1 Out of 7 Billion
The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.
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Farewell 2010 – Personal Highlights for the Year That’s About to End
December 29, 2010
It just seemed like yesterday when I was going around the house to chase away the evil spirits of 2009 and usher in 2010.
File photo : Crossover from 2009 to 2010
I can’t believe the year is about to end.
As each year brings its unique sense of joy and disappointment (based on my experience), I thought I’d recap what I think made this year worth remembering. There are many more runners-up to this list but I need to keep it short and sweet.
In random order:
1) Got an iPhone
Yes, I joined the bandwagon and very happy I did. And I’m also glad I’m not addicted to it and I have remained very sociable!
Credit: Apple (taken from www.zdnet.com.au)
2) Joined Twitter
Julu “sold” the idea of joining this social network site to me earlier in the year. Switching to iPhone made sending tweets easier.
3) Travel
3 Countries, 4 Trips
Manila, Philippines – to attend Jak & Jolina’s wedding and catch up with family and friends
Jak & Jolina together forever
Taken at Krispy Kreme in Manila. It was also the time of Philippine elections during my visit.
Hong Kong, SAR – 2x
May 2010 with my sister -- Last time my sister went to HK was in 1988. She wanted Barbie dolls then. Now it's H&M.
Traveled solo in Nov 2010 - Also met up with HK friends
Shanghai, China – Business trip but managed to catch up with Daryl over dinner on National Day.
DP with his unique undercut hairstyle in August.
4) Church
Sang the Responsorial Psalm for the 1st time — Was nervous but my choirmates were very supportive.
Volunteered as a part-time facilitator in the parish kids’ camp
It’s been ages since I was involved in an activity for kids (I did a bit of volunteer work in early 2009 for kids with learning development needs). It’s great to see and feel the energy and enthusiasm of children — I felt younger at least for one day! Thanks Ben & Eve for inviting me to participate.
Helped organise my choir’s National Day celebration — Everyone had fun (adults & kids alike). My first National Day-related party / gathering.
5) Concerts
James Ingram
Show Luo – 3D concert
Jay Chou
6) Family & Home
Auleine’s timely graduation from her “Early Childhood Development” course — Now she is Teacher Ollie to a few (almost) 2-year old kids! Congratulations!
Sophie’s 1st birthday and dog training several months after
Celebrated Thanksgiving for the 1st time — Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for year in, year out but this is officially our first family Thanksgiving party. We’d like to set this as an additional family tradition every year.
The biggest bird that landed on our dining table in 2010
With Julu, Eugene, and Veria
7) Gastronomic adventures around Singapore
Food trips during weekends — Truly the best time to try new places and gain some calories. This collage doesn’t do justice at all.
Horlicks McFlurry — The best thing that ever happened to McFlurry. McDonald’s people, please bring this back in 2011!
Brunch 78 — 78-meter spread of delights on a Sunday afternoon with free-flowing champagne. Went 2x. Thanks Tina for introducing this fantastic event to me.
1st time was with Karen and Nat
2nd time was with Julu and Karl
8 ) Singapore : Home Truly
Integrated Resorts — I had no direct involvement with their construction nor opening but Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa opening their doors to the public is definitely a boost for Singapore tourism. I went to Marina Bay Sands SkyPark 2-3x this year!
Resorts World Sentosa
Marina Bay Sands
53A — Discovered the band during my rounds and they’re brilliant artists. Will continue to support local talent!
With Sara, Alvin, and Bani -- Taken during one of their roadshows to promote their 1st album "Settle the Kettle"
Moved to a new office (same company) – From 4 locations, we are merged into one office site. Modern facilities and conducive for agile working. Most importantly, closer to home (a few bus stops away).
I tried walking home during the first few weeks (10-minutes). I eventually decided to take the bus home instead and save time. Heh.
Opening of the Circle Line — Well, “half-circle” but this promises to be big by 2011. This is the first MRT line I’ve seen open since I moved to Singapore 4.5 years ago.
My sister and I tried a few stations when the Circle Line opened.
Hope your 2010 was memorable too!
Hong Kong
June 1, 2010 — 4 Comments
My “renewed” relationship with Hong Kong in terms of shopping started 3 years ago. I have been visiting yearly since then.
Going to Hong Kong means filling up my luggage with H&M stuff, my most favorite brand. Zara, Pull & Bear, Esprit being the runners up.
Here’s a photo from my very first trip to the H&M store in HK in 2007.
May 2007
At almost the same spot during my recent trip there…
May 2010, minus the yawning lady in the background
Have I aged so much that the guy in the 2007 photo looks like my son?? Oh well. I guess with age comes a higher level of maturity to control impulse shopping and improved fashion sense. My hair is parted on the other side too. :p
Anyway, this 2010 HK trip is not just for my own shopping satisfaction but that of my sister’s who has not seen this beautiful city since 1988. Back then, she always wanted to be carried around by my parents as she could not survive walking along what used to be called Ocean Terminal in Kowloon. No wonder she hardly had any recollection of that trip.
She’s all grown up now and ready to spend more than I could ever imagine! At 20+ yrs old, no one in our family could carry her anymore without risk of serious injury… ha
Welcome back to Hong Kong!
When I was booking the flight, I made sure to choose the Singapore Airlines aircraft that had the new Economy seats. Some years back, Singapore Airlines introduced a new layout for Business Class and improved Economy seats. This aircraft has the same look and feel as the A380 but single deck only. A few photos of the Economy seats I am talking about.
Larger display, better looking remote control, and improved interactive menu
We arrived in HK slightly after noon and it was shopping and sightseeing for 3.5 days.
Hotel lobby of Jia Hotel in Causeway Bay (been staying here for the past few visits)
Cozy bedroom. One new gadget this time around is the iPod player/speaker near the TV.
HK MTR stations are characterized by numerous exits, 2-3 levels of escalators, and thousands of people. This one is like 10x the size of Dhoby Ghaut MRT station in Singapore
The tram that took us to The Peak
Sky was not clear but still happy with the view from above
Near the Madame Tussauds entrance getting intimate with Bruce. We decided not to go into the wax museum due to lack of time.
With Ron and William
Langham Place (mall) in Mongkok. I braved 13 levels and had quite a few good purchases. (Nearest MTR: Mongkok)
Citygate outlet shopping (Nearest MTR: Tung Chung)
More shopping, this time in Kowloon island, near Harbour City (Nearest MTR: Tsim Tsa Tsui)
Before we packed our stuff into 3 suitcases, we checked out the shops near Times Square (Nearest MTR: Causeway Bay)
Final day (morning) spent on a bus tour of south HK island. Passed through Repulse Bay on our way to Stanley Market. Awesome residential properties with stunning view of the bay.
Area surrounding Stanley market
Grabbed lunch at agnes b restaurant in IFC mall
We didn't need to request an additional chair for our bags and jackets as they had a low bench for them.
Spent more than expected but no regrets. I'll go back in 2011. Need to check out New Territories, have a round of drinks in a bar overlooking the city, take the cable car at Lantau Island, ride the ferry to the other island, bargain at day/night markets, eat good dimsum
Special thanks to Steph Ho, Kristy Teng, Vincent Ang, and MJ Kuok for the shopping / bar hopping tips.
And speaking of MJ, check out his latest single “Once Twice 3″.
Support talented musicians like him by purchasing his music from iTunes (search “mj kuok”) or from www.mjkuok.com (Click Shop Online).
Hong Kong
August 11, 2009 — 2 Comments
I had been thinking of heading to HK for a few days and I finally did it. I decided to book a flight one week before the actual trip so I didn’t get to fly with my favorite airline as the suitable flights were fully booked.
Instant holidays are costly (more expensive air tickets, lesser time to research clean but reasonably priced hotels, etc). However, having a relaxing trip and doing what I really wanted to do (shopping, spending time on my own, catching up with friends & meeting new ones) is truly satisfying.
Welcome back to HK! (Photo taken in one of the newer posh areas near Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui
I was impressed at my ability to go on impulse and whirlwind shopping.
After 1.5 days of :
- hopping from one train to another and enduring the congested MTR walkways
- shielding myself from the sun
- sweating like a pig(let)
- exercising my arm muscles with the clothing-filled bags; and
- eventually forgetting I had set a shopping budget …
I felt the need not to do anything much on my 3rd and last day. I just walked around a few areas with very minimal purchase and had a haircut (as I was seriously getting bored).
Some interesting info about my trip:
- Number of hours being restless in the plane : 3 hours (most of the Singapore to Hong Kong journey)
- Number of people met : 5 friends (including 3 new ones) + 2 acquaintances
- Liquor : only 2 bottles of beer and 1 cocktail over two night outs (really don’t like drinking)
- Favorite train stops : Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
- Pleasant discovery : IFC Mall near Hong Kong station, Jia Hotel in Causeway Bay
- What I wanted to do but ran short of time : Explore Lantau Island (I attempted but could not get out of Citygate outlet mall) ; clubbing
- First set of purchases : 2 Gorilla pods (funky short tripod for electronic gadgets) and a Belkin adaptor for multiple iPods
- Last purchase : Pictionary Man boardgame – believe it or not, I got the item from a shop next to my boarding gate. And I thought I was done with shopping by the time I reach the airport.
Thanks to Ron and William for hanging out with me during the weekend and for introducing their friends to me during my trip.
Photos
1) Accommodation
Jia Hotel, 1-5 Irving St, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong ( http://www.jiahongkong.com/JIA.html )
Thanks to Vincent A for the recommendation!
Jia Hotel is the 1st boutique hotel in Asia designed by Philippe Starck
The other side says "Seriously Messed Up" :p
Playing around in the lobby
2) Shopping
IFC (Nearest station: Hong Kong)
City Super -mostly food. I bought some useless stuff from this place.
Club 21 Outlet @ Citgate Outlet Mall (Nearest station: Tung Chung)
Harbour City (Nearest station: Tsim Sha Tsui)
3) Catch Up’s and Walkabouts
With good HK buddies - William and Ron
Cathy and Lydia - new friends I met during my trip
The bar we went to had some function rooms -- Heaven, Hell, Eden. Took a photo of my target destination.
Awesome Sunday night food in the Whampoa area
With William, Larry, and Ron
Drinks by the harbour. Panasonic Lumix at its best.
Haircut at HH Il Colpo Group (Harbour City mall)
This is the "benchmark" hairstyle. You have to see me in person to confirm if the result is the same!
4) Random
Ad for the HK subway system
Yeah, clean is in.
Taken at IFC mall. These kids were initially body slamming the in-house ad, with parents watching them from a few meters away. The kids were acting like human mops here.
"End of the world" scene. Rainy Monday afternoon in HK.
Best dessert I've tasted in recent memory. Too bad, I have to travel all the way to HK for this one.
Also took two days of leave and spent them in Singapore so I could say I was able to rest, re-energise, and enjoy the local scene before heading back to work.
Hong Kong
October 28, 2008
I spent the Deepavali long weekend in Hong Kong and what a relaxing weekend it was (my wallet got exhausted though).
This is my 4th visit within a span of two years and I think everytime I feel like going away for a long weekend I will book a flight to Hong Kong (instead of Bangkok).
Why do I love Hong Kong?
- The place gives me a sense of organised chaos which I welcome once in awhile.
- Shopping. I always go to H&M but I feel I’m missing out on a lot more good shops.
- Food
- I like hearing Cantonese.
- I have good friends who are superb hosts and fantastic party buddies.
I stayed at the Cosmo hotel which is one of the boutique hotels in the Wan Chai / Causeway Bay area. The location is not very ideal ; I always needed to take a cab to and from the place. However, the room space is just right for a short stay. Comfy bed too.
Good to sleep on a single bed for a change.
The couch area is where I would dump my shopping bags at the end of each day.
Sat, 25 October
- Got upgraded to Business Class on Singapore Airlines. It’s my 4th time to be upgraded (3rd on holiday). I initially wanted to upgrade my purchased Economy class ticket but was told no seats were available. Thanks SQ!
- Went to H&M shortly after I checked-in. Did some panic buying and shopping for family and friends. The selection was rather disappointing and I guess I can say that for most of the shops. They were selling winter stuff and I could only buy so much. May / June would probably be the best time to go next time, based on previous experience.
- Met up with Ron at Causeway Bay and walked over to William’s place. William, Grace, and Louis hosted an awesome dinner with hairy crab as the main dish. Met a few new friends as well. Struggled in eating the crab with my bare hands (havent done that in ages) but I can say it was worth the cracking and scooping effort.
Causeway Bay, one of my fave areas in HK
With Ron and William, my great buddies in HK
Hairy hairy crab
- Decided to have an early night after waking up for an early flight but managed to stay awake for an hour listening to a few singers in the bar at Cosmo hotel. I knew most of the songs so I was singing softly in my little corner. Ha.
Day 2 – Sun, 26 October
- I had to make another trip to H&M to see if any new stocks came in but since I arrived slightly earlier than opening time, I walked around to explore the central area.
Why dont we have H&M in Singapore?!
- Ros invited me to have lunch with her and her husband Blums over at Taikoo then went around the mall for any interesting stuff.
Catching up with Blums and Ros at Simply Life Bakery/Cafe
- I was supposed to meet with Ron and William but they were fairly busy until late afternoon so I decided to go back to Causeway Bay. There were two events happening. One at Sogo which had a brief show that featured Eunice Chen, one of the popular models in HK. The other event was a promotion for Minute Maid orange juice which had official endorser Eason Chan, a pop artist/singer, making a special appearance.
Eunice Chen - took me some time to figure out her English name from the people I asked in Sogo
Eason Chan
- Met up with Ron and William near my hotel and went to a revolving resto for a drink before going to Lin Heung bakery/ tea house at Central for dinner. Peiru suggested that I try the BBQ pork while in HK so I requested them to include this in our meal. One thing that struck me is that customers soak the bowls in hot water before using them. Never seen that in previous trips. William told me that it’s the usual practice in HK. He did the honor of doing that before our meal…
William's fingers in their first-ever close-up appearance in my blog
- Lyn (my friend from Malaysia who happened to be there for work+holiday) and Dorothy (friend of Ron) joined us for dinner as well. We then went to Peel Fresco Music Lounge a few blocks away for some jazz music.
William, Lyn, Ron, Dorothy, me
Day 3 – Mon, 27 October
- No set plan but to pack neatly and reach Kowloon island for the first time in 20 years (yes, only because my previous visits were all in HK island).
Not teary eyed but quite a nice feeling being back in this part of HK.
- Had lunch at Harbour City. I officially ended my shopping in that place.
- Headed to the airport via airport (train) express, bought a few boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts for Pierre, Peiru and the SQ cabin crew, then boarded the flight. I arranged for an upgrade to Business Class previously so had a comfortable evening journey back to Singapore.
Perfect Love – Alex Fong and Stephy Tang
August 30, 2008
After more than one year of humming and asking my friends to help me guess the title of the song and its singer, I accidentally came across what could probably be my most favorite Cantonese duet.
I first heard this song way back May 2007 when my HK buddy William chose it for the open KTV bar we went to during my visit. He sang it with one of our female friends.
I listened to Alex Fong’s latest album “2008 New + Best CD + Karaoke DVD” during one of my flights on SQ and thought I’d look for it when I return to Singapore. And I’m glad I did. Not only is it a good album but it also happens to contain “Perfect Love” which he sang with Stephy Tang.
Here are a few videos :
1) Music Video
2) KTV version (lyrics)
3) Instrumental / piano version (live performance by a pianist)
I have to learn this song by yearend. Thanks to Marlene for the pinyin lyrics!
十分・愛 (方力申+鄧麗欣合唱版)
合：分手後一分鐘 便有後悔聲音
fun sao hao yat fun zhong bin yao hao fui seng yan
能傷我最深的人 應得我心
nang seung ngor zui sum dek yan yin dak ngor sum
女：應該漠不關心 然而還著緊
ying goi mok but guan sum yin yi one zhok gun
男：當攬緊他人 想起跟你熱吻
dong lan gun ta yan seung hei gan nei yit mun
合：愛過太深 原來身體會疑問
aoi guo tai sum yun loy san tai wui yi mun
再沒法可適應別人
zoi mut fa hor sek ying bit yan
願醉掉了 能容許你憐憫
yun zui diu liu nang yong hoy nei lin mun
男：早知不應試愛 (女:未放開) 便節哀
zou ji but ying see aoi mei fong hoy bin jik aoi
女：有情人
yao qing yan
合：日日夜夜同分開感慨
yit yit yeah yeah tong fun hoy gum koi
男：避開 女：願你改 男：一個 女：小小意外
bay hoy yun nei goi yat gor siew siew yi why
男：未悔恨我未會知
mei hui hun ngor mei hui ji
合：不散不愛
but san but aoi
男：心 女：話放開 男：未放開
sum wa fong hoy mei fong hoy
女：雨驟來
yu zao luoy
合：才能提示真愛是確實存在
coi nang tai si zan aoi si kok sat chwin zoi
愛滿分竟是換來 痛亦滿分
aoi mun fun geng si wun loy tong yik mun fun
可否錯一次以後 一直愛
ho fow cor yat qi yi ho yat zi aoi
合：分手後天天都 是最重要起身
fun sao hao tin tin dou si zui zong you hey sang
皮膚有你的指紋 刻得太深
pay fu yao nei dik zi mun hark dak tai sum
女：應該漠不關心 然而還著緊
ying goy mok but guan sum yin yi one zhok gun
男：當攬緊他人 想起跟你熱吻
dong lan gun ta yan seung hei gan nei yit mun
合：愛過太深 原來身體會疑問
oi guo tai sum yun loy san tai wui yi mun
再沒法可適應別人
zoi mut fa hor sek ying bit yan
願醉掉了 能容許你憐憫
yun zui diu liu nang yong hoy nei lin mun
男：早知不應試愛 (女:未放開) 便節哀
zou ji but ying see aoi mei fong hoy bin jik aoi
女：有情人
yao qing yan
合：日日夜夜同分開感慨
yit yit yeah yeah tong fun hoy gum koi
男：避開 女：願你改 男：一個 女：小小意外
bay hoi yun nei goi yat gor siew siew yi why
男：未悔恨我未會知
mei hui hun ngor mei hui ji
合：不散不愛
but san but aoi
男：心 女：話放開 男：未放開
sum woot fong hoy mei fong hoy
女：雨驟來
yu zao luoy
合：才能提示真愛是確實存在
coi nang tai si zan aoi si kok sat chwin zoi
愛滿分竟是換來 痛亦滿分
aoi mun fun geng si wun loy tong yik mun fun
可否錯一次以後
ho fow cor yat qi yi ho
男：早知不應試愛 (女:未放開) 便節哀
zou ji but ying see aoi mei fong hoy bin jik aoi
女：有情人
yao qing yan
合：日日夜夜同分開感慨
yit yit yeah yeah tong fun hoy gum koi
男：避開 女：願你改 男：一個 女：小小意外
bay hoi yun nei goi yat gor siew siew yi why
男：未悔恨我未會知
mei hui hun ngor mei hui ji
合：不散不愛
but san but aoi
男：心 女：話放開 男：未放開
sum wa fong hoy mei fong hoy
女：雨驟來
yu zao luoy
合：才能提示真愛是確實存在
coi nang tai si zan aoi si kok sat chwin zoi
愛滿分竟是換來 痛亦滿分
aoi mun fun geng si wun loy tong yik mun fun
可否錯一次以後 一直愛
ho fow cor yat qi yi ho yat zi aoi
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