On this day in history...

Today the history books will show that it was the first day of Punters last test. it was also the international test debut of Sir Donald Bradman (against England), It's also the last day before plain packaged cigarettes are mandatory, but November 30 is special to me for other reasons, 3 other reasons in fact.

• This would have been my Grandfathers birthday (fathers side). 
• This was the day my parents were married in 1974.
• Today is the birthday of my childhood best friend.

For today, I'll only elaborate on the first point. My fathers father has always been special to me. I was the first grandchild on both sides. He migrated to Australia in 1964 with his family and he could speak english, but it was not his first language. I was named after him, so carry a little piece of him wherever I go.

I remember how much he liked spending time with me when I was young. They would often babysit me when my parents were working. We would always have lunch at 12:00 PM on the dot, have a nap after lunch, then have an ice cream dessert  at 3:00 PM. I would wake up my grandfather at 3:01 PM if he was still sleeping and insist on the ice cream, the things we do in youth.

He passed away in 1990. He would be 96 if he was still with us today. All of these years later, he is still missed.

Being Certified

One day back at home and I'm straight back to work.

The main reason for my hastiness is that I have a work certification to prepare and sit for. I had originally planned to do the certification in October, so planned my holiday for November accordingly, however this was delayed to December. I thought of taking certification material to Singapore to help my preparation, but later decided that I didn't want it to spoil my holiday and thought better of it.

In my first day back, hidden among my hundreds of emails, I notice one that says that my certification is now pushed back to February. This is a great relief as I thought I was running out of time to prepare for it, and gives good reason as to why I didn't meet this years work objectives.

I am really not looking forward to this work certification. Firstly, it is only recognised in the company I am currently working for and only certifies for the role I am currently doing. Should I get promoted, I would need to get re-certified. I am in favour of technical certifications (I've already done a couple of those in the last 12 months and learnt a few things to help me in my job) but this particular one is based on processes and procedures and is basically a propaganda machine to turn me into a company advocate and a sales machine. Why I need documentation to prove that I can do the job I already do defies logic!


The main push for certification is that it will allow me to justify a CPI wage rise next year (and it is also one of my managers objectives to ensure that I am certified). Whilst I love my job, working for a large company has it's drawbacks.

Flyin' home

Took a red eye flight out of Changi airport. Flying out at 2am was hard work, particularly since I was on teh cusp of changing time zones. Had one screaming baby to deal with, but I was so tired that I managed a good 4 hour block of shut eye, and then another nap or two once I woke up. I don't think I have ever slept more on an 8-hour flight.

Arrived early afternoon (Sydney time) and did little more than unpack and recovery. My final reflections on Singapore -

• The humidity was tough at first, but you do get used to it. its also a good way to lose weight as I tended to eat less there.
• Food and clothes are cheap, however, I found most electronics to be on par with ebay prices. Food is generally fresher in Sydney - I had several good meals but not many great meals (this may have been as a result of not knowing where to go).
• Ice creams and Lassi's are great there.Had my fair share and then some. Also have lots of inexpensive juices there that help you deal with the humidity
• MTR is fantastic.- I found a few pics I took on the circle line (one of the emptier trains I took

Carriage view from the front

No driver! Front window looks straight onto tracks.

• I was there for 5 days. That is more than enough time to see Singapore. Wouldn't recommend staying longer unless you knew someone or has something specific to do
• WiFi hotspots were not as common as I expected. They were around, but you had to look for them.
• There was alot of camera security everywhere. I saw several platforms of 6 cameras pointing in all directions.
• November allows you to see the streets and shops line up with Christmas decorations I wish I'd taken pictures of Orchard Rd at night, but this was near my hotel

Christmas tree near Farrer Park

• The Casinos are horrible - if you want to gamble, go to Macau
• Our world is getting smaller - there were alot of Australian products and stores available in Singapore. I saw The Body Shop, Harvey Norman, Cadburys and Tim Tams (sure I saw more but none immediately come to mind)
• I enjoyed my tine in Singapore, however, cannot see me going back any time soon. Its a holiday that I'm glad I did but am in no hurry to go back

Last day in Singapore

I slept in a little bit after having a late night the day before. When I did wake, I went for a walk to nearby Little india and did some last minute souvenir shopping. Little India was all dressed up for a "Deepavali" festival that i had apparently just missed. I tried asking a few people what it was celebrating but did not get a good answer. I know it is something to do with the temple and is celebrated with flowers and firecrackers. yes, I could just do a search and research, but I much prefer using it as a trigger to converse with people and learn the old fashioned way.

Serangoon Rd, Little India

I then made it back to my hotel, packed my belongings and checked out at about 12:30pm. My flight wasn't due to depart until 2am the next day so i had a lot of time to kill. I went to a nearby food court and had a food dilemma. There was a big queue outside a prawn soup shop, and there was a Japanese place (which i was craving) but had no customers. No customers usually signals bad food for me, but the server was pregnant and I was a little sympathetic. The salmon meal looked impressive and was very filling, but was pretty oily and I regretted not having the prawn soup. To rub salt in the wounds, the people at my table had the prawn soup and were raving on about how good it was!

Japanese cooked salmon meal with Dragonfruit juice at Lavender Foodcourt

With alot of my day left, this was planned as a spare day, and I couldn't think of anything I really wanted to do. I went onto tripadvisor to see the "must do's in Singapore, and number 3 on the list was to ride the flight simulator at the Singapore Flyer. It took me way too long to find the Singapore flyer, in my ignorance, I had no idea that the big ferris wheel thingy that I kept seeing was called the "Singapore Flyer" and my map directions led me astray.

Singapore Flyer from the base.

I get there and it wasn't cheap - $215 SGD for 45 minutes. I have no flying experience but the cockpit is an authentic interior of a Boeing 737 with a 6000 megapixel screen. I watched a short training video and away I went! I flew from Macau to Hong Kong International to the old Hong Kong international (Kai Tak). The old airport was hard, you kinda had to fly into a red and white checkerboard onto the side of a mountain and turn a hard right, then drop quickly. It isn't a wonder as to why they closed it! I then did a loop around Sydney and my time is up. It was alot of fun, but it took a long time to get my head around all the controls and was a bit overwhelming at first. Still, would recommend it!

Boeing Flight Experience boarding pass

After a walk back through Raffles, I then had dinner, it was my opportunity to try the prawn soup and it was great!. I had a last minute Mango Lassi from Little India and picked up my bags and off to the airport.

Sentosa Island and Night Safari

After my failings at Marina Bay Sands, I was eager to get to Sentosa Island and try the Casino there. I had heard that the casino there had Texas Holdem I chose to take the MTR to Harborfront and do the boardwalk from there.

On a side note, let me interrupt to say how fantastic the MTR system is. Trains every 5 minutes, EZ link cards that only charge you for what you use, good intersecting stations and so easy to navigate your way around. I so wish we had a train system that good here. Same can be said for Hong Kong and the Gold coast (my 2 other most recent holidays). The only negative I have on it is that it starts to shut down at 11:30PM - way too early for a city that doesn't sleep!

Now, dear reader, the detail has not escaped me that I am very lousy at taking pictures and my entries are very verbose, however, this is something I intend to remedy. I did take a picture whilst on the boardwalk (albeit not a very good one).

My view from the Sentosa Island Boardwalk

From there I headed straight to the holdem tables, and whilst I lasted a little longer than I did at Marina Bay, the wait for a free seat was lenghty, the smoke from other players was still irritating and I still couldn't manage a decent win streak. I decided upon leaving that Singapore casinos were not for me.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the island. I found it rather over developed and aimed at a family audience, as such, did not appreciate it as much as other places in Singapore. I decided to boardwalk back to the MTR and went back to my hotel to freshen up.

I had just enough time to make the Night Safari. I had planned on doing this early on my trip, however, sleep had the better of me. I made it just in time for the last 2 shows, a fire breathing show and Creatures of the Night, then squeesed in the tram ride and went down a walking path. I really enjoyed myself, more than I was expecting. It was nice walking through a zoo at night. 

Now I know what you are thinking, I must have taken loads of pictures at the zoo. Well, no, I didn't take any. I was a little paranoid about setting off a flash and was enjoying my time too much to be compelled to take photos. One thing I am good at however is saving bits of paper, so here was my ticket

Night Safari ticket

I missed the last MTR so caught a cab back to my hotel and called stumps to a good day.

Chinatown, Clarke Quay and Marina Bay Sands

My next day in Singapore was a Sunday. I had planned to see a show at the Marina Bay Sands, however, due to me misreading the schedule, missed the show. Instead, I tried my luck on the Casino floor. The interesting thing about Singapore Casinos is that you need your passport to enter the building (I suspect that this is a government requirement).

Once in, I played a bit of three card poker, but could not catch a hand. I did a punt on the money wheel with similar luck so cut my losses and moved on.My preferred game, Texas Hold-em, was not on offer here. What I did notice about the Casino was that the odds offered were very crude. I don't know if the tax rate is higher, or if they are trying to make more profit to counter the reduced local revenue, but either way, I don't intend visiting that Casino again.

The other annoying thing about the casino was everyone was free to smoke at the tables, or wherever else they want. It made me very appreciative of Australia's anti smoking laws - it is practically illegal here to smoke in any indoor confined space.

I then caught the MTR to Chinatown and had a look around. It was like an oversized shopping centre with lots of small shops. I've been to a fair few Chinatowns around Australia, and this was the first I saw that was indoors. It was probably the dirtiest place I visited in Singapore and I tried to do some shopping, but couldnt find anything I liked.

A short walk north landed me aat Clarke Quay. This was a beautiful place, lots of good restaurants, lots of nice scenery. I regret not taking some pictures, but I'd love to visit this place again if I were to ever return to Singapore. Had another brilliant ice cream dessert from one of the outlets - It was in a cone but looked like the Eiffel Tower.

I then walked through City Hall and Bugis back to my hotel room in Lavender and appreciated one of the nicer nights I spent in Singapore.

Lunch with a friend

I was fortunate enough to meet up with a friend on day 3. We met at Somerset and walked up and down Orchard Rd before finally settling on an Italian restaurant. we then did a whole lot more walking, had a delayed Ice Cream dessert from Häagen-Dazs. This was my first dessert from Häagen-Dazs (and was a place I've wanted to try for years! I've seen them in Hong Kong and Macau but never in Australia!). It was a little bit rich, but worthwhile just the same.

I first met this friend a couple of years ago and we ahve kept an email channel open ever since. It was very rewarding spending time with her. She was the inspiration I needed to start this blog as in our long talks she mentioned her own blog, and she may have inspired me in other ways, but time will tell. It was a delight catching up with such an upbeat and energetic person who has an exceptionally god handle of her life. She helped me clear my head a little and our talk was invaluable.

We parted in the afternoon when she went off to watch a movie with her friends. I took the opportunity to walk from city hall, through Raffles and down a subway mall to the Marina Sands. The weather did it's best to spoil my plans, but persisted anyways as I did not want to waste a day in Singapore. This day was the best of my trip by far!

First days in Singapore

One of the first things I like to do when I go on holidays alone is go for a walk, get completely lost then try to find my way home. I take a map with me, but try not to ask for directions.

My walk on this occasion took me from my hotel in Lavender through to Bugis then Little India. I then adopted what I've always known as "The Method of Zen" (I think it myght be a Prachett reference). This is where if you have no idea where you are going, look for someone who you think is going to the same place you want to go and follow them. This led me into a food court. I was contemplating ordering food when I realised that the TV screens were refreshing with ward numbers - I had followed my way into a childrens and womens hospital! I was not going to have my first meal in Singapore in a hospital!!!

I quickly found another exit and ended up near the top of Moulmein Rd. There were a lot of fancy cars in the driveways and I think I stumbled on a road sign that said "Newton Circus". What could this be? A real circuis? a shopping centre? some other attraction? I followed my way down regardless and ended up at a roundabout. Rather anti-climactic so I kept making my way down to Orchard and Somerset. Had a fish soup at a Food Republic food court then caught the MTR back to my hotel. I was completely exhausted and slept for hours. Tried to go out again when I awoke, but it was raining and I didn't have it in me. Not the best walk I've done, but at least I've done it.

Gone Scootin'

I've just arrived back from a short trip to Singapore. While I intend to elaborate more on the trip in the next few entries, thought I'd share a bit about the flight up.

My departure flight was on 'Big Yella Fella" out of Sydney Airport. This was my first experience on a budget airline, so was a little bit unsure of what to expect. My plane was an hour and a half late on departure,

Experience for me was quite good. The biggest annoyance was the kid behid me who kept pulling back my headrest and disrupting any opportunity of me napping.

Managed to get to my hotel and check in just in time to have one night on the town on Orchard Rd, thoght didn't get up to anything too excited as was rather exhausted by that point.

Hello Cruel World, I'm Taking Over Now.

Wow, who would have thought it. I have just started a blog.

I've just arrived home from a holiday, I was able to catch up with a friend who was passionate about her blog. I managed to find it and thought it to be inspiring enough for me to commence one of my own. I don't know how far I will take this, or who I will communicate this blog to but I'm keen right now so am striking whilst the iron is hot.

I've long thought of blogging and have had similar failed attempts at trying to maintain a diary, however, I'm going through a strange phase of my life right now. I am a quite a private person and hope to share a little about who I am.

Who's a lucky boy?