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