View the world differently

37006 Earthquakes In 5 Years!

Thousands of flights every hour - fantastic video!

Singapore Flyer Not Flying This Week

Update (7th Jan 2009)

The CEO, with the ugly shirt, has quit. So, the Board will be appointing a new CEO. What a mess. Sure - that's going to restore heaps of confidence in the Flyer. ...

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20090107/tap-730-singapore-flyers-management-anno-231650b.html

=======================

Tourism: Can't help thinking of it as 1 step forward and 2 steps back. "London have, we also must have since we world crass cityyy. Must build higher. Let's build Singapore Eye - wait, wait ... let's name it Singapore Flyer instead so they won't say we copy them." Headlines on Yahoo UK & Reuters: "Tourists trapped in world's tallest ... " and "Ferris Wheel traps passengers". As some say, negative PR is better than no PR. =p

Video 1 - ITN

Video 2 - Reuters

Safety : Can't believe the SCDF (most of the time doing not much except conducting spot checks on nightclubs) are NOT trained to do rescue operations for the flyers. Catch out the videos above - all of them stand there EYE POWER, point here point there.

Management: Can't the managing director wear something more decent and business like (to give a more positive professional image) for the interview that went out around the world?

People who were stuck up there : Value for money what! Pay $20 can see the 'magnificent' skyline of Singapore for 6 hours! Sibei woo hua! Normal people only see for 30 mins, right??

Lack of Communication from staff: Probably due to lack of preparation of such 'disasters' happening. Flyer also 'taken care' of by mostly part timers who did not know what to say because their team leaders were eating snake and started paniking; or top mgmt say don't say anything yet in case of bad PR.

Wondering who the PR/ ad agency for Singapore flyer is? Time to do a full page ad on ST!

The Singapore Flyer still remains shut as of today. Quick discount leh - I haven't sit before.

Counting my blessings for 2008

2008 has been considered to be a horrible year for most of us (esp. financially) - but let's count our blessings.

While most folks hv been chasing the Singaporean dream, I'v been chasing my own dream elsewhere.

While others may hv been somewhat richer this year in terms of bank statements, I felt I had gained riches in another aspect - life experiences :

1. Savored Italian food in the Navigli Canals in Milan
2. Secretly stepped one foot onto the football pitch in a stadium called Old Trafford in Manchester
3. Hiked up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh; and lost my footing on the way down
4. Got pick-pocketed at 4 am on Oxford Street, London on the way back from Ministry of Sound - and I chased after the muthaf**ker and snatched my wallet back!
5. Sat in the backseat of a police car in Brixton while being interrogated for driving without an insurance (and after acting veeeeerrryyy blur, they let me off!!)
6. Got 'happy' and rode a bike in Amsterdam - on separate days and I am not saying on what.
7. Gulped down hot chocolate with choc churros (with fudge on the top) in one of the world's best chocolate bars (in my opinion la) in Madrid
8. Gobbled down heaps of tapas and cured ham in Barcelona
9. Shopped in the LV shop at Champs-Elysée, Paris (2nd time in my life .. )
10. Loads of pints in random pubs in Carnaby, Hoxton, Shoreditch, Bricklane and Soho in London
11. Ate some of the best hot dogs in Oslo (and I am not usually a hot dog fan)
12. Started a DJ night 'plussixfive' with friends Sonny & KeanJin in London
13. Snowboarded in Dubai's indoor ski resort
14. Made many good friends over dinner and drinks in London
15. DJ gig coming up in well-known Cafe Del Mar in Sentosa.
... and many others I can't remember but the months passed by very quickly.

And best of all -

I hv a great boss (who's in New York) in a good company, fantastic work life balance (1000 x better than my previous job); global marketing role (well, sorta off ... ). Also have zero debt and STILL have a job to start off 2009 and most importantly, my parents are still healthy.

I hope everyone can count their own blessings for this year and share their happiness with the people around them. I am hopeful 2009 will be an even better year!

In 2009, I am aiming to -

Keep my bloody job and then lose myself to Richie Hawtin or any other German minimal DJ (not Paul van Dyk) in Berlin, climb the pyramids in Eqypt, buy a Statue of Liberty fridge magnet in New York and bake in the sunshine in Athens.

Inside NK

Guess where? The new location for next year's F1?

It's actually the Tower of the Juche Idea, seen in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang on October 26, 2008. You probably thought Pyongyang was an absolute s**thole of a city, yeh? 

Picture by Jo Hong-Hak at Reuters. More North Korea photos here

Bus here, bus there ...

For all london bus lovers ! Ol skool ... 8 mins of nostalgia.

Foreign Workers' Plight in Singapore

Showed on Al Jazeera - never shown in Singapore ... but of course.

Foreign workers all want to seek a better life away from home - be in in construction or cushy office jobs - so the next time you see one on the streets, try not to detest them.

They all have dreams and have a family back home to support, like you and I.

F1 Time

Ok the time has finally come. I am half wishing I am back home enjoying the glitz, glamour, drinks & parties of this weekend. Am I missing out? Not sure .. but I'm sure quite a few will be pretty upset with the amt of inconveniences we have to put up with the road, transports and rise in costs of things around. 

Oh but we being Singaporeans will put up with such things because the media says that '1 billion people will be watching the world's 1st night race' and it will make Singapore the place to be. Perhaps even become the world's capital and take over New York and London??! Imagine that ... 

After all, who shouldn't be anyone proud of Singapore for this weekend? Money makes the world go around ain't it? Millions of cash have been spent to make the country look good in front of the world - similar to how China has spent billions in order not to lose face in front of billions for the Beijing Olympics. 

Anyway .. here are some interesting photos I found online ...

My friend ZACH showing Red Bull Formula One driver Mark Webber (R) of Australia the Wat Kraw during a Muay Thai lesson in Singapore September 24, 2008 ... Reuters photo

Toro Rosso Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany, left, and Red Bull Formula One driver Mark Webber of Australia buay chai & seafood in market ... Associated Press photo



Bird eye lens view of the circuit ... Wonder who is paying for all the electricity?? What happened to fighting our carbon footprints & saving the environment??

That's all for now ... maybe more photos in another day. Let's hope all things go smoothly! 

London

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." — Samuel Johnson

Fed Fan

Fed meets his coach for the first time ... 

Coach teaches Fed to play the guitar racket ... but ... 

Cambridge

Generally, I like architecture shots but I managed to capture some nature last weekend at Cambridge. Unfortunately, it was a low res setting and I won't be able to do a large print of this if I wanted to ... 

Bee Pollination - River Cam, Cambridge UK

An Act of Bravery

Don't believe I didn't spot this before - a beer ad with a cinematic twist - and it tells the intended message too.

Tight Rope Walker

Apparently I am a 'tight rope walker' if my world were a circus.

You are the Tightrope Walker. You are steady up on the rope but definitely enjoy taking chances and trying new things. You know that you could fall at any time, but it is worth the gamble for the extreme rush of adrenalin. This is also seen in your musical choice as you listen to everything first before making your judgment. From travelling the world you have your own eclectic approach to fashion bringing together your vast appreciation for different styles.

You must be careful though that your daring personality doesn't push you over the edge. Taking chances is great, but make sure that you always have your safety net ready to
catch you.

You can find out what you are by clicking on the Creamfields 2008 mini contest.

Ice Cream in London

Saw an article today in London Lite about ice cream places in the capital - so I've decided to put them down online so I can find them in the future:

• Best for Sundaes Marine Ices NW3
  
• Poshest Ice Cream Parlous @ Fortnum & Mason W1
  
• Design Your Own Ice Cream Morelli's Gelato @ Harrods SW1
  
• Best for Chocolate Paul A Young EC3
  
• Diet Ice Cream Scoop WC2
  
• See in made Oddono's SW7

I am going to try them all one day! 

Above with no permission from thelondonpaper

Somewhere out there ...

Just a nice ad I saw on TV today ...

Like No Other

That's why I love SONY cameras!

Chinese Opera, Sunny Beach, Roller Coaster, Business 2.0 and Charles Dickens - All in a week of Kelvin's.

No it's not me at the top ... 

What an incredibly busy week it has been - sometimes I don't know if I am hurrying through life too fast. Perhaps I should take a breather and concentrate & focus on some key areas of development.

The problem with me is that I want to know everything and learn everything! My new job now allows me to be involved in the financial markets, so now I want to learn everything about finance! =O

At the same time, life is short and I want to see and enjoy life, especially on the weekends.

But what is your definition of 'enjoying life'? I am a bit weary of travelling actually. Or specifically, I like the travel but I don't like the process of getting there and back and then feeling drained for a few days after I get back. I am definitely sick of seeing cathedrals - no matter how famous they are. No, thanks! Castles are still reasonably interesting - but becoming sick of them soon. Most of the time, they are half ruined with pieces of the wall threatening to fall off the side of a hill. Worst is, more often than not - you have to pay to see ruins!

Back to my literary of last week : 

2 June, Monday - Attended Mobile Monday London's June monthly event at the Royal Statistical Society to hear about latest development on mobile marketing. Representatives from BBC, Financial Times and some agencies/ consultancies chaired the forum. 

Met a James who sat beside me, who was a mobile apps developer and was scribbling furiously during the event in order to take notes and he eventually blogged the event on his site here. I think the one thing that struck me was that many agreed that mobile social networking will be a big driver of data e.g. Facebook is already one of the most popular applications on iPhone but once that starts to be implemented across more common brand handsets from Nokia, SE then it will really take off.

3rd June, Tuesday - Went to watch Chinese opera 'Peony Pavilion' at Saddles' Wells (said to be a ancient bath site converted into a theatre space). I had real cheap tickets of £5 thanks to Shuyin who's studying Oriental Art .. or something like that in London's SOAS. Her lecturer supposedly 'brought in' the act. I went into the show with zero expectations of the show except expecting to fall asleep.

The story in the style of an oriental version of 'Romeo & Juliet' came from about the same period of Shakespeare and has been performed in mostly China for a few centuries. The sets were simple yet impactful and the costumes were stunning.

It was 3 hours well spent (yes, 3 hours of ching chong chinese opera singing). It was my 1st time watching an opera, funnily enough - in London. I think I am in the midst of discovering my Chinese roots. I thoroughly enjoyed the session, and thought of to watching part 2 (another 3 hours) and part 3 (the last 3 hours) the following nights, but there were no more cheap tix. Oh well ...

4th June, Wednesday - Finally some sort of rest - Jason came over for a dinner of chinese bbq spare ribs and kelvin's fu-yong egg; and borrowed my luggage bag for his Italiano trip to the Parma hills for his cousin's wedding.

5th June, Thursday - Weekly football session at Old St. After 10 weeks of playing football, I've finally decided to put on my rollerblade knee pads whilst playing to protect my precious knees. I nearly busted both of them 2 weeks ago because the ground is made of tarmac (used to make roads). Not friendly to knees at all. It's a psychological thing - I felt more comfortable running for the ball knowing I won't have bloody knees if I fall. I uncle already, fall down already take long to heal. Anyway, I scored one for the team.

6th June, Friday - Checked out Cha Cha Moon (see review here) with my ex-colleagues from Deliverers. Situated at Carnaby St (near Regent St), it's opened by restaurateur Alan Yau (who also opened Wagamama, Hakkasan,Yuaacha and a whole load of other places he created and then sold off for millions). All dished are £3.50 and I had my first real Singapore Char Kway Teow in months. Yes, it actually said Singapore Char Kway Teow. There was ample lap cheong but there was no hum. Suits me, no like hum anyway. Got lap cheong, no hum. 

Was nice catching up with the Dom (the ex Boss), Michelle (ex Boss girlfriend who also works in same company), Matt (Asian trapped in ang mo body), Connie (HK girl who is the consultant in the company, very smart person) and designer Hong (who was a bit down as she's suffering from a break up few weeks ago). There was also fried carrot cake (for £3.50 of course). With drinks and some side dishes, the total bill came up to about £75 = almost S$200 in total's exchange rate for 6 of us. That's about as cheap as you can get for central London!!

Rating: 4/5 (Excellent taste but minus 1 point for small portions. Arrive at by 645 pm latest, otherwise you risk waiting for at least an hour)

Scooted off to HK Cafe at Chinatown with Connie & Hong for a drink after that whilst waiting for Serene, Yeen & Joice to meet up. As usual, Yeen is always super late. I had to wait 1 hr 15 mins for him and everyone else for that matter, Really terrible ... I dunno what to do with Yeen anymore! It was so late that by the time we got to the Clerkenwell Bar where ex Portishead DJ Andy Smith was spinning, I had already lost the mood for the night. Had a drink and then scooted off to home early that night. Even so, it took me 1 hr + to get home from Farrington area.

7th June, Saturday - Thought it would be a boring Saturday but things suddenly changed for the better than my earlier request for free tickets to a musical was 'granted' and I had to look for someone to go with me. I met Jia Nee in the city and went to check out 'Dickens Unplugged' which was a musical about Charles Dicken's life and a summary of his most famous storybooks (Christmas Carol, Tale of 2 Cities etc).

The 1st part was kinda boring but the pace picked up and it was seriously hilarious towards the 2nd half. Guess where we went for dinner again? Back to Cha Cha Moon. Twice in 24 hours. I need to get a Cha Cha Moon-embershop card soon.

8th June, Sunday - Woke up early and took the train (£10 return) to Essex, east of London to the Southend-on-Sea coast to enjoy some sunshine, sea and the sound of the waves. It had a seaside resort vibe but the beaches were small and not as enticing as Brighton or Whitstable.

However it did feature Adventure Island (a massive fun park of sorts with roller coasters etc) and Southend Pier - Europe's longest pier, about 2 km away from the shoreline. It was so long you can take a train to the end. However we did not go on this as we had to pay and Shuyin didn't want to pay. But, she ended up spending £70 on shopping at Primark (?!). Oh well ... we enjoyed some fish & ships, had some decent conversations and by about 6 pm, I was getting real tired from all the week's activity and decided to head back to central London. More photos from this day trip on my Facebook soon.

Today Monday, 10th June - Just returned from a meetup.com Business2.0 marketing networking session at Old Crown pub @ Covent Garden. Probably the best meetup group I have met so far out of the 3 -4 previously. I definitely enjoy being with people I can connect to intellectually, and then learning, absorbing and putting my views (from an asian person perspective) to others. There was this other Asian looking lady I met who runs a technology blog (amazing!) called Consuming Experience. Overall a good 2 -3 hr spent interacting with about 10 other internet/ digital marketing professionals. Oh, if you haven't already been to Gerald Ang's Pop Marketing blog which I contribute to, go now! And if you have Twitter, follow twitter.com/digitalmkting.

My fingers are tired now, so till the next time then.

Zig Zach

Interview with my DJ mate Zach, now superstar street fighter cum magazine cover model all .. I'm sure you've seen him on TV at some point. *Hope fame doesn't get to yr head, bugger! 

I am proud of him because he's persevered with his passion for years (watched him play at some shitty warehouse 2 -3 yrs back), now doing really well but still a down to earth person.

I'm going to give credit to myself for holding the camera so steadily. =p

Catch the full write up here on MyMuayThai.com

Zekk's blog 

Online Videos by Veoh.com

BGT 2008 Winner

This year's winner of Britain's Got Talent 2008 - George Sampson.  Fantastic dancer, surely to be one of the future dancing gods when he grows up more ... but LIFE is fragile ... it's revealed he might be paralyzed if he dances further.

He's battling Scheuermann's disease - a rare curvature of the spine which affects fast growing teenagers - - a condition which has already left him temporarily blind in one eye for two months last last year.

Now, that inspiration to a max. And, it makes you wonder if why god gives you something (a talent), and takes something away the next instant.

Life's puzzling. So, enjoy what you have today.

My aggressive nature ...

And I don't mean being nasty to people on the streets but I did spend a lot of time in aggressive skating from 1994 - 1996. However, I wasn't intensely good at it cause I was afraid of bursting my b*lls on the rail. No, seriously.

But I did manage to pull off a few 360 jumps on huge stairs and couple of grinds on half pipes and rails. Looking back they were good times with buddies like Sexy Boy (Joshua), Teck Lee, Ian (who have since got married) and Yanbin (who now likes topless fast cars instead!). Oh well, we all grow up - don't we?

I remembered watching this VHS tape when after school to get inspiration. It was damn hard to get la ... so expensive. Now it's free on YouTube.

Hoax II (Intro)

Hoax II - New York



I went through this phase of skate rock/ 'punk' also (that noisy music you hear on the background on these videos).

It was my secret ambition to be filmed by the film producers of these videos. Guess it didn't happen ...

There was this up and coming skate called Jon Julio and I just found out today he's still around (and regarded as one of the legends!). Respektt!!!

1 million hits and counting ... the ol skool rockstar

Lost 200 calories

Had a rather exhilarating evening earlier. Jason & I went to favourite Chinese restaurant Wong Kei in Chinatown to have our weekly duck-chicken rice fix. We then went on a pub hunt at Soho that's showing Sky Sports (equivalent to Starhub TV)  but didn't manage to find anything decent.

Decided to walk to Leicester Sq to see where we could find with a good vibe and a large screen. It was a good decision as as we walked past Vue (equivalent to Golden Village) Leicester Sq, we noticed that they were showing the match live. Furthermore, it was free entry as well as an UNHEARD OF drinks promo (right in the middle of London!) - 5 bottles of Bud for £10! 

What's there to wait for?!

We had a couple of Jason's friends join us as well (all Singaporeans!) and we had a smashing time watching the duel. I was really hoping to support Korean Man U player Park Ji Song (the only Asian to have played in a Champion's League final) but he was not fielded by Fergurson throughout.

Although I was in London and the match was in Moscow - I really felt that I was there!

Team picture before the match. What's to come in the next 90 mins?  - Photo by Reuters

Ronaldo scored in the 24th min with a header which left Cech stunned ... 1-0 to Man U.  - Photo by Reuters

Chelsea equalised just before the 1st half and the match went into extra time after no other goals. Surely, Man U had lost the match when Ronaldo missed the bloody penalty. But John Terry missed it too after slipping (damn it! pay you £130 - 150k PER WEEK to miss the penalty. I'll gladly do it for half of that!!). Anelka, looking really stressed and out of place before his turn screwed it up too - Van der Sar saved it and won it for Man U - Photo by Reuters

Ballack ... looking dejected after the match. (Forgive you for ballooning your shots .. since you paid less than Terry .. at £100k PER WEEK)  - Photo by Reuters

Glad I am a Man U fan .. hahaha. Photo by The Sun UK

IDAHO Day - May 17th

IDAHO is 'International Day Against Homophobia'

There's nothing wrong with gay people. It's merely a sexual preference. 

1986

See some shocking photos here .. even it's has long been forgotten from the memory of millions.

Stealing a car in Singapore more difficult than other countries?

I read Straits Times Online everyday whilst I am in London. Sometimes, I am apalled by the type of stories that appear on the national newspapers. I hope this did not appear in the printed version - what a blatent waste of space! And to think advertisers actually pay thousands of dollars for a junior page media space.

Check this story out (pasted below also)

It kinda shows how typical a Singaporean is to think a car in Singapore is more difficult to steal than, say, Malaysia. No matter where you are in the world and you want to steal a car, it's the same technique isn't it?? 

And as to why the reporter even bothered to piece this story (and actually got approved to be published) baffles me. How many Singaporeans care if she lost her car?? 

Maybe the reporter need to meet KPI.

=====

May 2nd 2008

Owner finds car missing from carpark
By Lee Pei Qi
WHEN Audrey (not her real name) went to get her car on Thursday morning from the car park at her home, she found an empty lot.

For over half an hour, she combed all the floors of the five-storey car park in Block 125A Kim Tian Road in frantic search of her four-month-old Suzuki Swift but could not find it.

She covered the entire car park three times before giving up. Her brother drove her around the neighbourhood, but still, her grey car was nowhere to be seen.

The IT consultant finally made a police report that her car had been stolen.

Audrey, 35, said: 'It is incredulous... this is Singapore, I don't think it is that easy to steal a whole car like that.'

Audrey who bought the car last December for about $57,000, said she last saw her car on Monday afternoon when she parked it on the second-storey after returning home from work.

She was sure she had locked the car, which also has an alarm, and also wound up all the windows.

Audrey did not use her car for the next three days as she does not drive to work everyday.

It was only on Thursday when she was going to fill petrol at a nearby pump station that she found her car missing.

Police said they are investigating the theft of the car - an offence which carries the maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment and a fine.

Death

I'm not an expert in art but do you think art has sunk to a new low in this new 'show'?? =o

The artist objective is interesting though.

German artist wants to put dying person on show

Freecycle

I had the chance to grab quite a number of free deals from the internet called FreeCycle (you typically join the freecycle group of the area you live in). It basically works like eBay except you don't have to pay. So far, I've managed to get a 32inch Sony Trinitron TV, Ikea L shaped desk, one pair of speakers, 2 x amplifiers, one pair of Harman Kardon laptop speakers and some other random stuff. All for FREE! The only challenge is that without arranging transport, it's difficult to take some of the bigger stuff.

You can get all sorts of cool stuff and some really old stuff ... and then some out of the ordinary stuff that people want to get rid off though - check it out ... 

=========

Subject: [camden_freecycle] OFFERED: Promotional Family Railcard (WC1H)
OFFERED: Promotional Family Railcard (WC1H)

This is a blank promotional family railcard that expires 30 June
2008. It allows one or two adults and a paying child to travel for a
third less on national rail. After it expires the holder has an
option to buy annual family rail card for half-price.

Will only post this item (at my expense).

Keishi: Probably quite useful - but you need to kid to travel with you! 

=========

Subject: [camden_freecycle] 

OFFERED: 75 Litre Full aquarium kit NW5

I have a 75 litre aquarium with a wooden plinth and all the
accessories needed to setup and maintain a tropical freshwater aquarium.

- 75 Litre fish tank
- Hood with light
- Heater
- Professional high capacity filter pump
- Air pump with air stone
- Battery powered Gravel cleaner
- Ornamental Rock
- Selection of little easter island heads
- Gravel and sand already in the tank
- Selection of tap water safe, fish tonic, catfish pellets, slow
release holiday fish food.

It needs a bit of a clean, but is in full working order. You'll
probably need a car to pick up the tank as it's a bit heavy.

Keishi: Aquarium's pretty cool but damn - it's big! 75l version ok - don't play play.

============

Subject: [hampstead_freecycle] 

OFFER: 1/2 ton of soft sand (Camden Square)

We have around 1/2 a bag of soft sand left over from our build and is up for grabs, sooner the better. Cheers!

Keishi: This takes the cake for me! Absolutely don't know what to do with 1/2 ton of sand!?

Time for a post

It's been ages since I had a post here. I think I am losing interest in this blogging thing. In fact, I think a lot of people around the world are ... perhaps that's due to privacy issues. 3 years ago, blogs were all made public and everyone proclaimed themselves to the world. Nowadays, people write blogs and turn on the 'private' function. 

Today, Facebook reported a drop in hits to their site for the FIRST time since they started ... now, that's a phenomemon isn't it? Friendster would have reported that kinda of story 2 years ago but I guess they had reasons to keep quiet about it. I think the days of mass social networking will be over - perhaps it will slowly die off for another 3 - 5 more years? The rise of private social network seems back on the rise again - remember when member forums were the rage, it's probably going back that way. But anyway, that's not the point of my entry today. Today's entry is about ... London. Where else, right? 

I think one of the main reasons I don't blog anymore is because I am doing a lot more copy writing during my day job now - thinking of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, tenses, phrases ... and you know ah, it's quite embarrassing because after writing the text for a product brochere, my colleague pointed out a whole page full of errors to me. I really thought my England was top-notch before I came here. Well, maybe A2 standard la. But really, I think the actual grade is C6 ..

So, I want to share my top 3 things I love and hate about London after 4 months and 3 weeks here. Damn, it really feels like I been here for longer than that. Perhaps the winter had made the nights longer ... 

No 3 for Top London Hate: HSBC UK

Banking system or should i say my beloved HSBC bank. Ever since joining HSBC UK, I can seriously say I have been losing money banking with these jokers, not making money. The savings rates in UK are much higher than Singapore but it's only recently till I figured why banks here can pay such rates. That's because they're ripping their customers off in so many other ways. Since I got here, I have had to pay £75 worth of overdraft fees. Compare that with probably £15 of savings interest that I have earned so far, it's a NET LOSS. The worst is - it's not because I have no money in my bank, it's just that I tend to put in very less money in that particular account to control spending. And stupidly enough the system lets you over withdraw so that it has a reason to charge you money, not like back in Singapore in which if you have no money, you simply can't make a transaction. Anyway, it's partly to blame but the amount of money I am paying out is ridiculous! And I think I have one more this month!!

No 2 London Hate: Taxes

Yes, it's money related again. But I really think it's a dumb system whereby a huge chunk of your salary goes to the government (about 22%) to support jokers and lazy bums who do not work and claim benefits every month. 

In addition, another 10% goes to the National Insurance - which is kinda like CPF but the money is not yours. It just goes into a big pool where the old people can tap into when they're sick. This 10% of everyones' salary also goes to support the national medical system. I have not had the chance (thank god!) to use this yet but I am seriously considering going to the doctor's more often just to get my money worth. Oh, did I also mention consultation fees are covered, but medicine isn't. So, get your own medicine from the pharmacy, boy!

No 1 London Hate: The London Underground/ Overground/ TfL 

Oh my god, the transport system here really sucks. When I first got here, it's a novelty to be sitting in the Underground trains and hear out for things like "Please mind the gap between the train and the platform'. But I have got sick of it by now and after countless delays and hours (combined) of waiting and wasting my youth at train stations, I've just about given up on the system but you know what - millions of Londoners like me don't have a bloody choice. We continue to pay increasing fees every year for a shittier system year by year. The system is so bad that the computer literally just erases off the next incoming train schedule if it has run too late. At other times, the computer will show that the train is late and arriving in 5 mins time - but the next thing you know, the train appears. It really shows the system is soooo bad it doesn't know where its own train is!! I am really glad my current office is only 4 stops away from my home, so my pain is indeed limited in the mornings & evenings.

I am beginning to feel real agitated now thinking about these, so I shall move on to the positive side of things. 

No 3 London Love: News & Freedom / Lifestyle/ Standard of Living

One of the top things I love about living in London is being able to absorb so much new information. Every morning, there's are about 4 -5 free publications that are being distributed to the whole of London reporting about everything in the world - from a drugged out Amy Winehouse to the economy crisis. I read and learn a lot every morning - and it's a good feeling to be able to be more knowledgeable about the world around you. Obviously to a certain extent as well, the media here is a lot more laxed towards reporting - and commentators do not hold back when talking about their opinion about policies, the government or anything else under the sun for that matter. I think the freedom is speech is high here (that said London is under heavy security camera surveillance in large parts of the city) - and it's something I haven't really got used to. Obviously, living in Singapore for so many years has that kind of effect on anyone. 

There's also a lot of freedom and tolerence towards new ideas and concepts - I am not sure about the religion aspect though. And because I am living on my own too, I am experiencing freedom like never before (!). Well, it goes as far as my house mates start to complaint if my TV volume is too high (haha!). 

I think my work life balance has also improved massively because the working hours here are very strict. Perhaps my work is and  I am fortunate for that. The work is not as intense as my last job but I think I am still contributing to the success of the business in some ways or another. Yet, I leave almost everyday at 6 pm (very late already ok! others go off on the dot at 531 pm) and get home by 645 pm, wondering what to do for the rest of the night. 

No 2 London Love: Proximity to Europe and Centre of the world

London is the centre of the world .. sorry Singapore isn't even if the garmen say it is. Neither is New York, Hong Kong or China. The UK has a very strong economy and I can literally 'see' the money spilling down some of the buildings in Canary Wharf (the banking CBD district). I went to Greenwich couple of weekends back with Candice and you could literally almost sense that you are at the centre of the time zone. In the evenings, the observatory shoots out a laser towards the sky indicating the centre of the time zone. 

The £ remains strong (even though it weakened against the SG dollar since I got here!!) and going everywhere else, especially Europe is so much cheaper. Travel is cheaper as well, and I really cannot imagine earning Singapore dollars and trying to lead a decent lifestyle in Europe with the prices of some of the clothes & food. Fortunately, I have a relatively decent income which allows me to do some travel every month and have some savings too - and greatly thankful for that.

No 1 London Love: Music & Entertainment

Where else in the world can you get so many world class acts in one city!? I can literally feel the proximity that I am to the biggest stars in the world. Kate Moss (ok maybe she's rubbish model ..) just bought a house that 5 mins from my place! Sir Paul McCartney also lives one Underground station away. And my local park is the one that is the setting for 4 Weddings and a Funeral (Hampstead Heath park) movie.

There are some of the best clubs in London and they have the most amazing line up ever - Ministry of Sound, Fabric, The End, Pacha - and Turnmills (I really hate Turnmills even though it has the best lineup amongst all)l It's closing finally, good riddance to the shitty bar, the sticky floors and some of the most unfriendliest bouncers in the world. Oh did I mention I am watching UNDERWORLD LIVE next week at my 'local' community arts centre?

During the summer, the best festival organisers show their powers in full force. The Gatecrasher Summer sound system happens in May and I think that really kicks off all the festivals around UK. The o2 Wireless Festival happens in Hyde Park in July with Fatboy Slim and Underworld (again). There's also Glastonbury and a whole load more of outdoor shindigs. Local pop bands such as Take That and Spice Girls also make London a regular place to perform (at the o2 Arena). 

The list goes on and my fingers are getting tired ... so I shall end here and please take care. Miss you all back in Asia!

World Travel Map - Top 3 Favourites

Realised there's a code for this - tot I paste here for the hello of it ... =)

1. Paris, France


2. Siem Reap, Cambodia


3. Ibiza, Spain

Wonderful Paris

My favourite city ... and continues to be ... 

Pacha London ...

Looking really stoned. Anyway, I've been well. I really need to get into the routine of updating this blog!