No bus or slow bus?

Don't know which is worse.  No bus or slow bus.

Was waiting for the 136 bus this morning.  Missed the first bus by seconds but thankfully, the next bus came in less than 5mins so I was pretty happy.  But my happiness was shortlived when I realised the bus driver was making sure he went at the slowest speed possible.  My guess was he didn't want to catch up with the first bus.  So here was I, in a bus rushing to catch my next bus,and not being able to do anything coz the 136 was happily plodding along.

Well, as fate would have it, when I finally arrived at my bus stop and was crossing the road to catch the connecting bus, I saw my connecting bus pulling up and leaving the bus stop.   Ended up waiting for almost 15mins for the next bus and was almost late for school.  If only the stupid 136 had gone at a normal pace.

So I was left with the question... which is worse?  Having no bus or having a stupid slow bus?

Back to school

The big change this past week is that I've gone back to doing some part-time teaching.  I've actually been toying with that for quite a few months and I've finally overcome my inertia and fear of change and returned to the education service (on a part-time basis anyway).  There was a strong inertia because I must admit I had become quite accustomed to my flexible lifetsyle and the thought of returning to a 7.15am to 4.15pm work life just didn't sound right.  There was fear involved because I was worried if I would choose the right school and if I would be able to get back into teaching.  Well, as usual, the argument simply comes down to the simple fact that there is no such thing as a sure thing in life.  If I don't try, I'll never know.  So, since the door appeared to be opening in the right places, I've joined Junyuan Secondary School as a part-time teacher.

It's hard to imagine that I am actually travelling to JYSS in tampines, all the way from Serangoon.  At first, the thought was quite daunting.  But the surprising thing is that it actually takes just about an hour from my doorstep to the school.  That's not too bad actually, considering that it took me more than 1.5hrs to get to and from NUS wben I was studying there.  

I'm currently on a part-time basis with the school, which means that I only need to report to school when I have lessons and I can leave school whenever my lessons end.  In a way, I still get some freedom like before.  The tough part is having to report to school at 7.15am 3 days a week.  This means I basically have to get up at 5.30am for those 3 days.  5.30am.  That's a freaking crazy time.  Even when I was in RI, I could get up at 6.30am and still be in school in time.  That's the toughest adjustment which I am still trying to get used to.  

It's also been quite interesting trying to get back into the rhythm of teaching.  It's been more than 2 years, (actually, I think more than 3 years) since I've taught.  It's always a challenge to try to adapt to different students.  One thing which I cannot escape is the fact that I'm really much older now and it's a little harder to connect with the students.  I've already met all my students and I'm glad to say that so far, I quite enjoy my lessons with them.  Hope I can continue to say that all the way to the end of th year.

It's only been a week and I'm still busy adjusting to this new routine.  At the same time, I'm still handling some tour projects.  So I think things should be quite busy for me until the end of the June holidays.  Of course, at the back of my mind, I do wonder if I've made the right decision to return to teaching.  I guess only time will tell. 

Oh yes.  I did something quite silly last week... last Tuesday, I actually went to the new Iluma mall at Bugis to catch a glimpse of David Archuleta!  haha... can't believe I actually did that.  No regrets though.  Hearing him sing live was quite a treat!  He's every bit as unassuming and bashful as he appears to be on tv.  I did feel a little out of place though.  The whole place was filled with screaming teens! 

Overload of Jap Movies

The last month (and apparently the coming months as well) appear to be good months for Japanese movies.  I've caught K-20 and Suspect X and both were pretty good.  I've been trying to watch Departures for the last few weeks but every weekend, the cinemas showing the movie were always almost full.  Today, I finally caught Departures and to make it a full day of Japanese movie immersion, I also managed to catch Detroit Metal City.  The two movies are totally different but are really good in their own way.

First one I caught was Detroit Metal City (DMC).  The big surprise here is that the main star, Kenichi Matsuyama, is the same guy who acted as L in the DeathNote movies!  The two roles are so different.  L is this cool and quiet character while Negishi in DMC is a kooky nerdy goody two shoes cum heavy metal star.  I really had a hard time trying to imagine that this is the same guy who acted as L.  DMC is quite interesting and hilarious at times.  But ultimately, it's Kenichi who steals the show.  The sad thing is this movie was rated as NC16 simply coz there's plenty mention of the word F$%k.  One of the songs has a chorus which basically repeats the F-word ad-infinitum.  Other than that, it's a really likeable movie. 

Departures is a really beautiful movie.  I really like how the movie allowed us to see a glimpse of how the departed are treated with such dignity in the Japanese culture.  Although the Japanese are often seen as a ritualistic society, these are some of the most beautiful rituals which I wish that we had in Singapore.  I was also quite impressed that the director refrained himself from being overly melodramatic when it comes to depicting the death of loved ones.  Instead, each funeral scene is done with much control and depth which makes this movie so believable.  The star, Kazuko Yoshiyoko, is excellent as the guy trying to come to terms with his job.  But I thought the actress playing his wife was also very good.  Ryoko Hirosue had only a few lines but her presence in every scene she was in was magic.  From being a supportive wife, to rejecting her husband becoz of his job, to her acceptance/understanding of his desire to stay in the job, Ryoko really played the part well.

Both movies are really very good.  I heartily recommend them both.  

I'm looking forward to two more which are coming in early April - The Handsome Suit and Gu Gu the Cat.  Let the Japanese magic continue! 

Big changes

The last month has been quite exciting but it's a little tough to blog about.  Basically, I left my previous company and have joined another company to continue organizing school tours.  Really can't say much, especially since nowadays, whatever you say on blogs can come back to bite you in the behind.  I just read about how a woman overseas (in UK I think) was sacked from her job because she expressed that the was bored at her job in her blog/facebook.  

Anyway, I think the main thing which has impacted me is again how the business world can be pretty brutal.  That's why in terms of real-life experiences, I think all teachers should have the opportunity to experience life in the private sector at some point in their life.  This really helps us to share such experiences with our students, the majority of which will probably enter the private sector instead of the public.  Regardless of how you think people behave and what you believe they are, things can dramatically change in the face of business decisions.  This is something I have yet to come to grasp with.  I guess in many ways, I still hold on to the idealism which I had when I was a teacher.  I know the world is not all black and white and there are many shades of grey.  But there are still things that are quite black and white to me.  Sorry for sounding so cryptic but even as I am trying to put my thoughts into this post, I am carefully watching my words to avoid getting anybody into trouble.  Perhaps it might be better to leave my thoughts within my mind with regards to this matter.

Anyway, I am temporarily with this new company as I evaluate what I will be doing in the near future.  It's been 2.5years since I left the education service and I must say that there is a little itch to return to it in some manner.  However, at the same time, there are some exciting opportunities open to me in the travel business.  So I guess it's a question of things being in the right time and right place.

OK, let's switch frequencies.  

Another reason why I've not been blogging here is... I've kinda been blogging somewhere else. Lolz.  I'm not ready to share the other blog yet.. maybe in the near future.  

Movies.

I've still been catching my regular staple of movies.  The best movie so far this year has to go to ROLE MODELS.  It's hilarious.  With all the heavy academy awards nominated movies being screened in the last 2 months, RM was a breath of much needed fresh air.  Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott were really good in this movie.  They were much more controlled and turned in more palatable performances as comepared to their other over-the-top characters in other movies.   Two big highlights for me. (1) The world of LAIR.  Being a WOW player, this real-life version of an MMORPG was hilarious and made me feel almost embarassed for playing wow.  Almost makes me want to start my own loser-world here in Singapore. (2) Jane Lynch.  She is sooooooooo caustically funny in this movie.  She's the woman-boss in the movie 'The 40-yr old Virgin'.  Here, she plays the director of a teen-mentor organization.  For me, she stole the show.  Thanks to her, I may never eat another sausage bun again.  If you are really curious, check out these two Youtubelinks (1), (2).  Be warned... mildy M18....  If you are old enough (the movie's rated NC16) and need a good laugh, give Role Models a try.

CNY Again.. Snooze....

It's that time of year again... when pretty much 90% of Singapore shuts down to celebrate CNY. I was out at Vivocity on CNY Eve on Sunday and it was mildly depressing to see shops shutting down at 4pm. Other than the sumptuous reunion dinner, the rest of CNY is usually pretty boring. So this year, I decided to try something pretty uncharacteristic of me and go try the HSBC Treetop Walk! Below are the pics of this historic event.

I felt that while the Treetop walk was kinda interesting, it was a little underwhelming. I guess when you take the effort to walk about an hour to the bridge, I was expecting something a little more awesome. The bridge was not really that high and the view wasn't that breathtaking. It was nice. But not 'oh-my-goodness-take-my-breath-away' nice. Thought it would have been awesomer if the bridge was at least much higher. But since Singapore is pretty flat, I guess we don't have many valleys/treetops to build a taller bridge. The other small complain is the walk itself. After going on some breathtaking trails like the Kikuchi Gorge in Kumamoto, it's hard to be excited with the MacRitchie Trails. I kept wishing there would be some river or waterfall to add some life/movement to the place. The good thing was the weather was nice - sunny but not too hot, and the place was quite empty. In fact, I think 9 out of 10 people I met were foreigners. Guess Singaporeans were busy with CNY festivities. I particularly like Jelutong Tower. In the end, I think the treetop walk is a nice experience, worth at least one try. BUt I doubt I will ever make the effort to walk all the way there again. At least I'd tried it once!

Here are some pics of my first every voluntary CNY forest walk.

Entrance to the trail from Venus Road.

Monkeys. Just like any normal Singaporean, the sight of a monkey was quite exciting.

So after about an hour, I finally reached the entrance of the Treetop walk.

View as I entered the bridge.

View from the middle of the bridge.

Here's a pic looking back when I reached the end of the bridge.

Jelutong Tower - an observation tower with a nice view.

A view of MacRitchie Reservoir as I exited the trail from Jelutong Tower.

Good Start to 2009

The last two months of 2008 zoomed by and I'm glad I'm finally settling into 2009. With a month spent in Japan, a week and a half in Vietnam and a week in Yogyakarta, the year certainly ended with a bang. To start off the year on an equally exciting note, I was off to Bintan with some of the students from my Sec 1 form class in 2005 - Sec 1Q.


I think the last time I was in Bintan was almost 10yrs ago. Nothing much has changed really and I think the resorts, shops, etc is really nothing fantastic. But the one thing which made the trip great was the fun we had. Although it's been more than 2 years since I left RI, I was really glad we were able to catch up with each other before they went off to Junior College. Must say thanks to Zongyi for putting in so much effort in pulling the trip together since we begain planning it 6 months ago.


To the 1Q guys who still drop by this blog, thanks again for remembering me as your FT and I want to wish you all the best as you enter the world of co-ed education. Lol.

from left side: Aaron Tiong, Zheng Yi, Joshun Tung, Ernie, Zongyi, De Sheng, Jun Xiang, Chee Yeow, Vince, Me

When we returned to Singapore on 7 Jan, I dropped by RI together with a few of the 1Q-ers to try and catch the finale for the Sec 1 Camp. Unfortunately we were a little late. However, I was really glad to catch most of the Sec 4 PSLs who were from my 2006 Sec 1 form class - 1M. Really guys, it's hard to imagine that you guys are now Sec 4s and PSLs too! Thank you so much for the warm welcome. I was really glad to see you guys. Not sure if we will still have a chance to meet up (though I certainly hope so) so let me wish you a great Sec 4 year ahead.

from left: Kwek Wei Han, Kirk, Isaac, Anurak, Me, Davin, Adil, Ted, Ashraf, Kieng, Chia Wei Han and Ye Zhou

With that, I think I'm gonna have to settle back to work. It's been 2 months since I've seriously started work and now I've gotta start getting business together or I might have to live off air alone for the next half year. In a strange sort of way, I am looking forward to 2009. I think it is going to be a good year.

Yogyakarta Day 3 - Mt Merapi & Prambanan Temple

I covered quite a few memorable sights today. First off, it's off to Kaliadem which is apparently the closest and best place to view Mt Merapi.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloudy day so Mt Merapi chose to hide from me. You just have to imagine the volcano hidden in the clouds in the pic below.


The first scene was of buildings drowned in the dried lava. The level of the lava was more than half the height of the houses. Apparently, in the last eruption, there were no fatalities except for two people who were supposedly volunteers, not villagers.


This was a breathtaking view for me. I was standing on the river bed of a former river which was dried up by the lava flow.

Further down the river was this drop. I can just imagine the beautiful waterfall which was here before 2006. It's pretty amazing to be able to actually see the river bed without any water.

The area around the volcano is extremely fertile and there are rice fields everywhere. I caught this view of farmers threshing the rice.

I continued on to Plaosan temple - A buddhist temple with hindu influences. Although much smaller than Borobudur, I thought it was no less grand.

It was also eyeopening to see a restoration project taking place. There are hundreds of these little temples around the main temple and almost all of them were destroyed by earthquakes. On the right is a temple which they are rebuilding by trying to match the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle.

Next up was Prambanan Temple. While Borobudur is a buddhist temple, Prambanan is a Hindu temple. It was a real pity that all the main temples were damaged by the last major earthquake in 2006. All except one was closed to visitors. This is the view from the back. If I got it right, the one in the middle is the temple dedicated to Shiva. The one on the left is dedicated to Vishnu while the right is dedicated to Brahma. In front of each temple (in the case of the pic below, it should be directly behind each temple) there was another animal temple which housed the 'transport' for the gods. Vishnu's was the garuda, Shiva's was the bull and Brahma's was the swan.

Here are part of the carvings on Vishnu's temple. They show the dance steps of the Ramayana.

The final temple I visited was a last minute inclusion. I heard about the Sambisari temple from the local guide and decided to visit it. As you can see from the pic, it's actually located within a pit. The temple was originally hidden as it was covered by layers of volcanic ash. It was discovered by a farmer in 1966 and then excavated and restored.

All in, it's been a pretty busy day but very enjoyable. Tomorrow, I'll probably just spend a lazy day in the hotel while I wait for my flight back to Singapore.

Yogyakarta Day 2 - Borobudur

Got up early at 6am today and left the hotel at 7am to make our way to Borobudur which is about an hour away. The plan was to try and beat the crowds. Well, we failed.

Here's my first sight of the temple as we walked towards it. The trees are in a park which was specially added to make space for the visitors to the temple. Apparently, in the past, cars could drive right up to the foot of of the temple.

The carvings on the temple walls are really amazing. There are hundreds of illustration and here is small sample of the carvings which tell the story of Buddha's life from birth to enlightenment.

Here's a pic of Borobudur's main stupa - the big one in the middle. The smaller ones surrounding it have a statue of buddha in them. Apparently, if you reached in and touched the statues (on the fingers for men and on the feet for women), your wish will come true (provided it's not about material gain!).

Here's a pic of the buddha statue inside the smaller stupas.

Our final view of Borobudur from afar as we made our way back to the coach.

Borobudur is constructed in a straight line with two other temples. Here's the one in the middle, the Pawon temple. Similar architecture but much much smaller.

And the other temple in a straight line is the Mendut Temple. The stupa on the top of this temple was destroyed.

It was an interesting visit but I must admit it was spoilt by the crowds. There were hundreds if not thousands of visitors and many were having picnics around the main stupa of Borobudur. On one hand, I think it's nice that Borobudur is so much a part of the people (from the way they were picnic-ing and having fun around the structure). But on the other hand, I wished it was accorded more respect as an important monument from the past.

Tomorrow, I'll be visiting Mt Merapi, Indonesia's most active volcano as well as a few other famous temples. Hope the weather will be nice.

Yogyakarta Day 1

I’m in Yogyakarata (or as the locals prefer, Jogja) and it’s been a nice start to my visit so far. I checked in for my 2-hour flight on Garuda and at the boarding gate, I was pleasantly told that I was bumped up to Executive Class (ie. Equivalent to Business/First Class) for the flight! This is the 2nd time I have had such a privilege, the first was almost 8yrs ago when I won a Business class ticket to Bangkok.

Executive Class is certainly a nice luxury. You get nice big seats and you get everything served to you in glassware. No plastic cups! Service on Garuda Airlines is nothing to shout about but it was decent. Since I was given a window seat, I took the chance to try taking cloud pics with my Canon DSLR. Here are two pics which I thought were the nicer ones. Don’t ask me what that mountain is. I have no idea. Any Indonesians know which mountain it is?

Jogja airport is a typical simple airport. Nothing flashy. You walk off the plane towards the immigration and then just a few steps after immigration, you get your bags off the ONLY luggage conveyor belt and less then 10 steps away is the customs/exit.

My first impressions: It’s already dark so I couldn’t see much. Jogja reminds me pretty much of countries like Bangkok and Vietnam. However, one difference is that there weren’t any jams even though it’s a Saturday night and the roads were quite packed. I can’t see much so I would probably be able to say more tomorrow when I go for the city tour. One interesting trivia I found out was that Jogja has about 600,000 people, of which 400,000 are students who come here to study! So the entire Jogja is pretty much like a small university town. Most of the businesses here cater to students (like bookshops/sports shops/mobile phone shops, etc).

I’m staying at the 5-star Hyatt Regency Hotel. The hotel is laid out like a resort and the pool is pretty awesome . Will try to post some pics once I get some daylight shots. Here's a pic of a cultural show which was going on in the hotel.

Tomorrow is a relatively early start. Gotta wake up at 6am so that we can reach Borobudur by 9am. I’m looking forward to the visit.

Off to Yogyakarta

At the airport now, waiting for my flight to Yogyakarta (that's in Indonesia for those of you who are not too geographically inclined). Quite exciting actually. I've never been to Yogyakarata and I'm quite excited to see the famous Borobudur. This is partially fueled by the fact that I've got my new Canon 1000D DSLR and I can't wait to try my hand and taking more pics with it.

Come to think of it, this is the first trip that I've taken in the past two years on my own. Sure, I've been travelling due to the tours that I've been leading, but I've not been on my own trip. It's only a short 4 days trip but I think I've been strangely bit by the Asian travel bug. I've never been one to be excited about travelling in South East Asian and I usually end up in either Japan or USA. Now, I'm looking forward to this Indonesia Trip and am acutally planning to go back to Vietnam and maybe visit the coastal areas of Thailand and I'm also hoping to visit Angkor Wat soon.

The busy Nov/Dec travel season is over and I must say it's been an interesting 6 weeks. Plenty of ups and a couple of downs but on the whole, I think it's been not bad.

Look out for my pics of Borobudur in a few days.

In Vietnam - Actually.. on the way out..

I've been in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam the last week on my last group tour for the year. I've always had a soft spot for Vietnam and I've always found it more inviting than Bangkok. Although many people come to Vietnam for the shopping, I find that it's the people and the sights which are most stirring.

This time we did the usual visits to Cu Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta. But we also had some technical visits which were a first time for me too. One was a visit to the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park. It's quite impressive to see how a little country like Singapore can leave such big footprints everywhere. We can complain all we want about our PAP government, but we cannot deny the good they have accomplished in our short history.

The next thing which stood out for me is the visit to the orphanage for children affected by Agent Orange during the American-Vietnam war. It's not my first time at such an orphanage but it doesn't make it any easier to see these children. It's heartwrenching to see that after all these years, the effect of the chemical is still affecting innocent babies and it's even more sad to see these children living in such simple conditions. I can't help but compare this with the victims of the Minamata disease in Japan. Of course, they also faced many difficulties and discrimination, but I am glad their living conditions are so much better and some even consider the victims as 'treasures from heaven' sent to teach the world a lesson. In stark contrast, I see these children affected by Agent Orange tucked away in a corner with very little healthcare and not even a clinic in the premises. As much as it pains me, what is more disturbing I guess, is that I (and probably most of the people on the tour) will soon forget about this and carry on with our daily lives.

After the group departed, I stayed on to do some exploration of the areas around Ho Chi Minh City. I was really surprised to find this gem of a place -Mui Ne. It's a beautiful beach area and close by, there are white and red sand dunes that look just like a desert! I'm definitely gonna consider including this place in future group itineraries. It's only about 4 hours away from Ho Chi Minh City and I think it's well worth a visit.

Well, my flight to Singapore departs in about 90mins.. then I'll be home at last. Phew...talk about a busy travelling season!

In Kyushu Part 6 - Album Update for BVSS

Phew. Talk about a whirlwind tour. I've just finished a pretty intense 5 day tour with BVSS and it was certainly packed coz our usual tour to Kyushu is 6 days long. To BVSS-ians, thanks for being pretty attentive and enthusiastic. I hope you have enjoyed the tour and especially the snow! Yep... you are the one and only group this season that has not only experienced snow but experienced snowing as well! I was really surprised and quite ecstatic for you guys when I saw the snow begin falling that day.

I've started uploading your photos. I will try to get it done by tomorrow night, but I might not be able to before I have to leave for Vietnam on Monday. To be honest, I'm pretty tired from the month-long stay in Kyushu, but I'm hoping I'll be rested in time for Monday's group.

Here's the link for BVSS photos.

In Kyushu Part 5 - Skies over Kyushu

For some reason, I found that the skies over Kyushu were particularly beauiful the past week. I couldn't help but take a few pictures. Here are some of them.

Sky over Nagasaki. Not very well taken but it was breathtaking to see the rays of sunlight shining through the clouds. Taken at about 9am.

Picture taken when we were at Kyushu Ceramics Museum in Saga at about 12 noon.

This one was obviously taken at Kumamoto Castle. I loved the way the skies framed the castle. Taken at about 10am.

Another scene taken at the castle ground facing away from the castle (around 10am still).

Skies over Toen Junior High School at about 3.30pm.

We then made our way to Mt Aso and when we stopped at the Shirakawa Fountainhead, another awesome ray-through-cloud scene greeted us! This was around 3pm and it was drizzling slightly.

We went to Dazaifu and I caught this sky over the main gate of Dazaifu. (Taken around 3pm)

And finally, here's a pic of the sky as the sun was setting. Taken and San-do, the shopping street leading to Dazaifu at about 5pm.

In Kyushu Part 4 - Album Update for DSS

Another week, another group. So far, this is the group that has stayed the longest in Kyusu, 6 nights, as compared to the usual 5 nights. DSS has been the group with a couple of 'first's:

1st time I've led an all-girls group
1st time I've led a 6-night itinerary
1st time we have had a kimono-dress-up at a castle
1st time a school group has done so much shopping
1st time I almost went crazy trying to manage a group.... (joking, joking...)

To be frank, I was a little apprehensive about leading an all-girl group, but in the end, I must admit I did have a pretty good time. To DSS girls dropping by, hope you had as much fun as I did. I still wished you walked faster (you were really the slowest of all the groups I've led!!!) but we still managed to get where we needed to go. :)

Here's the link to the online album: LINK

As I always say... take care & stay in touch!

In Kyushu Part 3 - Pics of new places I've visited

Since I have about 2 days in between groups, I decided to explore other parts of Fukuoka to see if there were new places I could add into the itinerary for future groups. Here are some pics of my exporation:

Took a train to the south of Hakata. Actually, it was a Shinkansen! Only cost me 290yen. But I was more surprised that the station at the end was actually a depot and there was a whole row of Shinkansen trains lined up. First time I've seen such a scene.

Was walking towards Dazaifu when I noticed a few small stalls. First was this really yummy sotong stall! I tried the second sotong stick from the right.. yummy!

I've been hungering for some good yakitori and what better way to satisfy that with some yakitori from a road side stall! Look at the gorgeous sticks of sinful meat.... I confess, I had two of the prok yakitoris... SHIOK.

Finally made my way to Dazaifu. It was really busy coz of the Sichi-go-san festival. Quite a pretty temple dedicated to the god of learning.

As it was Sichi-go-san festival, there were many children aged 7, 5 and 3 who were dressed in their traditional japanese outfits. Managed to sneak a pic of this little boy posing for a pic. I didn't dare to take more coz i didn't want to be seen to be walking around taking pics of small kids... just felt wrong somehow... :)

A few minutes' walk from Dazaifu Shrine is the Komyozenji Temple. It's a really serene and beautiful temple. Look at the trees with the zen patterns drawn in the sand surrounding it.

In the temple was a garden which can take your breath away. Look at the beautiful autumn colours!

Finally, I went hunting for the Kanzeonji Temple, a buddhist temple completed in 746AD. It wasn't easy to find and in start contrast to Dazaifu Shrine, there was no one visiting the temple. It was eeriely silent...