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12/22/2008 The Ugly Singaporean Tourist9 Reasons for Not Wanting to be Associated with them.
I seldom travel overseas in tour groups for holidays. The free and easy approach is my preferred way. There are ten reasons for this preference:
Being Late Gleefully
1. There will always be some individuals or groups in the guided tour hell-bent at holding up the rest of the tour participants by turning up late; late for joining the tour group after the morning breakfast and late from completing their shopping. I had been held up for 30 minutes in such trips before and the culprits were not apologetic about the delay. I pitied the tour guide for worrying about their whereabouts and personal safety.
Taking More than Necessary
2. It is very typical to find a family of 4 taking up 6 seats in the coach. In this trip, a family of 5 had taken up 7 seats in the coach. Don't ask me about the mathematics. These are families with children from Raffles Girls School and Chinese High Secondary School. Maybe, their calculations were focused on their own comfort and greed than considering how they would be percieved by others.
Lack of a Sense of Responsibility
3. Sometimes, passengers would place their shopping bags at whatever space that could be found in the coach. Towards the end of the day, we had bags on, under and behind the seats. At times, there will be one or two passengers, who wanted to stretch their legs, clear some of these bags from the seats and sat on the new clearing they had created. This is usually not a problem. It is only when the occupiers do not look after the bags they had removed and begun treating them like rubbish. They don't even bother to place these bags back onto the seats when they left the coach for their pee-breaks.
Cowardly Behaviors that Ekes!
4. It is not unusual that in the rush to get the best buy from the shops, tour participants may break the items on display. I have done that before. I understand. However, what is most unforgiveable was to quietly return the broken pieces back to the shelves and pretend that nothing had happened. This is pure irresponsible but a popular behavior amongst Singaporean travelers. This happened in a recent trip. The mother accidently tripped a ceramic display over and it laid broken on the floor. Her teenage daughter came over and quietly placed the broken pieces back on to the shelf. This is bad behavior for the child and worse for the mother. At least, bring the item to the counter, apologies and offer them adequate compensation. To me, what they had done tantamount to stealing. This is a very cowardly behavior.
Turning Animals for Good Photo Opportunities
5. Photo taking is a must for most people on a holiday trip. Sometimes, I could take home about 300 to 800 photographs from a single trip. However, I notice some Singaporeans behaved like animals when come to grapping photo opportunities. They would grab the photo angle totally oblivious of others, who were also keen to capture a memorable image of the occasion for their own. I had been elbowed a few times because they were too enthusiastic about taking the angle I used for my photography.
'Me' Attitude All Way Round
6. There is one scene that has never fail to demonstrate the ugly side of Singaporeans. At the end of the day, luggage will need to be removed from the coach. It is wishful and dangerous thinking to believe that someone will look after your luggage because you are the last one to disembark from the vehicle. I had once stood next to the coach to observe what happened during the off loading of luggage, and I was shocked. The passengers were helping to off-loading luggage not because for the larger good but to get to their bags. Once their bags are off the coach and on the road, they will rush to the hotel. No one bothers about what happen to those bags their off loaded earlier anymore. It is just a 'me' attitude.
Queuing is not Unique in Singapore
7. It seems that some tour participants had forgotten that queuing is a universal thing. This is not something unique in Singapore. However, once they crossed the national border, it is totally forgotten. Do ask if people in front of you if they are in the queue. Don't just squeeze into the queue as if being a tourist you have a right. Singaporeans need to be gracious both inside and outside our borders. I hate to be associated with some of these animals during the tour.
Difference Between Greed and Genuine Buy
8. We had just visited an outlet that merchandise different types of nuts and dried fruits. We were allowed to sample them to help us decide about our purchase. I usually am able to identify those who genuinely want to buy and those who do not. Those who are not buying usually overstayed their privilege and welcome. Also, there is little EQ amongst this kind of people. We need to know when you are filling your stomach and when is not, and please observe hygiene. It is disgusting to see individuals picking the samples with their bare-hands where there were thongs around and the tour guide warned against doing so.
Maids are Needed During their Holidays
9. Maybe Singaporeans are used to having their maids and cleaners picking up their rubbish. The floor of the coach is always littered which brochures, tissue paper, sweet wrappers and other indescribable stuffs. Plastic bags were hung around as rubbish collectors but were not used. The coach driver had to clean up each evening.
Being a Singaporean, many times I feel very embarrassed being seen associated with this kind of Singaporeans. I hope these are only my unique experiences and only a few Singaporeans behave like this.
On behalf of these Singaporeans, I like to apologise to the people of the host nation for their un-cool behaviors.
8/11/2008 Sea Food Market RestaurantWe went to the biggest sea food market restaurant in Bangkok this evening and what we found is very impressive. This restaurant is located at Sukhumvit Soi 24. It is about 500 metres or 10 minutes' walk from the Emporium Shopping Centre. These are the landmarks along this road. The front facade of the restaurant.
This is how the inside of this restaurant looks like. It is big. It is about three times the size of the event hall at the basement of Ngee Ann City. The way this place work is to have the customers pick up the sea food, most of it is alive, from the display counters and place them on the trolley. The staff there will help them with the selection (so smart) and wheel the food to the checkout counters. However, this is not all. After selecting and paying the food, the trolley is wheeled to our table and another staff will ask us how we like the food to be prepared. There are cooking charges involved, and the order is sent to the kitchen that is manned by over 40 cooks. Among the two of us, we selected and ordered several dishes and the highlight of the dinner is the 4,200 Baht Maine Lobster. There are other dishes. These are big dishes for two of us. Of course, watermelon is a must for all my meals. If you are keen to give this place a visit, here is the detail. Gaysorn and Central Area - BangkokBangkok has changed much since I visited her. What used to be the World Trade Centre is now Central World, and the floor space has expended by many folds. Here are some pictures of this revitalised shopping centre. Opposite this shopping centre is Gaysorn, a high end shopping complex. You practically can find most of the high fashion brands there. Some pictures of the shopping centre is provided below.
Chinatown Bangkok..... Rustic and CharmingWe went to the Chinatown this morning to both shop and have lunch. Chinatown has a number of temples and they are observing the month-long Hungry Ghost Festival at the moment.
It has a shop that sells moon cakes and traditional Chinese pastries. I bought some. While I had not eaten the rest, I had tried the moon cake and I found that the lotus paste tasted different even though they do served it with a salted egg. Chinatown attracts many visitors who are interested in gold and there are a number of gold smiths around. There are also many road side stores selling different types of Thai food. Here were some of these delicacies found today but do not ask me what they were and how they tasted. I had not bought or eaten any yet. The main through-fare of Chinatown is lined with restaurants selling shark fins and bird's nest soup. They hang or display the dried fins around and my nature conservatism mindedness will prevent me from ever touching them.
However, there is one restaurant I will always go. Not for the food but for the refreshing cups of chilled and sweeten Chrysanthemum Tea. It comes as free flow and is very effective in cooling the body in a warm Bangkok afternoon. I have learnt that Nam Sing has outlets in Hong Kong as well. The Claypot Tung Hoon is by far the best we had tried during this trip. The noodle is soft and 5 pieces of big head prawn are very fresh.
There are a few Chinese medical halls and shops selling dry goods on the main street. Besides food, Chinatown is famous for its wholesale market. We bought loads of stationary. They are cheap when purchased in bulk. We usually shopped at 'Be Gift' and this is how the inside looked like: 'Be Gift' is only one of the many wholesalers. There are plenty to be purchased. And I must get Camphor sachets whenever I am in Bangkok.
Of course, Chinatown is unique because of these unusual sights as well unlike Singapore's Chinatown, which is dead and boring. 8/10/2008 Patpong Night MarketWe went to Patpong Night Market (via Ratchadamri station, BTS) only to find much have not changed. The usual stuffs sold as still there. Of course there are stores selling fake and piracy items. Nevertheless, there are some surprises and I like this collection. Things to Do the Next Time We are at BangkokThere are several things we like to do the next time we are at Bangkok. We will definitely want to visit the Moon Bar at Banyan Tree. Also, we are keen to take up any kind of spa activities at Hua Hin in the future. 8/9/2008 Favourite Food Court in BangkokWe visited MBK in the afternoon.
It contains one of our favourite food courts in Bangkok. Go to level 6 and you will find the food court. We will be there every time we are in Thailand.
Besides eating, this is where you could get a copy of Royston Tan's 15. Staying at Pullman BangkokAfter a 3-hour wait at the Changi Airport, we finally boarded the SQ flight for Thailand. About 2 hours later we are at Bangkok and the ride on the expressway brought us to the Pullman Hotel in less than 30 minutes. It is a huge hotel. Newly opened with a big duty free shop, which we will visit tomorrow. It is just a stone throw from the Victory Monument BTS Sky Train Station. In fact, the hotel provides free shutter service to the Century Shopping Centre and back, which is just next to this BTS station. Do not expect too much about the service. We were shuttered between the two places on the hotel's tuktuk. The hotel has the looks of Hotel Intercontinental Singapore but it presents itself with local delights. Here are some of the highlights of the hotel.
Here is how the interior of the room we stayed in looks like. It has a touch of class. Also, the hotel is littered with many pieces of such metal sculptures. They give the hotel an artistic look and feel that break down the hard and cold nature of most accommodations. We will have more activities tomorrow and I will continue to update whenever I could. 8/8/2008 Watched Movie in BangkokThis is the 3rd time we watched movie in Bangkok. We were at the Paragon Theaters to catch the 3D 'Journey to the Centre of the Earth'.
While the movie is so-so, the theater is impressive. The path towards theater 14. Our 1st Dinner at BangkokWe went to MK Steamboat for our dinner. This is located in Siam Paragon and is MK's 200th outlet. They adopt the open kitchen concept and we can see the chefs preparing the food.
As usual, we started feeding and over ordered again. Among other stuffs, we order the duck noddle: Moving Around In BangkokIt is quite easy getting around in Bangkok. Besides taxis, buses and the occasional Tuktuks, there is the BTS Sky Train. We bought the Sky SmartPass for 100 Baht (not including the 30 Baht deposit for the card and the non-refundable 30 Baht admin charges). Like the MRT in Singapore, the station places maps showing the various stations and the what I like most is that they include the key attractions on these maps too. 3/24/2008 Visiting Hong KongI have grown to love Hong Kong. Being a regular visitor. I like Hong Kong for her great shopping.... for the eating culture..... and for the people who makes what Hong Kong is.... I just came back from Hong Kong and I have taken some pictures. Look into my album for this series of photos..... The place I will always go to each time I am at Hong Kong is 'Wong Tai Sin' Temple. I go there to immerse into the local culture and to pray for health and wealth....
Singapore Airport Terminal 3I was at the airport 2 weeks ago to see someone leaving Singapore for a holiday and I took a detour via the Skytrain to visit Terminal 3. It's huge and highly functional. Of all of the architecture, I like the fountain the most. 10/12/2007 Bangkok Here I Come......Almost 2 years have passed since I last visited Bangkok, and it is time to go back again. Let's see how things unfold over the next few days, which is over the weekend. There are several things I like to do given the 3 days there..... Obtaining Blessings (20%).....
2/5/2007 ComfortDelGro's Driver Endangering the Life of A PassengerI was reading The New Paper today and I saw this on page 17....
Sorry for the unpleasant encounter by Tammy Tan, Group Corporate, Communications Officer, ComfortDelGro Corporation Limited
I refer to the letter, "cabby forced us out, baby and all' by Ms Aisha Beevi (The New Paper, 29 Jan) and wish to apologise to her and her family for the unpleasant encounter.
ComfortDelGro has set clear guidelines on driver conduct and this includes being courteous to passengers at all times, with no exceptions to the rule.
We are dismayed to learnt that this code of conduct was compromised by the said driver.
We have investigated the matter. The driver has been disciplined and the outcome of the investigation has been communicated to Ms Beevi.
We would like to assure Ms Beevi and the public that every customer is important to us.
It is our desire that every communter's experience with our taxi service is pleasant and confortable. We will not hesitate to mete out the appropriate disciplinary actions against errant drivers.
This reminded me of an incident that happened to me on 23 Jan 2007.
I was at the Great World City taxi stand at about 845pm to 9PM on 23/1/2007. A Comfort cab (8522) drove into the taxi boarding lane and I was at the front of the queue. A Japanese lady, who I believed was clueless about the taxi queueing norms of Singapore, wanted to board the cab. She realised the error when I pointed out that she was to be at the other end of the line.
I dropped my gym gear and shopping bags on the right side of the cab. The door was already opened by the Japanese lady, and it helped since my hands were full. I closed the door and was about to aboard the cab on the left side when the cab began to drive off. I had to knock the boot hard with my knuckles to signal the driver that I had not boarded the cab!!!
When I was inside the vehicle, I commented that what the driver did, driving off without looking if the passenger had properly boarded, was very dangerous. He reasoned that he was looking at the Japanese lady, and I retorted that I was the person, whose safety he should be concerned about.
By this time, we were on River Valley Road, and he insisted that I should alight the cab if I was not satisfied with his service. I indicated that this was not a correct behaviour for a Comfort driver but since the conversation had risen into an heated arguement with him challenging me to file reports with his company and LTA, I was forced to request the driver to alight me at Tiong Bahru Plaza, which has a taxi stand, instead dropping me along River Valley Road, which normally is a difficult spot to get at cab at that hour, especially, I had so much of shopping with me. He finally agreed to bring me to the plaza, after much pleading.
On arrival, I told him that I would not pay him the cab fare since he had not delivered the service. He was in rage and insisted that I pay. He even called the police. I felt threaten and intimidated by his rough disposition and language used, and if I was not in a public place, with plenty of on-lookers, I think I will be beaten up.
I called Comfort Cab's operational centre for assistance. They were not very effective either. I was routed 2 times to 2 different people and was made to repeat the same story the same number of times before I reached that night's duty supervisor almost 15 minutes later, only to do the same story again, against the backdrop of fear and little battery in the handphone. In these 3 pieces of conversations, I had strongly voiced my concern for my safety and indicated that they look into the matter quickly.
Two policemen turn up eventually. The driver told his side of the story, and I shared my version. I indicated to the policemen that there was no case since I had no intent to ran away. I was in constant contact with Comfort's operational staff the moment I was at Tiong Bahru Plaza. The policemen agreed that this was a matter between me, a passenger, ComfortDelGro, and the driver, and advised the driver to leave and take instructions from his company.
When the driver and the policemen left, I had the cab company arranged for another taxi (1432) to take me home , and it was about 9.48PM when I left the Plaza, a journey usually will take me no more than 10 minutes.
I am still waiting for ComfortDelGro to followup with me on this incident, which I think is a very very serious matter. 1/29/2007 Mystery Men @ The Asian Civilisatons Museum (ACM)"In the summer of 1986, an unprecedented archaeological discovery near Guanghan city, in Sichuan Province took the world by storm. Two sacrificial pits filled with over 4,000 objects were discovered. In them were mysterious, larger-than-life bronze masks and heads, elephant tusks, ceremonial jades, crowrie shells and gold. Made some 3,200 years ago, the bronze masks, heads and figurines were fashioned in a style previously unseen in any part of China." from ACM Brochure.
I went to ACM last Friday with the sole purpose of visiting this exhibition...... took me some time to get to the gallery as there is no mention where the exhibits are and ACM is like a maze...... the displays are well layout with lightings adding to that're already mysterious... but the historical context is weakly presented...... with no reference of this era vis-a-vis the others, and little of the history of this period in China at large is articulated.... this is a let down after paying S$8 to get into the building....
I am amazed by the sophistication these ancient people had attained to achieve this quality of bronze production..... a sophistication, we today, in a very mechanised world, has taken for granted..... there are a few pieces that are so complex that they employed several innovative techniques to put the separate pieces together...... and could have taken years to made....
I have taken some of the pictures (visit my pictures here)....... my favourite pieces are the bronze head with gold foil and the mask with protruding pupils.... they are awesome!!!! I wonder how life was at the time these pieces were broken and buried during the sacrifical ceremony...... 12/13/2006 Shopping In SingaporeThe last few hours are just crazy.......
I was only able to end my consulting assignment at 6PM yesterday (Friday) and I had to rush from Tuas to town...... already very late..... my client was kind enough to give me a lift and speeded us all the way to Cold Storage Jelita... where I booked a cab for The Deliph to collect my free gifts.... not bad at all...... and to Funan Centre to hunt for the battery for my HP PPC 2210... I was successful with the collection but failed miserable with the hunt.....
In this rush of events, I was also trying to deal with office politics..... how someone, who is a resource gatekeeper.... abused his power..... by not providing the needed enablers..... and disregarding the purpose of our existence.... if I have my ways, I will remove him..... unfortunately, I am a powerless because the organisation does not function the way typical commerical companies do....
Nevermind.... I need to put this aside and not to be perturbed by a 27 year old boy......
Let me continue with my story...... yes.... I shopped like mad..... toiletries at Wastons...... OTC drugs at Unity....... shoes at Royal Sporting House..... DV tape..... tea leaves...... gifts....... dinner...... took me 3 hours to complete buying what I need for the trip..... and when I am back home..... I packed..... and packed...... kekeke..... funny isnt it... shouldnt the buying be in China... or Hong Kong.... or Macau..... but I am making quite a lot of purchases in my own country because of the trip....
After these, there was no letting up as I need to complete a few tasks before I leave the country..... there are cheques to be drawn... emails to reply.... nails to cut...... a blogs to write..... it's 3.30AM and I am going to get a wake up call at 7.45AM....... I think I will turn in now..... everything I need to do... has been done...... or I can no longer do further......
So, Merry Christmas...... 12/12/2006 Overseas in Less Than 36 HoursIt is the time of the year I travel again.....
There is a distinct pattern in all my travels in December each year.... the departure date either coincides with the date of my birthday, like this time, or before or after...... I always lamented that no airlines ever celebrated my birthday in the plane.... maybe, with so much of oxygen in the plane, she could just blew up when the candle is lighted.... ops!!! should I say this, given the sensitive time we face nowadays?
One reason why this pattern occurs is that the travel takes into consideration of my regatta, which usually happens in the 1st or 2nd weekend of December...... so, the trip is just nice to let me recover and rest.... that's if I dont have to walk so much.... shopping, eating and sight seeing..... sometimes, I just like to go to a place, where I sit by the pool, read as I tan out all my weird tanlines on my body... have someone rub me down, and pretty much do nothing...... I dont need much, just 1 or 2 days.... any longer I will freak out.....
In less than 36 hours, I will be flying to China with a stop over at HongKong.... this is the 1st time I am visiting Beijing... and the 2nd to China, of course many times over if I include HongKong.... the itinerary has been fixed..... and I am on the way to study Chinese culture and management from the perspective of the Pekingese.... it will provide an interesting contrast I gotten from my Shanghai trip 2 years ago..... the preparations for the 2008 Olympics will change Beijing forever.... in terms of her architecture..... and her world view in the 21st century..... and the very psyche of her people...
I wish to visit a local sizeable book store and buy as many books as possible..... the last trip, I visited the Shanghai Book City (Shang Hai Shu Cheng)..... and I bought over 35 books on Chinese management sciences, on art of war, on talent management.... all within S$100... I am keen to read beyond Sunzi... and I am not a fan of Wee Chow How's or other Singapore authors on Bing Fa because they made what is a Chinese philosophy into western frameworks...... and in the process killed it... in my opinion, elements of Bin Fa are something that can be combined and recombined for different situations... it is this flexibility and it's ability to create different permutations that makes Bing Fa interesting and difficult to learn... and the set frameworks get in the way...
I will be in Beijing for 7 days..... after this, I will fly over to HongKong and stay there for another 5 days..... it will be interesting to learn what impact Disneyland has on HongKongers..... I saw some significant changes during the last visit..... I may visit Macau..... which is riched with Portugese influences.... and I do like the authentic Portugese egg tart..... not the SG ones....
I have already packed 70% of my luggage...... my main worry is that I may not have space to bring gifts and books back... but learning that weather in Beijing is about 5 to -5 degrees C, it is always good to be prudent..... I am still recovering from my 3 day competition..... and there is always a tendency to be sick..... the last thing is for this to happen in a foreign land.... 6/24/2006 Japan - Tokyo & OsakaI have not written for a long time.... was it long? Yes, almost a month ago since I penned the last entry.
Was very busy with competitions and travel in the past 4 weeks. Now that the competitions are behind me (the next one is the Pesta Sukan Regatta in the 1st week of Aug 06), I have time to do my things, and to be myself. Not someone expected to bring back trophies..... Not that I dont want them. Just that the pressure and stress is too much.... the expectations and the talks.... sometimes, I wonder why I lasted so long. Should have retired in my early 20s.... and finish my music education instead...
Yes.... Japan... I am growing to love the country.... like I gotten accustomed to HongKong and Bangkok.....
Because...
I can practice Japanese there. I was forced to use what I learnt in Singapore and created new sentences.... Sometimes, I was grammatically wrong.... most of the time I learnt....
Of the great country side..... I saw paddy fields, mountains that popped my ears, and huge rivers that stretched so far that I couldnt see where she ends, and the people occupying the land..... were simple people... people who were really helpful.... not because they are providing a service....
It is a land of fantasies..... Universal Studio, Sanrio Wonderland, Disneyland and Disney Seaworld..... places where adults became children..... I rubbed shoulders with Goofy!!!
Of the interesting use of technologies.... toilet bowls that washed my ass.... push button machines that took my orders and collected payments.... I could insert 2 train cards (one on top of another) together into ticketing machine..... even the tickets were upside down.... the machine read it in split seconds... truly high tech high touch.....
I love the open baths..... can walk around naked and expose my privates without any fear... hahahah.... soaking in the hotsprings bring wonders to the body.....
Of the authentic Japanese food... not the crappy stuffs I get from Sakae Sushi or Sushi Teh.... even the best Japanese resturants in Singapore cannot dish the quality I gotten in Japan.... the best ingredients are never exported... Prices need not be expensive if I know where to have my meals..... yes... I ate and ate and ate.....
I think the train and metro systems is cool... can be confusing.... just in Shijuku Station alone, there were 12 lines going to different parts of Tokyo.... some stations were serviced by 2 operators.... talk about competition.... and I dont have to listen to the announcements to know which station I was at.... there were LED panels telling how many more stations to reach destination...
The sex shops!!!! My goodness..... Not only toys, there were DVD quality productions catering to different tastes.... in different age groups..... for different genders.... I even come across this guy peddling nacrotics openly in one of the streets in Shijuku area..... pimps are everywhere in the night....
I have taken videos and pictures of the trip. Will post them on the internet in the course of the next 2 months....
3/28/2006 Visiting Genting Malaysia in Feb 2006My 1st visit this year is to Genting, Malaysia.
A very interesting place. It's more than 40 years old and just 7 hours drive from Singapore.
There is a heritage centre. You must visit the centre to understand the high political IQ used that gets the place to what it is today. There are still building activities going on to expand the hill.
Yes, people gambles there. Yes, there are ATMs just outside the casinos. But, there are other forms of entertainment besides gambling - shopping, eating, live performances, gaming, roller-coaster...... access these places through their extensive underground network and covered walk ways....
Great sunset if you know where to watch. Clouds sweep cross the buildings in the evening. People to watch and see how they devise ways to beat the odds on the table......
Here is a photo album of my 1st trip to this integrated resort. No photos inside the casinos as cameras are not allowed and I don't dare risk using my handphone.
Enjoy!!!!! Here is the website of Genting - www.genting.com.my
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