hr flight home. It was basically a straight 3 days of no showering! I found myself with really stinky clothings when i finally shower. And no prizes for guessing that i spent a fair time in the bathroom bathing that evening. hehe..

All in all, it was a great trip, though I did not feel really fantastic like a holiday trip. Guess i am still too pampered to stay in bunkers... haiz..

Europa Adventura 4

2008-04-12T00:23:00.008+08:00

I've finally arrived at one of the greatest civilisation of the world: England. Due to tight budget constraints (only had GBP 200 to spare), I found myself in a rather unenviable position to save wherever I go. First up, the famous Tube.... or should I call it the infamous Tube. The first person I talked to upon stepping outta Heathrow was the ticket seller, who happened to be supremely rude. Apparently, many of my friends who went there told me the same thing as well. Seems Singapore's so called lousy service still can manage to win London's crappy attitude hands-down anythime.

Well, day 1 was not too bad as I occupied myself with 2 back to back musicals. First up, The Lion King. The much anticipated musical has a few added scenes, and it's really amazing how you actually can related to each character even when they are supposed to be animals. With just a short break of less than 2 hrs, I had myself a 1-pounder burger for dinner before I head for another musical. The Lord of the Rings Musical cost me GBP20, a great discount since I was given the 1st row seats. A supposedly great show with great displays of special effects.. but at front row, I can't see the stage floor to fully appreciate the true beauty. Well, can't complain with that price I'm paying.

A cold, drizzling night greeted me as I made my way to the red light distric of SOHO for a short walk. The place was crowded with so many people you could almost feel the heat of the beat.. literally.. Well, didnt have budget to go into any one of those shops, so headed back to my humble hostel for a quick shower and then to bed.

Europa Adventura 3

2008-04-12T00:23:00.006+08:00

5 days of conference from Monday to Friday saw me meeting my global colleagues for the very 1st time: 1 from Beijing, 2 from USA, and 1 from Finland. Very friendly people with lotsa experience for me to absorb and learn from.

Experiencing my 1st business trip since my days with Stamford Tyres required some adjustments. For one, I have to adjust to the fact that I can eat whatever I want for all the meals.. haha. Well, that's really not too difficult to adjust to. Since lunches were settled mostly at Nokia's premises, dinners were the events that I look forward to daily.

1st dinner on Sunday was a hotel restaurant affair, followed by Italian the next day. 3rd night was Thai, as requested by my American colleague. It was surprisingly nice considering it was in Helsinki. 4th night was the star as I sampled Finnish cruisine. I had reindeer meat, which is really popular in Finland. It tasted like beef marinated in butter, and it almost melted in my mouth. My reindeer 3 course meal cost me around EUR 50. It sure does sounds alot in SGD terms (SGD110). Thursday was free and easy with Italian dinner.

The 5th night saw me consuming the costliest dinner I've had so far in SGD terms. We went to a Michellin star restaurant and I had EUR69 dinner set accompanied by champage. My total bill came to SGD170!!

During the 1 week meeting, I've also visited this quint little town of Salo and Nokia's phone factory. Didn't buy any mobile phones, but I got a huge bag of chocolates costing me a fortune.

From a luggage of 18kg, I've increased to 22kg for my flight to London in the early morning of Saturday. It was a great week in Helsinki with lotsa great food and snow scape.

Europa Adventura 2

2008-04-02T01:39:00.002+08:00

Day 2 of my stay at Helsinki saw me sailing out of the city centre. Yes, I set sail for the Suomenlinna, a Finnish isle fort. It was so damn freezing cold there, with very visible snowscape and chilly winds. So chilly the skin on my fingers began to peel... and it was not funny at all. But the place was beautiful with great architectures and solid fort structures.

Lunch was on the isle, with a chocolate bar and a local beer costing me a total of Euro 2.50. Yes, beer is cheap cheap here! I endured another chilly ferry ride back to the mainland, and began exploring the day time Helsinki again, visitng Uspendski Church as well as Senate Square with all the important buildings.

Checkin into my room at SAS Radisson Hotel at the highest level with nice bed and bathtub was a great change from my backpacker's environment. (then again, i will be staying at backpackers in london.. haiz) Oh, and nursing my sore eye.. haiz... This year has really been a sick year for me.. Been attacked by so many virus.. so sianz...

Europa Adventura 1

2008-03-30T03:47:00.004+08:00

Since the start of the new millennium, I've been taking the airline that is A Great Way to Fly countless time.. in fact I would say all the time except 1 time when i flew Qantas for uni, and 1 time with the airline where Everyone Can Fly (Air Asia) to Bangkok in 2006. And now, I've taken my virgin flight with The World's Favourite Airline to London, followed by Finnar to Helsinki. My BA flight was alright, thanks to a major part that I took a sleeping pill which knocked me out for 8 hours. The shows were alright, I watched the entertaining Enchanted. Supposed to be flying the Flying Kangaroo, but it was delayed. The seats were reminiscent of budget airlines', but with personal TVs. Yea, they were small can cramped, and all the angmos looked like their intestines are going to be squeezed out! Food was ok, since I've had the worst expectation for the airline. The crew, however, were amazingly friendly. Though the hardwares were lousy, the softwares were not too bad.

Heathrow was an amazingly big yet small airport. With 5 terminals, and moving between them required buses, I would expect a seriously spacious terminal. But while I was at the departing lounge, there were only a few shops and limited seats. Was a little disappointed though, but it was Terminal 1, so maybe the long haul terminal might be better. Finnair was up next. This Finnish airline surprised me. The seats were budget similar, but the crew were fantastic! They were warm and personal, amongst the best I've seen so far for sure. Thankfully this royal Finnish treatment didnt stop there.

Took a cab to my packpackers' inn, but took 1 hr to reach cos driver went holand. It was when I entered my dorm that I realised today could be a day with many 1st, potential my most number of significant 1sts in a day. 1st European airlines flights, 1st European destination since 1997's Instanbul, 1st hostel stay since 2003's Great OZ Trip, 1st snowy winter trip since 1997's XingJiang trip, 1st time I lose something during a trip. Yes, that i will elaborate later...

The temperature here was good today, after 5 straight days of snow storms. clear blue skies with chilly winds blowing, i did a walking tour of the small city center. I still haven not had a European vibe yet, but perhaps I'm still affect with the time difference. Well, after the walking tour, I headed for a true blue finnish tradition: The Finnish Sauna. The 1st shock b4 entering was seeing 2 naked men in towels sitting outside the main entrance to cool down. I soon realised that this was only the tip of the iceberg. The sauna is a traditional Finnish sauna (link to be provided soon) with many steps. 1st, you strip to nothing and go to a public shower area where u clean yourself. Then, u walk for the sauna to heat up yourself until your uppermost tolerance level. Then you come out to cool down, and relax with a beer. I must have done this process at least 4 times, sitting amongst totally naked Finnish men numbering to around 30 arms almost touching arms in the small 'area styled' sauna. The feeling of liberation got more intense as I joined them guys to cool down with only a towel, outside the shopfront. There sitting on the pavement with snow by my side and pedestrians walking, it was a difficult feeling to describe. But it was truely a great feeling. The most awkard part soon came when I went for the Finnish scrub.. This lady just came into the men's shower room and, amongst the dozens of naked men, she began scrubing one a a time. woh!

After 2 hours, I left the wonderful place filled with the memories of friendly Finns whom I've managed to miggled around with. Little did I realise that I have left my watch there at the sauna! Guess I will have to call them to see if they have it at the counter b4 i return for another great session!

(photos to be uploaded soon)

Smashing Saturday...

2008-03-16T17:44:00.006+08:00

Went for some sorts of a recording breaking day yesterday. Went with KK to Brewerkz and splurged $57 per person for dinner... Never thought I would spend so much for jus 1 meal. Well, I did it. 2 portions of beer, plus my 400g beef patties burger. I was so stuffed with those sinful food. Definitely over took my dinner the night before at Still Road with my company department.

After dinner, I did another record breaking thing.. Well, 2 actually. We went for bowling at Chevron, and I scored my best ever score of 158 points in at least 3 years. It was just 6 points shy of my record 164 points I registered in 2002. My 1st game of the night was, well, my usual average of 102.. But then I was on the roll.

My 3rd game would become a game to remember. I registered my highest and best ever (so far) game with 184 point!! What a way to end my Saturday! :)

愚公移山

2008-03-13T18:44:00.002+08:00

My boulder has officially grew into a mountain now.... Seems that even as I try to inch it sideways, more sediments have built up incessantly. Greater level of intensity is now required to remove my obstacle, but then again... my surname is 余。 So I shall do a '余' 公移山, bit by bit, try not to be waivered by the avalanche of pressures building atop this mountain, and eventually reduce this inner demon. Yeah!!

Euro Euro

2008-03-11T23:02:00.002+08:00

My first business trip in more than 18 months... actually not that long ago I flew to Delhi and Nepal for my last business trip... And now just 4 months into my new job, I'll be flying again! This time, it's to another continent, Europe!! And this will mark my 2nd, 3rd and 4th European cities, the 1st being Istanbul.

First stop: Finland... Staying at the Capital city of Helsinki, wtih trips to neighbouring Espoo for conference training. Gonna stay there for 7 nights in the freezing end winter place... hope it's not raining..

Next up will be London!! But only for 2 niights.. Wish I can extend more, but this trip being so unexpected, I dont have the budget to spend more, especially everything is in pounds, which is almost 3 times SGD!!

a boulder in my path

2008-03-03T20:32:00.003+08:00

Sometimes in life, you feel like giving up. But sometimes, you just push on. Strangely, some of those times you don't even have any reason what keeps you going. But you just keep pushing.

I guess for me, I'm jus pushing and pushing, hoping that someday, that boulder will be pushed away to reveal a lighted pathway. Life will be easier then. I've seen people who gave up after some tries, some even gave up with minimal effort. I know I'm not some one who gives up so easily, unless it really something not in my arena. But most of these times, I am clueless as to why I pushed on.

Right now, I'm pushing on on several aspects of life. I think now, I'm experiencing one of my most difficult pushes so far in my life journey. Injuries, pain, agonies, shocks, self-pity, inferior.. all these I've experienced. But I guess I will still continue to push on... cos I know in the end, I'll be able to move that boulder out of my way for a smoother walk path.

coming of spring

2008-02-11T15:08:00.000+08:00

the 5th day of CNY 2008. not a great cny this year, have been sick since the last week of january 2008 until now, with my throat currently feeling like there is a gash or knife wound rotting for attention. well, 10 more days to the end of the CNY celebration, and this coming weekend will be packed with visitations... Ren Ri or People's Day this wednesday will be a double whammy, with company lunch and my own family reunion steamboat dinner. coupled with my inability to exercise and all those eatings, i do feel weak nowadays. hopefully my illness will go away soon and i can finally hit the irons. think i'm really addicted to exercising even though i have been forcing myself to the gym. :P

one look back to december 2007 when i made my 2008 resolutions. i had intended to make at least 4 trips this year. so far, it seems things are going well for trips for 2008. Melaka in january 2008 was my 1st trip, and it will hopefully be continued with more places i've never been before, potentially to Helsinki in Finland coming april for a conference, potentially my 1st Hong Kong trip in june/ july, and a yet-to-be ascertained city for my company's annual conference (hope it's Bali and not bangkok). with all these potentials fuifiled, it will mean i would have completed my target of 4 trips by mid-year! haha.. ok, i shall revise it to at least 4 trips to places i've never been to for 2008. Hahaha.. greedy greedy. now i just have to recover from my illness asap and start building a healthy body for 2008 (horoscope say this year my health not good... so accurate cos i sick thru-out the new year.. sian)

wow

2008-01-15T23:12:00.000+08:00

First, the goosebumps.. Then the chills... Finally you want to shed a tear of emotions. Try watching this VIDEO.

gula melaka

2008-01-07T16:24:00.000+08:00

My 1st overseas trip of 2008: The historical township of Melaka. The great journey began early in the morning as I woke up at 6am and made my way to Golden Mile Complex for the coach to my destination. My ex-colleagues (now good friends and all 15 of them inclusive of spouse and baby) gathered and awaited with thin patience as the bus delayed our set-out timing. Finally, the 2 by 2 seater came to ferry us to the Malaysian customs. We boarded our SVIP 26 seater to Melaka enroute a 3.5hr journey where I slided into immediate slumberland....but only for 2 hours. I woke up to the sound of joy from baby Gerald (vivian and amoz's baby boy). Who would have thought his stamina could be so good to shout almost non-stop throughout the entire trip!

We checked into our fabulous Holiday Inn at level 12. My room offered an expansive seaview whilst some rooms ( we had 7 rooms in total) enjoyed the sleepy Melaka township view. Our 1st objective of arrival was to Makan!! We went to nearby Newton Food Centre where there were a huge variety of tasty nimbles and main courses available. Thereafter, we took the free hotel shuttle bus to the old Melaka town. The Stubhuys was our 1st tourisy stop, basically the famous red buildings of Melaka that used to house the Dutch a few hundred years ago. We proceeded to walk along Jonker Street but the sudden downpour dimmed our hopes to explore any further. We ended up chit-chatting in a local cafe with great ambiance.

The rain finally reduced to a mere drizzle as we made our way out into the street, scouring for some local delicacies. We entered a Noya restaurant with traditional Peranakan Interiors, and began slurping down hot and spicy Noya delights such as Noya Assam Laksa and Curry Noodles. And a very befitting dinner it was with the cool weather. The main attraction was the Durian Chendol for dessert. So cool and nice, but the durain taste was very mild. Instead, the Gula Melaka's taste was more intense! A great way to wash down the heaty dinner!

After dinner plans qucikly became a woman's desire destination. We went the shopping district of Melaka and the girls just went wild with their purchases, again. Haiz.. I really wonder what is there to buy. For the sake of things, I bought a burner at one of the smaller shops.

Shop Shop Shop, and then, Drink Drink Drink!.. ok, we didnt really drink a lot. We gather at the hotel's lounge for a drinking session, and celebrated Ada's last day with CKS. She was the 17th person to tender, but as of tat nite, 21 ppl have already tendered since last week of August 2007! Anyhow, I did get a little high from drinking 2 portions of redwine that night..

The next morning saw me having 4 helpings for breakfast... it's almost like lunch! :P We explored the hotel's pool and did some relaxing chit-chat sessions before we headed out to Bukit St Paul.

Bukit St Paul basically was named after St Pauls Church that was situated atop. Built by the Portugese in 1521, it was taken over by the Dutch and re-named St Pauls Church.The ruins of the church immediately reminded me of one of several structures I saw in Hobart when i visited the ghost town several years ago. It was a simple building with no roof but very solid walls.

The final 2 hours were spent at Makodta Shopping Centre where i basically walked rather aimlessly. Lunch was Chicken Rice balls, though not from the most famous store. It tasted so-so. And then we gather at the lobby of Holiday Inn were we enroute to Singapore.

The whole trip was nothing but pure fun, and with so many activities, it certainly stretched my weekend much longer. I cant wait for the next one soon!

happy new year

2008-01-01T15:05:00.000+08:00

the celebration for 2008 new year was almost a continuation from the earlier xmas eve gathering. after my 1/2 day's work, i went for a gym/massage/facial session to seriously purge myself and relax for the new year. it was followed intensely by a dinner gathering at my ex-colleague's wonderfully furnished detached house's roof terrace.

lotsa food and chats with reasonably strong breeze passing thru us. a belated birthday celebration for Jermain and a session of anyhow-pooling, we headed off to Party World along orchard road for a wild session of countdown plus vocal challenges. A wild night of sparkling grape juice popping, loud cheers and screaming, balloon hitting and whistle blowings. this session will definitely go down as my craziest and loudest countdown party ever.... for now.

it's the season...

2007-12-23T21:57:00.000+08:00

It's the time of the year where everyone gets merry and starts celebrating, even though most of whom i know ain't really christens.. But who cares anyway? It's a celebratory event, and it makes people happy. And that's wat it's all about.

Celebrations with C&W

My xmas bug started 2 fridays ago with my new company. We had this Amazing Race styled luncheon whereby we were divided into around 10 groups and had to drive around to solve puzzles and the 1st team to arrive at the luncheon place wins. haha of cos my team didnt win, but it was all good fun. Lunch was a splendid spread of Brazilian buffet, with free flow of drinks. The day was basically spent with not much work being done as colleagues were free to leave for home straight after lunch. Well, I stayed behind for the after lunch event, which was KTV at Orchard. Strangely though, this "heavenly king" didnt really sing much songs. .mainly jus join along with the flow and sing wat other people's songs... Well, the whole event was definitely out of the world for me, and I had to tell so many people about it. haha

Then the Friday tat jus passed, I made my biggest cake for the past few years for my colleagues at C&W. It was my 1st normal cake or ages: Black Forrest Cake. The review was alright, though the cream was a tad excessive. Still, that was my way of giving for the season. Then back to the kitchen again for another small cake for Yuppies annual dinner event... this time BBQ at JH and VVN's new flat.. turned out to be quite a disaster actually as we chocked the whole flat. In the end, we had to move the pit to the corridor...

I have to say I've received lotsa gifts that are really useful and things i like this year. Thank You all of You GUYS!!!! Pardon me if i didnt have the best gifts for you.

Christmas eve this year will be special.... I'll be spending with my ex-colleagues.. or rather, a reunion gathering.. bowling and dinner and stuff. hahah. hope they include the countdown as well... Merry Christmas Everyone!!

frail, fragile & self absorbed

2007-12-12T09:50:00.000+08:00

Was on a crowded bus on my way home after my usual work-out at the gym. The double decked bus was almost bursting at the seams with people. I had the misfortune to stand near to this self-absorbed lady. This lady wore the so called little black dress aka LBD, together with a pearl necklace and styled & highlighted short crop. Due to the peak hour crowd, the man standing beside me accidentally bumped into her. She was telling off the man not to touch her. To me, I felt she was being petty. She was already sitting down, with so many poor souls standing and balancing to the turns of the bus. No one would wanna touch her, especially since she is already in her fifties- sixties. The man, obviously peeved, managed to get his way thru the crowd and up to the 2nd level. And then it's my turn. Someone had tried to squeezed past me to get off the bus. So I had to make way, and in process bumped into her royal majesty. Again, she complained.. But before I could retaliate, a kind soul beside told her off: No one wanna touch u on purpose, the bus is crowded. If it were to be me, I would have told her off in the face to alight and take a cab! The way she whinned was like people deliberately wanna touch her, or even molest her. Unbelieveable! Come on, she should know she is no longer those young and pretty girls anymore. Learn to behave instead of making a mockry of yourself. Fancy making people feel they are molesters.. Nex time she wont enjoy the same silent treatment from me.

adjustments

2007-12-05T14:11:00.000+08:00

sunset from lift lobby at 29th floor

My 1st week of work at my new company.. Well, it's more of my 3rd day. So far, it's still rather mandane.. have been reading and reading off the PC screen non stop basically. Being the only junior position amongst a team of all managerial and above ranks felt weird. It's almost like I'm working without a companion. But thankfully all the managers are really friendly. Well, the mandane period wont be for long. Cos seems like this is the only low period of the entire year. Colleagues are very friendly, but they dont seem to have lunch gatherings like what i had in CKS though.. Miss those gossip gatherings where we talked more than we eat. haha..

Adjusting to a new environment, and adjust to a brand new system of online chatting as well. I'm officially bidding MSN farewell for now. My new firm dont allow msn, they use skype. So do prompt me for my skype account.

4th day since I opened the big white box and unveiled my 24' iMac. Super slim, super big, and super clear. The boz was so huge I tot i was a walking advertisement for Apple when I lugged it amongst the crowds at SITEX. A good 18.5kg with tough plastic handles caused the skin in my hands to start peeling a day after though.. But it was all worth it. The slimest keyboard, the coolest and most user frenly power mouse, and of cos, the widest screen in my family. (Well, the 2nd biggest, the biggest being the TV in the hall) One thing though, it's a mac, so I'm still quite blur with how to use it, even though it seems that every magazines and newspapers praised its user frenly interface.. Still lost now, and using only the basics.. Well, I dont really use the other functions that much, but I need to figure out the Garage Band to record my demos... Oh, that reminds me, still have to buy the mike and mike stand for recording. Oh dear.. super broke liao.

My Farewell Party

2007-11-30T22:06:00.000+08:00

4 Seasons cookies, representing my 1 year stay at CKS

2 Days ago on 28 November 2007 was my last day with CKS. It was a cordial farewell, with everyone wishing me all the best.. The highlight of the farewell was the dinner gathering. With so many people resigning, we are having a farewell gathering once every month since September. And now, we no longer call it the farewell dinner, but a Reunion Gathering. Cos there will be one in December, and potentially once each in jan and Feb of next year.

We went to MOF (Ministry of Food) in Marina Square with a turnout of 13 people and ordered a feast basically. But the more enjoyable part of the dinner was the talking and catching up, especially since the table was filled with people who have left, people who are on their notice period, and the rest of them who are contemplating to leave. Seems like my ex-firm will be encountering a rough patch really soon by Q1 of 2008.

Makeover

2007-11-22T09:50:00.000+08:00

One fine day, I received a call from this NBYN studio who specialised in makeovers for corporate clients. Apparently, I kinda won a chance for a free makeover, and in the process, they will give me a CD with 2 photos for me to keep. Out of curiosity, I went to this place along Circular Road. I went in and it was a buzz of activities in the studio main lobby area. The place was filled with sales people and lotsa iMacs. They sent me an image consultant and began to devise 2 images for me: Smart Casual and Funky Rock. I didnt know what went over me to agree to the latter, but I did.

I have to admit it was not an easy thing to pose in front of the camera, especially with the ametuers they are using. They did not even do anything to make me feel comfortable. Kinda shocked as the last time I had a photography session by a fren a few years back, I was so comfortable. This time round, it was totally awkard. The Smart Casual one was ok, more of myself basically. However, it was the Funky Rock that was teh evil of the two. They drew a tattoo on my face, made my hair, and made me wear this tight leather pants. Well, basically that was it. It was so strange to pose in such an attire in front of 4 people, whom only 1 I would consider experienced (and it was the image consultant).

The final tally of 51 photos did yield a few nice shots, but there was around 10 blurred shots, and several pretty unflattering angles as well. And wat a bummer it was, considering this was an established studio, as claimed by the consultant. So disappointed was I that I didnt even bother to listen to their packages on offer, not that I will buy. Well, in the end, I picked 2 unblurred and alright pic.. Unedited though.. well, dont think will use much of them.. If I wan, think i will find my fren to take for me.

Spatrachina Volume Twelve

2007-11-21T11:03:00.005+08:00

Century Mansion: Where I stayed in Shanghai

The block I stayed

My last day in China, and I didnt sleep a lot the last night basically. Loads of stuff to pack. And some clean up to do as well. The feeling of a natural sense of sadness swept over me. It's gonna be goodbye holiday, hello work soon. This last day was dedicated to the area I had been staying the past few days, XuJiaHui. And the most famous icon was the Catholic Church. The church, which was out of bounds to outsiders, was a pretty sight given the blooms that adorned the grounds. It was also good that the skies was clear that day.

The Church

Me in front of the church

Bloom

Church side

The streets of XuJiaHui was filled with throngs of people in the early morning. Guess the Shanghainess were eager to enjoy their weekend to the fullest. Along the way, we came upon the statue of Mr Xu, whom have inspired the naming of this region. So cool.. we only have Sir Stamford Raffles statue.

Street of XuJiaHui

Statue of Mr Xu

Blooms

After the walk, I went to the supermarket to buy a dozen of hairy crabs home. It's gonna be a surprise for my family cos my dad's been telling me not to buy.. But such a delicacy at such low prices, how could I resist? A crab was selling at 28RMB (SGD 5.6), while it cost SGD 45 each in sg restaurants. After fillingthe foam box with crabs, we met up with Yufei one last time for breakfast. Then we moved outta her apartment. It was almost a sombre moment for me.. It's been almost 4 years since we last saw each other. (Edward if u r readin this entry: Remember our pact with Yufei? We are supposed to meet up together for a cuppa someday..)

GangHui Complex: Where I bought the Hairy Crabs

1 dozen Hairy Crabs

My Breakfast

Jeremy, Me and Yufei at People's Square

After bading farewell, I followed Jeremy to his hotel room in the Bund area. Relaxing a bit then headed for the Maglev. The Maglev was the much-hyped magnetic railway linking the airport to Pudong. As an air ticket holder, I got to enjoy 10RMB off and paid 40RMB. The futuristic station was the right design for this supersonic train. You could really feel the train flying as it zoomed past buildings like images you would see when u fast forward your videos on TV. The max speed it attained was 431km/hr. F1, move aside man!!

Old and the New

My Maglev Ticket

Maglev Station

The Maglev

Interior

431km/hr!!

Within 10 minutes I'd travelled over 30km to reach Pudong Airport. The airport looked impressive on the outside, but the inside was rather cramped for such a large scale terminal. I guess they dont really maintain the airport as it should have been. Nonetheless, the design was intriguiing enuff for me to snap a few shots.

Airport

Departure Hall

My SIA plane home

Finally, after almost 5 hrs in the sky, I reach the sunny island. Lugging my 30kg worth of luggages (inclusive of hang carry), I took a cab home. The contrast upon stepping outta airport was immediate. The 10 degrees warmer temperature, the higher humidity and the distinctively clearer air. But my heart was still in Shanghai..... The next day, I cooked 1 of the crab for snack.. the delicious taste brought me back to Shanghai for that instance... If only the ticket was cheaper, I would be flying there every other year!!

My luggages

Food stuff I bought

Steaming Hairy Crab

My delicious crab

Spatrachina Volume Eleven

2007-11-21T11:03:00.003+08:00

My last full day of my China trip. While waiting for a cab to take us to Old Shanghai Street, I saw our Singapore flag flying proudly. Apparently, this Metrocity Shopping Mall is owned by Singaporeans I supposed ( or joint venture).

Metro Shopping Mall with SG Flag

Took a can to Shanghai's famous Old Shanghai Street. Actually found it rather commercialised. But then again when in Shanghai, it's tough to really find authentic old and ancient settlements, speaking from a tourist's point of view. Well, Old Shanghai Street was a charming piece of historical relic of this bleaming metropolitan. The structures looked rather new, like newly constructed. I hope that the buildings were indeed restored from the original architecture.

Old Shanghai Street

The Old and New Buildings

Cables overhanging the crowds

Courtyard

Old Shanghai Street was not just 1 street, but a myraid of small roads leading one to a variety of shops and food stores. I got my colleagues some gifts here. With the cool autumn weather, it was akin to walking in Bugis Junction, albeit the very obvious Chinese styled buildings. Finally found the restaurant for the very famous NanXiang Xiao Long Bao and the GuanTang Bao. Actually, they didnt taste nice at all. Thick and tough skin with little tastless fillings. Really wonder why they were so famous in the first place. The XiaoYang ShenJian Mantou can beat this baos hands down anytime of the day.

Drinking the GuanTang Bao

Our Lunch

We decided to explore the outside of the commerical Shanghai Street and found the real jewel of Shanghai's quarters. There in the narrow streets, it was buzzing with activities. People were busy buying their necessities, shopping for bargains, eating at roadside stores, all with the clothes and cable lines hanging on top of them.

The Real Shanghai Streets
Crowds

PoloMa? Where's PoloPa?

We tumbled back to the commercial Shanghai Street with it's very red theme. Yes, red. The buildings were painted red and trees hanging red lanterns. It almost felt CNY while walking amongst the throngs of crowds.

Big Red Lanterns

Narrow Streets

While we were at Old Shanghai Street, we couldnt miss out ChengHuang Temple. Basically, the temple was constructed to mark the celebration for the founding of a new city. So one will be able to find several ChenHuang Temples all over China. The Old Shanghai Street was built around this temple, making it the 'centre of the attraction'. However, paying 10RMB for a compound visit of around 10 minutes seemed rather exorbitant. Well, we utilised the fee fully by really sitting there , resting our feet and legs.

Me at ChengHuang Temple

The Buddha of the Temple
Tree with Red Lanterns

Old Shanghai Street

Traditional Puppet Show

After walking for almost the full day period, we finally sat down for some local munch. We saw this tantalising beancurd and decided that we must have it. However, it turned out to be something we least expected. the beancurd was salty and the scrimps lent a seafood flavour to it! Rather odd to the tongue for us, but the locals looked all the bit satisfying though. Then we also ordered what looked like roasted pigeon, but turned out to be a tough baby duck! Not very smooth on our choice of food that day for sure.

Savoury Beancurb

Tough Duck

We left Old Shanghai Street for the Bund again, this time going for the HuangPu River cruise. We board our ship at 6.30pm and within a few minutes the Bund and Pudong district lit with a dazzling display of lights. Just a pity I dont have a shake free camera so I didnt managed to post many of the taken pics as they were a bit blur. The cruise was a wonderful departure from the usual walking the riverside to take in the view. The cool breeze and the sound of lapping waters made it a memorable experience. The relatively clear day also helped to enhance the visibility of the buildings.

Time to Board the cruise!!

PuDong Disctict

Me with Pearl of the Orient

The Bund

After the 1 hour cruise, we went to meet up with Yufei again, this time for our dinner. Baby lobster, a local delicacy, was the main and only menu for our meal. Baby lobsters were cooked in 3 different flavours and they were simply divine. The only complain: They were really baby sized. Eating the lobsters was also interesting in the fact that we had to wear this plastic aprons and given plastic gloves (which I didnt use). We spent a good 2 and half hours in the restaurant chatting and laughing. It was a great gathering by any standards. And then just by a blink of an eye, it was time to head home for bed. Tonight would be a busy one for me. Have to try to squeeze in everything into my 2 bags. Wonder how heavy I will be checkin in onto the plane.

BuXing Street at Night

Baby Lobsters!!

Wearing my apron! like a skirt

Jeremy, Yufei and Me!!

Spatrachina Volume Ten

2007-11-21T11:03:00.001+08:00

Back in Shanghai, and finally managed to sleep a bit more!! Think I slept 8 hours in total cos there is no need to rush anywhere but Shanghai City itself. And what do people do when they wake up? Breakfast! I brought Jeremy back to the WuJiang Rd where I had those delectable snacks for breakfast. This time, we had the same ShenJian Mantao and Stinky Toufu. We also had BBQ squid which was slowly grilled to perfection. The squid was cooked jus nice, spongy and tangy with the marinate used, yet juicy and tender. Simply heaven.

WuJiang Rd
Me with my ShenJian Mantou

BBQ Squid Store

Hot Squid in my Mouth!

After a great and filling breakfast, we explored the Shanghai city in Puxi on foot. The day was clear and blue, and the city-scape was contrasted with gleaming new steel and glass structures as well as old but well preserved historical buildings.

Le Meridian with Raffles City on the right

Space ship top Radisson Hotel

BuXin Street

As we walked along BuXin Street, we chanced upon this familiar yet strange logo. Clio Coddle was the brand. Talk about imitations. Now that Singapore's Crocodile brand opened a new store in Shanghai, I wonder whether they will start suing this company.

Clio Coddle

As we continued our walk towards the Bund, I saw the very famous Peace Hotel! Lotsa dignitaries, including Sun Zhong Shan, stayed in this hotel. Definitely a photo taking session for me.

Peace Hotel

The clear sky cast a positive glow on the Bund. The Pudong district almost sparkled, while the historical buildings on the Bund stood majestically in the bask of the sun. This is definitely not the China I saw when I first stepped foot into this country in 1991. The metropolitan definitely will put to shame several more developed cities in the world.

Pudong

Me with the Pearl of the Orient Tower

After immersing ourselves with the sweeping views of the Bund, we began to head for the bath house I went a few days back. Along the way, we crossed the road while the red man was still alive and blinking. Then suddenly we heard a loud whistle. We were spotted by the policeman jay walking!! Oh gosh.. breaking the law while overseas!! That's what they say about Singaporeans... behave nice nice at home but turn ugly overseas.. haha. We were more bemused than remorse when the super friendly policeman issued us our fine or 5RMB each. He even joked with us and gave us road directions!! What an experience! So cool, hahaha..

Me with the ticket

Tram lines, Historical buidlings and the Tower

We finally reached the bath house. The same bath house, but now with a fren. It's really strange to be totally naked with a fren in such close proximity, especially when sharing the same bath tub. Well, eventually we got over with that awkardness and enjoyed the various baths like I had the last visit. We went for the scrub again. But this time on top of the scrub and GuaSha I had the last time, we went one step further. We tried the HuoGuan. Basically, the attendants will heat small glass bottles with flames and placed them on our backs. This created a suction and the skin will be sucked upwards. After a while then the pressure is reduced slightly, the glass bottles were removed and reused on the other parts of the back. It was not as painful as I would have imagined. But the aftermath was a shocker. Those who scrolled down too fast would have seen the scars of my attempt. Those who bother to read, note that the following photo might be of disgust to some.

Me with the HuoGuan scars. Actually not scars, just heat marks. Took me over 2 weeks to fully recover!!

After the bath session, we met up with Katt again, this time for the famous Hairy Crab!!.. The crabs were really small in size, even though we had the bigger male crabs, which was in season then. However, the crabs were simply delicious! The Gao, or the sperm, was very rich and creamy while the meat (u need some technique to extract them) was sweet and tender. One downside though: U need to be patient eating the crab. I took 1/2 hour tackling this small creature.

The dinner restaurant

Hairy Crab

The richness of the crab

Great times always ended fast. Soon it was time to part. That very moment it dawn to me that the next day would be my last full day in China for my trip! So sad.

Katt, Jeremy and Me

Spatrachina Volume Nine

2007-11-20T11:31:00.001+08:00

Me Fully Prepared

A cold morning I woke up to. My eyes were opened at the stroke of 3am in the morning. Gosh, it was so difficult to pull oneself outta the bed in a chilling environment! But for the sake of the sunrise over HuangShan, I must get up. Me being a cold-adverse person, I put on countless layers of clothings. hmmm.. 1 long sleve and 1 short sleve t shirt, 1 wollen sweater, 1 pullover, and 1 red overcoat provided by the hotel. Oh, not forgetting my scarf and gym gloves. I dont look too bad with that much layering hor? :P

We went out to really early, guess we were amongst the 1st few to set out to see the sunrise. We didnt take the longer route that would lead us to the sun rising over the horizon. However, we secured a peaceful little location that will afford us to see the sun rise behind some spectacular mountians. There at 4.45am we waited. The sky was ink black cept for the bluish orange colour over the horizon. The moon and the stars were still shining in all their fury. It wasnt very cold. Or perhaps I was really well prepared for the event. :P it took a long time for the sun to finally brighten the sky from black to darkish blue. By then, there were already 15 more people behind us. The sky continued to brighten, but still no sight of the sun. I guess those at the horizon viewing area were already making they way back to the hotel. But good things awaits for those who waits. The sun finally started to splinter the mountains with its orange glares. And then within a couple of minutes, the sun burst over the mountains, soaking everything in its path with bright orange lights. Everyone became excited and were frantically snapping the scene with their cameras. It was definitely the most beautiful 2 hours of my HuangShan trip!

At the break of Dawn

At a Pavilion

We returned to our rooms after the sun was out of reach of the mountains. There in our rooms, we stole a small nap before waking up to pack our stuff and commence our trek back to the foot of HuangShan. We were feeling really good. After a tough trek up, we thought that going down would be a breeze. WE WERE WRONG!! First of all, the weather had been fantastic. So fantastic the sky was clear blue, with the sun hitting on everyone directly. So wearing layers of clothes was a wrong choice for us. 2nd, the trek to the foot consist of an upward trek that took us another 1 hour! Gosh, my legs were still wobbly from the previous day's trek. In the end, we were taking off our outter clothings again, and began to sweat like crazy as before. The only plus point: the beautiful views of the mountain ranges. We saw the YunHai, which simply means clouds so dense they looked like sea amongst the mountians. YunHai had made the whole HuangShan so magical it looked like heaven.

Clear Blue Skies

Distant YunHai

YunHai

YiXianTian

More YunHai

After a tedious upwards trek, we finally reached the place where the downwards slope commenced. And what a relief it was! Our tummies were already tumbling with acidic jucies, and going downhill would consume lesser energy and also helped to get to our lunches faster. We reach this mountian station where there was toilet facilities and an eatry. Funny thing was, I had so much water along the way but no urges for the toilet. Guessed I might have sweated all my body fluid out! Anyway, time for lunch. 40RMB per person for rice plus 3 dishes. It's actually ridiculously expensive in Chinese standards, but for us, our tummies were more important. All the dishes tasted wonderful as we chomped down the hot meal. With our tummies filled, we were back with more energy to continue our descend to the cable car station.

Lunch area

My Lunch

The view just got better as we descend HuangShan. However, our legs also got weaker with each step we made. Seems like the lunch didnt really help restore the much needed energy. Finally after 3 and half hours of trekking, we reached the Cable Car Station!!.. So relieved! If we were to continue hiking down to the foot, it would take us another 6 hours!! But a nice 30min cablecar ride got us to the foot, and thereafter, we boarded our bus to Hangzhou.

Jeremy too tired climbing the stairs!

Cable car station

In the cable car

Red Autumn leaves with green Bamboo

The Bus journey took us 3 hours. We managed to meet up with Linan and her finance at the train station for a light dinner of KFC. I had this Peking duck sauce chicken handroll, which tasted rather unique. But the meal came with hot orange juice!! Oh the horrible medicine tasting liquid again.. Well, luckily this time it was in a smaller cup. We bade Linan and her finance farewell before we board our train back to Shanghai. We managed to catch the last subway service back to the apartment. What a trip it was to Hangzhou and Huangshan!! So much physical activites we had! Definitely the most memorable leg of the entire trip!

At Hangzhou Train Station with Linan and Finance

The Shanghai Subway

Spatrachina Volume Eight

2007-11-19T13:17:00.001+08:00

I woke up today worse than before. My throat was basically parched and dry. It's like water poured into the sand, my throat just cant be moisted at all. I couldnt manage any speech for the better 1/2 of the day. But then again, today would be the toughest day of my trip. It was the day we were to conquer HuangShan Mountains.

We woke up really early for our schedule bus ride to HuangShan at the Hangzhou West Bus Terminal. The terminal was spanking new and spacious. Somehow, almost everything in China is now spanking new. Looks like they are really gearing for the 2008 Olympics and the influx of tourists. The moment I sat down in the bus, I covered my eyes with my eye mask and dozed off immediately. So tired, so sick. Jus hoped that HuangShan would be an easy climb later.

New and spacious Bus Terminal

A sick looking me.. so sad.

Hangzhou to HuangShan

My bus to HuangShan. 1/2 way stop at a beautiful location

1/2 way stop: Just woke up

After 3 hours of bus ride journey, we finally reached the base of HuangShan. There, we had a quick lunch of hot noodles. The weather at the base was cool, much colder than Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai. It was then that we took out our gloves and scarf to prepare ourselves for the climb. We were both armed with a haversack bag of clothes and water. I had 3 bottles of 2.5 litres of water on my back, together with all my warm clothings. I reckon the total weight of my turtle shell to be around 5-6kg. Jeremy had around 3-4kg i think. And so, armed with our heavy-duty armour, thick clothings and zealous spirits, we embarked on our journey to conquer HuangShan!

HuangShan Entrance. Paid 200RMB to enter!!

All packed and ready to go!!

Interesting rubbish bin

I guessed after about 30 minutes of non stop climbing up the stairs, HuangShan began to conquer us instead. The cool weather suddenly became a hot and sweaty one. I was beginning to drip water, not sweating. One by one, the layers of clothings began to peel as we ascend the mountain. The steps seemed never-ending, and winding. The beautiful scenery started to fade away as the concentration began to narrow down to ensuring our feet kept moving forward. It was much tougher than any of my gym session. This was basically an intensive cardio session with my 5-6kg bag!!

Long Winding stairs

Shag face with lotsa sweat!

Taking a Breather

Resting Pavilion with great views

After about 1 and half hour, we finally reach an important pit stop to rest. Well, we have been resting along the way sitting on the steps several times. But were we glad to have stop at this pavilion!! We finally got to enjoy the structures of the mountains and the cool breeze. Unfortunately, it was just 40% of the whole trek. 60% more to go!! Sian. My instinct was to take as many photos as I could, and enjoy them later at home since I know I wont be able to fully appreciate the beauty with such strenuous activity going on.

View of the range

Big Lord-of-the-Rings type of trees

Nice blue sky

70% completed, and we rested by a roadside stall and got ourselves a cucumber each. It wasnt really nice, but it was cool and gave the much needed liquid to our tastebuds. Also, it afforded us another reason to rest longer. We ended up sitting there for a full 15 min!

Nice cool cucumber!

View of the Range

6km completed!!

Can u c the image of 2 cats on the right and a rat on the left?

Along the way, we saw several men with bamboo sticks carrying tens of kgs of stuff up and down the steps. These fit guys certainly put a dent to the egos of us city dwellers, many whom are gym regulars somemore. Their acute balance and strength and endurance jus made us looked like little boys.

One of those hard labourers

View of the Ranges

After 3 hours, we finally made it to the top! It was definitely an ardous journey climbing up. Never had I imagine the journey would be so tough. (My dad who has been there b4 didnt even warn me about the toughness!!) By the time we reached the top, my throat seemed to clear and I could finally speak! Talk about fresh mountain air and lotsa exercise to keep one healthy. :P

At the top, FINALLY!!

Our Hotel, BeiHai Hotel

Sunset

Along the way, we met this Argentinian family in China for a long holiday trip. It was so fun to walk with them to the hotel, and then later having dinner together. This trip has certainly exposed me to more than jus the Chinese culture. The frens I've made along the way jus made this trip a special one.

With the Argentinian Family at Dinner

Spatrachina Volume Seven

2007-11-18T21:50:00.001+08:00

After just 5 hours of sleep, I woke up with a flaming sore throat and a persistantly blocked nose with thick silky phelgm. Okok, shall spare you with more of the grouse details. Basically, I was so ill I could barely talk. That was serious as I don't have that many 'sore throat till i cant talk' moments. Luckily my fren was with me for this 2nd leg of the trip. We rushed for Shanghai South Railway station for our train ride to Hangzhou. The station was brand new and spacious. Too spacious for our comfort as we were running late. We ran and ran till my nose was clear. Imagine that! The train was spacious as well. I took a short nap and in 1hr's time, we reached Hangzhou.

Ticket to Hangzhou

Upon reaching Hangzhou, we were wondering around the station looking for signs. 2 locals came up to us and gave us valuable information on how to get to West Lake. My friend and I were shocked to have receive such hospitality. A few days back, I received great local hospitality at Tiger Hill from my new Nanjing frens. Now in Hangzhou, 2 strangers jus came to us, and sensing we were lost, gave us directions and advise. The China I last visited more than 10 years back and the China now I'm witnessing are 2 very different pictures! Even though I was sick, I still felt that tinkle of warmth of being welcomed throughout the whole trip.

Finally arrived at our hotel where we will be staying for a night. And a pity it was to stay just a night. Holiday Inn Hangzhou was a great hotel, though the exterior building may be deceivingly old and worn. Our room consist of 2 double beds with the softest pillows. The view of the city was great, and the service was impeccable.

Holiday Inn Hangzhou

Upon checkin into our rooms, we rushed out for our breakfast. We walked along the very long streets and was surprised to find no shopping centre in the vicinity. We had to settle with a local eatry where we sampled some not too tantalising dishes. I had the noodles while Jeremy had this rice in soup dish, which was seriously not appetising at all. Well, these 2 dishes got our tummy filled, and we embarked on our tour of Hangzhou's famous West Lake.

Noodles for breakfast

Rice in Vege Soup

We walked about 1 hour from our hotel to the lake. It was a greyish weather where the clouds hung heavy. The good thing was, it did not rain the whole day. As such, the grey skies cast a moody feel over the city, kinda brought us back to the warring days of the past. Rather romantic setting actually:P

Cloudy West Lake

We rented a bike each for 10RMB . It was definitely a steal for us Singaporeans to have rented at such a rate for 4 hours. It took me about 10 seconds to steady myself to the bike. Didnt cycle for years liao. :P

Me on a Bike

Our 1st stop (basically our only stop) along the necklace of attractions round West Lake was YueFei Temple. The mausoleum was built to honor General Yuefei of the Song Dynasty. Stepping in, we were greeted by a wave of calmness. The spacious courtyard and balmy trees brought about a sense of peace. In the centre was the Shrine of Remembrance where a sculpture of Yuefei now stood. A tablet with Yuefei's original handwritting was placed above his statue, with golden characters screaming 'Return My Land'.

Entrance to YueFei Temple

Me at the Entrace

The peaceful courtyard

The Main Hall

Statue of YueFei, with the words "Return My Homeland"

Dragon Motiffs

We wondered into the tomb of YueFei, which was jus beside the Main Hall. There knelt 4 copper statues. Of these 4, the 2 infamous ones were Qin Kuai and his wife who plotted an evil scheme which resulted in the death of YueFei. Traditionally, visitors to the temple would spit on these statues. However, it was now advised that visitors should refrain from spitting. We saw a couple using their hands to hit the statues. Immediately, I told my fren that I will never be caught doing that. Who knows how dirty the statues are? And then just 5 minutes later, a man came forward and spat on the statues. Yucks!

Qin Kuai and his Wife kneeling at YueFei's Tomb

YueFei's Tomb

Me at YueFei's Tomb

After the visit of YueFei Temple, we proceed with our biking session round West Lake. The grey skies seemed to entice people to stroll and sit by the calm waters. It was altogether a calm feeling as we breezed through the bike way. I must admit that I was kinda nervous, since that was my 1st time riding a bike on the road with the cars. But it turned out to be not too bad afterall.

Sitting by the lake

Fishing by the Lake

View of West Lake

Me with the Willow Trees

Our bike 'expedition' ended around 3 and half hours later. Not too bad at all, considering I was sick. We headed to find a bath house in Hangzhou to clean ourselves. Unfortunately, we found a lousy neighbourhood bath house that charged us 20RMB per person with no facilities working. Well, we managed to clean ourselves for dinner with Linan. And how excited I was to finally meet Linan! It has been almost 5 years since she graduated from UQ, and I've not seen her since. We went to this rather up-market looking restaurant for some authentic Hangzhou dishes. A pity I didnt take any pics there on the food. But we had this claypot braised fish, beancurd skin, and the very very famous DongBo Meat, which essentially was a piece of very fatty pork with the skin intact. The way they cooked it was just superb. The 2 inch thick fat simply melted in the mouth with no hint of fattiness. The skin was still spongy and the little meat gave the whole dish the needed texture to complete the whole experience.

It was back to West Lake again for after dinner coffee session. We had Starbucks by the lake and we chatted like 2 hours. Time really flew so fast when you are enjoying the moment. Linan proceeded to walk us around parts of West Lake at night, allowing us to be immersed in the beauty of the night scene before we head back to our hotel room. What a wonderful way to end my trip in Hangzhou. 1 day was definitely not enuff!! Hopefully, I will return to Hangzhou again for another 2-3 days.

Jeremy, Linan and Me

West Lake at Night

Spatrachina Volume Six

2007-11-16T16:03:00.001+08:00

A lazy Sunday in Shanghai. Today I was left alone to explore the charms of this great city. I took the subway to People's Square and began my journey of cityscape adventures. I didnt really have anything in mind for the day, and hopefully I will be able to chance upon something nice and interesting. People's Square station is home to Shanghai's equilvalent of our Esplanade. The Shanghai Theatre is a futuristic structure shaped like those ancient ingots. Behind the theatre is another futuristic tower housing the JW Marriot. People's Square was filled with people strolling and sitting around doing basically nothing. I guess the cool weather helped a lot.

Shanghai Theatre and JW Marriot in the backdrop

Sitting in the Park

District Map

After walking about 1km and past various skyscrapers, I chanced upon this interesting small lane jus a stone throw away from the bustling Nanjing Road. WuJing Street is definitely a food lover's heaven! I saw 2 rows of stores selling what they call 'xiao chi' or small snacks. The first stop for me was Xiao Yang Sheng Jian Mantou. I saw the long queue and couldnt resist being a Singaporean. So i joined in the queue and got myself a portion (of 4 buns) to eat. The fragrance of the seaseme seeds atop the freshly fried buns was jus the beginning of a wonderful tasting snack. The skin of the bun was paper thin on the top, but rather thick at the bottom. The thick bottom part, however, was fried to golden brown. I bite a small hold onto the paper thin top and then discovered that inside was not just the meat, but also bountiful delicious liquid! The soup was the surprise, but the star of the bun. I had a great time slurping up the soup before munching the meat bun. Definitely one of the best dish I had during my trip.

Scores of people queuing

ShenJian Mantou

Since it was a food street, how can I jus stop with the mantous? Upon woofing down the 4 hot buns, my nose detected a delectable smell. Gruesome to many but definitely heaven to me. Yes, it's the Stinky Toufu again! I followed my nose to an outlet 100m away. There it was: a snaking long queue behind this small counter. A box of 6 wonderfully crisped toufu for 3RMB. My 2nd serving of this aromatic stinky delight in 2 days. Shiok!

Stinky Toufu Store

My Great Stinky Treat!

After filling my tummy with all these snacks, I proceed to the financial hub of Shanghai. The Pudong district is really modern and new looking, with wide roads and glass and steel structures all around. It felt like walking in any other cities in the world though.

Modern Skyscrapers

Jinmao tower

Pearl of Orient Tower

After walking for about 1 hour, I finally found a place to rest. The place was just by the HuangPu River overlooking The Bund. I ordered a Hot Chocolate and a Green Tea Cheesecake from the Starbucks counter and enjoyed the view as the wind gently blew.

The Bund

My Hot Chocolate and Green Tea Cheesecake

My with the Pearl of Orient Tower

I realised I have not been so at peace for a very long time. Granted the sky was cloudy and greyish. But sitting there doing nothing was kinda comfortable. The consumption of the rich food might have helped, but I guess it was becos of the stressful lifestyle I had in Singapore that made me enjoyed that quiet solo moment, something I would never tot I would enjoy in the past. I finally finished my beverage and cake in 1 hr, and proceed to the nearby Super Brand Mall to shop a bit. On the way, I saw a group of teenagers playing soccer in an open field. While I was there in my jacket and scarf, these boys were shirtless and panting in sweat! Well, all I can say was I've yet to warm up to the cold climate.

Shirtless teens in cold wind

Sunset

On the way back to XuJiaHui to the apartment, I felt an uncomfortable tinkle in my throat. I was at the verge of illness. I felt this flaming hot sensation in my nostril and throat area as I popped in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Then, with nary a wink, I went to the nearby bathhouse for a local experience. The Garden Bathouse was a 3 stories establishment seperated into 2 genders. I went into the locker area, took off all my clothings and locked all my stuff in the provided locker. As I turned around stark naked, I was expecting to get a towel to cover my modesty. Instead, I saw the other patrons walking around as nude as they could to the bat area. Never had I been in such an awkard situation that I locked myself in the toilet for a full 5 minutes to neutralise my state of mind before stepping out in the buff to join the other patrons.

Once I got past the 'Naked Truth', I began to enjoy the various bath pools. There was the ginseng and herbal hot pool and this cold vinegar pool. A huge jacuzzi and sauna room completed the facilities of the bath house. As I stepped out of the pool and headed for the massage area, this attendant asked whether I wanted a back rub. At the price of 20RMB, I answered 'Why not?' It turned out to be an out of the world experience for me. The scrubbing area was partitioned from the bath area by a wall the height of 1m. I lay there on this hard bed naked and face up for all to see. The attendant then proceed to scrub every single parts of my body, face and all. It was very weird to be scrubbed in the sensitive area in a very public area. But I must say I did felt clean afterwards. I was gamed enuff to try the GuaSha, which involved using this wooden/ pocelain piece to scrub my back. It was said to remove the inner heat from my body. I was left with long rows of scars in my back (luckily they were healed in 3 days).

Scars on my back

I caught up with Yufei again at XuJiaHui area for dinner. Dinner was Japanese Buffet. At 150RMB per person for an arlacarte buffet, it was all worth every penny. The exotic meats and thick juicy sashimi were tantalising. The chicken soft bones were cruncy and savoury. It was a great dinner, cheap by Singapore's standard. However, by the end of the dinner, my throat was already flaming sore. I finally sccummded to the flu virus. I returned to the apartment and waited for my friend, Jeremy, to come from Singapore to join me in my 2nd leg. So sick, yet the 2nd leg consist of more strenuous activities. Hopefully everything would be better.

XuJiaHui Night

Thick salmon sashimi

Horsemeat sashimi

Spatrachina Volume Five

2007-11-15T11:19:00.001+08:00

ZhuJiaJiao Entrance

My 1st weekend in China was a visit to ZhuJiaJiao, another river township about 45mins drive from Shanghai City. Accompanying me were Yufei and her parents. It was a smooth car ride in their family car to the township, and being a Saturday, ZhuJiaJiao was filled with Shanghainese wanting a short getaway from the bustling city life.

Map of ZhuJiaJiao

ZhuJiaJiao White Wall Buildings

ZhuJiaJiao was a Rivertownship by its own rights. Although it was not as famous as its neighbours near Suzhou, it was more well-maintained. The clean white walls were great contrast to the well preserved tiled roofs and wooden pillars. Once stepped into the township, the streets were flanked with stores selling its famous rice dumplings. I didnt manage to get a bite into one, but a quick look at the ingredients made me felt thankfully I didnt. Well, it wasnt that bad actually. It was just that the dumplings were made with only 2 strips of fatty meat, a far cry from our normal rice dumpling here in Singapore where one can find at least 3-10 ingredients ranging from meat and red bean paste to yolk and scrimps. After the seemingly never ending stores of rice dumplings, the pork trotter stores were nex to dominate the streets. Seems that JiangNan really loves its pork trotters big, fat and braised.

ZhuJiaJiao Township

Selling Rice Dumplings

But the main highlight of the street hawker fare for me was the Stinky Toufu. Funny, but I actually didnt find the smell offensive at all! In fact, I was lured to the smell that I couldnt resist buying a portion to sample. It was simply heavenly! The crispy skin together with chilli and a special sauce was perfect in the mouth, the bursting into the white and steaming hot flesh was like any fried toufu. But this is no normal fried toufu. The stinky flavour added a certain taste that was hard to really describe, but it certainly will be something I will be eating a few more times before I hit my return flight home.

Stinky Toufu Seller

My 1st taste

Too Hot To Handle

Luckily no more trotters for the rest of the trip. Lunch was at this restaurant by the river, and looked all the bit like those river side inn u see in movies. The rustic look brought me back to the ancient era for a moment. The dishes served were also very homely, with small scrimps boiled in salted water, braised shell fish with spring onions, steamed river fish (with lotsa tiny bones), and not forgetting a sampling of the local ZhuJiaJiao Beer. It was one of those very light tasting beer, which went really well with my tongue. ( even though I dont really like beer, I had 2 servings)

Shell Fish Cockles

Small Prawns in Salted Water

ZhuJiaJiao Beer

Even though ZhuJiaJiao was the 3rd river township I've visited, I've yet to take any of the river cruises. Until now. As I stepped onto the sampan like wooden boats, I felt like I was really going for a wonderful ride. And a wonderful ride it was! The water was calm and with the clear weather, it was a picturesque moment on the boat. The river was like a major traffic route for the township, with main intersections and minor arteries serving both heavy and light traffics. I got to see the sights of ZhuJiaJiao not accessible by road. At the cross Junction, I was flanked by histroical sites on all 4 sides!

A narrow river alley

Me and Yufei on the boat

Boatman Paddling

Me with the sights on the river

Me by the boat side

Yufei and Family

The river cruise was a short one filled with lotsa great sights. I almost felt land sick when we disembarked the boat:P But that feeling was quickly placeated with my 1st tasting of the Malt Candy. It was a very soft lump of malt sugar melted and to be constantly twisted with the provided 3 sticks to make it soft. The Malt candy was actually rather tasty and not as sweet as I would have imagined. It was a bit tough to eat though, as seen from my photos. But nonetheless, It was an interesting candy to hav.

Yufei and her Malt Magic

Trying to manage my Malt Candy

On a Bridge

Our day trip to ZhuJiaJiao ended in the late afternoon and we made our way back to Shanghai. After bading farewell to Yufei's parents, we went to the famous BuXingJie (literally meaning Walking Street, the English name actually is Nanjing East Road). Basically, it was a street flanked by shopping malls on both sides, more or less like our Orchard Road but easier and more user friendly for shoppers due to the lack of cars. The wide walkway provided much freedom to explore the shops on both sides. I also spotted something really Singaporean. Yes, the very famous Raffles City Shopping Centre in Shanghai!

BuXingJie

Sunsetting

Raffles City

We walked in the direction of The Bund, the famous area of Shanghai. Well, more of a representative area of Shanghai with its multi-national buildings on one side, and ultra modern buildings on the other side of the HuangPu River. As usual, my itchy tongue wanted to eat again. I bought a stick of grilled octopus from the roadside which tasted really rich with flavours. The Bund at night was a magical place, with all the lights and people admiring the skyline. However, we were there rather early, so the lightings were not switched on yet. Still, I managed to capture the Pudong's financial district from the Bund.

Pudong District at Night

Me with the Squid

Spatrachina Volume Four

2007-11-14T16:31:00.000+08:00

Waking up from a comfy nite's sleep was really difficult, but I had no choice. After 9 hrs of sleep (I had intended to have 10 at least), I dragged myself out of my King sized bed for a quick shower to freshen meself. Today's itinerary will be relaxing as well, visiting 2 attractions before catching a train back to Shanghai. The 1st stop: Han Shan Temple aka Cold Mountain Temple

Incense Burning

Buddha Statute

It's amazing that even during this off-peak period, there were still hordes of tourists in these popular spots. The entrance to Han Shan Temple was crowded with tour groups, both local and international tourists. I cant imagine the peak period of the Golden Week holidays in China. Han Shan Temple is a very famous temple, thanks to a poem A Night Mooring near Maple Bridge written by Zhang Ji of the Tang Dynasty. He beautifully described the midnight bell rings of the temple, which eventually became the symbol of the monastry. Anyway, upon stepping into the temple grounds, tranquility creeped in. Even with the throngs of tourist, one could easily find peace from within. The architecture, the trees, the incense burning all created a calming effect to any visitors.

Hordes of Tourists

HanShan Temple's Main Hall

Incense Urn

Rolls of Scriptures and Buddha Statues

Apart from the famous poem, the temple is also famous for the Puming Pagoda as well as its collection of bronze bells. The pagoda, constructed only in 1995, has become the iconic symbol of the whole temple, evident from the several tourist rushing to get to the 2nd level for a quick view of the temple's ground. But getting up was a task by itself. The stairways was so narrow and steep, but has to allow for duo directional flow of human traffic.. Jus imagine everyone was in their autumn wear, all plump and sturdy, squeezing with each other trying to get up, or down, the stairs.:P

Puming Pagoda

A Night Mooring near Maple Bridge

HanShan Temple Grounds

Of cos, not forgetting the star attraction of the temple, the Bronze Bells. Only one was hung for visitors to view up close and personal. The rest were lying on the ground in an obscure corner. How can one not take an opportunity to snap a photo shot?

Me with the Bell

Bell closed-up

The Bell

My 1hr 15 min tour of Cold Mountain Temple ended with a satisfying note. I headed for Suzhou's must visit attraction. A famous Song Dynasty poet once mentioned that "It's a lifelong pity if you do not visit Tiger Hill when in Suzhou. That's right, the Tiger Hill (also known as Surging Sea Hill) is at 36m high and sprawling an area some 14,100 sqm. It was like walking in a massive park filled with trees and rich in cultural heritage. The moment I stepped in, I was taken aback by the scale of the park. It looked like a lost civilisation admist very well kept and with hordes of tourist all over the place.

Entrance to Tiger Hill

Map of Tiger Hill's massive compound

At the foot of Tiger Hill

Boatmen by the river

The star attraction was the Tiger Hill Pagoda, which is also known as China's Leaning Tower. (funny so many buildings and pagoda in China claimed to be China's Leaning Tower) The pagoda was more than 1000 years old, and looked every part of it. Situated on the peak of the hill, it did look as though it will just crumble into pieces anytime.

Tiger Hill Pagoda

Another popular spot was the Sword Pool, a natural spring of water where legends say that King He of the Wu burried his collection of precious swords underneath the spring floorbeds. Well, I jus saw some very artificial bubbling of water in the very clear waters.

Sword Pool

Along the way, I met some friendly locals. Well, not exactly local locals. They are students from Nanjing here in Suzhou for a short holiday break. Their warm and hospitality took me over as they volunteered to help take photos for me, and accompany me as we explore the Tiger Hill park.

Me at Han Han Spring

Me along the steps

With my newly-made Nanjing Friends

Bamboo Forest

Amongst the tea plantation

At the entrance of the Tea Plantation

At a Pavilion

Self Taken Photo A glimpse of Tiger Hill's scenery

The new found friends have occupied my time in a very wonderful way. Their hospitality overwhelmed me, so much so that I ran late for my scheduled train to Shanghai. The train was supposed to depart at 3.30pm, but I was still mingling with my new friends up till 3pm then I got onto a cab and rush to the train station. Luck was definitely on my side that day. I managed to join the horrifyingly huge crowd to board the express train to Shanghai. The train was spacious and clean, very unlike the ones I had the last time I took a train in China. The 45 min journey was quiet and serene with the view zooming by as the sun began to set.

Suzhou Train Station

My Scheduled Train Service from Suzhou to Shanghai

The Crowd boarding the train

My Lunch for the day

Spacious Train Interior

Returning to Shanghai, I caught up with Katt, who brought me to this rather hi-class Yunnan restaurant serving superbly great tasting dishes. The night was mostly spent there in the restaurant chatting before we headed for a club area to explore the Shanghai Night Scene. Not much diff from any clubs I've been to I supposed. It's still filled with loud music and dark corners. :P

Lost Heaven: Yunnan Restaurant

Spatrachina Volume Three

2007-11-14T12:40:00.000+08:00

Zhouzhuang, also affectionately known as China's Number 1 River Village, is a tranquil setting of bridges, old bricks and wooden houses, calm rivers and balmy trees that adorned the river-sides. The main square of Zhouzhuang was decorated with distinctive Chinese architectures and bright red lanterns, it almost felt CNY. Today's journey will take me to various attractions of this culturally rich river village.

Buildings at Zhouzhuang Square

The moment I stepped into this famous township, a buzz of activities swarmed my senses. It was still early in the morning, and the store owners were busy opening their stores. Residents were by the riverside doing their chores, boatmen were paddling their crafts in the gentle waters. It was the perfect setting for a peaceful stroll.

Washing by the river

Boatman paddling

Shop Alley

My first stop was the famous Twin Bridge. The Twin Bridge was featured in several famous paintings, and is also the symbolic structure of Zhouzhuang. However, I felt kinda letdown cos the bridges looked rather ordinary, with the lower bridge rather plain compared to the higher arched bridge. I guess in the wider context, these 2 bridges looked rather unique in that there is only this twin bridge in the whole village. My mindset started to change when I walked up the arched bridge. The view of Zhouzhuang's tranquility was at its escense atop the bridge. The greyish skies were just the perfect colour to bring out the feel of the houses which flanked on both sides of the river.

Twin Bridge

View from Twin Bridge

I began to explore the various courtyards of the village. In the past, several rich people used to reside in Zhouzhuang. They have created houses with decorated courtyards all over the village. However, I personally felt that the courtyards here fell short in comparison to Tongli's Tuisi Garden. Nonetheless, they still offer me some great photo opportunities.

Photo at one of the Courtyards

As I continued strolling through this peaceful township, drops of rain started to descend onto the roofs. The calm waters were wrinkled by tiny ripples caused by the gentle droplets. Luckily it was only a drizzle, but it did make the whole place even more beautiful and cooling. The rain subsided when I set foot atop then Shen Bridge, also known to be the oldest bridge in Zhouzhuang. I was immediately frozen to the grounds by the beautiful views that was afforded to me. One side was the view of the Twin Bridge with rows of wooden boats and swaying trees. The other side was the less commercial but tranquil river painted with a white skydrop. I stood on the bridge for at least 15 minutes, admiring the both sides before I finally uprooted my legs and continued exploring the rest of the village.

Raindrops on the river

Me on Shen Bridge

View from Shen Bridge

As I continued to explore, I chanced upon this granny with this ancient mill thing. She was spinning threads for the making of clothings. I've never seen this equipment in person before, and the way this granny spun amazed me. A few more steps and I reached this store selling Nian Gao. This balls made of gultinous rice with an assortments of fillings were pipping hot and steaming with rage as I stood there watching the owners making them. How can I not buy one and try? But seriously, though it looked tempting, it was actually quite coarse to the tongue. Too much rice and too little of the fillings.

Granny Spinning Threads

Zhouzhuang Gultinous rice ball store

Making the Rice Balls

An alley in Zhouzhuang

With my tummy filled, I visited this ancient teahouse where important people used to gather. Unfortunately, it's no longer a teahouse, but more of a muesum detailing how people used to discuss in this small teahouse (with great views of the river). A visit to the Temple cost me RMB 199. Actually it was for donations to the temple. It was requested by the Fortune teller who had explained to me my fate after I had picked this wooden stick. Well, it was a 'Shang Shang' ticket, which means really very good. States that I will not be enjoying my life for now, but from age 29-39 my life will take a turn and in my remaining years I will enjoy in comfort. Hmm.. I guess most people will get good tickets when they visit this temple, judging from the number of donations I saw in the donation book.

Me sitting at the Teahouse with the River behind me

The Temple

The Temple's Urn

Zhouzhuang's River View

After the temple visit, I took a trishaw to the bus station for a bus to Suzhou. The poor old man ferrying me for only RMB 10. But this sum is actually a huge amount in the area. We had to overcome this slope up a bridge, where I eventually had to get off to facilitate him moving the bicycle. :P Anyway, it was all for good fun for me (but serious business for him). I finally reached the bus station of Zhouzhuang. Spent RMB 18.70 for a ticket to Suzhou on this 2 by 2 seater bus. Rather squeezed, but it was alright during the 1 hour journey.

Trishaw Uncle pushing the cart with me in the seat

Zhouzhuang Bus Terminal

Arriving at Suzhou was alright. The sky was clear, but the temperature was rather low. Perhaps it was the wind. I was shivering as I tried to find my way out of the Bus Terminal. It took me quite a while before I found a cab willing to take me to my hotel, Holiday Inn, along Jiefang Road. The hotel was a lot better than I'd expected. The check-in was smooth, and the service was impeccable. They even gave me a room upgrade to a suite! Wonderful wonderful stay. Just too bad it was only for 1 night only.

Suzhou Bus Terminal

Suzhou Youlian Holiday Inn

My Hotel Suite

Upon checkin out my fabulously spacious room, I rushed out to the nearby shopping centre in search for my lunch (which was 2 hours overdue). I saw KFC and avoided it. Why would I be eating something so familiar when touring overseas? (later I would be eating KFC 3 times). I chanced upon this Da Niang Shui Jiao, which serves dumplings in assorted fillings. It was really nice and cheap: RMB 3.8o for a set of 6 dumplings. I also ordered an orange juice, but to my surprise, it was a cuppa hot orange juice. Tasted like medicine, but still bearable.

Da Niang Dumplings

My Lunch, complete with a cup of hot orange juice

Back to my spacious suite after a hearty meal of 12 dumplings, I visited the gym and pool of the hotel. The facilities were clean and new. Holiday Inn here seems like a 5 star hotel instead of the 3-4 stars representations it have in the other parts of the world. The staff were always there to help answer my queries on the directions and to the various attractions.

Hotel Pool

After my mild workout, I strolled out into the ancient city of Suzhou, which by then was litted with lights. I took a few shots of the night scene with some beautiful water reflections. The ancient town was not really ancient nomore. In fact, it was rather modern with shopping centres and fast food restaurants everywhere. I stopped by Yong He Da Wang for a hearty meal of beef noodles with a glass of soya milk and xiao long bao before commencing my way back to my luxurious room at Holiday Inn. The softness of the King sized bed really helped me doze off quickly, especially after a nice hot bath.

Yong He Da Wang

My Dinner

Suzhou Traffic

An Old Ancient Bridge reflecting the river

A decorated Bridge

Old City Walls

Suzhou City

Spatrachina Volume Two

2007-11-12T14:34:00.000+08:00

Shanghai Stadium Tourist Bus Centre

My first day of my China Route Trip brought me to the river township of Tongli. Woke up really early to catch the 8.00am bus from the Shanghai Stadium. Even though it was a weekday, the bus terminal was still packed with holiday makers, going to a variety of destinations such as Tongli, Zhouzhuang, Nanxun, Suzhou etc.

Bus Terminal

The Crowd at the Bus Terminal

After 1 hour, I finally reached Tongli. The outer layer of the village was rather commercial, with new buildings and residential houses dotting the landscape. The ancient flavour began to unfold once the electric tram stopped at the entrace to the river town. A wave of rustic aroma began to fill my senses. 2 rows of stores selling their famous 'Scholar Trotters' aka JuangYuanTi were gleaming with the spot lights on the shiny trotters' skin. Ancient buildings and riverscape made my first impression of the village a memorable one. The grey skies brought along an ancient era way back a few hundred years ago.

Map of Tongli Village

My Electric Tram from Tongli Visitor Centre

Tongli Old Village

Streets of Tongli

In Tongli, I met a French guy by the name Reno. As we were both on solo trips, we decided to join forces and tackle Tongli together. However, as we were chatting and strolling, we kinda missed the way and stumbled into the back alleys of the village. But what a refreshing change it was! The back alleys were not as vibrantly coloured, but were covered in a grey hue. Old folks did their household chores and discussions in this brick layed, narrow lanes not more than 2 meters wide. It's like discovering Tongli, but at a deeper level, discovering the emotions and people of this wonderfully crafted river township.

Old Man Sharpening knife

Old Women Sitting around

Gate to Alley

Weathered Walls

Sitting By

Narrow Streets

Our 1st attraction was the Chinese Muesum of Sexual Culture. Yup, that's right, it's a muesum all about the sexual cultures of China. A major global attraction of this small town that not many knows. The exhibits were explicitly displayed, with nudities and worship symbols all over the compound. My new found fren, Reno, and I were amazed and surprised by the cultural openess of the ancient Chinese world with the daring exhibits.

"Dick-Head"

Horse Sex

Three-some

Sexual Position

Sexual Position

Figurines

Figurines
Chinese Karma-Sutra
Posing with a big Penis

Lunch time came, and we had the famous "Scholar Trotters" with rice for lunch. This was my 1st true meal of my China Routetrip. It was a big, fat and juicy piece of trotters cooked to perfection. I dont really like the thick layer of fat though, but still put it in my mouth. The meat was not really soft, but the fat did melt in my mouth. It was definitely a high cholestrol meal, but it certainly will not be the last of such meals in China for me.

Me and Reno at our Lunch Place
Scholar's Trotters

After such a big lunch, we went to Tuisi Garden for a walk. Tuisi Garden is the star attraction amongst all other attractions in Tongli. It is the biggest and most elaborated garden in this river village. The iconic red wooden structures were the highlights of the gardens. But the waterscape stole the show away. The pond was filled with several orange fishes, with the small bridges and pavilions and the autumn tress completing a picture perfect view. It was definitely the most popular amongst visitors, with several snapping tens of photos in the area.

Tuisi Garden- Hall

Iconic Red Structures of Tuisi Garden
The pond at Tuisi Garden
The Pond at Tuisi Garden
Hordes of 'Tangerine' fishes
At the entrance of Tuisi Garden

Video of Tuisi Garden

Time flew really fast when u are enjoying and taking in the fresh air. Very soon, I bade my French fren goodbye and rushed to Tongli's bus station, hoping to buy a ticket to another river village, Zhouzhuang. I had no idea how to get there, but I assumed that since these 2 villages are pretty close to each other, there should be a bus service to ferry people. And Bingo! There was a direct service to the unorthodox entrance of Zhouzhuang.

Tongli Drama Stage

Tongli Village: Boats
Tongli Village: Fishing

Tongli Village: River Cruises
Tongli Bus Terminal

Tongli City Street

Tongli Bus Station

My Bus to Zhouzhuang

After alighting the bus, I took a 10 min walk to the back door of Zhouzhuang, passing by river houses and boat restaurants. The entrance cost me RMB 100, and I had to bring the ticket to the village centre to have my face photo imprinted on the ticket. The brief walk exposed me to the heart and soul of Zhouzhuang. As it was rather late, most of the tour groups were about to leave. Several parts of this famous village (also known as China's Number 1 River Village) were clam and quiet. Store keepers were chatting with each other, residents doing their chores by the river. Just outside the main entrance was the modern town centre. I checkin to my hotel, Zhouzhuang Hotel, but not without bargaining. I got the price of RMB 260 from the internet, but then I reached there, the counter price was RMB 460. Shocked to see the price, I told the receptionist that the price was way too high, and that I saw on internet the price of RMB 200. Immediately she agreed to my calling. Darn! I should have asked for RMB 150! Anyway, the room was decent and spacious. I lay on the bed, wanting to rest for a few minutes, but instead I dozed off into slumberland soon after.

Zhouzhuang: China's Number 1 River Village
Boats by the River
My face on my Zhouzhuang ticket

Waking up at 6pm, I readied myself for a night tour of Zhouzhuang. The night was dark and was illuminated by the electric powered lanterns along the cobbled stone walkways. The place became a different flavour suddenly. I saw people getting ready for dinner, or closing their stores. the town has become a magical ancient wonderland with the lights casting gently on the old structures.

My Room at Zhouzhuang Hotel

Zhouzhuang at nightLight at Zhouzhuang

Nightview

Bridge

Dinner was a simple affair, partly due to my late arrival to the table. The people there eat their dinner around 5-6pm, but I walked into the restaurant only at around 7.30pm when most restaurants were about to close. Thankfully I managed to get into this one. I ordered the braised puffer fish (which tasted firm and nice, but a tad pricely for such a small size), and a home style toufu (which was superbly wonderful both in texture and taste). This small dinner set me back RMB50 (SGD10), which is actually an expensive meal in local standards.

Restaurant I had my dinner
Homestyled Toufu

Braised Puffer Fish

I turned in really early that night. Sleeping on my king-sized bed, I felt blissed that I finally get to get some real sleep. I also felt blissed that I have finally taken this step to embark on a long holiday after so many years of deliberation.

Zhouzhuang Hotel

Spatrachina Volume One

2007-11-12T12:36:00.000+08:00

As I sat down to munch my lunch at Changi Airport, I was feeling this strange vibe of excitement. Strange? Yup, cos even though I've basically planned out my trip during the past 1 month, I've not really planned in details for several parts of the trip... I was going to jus play my luck card and bet against the odds. This is no ordinary trip for me. This is my 1st ever solo holiday trip (well, until my fren joined me 1 week later). The budget for this trip was set at $1500, all inclusive. Lotsa frens told me this budget is really cheap, considering the many places I will be visiting and the airline I will be taking. Well, I got my SIA ticket for free cos I used my Krisflyer points, paying only $250 for the fuel and taxes surcharges. My 6 nights in Shanghai were complimentary by my good friend Yufei. As such, I get to stay budget, yet be luxurious during the course of this trip.

My lunch at Changi, a MOS burger and a Barley from Burger King

Time to Board the Plane!

The plane that will eventually fly me to Shanghai

My fully seated SIA flight was a smooth one, landing at Shanghai 15 minutes ahead of schedule. The customs was a breeze, in contrast to the common view that 3rd world countries will have inefficient custom systems. However, the real drag was at the conveyor baggage collection area. I was waiting at the carosole at 10.10pm, and it was only at 10.45pm that I caught a glimpse of my baggage. I immediately rushed out of the terminal with my 18kg bag to catch the last bus out of the airport. And in a nick of time I did. Otherwise, I would be taking the Night Line which is usually very crowded. The bus journey of 45 minutes opened my eyes to the night of Shanghai, from Pudong all the way to XuJiaHui district.

Arrived in Shanghai!!

By the time I reached my final destination, it was already 11.40pm. I waited at the road for my fren, Yufei, to pick me up. She arrived with her father (a very friendly Shanghainess by the way), and drove me to their up market apartment. It was more than I had expected. The apartment was spanking clean and fully furnished with TV, bed, water heater etc. She even brought along some fruits and biscuits for my breakfast the following morning. With 2 boxes of mineral water containing 8 bottles of 4L each, I was virtually assured of a thirst free stay. This trip has definitely been a pampering start so far. Less than 7 hours of sleep later, I'll be embarking on my holiday plan, first to the river village township of Tongli. The night was peppered with too much excitement that I didnt really sleep much at all.

Post Trip Evaluation

2007-11-12T11:48:00.000+08:00

Hmm.. A summary of my China Route Trip 2007 first. Did I fall ill during this trip? Yes I did. I was victim to flu and severe throat infection 1/2 way through my trip. Even with my mini bag of medication, I couldn't recover completely. Did I enjoy the trip? Definitely YES!! I would say this trip is as memorable as my Australia Roadtrip 2003. Great company to begin with, plus I met new foreign friends along the way. Was it the Spatraventure I expect it to be? For sure. With 4 spa visits during my 12 days trip, this will be the highest density of spa visit period for me thusfar.

I've taken over 900 photos and videos during my trip, done incredible things, experienced things I never thought I will encounter. Will be updating my blog with all the exciting glimmers of my trip over the next few weeks after I've completed editing my photos. Gosh, this is one big post-mortem project to deal with!

Spatraventure

2007-10-30T15:53:00.000+08:00

The weekend at Bintan Agro Resort was less than satisfactory. Seems the service and condition of the resort went down-hill since I last visited in May. The rooms were not really up to the mark and the pool was rather dirty. Even the spa was lacklustre. Well, it was still a relaxing weekend getaway nonetheless.

Now standing in front of a free internet terminal in Terminal 2 of Changi Airport and getting ready to proceed to the boarding gate in 30 minutes' time. My Spatraventure is going to go from strength to strength really soon. My 12 days trip to Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Huangshan will be dotted with at least 3 spa sessions. I supposed it will be a real comfort considering it's really cold there now. Heard from friends it's now around 15 degrees and below.. Hope my big bag of clothes will be sufficient.

The feeling of strangeness kept popping up since I stepped out of my house on my way to the airport. The last time I went travelling alone was when I was still with Stamford tyres doing Biz Trips. This will be my 1st ever solo holiday trip. Well, not exactly solo. Afterall, i've got friends there in China to accompany me for at least 10 of my 12 days there. This is also my 1st long trip since my OZ Roadtrip in 2003, and planning was jus as interesting. Cycling round Westlake, Hotspring in Huangshan, Water villages in Suzhou and the buzzling city life in Shanghai. Sounds hectic but actually it's a pretty relaxing trip with lotsa open and free spaces in between.

Brought 5 GB worth of SD cards for photography, and around 2 GB of storage space jus in case.. Will I take that many photos and videos? Hopefully it will be enough. Got to run to my gate now!! Yea! My 1st long trip in years!!

sofa for free

2007-09-21T14:55:00.000+08:00

hmm saw this along the road while doing an inspection recently.. kinda interesting.. Free to take? or Free to sit? haha

Recently my fren CF was asking how come i didnt update any new entries.. Hmm didnt really answer her tat day. come to think of it, i guess it's work. Well, have an array of activities coming up to destress... the ICT which jus passed proved to be a moral boaster.. planning for a spa trip to bintan early OCT, and end OCT will be going for my 1st route trip in China!! haha. hopefully in the midst of all these, I'll get a job offer.. Fingers crossed.

military break

2007-08-26T17:26:00.000+08:00

Yup, starting my annual ICT tomorrow, and will be in camp for 2 straight weeks.. To many, I guess it will be a bane to return to the army.. For me, it's almost a bitter sweet thing.. The sweet part is I finally can get away from work for a break I've not had for a long time. In fact, since I submitted my resignation letter in my ex-firm, I've not been able to take a break of more than 4 days.. Though this is not really a holiday, it's a blessing for my mental clockwork, chilling out far away from work. Of cos the bitter part is, this break is a stay in break..

Anyway, the ICT break seems to be working it's stuff.. Have been in for 2 days so far.. and my mind is getting a bit clearer already.. hopefully will be able to recover from my giddiness n headaches by the end of the ICT.. Also, with this ICT comes a break for me to plan for my ultimate leisure trip end of OCT... though i've yet to decide where to fly to yet.. But this is enuff to keep me excited at least for the next 2 months..

This ICT will also provide me with the time break to reflect on my current job.. whether it's time to pursue the nex level or to stay put for the moment.. Already, I've rejected to travel with my company on the annual company trip, this time to Tokyo. Of cos, the main reason is economics. Flying on thurs nite reaching on fri and returning sunday and have to pay $500 and sign 3 months contract thereafter.. not really much of an incentive trip lor.. The money i can spend more efficiently on my intended trip of over 10 days.. tentatively researching australia and shanghai.... and yes, travelling alone.. haha. My virgin Lone Trip... could be fun and exciting.. though the potential boredom looms.. but judging fr how my sis enjoys herself travellin alone.. i guess it's really up to the planning.. So hav to pick up speed on my research asap!!.. so exciting. haha.

Peanut Chocolate Cake

2007-07-24T12:19:00.000+08:00

2 weeks ago, I made this cake for a colleague of mine, who was about to leave Singapore for Melbourne to be with her hubby. It has been 2 months since I last did any bakery and with severe time constraints, I conjoured up this new creation. The sponge cake was a dense chocolate, and the cream was a mixture of peanut butter, cream cheese and whipped cream. The cake was drizzled with white chocolate. I also melted some dark chocolate to write the words: AVRIL, on the cake, though it's almost unreadable. Not easy, considering I only using a spoon to help me out with the literally conquest. Star fruits were used to add some concealment to the otherwise unsmooth creaming of the cake surface.

Mentally Blocked

2007-07-04T14:11:00.000+08:00

Dunno why, have been suffering from a daily dose of headaches and giddiness since last Monday, recovering slightly only yesterday before the twin attack swings back into full action today. Accompanied by the unnecessary 'harsh' comments by someone of a higher management level to us lower management people, it felt like applying salt onto a fresh wound.

Never worked with such emotional baggage before. Is it really due to the conventional wisdom that female bosses are more particular with stuff? Or is it the commonly acknowledgement that local SME work people to death with the most minimal pay they are willing to give, thus squeezing employers out of their bones? Or is it just myself?

Dont have the motivation to do so many things recently.. no more cakes, no more music, and now maybe even no more exercising soon if things keep up this way. Lesser of meeting frens cos no more motivation to call and organise any gathering.. jus laze on my arse and wait for people to jio me usually nowadays.. haiz..

KL Family Visit

2007-06-25T15:53:00.001+08:00

Over the weekend, my whole family went for a trip to KL. This was our 1st family trip since 1997's trip to China's XinJiang. The journey began at Boon Lay with out Grassland coach departing on time. 6hrs later, we finally reached the Commercial Capital city of Malaysia. We transferred to the KL monorail towards our hotel near Chow Kit station. Brisdale Hotel is located in the Malay community area of the city, with a huge Pasa Malam nearby.

Our itinerary started almost immediately upon checkin. We set off for Chinatown, where we began our eating feasco. We started with a Luo Han Guo drink each, followed by the famous dumpling noodles. This was followed immediately with a pack of multi-flavoured Mua-Chee.

We were quite stuffed in our belly as we started strolling the flea markets of Chinatown. Along the way, we met our cousin Wei Guang. He's kinda like the manager or Da Ge of parts of the fea market, a rather well known personality in the area.. I got myself a pair of surf shorts while my sis got 2 watched from my cousin. And then we indulged ourselves with dinner with the famous claypot rice, together with BBQ stingray and clams. By the end of our eating session, we were as bloated as we could ever be.

We headed towards Titiwangsa for KL's latest attraction, Eye on Malaysia. It's basically a giant ferris, but not too much of a giant in the midst of seriously big wheels (one popping up at Marina Bay in S'pore). The cabin didnt have any stabiliser so it's kinda like the old fashion type where it swings and swings with the slightest movement. The 1st round was fun, as we frantically snapped photos of the limited city skyline. The next 3 rounds, however, were too much of a good thing. by the 3rd spin, we were already starting to get giddy. We couldnt wait to get out the moment the cabin opened the doors. But the most unfortunate thing happened. The sky gave way and downpours came striking on us from all corners.. Luckily my sis fren was there to give us a ride back to our hotel.

The next day was a rather free-n-easy day. My parents and my youngest sis were shopping and meeting my relatives while my sis and I walked around Bukit Bintang area towards KLCC. The sweltering heat prompted us to get some cold relief via some delicious ice-cream. My sis went on for Ocean 13 at KLCC while I went for a body massage session on the outskirt of KL.

Dinner was a family reunion affair. We caught up with relatives we've not met for over a decade. Afterwhich, more relative meet up at my mum's brother's place. The night ended late, with my whole family chatting in our hotel room.

The next morning, we went for breakfast wtih our relatives. It was kinda a power(full) dim-sum breakie, where out tummy reached the breaking point again. On our way to the bus terminal, my youngest sis finally succumed to her motion sickness and delivered a powerful display of flowing fluid via her guts... tat kinda set motion for a horrible journey back to Singapore for her.

Overall, it was a fun trip, kinda better than I've expected. Well, the work load in the office tat welcomed me wasnt really as nice though.. sian. haha

Jittery Heart

2007-06-11T15:47:00.000+08:00

today feeling really anxious, nervous, blur.. .. almost like something bad's gonna happen really soon.. it's a feelin nobody likes... it's like the floor beneath you will suddenly give way.. .. the main prb: I dont know what has contributed to such an emotional upheavel.

haiz..

ubin-ubin

2007-05-27T22:53:00.000+08:00

This weekend, I went to the illdyic island of Pulau Ubin, located on the north eastern shores of Singapore. It was an outing planned several weeks in advance, for the celebration of my good fren(PF)'s 26th birthday.

All of us (basically the Yuppies Gang consisting of KK, PF, CF, WS, JH and VVN) gathered at the Marina Country Club on the outskirts of Ponggol. It has been years since I last visited the resort in Ubin, and perhaps also the same number of years since I stepped foot onto the shores of Ubin. Naturally, I was excited. I had planned for the whole event, including preparing for the steamboat food (which my mum helped a great deal since I usu return home rather late). Big bags of food and several bottles of mineral water, soft drinks and alcohols were carried on board the ferry which brought us to our resort in ard 25 min.

The clear blue skies and warm weather greeted us in the most welcoming manner possible. We got our keys from the counter and began unpacking our stuff for the lunch time steamboat in our poolside chalet. The lunch was simplu filling, and I reckon around 30% of the food was left over in the fridge.

The cake cutting session followed nex, with the delighted birthday girl (PF) opening up each presents. I gave her a necklace. After opening the presents, we went for a breezy biking tour of the island. Thankfully it drizzled a bit before-hand on an otherwise hot day.

Just before the end of the day, JH and VVn had to leave for the mainland, leaving the 5 of us taking turns to play majong. It's been a few months since I last touched a tile, and I must confess that I'm still in my losing streak.. In fact, all of us were, all except WS who won in total of $150 from everyone of us. Haiz.. Guess it's really a matter of who is lucky that day.

The next morning, we woke up feeling refreshed, well at least I did. We took the ferry out of Ubin. At that point of time, I was feeling kinda down. It's been quite a wild month so far for me, with almost all weekend occupied with something exciting. However, June is rather empty for now.. haha.. Can't always have fun I guess.

A new discovery: I didnt experience any motion sickness while on the ferry to and from Bintan the week before. I didnt had tat again to and from Ubin.. Does it mean my motion sickness has been cured? Hopefully so.

Bintan Spaventures

2007-05-21T11:59:00.001+08:00

Excited group at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal

It was early morning on Saturday, the 3rd week of May 2007. Embarking on my 2nd overseas trip with my colleagues and feeling really tired but excited, I made my 1.5hrs journey to Tanah Merah MRT Station to meet the rest of my colleagues for the start of the 2D1N Bintan Spa Trip.

On board the Penguin towards Bintan!!

In all, 13 of us gathered at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, anxiously waiting to board our ferry, Penguin 31. The ferry was full with lotsa holiday-makers (mainly aunties), which transformed the sea trip a noisy one.

Departing Singapore... ...

My colleague and I on the top deck of the ferry

Finally, after almost 2 hours of choppy waters, we arrived at sunny Bintan. The hot weather welcomed us with all its sunshine smiles as we meander our way thru the town centre towards the outskirt where our inland resort lies. Bintan Agro Resort is a sprawling holiday destination, with a huge variety of accomodation. As a big group, we had 2 cottages with 3 rooms each. Simple and clean, the self-sufficient cottages are not your typical 5-star hotel standards. They are more like homes you will find along the streets of Malaysia. But the place was well-maintained and spacious.

Harbour view of the Bintan Port Customs
Our accomodation, the nice little cottage

Lunch was a simple affair, but at dirt cheap prices. We ordered around 10 dishes amongst the 13 of us, and each paid only $8 for a superbly prepared and filling meal. After the great lunch, we were given a tour around the resort's ground by the friendly staff on a bike-tricycle. It was a fun ride and we were given fresh fruits plucked from the trees.

Waiting for lunch to arrive......
Complimentary tour ride around the resort by the friendly staff

View of the pool, from the Spa complex

The star of the trip was the spa session. I took up the King Spa, which set me back $74 for a 2.5hr session. It included a jaccuzzi session, followed by a body scrub using coffee beans. The scrub was relaxing (though I still feel the best scrub I had was in Bangkok). Then come the main dish, the oil massage. Frankly speaking, THIS MUST BE THE BEST OIL MASSAGE I"VE EVER HAD till now. The attention to details and the consistency were executed so well you are put into relax mode almost immediately the moment they started with ur feet. The whole session ended with a full body mask. After the spa session, everyone was drown in the siesta mood. We headed for a hearty dinner of crabs and fishes, and then sleepily returned to our cottages. I thought that all of us would have an early night since we were all in the mood to sleep. But I was WRONG!!

Night gathering at the common area of our cottage

Crazy snap shots

Games session commenced, with Twister being the main event. It was so funny stacking onto each other. It was almost midnight that we realised that we had purchsed too much food. As such, we played silly games to clear the food, where the loser will finish 1/2 a cup of the instant noodles. I had 1.5 cups.. Tell you, I will not wanna eat another cup noodles anytime soon!

Twister time, and everyone's really twisted!!

The nex morning, everyone woke up with panda faces. Yup, most of us didnt have enuff sleep. After an Indonesian breakfast, we split into 2 groups. One group went to the beach for sight seeing. My group went to the resort pool for a dip, and a second shot at the back massage. At just $10 for the almost 40 min session, I can tell you that not even a pizza comes that cheap! Cheap is one thing. The service was impeccable and the massage was itself a triumph. It was so relaxing that I nearly fell asleep towards the end of the session.

Poolside fun just before the ferry ride home

Well, good times have to end somehow. After the massage session, all of us gathered at the lobby for our bus ride to the ferry terminal. It was a short but memorable journey which left all of us looking forward to the next one.

A satisfied group at the Bintan custom terminal

Green Forest Cake

2007-05-13T21:22:00.000+08:00

This month's special: Green Forest Cake. It's made up of pandan sponge cake with avocado fresh cream. Sounds easy to make? Well, this was the 1st time making pandan cake for me. The last time I dealt with avocado cream was in dry dry and cool cool Brisbane.. Now have to work with the hot and humid Singapore climate. As such, more fresh cream was added to the avocado cream to make it firmer.

The decorations' a bit old fashion.. I've made at least 20 of the cream flowers before the ones u see here below in orange cream. The split-level and tear-drop shape are also a 1st for me. And the day being Mother's Day, 1 of the cake was dedicated to my mum.

The round cake was shared amongst my colleagues, which hopefully provided a refreshing change from the current hot spell.

the most favourite TV family

2007-05-12T15:45:00.000+08:00

IN anticipation of the upcoming Simpsons- The Movie, here are some seriously hilarious video clips to tilt your sense of laughter

Aren't you glad the movie is finally hitting the big screen this year? Can't wait to watch it!

the mask of emotions

2007-05-06T17:07:00.001+08:00

On the 5th of May 2007, I finally stepped inside the Esplanade to catch the highly anticipated Phantom of the Opera. I've waited for 12 whole years for it to return to the Lion City, and I didn't even think twice when I purchsed the most expensive ticket of the theatre. Anticipation was building up as I walked into the foyer area, which is really quite different from the upper levels. It's almost like you have paid not just for the best seats in the theatre, you are also paying for the nice reception area, which has a wine bar complete with a snack counter. Huge Phantom of the Opera posters and boards were set up, with extra usherers standing by to offer that extra bit of nice service. Suddenly, I felt like I'm important, amongst a few hundred others.

The Lobby area

The stage set was magnificient! After the first segment of an auction scene, the draps were instantly removed, exposing an elaborated stage adorned with intricately crafted golden statues. The chandelier was jostled up to the food of the theatre and glowed luminously. The whole show was filled with unexpected humour, intense emotional plots, great vocals and superb acting skills. Basically, it was far beyond my initial expectation.

For the price of $145 per ticket, I felt that every dollar was well spent. The props and costumes were so elaborated they took your breath away. The highlight of the show was definitely when the song The Phantom of the Opera was sung, when Phantom rowed the boat amongst the thick blue-coloured smoke which symbolised the sewerage water. The many chandeliers created an almost magical yet mysterious setting that will forever be embedded in my mind. This compared to The Forbidden City when I paid almost $100 for a stage set comprising only an automated metallic gate with weak vocals.

Anyway, back to the show. This was definitely the only show to give me goosebumps several times. At lesat 7 times throughout. The last time a show gave me several goosebump sensation was Chang & Eng, which I think I had around 4 of such occassions. The vocal powers of these actors were simply divine and captivating. In fact, electrifying! I seriously dont mind watching it again, if not due to the costly price tag associated to being in the best seats. The Phantom of the Opera has definitely ignited my interest for theatre, and my appetite for the good seats on the block.

Oh, and one thing. While walking back to City Hall MRT station, we came acrossed this poster for the new Pirates of the Caribbean, with a super cheesy tagline, "Welcome to Singapore". Wonder how much the Tourism of Singapore has paid for Mr Chow to say out those words.. hehe.

bye bye bangkok (more pics soon)

2007-05-06T17:05:00.000+08:00

The last day of our trip, and we finally forced ourselves to wake up for the breakfast, which was seriously rather disappointing as compared to my last trip last year. Then, I had this great spread of variety. This hotel only offered standard American Breakfast, which I didnt really eat much. KK, on the other hand, relished the pastry and eggs.

A sleepy look on the last morning of the trip

The rain had continued from the previous night to this morning. However, it didnt diminish our shopping spirit at all. We rushed out to MBK once again where I got myself a surf short, another singlet, and lotsa food goodies!. Kk got even more stuff, and had to pack all his goodies into a box for checkin purposes.

Lunch was a hurried affair, with local KFC, MacNuggets, and stir-fry instant noodles local style. Turned out these sinful indulgence proved to be mind-blowingly filling as well! And since we were almost late for our flight, we left our room in an utter mess. Bet the poor cleaner will be cursing when he saw the havoc we'd created.

Super Messy Room with left-overs of our lunch and many bags

Enjoying our Complimentary drinks just before we left for the Airport

Upon checkin out, we did an assessment of our luggages. We each came with only 1 bag, but there were 4 bags plus a box on the trolley. With that, we left for the airport for out SIA flight home.

Silly faces at the check-in counter

Our boarding gate back home... sob sob, end of my holiday

View of the Sky Lounge at the departure area of Bangkok's airport

We had each spent at least $600 excluding hotel and air ticket in Bangkok. That was an astronomical figure by any sense for me. Perhaps it was the last minute nature of the trip which saw me spending and spending without much planning. But overall, it was an fun and exciting trip. Hopefully, I'll get to enjoy another short trip soon. Hey, I will be 2 weeks later with my colleagues to Bintan for 1 night's stay!!. Hurray!

bangkok spa and retail theraphy (more pics soon)

2007-05-05T00:13:00.001+08:00

After a super drunken night, we woke up really late on Day 3. And no surprise at all, we missed breakfast again. But then again, it didn't really matter much. Cos we went to MBK for an 'expensive' breakfast: Shark's fin soup and bird's nest with ginko nuts. A serving of Shark's fin soup with rice cost us only $150 baht, equivilent to SGD6. The bird's nest cost 50 baht per bowl. Plus a plate of Pat-thai and oyster omelette, it was belly bursting eating!!

The shark's fin store

Our bowl of shark's fin soup

Relishing on our tasty gourmet breakies

Today was our spa day as well!! We strolled to our spa palour near Nana BTS station. Hapa Spa is an individual building with sloping pitched-tiles roof and a nicely landscape mini garden on its front yard. The main door is a full circle swivel, which kinda tricked KK and me as we were trying to find a conventional doorway leading to our ultimate relaxation of the trip.

The Circular Swivel Door into Hapa's main lobby

We signed up for the Ultimate Spa Package, which included a body scrub, aromoatheraphy oil massage, facial and a hairwash for 3.5hours. An outside cabin with 2 massage platforms was already welcoming us as we stepped into it's warm environment with light fragrance and soft music. We were asked to changed into paper underwears, which was a tad too big for me and quite small for KK. Anyway, we were soon out of the shy stage as the massuers did their stuff with the best body scrub I've ever had thus far! It was so thorough and comfortable I felt like I could just be scrubbed for the entire session. After the scrubbing session came the nex embarassing stage: to shower of the scrub paste. The shower facility was in the cabin itself, but it was without any doors or walls. As such, we took turns to shower with only a glazed glass partition as our only mode of privacy. Needless to say, our paper underwears were still on as we showered, though it was kinda funny as the white paper quickly turned almost transparent under the warm showers.

KK and I waiting for our Spa session to commence

A new set of paper underwear, and we were swayed into another stage of relaxation: The aromatheraphy oil massage. The back massage was nice and soft, the pressure just nice for my liking (though a tad too soft for KK). However, that's basically where the whole massage session ended as the front body was not massage. Well, still have to give credit to them for the 1hr back massage. The facial was almost a face massage session, with lotsa cream being applied, massaged and cleansed away. The whole facial session ended with a black-head suction and a 20 min facial mask.

The hairwash cum massage session was a disappointment though. It was jus a shampoo and conditioning affair. However, the whole spa experience was still a great one, mainly due to the excellent body scrub and the superior back massage. My initial hangover from the night before was diminished after the relaxation.

When in MBK, Never say NO to shopping!!!

The rest of the day was dedicated to Bangkok's most famous shopping centre: MBK!! It was a mammoth 5-6 stories complex retailing merchandise so diverse and varied but at rock bottom prices that are still subjected to further bargainings. In short, this is a haven for shopaholics out for a great deal. Tonight, we combed only the Tokyu Departmental Store, and ended buying several T-shirts at ard 100 Baht each!! talk about cheap skate. haha.

Our dinner was a mini-restaurant chain of Thailand serving thai food. And again, we ordered just too much for our 2 tummies could take in. Then again, the food was nice and cheap, so no complains..

Back at the hotel in the night, we still had around 1/5 bottle of the Tequila left. We purchased a small bottle of wine to up the alcoholic excitment, but still fell short of the intoxication of the previous night. However, it still gave me a kick in the Hi department..

yet another night of soundful sleep as the alcohol took away my ability to hear KK's snorings for the 2nd consecutive night.. hehe.

Bangkok for Shopping>> day 2 (more pics soon)

2007-05-03T12:48:00.001+08:00

Day 2 of our Bangkok trip and we already woke up late to miss our breakfast. The whole day was dedicated to the famous Jatukjat Weekend Market at Mo Chit BTS station. It was a maze of stores selling a mammoth variety of stuff, ranging from apparels and accessories to bags and plants.

Skyline of Jatujak market
Some ice cold glass jelly with brown coconut sugar along the way

The weather was nice and cooling, with a heavy mess of thunder clouds hanging pretty much fragile above us. And the nice weather actually promoted us to splurge on so many purchases inthe rather run-down alley styled market. I was the one who started the ball rolling, getting a long-sleve work shirt for ard 200 baht. This shirt was the tip of the ice berg for both of us. At the end of the day, I got myself a total of 5 shirts, while KK got himself 7 shirts, a back pac and 2 nest of orchids! The wild shopping ended in heavy rain as we cut thru the heavy droplets to Mo Chit Station.

Back at the hotel, we 'enjoyed' a free dinner buffet provided by the hotel. It was rather bland and simple, nothing really special, which means rather dissappointing for the both of us expecting it to be something really nice. From there, we ventured out for some night walking, visiting Sukumvit area and Pratumam area.

A chic chill out bar in the Sukumvit area

After the long walk, we headed back to our room where we had our bottle of Tequila. It was my chance to get a feeling of getting totally drunk, and I did, whilst breaking a glass.. The night ended with lotsa crazy laughters from the both of us.

Cheers to getting drunk!!

Needless to say, we missed breakfast again the next morning.

sawadeeca day 1 (more pics soon)

2007-05-03T12:47:00.001+08:00

Changi Airport Viewing Gallery

It was almost an insane trip. 2 bored guys suddenly decided last minute that they wanna get out of the tiny red dot and fly somewhere else. They booked their accomodation and ticket (via SIA) on Tuesday night, do some really last minute planning for their filmsy itinerary, and set off for the Land of a Thousand Smile on Saturday morning. For me, it was my 5th visit to the city. For my great fren Jian Jia, it was his virgin trip to Bangkok.

KK and me at Changi Airport, just b4 departure

Our Departure Gate to Bangkok

Everything was so smooth. We got to the airport with just enuff time to spare for some shopping (and a purchase of a bottle of Tequila) before we board our flight to Bangkok. SIA, as expected, provided great entertainment and a smooth landing. Almost completed the movie Because I Said So, but the flight time was just too short to catch the last few minutes of it as we touched down to the Buddist Kingdom of Thailand.

On Board SIA

The 1st impression of the city was that the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport was a sore-eye. It looked almost like a hi-class warehouse. Everything was so grey and industrial. And the custom was still as bad, with queues snaking till they cramped up to the walls. Well, I have to give some credit to the new airport as well. The queue, though long, was still faster than the old one. The baggage collection conveyor was not even indicated, which caused us to find a few lanes for our bag.

The nice exterior of the Bangkok Airport

An Industrial design in the interior

After ard 30min of cab ride, we finally reached our hotel, The Twin Tower Hotel. Definitely much much better than I've expected. The high ceiling and wide hallways won us over the moment we stepped in. The staff were superbly friendly. As we entered our room at 874, we were amazed. The room was so spacious it contained 2 queen sized beds, an executive corner and a tea corner complete with a tea table and 2 cushioned chairs. And we had the Bangkok City view all to ourselves!

Day 1 was supposed to be a relaxing day, and we did. Upon unpacking our stuff, we headed for the hotel's pool for a jacuzzi and pool dip under the slightly grey clouds. It was great! For me, it was my 1st dip in perhaps 2 months. For Jian Jia, it could well be his 1st un-interrupted dip in several months! The only thing missing was the sun.

Siam Paragon @ Siam Square

We went straight for Siam Paragon for our 1st meal of the trip. And it was a Japanese dinner at Fuji restaurant. We ordered our most expensive meal ever for our entire trip, setting us back SGD66 in total. Not too bad, considered we really ate till our tummies nearly bursted! We spent the next couple of hours exploring Siam Paragon, doing basically window shopping (something that i dont really like). The late evening was dedicated for our 1st street market experience..

Our 1st meal in Bangkok, Japanese Dinner @ Fuji Restaurant

We took the BTS Skytrain from Siam to Silom station. It's the start of the famous Patong night market. A huge array of stalls just kept pouring into our sight as we strolled down the streets. The lights and visuals were jus mind blowing for 1st timers.

Street Hawker @ Patong Night Market

It was during that walk that we realised that Patong was also famous for not jus its night market, but as a red-light district as well! Oh, and I believe also the pink-light district. Jian Jia and I went to this cafe (Bee & Bug) in Patong for a snack and this nice looking gal approached us to take our orders. She was mummering to herself as she took our orders. When I asked her to repeat, an almost manly voice splurted out, which stunned me for that split second! Being in Bangkok where transexuals are a norm, I tried to behave as normal as I could. It was until the waiter(ess) was gone that Jian Jia informed me of my so-called shocked expression.. Oh dear, I think I've just scared tat waiteress feeling for the night..

Me @ Bee & Bug (the waitress in the background)

Day one was relaxing and eventful. The nex blog will tell you more about the nex few days.

My Barventures to Travel Bugger

2007-04-26T22:46:00.000+08:00

In my previous blog entries, you would have realised that I've been rather 'happening', visiting several bars and chill-out places. And now I'm thrusted into another frenzy... The Travel Bugger. Yes, starting this weekend, I'll be venturing outta our dear little red dot to places beyond.. this weekend will see me visitng bangkok (with my fren KK) for the 5th time, making BKK the most visited tourist city for me.

Next weekend will transport me to ancient England... well, it's the Phantom of the Opera show as the highlight of the weekend. 2nd week of May will be my breather, and my only free time to try baking my nex cake creation, Green Forest... (wait for my Green Forest Cake entry in due time).

3rd week will see me travelling with my colleagues to nearby Bintan for a nite's out, and enjoying the spa facilities at the Agro Bintan Resort.. and finally the 4th week will be reserved for PF and her birthday.. Oh dear, I still haben reserve the chalet in Ubin (also kinda overseas).. Hope still have chalets when i return from Bkk to book..

Kinda scarely.. cos June seems bare now.. will be the best time to submerge into a deep depression after all these partyings.. hehe.

chocolate cheese cream cake

2007-04-24T17:07:00.000+08:00

The Triple C Cake, this is a simple chocolate i made over the weekend. Normal Chocolate cake with cream cheese sandwiched in between. the smaller cake is home consumption, and ran out of cream after decorating for the bigger cake below..