Last 2 days of 2010

After I returned from my holidays in Taiwan, I was busy with tackling my persistent cough and office work. The office work has piled up so much since I was away for almost 3 weeks!

This is one of the bad points for doing office hour instead of shift duty; the work follows me even if I am away from the office.

I guess it must be the cold and wet weather in Taiwan that caused me to cough badly despite seeing the doctor. The phelgm in my throat seems not being able to clear completely and constantly irritate my throat, causing me to cough.

In terms of office work, more briefings and presentations coming up. My role as a secretary is not to the mark. The seniors have complained that my work was lousy. I should not throw in the towel so fast but perhaps give myself more chances before I accept the outcome.

My training role is also not moving anywhere and the big boss is quite unhappy that there is no progress in this area. She does not understand or refuse to be aware that I am busy with other tasks.

No signs of promotions but signs of heavier workload waiting for me.

Ok, I should be thankful that I still have a decent job.

Xmas Celebration with A Supplier

Upon return from Taiwan was a flurry of festive activities.

Work has piled up so much that I did not know where and when to start since mood is not there and many staff were away.

A supplier held a celebration at Clark Quay. The buffet dinner was served at Hooter's. There were just too much meat and thus I did not really enjoy it. J was busy chatting with his colleagues and friends. It became a norm for people to travel during Dec. Some just returned from Japan, others from Turkey or Taiwan etc.

The kids enjoyed themselves as there was a magic show during the dinner.

I enjoyed the river cruise that followed. I was able to look at our city's skyline at night from Singapore's River.

Last Day in Taiwan

By the time we were about to return home, our luggages were filled with goodies. J ordered me to stop buying as our empty luggage was already filled to the brim. I wanted to buy more as there were just too many titbits to bring home for family members.

As our return flight would depart in the early morning, either we check out in predawn on the date of departure or check out the day before. We chose the latter as we could save some money. We dumped our luggages at D's room. When we returned from shopping, we simply asked the D's room key from the reception. No questions asked and we thought this was not safe at all.

Anyway, we waited for D's return before we left.

We took almost the last Da You bus to the airport. We reached the airport about 11.30pm. The airport was not that busy at this hour. There were some travellers like us who spent the night at the airport.

Slightly after midnight, the airport became quiet as there were not many flights departing or arriving. We found 2 sofas and slept. We managed to catch some sleep though not very comfortable as I have to squeeze with Isa on the same sofa. J took the one next to us.

At about 4am, I was awoken by the ring from 7 Eleven. More people arrived at the airport. We waited for a while and the staff manning the SIA counter arrived. After we have checked in our luggages, we went straight to the Silver Kris Lounge. We had a good breakfast there. The service was great and this makes me to consider travelling with SIA again.

My holidays in Taiwan have ended. I like the trip to Taroko Gorge and Yeliu GeoPark most. Maybe during my next trip, I will spend more time at these 2 places.

Look at these birds!

(Thanks Jim for remembering me!)

Day 7 in Taiwan

After a long & tiring day in Taroko Gorge, we could not take a break the next day as we wanted to take advantages of the fair weather conditions. D suggested going to Leo Foo Theme Park and Yeliu Geo Park but I told her that since the day was short, it was not likely to go two places on a single day. In the end, I went to Yeliu and she to the Theme Park.

We took the same bus from Taipei West Bus Terminal again at the same price NT96 to Yelie. Once we alighted from the same bus stop the other day when heavy rain occured, the scenary was totally different. There were lots of people on the road and it was so easy to find the road leading to this Park. Some people went there for fishing too.

After a short walk from the main road, we could smell the sea and found the signage of Yeliu Geo Park. The entrance fee was NT50 for an adult and half the price for a child. At the Information Centre, there was a voluntary guide offering a free guide around this Park. We gladly took up the offer. This guide is Ms Mu ("mother" in chinese). She explained us the various unique rocks in the Park. There was a glass shoe and an elephant left by a fairy, after she fought with a playful turtle.


There were many candle-lit rocks, marine potholes, mushroom heads etc. The most famous was the Queen's Head whose head would likely to drop in about 15-20 years' time due to wind and seawater erosion. Long, long time ago, Taiwan was under the sea. As the time continues, this island gradually floats up to the surface. The rocks started to form into unique shapes due to the wind and seawater. It was extremely windy at this location as it faced the Pacific Ocean. There were people fishing despite the chance of huge waves. We spent about an hour with this guide before parting.


We continued to explore this Park until we were too tired to walk. Luckily we bought some sushi before we went into the Park. We had cup noodles at the 7 Eleven outside this Park.


By the time, we returned to Taipei, it was nearly 5pm. Everywhere was such crowded since it was weekend. We had some hot drinks and a seafood burger at McDonald. Here Starbucks is more commonly found than McDonald. Youngsters occupying the seats to do their work is also commonly seen here too.

We were in D's room and they returned after 9pm. They managed to go 2 places which was really marvelous.

Day 6 in Taiwan

Finally I saw clear sky with dried roads from the window of the room I stayed. This was a good sign to start the day.

We left the hotel at 6.45am without any breakfast since the breakfast time started at 7am. Our train would depart at 7.18am and the walking to Taiwan Main Station would take about 15 min. Along our way, we bought 2 bowls of Yong Dou Fu at Family Mart at 4 pieces at NT39. Upon reaching the Station, I rushed to its 7 Eleven to buy another 2 sets of bento at NT50 each. The train arrived and departed punctually.

Hualien is not that far from Taipei but the journey takes about 2.5hr. It certainly does not travel as fast as High Speed Rail as we boarded yesterday.

After a heavy breakfast on the train, we continued to take a short nap. Just before we arrived Hualien, we saw the sea - Pacific Ocean!


(The blue beautiful Pacific Ocean)

D booked the service of a taxi driver called Mr Li De Ming (each pax @ NT500). He was already at the station when we arrived. The temperature was quite low and we felt very cold. We gladly hopped into his taxi.

He brought us to Taroko Gorge National Park. Along the way, he gave us introduction of some tribes and the chinese living in Hualien.

Our first stop was Qi Xin Tan which is really a beautiful beach facing the Pacific Ocean. We saw the fierce waves splashing onto the coast and really felt the beauty of nature. The beautiful coast of Hualien left a great impression on me.

Then we went to Qing Shui Duan Ya which is a steep cliff overseeing the deep blue ocean water. The water is such blue due to the presence of some minerals in the water. It is quite an experience to see ocean water directly below us on the cliff.

(The Swallow Grotto; look at these gigantic rocks)



(Tunnel of Nine Turns)

We continued to Swallow Grotto, Shakadang Trail, Tunnel of Nine Turns, Ci Mu Bridge etc. His service was excellent as we had a good taste of a simple trail in Taroko Gorge. Our lunch was settled at a store which sold cup noodles.

Our dinner was done at Hualien city. We ate rice and steam buns. After that, we bought the famous tit-bits from Tzen Chi.

Mr Li promptly sent us back to Hualien Railway Station at 7pm to catch our 7.30pm train. I was so tired that I slept most of the time despite there were passengers standing behind me for about 2.5hours! We reached Taipei Main Station at 10pm.

I can't imagine standing throughout the train journey and these passengers have a valid tickets as there was a ticket master checking on our train tickets.

I was such relieved that the weather was such nice but cooling so that some walking could be done. We walked quite a lot today and the breeze was really cooling. We were such glad not to see any rain.

One of the places of interest He Huan Shan has snow reported and the roads were closed due to snowy and slippery conditions.n

Day 5 in Taiwan

Looks like this is a wasted trip to Taiwan. We saw nothing much except its non-stop rain and strong winds. As planned, we walked to Taipei Main Station to take its High Speed Rail to Tainan. A return trip (reserved seat) costs NT2700 for an adult, which is about S$135. I wanted to buy a train bento but J said we could save that money since we had a heavy breakfast.

There was a waiting area for HSR passengers. When the train arrives, passengers will take the escalator down to the platform. Since Taipei Main Station is the terminal station, the train is already at its platform. We snapped some photos with the train before hopping into the train. The train left punctually. The average speed was about 300km/hr. The ride was smooth, comparable to Japan's shinkansen. The seats and toilets were new and clean.

HSR makes a brief stop at Banciao, Taoyuan, Hsinchiu, Taichung, Tainan and then Zuoyin. The ride from Taipei to Tainan is only 1hr 45min.

From Taichung onwards, the land becomes quite flat. By the time we reached Tainan, it was still raining. The HSR Tainan Station was quite a distance from the downtown. There is free shuttle bus service. In the same train, there were many Japanese students occupying a couple of cars. The ride was quite noisy as the students were chattering happily.

The free shuttle bus left before 11am. The bus driver Mr Wu was such an extremely friendly and helpful man. He advised us not to make a trip to Qigu Salt Mountain under such weather conditions. Instead, we could make a trip to An Ping Old Street to have a good meal and some shopping. This place is famous for fried pawn crackers. The shuttle bus brought us to Tainan City Hall. From there, we took a cab (NT120) to An Ping Gu Bao. We had our lunch at Zhou's Shrimp Rolls which later D mentioned that it was one of his intended destinations. We went to this restaurant because a staff at one of the 7 Eleven told us. In Taiwan, there are many 7 Eleven, Family Mart and OK Mart. Getting simple food such as a bento is never a problem at all.

The fried shrimp rolls were 2 pieces at NT50, slightly pricey but delicious. We had a good warm meal despite the cold weather. Today the temperature dropped below 10C. We were simply not prepared for such cold weather. Our hands were freezing and we were almost shivering.

We gathered we could not continue to stay outdoor for long and took a bus (NT18) to Tainan Railway Station. There is a big shopping mall, enough to kill our time there before we returned to HSR Tainan Station. This mall called Yuan Dong Department Store has many storeys. We had some hot drinks at its McDonald. We were just too uncomfortable being cold and moist. We took the shuttle bus (about 45min) back to HSR Tainan Station. We were glad that we could change our 2015hr to 1815hr tickets. We could return to Taipei at about 8pm. Before we bought the train, we went to the 7 Eleven and bought 3 different bentos. Here, the availability of bento is similar to Japan except that the food served is taiwanese style.

Everybody enjoyed their food on the return trip.

Our trip to Tainan is not a very fruitful one. We experienced its HSR but did not have a good walk around An Ping and not to mention, we did not manage to go to Salt Mountain as planned, though many said it was just a huge mountain of salt.

At Taipei, it was still raining lightly. We bought food from 7 Eleven again. This time, it was a bowl of 6 pieces of Yong Dou Fu. Each piece was selling at NT10 and we have seen people buying it as a bowl of hot Yong Dou Fu. On our way back to the hotel, we saw Family Mart was selling at 4 pieces at NT39!

Day 4 in Taiwan

The wet weather continued to follow us. We watched the rain falling while having our breakfast. An obasan was quite friendly and recommended us to go to a newly opened big shopping mall instead of cooping in the room. She also suggested Miramar Ferris Wheel near Jian Nan Road Station. The kids were happy!

Upon seeing the rain became lighter, we took the subway to CKS Memorial Hall. Despite the non-stop rain, we managed to take some photos and watched the hourly Guards Changing Ceremony.


From there, we went to SYS Memorial Hall. I still cannot remember clearly the significance and importance of CKS and SYS. From there, Taipei 101 is just within walking distance.


(Taipei 101)
(View of Taipei City from Taipei 101)

The entrance to the Observatory is at 5th floor. The entrance fee is NT400 for an adult and NT370 for a child. If the weather is dry, we can visit 89th floor and 91st floor. But since it was such wet, the 91st floor was closed. Within 40 seconds, we travelled in a lift from 5th floor straight to 89th floor. The speed of this lift is about 1010m per min. Inside the lift, we did not experience discomfort at all. We found the ride in this special lift was simply too short.

From the 89th floor, we could have a good bird eye view of Taipei city. Due to the rain and clouds, we could only see buildings closer to Taipei city. At the 88th floor, there was a display on how to ensure this building is stable against strong winds and earthquakes. Taiwan is affected by typhoons and earthquakes yearly and thus its buildings have to withstand such shocks.

On 88th floor, there is also a big showroom on various corals made into different shapes and sizes of "gems", which were too expensive for us even to look at. The kids were already very hungry.

We had our lunch at the food court in Taipei. The prices were comparable to Singapore's. After lunch, D and I went on our own to explore this city. We took a free shuttle bus to City Hall Station. Immediately is the newly opened Ban Ji Departmental Store. We have seen advertisements on Heat-tech from Uniqlo selling like hot-cakes. We saw the shirts and blouses, real thin and soft, claimed to keep warm etc. But since we don't need them back home, why waste money to buy them. We continued to Eslite Bookstore. Instead of selling just books, this store sells a lot of other things. Customers can sit comfortably in the store to read books. Unlike our big bookstores back home, many books are wrapped to discourage browsing without buying.

J wanted to visit Hakka Culture Association located on Da An Station on the Brown line. We didn't take long to find this place. We spoke to the staff and were surprised to know that a lot of Taiwanese are hakka.

Finally we reached Jian Nan Road Station. We saw the Giant Ferris Wheel but there were little lights. We confirmed with the subway staff before exiting the station. The Ferris Wheel was located at the 5th floor and since it was slightly after 5pm, maybe we could have an early dinner before taking the ride.

The Miramar Building was not as crowded as Ban Ji but the prices of food were pretty expensive. We decided to take the ride first and have our dinner on our way back to the hotel. There were 2 types of cars in this Wheel, the normal and the transparent types. Since we made all the way here, we joined the queue for the transparent cars which were just 4. It was still raining but there were more and more people taking the ride. The fee was NT150 for an adult and NT120 for a child.

(Tickets for the ride on Miramar Ferris Wheel)

We waited for about 20 minutes before the transparent car arrived. The whole ride was also about 20 minutes. The car was smaller than our Flyer. The bottom of the car was transparent. However, I was too scared to look down. We could have quite a view of Taipei city at night. We saw lights from Taipei 101 though it was slightly blur due to the cloudliness and rain.

After much debating on what to have for dinner, we settled on Ah Zhong Mian Xian AGAIN! We ordered 3 bowls and bought 1/8 duck at NT200 from that famous duck store.

Another day of cloudy and rain can be expected for tomorrow but I pray hard for a good weather since we will be taking the High Speed Rail to Tainan.

I must say that the locals are very organised in taking the subway. At around 6.30pm, the trains were such crowded that we were literally shoulder to shoulder with strangers. The crowd can be comparable to Tokyo's if not worse. But there was no chaos as there were train personnel deployed to control the huge crowds.

Day 3 in Taiwan

When I saw the overcast skies and wet roads, I felt disappointment. The weather forecast was spot-on. I was praying hard that the forecast was wrong.

The breakfast was similar. I merely ate porridge with pork floss, fried egg, stir fry vegetables plus slices of ham. We bought 2 umbrellas and an extra jacket before setting off. As planned, we were supposed to go Ye Liu National Park before lunch and Jiu Fen after lunch. We took Kuo Kuang bus (NT96; NT48) at Taipei West Bus Terminal Block A. Half way, the rain started again. It rained all the way till we reached Ye Liu. The bus-stop that we alighted was pathetic. It was merely outside a shop house. There was no proper shelter. The winds were strong and we could see the winds carrying the rain. How to go to Ye Liu National Park in this condition? After much consideration, we went to Jiu Fen. From Ye Liu, we took a bus to Kee Lung located at the northeastern coast. At Kee Lung train station, we took another bus to Jiu Fen. Rain was following us all the way. By the time we reached Jiu Fen, we were hungry, cold and moist.


(Cloudy and wet in Jiu Fen)

Jiu Fen Old Street was a nice shopping street, selling various tit bits. We were not in the right mood to shop because there was little shelter along this street. Imagine, the street was crowded with people, the ground was wet, we were carrying an umbrella, holding onto the kids. The kids were unhappy because they wanted to return to the hotel. Luckily there were a lot of stalls offering free taste of tit-bits. Surely we bought some home. The pineapple tarts were quite expensive; a box of 10 pieces at a cost of min NT220 which means a piece of this tart costs about S$1!

I resisted buying any pineapple tarts except 6 packets of codfish pastry with seaweed, wasabi and spicy at NT100 each. I planned to give Li a packet. There was an outlet of Black Bridge Sausages here! A packet of 10 thick pork sausages costs NT220. D said pretty expensive but I intended to buy a packet before I return home. There was an outlet nearer to the hotel I was staying.

We left Jiu Fen before 3pm. There was a bus straight to Taipei Zhong Xiao Fu Xing Station. The bus fare was at an astonishing NT76! From there, we took the blue Bannan line to Ximen Station. When we reached there, the weather was just cloudy and windy. D wanted to return to hotel to take a warm shower. We wanted to look for the Red Theater House and found it easily when we exited from the station as indicated by the signage.

(One of our favourites in Ximending - Ah Zhong Mian Xian)

We tried Ah Zhong Mian Xian (small bowl at NT45) and it was really delicious. Isa said she wanted to eat again. Even for me who dislike Mian Xian very much, I found it real delicious.

Here I must mentioned that the Easy Card is real useful. The ferry to Fishermen's Wharf was paid using Easy Card. The bus and subway rides were paid using this card.

The announcement in the subway was made in 4 luggages; mandarin, hokkien, hakka and english! I am so surprised to hear an announcement in hakka.

Dinner was settled at a famous duck stall in Ximending. According to the guide book, this is the only stall in Taiwan. It sells bee hoon with duck meat or mee with duck meat, each bowl at NT50. You can also order duck meat at 1/2 or 1/4 or 1/8 which we did not. We ordered 2 bowls of bee hoon and 1 bowl of noodles. Isa has insisted on having Ah Zhong Mian Xian again as supper.

The weather was cooling in the evening. Cold winds blew and occasionally there were a few drops of rain. Ximending is more crowded during the first night (Sunday). From there, we continued walking in the direction to Long Shan Temple Station. We wanted to go to Carrefour to look for some local products. I am determined to buy some pineapple tarts back home. We found this supermarket after walking down a few cross-sections. But J insisted on buying during our return trip as he wanted to visit Hua Xi Night Market. After some walking, we found this Night Market. I must say that Shilin Night Market was more crowded than this one. We walked through the Night Market and decided to return. At Carrefour, I bought 6 boxes of pineapple tarts (6 pieces per box) at NT49, 3 boxes of assorted tarts at NT109 each and others. When checking out, we paid nearly NT1200 = S$60!

We bought 2 bowls of Ah Zhong Mian Xian as takeaway. J managed to put all the goodies into one of the check-in luggages. Seeing him spending much effort in packing, I think I better control my buying spree wie.

Day 2 in Taiwan

I did not have a good sleep as I was waiting for a call from D. I woke up slightly after midnight and knew that her family has reached Taipei. Around 12.40am, J received an sms from D that they were on their way to the hotel.

J went to the lobby to wait for them.

Before 1.30am, they were at my door steps. Her kids were still wide awake. J told me that there were quite a few guests at the reception at this hour. He simply brought them up to our room without any problems at all.

Once in the room, all just jumped onto the bed to continue sleeping.

The breakfast was taiwanese style ie porridge with various dishes and pickles. There were self-toast bread with jam plus ham. We bought Lydia along for the breakfast. The rest went out for a simple breakfast. The 2 girls ate some porridge plus bread. I dont really like the porridge. Or I should say I dont have this habit of having porridge for breakfast. I would prefer rice for breakfast. The breakfast was at the 13th floor but the lift served till 12th floor. So we have to walk the stairs to 13th floor to have the breakfast.

As the weather forecast for the day was fair and warm, we thought we should do outdoor activities than indoor activities. The kids suggested going to Leo Foo instead of the planned Museums etc. I asked the reception about going to Leo Foo and was glad to know that this theme park closed on every Monday. The next option would be to go to Taipei International Floral Exposition.

The nearest MRT station to this Exposition is Yuan Shan. Like yesterday, the Exposition was already crowded with people. With the store value card (Easy Card), there was some discount to the entrance fee of NT400. We spent almost 2 hours queueing just to enter Expo Dome.



The weather was very warm as there were little clouds. Inside this Dome, there were lots of exhibits using various types of flowers. There were many exhibits on christmas theme. So the red christmas flowers were mainly used.

By the time we left this Dome, it was time for lunch. The queue for the bento was the longest. We joined the queue and bought 2 pork chop bento at NT50 each and 1 drumstick bento at NT75.

(Our lunch bento at Floral Exposition)

The food was quite nice as we were quite hungry. After lunch, the queues for Taipei Story House, Expo Theater etc were just too long. The walk to Global Garden Area became long under the hot weather. In this area, different countries occupied various sites. Singapore occupied 2 sites but the exhibits were a great disappointment. Even the Hong Kong's, the familiar Clock Tower at Victoria Harbour and doiphins in Ocean Park were featured. For ours, not even a merlion or esplanade was shown. The weather became cloudy and thus cooler. We decided to go National Palace Museum. We took the MRT to Shilin. We wasted some time to find the bus stop to catch the bus to this Museum. By the time we reached the museum, it was 3pm+. The backdrop of this museum was mountains. We merely took some photos outside this museum before continuing our journey to Danshui station.

Once we reached Danshui, the weather was cooler and our walk to the pier was really relaxing. We took a ferry to Fishermen's Wharf at NT50 to watch the sunset. We were lucky to catch the sunset. We did not see the sun because the sky was cloudy. But we saw the colours of the clouds changed to orange.

(Sunset at Fishermen Wharf)


This scenary was beautiful. The walk on Valentine's Bridge whose lights were turned on when the sun set also gave us a nice feeling. We were quite hungry and took a bus (NT15) back to Danshui Station. The guide book recommended a walk at Danshui Old Street which was just next to the Station. We tried some local food such as sausages made from wild bore (3 for NT100), some baos which were like our wo tie (8 for NT35), fried squid at NT50 etc. Our stomachs were left filled by the time we left Danshui Station.

The nearest subway station to Shilin Night Market was Jian Tan Station. This night market is a few streets selling clothes, food, fruits, games etc. This was when we lost D's family. We ate mian xian (NT30), lamp soup (NT70) and fried noodles (NT60) with lamp for dinner before returning to the hotel.

D returned earlier and we were glad that everybody was back to the hotel safely.

Day 1 in Taiwan

We took the 1 am flight to Taipei. This decision was made after much consideration. We knew we would be unable to sleep during the short flight. We knew we would be very tired once we reached Taipei. But the ticket which was available to us was at this timing. Thus, we have no choice but to take up this offer.

J e-checked in about 48 hours before the departure time. Just a few days before our departure, J received a letter to inform him that his Kris Flyer membership was upgraded to Elite Gold and he could enjoy some privileges. We asked SIA to expedite his membership card and we received just a day before we departed.

At Terminal 3 after clearing the immigration, there was a lounge and there were many people there. There was food and drinks served. We had our supper before we left the lounge. By the time we were in the aircraft, we were very sleepy.

However, the cabin crew was extremely hardworking, serving food and drinks almost nonstop. Maybe I have taken my supper and I found the portion of inflight food served was huge. I had Singapore's Sling which I liked it very much.

There were quite a number of buses from the airport to taipei city. Besides the recommended FreeGo, there is Kuo Kuang, Ubus, Everygreen and we took Da You bus which charged us NT90 and NT45 for Isa, after showing her passport to declare she is only 11 years old.

The journey to Taipei Main Station took about an hour. Along the journey, the bus continued to pick up some passengers which didn't really bother us much as we were dozing away most of the time.

The hotel was quite a disappointment. The location was great, between Ximen and Taipei Main Stations but due to its age, the rooms and corridors were quite dull and old. D booked the Family Deluxe at S$103 which includes breakfast. We booked Business Suite at S$67.

(A waterfall in Long Shan Temple)

After dropping our luggages at the reception, we walked to Long Shan Temple. This is a famous temple and there was a praying session going on. From there, we took the subway to Yuan Shan station to look for Bao An Temple and Confucious Temple which are within walking distance from the subway station. The Bao An temple is to pray for good health and the Confucious Temple is for good academic results. Isa will be sitting for PSLE in 2011. Yuan Shan Station is also the "gateway" to Taipei Flora Expo. Maybe it was a weekend and it was crowded with people. I wonder if we should make a trip there.

The weather was also quite warm. There were little clouds and the sun shone brightly when there was no wind. We managed to find the free shuttle bus to The Grand Hotel to bring us there.

(Yuan Shan Hotel or The Grand Hotel)

This hotel really lives up to her name, so grand and posh. We wanted to have our lunch there - buffet lunch at NT770. After looking at this price, we thought we better give it a miss. On our way back to the hotel, we bought Japanese food to eat as lunch. I think the food was not too expensive; we each bought a bento at NT100. And we have bought the expensive types - with salmon. The cheaper ones in 7-11 can go as low as NT50 for a chinese style bento.

Though we were supposed to check in only after 3pm, we arrived such early and the hotel was kind enough to let us have our room as early as 1pm. We had quite a good lunch in our room.

I reminded Isa not to come here to eat Japanese food despite cheaper than Singapore. J already found a stall serving beef noodles and we have decided to have it as dinner.

We took a short nap in the afternoon. We were so sleepy and tired after the early hour's flight. We are here for a hol and not for a training. So we don't have to be harsh to ourselves.

We woke up nearly 5pm. We walked to the Taipei Main Station. In the morning around 7-8am, the place was quiet. In the late afternoon, it was such crowded that police were deployed to control the crowd. Opposite this Station, there are shopping malls. This Station has a subway, train and high speed rail. It is probably similar to Tokyo's Station.

We returned to that beef noodle shop. It was quite crowded. The prices for a big bowl of noodles (like udon) and slices of beef cost NT60 to NT66. We ordered 2 normal bowls plus a small bowl at a cost of NT176. A mistake AGAIN ! We made a similar mistake when we were in ShinOsaka station. During that time, we were such hungry and guess that we would gobbled up the noodles. We were wrong as both Isa and I could not swallow much the Japanese noodles at all. This time, I managed to finish half a bowl while telling myself that it was just normal thin noodles back home. J has to eat almost 2.5 bowls of the beef noodles. He said he might dream of the beef noodles during the night.

We walked past our hotel to go to Ximending. Yes, this is a place which is very crowded with mainly youngsters. We found the famous duck meat shop as recommended in one of the guide books. We bought a taiwanese bento at NT50 and a bottle of barley tea at NT17. I needed the rice before I could sleep. The temperature has dropped to about 18C, which was quite comfortable. The sun sets around 5pm. I recalled by 5pm, Japan was already totally dark but here, it was like 6-7pm back home. However, by 7pm here, it was totally dark.

There is plenty of food in Ximending. We guess we would be spoilt of choices of food available during our stay in Taipei.

We bought the store value card with a deposit NT100. This card works similarly like our ezlink card. However, the fare for a child is the same as that of an adult. I really wonder if it is better to buy an adult version (NT500) for Isa instead of her current concessionary type (NT300).

We were back to our hotel before 8pm. Isa was tired and preferred to remain in the room to watch her cartoon. This trip would be one of the most memorable one for her.

We have already informed D to call us once they were in the taxi from the airport to the hotel. I hope they would have no prob in sharing this room with us for a night.

Matterhorn (Zermatt), Switzerland

Western Europe faces heavy snowfall.
Source: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html

December 2010 arrives

Finally the last month of 2010 has arrived. This month should be a short working month for me as I have about 2 weeks of leave to clear - to be spent in Taiwan.

For the first few days of December, I will be returning to my previous office to work. I always love to return to this office because it is small and cosy. I see more animals, trees, insects etc than human beings. So a lot of time will be spent catching up with colleagues working there besides the usual routine work.

After the Taiwan trip, I will still return to this office to complete a few more tasks before I look forward to Christmas and then New Year Celebrations. With the christmas eve and new year's eve falling on a Friday, this means a longer weekend for festive seasons.

Hammy's maze

My Hammy is Exercising!

Hammy has a good life

As a natural instinct, Hammy spends most of his time sleeping in his home. Books say a hamster is usually wide awake to look for food during the evening, my Hammy does not behave in this manner. He sleeps anytime and anywhere he likes.

Isa tries to play with him after our dinner. She helps him onto the running wheel and he tries to run. Maybe because he is quite fat, he does not exercise a lot.

Hammy's favourite food is not the dried sunflower seeds but fresh green leafy vegetables. He has 2 food bowls but only one is used at anytime. One is filled with the dried hamster food and the other green leaves and slices of carrot. He can eat up to 2 or even 3 medium size green vegetable leaves and 3 slices of carrot daily. I can see his eagerness on this fresh food whenever I put this bowl inside his cage. He will start dashing towards his bowl and start grabbing the food to eat. I am unsure his love for green vegetables is alright.

After his stomach is filled, he will spend quite some time cleaning his paws and grooming his body before he naps. During the day, he will start digging under his slide and make a mess on his bed linen. I take this as he is exercising.

So far, I have yet to hold him. Only Isa carries and plays with him. I am quite afraid of this creature.

Now I have an additional task, I have to ensure the fridge has green vegetables for Hammy. Hammy has a real good life!

Rosyth boy tops PSLE

ALEX Tan Kian Hye of Rosyth School is the top Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) pupil this year with a score of 282.

Fu Wan Ying from Tao Nan School had the second highest score of 279.

The top Malay pupil is Aquilah Dariah Mohd Zulkarnain, of Coral Primary School who scored 278, while the top Indian pupil is Muhammad Hameem, of Henry Park Primary School with a score of 274, and the top Eurasian pupil is Lendermann Monika Jiz-xin, of CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace, with a 269 score.

A total of 45,049 Primary 6 pupils sat for the PSLE this year. Of these, 43,826 pupils, or 97.3 per cent, can go on to secondary school.

Among the others, 63 per cent are eligible for the Express course, 22.1 per cent for the Normal (Academic) and 11.7 per cent for the Normal (Technical) course.

There are 1,223 pupils or 2.7 per cent who did not qualify for secondary school. These pupils can choose to apply to Assumption Pathway School (APS) or NorthLight School (NLS) based on recommendations of their primary school principals, or spend another year in Primary 6 to consolidate their learning.

(source: www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_607195.html)

Work Schedule

Finally I have finished writing my meeting report and ready to submit next week before the deadline. Going for overseas working trips is fine but writing the meeting or training report is not. This has been bothering me before I started the trip and finally I have gotten it out.

The tasks due to the regulatory section are mostly done before the deadline imposed. I got a nasty comment: those that you have submitted are not the urgent cases. So I replied that I settled them as they were easier to handle.

The minutes for the meeting was submitted up for clearance after the vetting. The comments from vetting officers were not nice too. I took it positively, afterall it was my first time being a secretary. I have also started arranging for the next meeting in Dec.

My teaching courses have been scheduled to be in Feb and Mar 2011. There will be one in Apr but unsure how this particular course will work out as there is still some fine tuning on the content.

For personnal development, I have indicated interest in 2 courses which one of them will be conducted in late Jan. The financial year is closing soon. All staff are checking if they meet the minimun number of training hours. So far, there is no problem for all staff to meet 40 hours of training per year.

December Holidays Part 3

D finally gave us the itinerary as he would be leaving for a trip to Vietnam soon.

Day 1: Singapore to Taipei.

Day 2: Taipei city tour on Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 and National Palace Museum.

Day 3: Yehliu National Park and Jiufen.

Day 4: Window on China Themepark.

Day 5: Wulai Aboriginal Village.

Day 6: Taroko Gorge.

Day 7: Taipei International Floral Expo, Shilin Night Market.

Days 8 & 9: Free & Easy

Day 10: Taipei to Singapore.

During the free days, we are unsure if we want to make a trip to Alisan and Sun Moon Lake.

Colosseum

J went to Rome for a conference.

Marina Bay Sands

Today's Course

Today's course conducted should be the last course for this year. Instead of a happy ending, I had one of the most challenging moments.

The class size was as big as 38 though the usual class size I handled was about 20+. Out of the 38 participants, close to 28 are teachers who know much more than me. I saw the name-list only a couple of days ago and I felt stressed because teachers are well-known to be critical and precise. They demand more else it is a waste of their time.

At the end of this course, the evaluation forms contained more complaints than praises. I admit that I did not know the topics very well even though I have studied very hard beforehand. I admit that I was already very tensed knowing that the teachers have very high expectations on me.

Should I continue conducting this course? Should I revamp the course materials so that I can cover more on areas which I am confident in and leave the less confident areas alone? Where can I find time to revamp this course?

Hammy likes grooming

Hammy pees and poos a lot. He is growing fatter too.

So I decided to leave the bowl of hamster mix dried food only twice a day in the cage. For the rest of the day, he has unlimited supply of water and a bowl of green leafy.

Books said hamsters are noctunal mini mammals. Mine sleeps a lot during the evening too. There was a night when I woke up at 2am+. I was curious and switched on the light to take a peep at Hammy. He was sleeping but the light has woken him up. The rest of the hours was terrible as he was wide awake and he was busy digging and scratching his cage. So a lesson learnt: not to wake a hamster up during the night.

Does he sleep a lot during the day? Today I am at home and can monitor Hammy closely. He takes short naps. He eats the vegetables left in his bowl. He spends a lot of time grooming himself. He washes his paws and other parts of his body. He digs into his bed linen. He pulls the paper on the tray of his cage. He carries the shreds of paper into his home and even his sand toilet. He helps to shred the paper. He is busy doing all sorts of hammie things.

The cat litter bought seems ok in absorbing the strong odour of his urine. To say that I smell nothing is a lie. It is just that the smell is not that strong and unbearable. Maybe we can afford to change and clean the cage once in 2 weeks.

My "new" family member, Hammy

After months of begging, I finally gave in to Isa's request - keep a hamster.

A mum kiddo was such kind to give me a hamster with all the necessary accessories to start. Isa could not wait to get it and Hammy arrived the next day when I returned from Jakarta.

It is a funny hamster. It does not like or know how to run on an exercise wheel. We put it on the wheel. It prefers to sleep under the wheel. It is a hoarder - typical characteristic of a hamster. We saw little bits of food in his nest. Kiddo mentioned some hamsters can be toilet-trained ie they will pee and poo at a certain place, but not our Hammy. So we let him does his business anywhere or everywhere he likes.

We bought Breeder Select (cat litter) for his bedding. He likes to dig around and so we have to put quite a lot of this recycled paper pellets.

Photos from Indonesia Part 2

A short trip to the Safari Park.

Photos from Indonesia Part 1

The serene surrounding of this venue.
The room is clean and spacious; very comfortable for a single guest to stay.

Indonesia Day 6

I have reached the last day of this event!

I am getting old, staying up late and waking up early is not sustainable for many days and I finally slept early last night.

Today, the breakfast was different as compared to the previous days. Porridge, shredded chicken, hard-boiled egg etc were served. Freshly made scrambled eggs were still available and I have always been the first few to arrive to have my breakfast.

Looking back, this meeting was real compact - a lot of info was stuffed down our throats, a lot of issues were raised for further discussion and examination, a lot of challenges to be faced in this near future, especially from the increasing demands from the government and the public, a lot of work to be done back "home"!

This event has served as a platform for representatives from all over the world to meet and interact, to develop rapport for future collaborations, to share our concerns in this profession etc. Finding replacement for us is a universal problem; most representatives present are quite "senior" and we all agreed an urgent need to find and train younger generations to keep this profession going.

The Closely Ceremony was done in a hase as PR of Indonesia was unable to attend due to work committment; Indonesia has just suffered twin disasters whick took away more than 400 lives. Dr Alexandar didn't appear too, so I was glad to have a photo with him on Monday.

By noon, the venue appeared empty and many participants either busy packing their luggages or went to the Botantical Garden which was arranged at the last minute.

Time to return home to start working! I will try to see the participants again four years later and hope that by then, I can accomplish some tasks mentioned during this event.

Indonesia Day 5

Attending this international meeting is even more stressful and tiring than working back home. I wake up early and sleep late, so that I have chance to clear office emails.

I managed to send internet sms to Isa before she leaves home for her chinese exam.

Nothing new for breakfast except fried rice instead of white rice. I was the first one to enter the dining hall. I placed my order for the scrambled egg. Shortly, Claudia from Argentina arrived. People are going for breakfast earlier, so that they can avoid the long queue for the scrambled egg.

I will be meeting Shakeer before the meeting starts at 9am, to discuss how my office can contribute in one way or another to this international community. I really pray hard that after this meeting, some actions can be done so that we can start gaining a little foot in this community.

Participants are already discussing what to do on Fri afternoon after the Closing Ceremony as many would only return to their home on Sat. I am unsure if I would be following some to go to Jakarta to visit the Main Office of our Indonesian counterparts. It is a long journey, to and fro, would probably takes about 5 to 6 hours. So some suggested to book a hotel in Jakarta to spend the night but many have also paid their bills here.

Worst comes to worst, I will remain at this place to sleep until Sat.

Thur is almost over and I was so glad and relieved that my preferences of Working Groups have been met. In the morning, I attended my second choice and in the afternoon, I attended my first choice.

During the 2 rounds of discussions, many participants shared their experiences and challenges faced. We agreed that we would work closer together to sort problems out.

Rain came in the afternoon. Though today's meeting ended earlier, I could not return to my room as it was raining heavily. I decided to stay behind to do my work.

The inhouse movie started at 6.30pm. It was an old movie and half way watching, I felt unwell. I left and went to the dining area to wait for the rest.

Today's dinner was special because the meeting will ends tomorrow afternoon. Some participants would be leaving tomorrow night. The organiser has allowed 6 hours for the travelling to the airport. OMG, just to ensure we will not be affected by the jam?

I made my decision that I would stayput here instead of going to Jakarta tomorrow afternoon. A night in the hotel costs USD 95 but here is only USD 40 inclusive of meals. Even if there is nothing much to do in the afternoon, I can continue finding some people to talk to or even surf internet to kill my time.

Indonesia Day 4

Two big events happening in Indonesia: On 25 Oct 2010, Mount Merapi erupted thrice and killed 13 people and a magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred in the Mentawai Islands area west of Padang on Sumatra, which triggered a 3m high tsunami killing 113 people and hundreds still missing.

On 27 Oct 2010, the newspaper mentioned that 300 people were killed in the twin disasters.

Today was a short working day as we had an excursion. Four coaches left for Safari Park located not very far from here. Heleen from the Netherlands didnt attend as she was not feeling well. Winifred from South Africa said she has a stomach upset. I think the non-Asians are having a tought time to accept the food - eating rice every meal including breakfast!

The Safari Park is much bigger than our Night Safari. There are more animals here too. Once in this Park, zebras greeted us. They are free to wander in their area. We saw tapirs, bears, elephants, rhinos, hippos etc. When we entered the Dangerous Animals' Zone, Shakeer asked who wanted to get off the coach. All laughed as nobody wanted to try to be brave in front of so many lions staring at us. The male lions with their mane look huge & terrifying.

Rain started the moment we left for this Park. Luckily we were in the coach which did not require us to walk around - who dares to walk around in the lion's den? Many animals were hiding in their shelter.

We returned around 6.30pm, just nice for a warm dinner before returning to rest. The internet connection was down again. It was back only after 10pm (ie 11pm spore time) and Isa has slept. I have no choice but to spend another 75 cents to send an sms to her from my hp.

I have indicated my preference for the Working Group that I wish to attend. Tomorrow (thur) will be another tough day with Working Group sessions being conducted.

Indonesia Day 3

I didn't sleep well AGAIN despite I worked till past midnight this morning. A lot of issues, matters and problems raised during the meeting. Participants are supposed to come up with suggestions or recommendations.

I called Isa before she left for her school. That extremely short call using my mobile didn't come cheap too.

Heavy showers and thunderstorms affected this venue in the afternoon since I arrived. Besides listening to presentations, I took the chance to listen to the rain splashing on the window panes too.

Claudia from Argentina did an impressive presentation. Her main language is spanish but her slides for presentation are in English. As she looked at her slides, she spoke in spanish. Non-speaking spanish participants have to rely on the translation. Another gentleman from Russia did a similar thing except he spoke Russian.

The lunch break and 2 coffee breaks are getting shorter because everybody is spending their time on networking, exchanging ideas & challenges faced, views regarding the presentations, proposing solutions or recommendations in small groups etc.

Latin American countries and northern European countries are doing very well as compared to us in the southeast Asian. They set up a working group among their community to share their training programmes, training resources etc. I think why this is not happening to southeast Asian, in particular Asean countries?

After the second coffee break, we broke up into smaller groups to discuss on the draft documentations before they will be finalised. As usual, more problems were raised and the discussion got even more lengthy and mind-draining.

The session ended at 5pm but it was raining heavily that we could not return to our rooms. So we stayed behind for more discussions.

The dinner served today was surprisingly appetising to me. Maybe because I didn't have a good lunch as I was in a hurry to finish it before talking to Dr Timothy on the products and resources he has developed. I was amazed by what he could offer. The most important is FOC and am pretty sure my office will take up his offer.

Dinner was white rice, minced beef, veg & fried chicken. There was no soup but fu yong egg offered. I think this dinner was even better than yesterday's official dinner. There was a band playing music in the dining area. As usual, once I finished my meal, I left to return to my room.

With so much info and materials, I do not know how to start writing my training report.

Indonesia Day 2

Indonesia is GMT + 7. At 5.30am (ie 6.30am back home), the sun is already up and finally I decided to wake up. I was not able to sleep well; waking up almost every hour, probably due to a new environment. More people checked into this hostel and the noises from the minibus kept waking me up.

I had a stroll outside around 6am. The sky was brightly lit and the air was cool. I met a guy from Trinidad and Tobago. He spoke fluent English and we had a short chat.

At 6.30am, breakfast was served at the same dining area. I recognised Hong from China. She was chatting happily from somebody from Argentina and South Africa. The breakfast served was real simple: white bread with freshly prepared omelette, white rice, a soup which tasted like french onion soup, coffee or tea. In the end, I took white rice to go with the omelette, soup and coffee. The queue for the omelette was long and by the time I got it, my soup and coffee have turned cold.

I saw an African lady dressed in her traditional costume. Is she here for a costume parade? We are having a big meeting here!

The internet connection in the room is not working fine. Since this morning at 5.30am, I was unable to get connected until I complained to the staff.

The opening ceremony started at 9am. As usual, the opening speeches were given by a few VIPs and then followed by a group photo taking. The group was huge and it was difficult to get everybody in the picture. I saw Dr Alexandar and it was my first time meeting him. I took some courage to approach him and took a photo with him, so that I can boast in front of my colleagues!

During the coffee break, I asked the south african counterparts about danie. I was shocked to know that he had passed away about a year ago. Danie used to send me a handmade xmas card each year without fail since we knew each other in year 1997. Last year, he didnt send me and I thought it was funny. I sent a few emails to him but were all returned. I thought he left this line which was possible as he was single and had no family committment.

The lunch was no better and I found the food rather salty. Ok, I am very fussy about food. I got to talk to Chris from NZ and he knew some of my colleagues. Of course I took the chance to learn more from him. Though the lunch break was about 1.5hr, time semed to fly and before we knew, it was time to return to the meeting room.

Again, more rounds of presentations, discussions and followed by Q&A from the floor.

More doubts and questions were raised during the discussions and the chairman has to quickly direct the audience back to the original topics meant for discussion. Soon it was time to leave for an official dinner organised by the host.

It was a buffet dinner and there was a live band performing music using bamboo. We were each given a bamboo musical instrument as a souvenir.

After the dinner, it was dance. I was looking at the clock and knew Isa was expecting my sms soon. I could not return earlier as the dinner dragged until about 9.30pm (ie 10.30pm singapore time). The finale was all participants holding each other's hands and sang the song "That's What Friends are For".

Yes, through formal and informal discussions, we got to know each other better. And with working groups being set up based on each preference and priority, we will have more chances to learn from each other.

I hope at the end of this meeting, some policies and documentations can be made and accepted by many countries and we will follow the guidelines and principles from these documents to implement plans in our country.

Indonesia Day 1

I knew about this trip since early Aug. I had an internal struggle; this period was Isa's year-end exam and this symposium was very important to my career. I was praying hard that the dates changed and thus I could attend with ease. But since it is an international symposium, the organiser has long FIXED the dates.

Finally I embarked on this lone working trip again at this sensitive period. I have never been to any working trip with my colleagues and this one is no exceptional.

The plane was full and the departure gate opened quite early. I was hoping for a punctual arrival time as Wilma from Costa Rica, Leung from HK, Edmond from Russia and others were waiting for me at the arrival hall of Jakarta airport.

The plane left late due to some baggages' problem. As a result, the arrival time was delayed. As agreed, Martin met me near the immigration counter and I was relieved to see him. The queues at the immigration was long and I took almost an hour to clear. After collecting my luggage, I still have to queue to have my belongings scanned before I could leave the airport. By then, Martin was nowhere to be found.

The moment I stepped out, people asking whether I want hotel or taxi etc. I panicked a bit, I saw no sign of Martin and Wilma. Martin forgot to tell me the meeting place! I have no choice but to remain near the exit and hope to see Martin or Wilma. Else I have to start making a call to the organiser.

Not long, Martin appeared again and he said he was looking frantically for me too. He told me Wilma and Leung were already waiting at the coffee stall. We were glad to meet each other. Wilma has a real long flight; from Costa Rica to Los Angeles to HK and then finally Jakarta. In fact Wilma and Leung were on the same flight.

From the airport, it would be a 2.5 hours' drive which I detest most. During the firt half of the journey, the traffic was smooth on the expressways. During the second half when we passed through the villages before heading to our destination, the roads became narrow; squeezed between houses. The roads or lanes were so narrow that I thought they were single-laned but traffic from opposite direction came. I think the driving skill of the drivers must be number one.

Along these roads, we chat happily. The feeling was funny, we are from the same profession though different parts of the world. We speak the "same language".

I saw countless adults and kids helped to "direct" the busy traffic

The room in this hostel is simple. Or should I opt to stay in a hotel but quite a distance away?

Anyway, I am not staying here for good. As long as it is safe and reasonably clean, I cannot expect too much. Afterall it is USD 40 per night inclusive of 3 meals and 2 coffee-breaks.

The dinner was real simple; white rice, fried chicken, fried fish fillet but with bones, stir-fry veg and a soup made of sweet corn & egg.

The room and dinner were pale in comparison with the working trip in Beijing last Nov.

During dinner, I knew nobody or nobody approached to talk to me. When I was on my way back to my room, another group of participants arrived.

I hope to have a good start tomorrow.

December Holidays Part 2

D has booked a room for us but in the same hotel throughout our stay in Taiwan. This is real funny; aren't we be moving around and tour different parts of Taiwan, instead of spending more than a week in just Taipei? Anyway, the hotel e-voucher is ready for printing and I assumed payment and thus confirmation has been made by D.

Isa should be longing to break away from textbooks, revision papers and assessment books. I have always longed for a relaxing holiday to break away from office work. But I will be bringing my laptop for this trip. Am I asking for troubles? It is convenient to have a laptop with me to remain ... (what?) We need it to do our e-check in before departure. We can use it to send internet sms and we save a lot on the phone bills. We can use it to read our local news when we are overseas. We... (all sorts of crap!)

I will start reading some guide books on Taipei after Nov has started as I still have quite a lot of office work to settle. Maybe I can ask Isa to look into this area since we will have a day on our own before D's family arrives. Of course, this can only be done after her year-end exam.

December Holidays Part 1

My last holiday to Japan was in Dec 2009. I started planning this trip as early as Sep 2009. This Sep, I did nothing except work.

D has been pressing me to go either Korea or Taiwan on our own for this Dec holidays. But I have been to Korea twice and looking at the prices of air tickets, I turned down the offer.

D finally decided to go Taiwan and surprisingly when I mentioned to my "finance minister", J, he thought was a great idea to spend our year-end hols in Taiwan. The problem is where to get reasonably priced air tickets. D suggested getting tickets from CPA but have to transit at HK. The price for an adult air ticket is about $660+, slightly cheaper for a kid. J immediately checked his KrisFlyer Miles and found that he has sufficient miles for 3 persons but on the Saver type which means seats are really limited or possibly not available during the peak period in Dec.

Nevertheless, we decided to try our luck, noting that using this Miles to redeem air tickets is not really FOC as we still have to pay for the various taxes plus the fuel surcharges, which amount to nearly $800 for the whole family.

The next early morning, J received an sms from SIA and our outbound trip was confirmed! What a swift response and this no doubt increases our confidence in making this Taiwan trip possible.

I called SIA Contact Centre and was told since we were on the priority wait list (there are priorities in the wait list ???), our chance of getting the return leg was high.

After a day, I called again to ask about the status of our booking, only to be told that our chances of getting the return leg was slim. What a joke and confusion? I asked immediately when (date and time of departure)and how to increase our chance of securing our return leg. The kind staff advised me and I immediately agreed to the date and time of departure.

Money is leaving my bank account to SIA and the e-tickets are on their way to me. I have secured the air tickets to Taipei and we are travelling by SIA!

Now the burden falls on D to do the planning of our week's stay in Taiwan.

Stay tuned for further updates.

Course evaluation summary

I started conducting courses in July. The first course evaluation summary was finally ready. The scores and comments given by the participants have been very encouraging. This no doubt is a good reward for all my effort and time spent to prepare the course materials.

Just when I wanted to explore further this teaching route, my boss has asked me to look into another aspect of my job - a "checker". I told her "point-blank" that I will look into this new aspect (I can't say no since I am still drawing a salary) but I will not give up my current teaching "post". I do not know how these two posts can run concurrently as teaching requires me to be away from the office on average a few days per month. Being a checker, I am supposed to conduct random checks on the work done by staff, ensure KPIs met, think of ways to improve efficiency and productivity, foresee possibilities of failing to meet KPIs, monitor regular reports submitted on KPIs etc.

Alas, what is all these nonsense about?

I can only continue to press on until I call it a day.

Himawari Restaurant

J's sister who works in MBS, has been promoted. She decided to give the whole family a treat. A lunch appointment was made at Himawari Restaurant located opposite PSA building.

The restaurant offers ala carte buffet. Since we arrived quite late, we decided not to have the buffet but a set meal. As usual, Isa is keen in cha soba but since only soba is available, she has no choice but to try soba.

I ordered Gindara teriyaki set whic consisted of fish, rice etc. To ensure Isa has an option in case she did not like the soba, J ordered oyako don.

The meal was taken in a cosy environment.

I am growing fat!

I know my weight has beeen increasing steadily. I thought by keeping myself busy with work, I could keep my weight under control. I tried to brisk walk in the big office to shed any unnecessary fats. I tried to delay my meal during lunch and eat mainly vegetables.

But all these have failed!

Today, after a heavy lunch at Mushroom Pot at OG Plaza, we went to shop for some clothes. Yes, the Mushroom Pot has its 1 to 1 offer and it is really too good to miss. D suggested to have a lunch there and all together, we have ten members of family, eating at a big round table to enjoy our lunch.

By the end of the lunch, I was such full that I simply wanted to find a place to hibernate instead of walking to Isetan to look for my clothes. Nevertheless, I pressed on and walked all the way from OG Plaza to Isetan located near ION Orchard.

I desperately need some presentable blouses. My blouses are becoming old after several washing and I need to look presentable when I conduct a course or give a presentation. I need to go for size L instead of the usual size M. This is one of the signs that I hate - putting on weight!

I want to look for a dress meant for the official dinner to be held around middle of this month. This is the first official dinner for this year and I really look forward to attend because of the delicious buffet spread offered by the host. J picked a dress and I asked the cheerful salesgirl if there was a size L for this dress. The salesgirl looked at my waist and then the dress. She suggested me to take size XL. Ok, another sign that I hate but nevertheless, I took her advice and walked straight to the fitting room to try this dress of size XL.

OMG, after putting on this beautiful dress, I looked like a rice dumpling, so tight fitting that the dress seemed to burst any moment!

I dont know whether to laugh or cry seeing myself in the full length mirror.

No more beautiful dresses for me. I tried some loose tighting blouses and they looked ok on me (look, it is not I look ok with them!) I asked the salesgirl to get other colours but of the same design for me. Without even trying, I headed to the cashier, paid and left Isetan in a hurry. I simply do not want to embarrass myself any further.

Well, at least now I have 4 new blouses in my wardrobe after parting $160 from my wallet.

Creative Vegetables

Making a R turn

As usual, I have to send Isa to school before going to work at M*. I was on my way home. I need to make a right turn and I always remind myself to be extra careful before doing so.

There are no oncoming cars and I checked the lane is cleared though it is round a bend.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, appeared a black racing car coming towards me!

I have already started moving and the ONLY way is to continue making my turn and pray hard that the oncoming car would slow down.

I did not know if he/she has slowed down slightly to avoid a crash but my heart nearly jumped out, seeing it speeding towards me!

I was greatly relieved that I am still one piece! My heart was still pumping very fast when I reached home.

I remind myself to be extra, extra careful when making a Right Turn.

Mid Autumn Festival

Today is mid autumn festival.

It is quite a big festival in Korea and my Korean friend, Kwon, has returned to his hometown with his family for a short break from work.

I have eaten quite a few snow-skin mooncakes. This year, Isa fell in love with mooncakes. She follows my preference and likes snow-skin type more than the traditional ones.

My work in M* is coming to an end soon. The lunch and dinner provided have been wonderful. Each day, besides rice with various meat and vegetables plus soup, one can also choose to have cooked on the spot food such as hokkien mee or roti prata with curry or even fishball noodles. For me, all meals have been rice! After a heavy meal, I eat a banana after each meal too.

The afternoon brief was getting easier for me after I have tried once. Nevertheless, I will not have many chances to brief after my stay in M* ends.

Year-end holidays

Last year around this time, I bought air tickets to Tokyo. Each ticket cost as low as $399 nett by Malaysia Airlines. This year, a similar ticket costs as much as $1000during the Dec period. The 7 days Japan Rail pass cost about $450. The total cost of a return air ticket and a rail pass was less than $900 per person. This year, $1000 merely bought me a return air ticket. So my dream of going to Japan this year-end was gone.

I started looking for reasonably priced air tickets to Taiwan, Beijing and even Hong Kong. Last year, I went to Beijing on a working trip and had a wonderful experience with heavy snow. This year, why not go to Beijing with my loved ones. Again, I did not find any suitable air tickets. In fact, the news said that the prices of air tickets would continue to rise due to recovery of economy.

After a year of hard work, surely I deserve a good holiday? But where can I go?

Sandy in HK has been asking when I would come to HK. Yes, it has been quite some years since I went to HK and I miss the vegetarian meal at Lantau Island. But again, where can I find reasonably priced air tickets?

Second Week in M*

The first week of Term 4 was over in a blink of eyes. What have I done? I reached home almost 8pm. After a brief rest, it was about time to sleep.

The 3 days course conducted on 15 Sep at S* has been extremely challenging. The class size was big (more than 30 participants). The participants were eager to learn and thus they asked a lot of "intelligent" questions during the lesson. This has somehow made the learning atmosphere fun and interesting.

The buffet lunch served is still as wonderful as before. I particularly like the salad served and I could not help myself with an extra serving of the salad. The tea-break was still average. Anyway, I just want a cup of hot coffee to perk myself up in the morning.

My next trip to S* should be around March 2011 - about half a year later!

The working days in M* were hectic. First, the working environment was strange. So many people working a small enclosed space. Second, the food served was below average. The rice often runs out due to popular demand. I need rice to survive well.

I am determined to be the first few to reach the dining area to have my RICE served during the coming week.