The Forbidden City

Day 10,683

2011-02-15T21:23:00.004+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Rose and home-cooked soup from my dearest 琳琳公主

Day 10,638

2011-01-01T01:50:00.020+08:00

Days 10,273-10,637: 365 days in summary, key points of the year...

Woo... Started off 2010 by flying along to France for a business trip, making it my 4th time taking the A380... It was awesome! Not the flight but the week spend in the snow in Lyon and Paris, especially the Paris sale!!!

If I could describe 2010, it would be "bungee jump"...

The first half of the year was terrific, just like going to the platform of a bungee jump, in anticipation for the ride of your life. But when you jump down, the tension of the bungee cords tied to your ankles pull you up just as gravity pull you towards the ground. This 'yo yo movement' should be how the second half of 2010 would be described... Well, at the end of the day, you won't remember much of the jump itself, but more of the process prior to jumping...

I finally started my saxophone lesson after putting it off for umpteen years and is now progressing at a snail's pace.

Again, no mountain climbing in the year, though I did travel to Haikou and Sanya in August for erm... 4 days. Very short trip but enjoyed myself tremendously. And it was my first time taking a budget airliner.

In addition, I gave my HTC Touch HD a G219 in October and officially turned to the Dark Side by getting an iPhone 4 FOC from Singtel. Should have insisted on a BB though....

My intention was to end off 2010 by taking a 2.5 weeks break in China; taking a 4 days train from Beijing to Lhasa and spending Christmas and a week in Tibet and EBC before returning to Beijing in the same manner, and finally moving north to Harbin for New Year. Everything was in place, except for a nod from the employers... Darn...

The consolation? Another free trip to France in January 2011...

Again, planned courses/ trips for the year:

Bangkok, Thailand (A promise made)
Cairo, Egypt (Another promise made)
Mount Rinjani
Rescue Diver

Day 10,614

2010-12-08T17:02:00.005+08:00

He who succeed, learns from others' experiences

and uses them to his own advantages.

He who fails contributes experiences to others

and don't learn fast enough.

Day 10,605

2010-11-29T01:12:00.002+08:00

Birthday present #01 from 军机大臣
K2 Moto 84 & Exo 8.1 Protection pads

Birthday present #02 from Bro
Calvin Klein be

Birthday present #03 from 老佛爷
Ang Pow

Birthday present #04 from my dearest 琳琳公主

AX Watch, Passport holder, Birthday card & Lychee Strawberry Cheesecake

Birthday present #05 from Vivi 兄
Alto saxophone ornament

Birthday present #06 from Smiley
GV voucher & notebook

Birthday present #07 from KK
Restaurant gift voucher

Day 10,579

2010-11-03T02:19:00.005+08:00

90% of the friction in life is caused by the wrong tone of voice,
especially in relationships.

- J. A. Holmes

Well, 95% for me...

Day 10,577 - Part II

2010-11-01T23:45:00.003+08:00

In D's words:

"The war has already ended when she is planning a holiday behind your back."

* There is no relation in this post to the one below...

Day 10,577

2010-11-01T14:52:00.002+08:00

When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.

Day 10,559

2010-10-14T01:04:00.002+08:00

To quote a friend,

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy, nothing easy is ever worthwhile"

~~~~~~

To achieve something you like, often you have to do something you don't like...

Someone who fails to plan, plans to fail.
And having no strategy is not a good strategy, so never just go with the flow...

Day 10,558

2010-10-13T01:39:00.001+08:00

有知觉的偷只铅笔和
没有知觉的偷只手表，
哪个比较严重?

Day 10,542

2010-09-27T12:04:00.002+08:00

Improving your life..

Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
Don't have negative thoughts of things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment
Don't over do; keep your limits
Don't take yourself so seriously; no one else does
Don't waste your precious energy on gossip
Dream more while you are awake
Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need..
Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner of his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present
No one is in charge of your happiness except you
Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
Smile and laugh more
You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree
Call your family often
Each day give something good to others
Forgive everyone for everything
Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6
Try to make at least three people smile each day
What other people think of you is none of your business
Your job will not take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.

Day 10,520

2010-09-05T01:31:00.001+08:00

Teacher's Day gift..

Day 10,512

2010-08-26T00:00:00.002+08:00

aka L-Day 207, presents Barbara Kruger, a juxtaposition of imagery and text:

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Your comfort is my silence), 1981.
Photograph, 142 x 101.5 cm. Daros Collection, Switzerland

Barbara Kruger - Untitled (Your Body is a Battleground), 1989

Day 10,503

2010-08-17T02:04:00.002+08:00

Day 10,496

2010-08-10T01:06:00.003+08:00

Recalled how we used to receive gifts in school during National Day?

Well, this is mine...

The surprise that wasn't really a surprise...

Day 10,486

2010-08-02T12:34:00.001+08:00

Office joke of the day

Day 10,485

2010-08-01T00:32:00.065+08:00

It had been a fast week...

Another colleague had just resign (or dismissed, depending on how you look at it) and will be flying back to his country tomorrow. I received a call from him earlier on and he expressed his gratitude to me over the phone. And it shocked me, cos I am not really close with him..

He had a criminal record back home and is deemed a "time bomb" by many colleagues. He never failed to hide his displeasures with his colleagues or superiors and had never say a kind word to anyone. Then it dawned on me that somehow or somewhere, I might have helped him before. Well, of course, during the 7mins of conversation, he did condemn his manager and erm. several others...

And so there I was, after the conversation, thinking over what he had said.
In today context of a fast-paced working environment, how many people really meant it when they said "Thank you" or "Sorry".. Was it a mere 'going through the motion' process to faciliate things? And how many people have taken others' kindness for weakness and have continue to exploit that?

Sad to say, I do know of people who are doing that and they do seems rather successful at first glance. Well, nevertheless, I do know that this colleague do meant what he had said...

Day 10, 463 - Part II

2010-07-10T04:10:00.002+08:00

己所不欲，勿施于人

己所不欲，勿施于人，出自《论语》and is something which I have always advocate. Since 1998 when I started being an officer in the Boys' Brigade, I had always strived to follow the OCS's motto "To Lead, To Excel, To Overcome". It was not easy intitially and I didn't even adhere to it. However, these values never left me and in a way, they became part of the reasons why I left the service after serving 10 years as an active officer.

Recent incidents in work and personal life made me did some serious reflections, which brought me back to this issue...

3 years ago, a new overseas colleague joined my company. As I was then in the operations department, he was deemed under my charge and would seek my advices on much stuff. Knowing that he is alone in Singapore and is the type of person who feels lonely easily and needs constant attention, we begin to be close friends and went out occasionally during the weekends. However, as the company expanded and employed more employees, new rules and regulations were set to instill discipline and fairness and at the same time, I was posted to another department. In addition, my part-time degree course started and I had lesser time for friends.

Mr. Colleague is a good worker and over this period of time, he got into a slightly supervisory appointment and begin to leads a team of workers. However, when problem arises, Mr. Colleague would fail to lead by example and would exhibits undesired working attitudes. He would not practise what he preached and yet demanded that others do so. In addition, he assumes things and choose to listen to what he wants to while filtering out the rest. For example, when I had no time for him due to my school projects, he would assume that I would not go out with him anymore as I had new friends in school, in particular, female friends...

--------------------------------------

In retrospect, I believe I had failed to stick to my values which I had strived to follow from the beginning. Recent incidents had caused me to make assumptions, which had led to undesirable consequences. Similarly, I had not really been practicing what I had been preaching to others. Comparing myself to Mr. Colleague, its seems to me that we are displaying similiar traits but in seemingly different situations. Like what Mr. Colleague had done to me, I had unwittingly created great stress and anxiety to people around me...

Day 10,463

2010-07-10T00:56:00.004+08:00

Chinese Parable of the Lost Axe by Lie Zi

A man who lost his axe suspected his neighbour's son of stealing it. To him, as he observed the boy, the way the lad walked, the expression on his face, the manner of his speech - in fact everything about his appearance and behaviour betrayed that he had stolen the axe.

Not long afterwards the man found his axe while digging in his cellar. When he saw his neighbour's son again, nothing about the boy's behaviour nor appearance seemed to suggest that he had stolen the axe.

--------------------------------------

Huang Fu and the Bottle of Wine Parable

Huang Fu was a very rich man who was deliberately tough on his farmhand, Hop. Huang Fu gave Hop a bottle and said, 'Buy me a bottle of wine.'

Hop, the poor farmhand enquired, 'How can I buy you wine with no money at all?'

Huang Fu replied disdainfully, 'Anyone can buy wine with money. It takes real skill to buy wine without money.'

Time elapsed and Hop eventually returned farmhand returned with the empty bottle. He handed the bottle to Huang Fu and murmured, 'Enjoy the wine, please.'

Staring at the empty bottle with some dismay, Huang asked, 'There is no wine, how can I enjoy this?'

Hop replied to Huang Fu, with a straight face, 'Anyone can enjoy wine if there is some. It takes real skill to enjoy wine when there is none.'

Huang Fu made a choking sound but was unable to utter a word.

Day 10,450

2010-06-27T01:04:00.002+08:00

I bump into one of the SIA pilots from my batch at the Tampines Mall cinema just now...

6 years ago, 10 of us got selected for the final interview for a chance to fly for the national carrier. I got booted out after clearing all the interviews but failing my Class 1 medical. And I learned today that all the 10 of us passed the final interview and only I failed to make the mark for the medical. Thats pretty sad...

And yah, he is flying for the main line as a 777 FO...

Day 10,446

2010-06-23T15:10:00.004+08:00

Day 10,431

2010-06-08T00:25:00.004+08:00

In a magical and perfect way, their differences seemed to complement each other...

Day 10,409

2010-05-17T02:46:00.002+08:00

Blind jealousy is a frequent corollary of passionate love...

------

Possessive love doesn't teach you to trust, it makes people insecure...
It's harmful...

Day 10,402

2010-05-10T01:02:00.000+08:00

98天的回忆。。。

Day 10,398

2010-05-06T01:20:00.001+08:00

Day 10,384

2010-04-22T14:14:00.002+08:00

Day 10,355

2010-03-24T21:43:00.005+08:00

Day 10,345

2010-03-14T03:24:00.008+08:00

Why Do We Hurt Those We Love Most..

You love each other but can’t manage to communicate without arguing, fighting and ending up exhausted, each one in his corner, trying to lick his wounds and thinking of how to protect one self against a new attack. And in spite of that…you love each other? How is this possible? Why do people hurt most those they love?

How come we can’t express our love? How come we are full of good intentions but when it comes to reality we find ourselves again shouting and blaming the other one. And then that monster of guilt jumps out of nowhere to our throat to strangle us once again.

How to stop this infernal behavior?

First let me explain why this happens.

We all need energy. We need energy to live and to survive. Energy comes in many forms : love, attention, interest, food, friendship, money, approval, recognition…

We all need this to feel good, to build our personality and to find our place in society.

But here it is : as long as we think this energy has to come from other human beings, we will get caught up in struggle. Because human energy is limited. We have to fight for it. Human energy doesn’t last. There isn’t enough of it. So we have to be the quickest, the smartest, the most beautiful one, to attract the attention from the other and to pull his energy.

If this doesn’t work, we try another strategy. We try to pull attention by negative behavior. Every child learns this very quickly in his early life : when he is playing quietly on the floor with his toys, mum goes on cooking dinner or talking with daddy. But as soon as the kid hurts his little sister or is playing “sick", mums hurries to give attention to him. She shouts maybe, she’s angry or worried, but no matter, all this is attention for the child! He learns very quickly which behavior gives him the greatest amount of attention and energy. When his mother or father looks at him, even angry, it still is energy coming his way! When they shout at him, they give him energy. Negative energy, alright, but it is better than no energy at all.

When we grow up, and start to date, we discover a very interesting phenomenon : when we fall in love, we receive a lot of energy (read : attention, interest, time, love etc.) for free. The other person gives us freely and abundantly a whole bunch of energy. We don’t even have to ask for it, we don’t need to apply any strategy to pick this energy, it’s all for free! We let go of our mechanism to pull the energy of others towards us. We loosen up. We “fall" in love. We almost literally fly. We are high! Everything seems to have more colour, is more vivid, we feel lighter, life seems easy, everything goes by itself, we have the feeling we love everybody and everything, even our grunchy boss! Nothing can hurt us, we feel safe and boosted with energy. But this is his or her energy! We are flying on someone else’s energy, and human energy is limited!

And that is exactly the problem! This stream of free energy begins to slow down, because the other one goes back to his business and activities he had before. Why? The body is not able to handle this amount of adrenaline for a long period of time, they say… but the real reason is we need to learn to pull our energy from somewhere else, not from a human being but from the source of energy itself.

So our lover gives us less free energy than before. We were used to this energy-flow and now we have to do it again by ourselves! Free energy is so much easier! We don’t have to do any effort to get it! And now we are getting less of this free energy, we don’t want to let this happen. At this moment our old childhood-system of capturing energy is triggered because of the scarcity of energy (there is an alarm inside us that says : “Danger! Lack of energy!") and the old mechanism to capture energy from others starts running in our head and in our behavior. The mechanism that worked when we were a child to get the energy of our parents, will be triggered by the lack of energy now. We do what we did as a child to get energy flowing our way.

We can do this by playing the victim (“Oh poor me, look at all that I do and nobody is grateful! Look how good I am and still life strikes me with disapproval, disease and misery! Oh oh oh!"). Or we get attention by being aggressive, shouting and trying to dominate the other one. A third mechanism is harassing the other one by asking too many questions and controlling him. A fourth system is playing silence, refusing contact, not to speak and not to react, so the other one will do whatever he can to get in contact with you again and this will give you his energy.

These systems will of course make the energy of the other one flowing your way. But what next? The other one is now low on energy and wants to get his energy back. So now his mechanism is triggered by his lack of energy. He will now use the system that assured him the energy of his parents when he was little, to get his energy back from you. He will either shout at you, either playing the poor one that didn’t deserve your treatment, either torture you with a bunch of questions, or refuse contact.

This explains why we hurt the ones we love. First reason is we want their energy, energy they gave once for free. We hurt our loved onces most because they gave us love and energy and attention for free in the beginning and now we have to do it on our own and we are angry and want get back to them. We think we are entitled to have their energy still for free and start our mechanism to get it. Second reason we hurt them most is because of convenience : they are always around, their energy is available so when we are low on energy we try to rip their energy off, and hurt them by doing that.

Stealing energy from another human being is hurting him.

What can we do about this? We should only be in contact with other people when we are sure to be already filled up with energy, so we won’t steal theirs. When we are full of energy, and conscious of what happens between people, we can give the other one energy instead of ripping him off. We should not meet each other when we are low on energy. It’s the responsibility of each and every person to generate energy by himself and not to depend on other people.

How to do that? By connecting to the energy that is always available. That is the energy of the Universe. The easiest way to connect to this energy is contemplate the beauty of a flower. You also can contemplate the beauty of an object or a person. You can listen to beautiful music, take a walk in nature, meditate, pray, dance, paint, read positive texts, work on your mission on earth, love your cat or dog, anything that gives you energy.

Make a list of every activity and behavior that increases your energy level. As soon as you feel you’re in a conflict with your partner, boss, child, parent or whoever, do something to get yourself together and raise your energy. Don’t say anything until your energy-level is again high enough to be able to send energy to the other one. By sending energy, you are sure not to steal energy from the other one. This is an act of love. If you are not able to get your energy level any higher, go to another place, do something for you and wait until your vibrations are high enough to meet the other one again.

The important thing in a relationship is not to make the other happy or to expect the other one to make you happy, but to make yourself happy and offer this happiness as a free gift to the other! Loving another human being is giving him energy! See the difference? Do you want to love your loved ones or steal their energy?

10 Reasons Why We Hurt the Ones We Love
01. I love you, but I can't help hurting you. Why? What are the inner mechanisms behind such an irrational behaviour?
We're angry and frustrated with ourselves. By trying to hurt them, we try in fact to hurt ourselves. We think we don't deserve anything good, so we aim at the good things we have in life and unconsciously try to destroy them.

02. We expect too much from them. We nurture the secret hope that they can help us, that they can do all the things we are not capable of doing; moreover, that they have to do them, because of the love we invest in them. When they don't, we feel disappointed and the natural instinct is to make them regret.

03. They are the ones who have the courage to be honest and tell us the truth, even when it hurts. And even though we know it is the truth, it still hurts and the pain can cause violent reactions.

04. Yes, we love them dearly but there are things about them that annoy us terribly and we know we're never going to be able to change them. It's like living with our own body. Sometimes it is a blessing, other times a nuisance. Sometimes it gives us a lot of satisfaction, other times it drives us mad, but there is not much we can do about it cause it's ours.

05. We feel misunderstood. We wish they could make a journey inside our head and see things the way we see them, just because we think it is the right way. We simply can't understand why they think differently and how they can miss something that seems so simple and obvious to us.

06. We misunderstand them because we're not always willing to try to understand them. When we feel tired and tormented, burdened with our own faults and deficiencies, we find it difficult to deal with theirs.

07. We are influenced by what we see and hear on TV. Violence, melodramatic scenes, pain and suffering, self-destruction - they all can leave marks in our subconscious and develop patterns that make us think and react in a certain way. Sometimes we are tempted to do what our favorite soap opera character would do, even if that means hurting the one we love.

08. We love them but in the same time we hate them because they know our weaknesses and there's no way we can hide. The mask we wear in relation with other people is put aside and all the things we usually try to hide come to the surface.

09. We hurt them to give them comfort later. We all have the inner need to cuddle, to protect the ones we love and we feel we have the right to hurt them for the very reason that we love them so much and we'll make up for it later.

10. We trust them and we know deep in our hearts that, no matter what we do, they won't stop loving us. We feel safe to take our frustrations on them because we think there will be no consequences. We hurt them most of the times because they let us hurt them.

Credits to Nikos Deja Vu

Day 10,321

2010-02-18T01:39:00.004+08:00

那天，我们望着海，
谈着没有未来的未来。

因为未知，我们对未来世界充满了期待和幻想，
很多问题现在无人能够解答，因此它更让我们好奇。

Day 10,310

2010-02-07T06:29:00.004+08:00

Okie... Yes, this post is more than a month due... But anyway, better late than never...

Days 9908 -10,272: 365 days in summary, highlights of the year...

Started off the 2009 with a business trip to Abu Dhabi, UAE in February. School life was erm monotonous... In fact, pretty fast now that I am already in Year 2, semester 2.

My 3 years old Nokia 8800SE is buried in my cupboard after deciding that it will only speak when the bluetooth earpiece is connected and I was owner of an iPhone for a week before selling it away. Currently the owner of a sometimes crazy HTC Touch HD which likes to hang itself at times.

Renewed my First Aid license and finally got my Advanced Open Water + Underwater Photography speciality in July. Am looking forward to Rescue Diver...

Went for 2nd business trip to China in October, which was pretty nice considering I haven't been to China since 2000. A good 9 years gap...

My planned white Christmas in Harbin was cancelled or in fact never materialize due to erm... nevermind... Lolx...

In addition, I did not climb any mountain this year...
:(

Nevertheless,
Planned courses/ trips for the year (in order of priority):

Rescue Diver
Tibet and EBC, hopefully ABC

Day 10,279

2010-01-07T07:53:00.000+08:00

Day 3 - Paris

More than 9999km from home

Co-ordinates of Tour Montparnasse

雪花

Day 10,278

2010-01-06T05:27:00.005+08:00

Day 2 - Lyon -> Panissières -> Paris

Day 10,277

2010-01-05T02:38:00.018+08:00

Day 1 - Paris -> Lyon

My 3rd long-haul with the A380 and I opt for the upper deck again!!! Rather uneventful flight except being jolted awake by a turbulence in the middle of the night and then by the FA for breakfast...

Plane landed at 6 odd and the outside temperature was -7 deg. Waited around 20mins for the baggage before taking the airport shuttle to Terminal 2 to catch the TGV to Lyon. It was snowing when I reached Lyon and people were dressed like 'bak zhang' everywhere. Reached the hotel after a short walk in the snow and checked some emails before venturing out to explore the city.

Carrefour!

Frosty, The Snowman

Mother with 2 kids, aged 4 and 6

Left with temperature only as
GPS can't track well due to low visibility...

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Day 10,271

2009-12-30T21:57:00.001+08:00

Day 10,236

2009-11-25T22:22:00.001+08:00

Day 10,224

2009-11-13T23:49:00.008+08:00

Day 10,224

2009-11-13T23:00:00.001+08:00

生日快乐

Day 10,189

2009-10-09T23:49:00.002+08:00

Day 10,179

2009-09-29T22:42:00.001+08:00

Day 10,120

2009-08-01T05:06:00.004+08:00

Day 10,116

2009-07-28T23:39:00.010+08:00

Advanced Open Water - Pulau Tioman, 11th-12th July

Day 10,104

2009-07-16T23:41:00.002+08:00

Every morning at eleven o'clock, a shiny Rolls Royce drove through Central Park in New York City. Inside the car sat a driver and his master, a well-known millionaire.

Each morning, the millionaire noticed a poorly dressed man sitting on a park bench. The man always sat staring at the hotel in which the millionaire lived. One day, the millionaire was so curious about the man that ordered his driver to stop the car. He walked to the bench and said to the poor man, “Excuse me, I just want to know why you sit here staring at my hotel every morning.” “Sir,” said the man, “I have no money, no family, no home. I sleep on this bench, and every night I dream that one day I will sleep in that hotel.”

The millionaire had an idea. He said, “Tonight your dream will come true. I'll pay for the best room in that hotel for you for a whole month.”

A few days later, the millionaire went by the man's room to see how he was enjoying himself. To his surprise, he found that the man had moved out of the hotel, back to his park bench.

He then went to the man and asked for the reason. The man said, “You see, when I am down here sleeping on my bench, I dream I am up there, in that luxurious hotel. It's a wonderful dream. But when I was up there, I dreamed I was back on this cold bench. It was a terrible dream, and I couldn't sleep at all.”

Day 10,062

2009-06-04T09:26:00.007+08:00

毋忘六四 - 血染的風采

Day 10,031

2009-05-04T02:59:00.007+08:00

In December 2004, a frightened young hippo, separated from his family by a devastating tsunami, bonded with an Aldabra tortoise named Mzee. The 130 year-old tortoise accepted Owen as his own, and an inseparable bond was forged...

Now you see why...
Lol...

owenandmzee.com

Day 10,026

2009-04-29T23:13:00.006+08:00

My new toy!
Canon IXUS 110IS in gold with WP-DC32 casing

Day 10,020

2009-04-23T22:13:00.004+08:00

现在的快乐能弥补过去的伤痛吗？
今天的难过是不是会淹没昨天的欢乐？

得不到的就会成为过去吗？
过去了的就不能再得到吗？

人，一定要往前走吗？
为什么我只想停留和倒退？
为什么未来总是只有黑暗？

Day 10,007

2009-04-10T11:39:00.001+08:00

Happy Easter!

Day 10,006

2009-04-09T21:38:00.004+08:00

坐着同事的车回家，听见收音机播着的心理测验:
"如果你是隐形人，你会做什么?"

A 偷东西，
B 做些变态的事，
C 接近心爱的人，
D 做些调皮的事

如果我是隐形人，我会马上飞去墨尔本。。。

"我要变成童话里你爱的那个天使，
张开双手变成翅膀守护你。。。"

《童话》- 光良

Day 10,000

2009-04-03T01:24:00.005+08:00

Today marks my 10,000th day on planet earth.

(",)

------------------------------------------------------------------

An Interesting Article: Installing Love on the Human Computer

Tech Support: Yes, how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me through the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However,you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have beencompletely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself beforeyou can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self-Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files.Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you.

Tech Support: You're Welcome, Anytime.

Day 9998

2009-04-01T21:31:00.010+08:00

为何你不懂

只要有爱就有痛

有一天你会知道

人生没有我并不会不同

人生已经太匆匆

我好害怕总是泪眼朦胧

忘了我就没有痛

将往事留在风中

《当爱已成往事》- 张国荣

Day 9987

2009-03-21T23:56:00.004+08:00

Day 9976

2009-03-10T11:27:00.004+08:00

Day 9974

2009-03-08T23:46:00.003+08:00

你究竟是离开了，还是你根本没来过?

Day 9962

2009-02-24T20:59:00.002+08:00

Mobile phone regular check-up...

Day 9959

2009-02-21T11:27:00.014+08:00

Flying over the Arabian Sea...
Saw another airplane with a red vertical tail flying in the opposite direction below us

shortly after taking this photo but did not had enough time to take a picture of it.

Desert plains in Oman

Arabic Desert - Approaching Abu Dhabi International Airport

Touch down soon...

5890km away from home...

Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre - My office there

Good Luck Carebear at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre

Abu Dhabi City

On the way to Marina Mall

2nd tallest flag pole in the world at about 123m tall

Good Luck Carebear again...

Marina Mall - The biggest shopping mall in Abu Dhabi
Carrefour, IKEA, Timberland...

Sunrise over India on the flight home

Marina Barrage

Marina Barrage and Singapore Flyer

Bedok lighthouse and Bedok jetty

Singapore Expo

Hall 1-3

Simei MRT Depot

Expo MRT Station

Touch down
Singapore Changi Airport Runway 20L

Crowne Plaza Hotel Changi Airport

A380

9V-SKB
I took her sister 9V-SKC to Tokyo half a year ago...

Day 9949

2009-02-11T00:56:00.004+08:00

Day 9945

2009-02-07T22:34:00.005+08:00

Just close your eyes and listen to the music.

(Its only 2 mins)

Day 9939

2009-02-01T00:02:00.001+08:00

Day 9912

2009-01-05T23:06:00.006+08:00

Its more or less confirmed that I will be going to Abu Dhabi, UAE in February.

Lets just hope the dates won't clash...

Day 9908

2009-01-01T02:05:00.012+08:00

Days 9542 -9907: 366 days in summary, key points of the year (as usual)...

Erm... Seriouslly, I can't recall what I did or what the key events are in the first half of the year.

But anyway,

No broken parts this year but bought a laptop. My once trusty phone is starting to
'出 pattern' and doubt he can make it for another 6 months.

Went to Japan in July alone for a 12 days backpacking trip and to climb Mt. Fuji. Took A380 there and back. Nothing spectacular except for the huge boarding crowd and the upper deck. Lol...

Started my part-time degree course a week after I came back from Japan and have been busy ever since and hence, my other plan for Advanced Open Water got delayed. Due to unforeseen circumstances, my last planned trip for the year, a trekking trip to Shangri-La was cancelled too.

I also just started to sponsor a Tibetan child. (",)

Will still be pushing to climb a mountain every year and is looking for the ideal mountain for 2009. Have yet to decide if it will be 华山，玉山, Mt. Bromo, Mt. Rinjani or will it be Mt. Fansipan and Mt. Kinabalu again... Suggestions are open. Lol...

Meanwhile, I have given myself a 4 years time frame to upgrade myself in all aspects.
Details at a later date.

As always, planned courses/ trips for the year (in order of priority):

First Aid Refresher Course
Advanced Open Water
Tibet and EBC or even ABC

Happy New Year~

P.S
Actually, I don't really want 2009 to be here so soon...

Day 9899

2008-12-23T15:56:00.002+08:00

五年前为十年后做的约定。
五年后我是不是只剩下失望？

Day 9897

2008-12-21T14:24:00.001+08:00

请不要让我消失。。。

Day 9870

2008-11-24T22:51:00.001+08:00

It would be selfish to feel sad or negative about any problems we have.
We just have to be very appreciative of everything we have been given.

Day 9869

2008-11-23T22:37:00.001+08:00

叶子的离开，
是因为风的追求？
还是因为树的不挽留？

Day 9859

2008-11-13T01:58:00.002+08:00

妙婷，

生日快乐

Day 9853

2008-11-07T03:47:00.001+08:00

1985年《明天會更好》
曲：羅大佑
詞：羅大佑 / 張大春 / 許乃勝 / 李壽全 / 邱復生 / 張艾嘉 / 詹宏志

Day 9845

2008-10-30T20:03:00.001+08:00

人生就是这样过的吗?

Day 9844

2008-10-29T02:11:00.009+08:00

A rich man once took his eight year old son for a visit to his distant cousins who lived on a farm. He said,” Son, I want you to see for yourself the difference in our lives and the lives of those who live in villages.” They stayed at the farm for a weekend. They watched the farmers plough the fields. They watched them milking the cows. The son enjoyed himself running after the hens and looking for their eggs. They ate the simple meals of soup and bread, sitting crossed-legged at the floor in the backyard.

On their way home, the father asked his son,” Son, did you see how the poor people live?”

“Yes,” said the boy with a wistful look in his eyes. “I realized Dad, how poor we are!” The father raised his eyebrows; surely he had heard wrong! The boy continued,” I realized that we have air conditioned rooms only; they have the air conditioned country side.

I realized that while we buy 6 bottles of milk, they have six cows to give milk to them.

I saw that while we only have a small patch of land behind our house, they have acres of it.

I saw that while we have to go to the rooftop to watch the stars, they can watch them all night and anywhere.

I saw that while we eat bread that comes from a packet with only a thin layer of butter, they eat fresh home baked bread with dollops of fresh butter on them.

I saw that while you jog on your tread mill, they can run anywhere on their land.

I saw that while we have to go to the clubhouse for a swim, they have a whole stream of their own.

I realize now father, how poor we are. Can we visit our rich cousins again sometime?”

Day 9842 - Part II

2008-10-27T22:44:00.005+08:00

It was a usual meeting. The Prophet was in his place and his companions gathered around him to hear the words of wisdom and guidance.

Suddenly a poor man in rags appeared, saluted the assembly: "Salamun Alaikum" and finding a vacant place, comfortably sat down. The Prophet had taught them that all Muslims were brothers and in an assembly one should sit wherever one finds a place, regardless of any status.

Now, it so happened that this poor man sat next to a very rich man. The rich man felt disturbed and tried to collect the edges of his dress around himself, so that the poor man did not touch them.

The Prophet observed this and addressing the rich man he said: "Perhaps you were afraid that his poverty would affect you?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah," he said

"Then perhaps you were apprehensive about some of your wealth flying away to him?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Or you feared that your clothes would become dirty if he touched them?"

"No, O Messenger of Allah."

"Then why did you draw yourself and your clothes away from him?"

The rich man said: "I admit that was the most undesirable thing to do. It was an error and I confess. Now to make amends for it, I will give away half of my wealth to this Muslim brother so that I may be forgiven."

Just as he said this, the poor man rose and said: "O Prophet of Allah, I do not accept his offer."

People present were all taken by surprise. They thought the poor man was a fool. But he explained: "O Prophet of Allah, I refuse to accept his offer because I fear that I might then become arrogant and ill treat my Muslim brothers the way he did to me."

- Author Unknown

Day 9842

2008-10-27T13:44:00.002+08:00

得不到回应的爱恋叫做痛苦。

Day 9841

2008-10-26T04:08:00.000+08:00

或者有一天就能忘记你

Day 9835

2008-10-20T01:13:00.003+08:00

欣吟，

生日快乐

Day 9832

2008-10-17T15:52:00.003+08:00

也许我永远都不会明白...
上帝送给我的宝，
却不让我拥抱.
给了我希望，
却让我的天空一片一片剥落.
真的好累，但是我还在努力.

你们能不能不要忘记？

Day 9827

2008-10-12T05:23:00.001+08:00

Day 9823

2008-10-08T01:13:00.004+08:00

有很多朋友问我，为什么要到处帮人，他们值得这么做吗?

我总是对他们说我能帮就帮，反正也没什么大碍的。

其实是因为我早已知道，当一个人需要帮忙时，却没有任何人理他的那种滋味。。。

我最恨的就是人家骗我。

我宁可你说出伤人的实话，也不想从你嘴里听到美丽的谎言。。。

Day 9817

2008-10-02T16:11:00.006+08:00

美丽的一天就这样结束了

Day 9814

2008-09-29T23:31:00.005+08:00

Love - the only survival, the only meaning

- Thorton Wilder
The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Day 9813

2008-09-28T04:37:00.001+08:00

Day 9804

2008-09-19T00:33:00.016+08:00

9月17日，晴

得知Mr. Tree Trunk Thighs今夜想独自搭公车回营，就决定送他一程。还未完全康复，实在有点不方便跟别人挤车。

送他回营前，咱们决定到Tampines Mall逛逛。说真的，八年的友谊，却可从没和他这么好过。要不是K.E.R的事，相信我们一年可能只会在彼此生日时才会出来吃顿饭。
________________________

停在红绿灯的我们，车里播着《张三的歌》

“你看那月亮！好圆啊！”

我抬头看了看，的确蛮圆的。

“今天是八月十八，当然圆啊！废话！”

“哈哈哈! 我终于能和你一起看月亮了!”

我转头看了他一眼，这时刻不知道该哭，还是该笑。结果还是笑了出来。
这只‘死猴子’，重是爱突然间说出这样的话。
________________________

当时的月亮，代表谁的心，结果都一样。

那夜的情境，林某这生这世，没齿难忘

Day 9803

2008-09-18T13:25:00.008+08:00

Two monks were once traveling together back to their temple. On the way they came to a large puddle full of mud, which they had to cross. At the brink of the puddle they saw a young woman standing, afraid to cross it.

“Come”, said one of the monks, “I will carry you to the other side”. He took her on his back, and carried her to the other side of the puddle. After crossing the road, the two monks continued walking silently for hours, until they reached their destination.

The other monk could not keep silent any longer and exclaimed:” How could you carry that girl on your back? We are monks and are not allowed to touch women.”

The first monk says, "Yes, and when I got to the other side I put her down. You have been carrying her ever since."

Day 9802

2008-09-17T00:57:00.001+08:00

What would you do if your love one has only a year to live...?

Day 9800

2008-09-15T12:01:00.003+08:00

人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全；但愿人长久，千里共婵娟

Day 9798

2008-09-13T02:11:00.008+08:00

Just finished watching the delayed telecast of the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony.

Its' a much much smaller scale version than that of the Olympics Opening Ceremony more than a month ago. However, the 人气 seems so much stronger this day at the Bird's Nest Stadium. During the mass performance, I have a feeling that these performers are not only performing for the glory of their country in this mega-event but also living and fighting for themselves as independent individuals. I feel that their faces were filled with pride and visions of dreams unlike those seen at the Olympics OC.

One World, One Dream... How apt...

By the way, we got 2 bronze already, thanks to Laurentia Tan of Equestrian.

Day 9745

2008-07-22T12:51:00.001+08:00

From today onwards, I am a student...

A part-time student studying at SIM

And my student creed shall be:

Student Creed

1. I will develop myself in a positive manner I deem fit and
to avoid anything that would affect my sleep.

2. I will develop self-discipline to maintain my 6 hours of sleep
in order to bring out the best in myself.

3. I will use what I learn in class constructively and defensively
to help myself and my fellow friends around the system.

Day 9738

2008-07-15T19:54:00.025+08:00

Day 11 - Tokyo -> Singapore

Close to 2 weeks of roaming Japan alone come to a close today. From Tokyo to Mt Fuji and further south to Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. So fun, so memorable, so lonely. Lol...

Going back to fast-pace working life again...
Sian with a captial S in bold...
Lol...

Last day in Japan

Good luck bear at Narita

Plane spotting while waiting for my flight

Bye bye!

Waiting to board
SQ637 9V-SKC

View from upper deck - Seat 77k

Home sweet home!

Day 9735

2008-07-12T20:50:00.007+08:00

Day 8 - Hiroshima, Miyajima

Tight schedule today, so many places to go to. Lol...

First stop of the day, Hiroshima World Peace Memorial Cathedral...

And its back to Peace Memorial Park again!

A-Bomb Dome

Memorial tower to the mobilized students

Paper cranes

The bridge on the left is the target for the A-bomb
but instead the bomb landed 100 odd meters away at a hospital.

Children Peace Monument

Little Boy saying some prayers
A common sight here, I believe

Cenotaph for the A-Bomb victims

It so happened that there was a Scout outing that day and
Scouts from many European countires were here

A dragonfly flitted in front of me and stopped on a fence. I stood up,
took my cap in my hands, and was about to catch the dragonfly when...

Nakajima area (Peace Memorial Park) before A-bombing

Nakajima area (Peace Memorial Park) after A-bombing

Concrete wall pierced by shattering glass

Human shadow in stone

And off to Hiroshima Castle...

And finally Miyajima!

Its an island where wild deers roam freely...
A 10mins ferry ride journey...

Otorii Gate

JR Miyajima-guchi station

JR Hiroshima station

Bus interchange
Cannot find any of their model buses on sale...
Sian...

On the Nozomi Shikansen train back to Tokyo
4 hrs 7 mins of train ride... Zzzzz

Day 9734

2008-07-11T21:22:00.015+08:00

Day 7 - Kyoto -> Hiroshima

Finally arrived at Hiroshima after a 2 hr 35mins Nozomi Shinkansen train ride from Kyoto. Proceed to hunt for my hotel which is supposed to be a 5mins walk from the station. But I exited from the Shinkansen station instead of the subway station and end up making a detour which took me 15 mins. (",)

Checked into my hotel and was given a room on the 11th floor. Took the lift up and walk and walk and it was a corner unit. Sian... But at least my room got view of the train station and also the school next to the hotel. Lol...

Didn't even bother to unpack my bag, I just dumped out everything onto the bed and shove in my 2 cameras and carebear back into it, grapped a map and was out of the hotel again. My DSLR's battery died on me when I forgot to switch it off for an hour and now I need to look for a CR-2 replacement battery as soon as possible.

Walked for about 10 mins to one of the oldest department chain in Japan, Fukuya and literally storm the entire 7 floors (if I remember correctly) looking for the electronics department. But to my dismay, they don't have what I wanted but I saw NORTH FACE products on SALE!!! Hahaha... Finally got excuse to buy something in Japan liao... Too bad, didn't see anything I need (though got lots of things I want). Looked through a couple of backpacks to replace my existing one, but now the new series all not waterproof, only water-resistant. I don't like...

Asked around if there is any camera shops and got directed to Bic Camera (Best Denki) and so its walking time again. Walk and walk for 20 mins and ta-da!! I am standing at the doorway of Bic Camera and wow... they got everything there. Lol... Was roaming around the camera section for at least an hour, looking at this and that. Why Singapore don't have such a huge range of camera stuffs... Sian...

Finish shopping and its almost dinner time le. Decided to walk to Peace Memorial Park to capture some night shots and grab dinner on the way so its walk and walk again...

On the way there, decided to load up the fresh batteries and capture the trams running around Hiroshima...

And then, a familiar logo appear! SOGO!!!

Finally, reached the Peace Memorial Park...

A-Bomb Dome

I broke my tripod taking this shot...
(",)

Children Peace Memorial

Flame of Peace
This flame will only be extinguised when there is no more nuclear weapons on earth.

Cenotaph for the A-Bomb victims

Day 9733

2008-07-10T23:30:00.019+08:00

Day 6 - Osaka

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

This reminds me of pink panther

This dolphin a bit 'atah'... Bites its own tongue...

Whale Shark!

Pig can swim?

Haha...
Godspeed...

Lelong lelong... Japan sale is now on...
1kg, 2000 yen...

Gilco Store

Fugu!

1 whole fugu to myself

Akzko-san preparing my dinner

Bye bye Osaka!
I'll be back!
(",)

Day 9732

2008-07-09T21:24:00.017+08:00

Day 5 & 6 - Kyoto

Geisha spotted!

Opps! Its a maiko instead

Geisha with maiko and carrying a briefcase? Modern

This geisha is enchanting...

Cannot see Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) leh... Lol...

Dinner Time~

Kyoto JR Station

Somewhere inside 大德寺
(I didn't took a taxi here)

Higashi-Honganji Temple

Day 9731

2008-07-08T20:08:00.014+08:00

Day 4 & 5 - Tokyo

Whats next after climbing a mountain? R&R!

Zojoji Temple

Self-explanatory what these are eh?

Tokyo Tower
5301km from home...

I am just following the instructions above...

Daimaru... Where is Yaohan?

Shibuya's famous pedestrain crossing

Nozomi Shinkansen...
Going to Kyoto

Day 9730

2008-07-07T22:13:00.015+08:00

Day 2-3 - Mt Fuji

Hahaha...
7 months after climbing Mt Fansipan and here I am, in Japan making my conquest for Mt Fuji, a volcano... Lol... Heng it never erupt... Else gonna die covered with ash... But maybe skin can become smoother? Hahaha...

Aye... Why cannot see the peak de? Still got snow, how to climb?

Our halfway house at the upper right of this photo

Weather seems so nice and the halfway house seems so near. But even before we can reach the lodge, heaven pee!!!

Hahaha... Everytime climb mountain sure rain, but also no need to wear full rain gear, just a jacket will do. But this time, think tahan too long liao, the 'urine' pour and pour... Made me have to wear my entire gear... So ma fan...

Heng we climbed a (little) bit fast and manage to reach our lodge before the storm came. But as they say, there is always a rainbow after a storm.

Sea of mountains

Rest house (Torii-so Hut) at between 7th and 8th Station

Okie... Dinner and Zzzzzz at around 1800hrs... Ought to wake up at 0000hrs for the summit push. Always so shiok to sleep right after dinner on a mountain with cool cool temperature... Lol... Nice.

But too bad, was woke up by the heavy rain at around 2130hrs and was like super demoralised cos don't like the thought of wearing rain gear and climb. So super movement restrictive with a hood covering the head... Machiam like red riding hood. Yucks~!

Anyway, also bo bian lah... Climb and climb and climb loh... All in the rain. Factor in the strong wind and you get about 10°C. Nice!

But too bad, halfway up the final push, 6 of the climbers couldn't go on anymore and the remaining 8 of us had no choice but leave them behind and carried on. Its never a good feeling to leave someone behind but haiz... thats how it is...

Summit 3776m - We had our breakfast here...

We finally reached the summit after climbing for 4 hours odd in the rain and a slight hailstorm. But due to the bad weather, there was no sunrise to see and we couldn't walk around the summit and explore a bit... Breakfast was 800.00 yen for a bowl of super salty ramen. Hahaha...

The mandatory summit photo-taking before
the descent to join the rest of the climbers...

Descend route

Group photo - Descent route - 6th Station at 2390m

Day 9729

2008-07-05T23:10:00.004+08:00

Day 1 - Tokyo

Yeah! I finally took an A380 flight; SQ638 Singapore to Tokyo...

Actually it was nothing special, but the boarding crowd was HUGE... Never waited so long for security clearance before but after that, all was plain sailing. Nice plane and nice flight.

Was seating at the main deck (right window seat of course) next to a Japanese old man and then I realised that there was a bear on board!!!

Lol... Care bear wor... Hahaha... Too bored so took out my care bear to take pictures... Hahaha... But a bit blur cos not using flash as don't want to disturb the others...

Zzzzz......

Sunrise view at 0521hrs off the eastern coast of Taiwan, approaching Japan...

Zzzzzzzzz......

Okie. And so I reached Narita about 2 hours later and I was sitting there looking at the ground crew clearing the luggages from the plane while waiting for those with the 'gan-cheong to get off airplane syndrome' passengers to leave first that I failed to realise that I was the last one to leave the entire plane. Lol...

Nevermind. First to leave no prize, last to leave no 'or gong'...
Hahaha... Can take own sweet time to take picture...

The plane seems so big in daylight compared to last night... Hahaha....

Day 9709

2008-06-16T00:10:00.003+08:00

Day 9587

2008-02-15T23:43:00.012+08:00

Black Knights 2008 - Falcon Team

1 - Team Leader/ "Flight Lead" - LTC LENG Wai Mun
2 - "Right Wingman" - CPT Augustine WAN Lek Hwee
3 - "Left Wingman" - CPT Lester John Fair
4 - "Slotman" - MAJ TAY Kok Ann
5 - "Lead Solo" - LTC Philip CHIONH Ka-Wei
6 - "Opposing Solo" - MAJ Jeffery NAH Ann Luck

Delta Flyby

Needle Cross

Way of The Dragon

Day 9583

2008-02-11T01:24:00.000+08:00

My new toy!
The AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

Day 9542

2008-01-01T00:32:00.000+08:00

Days 9177-9541: 365 days in summary, key points of the year (yet again)...

As usual, wouldn't want to comment on work except that there is no pay increment...
No broken parts for 2007, which is a good thing. (",)

Went Vietnam in Dec and climbed Mt Fansipan in winter... Super siong...
There were only 6 climbing teams on the mountain of which 3 are from Singapore, 1 from Thailand, 1 from Belgium and 1 from London.

Been 7 years since I last climbed a mountain and the feeling is terrific, standing on a mountain summit again... As such, I will try to make it a point to climb a mountain every year. (",)

And as always, my planned courses/ trips for the year' 08 are (in order of priority):

Mt Fuji
Advanced Open Water
Tibet and EBC

Happy New Year~

Day 9518 - Postdated Entry

2007-12-08T23:52:00.000+08:00

Day 1, 1st December 2007
+7 GMT 2152hrs
Inflight: Ho Chi Ming to Hanoi

Outstanding! The passenger seating 2 seats from me is using his mobile phone inflight. In fact, he had been doing that for the past half an hour. The best part is 2 air stewardess saw it but yet were nochalance about the event and didn't stop him.

the best thing is he is also extremely inconsiderate and invading into my seat. He enjoys leaning to the right, leaving little spaces to the already cramped seat. I even seen him digging his nose. He even lift up his legs and place them on his seats while his knee and body slants in my direction. Gosh, how irritating can he be? Taboleh tahan argh..

- Written by my friend

Soon after, the aircraft begins its descent and the fasten seatbelts sign came on. And Mr Phone Lover decides to go to the washroom! Lol!

As the plane slams onto the tarmac (Yes! Slams, not gliides) and begins to turn into the taxiway, our hero started to make a phone call! In fact, he made 2 phone calls! Haha...

PS:
Don't ask me why we didn't stop him.

____________________________________________

Day 2, 2nd December 2007
Hanoi

Due to the 4hrs flight delay, we missed our connecting train to Lao Cai and had to spent a day in Hanoi. As a result, we will start our climb only on Monday instead. Met a vietnamese on the plane and he offered to have lunch together and show us around the town after he heard of our plight.

Had buffet breakfast at the hotel before going out to tour the city. Walked around a fair bit and met up with our new friend for lunch. He brought us around the city and we toured some places of interest before having our dinner:

Dog Meat!!!

We had dog meat for dinner! The dinner costs SGD$20.00 and they include...

1st Row (L to R): A bottle of Vietnamese rice wine (40% alcohol), cucumber, chicken
2nd Row (L to R): Stew dog meat, fried dog's intestine filled with dog meat and peanuts, rice crackers
3rd Row: Fried dog meat - Taste the best!
4th Row (L to R): Spring Onions, boiled dog meat and boiled dog's liver
Not in the picture: A bowl of rice noodles and dog's soup

Took the overnight train to Lao Cai after dinner and arrived there at around +7 GMT 0500hrs...

___________________________________________

Day 3-5, 3rd - 5th December 2007
Lao Cai/ Sapa/ Mt Fansipan

Arrived at Lao Cai Train Station and took an hour long bus ride to Sapa district located in the Hoang Lien Son range of mountains which is about 350km north-west of Hanoi.

Waiting for transport to the mountain after breakfast...

Enroute to the mountain

Lunch Stop
Temp:12 deg
Alt: About 2000m

Rest-stop before Camp 1
Can you spot the wild horses?

Our hotel in the mountain... Camp 1

On the summit with our guides

We spend 2 nights in the mountain before having half a day of sight-seeing at Sapa district...

Church at Sapa

Little Kid

Kid On Bike

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Day 6, 6 December 2007
Hanoi - Singapore

Home Sweet Home - Terminal 3

Day 9511 - Part II

2007-12-01T16:53:00.000+08:00

Okie~

Flight delayed for 3rd time to 1810hrs...

Day 9511

2007-12-01T15:27:00.000+08:00

Am still at the airport waiting for my flight to Hanoi. Re-scheduled again to 1710hrs after 1 delay already... As a result, will be missing my connecting train to Sa Pa tonight for my Fanispan climb.

SIAN~!!!

Now have to re-plan my itinerary and shift my 01 day of R&R forward, which means I relax BEFORE I start my climb. STUPID!!!

Never going to take Vietnam Airlines again... Lol...

P.S.
The airplane is not even at the gate yet...

Day 9490

2007-11-10T18:35:00.000+08:00

Vietnam~ Here I come...

Day 9451

2007-10-02T22:33:00.001+08:00

Sunset at Roger's Reef, Pulau Tioman - Photo Credits

Just came back from Tioman after completing my National Geographic Open Water Diver. It was a terrific weekend!

The weather was fantastic for the whole weekend, sunny and clear sky. We saw dolphins on our first day there and there was also a whale shark sighting but we didn't see it. Too bad!

Okay~ Have completed 1 of the 2 planned trips for the year. But sad to say, Tibet and EBC is pushed back again!!! Argh... However, a climbing trip to Mt. Fansipan is in the pipeline. Hopefully this will be confirmed and not delay also... Awaiting confirmation from friend now... Jia you...

Good day.