A whole lot of water

Usually before heading overseas, I would check the weather forecast to see if it is cold and if I should bring winter clothings and stuff. This time the place I was heading the forecast was for lots of rain throughout the whole week. So I went out to get myself a 13 buck umbrella from Guardian and I was thinking I am super prepared.

When I landed it rained, when I got out of the train it rained, when I walked out of the train station it was still raining, after I checked in it was too early to get a room so I sat at the hotel lobby for 2 hours it rained, I got hungry and went to get some breakfast it was still raining, when I walked back to the hotel after breakfast it rained, I checked in and I realised I need to head to the phone shop to refill my internet credit it still rained, I got back to hotel and stayed in the hotel till lunch it rained, I walked out to buy lunch it drizzled, I stayed in the hotel till dinner and it rain throughout and finally when I went out for dinner it rained EVEN HEAVIER.

I guess you get the point that it pretty much rained throughout the whole entire freaking day. The ironic thing is on the plane on the way there, I was watching the movie The Book of Eli and they didn't have enough water.

What is even more ironic is that everytime I got out of the any covered area it just rained heavier. My 13 buck umbrella saved me a whole lot but I guess 13 bucks can only get you so far. It kinda broke on the first day of usage. It still works but one part cannot deploy automatically and needs a little prod to full deploy.

This was the aftermath of my dinner outing.....

Oh yea the second picture is actually the inner soles of my LEATHER working shoe. It was quite gross that night as my shoe was left on the AC vent to dry along with my jeans and my socks got the hair dryer treatment. My neighbour must have thought I had really really really long hair.

Enough to say that it was a bad all to be there but nothing lifts the soul more then some decent food.

This was what I had for lunch and it really warmed me up right away. The minestrone soup was pretty good althought re-heated using a microwave oven. The coffee was okay but not great and the pie was really good as it was filled with chunky pieces of beef. The coffee and soup cup made me smile as well.

For dinner I walked to the hotel I was going to have my training to find where it was and then walked a good KM and found nothing to eat. So went to the Jap place right beside me hotel to get some hot and steaming ramen.

It looks good but it didn't taste fantastic. There were 2 japanese places side by side and the whole reason why I picked the one that I did was because it has been visited by Iron Chef Japanese. I would think it should be like the best Jap food. However I was disappointed.

Bigger then a Jumbo?

The Boeing 747 has been the biggest commercial passenger plane for the past 30+ years now. It was first commercially available in the 1970 and has taken the crown for the biggest passenger load for 37 years. It was the first to feature a double deck hump and many people in the 1970s doubted it would every fly. Yet it is one of the most successful passenger planes in the world and it is being used even by the president of the United States of American and NASA to ferry their space shuttle 

Picture from Wikipedia

Got to be an amazing sight to see the NASA space shuttle on top of a modified 747. Anyway last year  we saw the launch of the first commercial flight something even bigger then the Boeing 747. Singapore Airlines was the first airlines in the world to fly the Airbus A-380. It has a maximum capacity load of 800 people which almost double the seating capacity of the 747. As again no one thought that this massive full double decker plane could ever fly but flew it did. However SIA only fitted the plane to carry just slightly over 400 passengers.

I was lucky enough to be able to fly on one of these planes recently. During the online check-in process I purposely booked a seat on the top deck since I never ever had the chance to go upstairs. I was thinking it would be the first time I would be able to walk up the stairs in a plane. Makes me feel like I am going to first class or something. However to my dismay we didn't need to walk up any stairs. The sky bridge connecting to the plane actually connects to the top deck already. :(

I think due to how big the plane is and the special needs to have sky bridges that connect to the top deck, most of the planes were parked at the corner of the terminal which didn't allow me to take pictures of the side of the plane. This was the best I could do.

On entering the top deck, you would have to walk pass the business class seats and man the seats are huge. I kid you not but it could fit 2 of me. I saw this lady sitting on it and she looks so small in the seat. All the seats are designed to be aisle seats and it has a huge 14" LCD TV for each of the passenger. Didn't have the pleasure to fly in business class so on to economy then.

The first thing I realised when I got into the plane is that how quiet the plane was. There was hardly any engine sounds and it feels almost eerie. The second thing I noticed after putting my bags into the overhead comparment is that everytime someone puts something in the overhead compartments there is a mechanical noise. Being the engineer I was, I decided to get up and try to pull down on the door of the compartment and I heard that same noise again. I am guessing they are weighing the comparment to ensure it is not overweight or something.

The entertainment system in the SIA A380 was superb. Each seat has I think a 10" bright and clear LCD screen. However I was suprised that it wasn't a touch screen. The controller is fitted to the back of the seat in front of you which is a better idea for fat people like me. In the older planes where the controller was on the side of the arm rest my fat bum tend to press some of the buttons and at sometimes it would exit the movie I was watching and I have to Fast Forward the movie again.

On the side of the LCD, there are 3 ports to stream video from your laptop/portable devices to the screen, view photos and play movies on the screen from any Ipod or USB device and not sure what the LAN port is for but I am guessing for internet in the future.

There were 2 really cool features included which were.....

A nice mirror in the tray table which is good for all the ladies, then they would not hog the toilets just to adjust their hair or what not. The second features is....

There is actually an extra set of LED lights that eminate from the bottom of the LCD screen which acts as a reading light. They call it the non-intrusive reading light. Quite smart if you ask me, you can read anything without disturbing the person next to you. 

The seats on the A380 are actually thinner compared to most of the other airplane seats, so they give you a slightly augmented reality that the seats are actually bigger. However I think there is slightly more leg room compared to most of the planes I have been on. They have power plugs supplying 110V on most of the armrest but I never tried if they work. If you are sitting on the window seats, you get an extra about 1 foot of space between the seat and the window. They have padded that 1 feet and so you can rest your hands there or put stuff there. Again I think it is a really great idea.

All in all I think it was a great first experience on the Airbus A380. The only problem I felt was the lack of toilets. Each passenger compartment would have at least 50-100 passengers and they only had 2 toilets to service all of them.  

I was telling one of my engineer friends about flying on the Airbus A380 and his response was "I would not fly on the A380. Being an engineer I know that the more complex the systems are the bigger the F**k-ups are too. I will allow a couple of years from the to fix it before I start flying on them".

Here it all goes again

Yup once again I am at the airport heading off to far far away land. As usual the endless waiting for the planes and this time around it is worst since I got a 2 hour lay over in Singapore. Usually I rather take a direct flight but this time around the timing would not allow me to do it.

This idiot of a so called season traveller this time around forgot to bring his power plug converter. I would think that would be the first thing someone packs when going to a country where the power plug is different. Moreover for a guy who does it often.

Had to waste money to buy one at the airport and I went cheap. I got one that is specifically used for the country I am going to. It cost me RM15.90 compared to the RM40 for the cheap multi country and one RM99 for the swiss travel product one. Hope it is the right one.

I am one idiot of a business traveller. Haha

The Men Commandments

1. Thou Shalt not look at the instructions when assembling flat pack furniture 

(This is quite true)

2. Thou Shalt cook drunkenly at 2am when you come home from the pub

(Never tried it before but I it is withing the realms of something I would do)

3. Thou Shalt never talk about your emotions

(This is quite true as well for most guys. I am trying to change but not easy)

4. Thou Shalt fear the telephone and avoid it at all cost

(Do not completely understand this)

5. Thou Shalt have a pair of favorite underpants and remain loyal to them forever

(This is just gross but I know some people do have it)

6. Thou shalt consider shopping as a military task - Get in, Get it, Get out 

(Completely agree with this and I do practice is)

7. Thou Shalt worship the 42inch plasma screen

(If I had one I would everyday)

8. Thou Shalt hate all musicals

(No Comments)

9. Thou Shalt not borrow another man's tools and not return them

(Uh this one not really sure lar. I do borrow tools but usually I do return them)

10. Thou Shalt swap bad jokes and trivia with fellow men

(I think there also dirty jokes)

The Number 13

Most people out there are scared of the number 13. They think that it will bring them bad luck just as much as the number 4. It has becomes such a myth that people actually refuse to stay on the 13th floor and most high rise rename the 13th floor. However in reality it is still the 13th floor.

However the number 13 is the opposite for both me and Amy. We consider it a lucky day because it was on the 13th of August 2006 that we got together as a couple for the first time. So today on the 13th of May 2010 it has been 3 years and 9 months. It has been a long time and I would say most of it is good and only a small part of it is bad. This is important in a relationship as one of my most unlike friend told me once.

"In a relationship, you must ensure there are more good moments then there are bad moments. The reason for this is because during the bad times, you will forget all the good moment and  remember all the bad moments. It is the good moments that will bring you through the bad times"

He told me that over 3 years ago and till now I still remember it and keep it at heart. Anyway, usually I always take pictures of other people and because Amy is always sitting to the right of left side of me, I seldom ever take much pictures of her. Recently I decided since I got nothing to do, I shall take some pictures of her.

One thing great about Amy is that at any time she will stick her tongue out and give me a cheeky look. It makes her look cute and that is when my shutter will keep on clicking.

Amy had changed me and made me a more matured person I would think. I still retain some childhood-ness in me and I think it is important we all do. I still do things like burp in front of her and always make stupid faces in front of the camera. What to do, muka mangkuk already, since cannot make it better so better to make it worst. However there are things which I have changed like reduce my swearing and also reduce blasphemy. There are still things I have to change but of course you can't change with the flick of a switch. The best thing about Amy is of course her smile.

This is her puppy dog smile that of course melts everyone's heart.

This is the pose if front of the camera smile. Yes everyone has it. If you look back at all your pictures you will see that you smile a certain way when you are in front of the camera and it is quite consistant. However the best smile is a spontenous smile.

This is the smile that attracts me to Amy and apparently Amy tells me I also got a smile that she really likes. However since I am the one doing the smiling and it has never got caught on camera so I really don't know how it looks like. :)

I am glad that I met Amy about 4 years ago on the "battlefield" and till today I still say that alot of things had to go right for that to happen. I think Amy has also given a good impression on my friends because recently I was having lunch with a friend and she told me.

"If you ever break up with Amy, we will divorce you and be friends with Amy instead. She is such a lovely girl"

I was shocked and to think that I have know this friend since form 3 which is like what almost 13 years now. Well hopefully it will never happen.

In any case, it still amazes me that after close to 4 years, we still treasure each other and we still find ways to make the relationship different from the rest. I appreciate how Amy copes with some of my bad habits and yes I have loads of bad habits. Ask Amy. 

I hope or should I say I know our relationship will last a life time and I will keep it that way. I am more afraid my friends will leave be if I leave Amy :(

Singapore

2 weekends back I made a snap decision to head down to Singapore to accompany Amy over the weekend and also to have a very very very short holiday. Took Aeroline down to Singapore and I am quite impressed with the upgrades they have done since 2 years back. The seats are much more comfortable now, they have individual audio system like aeroplanes and the bus is really smooth on the road. The only thing is now they use only 1 driver instead of 2 and the toilet is still extremely dirty.

On Saturday morning we took it really easy and woke up late and headed out to look for breakfast. We decided to first head to the Marina Bay area because we wanted to go check out the double helix and Marina Bay Sands. We took the MRT to Marina Bay station thinking that Marina Bay Sands would be near by. Unfortunately we were on the other side of Marina Bay Sands and we were actually looking for some food first. So we walked around to get to Raffles place.

Took us about an hour to get from Marina Bay MRT station to Raffles place and it was freaking hot. We were sweating like mad and poor Amy had to wait for me and sometimes in the hot sun while I took pictures. We had lunch at one of the food court there and then we walked around the area through some of the shopping complex. I became a stalker and took this...

I was scared she thinks I was a real stalker and call the cops on me or something. I wanted to go see the Fountain of Wealth at SunTech city as because 3 times I have been to Singapore and 3 times it was not working. It wasn't working this time again. So looks like I will never be wealthy. :(

We got seriously tired and decided to give Marina Bay Sands a miss but as we walked into Promenade MRT station we saw the sign to the Helix. We thought it should be near by and decided to walk it since we are already there anyway. It was again another long walk in the sun and it was somehing like 1 or 2pm in the afternoon where the sun is at its best.

After seeing the helix, we said well we cannot possible be here and not walk on the Helix so we started to walk towards the Marina Bay Sands hotel.

There was super crazy alot of people walking towards the hotel and the casino. We were again sweating like mad and we went into the first AC place which is the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex. Unfortunately alot of the project is still in construction and it includes the shopping complex.

We went home after the long hot walk back and rested till we felt hungry. At night Amy wanted to bring me to this Ramen place she has been raving about.

Notice how tan I look compared to normal. It was that hot during the day that I almost got a sun burn. We got to Marutama Ramen at around 630 and guess what there is already a line in front of the restaurant. It only serves Ramen and only 4 types and some finger food like gyoza and char siu. We order our respective ramen and Amy said we had to add in the Tamago because it was special.

Drooling yet? The Ramen was especially tasty and the brooth was perfect. Too bad they are using chicken brooth. I think if they were using pork it would have tasted even better. This is one of those times where I actually finished the soup of a bowl of noodles that is not home cooked. It was that good and the Tamago was pretty special as well. The outer part of the egg is hard boiled and the middle of the egg is still soft boiled. We also ordered some gyoza for sides.

The gyoza was okay but the vinegar they used is that made it special. All in all I can say it is the second best bowl of ramen I have ever had. The best bowl of ramen I had was in Indonesia at Nikko hotel right beside the Japanese embassy. Can't beat that I guess.

After dinner we waddled ourselves around Clarke Quay and finally ending up at our fav place for Mojito. 2 years back we were in Singapore and we went to Cuba Libre for dinner because they had a live band. In the end the live band didn't show up but we were entertained by a rasta looking bartender and we had buy 1 free 1 Mojito and it was GOOD. They still had the buy 1 free 1 Mojito so we order 2 Mojito.

Both of us walked back a little tipsy and laughing our socks off at everything. We checekd out the Hooter girls and well both of us said there is nothing really much to hoot about. It was a good Saturday spent with Amy in Singapore and I never regretted paying for the bus ride down to Singapore.

Fakes

About a couple of months back my glasses cracked and I had to find a replacement quick smart. We went to Sunway pyramid and after walking almost the entire shopping complex, I saw a pair of Nike Glasses which was really nice. I almost wanted to get it but it would cost me 700+ bucks including the lens.

On our way to the parking lot I saw another optical shop called 100 Vision. Decided why not just go check it out. Walked in and the guy told me all the frames on this display cabinet is 400 bucks including lens. I saw a pair of Rudy Projects and I knew usually it sells about the same price as Oakleys. I double and actually triple confirmed with the guy and he said yea 400 bucks with lens.

Could not believe my luck and it fit me quite nicely and it has half frame which is one of Amy's requirements. So I decided to get it. However less then 1 month later, the paint started peeling at the joints.

It was actually cracking on both sides of the joints and I cannot tahan already. I am convinced they sold me a fake but not only a fake but a really badly made fake.Went back to complain and the guy asked me to give him the receipt. The funny thing is that when I went to collect my glasses, I gave the receipt to them and never got one back. So after 15 min of arguing I told him, come on you look at your records. You will see that I got my glasses from you and it is less then a month ago. After awhile he relented but not before trying to check my lens out. I think he was looking to see if I dropped the glasses or something.

The next time I went back was to choose my new frame because so happen the following week I had to go overseas for work. When I went back, initially the guy said that they didn't have the same pair that I took and I can choose any other frame around the same price. Anything extra I would have to fork out extra. I found quite a few that looked ok but then the guy started to say things like well this frame will be okay but your current lens won't fit or it won't look nice with your current lens.

Then I realised he is trying to reuse my lens and after 1 other hour of complaining and arguing he finally again relented and say he will make a new pair of lens for me. Unfortunately I really could not find a nice one that fit me. Ended up forking out an extra 440 bucks on a pair of Oakleys.

First time I ever paid so much for a pair of glasses and in retrospec I should have paid 700 bucks for the Nike in the first place. Well my advice to anyone looking for a pair of glasses. DO NOT GO to this STUPID, FAKE SELLING optican called 100 Vision. They are under Bolton Vision which is I guess their parents company. Do not go there either.