A Singaporean[Quitter] in Mae Sai

Moved....

2009-10-31T21:08:00.002+07:00

I started this blog in Oct 2006. Its 3 years passed and I've decided to close this blog and moved on...... to another site!!!

I plan to write more about photography besides my neverending personal problems and I also wish to provide an informative website regarding Northern Thailand. And I do find that the current blogger platform is a bit limited in this area. So after some careful thoughts. I decided to invest in a host and a real domain name for my new site. All the old posts are ported over so you could read them there too. A bit sad are the comments which could not be ported though..

So you can update the new url for my new site at www.sgmaesai.com . Its still the same name and slogon. But there will be more stuff later.... See ya at the new site!

The complete opposite... (well so far)

2009-10-17T15:44:00.002+07:00

I kind of expected that the characteristic of my ah boy is a complete opposite of girl girl.

Just by observing him for the pass few months and you will know how different he is to his elder sister.

First of all Ah Boy is really mellow. Very very mellow and quiet little fella that rarely cries. But he does have a thundering voice (big size mah) whenever he cries and most of the time its because he's hungry or want to be carried to sleep...

His sister on the other hand is noisy and will cry at her top of her voice for just little movements, unpleasant sounds or just for no apparent reasons. Got one time we got so worried as she did not stop for more than an hour, we decided to see the doctor who assured us its the norm.

Boy is also more "friendly" More like bo chap actually. Anyone can carry him and he will not complain. Which means is a good news to my wife as Girl girl could only be carried by her and my mum during the first 3 months. (Girl girl is very very picky on who is carrying her) I could carry ah boy for the whole day while girl girl can only last at most 5mins before complaining. So at least wify can clear up some personal chores before "entertaining" ah boy.

Ah boy is also a bit more "lazy". He just lies there and look around and kick less often then his sister. And he loves to sleep! (inherited from me liao) And he sleeps soundly for hours. His sister on the other hand is hyper ... sleep at most 1 hour and will be awake, looking for mummy or entertainment.

In short, wife's feedback is the same as mine. Ah boy is much much more easier to care for then his sister during the same period of time. But I guess its just for the moment as wife already started to notice he is getting a bit more active. Wants to see things now and will complain if people put him down on bed while he's awake.

Wife also told me he likes to smile to his sister too whenever she is around. And girl girl actually rock her little brother (in a rocking bed of couse) to sleep during his afternoon nap. How I wished I was there to see this scene...

Anyway, coming 27 I will be back in Thailand again for almost 3 weeks. Its Loi Krathong again!!!

A day to remember - 15-Oct-2009 for SLCC

2009-10-15T14:05:00.009+07:00

I can't exactly remember the first time I join my first photography class in SLCC (Stanley Lim Colour Centre). I think its between 2003 or 2004. I saw an ad in Clubsnap on makeover photography course and was interested in learning how the process goes. Some might say its weird that I took up this course as I actually disliked fashion photography. But during that time, I am under the influence that by gaining more photography skills, I could use it as a way to make some extra income through photography, and makeover seems like a good choice to start.

My instructor was Danny. (Who later left SLCC due to differences which I will not elaborate too much) And the course was interesting and refreshing. So I signed up the Wedding and Event course. Which was conducted by Stanley himself.

I could safely credit that my flash light photography (I rarely use flash that time as I shoot landscape) skill actually improved by leaps and bounds under Stanley's tutelage. His humor and down to earth instructions and no holding back of information is an eye opener for me. Have a question and ask him and he will answer your queries as much as possible.

Over the course of time I was there. I started to make new friends.

The first, of course was our lady boss, Joanne. First impression, feisty and LOUD but hold no nonsense. But after a while, a wonderful person to work with and not forgetting to mention that she is practical and efficient in every details in every project we have worked together. (Although sometimes Garang Gabra due to not enough sleep)

Yong Xiao, Our punching bag and "toy". (Also the one who broke my spectacle and my Norton 1.5mm) From a small boy till now, a teenager. Whom I felt like a little brother that I never had. (Although he call me Uncle......)

Yan Ru, although I don't get to talk to her often but I see she cares for her mother and brother. Her make-up skill is improving a lot!!! And I see potential in her.

My Shi Shiong Shi Di men which I learnt a lot from.

Like Wei Liang. Honest and the most hardworking person I ever met. Always learning from his mistakes and never try to make them again.

Kelvin, Fantastic food shots and still life techniques and of course, learnt some great PS from him.

Yeow Ting, the best gear head among us, giving us tips and info in MF, lenses and other accessories that we had no idea its for. I still remember the day he showed me his minolta 28-135mm...

Max 2.8 Although I don't see him often but he's da one (and I believe one of the pioneer) in digital IR photography in Singapore. He's also the one who showed me his Bessa and I got hooked into RF..

UKay. Now a very successful commercial photographer where we used to go shoot together and he showing me the great Minolta 100mm Macro. Makes me convert back to Minolta for good.

Andrew. The one who found me a job in DC and now my constant companion in shooting slides and negatives. (And LOMO!!)

Cheng Lai. My team lead during the Malacca trip. Small guy who talk loud and eat a lot. Those classic face that you see him you feel like laughing liao..

Jing Jian and his gang, Joel and Ray. Its a small world that I get to meet Jing Jian again (used to be in NAAPL). Joel the cool and handsome guy and his cousin Ray, who seems quiet but is as chatty and not to mention his wedding photos are just brilliant.

Ser Ling. My only student who uses the Pentax system!! haha but his photos speaks for themselves.

Mok. Who has one of the most fantastic collection of travel and landscape photos that I could dream of going. And also the guy who brought me to CIAS to conduct lessons for those interested in photography.

There are many others that I wish I have the time and space to include. But as I'm writing this while sitting in the office (oops!). Apologies to those who I have missed but I do remember you (although I might have forgotten your names) :)

So I have mixed feelings for today actually. On one hand, I am happy for Stanley and Joanne as the business is already failing and its not sustaining itself. On the other hand, sad to see it go and so quickly too.

Still, I guess we can still meet up one day and get to chat about photography.
Just that another part of my life seems to have gone and I get a bit sentimental about it.

~~PS: The photo of the new signboard is taken by me btw..~~ Think its Kelvin, not me... :P

Going Medium Format

2009-10-11T16:46:00.004+07:00

After shooting a bunch of 35mm slides. I got bored with the small transparencies I held in my hand. So I actually planned to shoot something bigger (I very greedy one). Its not the first time I shot with a Medium Format camera. I used to have a cheap Kiev 88 and it produces quite good results. I sold it when I went to Thailand and have not much time for photography. But the idea of shooting 120mm slides is always in my head and I have not really given up on this idea.

(Un)Luckily my friend YT (my Shi Xiong in SLCC) has a Bronica SQA sitting in the studio so I took it out for a spin.

Big Mistake of my life. Shot a few rolls and I got hooked. (Especially the slides....)

Went into ebay and look see look see. Bid on a Hasselblad 500C/M kit at a ridiculous price and actually won it!! Just shot a roll with it and the magazine seems to have light leak when I remove or put in the dark slide(common problem with a Hassy back). Not a big issue as I have already ordered spare parts for the new seal (some foam and plastic).

Maybe its faith.... I'm back into Medium Format Photography when the rest of the world is converting to digital... hahaha

A quick one.

2009-10-06T11:49:00.002+07:00

I'm working so just a quick post while having a break. Yesterday wife got her Birth Cert for real this time and she has submitted it to her local district office.

Both PaLat has signed the documents and now we are in the queue! According to them, it will take another 1 to 3 months and if there no issues. She should get her citizenship in late December or Jan 2010.

Think we are finally solving one of our biggest problems :) Wish me luck!

The whole Lomo Fad....

2009-10-04T12:00:00.009+07:00

There is not much updates of Thailand as I'm stuck here in Singapore. So decided to write something about photography.

For those who are not sure about Lomography. You can read more about it here.

I could say recently there is a lot of fad in these analog toy cameras and its cool to know people picking up on shooting film again. I am not going to discuss the pros and cons of shooting digital or analog. I think my idol Oleg Novikov does a better job in explaining and summarising how I think about it too.

Recently I shot an event with my Diana F+ and instanx mini back. Its was a real fun experience to have the photo printed on the spot (polaroid style) and thrown onto a white table. I've scanned the photos and some friends saw it on FB (first nine shots of the album) and kind of wonder why my skill is so lousy this time (a lot of the pics were either low in contrast, OOF, underexposed, overexposed, colour cast and all the bad stuff you want to avoid in genereal photography).

Its hard to explain but I kind of deliberately want to have all these flaws as nowadays, all the photos I see are so poster perfect that it kinds of bores me. The main reason I dived into lomo is that I find it as an interesting new photography medium for shooting personal stuff. Commercially, I'm not going to shoot like that (maybe I will if the client insists) but it does makes me feel more attached to the photographs I made because of the process of taking them.

Firstly the camera looks like a toy and it is a toy camera! Which makes it a topic to talk about. Which makes them more relax and willing to get shot. And with all the gadgets it could attached (fisheye, ring flash and color gels), the people involved started to interact with the camera tool. Some actually requested to be shot with a certain colour gel!

Second is the instant result on paper. Physically holding a photo that was just taken a minute ago. Its a bit different then the digital screen as they could passed it along and comment about it and try new stuff.

So I had great fun that day. And the people who got their photos taken were excited too. Even though some photos did not turned out as expected but the whole process was so much fun and enjoyable.

So how do I feel about Lomo (short of Lomography) Fad?? I think generally its an interesting medium but the constant marketing of new "clones" of the same camera bores me. It becomes another "I have this, you do not have this model". I rather they come up with some new cameras that have different features or sets that could make I could experiment more. The horizon Kompact looks interesting....

And too me, the Lomography motto of "don't think, just shoot" applies only by situation. And I see some people who post their photos on the lomo site (most of them actually) are just whacking and shooting for the sake of hoping to get a good shot. Wasting film and money! Even the photos in the book that comes with the camera seems a bit trying.

In short, its like painting Picassa without understanding the correct technique of painting., which will do no good to one's photography skill (be it artistically or technically).

So I will still shoot with these toy cameras but the results I get will be mostly for my personal viewing. For those who wants to try a new and refreshing shooting experience. You should try it too!

PS: All photos taken with Diana F+ or Diana Mini with Lucky 100 BW film

Waiting games....

2009-10-01T14:12:00.002+07:00

Remember the milestone I wrote a few weeks before? Now its back to square one for the birth certificate. Apparently we need to produce the birth certificate from the place my wife was born, which is Maesai. So now we have completed everything again for Maesai (another bloody rounds of interviews and kopi money) and waiting for the results.

It should be safe sailing this time as the Pa Lat from MaeFaLeung personally gave a call and letter to the Pa Lat of Maesai to help my wife. But the process is really damn slow and inefficient. (kind of miss Singapore's efficiency in this matter)

So more waiting games.... crossing my fingers again.

Family Photos

2009-09-20T20:01:00.000+07:00

Just a short series between Aug and Sept. Those Ah boy still got hair ones were taken on my last visit but I had no time to post them.

Anyway, ah boy is fine. Very mellow and much easier to care for then his sister during the same period. Xinhui is very picky on who could carry her while Didi seems to be fine with anyone.

Ah Girl also enjoys the new member :D (can see from photo) and dotes on her little brother. She is a bit angry sometimes that mama seems to be paying more attention to Didi but she never take it on her little brother. Which is a very good sign to me :)

Anyway, hope you enjoy the series. There's a lot more but I think these few are the best I've taken so far.

More Plastic Cameras

2009-09-05T09:21:00.002+07:00

Ever since I got baby no 2 on the way. I have been refraining myself of buying more cameras. There was the EP-1 and Fuji 200 EXR. So to quench my thirst for new toys. I turned myself to cheapo plastic cameras. There was the Black Brid Fly. And recently, I just got the Diana F+ and Diana Mini and all sorts of accessories.

There are cheap compared to those latest digital camera. For the same price I could get 4 or 5 such cameras off the net. Problem is there are a lot of nice accessories to go with these cameras. So in the end I’m still spending too much money on these babies :P. Not to count I need to buy more films and spend money developing them.

As usual, my “genius” plan has backfired on me… back to the drawing board….hahaha..

虾一碗 (Prawn One Bowl)

2009-09-01T14:11:00.002+07:00

The English Name is just a literal translation of my good friend's stall. hahaha.. Anyway, he's a good pal of me and had just started this business a few months back. His stall is at Chinatown Complex. If you happen to go there (its a bit hectic there so you may need to follow my instructions below), do visit him.

Instructions to get to his stall -
From the main escalator (which they have only one), go up the escalator and immediately turn right. Walk a few steps to the first junction, turn left and walk straight down and you should see his stall on your right hand side.

The flight of Dragons

2009-08-24T03:37:00.001+07:00

Found this gem while browsing. Its an old cartoon that I loved to watch when I was a kid. The music is damn good too :)

Ah Boy Botak liao!

2009-08-23T10:01:00.002+07:00

Turn on the computer to have a video conference last night and surprised to see Ah Boy's hair all gone... kekeke Little Botak!

Girl girl not happy Grandma and me back in SG and wants to come with us again. This time she really displayed her unhappiness in front of me and this scene really makes me a bit sad... Still got 2 more weeks before I go back again...

Milestone!

2009-08-19T20:36:00.003+07:00

I have been quite anxious today as my wife was going to the Amphue today to collect her Birth cert and apply for citizenship.

I am on shift today so I could not call her that often for updates. Anyway, we had hit a milestone. My wife's birth certificate was approved and she officially has a certificate that proves her to be born in Thailand!

So at the same time, she has also applied for citizenship (with the help of her Po Long aka Grassroot leader of her district) Her particulars were updated in the computer and her request for Thai Citizenship (Khor Sian Chart)is sent to Ministry in Bangkok for final vetting and approval. Normally this should be the easiest as the birth cert part was the most difficult to get. So now we heard is that the fastest we can get some news is next Monday. Where if its all approved. She will need to go back to the Amphue again to get her photo taken and given an ID card immediately on acknowledgment.

Still anything could go wrong (sorry for bring pessimistic but I had got a lot of bad news ever since we started doing this). If everything is REALLY settled for her. Then we need to start on other things, such as changing the house deeds back to my wife's name, getting married (finally), getting her a passport (so she could finally come visit Singapore) and etc etc etc.

Its a long journey and its just starting to get interesting. :)

Efficiency

2009-08-16T21:13:00.002+07:00

is not a word to describe the working attitude in Thailand. Especially Gahment related stuff...

Take for example my wife's birth cert. Its more than 2 weeks since we've applied for it and still we are waiting for the results. Firstly, it was due to a major event in the first week where officials from Bangkok came down to the Amphue to have some meeting and renewal of house books. (Ta Bian Bhan)

Then followed by the Queen's birthday that the Pa Lat (Head administrator) is on leave. Now there are news that there is a change in the Pa Lat. KNS... I smell something fishy already....

Anyway. I'm still crossing the fingers and hope for the best since I have not paid anything yet.

Plastic Camera

2009-08-14T11:46:00.004+07:00

I used to have a Holga (think 4 ,5 years back)and I broke it easily after a roll or 2.. Thus I refrained myself from using plastic cameras for quite some time until I saw this The Black Bird Fly!... Hehe. It got delivered last month and I only get to play with it today (yes I'm back in SG) So far the build is pretty good for a plastic camera.. The only think I dun like is the film rewind crank. Feels a bit too easy to snap. Other then that, it sure look cool and retro..

Only 2 apertures f/7 and f/11 and one shutter speed (1/125). There is a bulb mode though so low light is still possible. Now if only the weather improves a bit so I can go out and shoot! :(

Xinhui carry Jing Yong

2009-08-06T21:13:00.001+07:00

Took this last night... Just want to share this cute moment... :)

Xinhui's Performance

2009-08-04T21:43:00.001+07:00

This is long overdue video of my girl first school performance last year at the end of her first term. Wife's friend took the video. You can skip the front portion to 3mins to see the actual performance... The highlight of the video is actually around 4.30 where girl girl kay po again.. :P

My Transport

2009-08-04T12:37:00.002+07:00

... in Thailand. Since I'm free for the day while waiting for news at home. Cleaned and washed my car and bikes and took a photo of them.

The Toyota VIOS is the new addition. The black Honda Blade is mine and the Pink Yamaha Fino is my wife's..

Total damage is less than 40k SGD. Funny thing is I dun even have one bike in SG.

So just posting this to Hao Lian(show off) a bit :P

Another year passed and still waiting

2009-08-02T19:02:00.002+07:00

I think those who follow my blog would understand the title of this post. Its 2nd of Aug and its my birthday again. It has been 6 years plus since I met my wife and we are still waiting on the status for my wife.

To refresh those who never read the beginning. My wife is born in Thailand but without a birth certificate. And worst still is that she was born near the borders at Maesai which makes things even more complicated. Her status now is actually Thai Yai (2nd class citizenship) which she is confined in the state of Chiang Rai. If she needs to get out of the state. She needs to prove her employment at her Amphue. In this case, at Mae Fa Leung. There are over ten thousands such people like her in Thailand holding this bullshit status. They were often bullied and forced to work as cheap labourer or as sexual workers. My wife is a bit lucky to meet someone in Bangkok to help her out in her store (thats where I met her).

We came back to Maesai when we had our girl and we had been trying hard ever since to sort out her citizenship. She is Thai but do not have Sian Chart (or Thai Citizenship). So we cannot get married and she cannot leave the country. My daughter and son is currently stateless too as Thai law will only grant them citizenship if they are over 12. So apparently if my wife's status is not changed. They will only get their citizenship when they reached 12.

So that's a kind of a summury of my predicament in Thailand.

NOW the good news so far. WE managed to get in touch of an EXPERT in all these sort of things and we are slowly progressing to get the citizenship for my wife. So far it looks promising but I don't want to jump to conclusion as we had a lot of such false hopes so crossing our fingers, we will be going back to the Amphue this coming Tues to Kor Sian Chart (ask for citizenship). The soothsayer wife spoke to say my son will be bringing us good luck. So cross my fingers....

Amphue Mae Fa Lueng

2009-07-30T11:36:00.002+07:00

Its the government house where my family will always visit instead of Amphue Maesai as its where my wife's Ta Bian Ban (House Record) is. Its actually quite a beautiful place as its on top of a mountain. I did brought my camera but we were too busy so did not take any photos this time...

Boy boy's name needs to be added into the Ta Bian Ban and wife need to finish her birth cert which was done halfway last time. We brought along 2 elders from Maesai (supposed to be her birthplace) to bear witness and be interviewed by the officials to get her cert.

So now everything is settled and we need to wait for her results. Cross our fingers on this.... and hope everything falls in place... With her birth certificate. It will be much much more easier to get her into the queue for full Thai citizenship.

Just caught and killed a rat!

2009-07-25T21:13:00.006+07:00

No pictures as we already threw the body into the river near our house. I went to the kitchen and heard something in the cupboard. Looked into it and saw a rat staring at me. It saw me too and bolted. Not the first time. I've chased out one before and I guess its the same one. So I quickly closed the cabinet and called for help.

Thanks to my poor Thai... My mother and father-in-law thought it was a snake. :P So they were a bit scared at first. Until they saw it then they realised it just a rat. (They very used to it liao) I used a rattan stick to chase the rat while my father-in-law used a cast iron tongs for holding charcoal to catch the little bugger.

Its a bloody quick little bugger. It jumped from the cupboard when we opened it to the cabinets below the sink. There were lots of pots and pans in the cabinets so we proceed to remove them and tried to move them to the living room. Then it bolted again and ran into our living room. We gave chase and closed all the doors. As it has no where else to run, it hid behind our the gap behind our tableware cabinet in the living room. Bloody smart bugger. Anyway with some probing we managed to chase it out. Father in law gave the stunning blow and it knocked it out cold. We then use the pincer and carried it out of the house before I gave the killing blow with my rattan stick.

Quite an interesting experience and I'm still in my adrenaline rush.. Never get to do this sort of things in Singapore... hehe

Map Updated

2009-07-24T13:47:00.002+07:00

I have updated the map I am compiling for Maesai. Hope this is helpful. I will also provide a link on the side bar to this map.

View Fatboi's Maesai Map in a larger map

Siburin Hosiptal

2009-07-24T11:38:00.006+07:00

My daughter is born in Overbrook Hosiptal which was quite a big hospital chain in Thailand. Its the oldest private hospital in Chiang Rai. There is a gahment hospital in Maesai but I would strongly advised not to go there unless you are really broke...

This time around, we chose Siburin which is a new and growing hospital chain in Thailand. It's also in Chiang Rai so we drove there in our new car. Girl girl and my mother-in-law also came to help. We checked-in on the 16th evening as the procedure will be on the 17th morning. The standard rooms were all taken so we were give a choice to upgrade our room to the special suite for an additional of 400 baht per night or upgrade to the VIP room at 1000 baht per night. It was a no brainer so we took the special suite. The room is very clean and spacious. And I will gladly say its as good as those private hospitals in Singapore. (You can see for yourself in the pictures). There is even a fridge with mini-bar on it. You could also order food over the telephone to be delivered to your room at any hours. MAcham hotel with room service liao :P. And its not that expensive. 35 to 40 baht for a Pad Thai or fried rice.

I was expecting to spend about 40kBaht for this whole thing. I have heard that price has increased and I only paid about 28k for my daughter's procedure. So I guess in this newer and better hospital it should be more expensive. Overall, the bill is 37k baht. About $1600 SGD in a private hospital in Thailand. Its $400 plus more than what I paid for my girl but we also stay one more night. Total of 4 days 3 nights (whereas girl girl only 3 days 2 nights).

I kind of understand now why a lot of foreigners actually came to Bangkok or Chiangmai to have plastic surgeries. At this price and service, its again a no brainer. :)

My Boy, so far so good...

2009-07-21T10:09:00.003+07:00

Finally I have some time and energy to update this blog. I have been posting updates on my facebook but those are just short burst of updates.

Baby and Wife is fine and healthy. Boy boy is a chomper.. really eats a lot and wife's milk seems not enough to feed the fiesty fella. Already opened his eyes on the 2nd day at the hospital and he likes to kick and punch to play. (just like when he is in mummy's tummy) He's also a night crawler like girl used to be... Sleep during day time and at night want to play. So we had a hard time trying to catch some Zzz.. But still so far, ah boy is much more easier to take care then ah girl. Xin hui used to cry for long hours for no reasons and ah boy only cries when hungry. Even after he shit he dun complain, just lie there and stare or even go to sleep (Ah girl no way liao, just a bit cry like hell) hehe..

Some of you might be interested in the bills and hospital I went and so far I have to say its a thumbs up. Its not expensive and I took some photos of the room too (more like a suite). Anyway, will post about that later.

Here are more photos at the hospital

Baby Jing Yong is here!

2009-07-18T10:47:00.005+07:00

My boy is here... :) On 17th July 9:36am (+7GMT) at Chiang Rai Siviburine Hospital. Boy is the biggest among the others... 3.86kg.. :P Fatboy! I'm a bit shacked out... Ah girl is a bit on the defensive mood so she's not listening to me or mummy.. and she is sticking to mum like a glue... guess she might be getting a bit jealous.

Will write more once i get home.

Getting back to Maesai.

2009-07-14T15:20:00.002+07:00

I have a lot of free time now as I am currently waiting for my domestic flight to Chiang Rai while typing this. Good way to pass time is to write something while I wait.

I promised to update on how to get to Maesai so here goes. By the way, this guide is only applicable for Singaporeans actually so apologies to those who are not.

The nearest airport to Maesai is actually Chiang Rai International Airport. Maesai is in the province of Chiang Rai which is at the northern tip of Thailand. Although branded as “International” The only flights that crossed borders are actually to Burma so I guess still can pass. So there are no direct flights to Chiang Rai. You die die need to transfer at Bangkok.

The easiest way and most expensive is to get Thai airways ticket. The pros is that you do not need to get out of the airport and go through customs until you are in Chiang Rai. You also do not need to get your bags and re-check-in for other flights (only Thai airways automatically transfer your baggages to the next connecting flight in BKK). So basically you are stuck in the transit area for 2 to 4 hours. The good thing is that if the plane is late.. Die die your next flight will wait for you, if not Thai airways will re-arrange another flight for you. The bad is expensive and you can’t get out of the airport. (The cheapest food is actually get out of the transit area and proceed to the basement, there’s a food court there where you can settle your lunch with just 50baht at most)

Another option is to travel budget which is my style. There are 3 budget airlines. Tiger, Airasia and Jetstar. For domestic, there’s Bangkok airways, Airasia, Thai airways and Nok air. So far the best match (may not be the cheapest but have the shortest waiting time) is to travel by Tiger air from Singapore to Bangkok in the morning. 630 am flight. which you will reach BKK at 0750 or 8am local time. Then you proceed to clear customs and immigration and go all the way up to departure hall to checkin for domestic. For domestic, I only fly Airasia and occasionally Thai airways.. Never tried the Bangkok airways and Nok air as their timing are weird. The flight I normally book is the 1135 flight. (Today the flight delayed so I’m still waiting for my flight) and will reach Chiang Rai at around 1pm or earlier.

So at Chiang Rai airport, you just need to get your bags (if you checked-in)and then proceed outside and look for two taxi stalls on your left when you exit. Ignore those touts and avoid the limousine service. Expensive like hell. A ride to Maesai will set you back 800 baht. and takes 45mins to an hour to reach. Just tell them the hotel you are going and the stall will assign a driver who knows that area well for you. If you have not book a place to stay. Some hotels you can try are Rong Raem (Hotel) Piyaporn. (think is about 1000baht or more per night during peak seasons) Its the newest and cleanest hotel in Maesai. Or if you want budget. Tai Tong is not bad also. Old but at least cheap and clean. Forget about Wang Thong (the pics on the Internet looks good but its bloody shabby).

So there, just a basic guide to get to Maesai as promised. :)

Map of Maesai

2009-07-10T16:19:00.002+07:00

View Fatboi's Maesai Map in a larger map

I got a comment asking me for a map of Maesai. Google maps is actually quite accurate but the satellite photo is a bit ourdated. :P I will add more when I go back and I plan to put some photos too.

Will also update the way to get to Maesai (the old version seems outdated). Do post any questions regarding Thailand and Maesai at leejiing@gmail.com. Will help out any brothers or sisters who are interested in the LOS.

Back to School!

2009-07-08T21:29:00.002+07:00

As mentioned in my previous post. I am currently attending the CCNA-Express course. Suppose to have one more colleague (to make a total of 3) but he was recalled back for "service" as one of colleague who was suppose to cover us had some personal issues.

Anyway its more of a refresher course for me as I already took my CCNA way back in 2000. It expired in 2003 but I never bothered to get it renewed so my current company throw me into the course again.

Things have indeed changed as last time we only did RIPv2 and touched a bit on OSPF... nowadays its all on OSPF and EIGRP.. duh...

Fundamentals were unchanged though. All those OSI layers and TCP/IP stack, subnetting, bits and bytes. My other colleague who is my team mate and in the same course is having a tough time absorbing all these information. I have to keep remind her that I once took a semester during my University on all these basic networking stuff thus I could comprehend. If not, 5 days crash course on CCNA is really a bit tough for the uninitiated.

Lab is also a breeze for both of us as we deal with routhers and switches every day in our work but learning new commands for my colleague is a bit daunting for her to as she is not used to CLI (console line interface).

So far we are 3 days into the course and 2 more days before the whole thing finish. Frankly, I kind of enjoy the course (not because its easy) mainly is to get the feeling of being in a classroom again and facing a lecturer. The whole experience is quite stimulating and I do hope I get more chances to go for such courses.

And speaking of certification. I did not plan to re-certify initially(sure can pass one lah :P) as I think I won't be in this line for long. Still, maybe I would just take it and see if I can clear CCNP next year... See how lah... :P

Its all scheduled!

2009-07-04T23:20:00.003+07:00

I have been busy lately with work and the preparation for my new baby. The due date was brought forward by 2 weeks. (Doctor say my wife's tummmy is too huge and baby seems to be more than 3kg.) So I will be flying back on the 14th and the should be going to the hospital on the 16th The cesarean is scheduled on the 17th.

Price for a cesarean birth in Thailand is no longer 25k bath (approx 1k SGD) Its about 35k at least now. (that's just 3 years ago!!) Wonder what really happened with the pricing but still, this time we are choosing another hospital which was newer and has more experienced doctors though.

There are many things I wished I have time to write about but so far I'm a bit overwhelmed by work. (I am actually working on another 24hrs shift while I'm typing this :P) Need the extra cash for the new car and the new baby.

Anyway, some things I want to write is a new bag I had and more about my health. Maybe I will drop another note next week which I guess I will be a bit more free as I will be on course. So after the course and 2 more days of work and I will be in Thailand for a month. Hope everything goes as well as planned.

Andriod Rocks

2009-06-18T22:26:00.002+07:00

I have a few friends who are really into getting a PDA phone and some of them are really into the Iphone. Until I show them what Android can do too. :P

Iphone is great actually. Especially the OS which basically is a scaled down version of it OS X. But I really hate the idea of Apple monopolizing the hardware and using bloody iTunes to sync the device. I don’t really like the form factor of the Iphone too. (Just a matter of personal preference) I am currently using Windows Mobile HTC Touch Cruise (surprise!) but I am already starting to plan my next purchase. So Iphone used to be on my to buy list (I’m a bit sick of Windows Mobile) until I heard about the Open Handset Alliance and their announcement of the Android operating system for mobile phones looks really promising. Its still pretty under development and they have cute names for their builds (current version is Cupcake… the next one is Donut)

It is really promising as since the OS is open sourced. A lot of mobile phone manufacturers will implement it onto their PDA phones. So far, HTC, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and LG are going to produce devices under Android. Acer and Asus is also looking into using Android as a alternative for their netbooks. Which means I get to have a lot more hardware to choose from rather than Apple alone. If Apple is willing to open up and allow the other hardware manufacturers to offer hardware based on their OS.. then it might be a different story altogether. But you should know the answer. Its next to impossible for Apple to do that so Android based phones will be on my shopping list.

So called "Freedom"

2009-06-14T01:25:00.006+07:00

I had an interesting conversation that day with an old friend before I left for Thailand and its a pretty interesting topic.

He's still single but he's getting married soon at the end of the year. He's still busy preparing his wedding and we started to talked about life before and after marriage.

Well generally, I would say I fall into most of the same category of young bachelor guy before I got attached. Meaning that I get to buy all the gadgets I want and do all sorts of silly stuff without thinking too much about the cause and effects. I can quit my current job and idle for a few months before I look for a new job and etc etc...

So now, all these sorts of so called "freedom" is no longer really available for me once I am attached. And especially so when you have 4 mouths (including the new baby and my housekeeper) to feed.

So my friend asked me an interesting question. Do you missed the days you were single?

A long pause and I sincerely have to say that sometimes I really do, sometimes. Whenever I am alone in SG or alone, I actually want to spend more time on myself, traveling more and experiencing more things that I could not do now. I did told my friend how I felt and he seems to be a bit surprise as I was always lamenting on how I enjoy my new found family and life.

Its a strange feeling that I'm not sure I can express really on words but everytime I get to see my wife and my girl. (Especially my daughter) This feeling is actually much get thrown out of the window. Sometimes, just by looking at the photos I had taken for her when she was a baby tells me that all of that so called "freedom" is worth it.

Yes, I could get to spend more money on lenses, cameras and other gadgets but those are just material stuffs. The so called "freedom" is just a shroud. Are we really "free" from this world? We are still chasing something that could never satisfy our needs (Be it money or knowledge).

So I have to say F**K that so called "freedom" (pls pardon my language :P ). I especially thought so when I got hugged by my 3yr old daughter with her face so beaming with happiness every time she sees me return.

For clarification. I am not pro gahment asking you all to have babies. This is just a ramblings on my own. But I have met friends who actually survive in SG having 3 or more kids with little income and I never understand really why until I had my own child.

So to Daniel and family who works as a humble salesman and having 3 kids to feed with only his limited income. And to Maureen and John, able to survive in SG with 2 kids and John being a handicap. I salute you all! Sometimes being the so called "free" is not really living the best of your lifetime and I'm glad to say I am enjoying this new experience every day and every moment of it.

Finally.. the delayed trip

2009-06-05T20:41:00.002+07:00

Suppose to go back in May but due to my operation. I have to delay until June. Wify is now bloated and girl girl is waiting for me to go back.

And I forgot to mention our family car already kena scratched liao.. Heart pain sia. I have not even seen it yet and already damaged.

This will be a short trip. Only 5 days as I will be taking a long break next month in July. A full month I will be away to settle my 2nd baby. Mum and Sis are also planning to drop by during that period to catch a glimpse of the new member of our family.

Have to keep this short. Maybe will get to write more about Thailand during this trip.

Family Shoot

2009-05-24T22:05:00.004+07:00

It has been some time I did a paid shoot. (I think I stopped once I started my new job at DC actually). Anyway, this was a 2nd shoot I did since I started my service again. Family photo of a good friend of mine which we knew each other in NAAPL. Had a great day and since I still can't get to sleep. Decided to start the montage album for him. Patched the first page up. Still a bit rough but glad to see my Photoshop skill is still there. :P

Here's the preview. More to come later.

Suppose to be in Thailand....

2009-05-17T16:25:00.002+07:00

I am suppose to be in Thailand yesterday. But due to my recent operation. Wife and my mum (or actually my whole family with exception from me and my girl girl) were strongly against my trip. Alas, going to miss my girl girl's 3 year old birthday on the 18th :(

Xinhui is not happy of course, she has been looking forward for me to come back. Wify and I tried to explain the situation to her but she does seems to understand that much. So face black black for a few days....

Everything changed when our brand new car (Toyota Vios) arrived on the 15th. Girl girl very happy and wife is taking the new car for a spin everyday to get used to it. And she seems to forget about me not able to come liao. Jia lat :(. I am recovering very well actually. I have been taking some brisk walking sessions almost every 2-3 days. I also have been actively going out to run some errands and meet up with my photography Master's wife recently to discuss on some future ventures.

So all in all. My MC will be over soon and I will be back to work next Wednesday night.

The way it used to be...

2009-05-12T08:35:00.002+07:00

You can call me a fan boy but I just loved this song from the new Pet Shop Boys album. It just that this songs really co-incite how I was feeling when I was in hospital bed. I was in a room filled with patients of different age and sizes. Some of the had their legs amputated due to diabetic reasons. Normally I would be the youngest in the room but it did not seems to be the case when 2 young man (believe to be in the teens were wheel-chaired in) Then it dawned on me. I am no longer young and I started to think about my childhood, my naivety on the world when I was just a teen and etc. I think I am already going mid-life crisis and I'm just 33! hahaha

Anyway, its an interesting song because the melody is simple and the lyrics are cleverly written. I especially like the line: "We could do anything cause we're fearless when we're young." and "I survived with only memories. But I want more than only memories" and especially the last line before the "ping" : "Sometimes I need to see/the way it used to be."

And so I did. I started visiting those childhood places and taking photographs of them while I was on MC (hahaha). I'm glad I did that and there are still many places that I need to cover before all fades away.....Plan to start a new personal project which I think will last quite some time.

Scarred for life! Part 3

2009-05-07T20:36:00.002+07:00

Day 3 night at the hospital was horrible. It was hot and humid and I feel cold and hot and the same time. (Think its because my body is repairing itself). Next morning the surgeon came and saw my wound and said I could go home. Whoo pee. Though he also damn funny. Pulled of the bandages and dressing and exclaimed "BEAUTIFUL!" Huh.. what the tulududu... He saw my face and quickly say "Oh I don't mean the scar itself but how its healing."

Anyway wait for mum and took a cab home. On 7 days antibiotics course and 2 weeks of MC. I tried to move as much as possible to get more blood circulation. Friends also called in to ask my condition and again, wish to thank you all for your concern. I am really getting better everyday. (Just completed a 2km slow walk along East Coast Park).

So what now? No more gallbladder. There are a lot of myths surrounding that one could no longer eat fatty food. On the contrary, this is not the case as bile is created by the liver. Not the gallbladder. The functionality of the gallbladder is to store the extra bile produced by the liver. So in the event that you eat fatty food. It will release the bile juice into the intestines. Still, it is advisable to cut down on fatty food to prevent cases of diarrhoea.

So far I have not eaten anything oily yet so I can't really tell. But I do notice I tend to go to the toilet more often as digestion within the intestine has gone haywire.

With this I conclude these series. I think it will serves a good chronicle for myself on this dreadful experience and as a reminder: Health is more important than anything else for anyone. You can be rich but if you are not healthy, you won't enjoy it anyway.

Scarred for life! Part 2

2009-05-05T21:03:00.002+07:00

On the left is a photo of my big "cut". If you wish to see the gory details you can click on it. If not just skip :P

Anyway, after I woke up. The assistant surgeon, a young lady came and showed me my stones in a bottle and informed me about the surgery and said I did well and its a complete success although they need to open me up as there were severe inflammation and did not want any complications. So the only option was to open me up. I also noticed I had a plastic tube sticking out from a small hole on my right lower belly. She said its for draining those internal bleeding that might still be there.

I was pushed back to bed and lay still for the rest of the night. Semi-concious and talked to my mum and assured her I'm fine and send her back. The night was peaceful actually. The pain was quite severe whenever I even try to move a bit. So I need to press the morphine and wait for a while before even I try to shift myself in bed. The problem with hospital beds are they are damn hot!! The pillow does not help either so it was really really uncomfortable.

Next day the surgeon Dr Lim came and checked on me and say everything is fine so far but I am already starting to have fever during the night. So antibiotics and lots of Drips for me.

Not sure what antibiotics. But it was administered through the drip via injection. In 3 mins, without any warnings I threw up with smelly goo and whatever is left in my stomach and cringe in pain. Took about 5mins to recover from the pain. Explanation given was that the nurse might have injected the solution too quickly. Anyway I was cleaned up in a jiffy and back to rest.

I actually felt much much better after I threw up as I was feeling very bloated. The rest of the day I was actually improving so I held no grievances to that nurse who gave me that shot.

3rd day in the hospital was a major improvement. I could sit up and actually get out of bed and walked a bit. I no longer need the morphine so that machine was unplugged from me. But I still have drips and that bloody waste water bag besides me. Started to eat but little appetite.

TBC...

Scarred for life! Part 1

2009-05-04T14:42:00.004+07:00

First of all. Just wish to thanks those who were concerned and gave their well wishes to me for the pass few days. Many thanks and I am recovering.

I decided to chronicle this whole incident in this blog again as friends keep asking me the same questions and so by jotting it down here. You can read it and I get to avoid repeating myself. :P

On the 29 April. I was admitted to SGH. I went alone I don't want to let my mother to wait for that long in the hospital. The swine flu alert was still yellow that day. Went and and admitted to my ward. The surgeons in charge came and see me at the bed in the morning and explained the procedures. Its supposed to be a day surgery as the incision will be small by using Laprascopic method of extraction. 95% chance of success where 5% they need to open up and use the old horrible method as due to severe inflammation. I will also go through a minor surgery on my butt for my anal fistula at the same time. So its 2 in 1 for me.

After meeting the doctor. I was in the ward waiting. My time on the Operating theatre is 3pm. A looong wait as I was admitted at 9am. (Suppose to be 7am but the nurse called me before and asked me to come later)

So about 2pm. I was changed and pushed in a trolley bed to the OT. I think (i totally lost count) 4 to 5 different nurses (I start to think they definitely screwed up before) asked me the same question before the whole procedure. Basically

1) Your name and nric.
2) What ops are you performing today.
3) Is this the form you signed.
4) Any drug allergies.

So I was pushed into the OT and my surgeon came. Dr Dennis Lim by the way. Very chatty fella and the Anesthetic doctor also introduce himself and ask me some questions. So a plastic mask was put over me and I just fell asleep........

ZZZZZzzzzzz

ZZZzz

zz

Woke up and found myself in severe pain in the abdominal area. Still groggy and ran my fingers across the area and found it to be heavily padded with a very huge dressing. Jia lat... I am the bloody 5%....

TBC....

Some photos of girl girl and her pals :P

2009-04-19T20:30:00.002+07:00

I think its have been some time I posted some photos of girl girl and her friends. Here's a recent series I took during Song Kran. The elder friend is Pi Nok who lives just next door to us. The younger and "chubbier" one is Nawng Pen who lives opposite us. Some shots where we were taking a walk and another series while they were playing in our inflatable pool. hehe..

All shots taken digital with A900 and Zeiss 135mm. I loved this lens on my A900. The colours it produces are astounding.

And you can head over to my facebook to view more of the Song Kran shots here.

C is for Cookie!!!

2009-04-18T21:22:00.002+07:00

Sesame Street is one of my favorite show when I was a kid. So its the norm that I would get some Sesame DVDs for my girl girl and she loved them Her favorite seems to be Rosita. (Luckily not bloody Elmo). So after I got my Mac Mini hooked up. I tried to grab some more classic clips from the net and was surprised to find sesamestreet.org has various classic clips and activities.

Anyway I can't grab the video to my blog so thanks to youtube. Here's one of my all time favorite from Cookie Monster (Girl girl likes him too... )

You can view the new version here.

And I found this bloody classic hehe Some of us is here!! None!!! ... :P

Now back to my cookie... Arm mum mum mum mum mum..... Delicious!

Thai Politics

2009-04-17T21:20:00.003+07:00

I normally refrain myself from posting about politics in Thailand as its actually quite complicated. The recent Red movement was just another part of the never ending episodes of the class divide in Thailand. The elites, the army, the middle class and the poor.

A lot of my friends were worried that I was in Thailand when the crisis was escalating during the Songkran and this year's songkran as mentioned in the Bangkok Post, shall be one to be remembered. The north where I was staying is still in its festive mood and unaffected by the tensions in Bangkok (although the constant news reports on TV does cast a shadow in the celebration)

So after the crackdown. Its a relief that everything seems to be normal for the moment but I think this recent incident does serves a good wake up call for the ruling party. They still pale in terms of support from the central rural and northern Thailand. The mistrust is there and they really need to do something about it.

Abhisit is a very intellectual guy and I do hope he can do well but he faces a big task ahead. Not from Thaksin and his red supporters but actually from the other political factions and the army actually. This recent crackdown shows he lacks full support from the Army and Police. The slow response from the Army and how he actually relied on troops called in from another province (the unit's actual influence is actually a retired general and a mentor of him) to quash the rioting crowd.

So is there a future in the LOS (Land of Smile)? Interestingly since this is going to be the place I am going to retire, will such political disturbances affect my livelihood. I have to say it really depends on where you stay. In the north where the people there are more nonchalant about all these politics, you will be fine (so long you don't proclaim yourself to be on either factions. It does effect the economy but not to such a grand scale as stated by ST (all those bullshit does not apply to Thailand) as Thailand grows its own food and does not reply on imports. SO if you are able to eat simple and not yearning of luxurious goods. Then its still a good place to retire.

Back from Thailand

2009-04-16T23:13:00.002+07:00

Apologies for missing almost a week and such a turmoil recently in Thailand. Just reached home and washed up. Will write more but here's a shot of the Song Kran Festival in Maesai's street. Still havoc even with all these protests going on in Bangkok. :P

Kena (Got myself) Scanned.

2009-04-02T14:38:00.003+07:00

I had an MRI appointment for my gallstones as the doctors are still baffled by my condition. The bile level is so abnormal in my blood and I do not have a blocked bile duct (scoped twice and found nothing) so they send me for an MRI to get a "clearer" picture. Think the full name of MRI is Magnetic Resonance Imaging(please correct me if I am wrong). Its an interesting experience as I did CT before and they say its similar but I find it a bit different though.

First of all, the machine is huge and loud. The room is also more like a vault. I was asked to put on robes and administered an IV needle for the contrast agent. I was then strapped onto the bed and the radiologist gave me a cap to wear and a set of headphones to listen to her instructions (not music hor). The doctor needs to scan my whole abdominal area. So the scan took some time. About 45 mins. I think I nearly fell asleep during the process if not of all those whizzing noises the machines make. It really sounds like those flatbed scanners every time it scans my body. Then there is the part when they will inject the contrast agent into your body and you feel something flowing into your arms to the whole body. Very weird feelings. Or they will ask you to hold your breadth for 20 secs.

Anyway, hope nothing seriously wrong with me. Will be seeing the doctor on the 22nd and the schedule ops date is on the 27.

I am a Pet Head!

2009-03-29T20:06:00.003+07:00

I am a fan of Pet Shop Boys (thus the term Pet Heads). Ever since in 1988 I heard that bloody Domino Dancing song.. It introduced me to the world of electro pop music. Not sure why though, but I think its the drums and the bloody "All day! All day" chant. hehe

Before all of that, I listened only to classical music or Chinese operas at home. My father is a avid fan of Classical music like Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Mozart and etc. Mum is a fan too. They also like Chinese Classics like 梁祝，採云追月...etc etc. I do love them too but you need to spend more time to enjoy them as a piece can go as long as 40 mins.

Naturally, I get to like other artists like Madonna, Belinda Carlise, Eurasure, Depeche Mode and etc etc but I always find them to be a bit special. I think another reason that I was attracted to their act is the way their lyrics go. Neil used to be Smash HiT! magazine editor and he writes very well. The more I read up about them and lyrics makes me even more fascinated by them. Not to mention 2 blokes dresses like some campy clowns singing campy music (and they did it deliberately to taunt the new 90s entertainment industry).

So I am glad after 24 years (they released their first album in 1985), they are still coming out something that I like :)

Head over here to listen to some samples of their latest album, YES.

And here is their 2009 brits award performance

btw... I dun mind at all if you call them Pet Shop Ah Pek (Uncles)... hehe even those die hard fans I knew in Singapore love that term :P

Our Mainstream Media is just plain stupid

2009-03-20T20:21:00.004+07:00

Thanks to Mr Brown for notifying.

This really proves that our local papers and mass media are plain stupid (more like idiotic) in the whole Internet era. Anything posted on the net will be cached. Its no longer like the good old days where you can burn periodicals or books. This new medium is here to stay and by display this sort of behavior of deleting the post without any sorts of explanation is just plain integrity suicide (not like they have a lot left anyway).

The only way out now for them is to republish the posts or give a really really good explanation. Come on please! Don't expect deleting these posts will stop people discussing about this issue. This will just makes things worst?

And about that mayor who don't know anything about the whole bonus incident. I seriously wonder how come we pay you so much?

Thanks to the gutless and stupid 66% Singaporeans who voted for these people to power. I'm ok, as I'm leaving for good. For the rest who are staying. You're screwed.

Extreme Sheep LED

2009-03-20T14:51:00.001+07:00

Via Geekologie.

Just watch it and be awed.. :D

The pain.... ooohhh the pain!!

2009-03-16T20:31:00.003+07:00

Just had a gallstones attack today [again] in the morning before I went to work and it came and go and lasted till lunchtime.

The pain normally starts from the stomach area. Feeling bloated and gassy. Then it just ballooned up to your chest and you nearly can't breathe or move. So this is actually the peak of the pain. Most of the time I will be sitting or squatting down and try to breathe. At this moment, your stomach area all the way to the chest will feel like someone using a clamp, clamping your insides and twisting it for fun. This will last for 5 to 10mins before the clamps start to stretch to your sides and reached the shoulder blades behind your back. Then it will slowly fade away....

This is how I feel every time the attack comes. Not fun at all and definitely I need to get the stones out....

Tweeting

2009-03-14T13:43:00.004+07:00

Twitter has been around for 2 years, So I could say I am already slow in this Internet era. But the good thing is that it has matured enough to give it a try... So on the left hand side of the blog you get to see some micro-updates on what I'm up to ... (like you will be interested like dat :P)

Army Song

2009-03-12T22:30:00.001+07:00

Used to sing this in my army days.. our lyrics were a bit updated though .... so this version is for those super Lao Jiao (old bird aka veteran) hehehe

MM Lee's Secretary letter is so unconvincing....

2009-03-11T06:29:00.006+07:00

You may read about his letter below but all I have to say is he is talking rubbish!
Having a greater set of Linguistic skill (the spoken form) should be "the more the merrier". By advocating just Mandarin means we can get more business in China??? What logic is that? I think our secretary really needs to go to China himself and see for himself. Or even talk to some our foreign talents and see what they think about their dialect.

Having an extra set of Linguistic skill helps in getting a job! Take a living example of me. I am born and raised in a Cantonese speaking environment. I am able to speak in Cantonese, Hokkien (I took this up in my secondary and army days), Chinese, English and recently, Thai (which I am still learning). My current job requires me to speak in Cantonese as our clients are in Hong Kong and China. And out of 11 in my team, only 2 of us are locals (the rests are either PR or Malaysians). And all of them are capable of speaking in Chinese, English, Cantonese and Malay!! If they could do it, why can't we. (thought they always have the concept that Singaporeans have a better education?)

Even the Thailand local born Chinese I met are able to speak Teochew, Hokkien, Yunan dialect and etc etc and these languages skills helped them in their business dealings in China.

And like if we cut away the dialect. Our standard of English and Mandarin will improve. What a joke. Just listen to any kids on the street speak English or Chinese nowadays will make me boil. Fills with nothing but Singlish and slangs. And does dialect really hinders the learning of Mandarin? Again, my sister and I are living proof that this is wrong. My sis was in the Advance Chinese (Chinese as 1st language same as English that time)Class and my Chinese scores are always higher than my English. My cousins and friends who speak dialects at home are also doing well. So speaking in dialect does not really affect the standards at all. I have no idea where did that came from anyway.....

Foolish to advocate the learning of dialects

I REFER to yesterday’s article by Ms Jalelah Abu Baker (’One generation - that’s all it takes ‘for a language to die”). It mentioned a quote from Dr Ng Bee Chin, acting head of Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) Division of Linguistics and Multilingual Studies: ‘Although Singaporeans are still multilingual, 40 years ago, we were even more multilingual. Young children are not speaking some of these languages at all any more.’

To keep a language alive, it has to be used regularly. Using one language more frequently means less time for other languages. Hence, the more languages a person learns, the greater the difficulties of retaining them at a high level of fluency.

There are linguistically gifted individuals who can handle multiple languages, but Singapore’s experience over 50 years of implementing the bilingual education policy has shown that most people find it extremely difficult to cope with two languages when they are as diverse as English and Mandarin.

This is why we have discouraged the use of dialects. It interferes with the learning of Mandarin and English. Singaporeans have to master English. It is our common working language and the language which connects us with the world.

We also emphasised the learning of Mandarin, to make it the mother tongue for all Chinese Singaporeans, regardless of their dialect groups. This is the common language of the 1.3 billion people in China. To engage China, overseas Chinese and foreigners are learning Mandarin and not the dialects of the different Chinese provinces.

We have achieved progress with our bilingual education in the past few decades. Many Singaporeans are now fluent in both English and Mandarin. It would be stupid for any Singapore agency or NTU to advocate the learning of dialects, which must be at the expense of English and Mandarin.

That was the reason the Government stopped all dialect programmes on radio and television after 1979. Not to give conflicting signals, then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew also stopped making speeches in Hokkien, which he had become fluent in after frequent use since 1961.

Chee Hong Tat
Principal Private Secretary
to the Minister Mentor

This is demoralising

2009-03-08T18:41:00.005+07:00

I had a pain (gallstone) attack this morning again and its horrible. Luckily it went away in the afternoon but still, these attacks are quite demoralising. It just comes without warning. Woke up, went to pee and just drank one cup of water and bang... dunno what trigger it... cannot be the water bah??

Went back to my room and squatted on the floor for almost an hour. Sweat pouring. Only last friday went for a root canal repair and this coming Wednesday is my follow up for my surgery on the fistula and gallstones.

Luckily today is my off day if not I will need to take MC again. Tom back to work and I feel fine at the moment. Suppose to run some errands today but all plans are blown. Sign... not a good year for me

Root canal repair on my teeth. Fistula on my butt and bloody stones in my gallbladder....

try to beat that.

Xinhui in Slides....

2009-03-07T23:08:00.003+07:00

Brought along a roll of Fuji Sensia and shot girl girl on my last trip.. Here are some of the scanned results.

Films still beats digital over skin tones.. And not to mention the original slides... if only there is a way to display the original slides over the net.... :P

May he rest in peace

2009-02-15T11:04:00.004+07:00

I wrote about my wife's Grandpa twice in my blog. Here and here. Because he is such a good friend and wonderful character.

Got the news from my wife that his time is coming. We have been waiting for it, so wify and girl girl is heading back first. My trip to Thailand is on the 21st.. So I guess I might be in Myanmar for this trip too.

*Updates. Grandpa passed away today at 3am. Guess I won't be in Myanmar as my wife will settle everything before I return.

Downsizing

2009-02-13T14:51:00.004+07:00

Recently looked into my photography dry cabinet and decided to downsize the things i have in it. The main reasons are because I no longer used these lenses as often as I used to.

First to go is my 28mm f2.8 prime. I am still wondering should I keep it for my A100 IR but it just not the correct focal length for landscapes (not wide enough and not tele at 1.5 crop.) And I am using the kit lens 18-70mm which is cheap and good as my main lens for IR nowadays. Already posted an ad on the local forums and see how.

Second to go is the 85mm f1.4 G. Beautiful lens and optics but since I bought the A900 and the 135mm. This gem was in the cabinet for sometime. I don't do studio shots as often nowadays and I have the 24-70mm Zeiss too, which almost cover my studio work. I rather get the 100 Macro if I really need a studio product lens.

The third item is in a dilemma. Its my 70-200mm SSM G. I have a plan to sell this and downgrade to the 75-300 G SSM instead. First, I don't shoot events as often as I used too, so i dun need a 2.8. Second, I am more into landscapes and this lens is good but too heavy to be carried around (I noticed i carried my 135mm more often then this). And thirdly, the amount I could sell could save me some money on other things I wished to buy. Especially if Sony came out some TS lenses next time.
But the dilemma is that I loved this lens. Its has its own characters. hehe. So I think I will keep it for a while.

Other things to go is the Voigtlander VC 35mm Color-Skopar 2.5 Not using this since I got the 40mm Nokton...

I am not attached to most of my gears as others would. (I know some would never sell their camera equipment) But I tend to have this feeling. If the lens is good and I am just hoarding it for the sake of it (and not using it to make good photos). I am not doing justice to the lens or equipment. I rather sell it a cheaper price so people could enjoy it rather then let it rot (grow fungus or dust) in my cabinet. If I need it again.. I just get it from the Internet but for the time being... I guess not :P

Surise at East Coast

2009-02-11T19:33:00.005+07:00

I bought some slide films and want to try them out. Never really seriously shoot slides before but I plan to take a few rolls back to Thailand to get some nice landscapes. So I decided to practice a bit before my trip.

I bought various but decided to try the cheapest. Kodak Elite Chrome. Not really that cheap ($7 per roll leh). I packed my Dynax 7 and my A900 (digital) with 2 lenses. The Zeiss 24-70mm and 135mm. Woke up this morning at 5am and cycled to the "6 pipes" at East Coast Park. Reached there a bit early and it was totally dark. Quite surprised to see there were some people fishing at the other end though as its was a weekday.

Waited and was a bit disappointed with the overcast. I was planning to pack my bags when I noticed the sun breaking the cloudy sky. Immediately took a few test shots with my a900 (slides need to be correctly exposed as its latitude is very thin) and fired away with my film camera on a tripod. Took almost 20 shots on the scene before me (mostly brackets to get the exposure correct). After that while cycling back. Saw some pretty flowers at the roofless garden and shot some closeups with the 135mm.

Finished my roll and went home to rest a bit before hitting out to develop the slides. Bloody $20 for developing and 16 Base scan (and dun even have mounting!). Wat lau. Slides really expensive. Waited until 6pm and was blasted by the results. Just plain gorgeous!! You have to see it to believe it. It seems that the lens really plays a big roll in getting good colours in slides. (My old slides were shot with 28-85mm and the 50mm 1.4). The contrast and sharpness of Zeiss is truly astounding!! Above is just the scan of the slide and it cannot compare to the richness in colour of the original slide.

Expensive, Yes. Will I shoot again? Definitely since now I got the lens to do the correct job! :)

More Huattt Ahhh!!!

2009-02-08T16:24:00.001+07:00

Last night went for the Qin Gong Yan Dinner at Ling Zhi restaurant with my Lion Dance pals... Just a movie here to show th occasion....

More Yu Sheng Fun.. from leejiing on Vimeo.

Why I still shoot film.

2009-02-06T23:39:00.003+07:00

I'm into photography for 8 years and started with film cameras. Till now, I still miss film. Some of my friends and students I have taught has asked me why I still use this inconvenient media. Especially if we are shooting colour photos.

Thats because you have not shot pro-grade film yet.

If you have time, just check out this site.
http://www.trekearth.com/photos.php?cat=film&id=245

All shots were done with Fuji Reala 100. Be prepared to be awed. :)

Try to mimic that type of colours (tonality) with your digital camera....

Gong Hei "Fak" Choi!!!

2009-02-03T04:04:00.003+07:00

Just noticed I have not really wish all a CNY greeting for this year. I was going through my old blog in NAAPL and found this entry by me 4 years ago. Its so good, i decided to post a copy here.

Ok.. its late at night and got nothing to do. So just post this for fun....

1. Go to any Mac Outlet.
2. Depending on your preference. If you prefer a sesame bread. Buy a Mac Chicken. If you prefer a softer bread, you shoud buy a Filet-O-Fish. If you want something really tough and chewy, try a Mac Muffin. Another burger on the menu would do. Especially those with melted cheese. (Hamburger is out though)
3. After the purchase, unwrap the packagin to reveal the burger.
4. Take out the top slice of bread of your burger
5. You can eat the meat or egg or whatever in between. Or you can set it aside for later stage.
6. Roll up your shirt sleeves. (If possible, wear a singlet to cut this step)
7. Raise one of your arm. (Either one would do. Preference is the non master hand)
8. Take the bottom half of the burger (one with the melted cheese) and place it over your armpit.
9. Squeeze and Pull as many "Fak Choi" as possible. REPEAT process if not enough "Fak Choi "
10. If still not enough. Switch arms and repear process 9.
11. Put back the burger on the wrapping.
12. Place the meat or egg (the one on stage 5 above) back on. If not skip this step.
13. Place the top of the bun back.
14. Viola.... You have Mac Fak Choi

Thanks for reading and Gong Xi "Fak Choi" to all.
( Monday, 21 February 2005 )

Hold IT!

2009-02-01T22:38:00.003+07:00

I invested mainly in equities (stocks if you called it). And sorry to sound boastful but I am also proud to say so far my investments are still reaping returns. That is why a lot of my friends or acquaintances look for me for tips and advise at the current situation.

This current economic crisis had took a toll on some of my friends investment portfolios. Some of the stocks in my portfolio also suffered, especially those penny stocks. (I'm so glad!)None of them blames me, but one or two did approached me and asked what they should do. Especially with their banking stocks.

My advise is the given title of this piece. Just HOLD it as long as you can. Remember those investment tips I gave out last time? If you have been following my rules of engaging the stock market and had enough cash on hand. Then just HOLD it. The storm will pass and you will back what you have.

If you have even more cash and you are able to invest more. Then its the time to buy more. Hell, I just bought 2 more lots of DBS last week. You can wait for it to drop further but to me the price is right and there is a supply of seller. And I always do long term. Not short term investments. If it drops further, no one will let go and the price will go up again...

All in all, be confident in what you have bought or researched. If the stocks you have bought were overpriced when you bought it (like SGX at $15!!! why would anybody buy at that price I figure) Then you really really need to buy more at the current price to bring down your average cost.

If not. Just HOLD it and wait till the economy recovers a bit and sell it. And don't get involved in equities again as its not suitable for you. Go buy 4D or toto instead.

Old Cartoons Music

2009-02-01T11:43:00.002+07:00

These two are all old cartoon music that I loved when I was a kid (teenager). The first one is Ironman

The second one might not be familiar to most as its a theme in the Japanese Anime Southern Cross. The theme of the Red Bioroid! Bloody hard to find this. Took me years to get such a lousy copy..

Finishing my 6th night shift

2009-01-30T01:14:00.002+07:00

I'm currently on my last night shift for the pass 6 days. In between these shifts I actually went out with my NAAPL troupe on the 27th for lion dance performance. Its good to get to see some old faces again and had an enjoyable day. (Still have to process the photos and a video I took that day). Its a smaller group but we had fun. Too bad most of the old boys and girls are now happily married and busy with their family. Guess its so for me as I had missed last years performance and was looking forward to this particular event. Not too sure if I am able to join next year though....

By forcing myself to go on this annual event makes me physically tired as hell. Tomorrow, I still need to go down to a school to teach photography. After that its a 3 days well earned rest. Will be looking forward to it.

Had a longer chat with girl girl last night and it is nice to hear from her. Can't wait till 21st Feb which I will be back in Thailand again!! yeah! She is a little mischievous now. Testing water here and there on my wife.. hehe.. so wify is having a headache liao... Still, feedback from the school teachers are good. She listens in class and behaves herself well. Even the principal took a liking to her friendly nature. (more like fearless .. hehe) She was picked by her teacher to represent her class to perform a recitation in front of the school during children's day. (which was on the 2nd Saturday on Feb in Thailand) I'm glad she enjoyed school and am looking forward to see her. Missed so much of my girl's moment....

Funniest Cosplay

2009-01-28T04:39:00.005+07:00

Came across this while surfing.. the Tag-line is the killer "The White E-honda" Nearly spewed my food out..

Here are the rest of the Top 10.. hehehe enjoy!!

Another good piece

2009-01-25T10:49:00.005+07:00

I'm not sure why but Japanese TV series has the best soundtrack for their drams.

This pieces is from Hanazakari no Kimitachi e and its title Ikeman Boogie Night. There is a more bouncy dance version but I find this piano version more cleaner. :)

Enjoy!

Blue Mind

2009-01-23T22:34:00.005+07:00

Feeling a bit home sick and missing my wife and girl from all these CNY. No reunion dinner this year.... This piece of music from Hana Yori Dongo really summurises the feeling I have now..

Bloody esnips deleted my clip without informing me...

Time Lapsed Photography

2009-01-21T13:42:00.002+07:00

I'm recently into Time Lapse Photography. Think those who have my facebook saw this. Anyway, post here for others to watch.

Time Lapsed In Infrared from leejiing on Vimeo.

Time Lapsed Photography from leejiing on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

I thought I read wrongly!!!

2009-01-21T04:25:00.004+07:00

Saw an article on Todayonline and can't believe my eyes for a while. The article was about the recent "high" level civil servant bragging about spending 40k in France for a cooking class. Thought our Mr Teo was already doing damage control in the parliament. But some of these "elites" just could not shut their mouth....

Here's an extract from the article... Note the bold and especially the red portion.

Agreeing that the rebuke in Parliament was “harsh”, MP Charles Chong noted that Mr Tan didn’t “brag” about how expensive the trip was in the article.
.
“Maybe it made lesser mortals envious and they thought maybe he was a little bit boastful,” he said. “Would people have taken offence if his wife (a senior investment counsellor at a bank) had paid for everything?”

Bloody hell... can someone (maybe Mr Teo who is at least trying hard) give Mr Charles a tight cock slap on his mouth. More damage control coming...

Link to original article

Edit: Seems like Sammyboy Coffeeshop is already lynching our dear "Immortal" Charles. hehehe

CNY Burnt.

2009-01-17T12:55:00.002+07:00

This coming CNY will be literally a bull year for me. I will be working Night shift from 23rd all the way till 29th Jan. So I guess I won't be going out to visit relatives this year again.

I will be however, helping out in the annual Lion dance performances this year with my NAAPL pals again. Think it should be the only festive occasion I get to enjoy. Its a pity wife and baby can't come to Singapore to enjoy the CNY season here. I guess my wife will like it (she likes crowds and bargains).

So hopefully, again, pray hard hard. This year something can be sorted out with her ID card. (I think not a great chance since the Democrats are in power).

Kia Suism... Singapore style.

2009-01-10T22:52:00.004+07:00

I still don't get it. I went shooting on 9th of Jan with my colleagues and was shocked to find long queues at the MRT stations (both at Vivo and later Bedok). Apparently its the first day of the replacement of the new Ezlink card. I thought the exercise is suppose to last till Sept 2009 and even if you missed it. The card can still be refunded with the amount within the 12 year period. So its pure Singapore Kia Suism (scared to loose out to the crowd) at play here.

Another bad encounter was at a restaurant recently which serves bread FOC (think most of you will know which restaurant I'm refering too lah) Some spoilt teenagers brats took a whole basket but never finish it up. Pure Kia Su and being greedy and inconsiderate of loosing out by taking for the sake of taking.

Should send these brats to Burma and Africa and let them see how people are starving. And to those who always waste food and have leftovers. If you get a chance to read this blog. Look at the picture below and wake up. Can't finish that much, just tell the server to give you less. STOP WASTING!

The picture above is taken by Kevin Carter. Who committed suicide 3 months after he took this photo. But apparently due to his financial issue. Nobody really knows the fate of that kid in the photo.

End of the year 2008 post 3 - My friends

2008-12-31T08:33:00.004+07:00

Its a great year especially in April and May when I joined my current company. Met some fantastic people and as usual, some weird ones... hehehehe

And also managed to convert 3 of my colleagues into shutterbugs. All Canon users though (wonder how much Canon will pay me??)

Anyway, here are my wishes (and some predictions) to my friends individually

Javert(HH) - More Rolex-es next year :P

BC & SM - A spiritual year for both of you! Master Yogis... (And to BC, hope you can bend into positions no one has ever bended before :P)

Johnny & Miao Ying
More joys and best wishes to both of you and your cute little boys..

Bro Yap & Family - Never get in touch with u for sometime. Best of the year and hope Ah Boy become big strong and healthy (but less crazy like Daddy.. :P)

Chang Guan - 2009! Huat Ah!!! :)

Lay Lay and BH and the Goh bros - 3 boys liao!!! Wonder how both of you can manage!! hehee anyway, Best wishes in 2009!

Celeste (Hong Ying) - Finally tie the knot this year liao.. hahahaha! So best of luck and wishes in 2009..

BaLongLong - Time to pass on and settle down?? Hope you dun waste the other person time anymore...

Kok Hwa & Family - Baby 2 out liao means need more moola.. Best wished too in 2009

Andy - Finally promoted to Uncle.. hehe. Best wishes to your family in 2009 and best of luck in your new job.

Miing - Hope you get less "busy" this year so we can go cycling again.

Stanley & Joanne
Stanley - More business to you. Best wishes at the new location.
Joanne - Less drinking from the one above.. (just being hopeful)
YR - Best of luck in your job and hope you get more sidelines
YX - Hope you can improve in your studies next year and help your mummy out...

Ah Dog - Hope year 2009 you tio Toto or 4D and clear your financial issues. And many "thanks" for getting me into DC.

Calvin - Best wishes to your family! Especially your boy boy and hopefully u oso on target fast fast and get the 2nd one... hehe

Callan - I smell 5D Mk2 in 2009?? :P

Ah Long Ray - I smell you taking over Callan 50D... :P

Hodi - Big Money!!! Big Money!!! Coming your way!!!

Mok - Hope you send less "error" emails next yr.

Nelson - More bananas for you next year!! (And no one took yours)

Karthek - Lvl 2!! lvl 2!! CCNP Lvl 2!!

Syu - More TV series from you pal!!! and hope you get used to Singapore weather asap and less coughing next yr!

Linda - Hope the stock market turns around next year....

Mark - SDM liao!!! Congrats and hope 2009 get more moola and promotions.. kekeke

Jimmy & Florence - Best wishes in 2009 for both of you and Bizwebs.

And to those I have missed.. Just that I didn't see you much in 2008 so I also not sure what to write. Still, hope the current economy crisis doesn't affect you or your love ones and may a "bullish" year come in 2009!!!

End of the year 2008 post 2 - My girl girl.

2008-12-30T10:50:00.002+07:00

Xin Hui is going to be 3 next year and she already starts to show off her traits.

She is bossy, likes to tell my wife and housekeeper to do this and that. She has a flair of picking up new languages fast. (Can understood Thai, Chinese, Burmese and a little bit of English). Can count to 10 in 3 languages (although I have no idea if she understood them at all)

She went to pre-school just in Dec and she is adapting well. 2 weeks into the school and she already won the best student award(according to my wife is that the school would give out one every a while to encourage the children) Not to brag but I'm happy that among the 4 new students(including my girl).She's the only one who got it.. hehe. She faired much better then Na Phat (wife's friends daughter who is a month older than Xin Hui and currently her best pal), who seems having a hard time in school.

The teachers there are also very active in giving feedback to my wife on girl girl's status and habits at school. She is attentive and very clever. Willing to try things on her own. She did not displayed her bossy self though in school. But the teacher do noted to my wife that the pranks she played in school are unusual, not life threatening but bloody entertaining.... (guess she inherited that from me :P).

Recently wify told her about the baby and she is very happy about it. She even told my wife she prefer a younger sister than a brother... And she already start addressing herself "Pi Xinhui" (used to be Nawng for little) Guess she is going to be happy to have a younger sibling to boss around. kekeke

End of the year 2008 post 1 - My Wife

2008-12-29T08:34:00.006+07:00

Decided to conclude these few days with some post reflecting the year of 2008. Starting off with my family. This post is dedicated to my wife, Om Jan Kam (Jam Nom).

Last year's post was bleak. Basically due to the constant pressure of the new Visa Rules implied by Thailand Immigrations and the status of my wife.

Everything is back to normal now between wife and I. Its interesting as we always able to convey more when we are separated. I think its the sudden distance that made us cherish each other more for the pass 9 months. She also seems to be more responsible now when I'm not around and I'm glad. So whoever say long distance relationship does not work is just bullshitting. Actually those who failed in such relationships are either not trying hard enough or just not having enough trust. :)

Recently, I missed my regular phone calls to her in the evening (in hospital) and she called me to check on me. Little gestures like this really warms my heart.

The year was also harsh on her. She was also frantically looking for opportunities to have her citizenship done and for 3 to 4 months. Traveled to the district offices in Mae Fa Laung and Chiang Rai frequently. Begging and pestering for more information. "Coffee" money were also spent and one day she just broke down and gave up searching. I have to spend hours in the phone to comfort her and asked her to slow down on the hunt. She knows I am constantly worried about her status and she is trying hard to fix something that is not in her hands to fix. I just feel bad about it. I know its fustrating as I have also gone through such fiasco with her and now she is doing it all by herself, alone without me by her side. Being illiterate also does not help at all and she could not really read or understand the documents.

But just the sheer will power and guts is the main reason I am attracted to her :) She never gives up (even though she vocally say it). And all I can wish is that I would be able to spend more time with her next year. She will need all my encouragement as she is now pregnant without me constantly by her side next year.

Finally, although she don't read this blog. Just want to say

Pom yoo kang koon sa-mer.

Rak,
Mu En

Apologies to those who find this post a bit corny but its my blog anyway... :P

New Year New Look

2008-12-25T21:41:00.002+07:00

Spent some time hunting around to re-decorate my blog and chose this new template called cutline from blogcrowd. Did minor changes here and there. And I also changed the header picture to a landscape of a rice field in Maesai I took 2 years ago :).

Hope you like the new look and happy holidays everyone!

Overdosed.

2008-12-24T22:24:00.003+07:00

If I really go and follow the doctor's instruction and take all the medication they prescribed.

One type for pain, one for gastric, one for vomiting and 2 types of antibiotics. I only completed the antibiotics and left the other 3 alone. They even prescribed me 1 year supply of Paracetemol. Bloody 180 tabs!! And that's only CGH. SGH gave me another 80 tabs.

I wonder if someone who have financial issues are able to pay for all these drugs. I did checked with the pharmacist but she said the doctor prescribed it and I have to take it. So I guess its the doctor's fault?

So whoever wants Paracetemol (Panadol) do let me know... maybe can pass some to you.

"Made" in Keng Tung

2008-12-22T09:46:00.005+07:00

Some friends saw my blog and a bit shocked about my 2nd part of the post rather than the first... hahahah..

Yes, We are going to have another member into our family. Wife was feeling nauseous in early Dec and she suspected something after she missed her period. Called me and I ask her to check and she confirmed.

She also went for the normal medical check ups and everything is fine so far. Both of us are happy but also a bit embarrass. Hehe.. miss cue the first time now again.. jialat...

Anyway, baby should be "made" in Keng Tung. I was blatantly joking about it to my wife before we went for our trip that the next one would be conceived there since we don't go there often. Me and my bloody big mouth. :P

Recovering.

2008-12-21T16:21:00.002+07:00

Not really a good year for me in 2008. First half was great until it took a downturn.

As my previous post did mentioned my health was not that good ever since I came back from Thailand in Nov. Recently, after attending my friend's wedding dinner on 6th. 2 days later I had severe stomachache. It got better the next morning and I continued to work for 2 more days before it struck again. This time was just so sudden at the office and I could not even breadth as the pain actually spread to my chest area. My colleagues called an ambulance and sent me to CGH (Changi General Hospital).

CGH checked my lungs and heart and detected no issue and send me home the next day. On MC for 4 days and on the 12th. I woke up and noticed my whole skin is yellow. Jaundice! No more CGH so this time go to SGH instead. Took 2 days for them to confirm I had a inflammation on my pancreas due to gallstones. On drips for 4 bloody days.

So now I'm back at home resting again.

On the other end. Wife is pregnant again (seems to be made in Keng Tung :P) and we did not planned this. Girl girl seems unaware of the situation that she is going to become a big sister... hehehe... And girl is now in Pre-school and she enjoys it so far. Thats the update from me so far in Dec. Will post some more if I could. Still a bit lethargic from all the drugs I took.

Hana Yori Dongo - Meteor Garden

2008-12-02T04:57:00.003+07:00

I rarely recommend TV dramas as I'm not really into watching them (I prefer movies :) ). The main reasons is that TV series takes a lot of my time to watch them and my attention span is not that long. Most of the TV series I enjoy are normally not long winded or over then 20 episodes. (Start to get bored and draggy once it hit more than 10). There are of course exceptions like the old HK Martial Arts (Wu Xia) that I used to enjoy.

So recently, thanks to my sis who studies Japanese and watches their TV dramas. I got hooked onto this short and sweet romantic comedy drama based on a very famous manga. Hana Yori Dongo.
The story is quite typical and predictable but I have to say the production quality is pretty high. The cast chose is also very good. Most impressive of all is the acting and the soundtrack for the series (very very nice soundtracks).

It has 2 season. The first season has only 9 episodes (yeah!!) while the 2nd Season has 11. Total of 20 plus a Final movie that came out a storm in Japan this year in June. (hope Singapore will show it too)

Not going to spoil the series by giving away too much of it but here's a MV for the 2nd season done by some fans. The music is Flavor of Life by Hikaru Utada (heard only on season 2)

PS. There's a Taiwanese version and anime with the same title. Just watch the Japanese Live action will do....

Some photos to share

2008-11-30T21:09:00.002+07:00

Some recent photos I took.

And here's from Keng Tung. Enjoy! :)

Only 1 post

2008-11-25T12:19:00.002+07:00

for this month.. hehehe.. I'm getting lazy. Actually I was so fully packed with work and personal stuffs that my health took a toll on me. (more on that later)

Its weird and sad but I'm back to money chasing days again that I hated so much. This time I have not much choice as I can't stay in Thailand for longterm and I need to save up more money for more expenses that came up.

The first 2 weeks of Nov I was packed with work. I only had 4 rest days from my shift but instead of resting, I went to teach part time photography for my master's workshop to earn some extra cash. I worked until the last day before I left on 10 Nov morn for Thailand.

Girl girl again so happy to see me. This trip is hectic as we are planning to go to Keng Tung for 4 days out of the 9 days leave I took. The weather was changing from hot to cold and the sudden changes in temperature means you can catch a flu easily. Which I did on the third day in Thailand. We were also busy celebrating Loy Krathong. Worst still our Cindy (doggie) went missing on that night. I spent the next day on bike to search for her and no news. We need to hit the road to KengTung so we left that job to our neighbour Ah Ma and our maid.

Another stressful journey as the road is long and this time is not for vacation but a visit to see my wife's grandpa who is seriously ill and senile. We first checked him out and he was in a serious condition. My wife had to take care of him by trying to talk some sense to him (he can't even remember us) and its a pain to see a love one in such a state. That means I have to look after my little monster.. hahaha... I have to admit I enjoy it but very very tiring trying to chase her here and there when you are unwell. She speaks to me in Thai but I always reply her in Chinese. (She understood what I say though) On the fourth day, just before we left, his grandpa miraculously woke up and remembers everything. We spoke a bit and left. (I need to go as my flight was tomorrow). Back to Thailand and Cindy was found! Yeah... but just the night before my flight, I was hit by stomach flu. Wife was so worried that she wanted me to stay for a few more days. But got work to catch up leh.... need the money for my family leh...

Took the flight back and worked for 2 days before finally collasping for 2 day MC....

No one to blame but myself. But this whole incident left me thinking.. 3 or 4 years ago when I was a single, I won't be that worried about my job or even how much I earn for that month..

Bloody SAF100

2008-10-31T01:30:00.003+07:00

Wat lau.... Was hoping they don't call me back but still received it. In Camp Training (ICT) to be scheduled on 27 April till 15 May 2009. Luckily it didn't crashed on Songkran and girl girl's birthday. So I guess I'm safe.

Boss headache liao as I will be away for sometime. Already our head ops is asking our boss to cut cost liao (means less OT). So I guess Big boss won't be very happy as there will be more OT due to my absence.. hehe

Come to think of it, this is only my 3rd high key and I'm already going to be 33 next year. Guess I will only complete my 10 cycle when I'm bloody 40. Just thinking of it just make me sianzz...

Kena Arrowed

2008-10-25T10:06:00.003+07:00

Its 6 months into my new job and got my confirmation letter last Tues. And on that day itself. I am "promoted" to be the shift lead. No need to congratulate me as this is a position no one wants to hold as its more work and responsibilities while no increment in pay.

I actually see this coming as I am currently a bit "over qualified" for this job. Used to be in the management but now into this shift job. And frankly, out of the 14 team members, I am one of the degree holders among the 2 in our team. So its expected that they will arrow me this bloody post.

signzzz back to work then....

It's Time.....to BUY

2008-10-22T21:50:00.003+07:00

Stock market has crashed!! Already I have made some bargain purchases in the local market. Some my friends and colleagues says it will go even lower, so why buy now??

The main reason is that when its that low. Nobody will sell it anyway. So the best time to buy is actually when the market is going down, but have not bottomed out. Then what you do is to hold the stock for as long as possible (long term investments of at least 2 years). So even if the stock does not rebound. You most probably will get something out of their dividends payout. (I always look out for companies that are financially sound and has a good roadmap)

So what did I invested this time?? :) Just some stocks on energy related, agriculture and communications. As the title suggest. Now's the time to BUY... hehehe

Camera wishlist. - The A900

2008-10-18T20:52:00.003+07:00

Wow. time really flies when you are working! I have not checked my blog for 8 days!!
Anyway, planning to save up to get this camera. Not cheap whor... 4kSGD. Can easily buy 2 motorbikes in Thailand!

Do I really need it, well I always dream of having a Full Frame DSLR. So when Sony finally release their A900 flagship, I went straight to a Sonystyle shop to try it out. Picture quality and the resolution is damn impressive (highest amount of MP in the FF now). Interface is the same as my A700 but the point to note is the bloody viewfinder. Finally get to see a film camera size viewfinder. Bright and 100% coverage which means I no longer need to squint my eyes to peer through the little hole in my current camera. (I wear spectacles and this makes it worst)

But... 4k leh.... think if I buy, wife will seriously kill me liao.... so just a wishlist. Hopefully price will drop (sure will lah) and then i grab later... hehehe

Life as usual.

2008-10-09T20:07:00.003+07:00

Frankly, I have nothing to update on my personal issues. Thailand's politics are still in a mess and the recent violence will actually make things worst. That's all I can say for the Land of Smile.

Wife's ID still waiting and waiting (like in a black hole) Still, just have to keep on hoping that day will come.

Work is as usual. Slaving 12 hours on each shift. Two of colleagues recently acquired a new DSLR and now are constantly bugging me on teaching them photography. (honestly, I enjoyed the bugging hehehehe) We went for a shoot last Friday at Lavrador park. I was trying to shoot some sunset but the sky was way too cloudy. Didn't really get what I want.

Been chasing Heores 3 ever since I came back!! Yeah!!! Sylar became the good guy!! hahahah and he's actually brother of.... (nah.. not going to spoil the show)

I think so far the pacing and twist on the 3rd season is pretty captivating. Strongly recommend it.

That's all for the today. By the way, today is the death anniversary of Che Guevara (9th Oct 1967). If you have a chance, do read up about this fantastic character which I admire very much :).

Fishing Trip

2008-10-03T23:18:00.002+07:00

Some photos taken on a fishing outing in the recent trip back to Maesai.

Bangkok Revisited

2008-10-01T23:57:00.001+07:00

It's been almost3 years since I last stepped into Bangkok city centre. As my flight back to Singapore is at 9pm. I have 5 to 6 hours to spare. So instead of doing nothing at the airport. I took the airport express bus A4 to MBK (Mah Brong Krong). Its equivalent to the Orchard road in Singapore. I have not taken a cab to the city from the new airport and its really much furthur then Don Meaung (the old airport). The express bus took about an hour to reach my destination. (Pretty good considering the heavy traffic. MBK did not changed much at all. I think Singapore is changing more then BKK regarding the development. I went to eat the Suki buffet. (price increased liao) Used to be 199 baht for an hour and 15 mins. Now its 270 inclusive of tax. After my dinner, walked a bit and hop onto the BTS to furthur east of the city to get out of the city jam and took a cab there back to airport. After all these year in Thailand, I still don't like BKK. Not sure why but its the place I would avoid to go in Thailand.

Birdnest on my Mango tree

2008-09-26T18:11:00.004+07:00

It good to be back in Thailand. Lots of surprises and stuff to see. hehe.. Girl girl now quite tall and a bit spoiled (wify's fault). I have planted 2 mango trees and one of them actually has a nest on it (see pic). I think I saw a sparrow flying out of it. I've told my wife not to disturb it as it seems quite interesting. Ah girl also very excited about it.

Will try to post more. Need to process some photos I took on a birthday party we went.

Budget Terminal

2008-09-23T04:42:00.002+07:00

Nothing to do at the airport... so post a quickie here. I'm currently at the Singapore budget terminal departure hall. I have to say that the facilities and shops here has improved a lot since my last visit (think about more than a year ago). They finally made some common sense by putting the Internet connection somewhere nearer to the entrance to the gates. (about time too). Not at an obscure corner it used to be. But I see some ungracious Chinese and Korean taking a seat without using the facilities. Have to tell them off. (why always the Asians that are the bunch that makes us look bad??)

Still got an hour to go.....sighs...

Smuggling back stuff...

2008-09-21T15:58:00.002+07:00

No lah. Not smuggling drugs or contraband items lah.. just electronic stuff.. hehe..

Thailand's custom is quite strict on electronic or computer products. Normally they see I'm alone they will want to check for these items (especially if you are from Singapore).

I kena twice already. The first time its a brand new mobile phone that I bought for my wife and the second time was some photo printer refill cartridges that I bought in bulk. The way they tax you also jialat... like anyhow come out with a price. (most prob they pocket the money themselves) First time blur blur, so they chopped me 1000baht tax. Second time I smarter, tell them for own use and they insist they need to tax me and again tax me 1000baht. I told them straight in the face no. And say if they want they can take the refills as I don't want to pay. The things are not that expensive anyway. In the end, they settle for 100baht. In a rush, I paid and left.

So now my strategy is not to have any things in a box that looks new to them(Toys are ok though). Take out the stuff and packed it into the luggage. I got an old 19" LCD monitor I'm carrying back this coming Tues.. so I chugged it into my luggage and hope for the best. Customs in BKK are more lenient than CM. (Those 2 incidents happened in Chiang Mai.) And this time I am flying to BKK then an internal flight to Chiang Rai. So I guess I no need to worry so much about this.

Nevertheless, if you plan to buy some stuff back, just remember to be prepared to get "taxed" by these customs.

PS: Postal service also kena numerous times. But at least they give you the tax rates. Its 7% VAT and 20baht process fees. Anything more than that its "pocket money for them".

HDR Imaging

2008-09-15T21:46:00.003+07:00

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. A HDR photo is able to capture and display a wider range of tonal details for a particular photo. For example, the photo I took on my right is actually taken at night (around 8pm). I've made multiple exposure to the same scene on a tripod and later merged them into a HDR image using Photoshop.

Still experimenting the technique as its quite new to me. But i would say its quite interesting and rewarding once you have the results.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Gamer

2008-09-14T19:34:00.002+07:00

I like music (who doesn't :P). Not to the extreme as those Audiophiles but to a certain degree, I want a system that really please my ears.

Comes the digital age and I find that I no longer really need expensive amplifiers (audiophiles will definitely disagree on this). This is because most of the time I would listen to my collections on my PC or Mp3 players. I always buy the latest creative series of soundblaster cards for my PCs as they are really good. My Audigy card just died recently so I switched to the onboard audio (those came with the motherboard)to save some money(since got one inside mah). Too my horror (Maybe I am just too fickle) but I find the output is not good at all. Bass and tonality is not there at all.

Went down to Simlim and bought the latest X-Fi series (Gamer edition). Since I might used it to play some games and its only $40 more than the standard edition. I bought it and wow.. the advertised X-Fi really works leh. Bass is deep and clear. Treble is sweet and sharp (not over piercingly like those on the motherboard). The quality is definitely better than my Audigy. Paid $135 for it and really worth it.

The Current Thai Politcal Crisis

2008-09-13T04:44:00.002+07:00

I have refrained myself from writing about this issue for sometime as its a pretty complicated from an outsider's point of view. So these are just my opinions on the situation and may not reflect the true nature behind all these chaos.

The problem with Samak is that he is definitely not as charismatic as Thaksin. He won because he was leading the PPP and during the election, he proudly proclaimed to be a proxy of Thaksin. So thus, he won easily (I think most will agree on this point).

You may asked why then, such a corrupted (well the Thai courts say so) leader such as Thaksin still managed to get so many people supporting him? The main reason is still that the poor in the North (especially the farmers) and Northeast are still loyal to him. Because while he was in office, their standard of living has definitely improved (I can safely said this as I first went to Maesai in 1999 and comparing it with today, it was really really different). Roads are more well build. The people are richer. There are Internet cafes with pretty good speed and etc. He was also the one who dared to implement the now popular 30baht fee to see a doctor. So you can't really blame these people who voted for him as to them, he was their hero. Their voice.

The recent crisis we see Samak more or less being isolated and even the people in the North wants him out. I think mainly because they felt betrayed by the fact that he did not vocally supported Thaksin's return and keeping his distance away from him. Another reason is that the Northern Thais are not as vocal as those in Bangkok. And even worse, we are sure that the Army really doesn't supports him.

So the next few months will be quite interesting. Most probably we will have another election and I do hope those PAD leaders will be arrested for the recent events. These jokers are actually quite dangerous as they believed in mob rules rather than real democracy. As I have told a friend before. No matter how righteous you may declare yourself to be. You should respect the law and the current government till the end of the term. If you are able to prove that they are corrupt or a cheat (in elections). Then bring them to court. (Thai courts are quite independant from the legislatives as proven). Social discord and disobedient should be the final straw if the courts are unfair. They way they behave are like spoiled brats. Creating havoc and damage to the country because their demands are not met.

Same goes to Samak. Stop being power crazy and resign and let another PPP candidate take over. If not, call for fresh elections and win this time without proclaiming yourself to be Thaksin's proxy (see if you can win :P) But I guess its too late for him now.

Time flies!

2008-09-11T10:08:00.002+07:00

Wow! I'm a bit surprised by how time flies when you are busy. 12 more days and I will be in Thailand again. Hopefully by then all those political mess will be resolved as I may need to stay a night in BKK to settle some personal matters...

This trip will be 2 days longer than the last last one :P So already prepared most of the stuff that I need to carry back this time. Jetstar screwed up as it canceled (2 weeks before departure some more!!) its morning flight to BKK (think the protests is hurting the airlines business) . The next available flight is in the evening so I asked for a refund instead and got myself Tiger Air (Arrrgh ... the most jialat budget airline). Lucky its cheap lah, paid SGD100+ for the morning flight. The real pain in the ass is the Budget Terminal (I avoid it at all cost).

So from today onwards, I will be working night shift till 21st. So I guess there will be more posts this month....

Cost of living in Maesai

2008-09-07T11:10:00.003+07:00

gerald said...

hello fat boi
would you mind answering my questions
what the monthly costs(estimated) of living in maesai?
how much do you pay for your house?

thanks

Another reader Gerald asked about my monthly cost in Maesai. So for basic necessity like utility bills. Here's a breakdown of the latest charges (prices increased in Thailand :( ).

my rates are rounded up 100B = $4.5SGD so actually should be lesser.

Water bills average between 250B to 350B ($12 - $16)
Drinking Water 12B/Gallon House of 4 needs average 5 gallons/week 280B($13)
Electricity average between 1000B to 1500B ($45 - $68)
Phone and Internet(2MBps ADSL) 1200B ($54 We never use the phone for outgoing as its more expensive than mobile! But the incoming is free though...)
Petrol for my motorbikes 600B ($27 I don't go out often :P)
My Burmese maid 1500B per month ($68 really cheap labour but sometimes I give her more if she did a good job, and she gets to eat whatever we eat and has day off every week)

So if you take the maximum (do take note that I stay in a single story detached House.)
It will be $246. Make it safe, $300SGD for utilities and the pay my maid.

Food wise is subjective. Let's say you don't cook at all. 100B per head for each person per day is quite luxurious (A plate or bowl of noodle is 30B for large portion). So my household is Wife, baby, maid plus me(I not around at the moment though) So its 400B per day. 30 days is 12000B which converted is $540SGD
Of course, if you cook yourself, the cost will be even cheaper.....

So total is SGD$840.

I send at least SGD$1000 every month and of course my wife gets to save some money out of it.

That's the normal expenditure for a house of 4 in Maesai. Of course it can be more than that as there are diapers, sweets and shopping for clothes etc etc.... It really depends on how you spend. :P So I can safely say that SGD$1000 is quite comfortable and considered to be luxurious for Maesai's standard.

Cheap anot? Feel like going already liao right?? hehehe

Just as I thought. Things not that smooth

2008-09-02T20:14:00.002+07:00

Think the title summarise today's interview. Seems like there are some paperworks that are missing and the date of my wife getting her current id is not in line with Maesai's rule.(bit complicated, not sure how to explain also). So her birth cert was denied for the moment. Now have to check again with the other district officer on whether she can apply anot.

Sighzz... So used to this type of news. Wify also bad mood. Spent so much effort and wasted her aunties(3 old ladies) time at the district office.

Anyway, Thai politics is going haywire again. Thankfully the north is not affected much by the incidents in Bangkok. Hope everything clears before my trip back at the end of the month.

Counting down...

2008-09-01T20:51:00.003+07:00

Tomorrow is a big day. The reason is that my wife and her sis will be at Maesai Amphur to get their birth certificates. The necessary documents are prepared and the 3 old ladies (as witness) will be going down to make their statements. That's the trouble we need to go through as proof that my wife was born in Thailand. (A lot of people around the border never really had a birth certificate, especially those who are poor.)

Anyway, after this step. Wife and her sis could then go back down to Mae Fa Luang's Amphur to convert her to thai citizenship. So I really have to cross my finger that tomorrow's interview to be successful.

Think another sleepless night for me again...

Politics in Thailand.

2008-08-28T23:33:00.002+07:00

Alas... just when things sound promising for my wife. Thai politics is into another low point again. The recent ugly protests and standoffs seems so deja vu again...

The problem with PM Samak is that he is not as decisive as he looks. He should have asked the court to apply for warrants of arrest for the leaders of PAD long before it blew out of hand. Now its a bit too late. The only two person who could intervene are either the King or the Chief of Army.

Still, my fingers are crossed and hopefully, everything will be resolved as fast as possible.

Politics in Thailand has always been ugly. Filled with scandals and corruption. But yet the country is still progressing (much much slower pace though). So kind of makes one wonder.... If such an incident happens in Singapore, such a major protest that will upset the gahment... what would really happen? Would our army intervene? Still trying hard to picture it. heheh

Some good news

2008-08-25T20:51:00.003+07:00

Basically its regarding my wife's Thai id card. Recently with some help, she managed to get the first step of owning "Sian Chat" (citizenship) and was asked to go for an interview at her district office.

Since we already "paved" our way in. The interview was a success and now have to wait for a few more months before the next step.

All in all, its good as there is some progress rather than none at all. The political situation in Thailand has not improved and I'm a bit worried that another coup will occur and everything is back to square one again (like last time).

So finger crossed and hopefully, everything can be settled by end of the year. So wify and girl girl can come to SG during CNY 2009 to celebrate together with Grandma and auntie... :P

Getting to Chiang Mai

2008-08-17T12:50:00.002+07:00

kc said...

Hi Fatboi,

when you are free pls give me some advice on my forthcoming journey to chiangmai..

what airline is best in terms of fares, shud i fly to chiangmai direct or bkk and take a train up north? i heard the journey by train is 12 hours, is it easy to find the station at mochit bkk? anything to pay attention to? is chiangmai an expensive place compared to bkk?

thanks for the heads up buddy.
4:29 AM

Got this comment for help in regarding Chiang Mai(CM). So I post it here so all could reference. But this guide is mainly for Singaporeans.

Sad to say, the only budget airlines that fly to CM is Tiger airways but they have canceled it recently. So the only airlines I currently knew (maybe got others) that flew direct from Singapore to CM are Thai Airways, SIA and Silkair. If you are going alone and want a cheap fare, just go Thai airways and book online. Price is about $700plus with all taxes included. Pretty expensive as it used to be only 500 plus. The recent hike in fuel surcharge are crazy.

The cheaper way as mentioned by kc is to fly to BKK and do a domestic transfer. The money you would save will depend on the flight you get. Can be much cheaper at around 500 plus if you buy the tix earlier for budget flights. My recommendation is to get Airasia. Then do the domestic transfer at the same new International airport (Surwahnabumi). Less money spend on the taxis to get to the old airport Don Meaung. But if you plan to stay in BKK for a night or 2. This method is plausible also and you can get even cheaper flights at Don Meaung.

I never tried the train before as its neither here or there. And its actually slower than the bus from what I heard from those who took it. So what I suggest is the bus. Its 11plus journey and you can get tickets easily. (Every hour got one departure). The bus station for the northern provinces are Mochit Mai. There's another station for all the Southern parts but I never been there so sorry, can't help on that. As mentioned by KC. (He researched well!) Just tell the taxi driver to Mochit Sathanni Rot Meh. If the driver asked Khang Lang(downstair) or Khang Bon(upstair). Tell him to go downstair or just tell him you are going CM. Mochit bus station is an interesting place itself. Its a huge huge bus station ... hehehe... Anyway, just go around the hundreds of counters and pick the most expensive one (now not sure, last time about 2 years ago, 900baht is the most expensive). They have English signboards on their destination so should not be a problem for us. Avoid those in Thai scripts as those are normally non-aircon ones. The reason to get the most expensive is because they are 24 seaters and they have less stops in between. The seat are also very comfortable. If not, get those in the range of 700 to 800 baht at least. Avoid those 600 or less. Thai people are small and if you as big as me, you would be in a hell hole. Hope this help for those who want to explore other part of Thailand.

PS. Never take the bus during the Song Krang Festival or Loi Krathong (coming Nov) I've tried once during Loi Krathong. BIG mistake. You can get buses but the crowd and queue is damn packed. You don't even have a spot to stand on the bus pavements. Now I wonder how I ever survived that.......

The problem with gadgets...

2008-08-12T04:23:00.003+07:00

First of all, I want to inform the reader that I myself is hooked to all sorts of new gadgets that are available in the market. Be it electronically sophisticated or as mundane as a piece of magnet.

The most phenomenal lead in improvement is our little mobile phone. Wow. No longer we could just make calls. Now we can take photos, listen to music, watch videos and surf the web on it. All on a little piece of plastic and silicon. I'm not sure who came first came up with the idea of combining an mp3 player to a mobile phone (Sony?) and its a great idea. (I have one too) But the idea is not that great when you allow some joker to play their favourite tune (blarring distorted notes) at a public space such as a bus or coffee shop. I have encountered several times these "people who thinks that they have the right" to play their music loudly anywhere they like. Come on, why don't you just use a headphone instead like we used to do? No matter how good is the song, it won't be nice if it's coming out from a small speaker of a mobile phone right?

Speaking of phone. Apple's iPhone or those PSP and Nintendo DS are great too. So are those PVP (I have one too!) I watched movies on them while I'm on the plane to Thailand or back. Or in a bus. And all the times, with my headphones on and seated in a comfortable position. And I do make sure that I only turn my gadgets on when the plane took off and the seatbelt sign is off. But do I watch my PVP with my headphones while walking? Nope. But nowadays, I see kids and teenagers trying to commit suicide by playing their PSP or watching a movie on the little mobile phones or PVP with their headphones while walking on the pedestrian crossings or along the road. So I guess the kids here either has another set of eyes or some sonar detection devices that helps them to navigate while they pound the keys on their screen....

Sad to say. Gadgets are cool. The problem is how we kind of abuses it and cause inconvenience to others or harms to ourselves. Guess something "bad" will happen and our gahment will be our Nanny again regarding this issue.

PS. Anyone can tell me where to get the Sonar Navigational system that these PSPians are using. Would like to get one to play with it.

A Story about Strollers

2008-08-10T21:13:00.003+07:00

Recently on the local SG papers were tons of letter about Singaporean parents and their strollers.

I have bought one in Thailand and sad to say is that its totally under utilised. That's because my girl doesn't like to sit in it and interestingly noted is that here in Thailand, most of them don't use strollers. They carry their babies or even just let them walk on their own. My girl now is 2 plus and she don't even want us to carry her at all when we go out. So sometimes my wife and I really have some headache when we go shopping. Because girl girl would always struggle free from our hands and ran off on her on. Jia lat man.

So back to the story of strollers. I chatted with my cousin a week before the newspaper outburst and he too mentioned to me about the recent "increase" in seeing parents or grandparents pushing a stroller with a 6 or 7 year old kid in it. I told him as I didn't noticed that but I started to monitor this situation myself. Today I went down to Parkway Parade with a friend for breakfast and I did noticed this strange phenomenon. My cousin was actually right!!!

I saw not 1 but at least 3 sets of parents with their HUGE strollers. Their kid is definitely above 3 or 4 years old and they are happily seating in their strollers while their parents push their "SUV" in the crowded shopping mall. Really interesting scene.

I'm not sure what's really happening to typical Singaporean parents nowadays? Are they pampering their kids? Or is it the kids will behave better if they are just sitting in their strollers? Is it for the protection of their kids? Since its crowded and they are afraid that their kids will get knocked down by some clumsy adults?

I think for safety reasons, maybe a kid less than 5 years old on a stroller is fine with me. But those strollers are HUGE man, not those that I sat last time while I was a baby. (I used to walk all the time and my father or mother will carry me if I'm too tired. And I clearly remember that I never go to the shopping mall before my 8th birthday. And the stroller is only for the beach or parks.)

So to conclude this post. Anyone interested in buying my under-utilised stroller please drop me a mail... Item is in Thailand though..... And yeah, its those HUGE types oso (wify picked one).