Pushing the limits

Being busy is an understatement and I'm still planning for more. My best friend will soon be my organiser/calendar. Working as a planning supervisor is still the norm but it's the after-office hours activities that will be monitored and planned.

Coming to two years, my after-work activities have been going to school for my degree, assignments and occasional meet-ups. There are impromptu activities which were still manageable and not listed in the calendar. Even with all this, I still find it unfulfilling and could have done more productive activities.

So what fulfilling activities that I'm referring to? For starter, a personal enrichment activity. I need to cater back my workout regime to a norm without being stated in the calendar. A good 30mins to an hour of exercise, 3 times weekly is all I need to achieve. 

Another personal enrichment would be attaining more knowledge especially on religion. With my recent religious read, I'm building back the interest on my own religion that I've been neglecting. I'm going back to the bare basic to understanding my religion with the Muslim Convert Association of Singapore (MCAS). Why MCAS? It's the best place where the classes are in English and maybe I could find my better half there. It's a hopeful wish but attaining the knowledge is the priority.

Even with additional learning schedule, I still finding it lacking. I've always been wanting to earn based on freelancing but I wasn't able to centralise my talent. Since I've been studying non-stop, I will need to share what I've learnt. Hence I was thinking of providing tuition to 1-2 students in need for either Primary up to 'O' Level subjects. This would be the plan for 2015 so I am preparing myself with the current school syllabus and getting pointers from my tuition-experienced friends and relative. I will experiment on my little nephew first to prep him for his Primary 3 syllabus and gauge on my capabilities from there.

Reading back, think that is a lot to handle. I know my friends will say that I'm crazy yet supportive nonetheless. The plans are slowly in place and executing are in order, I am determined to proceed.

Magical Birthday



Second time, Yeah!

There seems to be a lot of second time for this birthday trip. Firstly, this is my second birthday trip to Hong Kong, second time I became a guide in 2014, second trip with a lady and second time I returned to Singapore via Airbus A380.

 

It was easier to plan this trip as my companion told me she will just follow me for the attractions and she will do the research for food. I had to give up on that as:
1) I admit I'm a fussy eater but I can eat almost anything (non-pork)
2) I tend to have improper meals when I'm overseas as I preload myself sustainable to last long for the day. Hence I tend to have 2 full meals a day when I'm overseas. Unless I find some snacks I'm salivating to try.

It was a 4 day trip and I've planned going to one of Hong Kong's 3 islands per day. Since our hotel is at Kowloon (Evergreen Hotel - second stay), we set out to start our exploration from Mongkok down to Tsim Sha Tsui (she never failed to laugh whenever I say Tsim Sha Tsui). I brought her to the Ladies Market and Temple Street market which was disappointing as compared to Taiwan's night market which she loves. I also managed to check out some toys and not surprising to exit with some bags. We walked towards TST from Mongkok and ended at the Avenue of Stars to catch the Symphony of Lights before we return to the hotel and knock out.

The second is actually my birthday. I wasn't expecting something special and there wasn't any. Fyuh! Well, it's the day I got treated like a kid again, in Disneyland. Initial planned for a quick trip up Ngong Ping but she was relunctant in waking up early so we forgo it but not Citygate for possible shopping. I left empty handed except for her, she managed to grab some stuffs. We then made our way to Disneyland around noon and it started to rain. Luckily we had each brought an umbrella so it was an ease getting around.

Ok, I was never a fan of theme parks and never will. It's not about the thrilling rides (which I told everyone I'm not into roller coaster) but more towards the queue. We visited Disneyland on Saturday which is partially our fault but that's my birthday. There were tons of tourist from mainland China and quite a handful of Indian national. We managed to take quite a number of rides with an average queue of 30 mins. The most exciting ride I took was the runaway cart which is a roller coaster ride without the loop. We spent a good halfday in Disneyland and ended with a bang by the fireworks. We returned to Kowloon where I went for a mandatory massage while she return to the hotel to freshen up.

The third day was spent visiting Hong Kong island. I've never took the ferry to Hong Kong before so we took the opportunity. Before boarding, we did a quick round along Canton Road. 

She never was into ferry rides but she still followed as how I followed her for her Disney rides. We ventured into IFC and moved up to Soho and made our way to the Peak tram station. The queue was horrendous and we decide to go the following morning instead. Hence we made our way to Causeway Bay. I never took the tram as well so I hopped into one and proceeded to Causeway Bay. Along the way, I did thought of visiting the Halal Dim Sum at a mosque canteen as initial planned but it was quite late and she had her share of dim sum. So we forgo and continued towards Causeway Bay for dinner instead.

As we failed to go up Peak the day before, we went on our last morning in Hong Kong. The only intention up at Victory Peak was to dine-in at Bubba Gump restaurant. She wasn't too keen on the view as she's acrophobic. After our quick lunch, we've returned to Tsim Sha Tsui to do our final shopping and kill time at Agnes B cafe. We made our way to the airport earlier than expected to continue shopping at the Disneyland Store.

I actually had a great time especially in Disneyland which my friends were worried about. They were worried as this was the third time being in Hong Kong and that I did not post any update in Facebook or Instagram like my other trips. The main reason was my iPhone camera had a glitch that wouldn't operate the camera function properly. Since I can't use the phone camera, I did not attain the local mobile data as I'm unable to take and post pictures from my phone. I ain't willing to be one of those that uses their iPad to snap photo. How horrendous is that?! I did managed to take photos with my Canon camera instead but there isn't much as I've been to HK a few times.

Check out the album for Hong Kong from Facebook.

CNY road trip

My family were planning a simple trip to Johor over the Chinese New Year weekend because Singapore is a dead island during that period. Since both my brother in-law and myself are not confident in driving on our own, we invited our uncle who frequently drive up Malaysia.

My aunt recommended to go further up to Malacca since it's a long weekend and after much consideration we agreed to it. This wasn't the first time I drove across the causeway but it'll was the first long drive. To those in the car, it was truly a thrilling ride with me behind the wheel. However, everyone fell asleep as we set off in the early morning around 3am just to beat the traffic congestion.

I had a great time driving up 300+km with a quick rest at the rest house and soon gave up the driving duties to my brother-in-law once we reach Malacca. He was practically driving throughout the whole period we were in Malacca on the first day.

With some help from my aunt and sister, we managed to check in early to our hotel, Mahkota Hotel Melaka. We got 2 seperate apartments for 3 families. After a quick rest, we ventured out for lunch and to Mahkota Parade for some shopping. The places were just stone throw away but we did the local way by driving around.

We returned back to the hotel by 2pm as everyone were tired. The kids however managed to plunge in the pool later in the day with my dad looking after them. I took the opportunity to join them as well to beat the heat.

I had my buddy/god-brother Hakimbo along and he decides to visit his aunt in the kampong nearby. Since no one had plans, I brought him to visit. I initially thought that it was an authentic zinc-rooftop kampong but it was more like the brick terraces. He did mentioned that he grew up there when he was smaller and there were photos to proof it.

We returned back to the hotel just in time for dinner. I handed the steering wheel back to my brother-in-law as I purposely left my spectacles in the room. I dare not drive at night without my glasses eventhough I can. Seafood dinner was awesome but overpriced due to the holidays and crowd. There were a lot of Singaporean Chinese returning to Malacca to visit their families. That was pretty much it for the day. It's more relaxing that way.

The day after, we checked out early and proceeded to our actual planned itenerary, grocery shopping. We stopped at Ion Jusco Melaka to do the groceries and made our way back to Singapore from there. I did request to visit Johor Premium Outlet. The establishment is similar to those Premium Outlet elsewhere and I did felt like I was in Japan or Korea during summer (thought I've never been there during summer).

The Malacca trip was a good short getaway for everyone especially my mum who will be undergoing therapy and operation. This would cheer her up. As for me, I'll be waiting for my birthday trip later this year.

Bangkok Shutdown

The capital of Thailand declared State of emergency on January 23, 13 days after it's shutdown due to the nation protest to remove the current government body. I flew into Bangkok on January 24. That was actually my second trip to Bangkok during their state of emergency.

I had planned and paid the Bangkok trip with my friends before I left for Japan. Ever since the start of the protest, we were being hopeful that the protest would be resolved by then but it got escalated instead. My friends whom will be travelling with their kids became very anxious of the situation. We did received updates of the situation from local acquaintance that everything was safe hence proceed with the trip.

We managed a good deal for both flights and hotel separately. We got a flight with Singapore Airline since it's cheaper than budget flights however our actual flight was cancelled and moved to a later flight. Thankfully, the return flight remained unchanged. 

We stayed at Centrepoint Pratunam, minutes away from my usual stay at Baiyoke Sky, due to their facilities that caters to the kids that we travelled with. They had an accommodating swimming pool and a playroom to keep the kids entertain just in case we were hotel-bound. We were then upgraded to a suite all thanks to a friend who was working there.

Everything was normal upon arrival to Bangkok and checking into the hotel. There weren't any sign of protest until we ventured towards Centralworld. The whole road was cordoned by the protesters but they allowed people including tourist to enter by foot. We knew to stay away from such places but it seems more like a concert. There were a stage at the road inter-junction and people supporting with whistles and clapper which was sold by the street side. There were tons of other merchandises and food peddlers. It sure seem like a concert going on.

With the road closed, it seems like the surrounding shopping mall were closed but got to know that they were closed early. Shops were having sales just to draw customers into the mall. I went fanatic but got turned down by them not having my size. 

Other than Centralworld, we stepped into Siam Paragon, Siam Centre and MBK which shared the same faith of being inaccessible by vehicle due to the road closures. 

We made our way to Chatuchak on Saturday and the place was operating per normal with the protest going on. 

It's a whole new experience traveling with kids especially with infants. Settling down and getting ready was longer, ensuring they are entertained and bashing the busy street with prams is a challenge. The only advantage is getting priority on flights and trains. I may still travel with kids but for now, I enjoy more solo trips. 

Pictures of the shenanigans. 

2014

2013 just passed by and I noticed that I did not post a resolution for 2013. Let's just reflect what happened in 2013.

1. Started my school journey for a Bachelor (Honors) in Aerospace System at UniSIM. Struggled with 2 subjects but managed to maintain a 2.5 GPA.
2. Traveled to Beijing China for New Year, Bali with Hakimbo for my birthday getaway and returned for a solo adventure in Japan for end of the year retreat.
3. Promoted to the next position and complete change to a new portfolio at work.
4. A disheartening news for a family member that the family is keeping strong about.
5. No hospital episodes but a bit too many medical issues.
6. Started seeing someone very regularly but not in a relationship yet.
7. Completed 5 games and 13 books.

I do hope for more better things to come in 2014 which will mostly based on hard work:

1. To achieve a 3.0 GPA by 2014
2. Travel plans are in order, Holiday with Kids in tow to Bangkok, with Her to Hong Kong on my Birthday and probably a long summer holiday to States.
3. A good time management plan to include exercise regime, school and studies, play games and reading, and spending time with the loved ones.
4. Moving up to the status in the relation.

I will also pray for the best for 2014 especially for a family member. We will stay strong for you like you did.