Last Day of 2009

Hi Friends,
Today is the last day of 2009. The clock is ticking and we are getting closer to year 2010. What do you intend to do during the remaining hours of year 2009?

Spend it with friends or loved ones in a special place to countdown?

Spend it alone or with strangers?

Happy New Year!

Heavy Snow in Snow Monkey Park

source: www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam/monkey/index.htm

A 42" LCD tv in the Living Room

The tv rack and the 27" CRT tv were working fine for years. Since more and more LCD tv are available in the market and the prices becoming more attractive, J became very tempted to replace the tv. We hope the 27" tv will break down and at least, this gives us a valid reason to buy a new one as a replacement. But it did not happen.

During a grocery shopping trip to Giant in IMM, we walked past a furniture shop and saw a tv console that looked classy. After some negotiations, we got a discount and this new tv console was scheduled to be delivered to our home.

Prior to its arrival, we cleared so many unwanted things to welcome the new classy tv console eagerly.

The tv console sits nicely in the Living Room. The place meant for the tv was empty as the 27" tv was being put in the master-bedroom and the 14" tv used to be in the master-bedroom was transferred to the guest room.

This empty place did not take long before it was filled.

Since then, J "worked" very hard; not to earn any extra bucks but conducted his price and model survey on LCD tv.

He went to Best Denki in IMM and Harvey Norman in West Mall. He explored to AMK Hub but found that choices were quite limited. He went to Courts in Bukit Timah too.

The most trendy is LED tv which Samsung, LD and Phillip produce. This type of tv is energy saving (up to 40%) and slim. But only Samsung has 32" type and the rest are at least 42". I questioned the need to buy a 40" or even bigger tv. I worried about the electricity consumption. My current tv is only 27" and thus my choice would be a 32" type.

A LED tv does not come cheap. The Samsung 32" LED tv is easily close to 2k which is way beyond our budget. We concluded that LED tv is not for us at this moment. So we have to settle with a Full HD would do. This gives us plenty of choices.

After rounds of comparing, LG 32" LCD tv can go as low as $699 during a promotion. The salesmen advised that 32" tv was not that suitable in a living room. There were quite limited choices for 37" tv and the next available option would be at least 40".

In the end, we bought a 42" Panasonic LCD tv under cash and carry for $1099. I am unsure if it was a steal-buy. Just to continue my story, J and the saleman happily carried the big box of tv to the car. We were astonished to find that it could not go into the boot or even the back seat of the car. The delivery was not free and an additional fee to be paid for the delivery?

J suddenly had an idea; remove the box! Yes, the whole screen and the stand fit nicely into the boot of the car.

Now, with a new tv console and a new 42" LCD tv sitting on it, I think we are ready for the new year celebration.

End of Year 2009

Just a couple of days more, year 2009 will go down in history.

As usual, I have mixed feelings. What have I done or achieved in year 2009? What are the areas which I could have done better? What are the areas that I have overlooked or need improvement? What are my new targets or aims for year 2010?

Health conditions of some loved ones have not been great and thus I wish for better health for everybody. With a healthy body, a lot of things can be done efficiently and effectively.

Isa will be in Primary 5 and taking up Higher Chinese. I wish she can handle her studies well.

My career path has not been smooth-sailing. I am expecting that call from HOD to come once year 2010 starts. I wish I have the courage and wisdom to convince her or delay her decision to post me back to HQ.

Christmas 2009

In year 1996, Christmas was spent on moving house. J & I moved to our current flat. This year, we had something special again for Christmas. We did not move house but almost.

To accommodate a new tv console which will arrive on Boxing Day, J has to move the current tv rack to elsewhere. The only possible space would be the spare room. But the spare room was filled with books, empty boxes and plenty of other things. J finally hardened his heart to throw away plenty of books. Isa also busy clearing her book shelves. She dumped many soft toys too.

We realised over the past 13 years, we have accumulated so much rubbish. There were so many things which looked familiar yet seldom used. If there is something which you did not use for 2 years, chances are you can dump it. This is my so-called motto.

Today, we merely offloaded some things but with the arrival of a new tv console, we are almost back to square one; one in and one out.

The tv has been moved to the master bedroom. The little tv used to be in the master bedroom has been moved to the guest room. J will start hunting for a new tv.

OMG, J plans for a 32 inch or 37 inch tv to be put on the new tv console! Another new toy to arrive at my home!

Merry Christmas to You

Back home, we have been trying hard to return to our normal routine. The weather was the greatest contrast; from a sub-zero environment in Japan to an average of 28 deg C at home.

There was a flurry of activities: we attended an official dinner hosted by Vietnam. Since J has been overseas often this year, we have missed such dinner hosted by Korea, Japan and other countries. At the dinner, we met again soem old familiar faces. The gentlemen had a great time networking ie catching up with each other, and the ladies had a fun time too.

There was a trip to Farmart located at Chua Chu Kang. Uncle William gave a very interesting tour on this farm. He was humourous in his presentation. Both adults and kids enjoyed very much. We were treated with quail eggs and fried quail too.

Then followed by a bbq dinner hosted by J's colleagues. Again, it was another gathering where there was plenty of food and drinks. I am sure to put on weight as I have been eating plenty of rice/noodles in Japan. With the festive season round the corner, more food especially meat was consumed.

Tonight is christmas eve. As usual, we will be having our christmas dinner at D's home. D told me her menu for the dinner; again more meat such as turkey, ham, sausages etc.

I wish I can find time to starve myself but it seems impossible during the last few days of year 2009.

Conclusion : Japan Trip

I must blog some of my feelings after this trip.

The feeling is always pleasant to meet old friends after a break of about 8 years. Seeing the kids have grown up, I feel sad because I am growing up. Well, this is part and parcel of life. We all know death is confirmed once birth happened.

J suggested that he did not want to go back to the same places as we did in year 2001. However, we still returned to 2 places ie Ito's home and Asakusa Sensoji. Maybe for my next trip, I will drop Asakusa Sensoji.

The short path from Kokuya to Snow Monkey Park was memorable. J agreed with me on this part. We walked in a path with tall trees on both sides. Some parts of the path were covered by snow. The 3 of us have to hold hands to prevent any accidental falling. There was not a single bird chirping or other people. We walked and unsure if we were on the right track. What if the wild boar charged at us? What if we were attacked by some animals? What if we fell and no help was available? Plenty of "what if" which we did not seriously consider at that time.

While travelling from Shin Osaka to Shin Yokohama on the Hikari train, I asked the train crew when I would be able to see Fuji-san. He replied at 10.15am. True enough, slightly after 10am, we saw Fuji-san ahead and at 10.15am, it was right in the middle of the window of the train. We did not manage to get good shots as the train was travelling very fast.

The trip to Kawaguchiko was also memorable. Seeing snow-capped Mt Fuji at different angles and different times of the day also created a deep impression. At times, the peak was covered by clouds. At other times, the sky was so clear and blue, we saw smoke pluming out from the peak. The water in Lake Kawaguchiko was calm but maybe we were not at the right place, we did not see the reflection of Mt Fuji on the lake. We wish we have more time at this place because it was so different from home. No noisy traffic, no hordes of people, the feeling was so refreshing and relaxing.

Finally I saw the famous snow monkeys bathing in their own onsen in JIGOKUDANI-YAENKOEN instead from the webcam at
http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam/monkey/index.htm

I have been viewing the above website since my Japan trip has been confirmed. I know it is silly to go all the way from home to see monkeys bathing. But this trip was coupled with a luxurious stay in Kokuya. Thanks to Zeno from Kokuya and Patricia from home, without their advice and suggestion, my family would not have such a memorable moment in Shibu Onsen.

Day 6 : Tokyo

I have planned to leave Ito's house around 9.30am after breakfast, to catch the 1 hour train back to Tokyo. I have planned to visit Asakusa's sensoji, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, Hachiko statue at Shibuya, Imperial Palace and of course shopping at the department stores at Shinjuku and Ikebukuro.

We woke up around 7.30am. Ito's wife prepared Japanese breakfast which consist of rice, miso soup and various tpyes of Japanese pickles.

So after breakfast, there was sufficient time to make our way to Sakura station.

Then we started dilly dally; the house was so comfortable, the air outside was so cold and commonsense told us to continue remain in the house.

We started chit-chatting while the kids continued with their games.

Soon it was close to noon and Ito suggested us to make a trip to the nearby Beisei Supermarket as I mentioned I would like to buy some Japanese goodies back home as souvenirs. J was more keen on Japanese electronics. This Beisei company has 2 huge buildings next to each other. One is for the electronics and the other is for grocery. What a good match; the gentlemen went to the electronics and the ladies for the grocery. What about the kids? They gladly stayed at home to play. Mind you, they can't communicate with each other very well at all. Ryouta did not seem to understand the existence of language barrier and continued to talk to Isa with his rapid Japanese. Of course Isa looked confused but that did not affect her mood to play the toys and games with Ryouta at all.

The Beisei Supermarket was huge; the section on Japanese sweets was enough to make me see stars. There were so many different types of sweets or cookies. I simply did not know what to grab. So I merely took some and put them into the shopping trolley. We went to see the pickles section. Again, it was an eye-popping experience.

The Japanese restaurant O-Kyo for lunch was in the vicinity and Ito dropped the adults before picking up the kids. The 2 families have a great lunch again.

Once at home, I asked to check for the next available time to Tokyo. We really have to leave else we would only reach Tokyo in darkness.

So a session of bye-bye, take care, see you again in Spore or Japan, domo arigato etc.

By the time we reached Touganeya Hotel in Ueno, it was about 4pm and the sky was already dark.

The walk to Asakusa Sensoji turned out to be longer than expected. Initially we even thought that we have walked the wrong direction on Asakusa dori. Soon we saw the crowd and signs pointing to Sensoji. What a relief! Else my time in Tokyo would only be in that small room in the hotel.

Sensoji looked charming in another way as compared to our last visit during the day. Despite the coldness, there were throngs of shoppers. Of course we did not miss the ningyoyaki. Freshly made ningyoyaki tasted so delicious and they simply melt in the mouth.

We were back to the hotel quite early as we need to wake up early the next day to catch the morning flight. J was busy packing the goodies bought. Packing things nicely into the luggage was really his forte. So I buy and he packs!

Day 5 : Ito's Family.

The room in K House Mt Fuji was very cosy though the toilet in the room has no warm seat. So we used the common toilet located just a few steps outside our room. I was silly to pay more to have a private toilet in the room but have been using the common toilet.

J put a cup of water outside the balcony before we slept. The next morning, the water has frozen! It became ice; just like the way we make ice in the fridge! So we concluded that the temperature overnight has really dropped below freezing level.

The hotel staff recommended us to have a walk at Kawaguchiko Bridge which offered a great view of Mt Fuji in the morning.

We ate our instant noodles and drank some free coffee and tea before checking out of our room. The luggages were left in the care of K House. The walk to Kawaguchiko Bridge really gave us a great view of Mt Fuji and the lake. The lake was real big and walking around seemed impossible for us. In fact, we did not finish walking across the bridge as we need to walk to take the pier to take the cruise and the cable-car ride.

We arrived at the pier around 9am. The cruise was by a sightseeing boat. Feeling the real cold wind, we decided to drop the cruise and took the Mt Tenjo Kachi Kachi ropeway. The fee was 700 JPY for adult and half price for child.

Reaching the top of Mt Tenjo, there was a big bell. Many people rang the bell and made a wish facing Mt Fuji. Of course, we did not miss this part too. There was a souvenir store where the staff took a photo for us and made it into a key-chain for 400 JPY. We were very pleased with the key-chain made.

We had a great view of the Mt Fuji and its peak was not covered by any clouds. In fact, we could see the smoke coming out of its peak in the clear blue sky.

There were 2 statues: a rabbit and a racoon at Mt Tenjo. I guess there must be a story behind but we have yet to find out.

For more info on Mt Tenjo Kachi Kachi Ropeway:
http://www.h7.dion.ne.jp/~ropeway/new/ropeway_p_e.pdf

We were unwilling to take the cable-car down but the time was running out. J suggested that during our next trip to Japan, we would stay in Kawaguchiko again but at a posh hotel where when we open the windows, we could see Mt Fuji!

Ok, another reason for a trip to Japan in the future!

There was no free transport from K House to Kawaguchiko station. We walked with our luggages to the station. We are amazed by the durability of our luggages. The small luggage has followed us to Europe 2 years ago. The big one was newly bought and has a warranty.

Thomas the train arrived as scheduled at Kawaguchiko station. Isa used to be crazy over Thomas and his friends. Since this service was available and the timing was suitable, we took this train at no extra cost.

From Kawaguchiko to Otsuki, transfer to Limited Express Kaiji train to Shinjuku. We continued to take a train straight to Tokyo before taking Rapid Airport Narita to arrive Sakura station in Chiba Prefecture.

The whole journey took about 4 hours and by the time we arrived at Sakura station, the sky was already totally dark though not even dinner's time.

Ito-san and his little boy, Ryouta, were already at the train station.

Ryouta, as in the photo, was cheerful and funny. Ito-san, remained as handsome as before. In fact, I did not find any sign of ageing in him. He was still the friendly and shy Japanese friend whom I knew for more than 10 years.

The ride from Sakura station to his house was short. We met his wife, Megumi and their daughter, Mari. Megumi looked older and maybe women age faster than men. Mari, as expected, has grown from a 4 years old girl to a 13 years young lady.

We were all very glad to meet each other, after a separation of 8 years. During then, Ryouta, was not even born.

The Japanese style christmas banquet gave me a great surprise. The dishes included chicken in mashed tomatoes, seafood salad, marcaroni in cheese, ham with potato, champagne for adults, sparkling fruit juice for kids etc. There were no sushi, rice, noodles, sashimi, tempura etc at all. A cake with strawberry and cream was later served as dessert.

The Japanese bath was again offered. Ito-san's house has quite a big bathroom. The hot-water bath tub has a small tv which Ito watched his news when he enjoyed the hot-water. Again, the water was simply too hot and we merely have a good scrub outside the tub.

Meanwhile, Megumi was busy preparing our bed in their Japanese room. Isa played with Ryouta and Mari. Ryouta taught Isa how to play his toys though he spoke only Japanese. But the kids enjoyed themselves. Meanwhile, the adults communicated using a laptop which translated English sentences into Japanese and vice versa. Again, we did not learn our lesson from the last Japan trip. I vowed to bring my laptop during my next Japan trip.

Despite the languages problem, the warmth we felt from Ito's family was enough to create an impression. Of course, Isa was most glad to meet Mari.

Some Photos

Day 4 : Lake Kawaguchi

We knew this day would be again spent mostly on the trains. Thus we had a good breakfast before leaving Shin Osaka. We left before 8am and the temperature was only 3C. It was a short walk to the station from the hotel but in this cold weather, any extra minute spent outdoor was a torture to the face. We could cover every part of our body except the face.

From Shin Osaka, we took Hikari train to Shin Yokohama. From there, hop on the Yokohama line to Hachioji station. We took Limited Express Kaiji train to Otsuki station. This Otsuki station was real pathetic; it was small and humble despite it was sort of the gateway to Kawaguchiko. The private Fujikyu line runs between Otsuki and Kawaguchiko stations

By the time we reached Kawaguchiko station, it was 2pm. We did not see any people came to pick us up though prior arrangement has been made. Thus I called K House using a public phone with a 10 JPY coin. The staff arrived with a mini van at the station within 10 minutes. This hotel was quite a distance from the station despite the brochure said a 15 min walk.

Our room in K House was slightly bigger than that in Shin Osaka. It was a Japanese style room and we loved to sleep on the futon. There was free internet access which was a great help to travellers.

K House was located in a "residential' area where there were many other smaller ryokans and hostels. We were very surprised to find another Singaporean family living under the same roof that night when we were about to have our dinner at the dining area. The family was busy cooking noodles with vegetables and meat. We had instant noodles and bento again. There was a big supermarket within walking distance. We bought some food back.

Close to this supermarket, there was a MOS burger shop with a ramen shop under the same roof. We ate noodles there and we could see Mt Fuji when we ate!

Mt Fuji is really, really magnificient. At times, its peak was covered by clouds. We took plenty of photos on Mt Fuji at different times of the day. Its view never failed to impress us. At this time of travelling, the news reported 3 Japanese went to climb mt Fuji. Only 1 survived and the other 2 were dead. Mt Fuji took some lives each year. The sole survivor looked really sad and sorry.

We planned to buy Kawaguchiko View Coupon which covers both the lake cruise and cable car ride the next day.

The hotel staff "warned" us that the night temperature would drop to -6C and yes, it was already -2C outside.

From the news, heavy snow reported in northern Japan and the coast facing Sea of Japan. Heavy snow fell in Snow Monkey Park and from the webcam, I saw the whole park was white. In a way, we were glad that we were not there because we were simply not prepared for a heavy snow. Our shoes were not be able to handle such harsh conditions. And the long walk from Kokuya to Snow Monkey Park in this harsh condition would be impossible for us.

J decided to do an experiment. He placed a small cup of water at the balcony of our room overnight. We would find out what happened the next day.

Day 3: Kyoto City Tour

Our morning started with a Japanese buffet breakfast provided by Toyoko-Inn. Another plus point of this Inn is that the buffet breakfast is available as early as 7am. There is rice, several types of Japanese pickles, sausages, miso-soup, buns, coffee, tea & orange juice. J and I each have 2 bowls of rice before we started our tour in Kyoto.

We took the Kodama train from Shin Osaka to Kyoto. By the bullet train, the journey is less than 15 minutes. From Kyoto, we took Sagano line to Nijo station. With a map, we started walking to Kyoto Imperial Palace. It was quite a long walk. The map has street names in English but the street names we saw in Kyoto was in Japanese. Only the bigger streets would have names in English. We had a hard time ensuring we were in the right direction to Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Since it was still early for the 10am Kyoto Imperial Palace tour, we went to Nishijin Textile Center. It was a big store selling Japanese textile including the famous kimonos.

It was very cold and windy in Kyoto. The female guide was shivering at times when she guided us to various parts of the Imperial Palace. The Palace was simply too big to walk around during that hour. As a result, we saw only some parts of the Palace; already enough to impress us on how the emperors, empresses, their family members enjoyed their living in ancient times.

Lunch was settled in small shops with a vending machine. Some vending machines have pictures of the food and thus making the selection of food very easy. Others do not and we have to match the Japanese characters with the advertisements. J likes noodles, Isa and I prefer rice. Each meal can costs as low as 400 JPY. I must say the portion is not very big and thus we eat more often especially in this cold weather.

We walked to Nishikikoji Market which is famous for selling Japanese pickles. Different colours, tastes, types and shapes of Japanese pickles are available. There was a departmental store just before this Market. Isa first saw the "elevator lady" which presses the lift button for the customers taking the lifts in the departmental store.

The walk to Gion Corner was not very successful in the sense that we did not see any maikos or geishas at all. There were some ladies in kimonos but we were not in the right mood because we were attracted by the Japanese sweets and cakes wrapped beautifully in boxes. Despite we could not communicate in Japanese, the staff eagerly allowed us to sample before buying. I did not hesitate to buy a few boxes though each cost min 600 JPY depending on the quantity too.

The sun started to set from 3pm onwards. We walked back to Kyoto station. Yes, this station looked modern in an old city. Books recommended the Eat Paradise at 11th floor. We went and found different restaurants on the same floor. However, we did not eat there because the food was beyond our tight budget. We returned to train station and looked for a shop with a vending machine. By then, Isa was used to stand while eating.

From Kyoto, we again took the Sagano line to Saga Arashiyama station for the Bamboo Grove and Togetsukyo Bridge.

The moment we alight from Saga Arashiyama station, there were already staff distributing leaflets for the Hanatouro (11-20 Dec 2009). The streets leading to the various shrines, Bamboo Grove and Togetsukyo were lighted with lanterns. There were many, many Japanese walking to these places.

The bridge was crowded with people; on one side of the bridge, it was the mountain and the other side was the water. Staff were conducting the traffic for people and traffic. It was really an eye-opening experience for us. Again, all thanks to the recommendation by Mori-san in Kyoto Tourism who has recommended me this trip after I wrote in to ask for some informations.

Supper was settled again in that bento shop round the corner of the Inn which makes fresh warm food. We ordered exactly the same types of bento. Across this shop, there was Lawson Convenience Store, we bought some sushi too

This day was the most stressful for our legs because of the long walk in the cold weather. J already complained about his feet.

Day 2: Snow Monkey Park

The Japanese breakfast was again served by the old lady dressed in kimono sharply at 8am, the time we have requested. Again, the portion of dishes served in the Japanese style breakfast was simply too huge. But we knew we have to eat as the weather was pretty cold.

The street in Shibu Onsen was still quiet in the early morning. Before we set off, we were "armed" with a map and some advice on the directions from the reception staff in Kokuya.

There was a shorter path to Snow Monkey Park (about 4km) which was closed to traffic in the winter. Since this path was still accessible to human beings, we decided to take this path.

Along the path, we saw plenty of tall trees. There was not a single soul except us. We even saw a wild boar at a distance away from us. There was some snow along the path. After walking for a time seemed ages, we finally arrived Snow Monkey Park.

There were plenty of big and small monkeys in this park. A staff was feeding some yellow pellets and the monkeys followed him. Some pellets were thrown into the pond. Some monkeys went into the pond to get their food. The water in the pond was warm. Some monkeys bathed in it. It was quite interesting to see these primates having their hot bath.

Since we already knew the route to this Park, we decided to take the same route back. It was quite a breeze as we were walking downhill.

The train from Yudanaka left at about 1.30pm. We continued our journey all the way to Shin Osaka by Shinano and then Hikari trains.

By the time we checked into Shin Osaka Toyoko Inn Chuo Honkan, it was closed to 7.30pm.

I must say something about this hotel.

This is the first time I checked into this hotel. All thanks to DM who has mentioned to me during my planning of this trip. The hotel room was real small; the bed was small, the bathroom was small,... But it was compact. It has almost everything a non-fuzzy traveller needs. It is a perfect room despite its small size for us

The space in every corner was fully utilized. The tea and coffee making facility is also available. There is even a trouser presser which we do not know how to use.

Just round the corner of this hotel, we found a bento shop. Instead of the cold bento available in most convenient shops or departmental stores, this shop serves warm bento. We ordered 3 sets of different types of bentos, We got piping hot rice that came with 3 cups of miso soup! The whole meal cost 1000 JPY which was about SGD16. I must say that we were already on the very cheapo side!

We brought the food back to the hotel and ate at the dining area with hot and cold water facility.

Day 1 : Shibu Onsen in Yudakana (Nagano)

We arrived Changi airport some hours before our departure.

To continue from A Little Surprise, J's luggage arrived near noon but the condition of the baggage was so bad that it was beyond repair and usage. This is the only big luggage we had and we rushed to Giant in IMM to purchase one.

At Changi airport, we filled in the forms to file a claim against the baggage damage.

Finally the plane took off as scheduled. We arrived shortly before 7am the next day in Narita Airport Terminal 2.

The queue in the immigration counter was pretty long but quite smooth because there were staff stationed to monitor the flow.

At about 8.15am, we have exchanged our Japan Rail vouchers for our Japan Rail pass and seat reservations have been settled.

We took Narita Express to reach Tokyo station before 10am. We bought our first bento to eat on the train from Tokyo to Nagano.

The Nagano Dentetsu was not too difficult to find and by 1pm, we were at Yudanaka Station.

The walk to Kokuya was pretty long as we did not know the way. We asked around but still unsure. Dragging 2 pieces of luggages on icy roads was pretty challenging too. Nevertheless the snow along the route made us quite happy.

Finally we saw Zeno and located Kokuya. Kokuya is a posh ryokan with 8 hot baths in it. Isa was very eager to try the 8 baths plus the 9 public baths in Shibu Onsen. However, after comparing the hot baths in the ryokan with the public baths, we settled for the baths in the ryokan. The conditions in the public baths did not look inviting at all. They looked dark and cold.

We have chosen to remain in the ryokan to enjoy the hot baths for the rest of the day instead of going to the Snow Monkey Park because everybody was tired after the long flight and the train journey.

At 6pm, we had our kaiseki dinner in a private Japanese room. Many dishes beautifully decorated were served by a lady dressed in kimono. We ate one dish after another. At times, we did not know which dish to eat first too. We had an excellent dinner in the first night in Japan. J was shocked when he found that I have spent more than SGD 550 for this night in this ryokan with a kaiseki dinner and a Japanese breakfast. He said we better not sleep but enjoyed the hot baths throughout. But we were simply too tired after a heavy dinner. We went to some of the baths, both indoor and outdoor in the ryokan. The water was simply too hot for Isa and myself. In the end, we did not manage to dip ourselves totally in the baths except J.

We slept pretty early that night.

From Japan

Hi friends,
I am now in Kawaguchiko, Japan.

The magnificient Mt Fuji is just outside the hotel that I am staying. The weather is really freezing but no snow. When the wind blows at my face, my skin especially my ears feel frozen.

Temperatures have been below 10 deg C throughout the places I have been so far.

This time, Isa said she did not want anymore coldness. She prefers home.

A Little Surprise

J's flight, after 13 hours, touched down at Changi airport half an hour earlier than the scheduled time. Isa and I were very excited to see him at the airport.

Together with 3 colleagues, the men waited for their luggages. Soon, the rest of the passengers have collected their luggage and left, except these 4 men.

It was found that their luggages did not follow the same flight back home!

OMG, how are we going to pack our things to Japan? His luggage is filled with smelly clothes and chocolates. I can't wait to separate the two.

2 possibilities: either the luggages are still in Paris or totally lost! It is unlikely that the luggages were still in Brest.

The airline office said that there is only a flight from Paris to Singapore. Thus if the luggage is still in Paris, it will catch the next flight back home which will arrive the next day!

Ok, suppose the luggage arrives the next day, then practically, we will be pouring the things out from it and dumping new things into it.

If it doesn't, we will have to rush to buy a big luggage, dump all things inside before charging to the airport to catch our flight to Japan.

Now J is thinking how to file a claim to the travel insurance company.

Conclusion: Never travel without a travel insurance.

Woman on 353 forgery counts

Woman on 353 forgery counts By Elena Chong

A FORMER administration manager of a company was charged on Friday with 353 charges of forgery involving almost $967,000.

Christine Jow See Ai, 46, allegedly forged cheques by signing the names of the two signatories of SMP Electrical for the purpose of cheating the bank between 2004 and 2007.

The amounts in the cheques ranged from $150 to $20,000.

Jow, who is represented by Mr S. Radakrishnan, was offered bail of $50,000. Her passport was impounded.

Her case will be mentioned on Dec 18.

If convicted, she faces a jail term of up to seven years and a fine on each charge.

(source: www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_465360.html)

My comments:
Who does not want easy money? Simply hold tight to a pen and with some practices, gut and luck, money starts flowing INTO the bank account.

The Parade is Over

Finally after the big hoo-haa, the parade is over. I should say it was a great success as everything ran smoothly as planned. Even the weather was so sunny and windy; everybody was in a great mood to see that all effort spent was not wasted.

A mini-reception was held after the parade; as usual, some good food plus wine but without dance.

Now I am back to reality or I should say, my routine work. I still have another presentation due from Beijing to complete. My boss has already suggested that this presentation to be done latest Jan 2010.

The ISO write-ups are still half done which I intend to drag till next year.

OMG, please give me a break and I will be going for holidays very soon.

Yes, though packing is yet to be done as J is still in France, but I have prepared a list of things to be packed. Even Isa is also very excited with the packing which will be done this weekend.

All hotels have been re-confirmed with my date and estimate time of arrival.

This trip, thanks to Patricia, who has given me valuable advice despite her hectic schedule, will be a less hectic and more relaxing one.

I decided to take everything in a slower pace especially snowy weather was forecast in Nagano upon my arrival. Why the rush when I don't even know if the trains can run smoothly or on time if the weather turns bad. Why the rush when I have already secured a room overnight? And I should make full use of my stay in Japan as I have been wanting this trip for many years.

After this trip to Japan, I don't know when will be my next trip.

TGIF

Friend who know me, know I simply love this phrase TGIF.

Yes, Friday is always the day I look forward to eagerly as it marks the end of the working week and weekend is starting.

This week has been real stressful and tiring.

The parade will be next week. As this is a big event, everybody is trying their very best to give their best shot. As a result, it is rehearsal daily since the start of Dec.

Besides the parade, there will be a static display. All the items are out in the open, expose to the risk of rain, shine and wind.

Then following by various vetting and to ensure the parade will be carried out without fail, a wet programme has been in placed.

The whole workplace has been turned upside just for this parade. All personnel's leave has been postponed until the parade is over.

Acoss the various sections, people have been calling each other to give the latest update or progress in the preparation.

If this type of parade is to be held more often, I will surely quit my job.

Dull Winter

J who is now in Brest, France, complained of the cold, wet, dull and gloomy winter. He laments how Isa be able to cope with such weather conditions in Japan.

While it is a striking difference in the weather between temperate countries and Singapore, winter is never my favourite reason.

During my days in UK, the winter days were terrible - so cold and no matter how many layers I put on, I could not sleep well. The radiator was switched off around mid-night and the night was such miserable. Then I learnt not to open the windows but the air in the room became stale and stuffy.

It was so difficult to wait till spring to arrive. When I saw green shoots appearing at the bare trees, I was so thrilled. I knew spring was near! That kind of joy which words could not explain would always stay in my heart.

Yes, my favourite season is spring.

At a CrossRoad

My immediate boss dropped a bomb onto me - I have a high chance to be removed from my comfort zone and transferred to work in Changi.

Many would say "count yourself very lucky as you are still holding onto a job". Yes, I agreed totally but to be transferred back to HQ in Changi is the last thing in my life.

All along since I was transferred to work in the west about 10 years ago, I "vowed" not to return to Changi. My office is in the west, I live in the west, J works in the west, Isa studies in the west, ... I spend much more time in the west than at other parts of Singapore. Why drag me out from the west?

The management has been dangling carrots - better chance of promotion, make me a more rounded person being exposed to different departments in an organisation, time to return to HQ since I have been out-stationed for close to 10 years, ... all sorts of reasons sensible to the management but did not make much to me.

The management is likely to have 2 approaches on this job rotation. Maybe I can first negiotate or bargain to be transferred about 2 years later since Isa would then be in the sec school. Second, I choose to be ranked last ie no promotion, no increment, ..

If worse comes to worse, I may have to pack up and go!

Retiring at age 42? What am I doing to do for the next 20 years or less? I have never thought to work beyong age 60 and in fact, I plan to tender my big letter once I collect my CPF at age 55. (BTW, are we still able to collect our CPF at age 55 after so much changes in the policies and I can never managed to keep up with).

Find a second career? What can I do? Where did I last place my U-cert, A-level-cert, O-level-cert? I thought I would never need them since the current job is my first and last job.

Life is never a bed of roses.

My immediate boss is understanding and caring. He thinks more humanly than the previous ones who have placed work on top of everything and anything. I have been working with him for the past couple of years and why can't such good days continue till I retire?

This mid-life crisis is going to dampen my mood for the rest of this year until it has settled its dust.

Holiday trip spoilt by GST shock at airport (ST Forum 2 Dec 2009)

MY FAMILY recently returned from a holiday in Europe.

As usual, we bought some gifts from the countries we had visited.

But we were stunned when the Customs officers stopped us and slapped us with 7 per cent goods and services tax (GST) for the gifts we purchased abroad.

Even the watch I was wearing on my wrist was not spared.

We were told that the maximum limit for gifts purchased overseas is $300 - anything exceeding that is taxable.

I checked with many friends and relatives and none of them knew that this rule exists, not even the tour agency.

Needless to say, the incident dampened our spirit after a great holiday.

Patrick Lim

(source: www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_461188.html)

My Comments:
I did not know that the max limit for gifts purchased overseas is just $300 until now.

Shopping in Terminal 3

After J has checked-in for his flight to France, he shopped in Changi airport terminal 3. Besides being huge, there are plenty of shops selling things which are quite dear!

He found Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste, Singapore Laksa Paste, Singapore Ba Gu Teh, Singapore Kaya, Dried Mango etc, all nicely wrapped and ready to present as gifts for overseas friends.

Heh, they don't come cheap! A similar type of the chicken rice paste in the super-market cost less than $10. But such in the airport with a nice wrapping costs almost double.

He will be buying some when he returns so that we can pack them into our big luggage to be checked-in.

In a way, I am relieved that the gifts for Ito have been prepared.