Of Rocky Town and bears!

Was on the flight back home from Rockhampton the other day. After we had gone through security and were waiting at the boarding gate (it's not really a gate lah, just a place we had to wait before boarding...) we had 2 whole hours before the flight. Hmm... what to do for 2 whole hours!?! I know... Let's introduce the "Bear Game" to my colleagues!

This game is known by various other names. You can read about it here... . I first learnt about it while observing a group of Hotel cadets with some instructors sitting in a Starbucks joint somewhere in southern Taiwan back in '06! I was curious since there were periods when they would be totally quiet and other times when there would be riotous conversation! Intrigued, I approached on of the section instructors there and asked about the game. Long story short, I introduced the game during one of my Monthly Cousins Gathering and there was no turning back!!! We played from about 2200hrs till 0300hrs!! Other groups I have introduced this game to was during my CSC when I taught my syndicate how to play it. Also during one of the long Chinese wedding dinners when my table played it! In all cases, there would be ernest (ernest being an understatement!) conversation in trying to vote off the "bear".

So you can imagine the scene that ensued when I introduced this game to the Chief (he gamely played it, good guy!), Mite, Lionel, Oh Kok, the Doc, Jason, Masih, Chung Wai and Kar Boon. The usually quiet waiting lounge was punctuated by our laughter, eager accusations and constant bluffing! We came away knowing how to read our friends' body-language better! We managed to play 2 full games (it was a tie!) with the 3rd game hanging in the balance when we reluctantly dragged ourselves to the waiting aircraft after the announcement was made! Some even wanted to continue playing in the aircraft!!! Talk about being 'enthu'!!!

Boardgames galore!

The next MCG is coming up soon. Just to whet everyone's appetite and to 'encourage' the rest to come, here are some of the boardgames which I bought when I went to Aussieland recently. We'll definitely be testing them out!

1. iMAgiNiff

2. Apples to Apples

3. Pass the Bomb

4. Mentalogy

5. Articulate

So for those who have not indicated your response, please do so in our Facebook MCG Group. See you guys this Saturday! Now I gotta hit the books...Exams in less than 24hrs!

Hello from Down Under...

Yep folks...after less than 4 months, I'm back again Down Under! Am reporting live from Rockhampton Town in an internet cafe there... We managed to get the day off!! Can't report much as I'm paying $2 for 10mins of surfing! Pics shown are of my first wild kangaroo which happened to be there along the airstrip that I was running on! And that's me in my tent! GTG...will report back soon!

The Magic Faraway Tree

I grew up on books by Enid Blyton (interestingly, I always thought the author's name was Gnid Blyton...yah what, just look at the name on the book cover!), books like The Famous Five (interestingly, there were five of us cousins who used to hang out together during the school holidays. Boys around my age. And we used to think we were the Famous Five and had great adventures together! We even had a tree house somewhere in Telok Blangah Hill...but that's fodder for another story ok?) and of course The Magic Faraway Tree. I loved the Magic Faraway Tree and would eagerly 'devour' each installment! Of late I had been regaling the FD with tales from the Faraway Tree complete with characters whom I have grown up with (with help of sites like these of course!). But since my Enid Blyton books are long gone (wonder what happened to them?) and I can't seem to find any copies of it on the net, I had to make up the stories as I went along. Every night for bedtime story, I would crack my head to come up with different lands that 'visits' the Faraway Tree...places like "The Land of Do-As-You-Please", "The Land of Magic", "The Upside Down Land", "The Land of the Little People" and "The Land of the Giants"!!! And I would try to end each session with a 'cliff-hanger' so that the FD will keep asking for more! So she has grown familiar with Joe, Beth, Frannie, Moonface and many other such characters. But nothing beats getting hold of the actual books and I have been searching for it ever since. I asked Popular but it was out of stock. Even Borders. I even tried eBay Singapore but no joy. I tried Borders UK and hit jackpot! But they only deliver to a local address...so, since I have cousins visiting there now (they should be back anytime soon right?), I thought, what the heck, see if they can accept the delivery at whatever address they are staying. I'll settle the rest, no worries. So I emailed them more than a week ago. But I waited like fruit-never-fall! Maybe they're busy with the wedding. Never mind. Where there's a will, there's a way right?!

So just now, since I got back slightly early from work, we decided to get the SD a new swim wear just like her sister's. The one that is long-sleeved so that she won't turn blue during her swimming lessons that she's starting next week! So we trudged down to Tanglin Mall to the swim shop there to get her a blue size 6 suit. Looks kinda big but we're pragmatic! Not cheap I tell ya...I don't have shirts that expensive!! But her sister's had lasted this long so it's worth it! We then headed to Far East Plaza to break fast at Ramen Ten and also because there's a second hand bookshop we wanna check out. After booking a place at Ramen Ten we went to Sunny Bookshop on the 4th floor. I asked the man there to direct me to books by Enid Blyton. There was disappointingly a few books by her but I when looked closer, I found the book that I was looking for!!! And it was a 3-in-1 special, as thick as JRR Tolkien's books! The 4 of us gave a collective cheer of delight!!! Yay!!! I've been re-united with a long lost 'friend' and Kakak will finally get to read what I've read many many many moons ago...

We're going digital, sir!

Ah...it's 'official' at last! The actual uniform came out in the Straits Times today. Front page no less! It was reported in the Straits Times a few weeks ago but I guess they couldn't get hold of the actual attire then so they just showed the ones used by the US Military. A more detailed report is carried by CyberPioneer.

During exercises, I've seen some personnel wearing it as part of T&E (Trial & Evaluation). All I can say is that it takes some getting use to! 

Oh, I'm not saying I'm 'old' or anything but I've been in uniform since the 'Temasek Green' era! (The one shown in the extreme right) But that was during my NCC days! There was a transition to the then 'new' camouflaged No.4 when I was in Sec 4, I think. It seems that I'll have a chance to wear all 3 generations of uniforms! In any case, we are all eagerly waiting for the 'digital' uniform  to roll out. Expect to see me in it by early next year!

Nokia Internet Radio

I've been a subscriber to Singtel's Broadband on Mobile for a couple of months now. At 22 bucks a month, I get a 50GB download limit (which I don't think is easy to burst if all one does is checking email and surf the occasional blog) and the ability to surf the net from anyway in Singapore, even in the field! With a single push of my mail button on my Nokia E51, I get to check my email. Updating Facebook Mobile is a matter of selecting the Explorer icon. But the application I just downloaded makes having a Mobile Broadband all the more worth it! I'm talking about Internet Radio! I've been looking and testing some of these software for quite a while but they didn't quite make the mark. But this particular one works quite well! And with stations from SHOUTcast streaming via my E51, I can now bring my sermons, talks, baroque music, jazz, bossa nova wherever I go! I am now looking for a cable which lets me output audio from my E51 out to any Audio In port. Then I can listen to thousands of stations in my Stream! And even at work...Cool!

Oh, you don't really need a Broadband on Mobile account to receive the stations. As long as you have a WLAN at home (which most people nowadays do), you just tap into your own network and voila! you're in!

Also, give SHOUTcast a try. Search for any stations in the "Search for" box and you'll be presented with the stations that you want. Just click 'Tune In' to listen to the stations!

Enjoy...

That which is measured improves...

Something to share with my brothers and sisters. I stumbled upon the Heartwheel Journal while surfing the Islam Channel. Here's the explanation on its use. If you are someone who always sets goals to achieve a desired outcome, this Journal will certainly help! Happy Journalling...

This life is temporary and we are departing...

For those who thinks that the internet has nothing more to offer than the usual blogs, emails and games, think again!

As I'm typing this at 0420hrs in the morning (time for sahur soon), I've been listening to a 75min podcast on Part 2 of the Incentives of Tauba from Get Islamic Podcasts. I got it from the iTunes Store actually and was led to that website. There are tons of podcasts out there that are beneficial both spiritually and intellectually. As in anything on the internet, you just gotta discern the gems from the flotsam and jetsam. So, here's another use for your MP3 players. Instead of just listening to mindless music on your commute to work, download these podcasts to fill your journey with knowledge!

And something I got for myself during my birthday has opened up another use of my broadband! I can 'receive' up 10,000 radio stations on the internet from 'Holy Quran Radio' in Palestine to 'Bossa Nova Jazz' from Sky.fm to Baroque music from the US. And you don't even need a PC to do it! There's also a ticker-tape like news updates scrolling across the screen. You can subscribe to RSS feeds to sites that you like. I've even subscribed to this blog! It's like the coolest gadget I got for myself this year!

The wife is awake now...preparing for sahur...gotta go soon...something I took away from the sarahan so far is that "this life is temporary and we are departing..." and "work for this world as if you will live forever and work for the hereafter as if you are going to depart tomorrow"...

About the first fast...

The FD tried her hand at fasting since the first day of Ramadhan. She gamely woke up for sahur with us although getting her to wake up at 0445hrs is a bit of a challenge. But she finally did and finished her food in good time. Since it was the school hols, we let her sleep in slightly longer after that. The SD however was wide awake at 7 plus and was wondering why her ibu and kakak were still sleeping! The wife told me later that when adik was having her breakfast of toasted bread, kakak wanted to have some but she endured after she was reminded that she was fasting. Well, she finally broke fast at about 1300hrs and I congratulated her on her 'first' puasa! Anyway, she had a swimming lesson shortly after that so it was just as well she broke her fast... Yesterday, (yes, yes, it's really 0338hrs on Wednesday morning!) she did the same thing but it was slightly easier to wake her up for sahur since she slept at about 2100hrs. Again she broke fast at about 1300hrs. She had another swimming lesson too. Come to think of it, she's eating more when fasting than not! Sahur she eats a lot, she eats her lunch when she breaks fast and then her regular dinner with us! So, no worries Nyai, your first grand-daughter will certainly put on weight!!!

Ah...as always, one of my goals for Ramadhan is to lose weight. It's always an opportune time to do it...if not now, when? Last year I managed to reach my goal of weighing below 70kg even though it happened the day before Idul Fitri! But the thing about losing weight is that it's easy to do but to maintain it at a particular level is the hard part! Well for this year, I aim to lose 5kg! Yes, 5kg... Always aim high right!? For the record, when I weighed myself on 1st Ramadhan (how convenient it is that 1st Ramadhan coincides with the first day of the month! Makes for easier counting!), my weight was 73.5kg. It has been constant for the past few months. Last year's average weight was 75kg. Must be the 1, 3, 5 thingy that has been a part of many Army personnel's life since it's implementation! I'm referring to our Healthy Lifestyle programme that has been on-going. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we have our PT at 0730hrs till 0930hrs. It was a pain when it was first implemented. But that is the nature of change right? Once one gets used to it, one wonders what the big deal was in the first place!?!? That and training for both the Sundown Marathon and Army Half Marathon helped to keep the weight in check! So, the aim is not only to lose 5kg but to maintain it as such!

Adegan di Ya Kun Lot 1

It happened last week when I was buying 2 slices of butter kaya toast from Ya Kun @ Lot 1 with the FD (if you dunno what's FD...hmmm...not a regular reader ain't ya?). We just came from Delifrance at the third level where the FD had bought a French loaf on her own. We're training her to buy things on her own as part of the run-up to P1 next year! So, I lined-up at the counter while the FD waited outside Ya Kun. I asked her to join me in the queue but she seemed occupied with just standing outside, carrying the French loaf from Delifrance. Since the order took a while, I sat down on a chair near the counter, waiting. I signaled the FD to sit with me but she, standing just at the entrance of Ya Kun, shook her head vigorously while pointing to something inside Ya Kun. I kept signaling to her but she kept refusing to join me. I asked what was she pointing at and she kept pointing to something beside the counter. I asked her what was it...Guess what? She pointed to a sign that said, "No Outside Food Allowed!"!!!!!!!!! Cute kan!?!?!? ;)

Selamat Datang Ramadhan

Wishing all my Muslim readers a blessed Ramadhan. May we face our challenges with resilience...

Tea Session @ Al-Khair

Well, here I am reporting 'live' from the Auditorium of Al-Khair listening to a talk on environmental awareness. It's part of the end-of-term tea session the pre-school holds with parents regularly.

This and that...

Where to begin when one hasn't been at it in a while? Why the dearth in updates? One word - resource! More specifically TIME! Updating this in McDonald's United Square with the First Daughter munching away on Fillet-O-Fish and the wife rifling through some kids magazine that Lorna Whiston handed out after the FD's class. The Second Daughter has been 'successfully' deposited with Ms Komala @ GuG without much fuss! This I consider an achievement because the last few weeks, getting her to her weekend classes has been a drag! Literally! The drama that she played out for all to see would qualify her for some award! We don't really know what set her off but one thing's for sure - don't let her have her way! (An advice the kindly Ms Komala helpfully dispensed during one of the trying times that the SD refuses to enter her class). Once she knows that she can get away with not going for her classes, she'll do it every time! So today, after much cajoling and encouragement, she is finally receptive to going for her Early Reading and Writing class. Let's see how she's like tomorrow when she goes for her Art Class.

A Berry Happy Birthday - to you!

And so the the Wife and I went for the Parade to celebrate Singapore's 43rd Birthday. My plan was to park at the multi-storey carpark behind Capitol seeing how I thought it was sufficiently far from the Esplanade. When we reached there...you guessed it! Cars were lined up all the way to the main road from the entrance! It was already 1635hrs (we were advised to be seated by 1645hrs to enjoy the pre-parade segment) and so I decided not to wait. In the end, we parked at the National Library - a 15min walk to the Esplanade! And apparently we weren't the only ones going for the Parade to park there! We were eventually seated at our seats at 1655hrs after having dutifully collected our Goodie Bags. (Back before the days of Balloting for Parade Tix, Singaporeans queued for the prized tix at various collection centres throughout Singapore. I happened to organise the Ticket Collection Centre at National Stadium back in 2001. The tix were to be given out on Sunday morning. By Friday afternoon, people were ALREADY queuing up outside the Stadium! And some of these Singaporeans queued up just so they can get the tix so that they can collect the Goodie Bags on the actual day...and then they LEAVE! No parade no fireworks...queued up just for the Goodie Bags!) Anyway, there we were sitting in the Green Sector about 15 rows from the top. It was the first time I was at the Marina Floating Platform. Although our 'motivators' worked hard to work up the crowd, those around our area were just not responding. There was this aunty directly in front of me who actually covered her ears when I shouted! How like that? Stay at home and stare at the TV better right!?!? The atmosphere couldn't beat that inside the National Stadium. Even the fireworks sounded far off although it looked near. The sound doesn't reverberate unlike that inside the stadium. The parade, as usual, was executed to clockwork precision. The Parade Sergeant Major was my friend and I commented to him after watching a segment about him during the Malay news a couple of days before the Parade that his Malay 'berterabur Encik!', which he agreed! Same with me too...when I was interviewed for the Malay news during the 2005 Parade, I had to do a couple of takes before I considered it up to mark. Even then the wifey laughed when she heard what I said on the news! My favourite moment had to be the performance by the Black Nights and with the appropriate soundtrack blaring in the background, it was certainly a 'Beautiful Day'! When the Chinook carrying the Singapore flag flanked by 2 Apaches appeared, the hair at the back of my neck stood up...ahem... The Show Segment was nice but some parts were just a bit too 'noisy'! All in all, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, the slight downpour notwithstanding. What a way to spend our 11th Wedding Anniversary! Thanx Commander sir! For the tix!

A happy problem...

There I was working quitely in my office at about 1830hrs when who should pop by but my Big Boss! He proceeded to engage me in conversation for an hour and solicited my views on some stuff. He roped in one of my colleagues who happened to pass by. At the end, my Big Boss asked me as he handed a big white envelope,"Oh, Shah, I actually came back to pass you these. Do you want them?". "What are they sir?", I asked. "NDP tickets!". NDP tix!!! Does the sun rises from the East? Will Anwar win the Permatang Pauh by-election? Of course I want them! They're priceless! I've organised 1 NDP as the person in-charged of seating 50,000 spectators & was in another one as a Mobile Column commander but never as a spectator. So of course I would gladly relieve the much coveted tix from him. But here comes the happy problem...There's 4 of us but ONLY 2 tix...Hmmm...

Those pesky calls...

I've been getting these pesky calls at least once a day for the longest time...if it's not for a new credit card, it's for ready credit. However, I'll try not to blow these people off and would just tell them politely that I'm not interested. It came to a point where I would not answer calls from private numbers. However, I answered one just like that this afternoon and was glad that I did! I was pleasantly surprised that the private number I answered was a call telling me that I've won a Nokia 6110!!! Yes folks! It was from a lucky draw from this website. I was encouraged to inform my friends about it so here it is! The Digital Concierge, Singapore's #1 Mobile City Guide!

We're gonna have some serious fun...

Having fun is a serious thing! And one needs planning to be able to take a good break! Having received 2 pages of things to do from the Daughters, here then are the line-up of things we're gonna do for the next couple of days (in no particular order):-

• Breakfast @ Bollywood Veggies (done!)
• Walkabout @ Bollywood Veggies (done!)
• Tennis with the Tennis Group (on-going)
• Family Swim @ The Pool (on-going)
• Catch "Moonbird" performance @ Alliance Francaise (done!)
• Father's Day BBQ (done!)
• Cycling @ CCK Park, East Coast Park, West Coast Park
• Breakfast @ LJS (done)
• Breakfast @ Ah Mei Cafe
• Breakfast @ Swensen's
• Breakfast @ Coffee Bean (halalised!)
• Breakfast @ Delifrance
• Breakfast @ Casuarina (the Daughters like the rocket prata!)
• Swimming & Picnic @ Sentosa
• Feed the fish @ Botanical Gardens
• Feed the goats @ Hay Dairies
• Catch the birds @ Jurong Birdpark
• Walkabout @ Pierce Reservoir
• Walkabout @ Sembawang Park
• Catch the Singapore Arts Street @ Clarke Quay
• Catch "Indiana Jones"
• Catch a bumboat ride
• Catch a HippoTours ride
• Visit PC Show 08
• Dinner @ Hei Sushi Downtown East
• Have a sleep-over for the Daughters' Cousins
• Play Junior Pictionary @ Home
• Play Junior Scrabble @ Home
• Play Zingo @ Home
• Play Hide & Seek @ Home
• Read all 16 library books @ Home and then some...
• Play Dora the Explorer @ Home
• Family Art @ Home
• Visit playground @ Pasir Ris
• Visit playground @ West Coast
• And then some...

And these activities are before the Melbourne trip!!!

You're shitting me right?

This morning as I was rummaging through my cupboard, the resident medic came along, passed me a piece of paper and a small bottle with what looked like a small spoon hanging from the centre of the bottle cap. "Huh?", I enquired. "This is for your stool sample, sir...", si bebudak medic tu berhujah. "My WHAT?!", I asked again, incredulous... "This bottle is to collect your shit, sir!," the medic said again trying not to smirk... Apparently, after one has reached a certain age in my organisation, one has to go through some tests to ensure one is in tip-top condition to effectively defend the nation ;) I've already done my ECG before flying off to Thailand 3 months ago. I remembered this new medic navigating...NAVIGATING (!) using his needle whilst it was IN MY ARMS!!! He was trying to find my veins but couldn't and had to turn the tip of the needle here and there in my forearms! I had to switch arms as he can't 're-use' the same one. Nasib baik gua maintain beb...sapa takut jarum confirm pengsan on the spot. But before he could DO my other arm, I hollered out to all the medics present in the room and said that whomever can draw blood from me without needing to navigate with the needle stuck inside would have free breakfast!!! So this Melayu medic came along and took over from my first medic who had been sweating profusely. He took all of 1 minute to draw blood from me for the blood test. No incident, no navigating, no sweat. Gua caya sama lu lah Melayu! I gave the first medic a choice of getting extra duties or belanja me to breakfast for his earlier jaunt into my veins. Obviously he chose the latter. And so I told the Melayu medic, there you have it...your breakfast!!!! Anyway, I really wanted to belanja the medic for doing such a professional job but as a true professional, he declined. Next was the ECG test where they stuck me with small balloon-like objects that left little red marks after it was taken out. Macam the Creature from Frankenstein dah! (BTW, contrary to most people's belief, Frankenstein is the name of the person who created the Creature and not the Creature itself.) Well, that was a couple of months back.

Back to the stool test. Hmmm...macam mana nak collect ni? Gua tanya MO dah and suggested that he come out with a Standing Instruction on how to collect one's stool! Tak kan nak let go atas botol yang kecik tu kan? Bersememeh kawan tu nanti! Anyway, I had a game of tennis with my brother, Boboy and cousin, Fauzi later that evening and asked Boboy, who was a medic in his NS days, how to collect one's stool sample. Ah...one should use the squatting toilet bowl and do it on the ceramic. Then one just scoops up one's stool and voila! stool collected! Sounds simple but nowsaday ah seldom got house got squatting toilet one... So how? Suffice to say, I managed, after much effort to collect my own stool. That has to be a defining moment in one's life!!! Nak tahu in more detail, we'll talk over breakfast, lunch or dinner?!?! ;)

P Ramlee the Musical

Once again I'm blogging this while in a queue. This time at BK ECP. Firstly, P Ramlee the Musical was FANTASTIC! It was worth every dollar paid!

(This is continued on 210508 0411hrs somewhere in Lim Chu Kang!)
Musly Ramlee was like a young P Ramlee personified! There were quite a few instances during the Musical where I thought P Ramlee had really appeared. Ternaik bulu roma ku dan bulu-bulu yang sewaktu dengannya pabila mendengar dan melihat Musly! The mannerisms, his low voice while singing and his movement were down pat! The appearance of the train stole the thunder from the performers somewhat. It was one of the better scenes IMHO. But the scene stealer has to be the flirting scenes between P Ramlee and Saloma. It was just classic!

On to the holidays...

Finally, my exam paper on Approaching Literature: The Realist Novel; Romantic Writings has been completed yesterday night! I forgot how many times I had entered The Grand Hall but it always amuses me to see students still going through their notes meters away from entering the exam hall. I mean, it's like the point of no return, you're just panicking yourselves dudes! We were told that it was full house - 850 students! - and yet it felt so cold and 'empty'! Why can't they make exam halls warm and fuzzy!?! Anyway, I had been on leave for the entire week which usually happens before I take exams! Thanx to my colleagues who have been covering for me... For the next half of the year, I'll be doing Shakespeare... exams in the 1st week of November. Once I reached home from my 3 hour paper, I went for a 6km run at about 2315hrs! It was a refreshing night run. I hadn't been running in a while partly due to studying for my exams (not a good reason right?) but mainly due to a constant cough which I had been having for the past 2 weeks. Sundown Marathon is just 2 weeks away and I had not been putting in enough mileage. My goal for my first ever Marathon is “To complete and not to compete!”...

Interspersed among my leave was the Appointment Certificate Presentation Ceremony for ADCs held at the Istana. I had taken a 'sabbatical' from my duties for my Command and Staff Course last year and it was GOOD to be back! The last time I was in the Istana was for the Graduation Ceremony for my staff course last September but that was different. Being with other ADCs from across the other services was something else! And of course, rubbing shoulders with the 'matas' is always useful (wink, wink!)! And since last year, SCDF officers have also been appointed as ADCs which is great! It was always great to see the entire big bunch together during the ACPC since for normal duties, only about 5 to 8 of us are required depending on the event.

Getting ready to take a group photo with the Man himself!

Mother's Day was celebrated last week at Sakae Sushi with the 'usual suspects'. After our usual Saturday classes, Ibu and Adik had gone to Takashimaya to see some stuff while I sent Kakak for her Math class. Kakak had secretly told me that she wanted to buy a Mother's Day cake for Ibu a few days before. So after her class, we went to the Polar stall at Lot 1 and she chose the cake! Ibu had, a few days before, bertungkus lumus membuat bookmarks for the rest of the Ibus and soon-to-be Ibus that will be at Sakae Sushi. And of course I had helped her with the pics she wanted to paste on each bookmark. Cute kan? I came slightly late for the dinner as I had gone to Al-Falah for solat Maghrib. I nearly choked when I saw that I had to pay $3.40 for 24min of parking!!! Takpe lah...ibadat kan?!? We played my favourite 'Bear Game' after we had belasah-ed the food. My French brother-in-law tercunggap-cunggap main game tu. Tapi good try lah...hopefully can have a better round soon! Surprisingly, the simple game of Charades which Boboy had suggested was played over many many rounds just outside Coffee Bean at Wheelock Place. Sampai nak tutup kedai pun kitorang masih main... That will definitely be one game we will play next Saturday...

Talking about next Saturday, I had already booked Tennis Court 2 from 1700-1800hrs and both Bowling lanes from 1800-1900hrs. We'll be adjourning back to my place after that for the subsequent activities. See our Facebook MCG Group for more info ok?

All of us are excited about the coming June holidays. I've told the girls to plan on what we'll be doing for the 3 weeks that I'll be on leave!!! I've heard that an overnight stay at ECP using our tent and hammock are on the cards! Maybe another visit to Pulau Ubin? Or to the Hay Diary Farm at LCK? Can show the girls a bit of the training area that their Ayah always disappears to when he doesn't come back at night! And of course the highlight would be Down Under in Melbourne! We're starting to dig out our luggages and 'winter clothes' for the occasion! Flight tix are ready, accommodation has been booked, car has been rented! Now to come up with the itinerary for our 9 days there!

But the event at hand has to be P Ramlee the Musical tonight! The wife and I had been eagerly looking forward to this! I think the hundred bucks tickets each will be worth it!

Weekly prata fix

Saturdays are the only days I indulge myself in a weekly ritual of having 2 kosong and 1 egg. Used to be that it was 3 kosong and 1 egg but you know, the older one gets the lesser one needs to be sated! And looking at the queue at the 2 prata stalls nearby, it seems that most Singaporeans have their prata fix on weekends too! What's making this wait bearable is that I can blog about it while waiting. I can see people getting jittery while waiting! Jangan tension beb! Bring a book next time! My turn's coming up next... Time flies when one blogs! "Kosong 6 telur 1, man!"

Happy are the kids running towards the shoreline!

And so there we were, with 4 kids on May Day. They had fun, we had fun, all of us had fun! We salute those with more than four kids!!! Click here for more pics!

Model sey...

Where were you went it happened?

The First Daughter came home from school the other day and told us about the Challenger explosion! Wow...the things they teach in school today...and at such a young age! She related to us what her teacher had told her - about there being a teacher on board, about people being sad when it happened, etc. I told her that I vividly remembered EXACTLY what I was doing when I first heard the news...I was in Sec 2 then and I was putting on my shoes just as I was going to school when I saw it on TV...I remembered being glued to the TV but was subsequently shooed away by Dad lest I was late for school. That event will be forever etched in my memory - the explosion that is, not the shooing part! Apparently, this is a common phenomena when events that are out of the ordinary happened. People remember things tied to that event....So...where were you and what were you doing when the following happened?

• Collapse of Hotel New World - it happened in the same year as the Challenger disaster. However, I can't seem to re-collect what I was doing when it happened. But I remembered trying to follow events as best as any 14 year old at that time could do!
• Hijack of SQ117 - I was just a raw recruit then and was waiting for my turn to do the SAW Technical Handling Test at the training shed and I remembered listening to the radio that one of my sergeants had brought along. 
• The day Princess D died - I just got married then and remembered watching the news with my newly-minted wife at her mom's place. (We haven't got our own place yet then!)
• Events of Sept 11 - Believe it or not, I was on a flight to New Zealand with the wife for a holiday! We didn't know about the whole thing (for obvious reason!) until we had landed. I first heard the news from the driver who drove us to our hotel! Needless to say, we were glued to CNN for the next couple of hours.
• When The Tsunami happened - It was a Sunday and we were having some family time at West Coast Park when it happened. Nary a jolt did we feel...

The sky's not the limit...165m is!

And so there we were having prata at Arena after our morning 'tekan' session by our UFO (Unit Fitness Officer) - who made us do a 2km 'warm-up' run followed by an interval training session around the 400m circumference of the parade square consisting of 3 x 1min 50sec sprint followed by another 3 continuous rounds at more or less the same speed! - when Yan said that the Singapore Flyer was having a promotion that will end soon. Pay 2 adult tix and 2 kids get in for free! Without much haste, I checked the internet using my E51 and found out that today is the last day of the promotion! If there ever was a reason to go up the Singapore Flyer, this would be it! The normal admission fee for kids 3-12 years old is about $20. So, I'm saving almost $50! Almost the price of a tin of the First Daughter's Pediasure milk! I booked through the net for a 1900hrs ride and told the wife about it! What a way to start of the May Day celebrations! But as the saying goes, "Manusia yang merancang, Tuhan yang menentukan" which roughly translates to (for my non-Malay speaking 'fans'...ahem!), "Man plans but the Almighty decides". There was a debrief session in the afternoon at work and by the time the whole thing was done, I left office only at 1810hrs!!! And according to my GPS, if I had gone straight to Marina Bay from camp, I could reach it by 1835hrs! Dang! To cut the long story short, we missed the 1900hrs 'flight' and I was left wondering what I could have bought with the $59 that was the price of the 2 tix! The good thing was that we didn't tell the girls that we're gonna take the Singapore Flyer but they kept asking what was the surprise! But of course I had a contingency plan. First was to try to reason with the ticketing people and try to get a change in time. Failing that, we could by another 2 tix and try to get a discount on the pretext that we had already paid so much. Or, we suck-thumb (Note to Stephane (I'm sure Glenn knows this right Glenn!? - this is a Singapore slang meaning bo-pian!) and just buy 2 more tix full-price! Whatever the case, we were gonna take the ride! Since we were already late, I decided to go to Fuji Xerox Tower in the CBD area to collect my D70 which was ready for collection. It was so clean and fresh. And everything worked fine! By the time we reached Marina Bay, it was already about 2000hrs! The Second Daughter had taken a nap and I was having a hard time trying to convince her to walk instead of me carrying her! The wife and FD had already gone ahead to get the tix. In the end, I had to carry the younger daughter. And the wife called to say that it was no problem changing the time on our tix! Selamat duit $60! The pix will be up later...

T-shirt Designs by Muz!

Following my suggestion to have a T-shirt design 'competition' for the MCG in my previous entry, our dear Cousin Muz had kindly came up with not 1, not 2 but FIVE designs! Talk about being ghairah and enthu! Bagus, bagus! Presenting (drum roll, please!)...the 5 designs!

Design 1

Design 2

Design 3

Design 4

Design 5

So folks, let us see if there are any more designs and we shall vote in the next MCG! You can even modify Muz' designs (boleh kan kan kan?)... Let's give it up for Muz! That's the spirit bro...

Monthly Cousins Gathering...

Sukacita kami hendak mengumumkan kesudian kami untuk menjadi tuan/puan rumah untuk Perhimpunan Sepupu-sepipit Bulanan yang akan datang yakni pada bulan Mei. Antara acara-acara yang akan kami aturkan adalah...alah...leceh dah nak bebual Melayu panjang lebar... (lagipun Staypan - dari group Peterpan kot?!? - dan Glenn tak paham lah...)

Ok guys, we are volunteering to host the next Monthly Cousins Gathering at our humble abode. I am suggesting to do it either on 23rd or 24th...Because 16th is my exam lah...the weeks before that must revise mah...and 17 kita akan menonton persembahan di Esplanade... So, email me your preference please...

Same modus operandi...POTLUCK hor...Among other things lined-up...(Gua dah plan dah...tak akan melantak je!)...are as follows:-

• We'll start at about 1900hrs with makan and some short half-hour to 45mins show (maybe Peter Russell?!?!). I realised that watching a regular movie as the first order of the evening somehow kills the atmosphere...
• This will be followed by games at about 2100hrs LATEST! I remembered one of the gatherings where we started at about 2300hrs and went all the way till 0300hrs! Giler tu!
• We'll play our regular games like Pictionary Mania, Taboo, Party Scrabble and my all time favourite game with nothing to prepare and that can be played ANYWHERE...The Bear Game! (Do I hear collective sighs from Rina, Naziah and Farah!??!)... I've bought some new party games too and will be springing some SURPRISE games! We'll pit the boys against the girls ok? Nothing like good ol' gender rivalry to bring up the heat!!!
• Karaoke...We've got the set, the mikes and the songs...but BYOD (bring-your-own-disk) if you want!
• We'll also celebrate the birthdays of those born in May...if they are there of course! Macam kelakar kalau celebrate birthday orang yang tak ada kat situ...cheh...
• And of course once the crowd is there, we'll do the Group Photo thingy...macam mark attendance lah gitu...heh!

Let's hope we can get more to join us rather than just the 'regular' supporters (you know who you are!!)...ha...maybe we can make a t-shirt for the regular supporters!?!? Amacam? T-shirt design competition!!! Anyway, those who attended that day was...Faurin (of course dah...rumah diorang!), Bomars, Boya, Warnaz, Aqilah, Khairul, and the inaugural appearances of Staylie!!! Oh...ada 4 under-aged illegal 'over-stayers' in the form of Dahlia, Harith, budak bulat Adam dan budak bubbly Naila...tapi takpe...sebab itu rumah Rina, the first 2 kasi chance! Lagipun, tak nampak batang hidung diorang pun (kena stay dalam room lah tu!)...and the other 2 belum boleh jalan lagi so kira ok lah tu... Once again, one of the golden rule of our MCG is NO KIDS! (Unless the tuan rumah bo-pian tak ada alternative arrangement but this privilege only given to tuan rumah je and kids that cannot walk yet...)

So boys and girls, email me your preference...I'll contact the rest...

Another thing about Taiwan...

For first-timers to Taiwan, this squatting toilet may confound them...Which way does one face? And why? Put your answers in my shoutbox. Boboy can't answer first because he SHOULD know! C'mon boys and girls...

What a whirlwind 4 days it was!

It seems that what I've been missing for the past 3 weeks while overseas was almost made up for in the last four days since I came back! Let me see...Since I came back, I:-

1. Had pizza at, where else...Pizza Hut. With the family. New location at Lot 1. That dinner lasted 2 hours!
2. Had dinner at Secret Recipe with the family. At IMM. First time we've eaten at Secret Recipe at IMM.
3. Had dinner at Mad Jacks along Bt Timah with the family. This has become our favourite haunt whenever we feel hunger pangs between Orchard Road and home!
4. Had my regular 3 kosong, 1 egg (prata lah!) which I could not get in Taiwan! The only prata-like food in Taiwan was served in the ubiquitous 'Ninja' van that also served wild boar meat! Tak payah ler...
5. Had my regular mochacinno at McCafe at United Square.
6. Had our regular breakfast at McDonald's at Lot 1.
7. Had lunch at Sakura International Buffet with the wife's side of the family. The one near Masjid Tentera. That one I belanja the whole lot as it was my MIL's birthday. The girls gave her birthday cards, we gave her our latest family studio shot and Mars gave her a bag. It was either the Harrod's or LeSportSac one...me not sure which one!
8. Attended our first Monthly Cousins Gathering (in a long while!) at Faurin's with the wife. It has been a while since we've had one and you can tell from the atmosphere that IT HAS BEEN A WHILE!!! There was a whole bunch of food from 'Curry-in-a-bun' sponsored by yours truly, fried chicken, murtabak, popiah basah, pizza, fruit salad and ice-cream.
9. Attended a Man U vs Chelsea get-together at Nya'i Bik As house where once again there was food glorious food. Mak said that there'll be 'rojak keling' (I know that sounds so politically incorrect but that's how it's always been called!). But of course there was much much more than that - fried mushrooms, nasi lemak, fried chicken, fruit cocktail, etc...
10. Attended my last lecture for the semester. My very animated lecturer summarised the works of Mary Shelly, Turgenev, Byron and the Women Poets of the Romantic period. I was left in a dizzy...
11. Attended my first piano lesson in 2 months!!! Those fingers were sure creaky! The parents and younger students (average age about 8-10 I think!) waiting outside must have been surprised hearing such halting play from a grown man when I finally finished my lesson. Learning to play the piano at my age sure is a humbling experience!
12. Brought the family to feed the fish, tortoises, birds and ducks at Symphony Lake in Botanical Gardens. This was one of the list of places my 2 girls have listed down as places they WOULD like me to bring them to. It rained when we reached there and we took cover at a small shelter overlooking the lake. It was kinda nice feeding the fish and tortoise with rain pitter-pattering. The girls enjoyed themselves thoroughly...
13. Went swimming at the pool below with the family. It has been a while. Kakak was like fish to water. It was simply wonderful as I watched her dived deep into the deep end of the pool - the stillness and 'blue-ness' of the water surrounding her as bubble trails floated upward seemed almost poetic...Adik took a while to warm up to the pool. But once she was OK, there was no stopping her! The wife was deeply embarrassed when I came up below her and lifted her up on my shoulders! The pool echoed with her protests and my cackling laughter!
14. Went for a much needed spa session with the wife. We came a bit late so no hydrobath for us (crystals...we needed the crystals!) and the facial therapist girl was on off. So only massage then...As usual, the wife said I snored but this time not so loud!
15. Watched 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' with the girls. Made popcorn for them. It was afternoon at the movies for us! Sweet...
16. Sent the wife's Nokia E65 for repair (LCD screen not working). A new one would cost about $500 without plan. So at about $60 for the repair, it was worth it!
17. Sent my battle-scarred, well-worn, beat-up Nikon D70 for a much needed R&R&R - Repair, Restoration and Replacement! There was something wrong with ON/OFF switch and the CF-card base was faulty. Total cost was $250. There was also something wrong with the locking mechanism of the VR lens that caused it to slide down by itself if carried in a certain angle but at $180 for the repair and because it does not affect the quality of the pictures taken, I decided to give it a pass.
18. Collected my newly tailored No.5 uniform from Javini's. I've been chosen as the ADC to the President for the 6th year and apparently the material for the No.5 has been changed and hence the need to re-tailor.
19. Exchanged the spoilt Walter for the spiffy new Walter! This one was done at Times Centre near Paya Lebar. Walter is one of the main products of the Child's First Library we recently bought for our girls as an 'investment' and also in a bid to put them ahead of the rat race at an early age! (Hah!) Poor Walter could only say "Hi! My name is Walter!" and that's it! His scanner didn't work anymore and thus he had to be exchanged!
20. Bought a new GPS car mount for my trusty 60CSx...the old one was lost somewhere in the mountains of Southern Taiwan...dang!
21. Bought some 'nice' clothings for the wife online...funny how so little material can cost so much...ahem...!
22. Bought "My Sister' Keeper" by Jodi Picoult at Kinokuniya.
23. Bought the girls new shoes. In anticipation of our trip Down Under in 2 months time. So that they will have time to be 'broken' in...
24. Bought myself new pants from Columbia. Ever since my first pair, I've grown to love it's comfort and ease of use...pants with no need for ironing! Can be worn for trekking or shopping! Cool...
25. Bought myself new cardigans. To wear during cold lectures, movies and Aussieland!
26. Bought 'couple' watches for the wife and I. From Solvil et Titus. I just love the classic advertisements on TV. (Hey! Ads work after all!). I'm not really a watch person but the last time I bought a watch was 2 years ago and even then it was for training...so it was high time for a new timepiece for the both of us...
27. Bought the wife this...but a purple one, of course...

There...squeezed as much as I could in these 4 short days...Of course, it could not make up for the time I've been away from the family. Thank you dear wife for doing all that you did while I was away - keeping our girls safe, warm and happy, keeping our home safe and sound and looking after yourself well...I HEART YOU!

Things you may not know about Taiwan

1. It's a left-hand drive country so look the correct way before you cross the street!
   
2. They're big on re-cycling. By default, they won't give you plastic bags to put your stuff in after you shop. You gotta pay for your plastic bags. Even in McDonald's, one has to separate one's trash...
3. You can find 7-11 stores at almost every street corner. Even in 'ulu' places...It's like the land of 7-11s...
4. They don't do breakfast at McDonald's :(... no hotcakes, no muffins...just the lunch menu throughout.
5. They don't serve chilli sauce at fast food restaurants. When one asked for chilli sauce, the closest they could muster up was chilli powder!
6. There's no time difference between Taiwan and Singapore.
7. There's a lone 'halal' stall selling kebab out of the hundreds of stalls in the night markets of Kaohsiung.
8. If you are hoping to have something decent to eat at Kaohsiung International Airport before your flight out...you'll be out of luck!
9. Even if you have the right of way, YOU DON'T! When you are walking along the streets and see the sign "Pedestrians Have the Right of Way", don't believe it! It's a trick!
10. Motorcycles outnumber cars 10 to 1!
11. Most motorcyclists wear something to cover their noses and mouths as they zoom along the polluted streets. These pieces of clothes can be quite fashionable and comes in a myriad of colours. Their effectiveness to protect against pollutants is questionable however.

Pounding the streets of Kaohsiung

I'm now sitting on the junction of Jianguo 2nd Road and Fusing Road just outside a 7-11. This stretch of road in Kaohsiung is famous for its IT shops. It's a bit like Sim Lim Square and Funan Centre but the shops are not under one roof. Been walking here since 10 plus this morning with Chris and Chung Wai. Nothing much here really that you can't find back in Singapore. And I suspect the price is slightly higher too. We're going to a mall after this. Still have about a thousand plus NT to blow before the flight this evening.

The Spirit of ATEC...

Apparently it is something like a tradition in my unit that a photo competition is held whenever we train overseas. And this time round it was no difference... The top 3 prizes worth a total of NT$2500 was kindly sponsored by my Chief. The theme for the competition was "Spirit of ATEC". A few of us got down to 'business' trying to capture the said spirit. I had a friendly rivalry with my Chief (who was also in the competition!) on who would win the competition. Apparently, he won it last year. Obviously, the judges won't be him lah! It was my Commander and the Dy Chief... Anyway, from what I gathered, the winning entry last year showed ATECians (people from ATEC lah!) laughing. Apparently, the judges last year decided that it aptly captured the spirit of ATEC. Hmmm...I was tempted to go along the same path but after some reflection decided to do something different. In the end, I had five entries which I considered to be quite ok. The following are 3 of the five. For security reasons (ahem...) I can't show the other two but I'll explain them shortly.

Circle of Trust

From diverse backgrounds we come together for a common goal,

with rich experiences we bear,

we share a common thread in the tapestry that is ATEC.

Always there with a helping hand...
Through the tough times we go through
We help each other discover our limits
Through the tough paces we put units through
We help them discover their boundaries...

He ain't heavy, he's my brother
Just like a flock of birds,
We tap on each other to lift ourselves up.

The 4th picture one showed 3 ATECians having a good laugh and the expressions on their faces showed pure joy. These 4 pictures shared a common thread in that they showed ATECians.

The 5th and final picture was different. It showed the unit that went through ATEC. The scene I captured showed 3 soldiers in action - one 'injured' officer was lying down, his right leg suffering 'severe bleeding' from the enemy 'artillery fire' that rained down just minutes before, his faithful signaller, lightly injured but still manning the radio and calling for help lying down just beside him and a third solider, an anti-tank gunner lugging a MATADOR running past them towards the direction of the 'enemy'. I captured the running soldier while panning my camera so that I got him clearly while the background was blurred. This was done to show the urgency of the situation. I entitled the picture “Fallen - A fallen comrade, a radioman calling for help, an anti-tank gunner rushing forward to take out the enemy – ATEC pushes units to their limits and lets them discover how tough they are...”. This was the photo I submitted for the competition.

The results were announced after we conducted our own debrief, 1 day before going for R&R. The Chairman showed all the photos that did not win and then came to the top three...Mine wasn’t one of those that was shown earlier so I knew I had a chance. I forgot what the third place photo was but the second one was similar to my “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’ photo! I knew then that I had clinched first prize! The judges liked the senses of urgency and mission that my entry had depicted. So there, my first ever win in a photo competition, albeit a small one...

50 more days to Sundown...

According to my Polar RS200 watch, it is 50 more days to the inaugural Sundown Marathon. I have been training hard with a group of umpires who have registered to run for the marathon. It'll be my first ever marathon and my aim is completion rather than competition! I've been running almost every day since I came with the advance party nearly 10 days ago. I ran 8km yesterday evening and will try to clock 12km later in the evening. The SDM (SunDown Marathon) runners went for a group run this morning, peeling off from the rest at the 2km turning point. We ran up the new road behind our camp, offering a very scenic view of the countryside and the imposing mountains to the east. We did 2mins hard and 1min slow all the way back to camp. It was to let us have a feeling of what it will feel like at the 30km mark, said our resident UFO who became our defacto 'coach'! We ended off by doing some dynamic lunges and other exercises which emphasised the thighs. By the third exercise, my legs felt like jelly! There's more, the UFO said! Let's go to the gym to trains our arms! By the end of this morning's session, my gluteaus maximus was thoroughly maxed out!!! I'm still feeling the effect in my thighs now! Oh well, more to come... Oh yah, was chased by about 4 dogs this morning as we were running thru the village! It was quite a site seeing grown men trying to out-scare the dogs! If only I had a camera with me then! But then again, I was busy running away from the dogs too! One of the 'hazards' of running here, I guess!

Lunch in Heng Chun

I'm now at 32 Simply Cafe somewhere in Heng Chun Town having lunch...alone! This is the third time that I've been to this place for lunch since it's the only one that I discovered selling fries and bread! The owner recognised me and the last time I was here, he pointed to his router when he saw me taking out my LifeDrive with the keyboard! So that's how I'm 'filing' this entry now! Just finished a thick slice of garlic toast. The thickness is twice that of a normal bread! Now munching toasted cheese sandwich while drinking chocolate milkshake. Awaiting my fries! Had a busy morning of recce. Going back camp after this. Since the mainbody arrived, I've been waking up everyday at 0515hrs for morning PT! 0515hrs! Macam waktu training as an officer cadet pulak! By about 0530hrs, the sky is already getting bright. (Ah...my fries just came...) Waking up so early is no problem after a while. It's all about getting used to it. Of course, one has got to be sleeping by about 2200hrs to get the requisite 7 hours of sleep! Ah...the toasted cheese sandwich is very delicious! They've even put in some corn to make it sweet. The fries came with tomato sauce. They don't do chilli sauce here in Taiwan! When asked for chilli, they will give chilli flakes! Note to self: Stock up on McDonald's chilli sauce before coming here again! Back to waking up at 0515hrs. We will start off with some light warm-up followed by a run. Running here in the morning is wonderful. The air is fresh and crispy. We are, after all, near the sea. We ran 4km the day before and up the slopes yesterday. We will end off by doing some static exercises conducted by our resident UFO (!) or Unit Fitness Officer. We do the usual ones like push-ups, sit-ups, alternate sit-ups and leg raises, some with strange-sounding names like 'Chase the Rabbit' and 'Good Morning Darling' (which involves lying down on one's back, raising the legs about 6 inches off the ground and closing and spreading them repeatedly!!!).

For you a thousand times over...

It has been a while since I’ve picked up a good read. A really good read. I’ve stopped reading novels for quite a while preferring instead to read more ‘practical’ stuff like magazines, newspapers, reports, self-help books, parenting books, books on photography, the like. I’ve always had this guilt when I read a novel thinking that I could have spent my time reading something more ‘useful’! Because once I pick up a good novel, I would not put it down until I’ve finished reading it!! Like the current one I’m reading – “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini. I bought it on a whim actually. My BH gave me a reading list she came up with and one of the books she wanted was “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by the same author. And while browsing for it, I came across his first book, “The Kite Runner”. I’ve heard about the movie and decided to have a go at the novel since I’ll be travelling a lot and could fill my time with a novel. On the way to Taiwan, the in-flight entertainment system listed “The Kite Runner” as one of the movies for viewing. I was tempted to watch it as I have already started reading the first 50 pages of the book and knew that it would be a good movie but I resisted. Watching the movie first would spoil the beauty of the discovering the written words. Would spoil how the story flows from page to page, would spoil the mental picture that unfolds as one reads the story. (WARNING! Spoiler ahead). And I did not regret the decision for the book is one of the best reads I’ve had in a long while. I cried at the part when Hassan ‘kissed the baby’s lifeless face’ after ‘Farzana gave birth to a stillborn baby girl’ and ‘buried her in the backyard, near the sweetbrier bushes’. Cried at the part when the Taliban took Hassan ‘to the street...and order him to kneel...and shot him in the back of the head’, when ‘Farzana came screaming and attacked them...shot her too.’ I always love a good cry whether watching a movie or reading a book. I forgot the last time I cried when reading a novel. When you read a novel such as “The Kite Runner” you grow close to the main characters and identify with them. You lose yourself in the novel and lose track of the time. You are torn between wanting to finish the novel to find out what happens in the end and from wanting to prolong the read so that you have something to look forward to...It’s like once you have finished the book, you leave the world that you have known, the characters that you have identified with. I’m in the last 100 pages of the book and although I want to find out what happens in the end, I also do not want it to finish too fast... Go have a read, you won’t regret it...

Welcome to Singapore, dear Naila...

Hi Naila...Bonjour! Uncle Omi here. If you can read this, you should be at least 4 years old (that's the age Kak Ira & Kak Lisha can start reading!)...

Firstly, welcome to Singapore! We're so glad you are finally here! Your two cousins were so excited they couldn't keep still on the journey to the airport, although Kak Lisha was sleeping all the way! But I'm sure she must have been dreaming about not keeping still! The whole bunch of us waited for your arrival with bated breath. Your grandad and grandma came way early... So did your Nyai Bik As and Tok Kahar with their 2 daughters and future SIL. Your uncle and Aunty Yati were there too. So was your 2nd cousin Shakedekil (I like to call him that!) and his parents. And we brought along Nyai Piah. And of course the 4 of us were there... Your flight was scheduled to land at 2015hrs at Terminal 1 but it was changed to 2038hrs. So the four of us had a bit of Delifrance for dinner. Then we waited and waited and waited and when you finally came into view near belt 16 at about 2120hrs the makciks and aunties squealled with delight at your bobbing head as you hang around your mama's waist! I had the video-camera zoomed in all the way to capture the first moments you came into view! We were delighted at your ever smiling face and when your mama and papa finally collected their 60kg worth of luggage off the belt and exited the gate, you were the one that grabbed everyone's attention!!! The people around there must have thought that some VIP had just arrived! You were fussed over and passed around... I noticed that your poor papa had to take a backseat for a while! We gathered for a huge photo op before trooping into the 3 cars that brought you to your new home. Once at home, you were once again fussed over and your two cousins coo-ed and fussed over you. Your atuk 'cilub-bah' you over and over again and you were laughing away! Aunty Mars told me to take pictures of your feet and I did! And when it was past midnight and you were still wide awake, I carried you in my arms and put you to sleep!! Sweet...

Well, here are some pics to remember your first night in your new home...Enjoy!

Our first glimpse of you! With your cute bald head bobbing up and down!

The gang out in force to greet your arrival...

The star of the evening!

Leaving on a jet plane

According to my trusty Garmin 60CSx, my tour bus is now hurtling down Borommaratchachonnani Road (try saying that 10 times in a row!) towards Bangkok at 80km/h and will reach Don Mueang Airport in thirty minutes time. We just left Big C, a smallish store not unlike Giant, in a district called Nakhon Pathom, about 2 hours drive from Kanchanaburi. It's been 4 long weeks and I'm finally going home! The last time I was in Thailand was in 2004, 2 days before the tsunami. I love travelling and love the fact that my work allows me to 'see' the world. And unlike 'normal' tourists, I get to see places not usually accessible by tourists and consequently are more unspoilt. Not many people have seen the sun rising over the rolling knolls of western Singapore as it burns away the morning mist. I've enjoyed many a sunrise and sunset over the Thai countryside. Coupled with another trusty piece of technology that I never leave behind in my travels, my D70, I can capture the unspoilt beauty of the Thai countryside in all its glory. I remember admiring the natural beauty of the South China sea and the Pacific Ocean as they crash against the coasts of the sometimes inhospitable areas that we train in. I remember admiring the millions of stars blanketing the night skies as if, in the words of one of my friends, someone threw diamonds over black velvet! And observing how the Thai villagers go on with their daily lives, be it harvesting sugarcane in the blazing heat of the day, groping neck deep in murky waters searching for something to supplement their livelihood or tending to their livestock, made me appreciate the kind of lives we lead in Singapore. Maybe I shall bring my girls here someday... To let them appreciate what they have and enjoy. It is said that travelling opens the mind and I totally agree. My wish is to someday backpack the world over. Armed with my 60CSx, D70 and an open mind. See you back home guys.

K-Town Capers...

And so I found myself in Kanchanaburi Town or K-Town as those around here call it. And naturally I went to the famous 'Bridge over the River Kwai' to have some shots taken. The last time I was here was way back in 2000... Here are some pics as appetisers!

The actual bridge...

View from the Eastern side of the Bridge

After almost exhausting my camera's memory card, we took a short (2km!) walk to a nearby night-market. The usual one (about 4km away from the Bridge) that we go to has only food stalls but this one has mostly clothing and knick-knack stalls. But fortunately for me, it still has a stall selling 'halal' fried chicken, my favourite 'night-market' food! There are a few Muslim stalls at the other night-market selling chicken rice, fried chicken, BBQ seafood and some local delicacies. The chicken rice is quite good actually!

Me at the said fried chicken stall!

Among other delicacies is a stall selling fried insects...picture purposely blurred so as not to gross those with weak stomachs out! Incidentally, these are water beatles! Huge ones at that!

Hmmm...what stall is this?!?! Selling Lesportsac bags?!? Hmmm...

Incidentally, by this time tomorrow, I should be on a JetStar flight back to Home Sweet Home!

What could it be?

It was about 0055hrs on a Thursday night. That's 55 minutes past midnight for you folks who need the 'conversion'. We had been on the move for 5 hours. We came to a sugarcane plantation and the troops were given some rest before the final push to the objective. I was in a slight stupor as I had fallen asleep for less than hour. The occasional snoring can be heard as tired bodies take a much needed rest. Sentries are posted. The full moon is at its zenith and its brightness bathes the countryside with a soft glow. A soft cool breeze sweeps the landscape, a welcome relief from the afternoon blazing sun. The chirping of crickets are interrupted by the incessant howling and barking of mongrels, agitated by the presence of so many humans so close to their territories. I had decided to find a nice spot away from the troops to rest my aching shoulders. I moved to a nearby junction and fell asleep amongst a nice warm nook. I don't know why I woke up after less than an hour of sleep but there was a sudden chill... That was when I heard screams coming from the direction of the resting troops. Followed a commotion! It was followed almost immediately by a loud gunshot from one of the rifles. My first thought was that the ‘enemy’ patrol must have chanced upon the resting troops. But the screams were unlike any that I've heard before. They certainly did not sound like men screaming. It sent a chill down my spine! I half expected the troops to run out to the junction where I was. I immediately got up and ran in, followed by other umpires who were nearby. By the time we arrived, most of the troops and umpires were already wide awake, standing around and asking what had happened. The screams had emanated from inside the bushes where some of the troops had been resting. Some said they saw something dark running around while others said the rumbling ground was caused by a human wave of troops running out after the screams. Those who were not sleeping and were directly facing the vegetation where it happened said that they saw a ‘Mexican wave’ coming at them as the troops, upon hearing the screams, got up TOGETHER and ran out TOGETHER! The rifle shot was from one of the commanders where was afraid that a wild boar was running around amongst the troops. A panicked wild boar will mow down people in its path. But we were later told by one of the RTA liaison that there are no wild boars in the area... So what could be the source of the screams? There were a few suggestions put up. It could from one of the sleeping troops having a very bad dream and people around him panicking him upon hearing those ‘blood-curdling’ screams. Or it could really be a wild boar since wild boars are known to scream in that fashion especially before being slaughtered. Or it could be...