Tibet: The Truth (oppression, monks, nuns... you're wrong)

Hitched

Just had nice steamboat with friends near Old Tiong Barhu market, Seng Poh Rd.

Soup base is quite nice, and some of friends actually hope fewer people will get to know this steamboat place so it be less crowded for us.

Am very happy for my friend, not that I'm happy that she finally attached but happy for her that she had found someone she loves and also knew she is going to be loved as well. Hee. Sweet~

This is not a friendly greeting

This is not a friendly greeting exchange. Cai Cai will bite the mini hamster if he has a chance. He did it to one of it... My mum and I admitted it was due to our negligence and being over confident that Cai Cai will not be able to reach it while we play with the pair on the dining table. Well, he did. He did a super pounce and bite one of them, I was screaming in shock while my mum quickly get it out of his mouth...

After 16 hours, the mini hamster died and my parents went down to bury it. Of cause, Cai Cai get a good scolding and beating from my mum and we are now very careful to keep the other hamster out of his reach.

Panerai GMT 88

Lovely~

Des's first Panerai and we hope there be more to come and the best part is I can wear it too! (the buckle can be shifted)

Though i hear or read about people collecting watches as an investments or hobby, it didn't really get on to me that watches can appreciate that much, some in a short time frame of 2-5 yrs.

In the past, the closest moment with these nice watches with names like IWC, Audemars Piguet, A.Lange & Sohne, Frank Muller are from the show cases outside The Hour Glass, Dickson or Cortina, and have never thought of going in. O yeah, one more close encounter where I tried on Rolex, Chopard and Piaget was in Switzerland and thank goodness I did a check with Cheryl's hubby who works in Dickson on the price of Rolex and Chopard; and realised that the price in Singapore are actually cheaper than Switzerland!

I was lucky to be at Alfred's shop last week and perhpas also at the right time unlike yesterday where we have to wait for almost an hour outside his shop. It was a small shop, okay a small small shop where you can probably sit only 4 pax max. But this wonder small shop has everything. Its like only half of a shop front at Far East Plaza but with goodies like Hermes Birkin & Kelly, Bottega Veneta, Prada, Marni or Zac Posen bags and blablabla...

Alfred's was really nice and bring out lots of watches and his babies for Des and me, but more for me to try on, though he knew i can't afford. Haha, guess was because of my 'wow' 'wow' look when he brought out the watches. We spend like 2 hours in there.

I will try my best to remember the brand of the watches my hand has touched on cause there are some brands i have not even hear of. Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso, IWC AMG, A.Lange & Sohne, Bell & Ross, Rolex Cellini (my fav, blue face w diamonds), Maurice Lacroix, Vacheron Constantin, Cartier Santos/Pasha?, Panerai, Roger Dubuis, Corum and ... (can't rem). I doubt i can feel so many watches and some limited pieces at those 'atas' botique.

Plastic Surgery - Should I?

Almost read over 100 pages of discussion on Plastic Surgery on Singapore Expats Forum, thought the last thread now is at pg 567.

Quite interesting to have people sharing information on the procedures, comparison of surgeons from Singapore, JB, Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, etc. Good thing to note is some of them shared their not so satisfied, worsen or failed nose job. Also people group together to go Korean for plastic surgery.

Envy Xiaxue got her free nose job from Dr Martin Huang, and just finish reading Balderdash's blog on several unflattering photos of Dawn Yang. When i first saw Dawn's picture, i think she was really quite pretty. However after a while, I'm amazed how her pose or smile never change, she is just like a doll and will kind of get tired after that.

I think i have lots of stuff need to be done, nose, jaw, eyes, breast... ha, never ending.

Plastic Surgery, maybe later i will surf how this 'plastic' term came about with transformation of the looks. I mean why not better terms or terms that sound nicer like 'Enhancing Surgery', 'prettier', 'evolution'.

Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation

I was surfing for recommendation on Laser Face Rejuvenation and i came upon this website by Parkway Aesthetic Clinic providing Laser Vaginal Rejuvenation, Hymen Restoration and er ..G-Spot Amplification??

Claimed to correct stress urinary incontinence and enhancement of sexual gratification. Urinary incontinence is a common problem that happens to women when their pelvic floor muscle weakens. One will loss a small amount of urine when you cough, sneeze or laugh.

Yes, i heard about hymen restoration and labioplasty, but Designer Labial Vaginoplasty... I thought of Valentino, Marc Jacobs, YSL, Anna Sui. I was thinking in the next few years, I'll be looking down at my girl friends in the sauna room and say.. o wow.. so nice, is this done by who n who..

No doubt it improves the life of the patient but the way it featured seems to be advertised more on beauty and improving sexual gratification than the medical treatment of urinary incontinence.

Well, think more money into the doc's pocket cause this should be another popular treatment soon, a very popular one.

A bowl of PLAIN porridge - $0.40

We were having teochew porridge along Serangoon Road, Des asked for his second bowl of porridge which rarely happens cause he has a small appetite.

While the server walks towards us with the bowl of plain porridge, i reached out to my wallet, '40 cents'. After paying him, i kind of pause for a while and recollect cause i was thinking to search for 20 cents to pay for the bowl of plain porridge. I turned to Des, ' wah very ex leh, tot porridge should be cheaper than rice.'

Wonder how much is it for a bowl of rice now?

Ziroco Thai Fashion

One of the top, behind is bare back.

Hmm.. Was at CentrePoint yesterday and my objective was to look for a ROM dress but in the end i blew a few hundreds at a tiny store, like 2 metres by 1 meters. Its that small... clothes piling up on the shelves and overloaded of clothes hanging on a less than a meter pole.

I didn't pay much attention to the few stores that clamp around at the atrium of Centrepoint but since i have almost finish walking through the whole centre point i though just browse through. Hmm, why so many people talking in Thai, ooo its a Thai fashion fair. Walked through and nothing caught by attention till my instinct tells me to check out this booth. Ooo.. one top not bad, $84 er.. okay but like pasar malam store leh, seems ex. Then i saw some catalogue on the shelves, only then i found some nice designs from the book or else is too messy to pick from the shelves.

The designer told me these clothes that was sold in Thailand was even more expensive, one particular dress i find it unique cost $170, original price he claim was $320. The brand was Ziroco, have a boutique at Paragon Bangkok and San Fransisco.

Bought 3 pieces in the end, one particular top i tried on has to be guided by the lady boss, even back home, it took me 5 mins to wore it right. Des was surprised at the $170 dress, he didn't imagine I will wear such revealing dress, er yeah when i tried it on, halter bare back, but it's a headache to think of what undergarment to go with it.. till now i cant seem to think of any that can fit that dress. Nvm, keep first.. :P

stress from property madness

17 March 08

hmm.. I gave cityview a miss last week. Has heard that even queue no close to 3000 was called up, wonder how is the take up rate now?

Anyway there's also some points we don't understand like applicants will not be able to collect their keys if they are unable to fulfill the eligibility conditions or have become ineligible. Means one of eligibility condition is to have under the $8k combined income rule?? Means we cant be promoted or gotta refuse promotion or salary incrememnt during this time? I dislike this $8k rule.. when can it change?

After looking and viewing resale flats for the past two weeks, think cityview 5 room for 700k is not too bad if one can afford. Cause new flats near amk, redhill mrt transacted at more than 600k. Shufu flats agent quote me $850k. Seems that HDB sellers now are getting much better deal than pte owners at this point of time. Telok Blangah flats shouting at much higher COV than any estate now. Belive that ppl who bought Pinnacle @ Duxton (HDB) at $400k, in another 5-8yrs can sure sell for $700k right, cause thats what flats at kim tiam and jalan membina are selling.

Offered two places but got outbidded.. stress, yesterday just offered one..hope this time can get it.

HDB resale buzz set to continue

HDB resale buzz set to continue

But increasing buyer resistance and and an expected surge in supply may take away some sheen, says EUGENE LIM

HDB resales prices accelerated their climb in the second half of 2007 for a full-year gain of 17.5 per cent, on the back of a strong economy, brighter job prospects and supply-demand factors.
The HDB Resale Price Index (RPI) rose 6.6 per cent in the third quarter and 5.7 per cent in Q4, after 1.3 per cent and 3 per cent increases for the first and second quarters.

The 17.5 per cent jump in resale prices last year was dramatic compared to just 2 per cent in 2006. But it was still much less than the 34.3 per cent surge seen in 1996. At 121.7 points, the RPI at Q4 2007 is just 11 per cent shy of the peak of 136.9 points recorded in Q4 1996. As the economy improved, more buyers were upgrading to larger flats. The government's target for an eventual population of 6.5 million has seen increasing numbers of permanent residents (PRs) in Singapore. The latter typically buy their HDB homes from the resale market as they do not qualify to buy new flats directly from the HDB.

http://forums.condosingapore.com/showthread.php?t=2175

HSBC Women's Champions 2008

Free Pass.. But no change to go...

Citylights Condo @ Jellicoe Road

Any one selling Citylights below $650psf? Preferably 2 - 3rooms.

One Amber Property Price Dropping?!

Been surfing through the net these few days looking out for HDB and the private properties. Some of the flat owners has asked for higher price due to the reason of the coming MRT circle line like the Dakota, Telok Blangah station. Fair enough. Then the governement announced that there will be several more MRT stations by 2020, like the Thomson line, Downtown line, Eastern Region Line and maybe a North Shore Line?

After the condo flipping article on the newspaper, i make a search on properties nearing TOP hoping that i can sniff out some good buy and falling price. Through URA and HDB website, i can't find much on Feb 08 transaction perhaps they have not upload the data yet. Well... it seems that HDB resale price are like getting higher and the private properties has been on high side.

Santiburi Samui Country Club - Koh Samui

We asked the hotel staff any good golf course around and it seem to have only one around in Koh Samui. However, back to our room, i read from the leaflets i took from the lobby and it mentioned there is a new golf club which is a cheaper option than Santiburi.

With the same amount of paying the cab fare to the course from our hotel n back, we rented a car that we can drive around the island for a day. We tried to search for the alternative golf club but gave up in the end.

When we finally reach Santiburi, it was raining (Monsoon season). Jokingly, i ask the staff is there a discount for playing in the rain, he suggest we play the twilight golf (9 holes) and perhaps the rain has stopped by then. After 5 hours of spa, we started our tee off.

I find the course quite challenging for me especially when i can't hit far with irons and lost quite number of balls. It was my first time having a caddy around and i was not used to it. I find it even stressful as my pace seems to get double fast.

I will love to to play again and hope that next time round, i will have lesser balls missing.

Berjaya Hills Golf & Country Club - Bukit Tinggi

During the National Day Holidays last year, we thought of making a short trip to KL and maybe a round of golf nearby. From the web, we found this Berhaya Hills Golf which is about 45mins drive from KL and decide to stay there for a night first.

If I remember correctly, it took us 10-15mins to drive up the hill. Along the way, i saw a Japanese Tea House sign, and followed by construction of the castles like hotel which seems to be completing soon. Finally, we reached our destination... for a few minutes, i do not feel like I'm in Malaysia at all. Its a mini old French setting theme park and now the castles along the way i saw make sense. We stayed at Colmar Tropicale like resort and request our room to face the golf course. Since we arrived in late evening, we can't see the course clearly.

Due to the cooling temperature climate, we slept till the late morning and tee off around 10plus. I remember it is not a easy course for me as you can see from the pictures that the fairway is in keropok shape.

A place good for family and kids but i think a day/night stay is enough. Perhaps those castle like hotels has completed and has become a much bigger theme park now?

A Few Reasons To Watch Women's Golf

Wow..
0.30 Paula Creamer pull up her socks near the knee, kawaii eh~~ She can pulls it off.
After watching this video, i saw several comments on you tube that 1:28 is the best part, i watch again and pause it. Ha, the guys really have sharp eyes and great observation.
I wear very simple and now at driving range, i saw more n more ladies dressing up in really nice golf outfit. When you wear nice, you stand out.

HSBC Golf Champions Tournament TV commercial

Hee hee!!

Love the music.

Hmm.. why no ad for coming Women's Champions held in Singapore 2008.

HSBC Golf Ad

So funny!
Yes, i do hear about the difference on the 'benefit' you get when u got yourself a hole in one in Japan.

I wish this property fever is ending soon or NOW

After reading the 'CONDO-FLIPPING' woes - Bought last year Stuck this year and Newly-weds dominate queue for flats on The Sunday Times newspaper, i wonder how long do i have to wait to get a reasonable price house. I do not mind paying higher than the valuation for a place i like but not at a ridiculous high price!

Or should i come to the terms that this is just the beginning and the price will go even higher since now many items like oil and gold are at it's all time high.

Assistant Manager Samuel Tan commented on Sunday Times that he didn't expect so many people to apply (so do i ) because the surplus flats in mature estates are quite expensive. He said he might just have to buy a resale flat. I think he may get disappointed again...

Surfing through the web on the selling price of HDB and private property, you can see some of them are asking quite high above the valuation. Many can be trying their luck since they keep hearing flats transacted at record high price and hope they can use this opportunity to sell at a 'GOOD' price. I will get tempted too. It also means that many are not really sincere in selling and do mind waiting for a buyer to agree on their favourable price.

Seeing so many others are asking such high price, the rest will follow. Those who waited long for a buyer will probably just lower the selling price a bit since their neighbours are still quoting a high price.

I met one during Sept 07. 4-room flat at Toa Payoh, simple furnishing, 2 mins walk to Braddel MRT, highest floor with quite a nice view, asking for 100k cash. No bargain. 100k cash. New to all these valuation and cash thingy, I didn't know that 100k cash above valuation is a lot and i brought my parents to view it as i kind of like the place.

When i told my friends and colleagues about the 100k cash, all said is too much. They explained to me that for them during the 'normal times', if they like the house a lot, they will pay about 20k above the valuation and many got their house below or at valuation price. Really?

One of my friend in property suggest a third level unit at Kovan Melody for 1 million (neg). I know where is Kovan Melody and remember it was around 500k plus when it was first launched. My first thought was this owner is crazy, is 99yrs and only 3rd level! I make a search on the web and o.. wow.. 1 million is like the minimum.. the higher units are asking higher!

Not willing to come to the terms of accepting that this is what is going to be from now, i told a friend who is searching around for his first property investment. More agitated than i am, he said how many Singaporeans with 1 million can there be!? They can shout all the price they want but who are buying!?

Sharing over our views, we realise that most property agents whom we met at the showroom gave a very very rosy view on the property market. Most bet on the IR and the increase in population that Singapore hopes to achieve. Two months ago, i asked one of the agent at a showroom on my concern of the sub prime and the banking woes in US and will it affect the property market here. He answer confidently that it will not affect Singapore much, sub prime is a temporary phase, and Singapore is doing very well and with the IR ....

For me, i guess i just got to wait. I'm not married yet but planning for this year, so i guess family planning just has to be pushed back.

I know getting new flat at Punggol or Jurong is easier but i really prefer to be more centralised. I think i saw some selling 5 room Seng Kang flat stating it's near MRT close to 400k, i find it pretty expensive.

City View @ Boon Keng

We did our application online for City View at Boon Keng on the first day of its launch though only till the third week we went to the showroom.

Few months ago before the launch, we have been driving pass the construction area a few times and were surprised to see that it is under HDB and how come we have miss such information since we tried applying for the Telok Blangah BTO on HDB website. We though the application must have ended since they are building it now and thinking it be so nice if we can get it.

We really like the location and its very near Des's parents. We thought we have quite a high chance of getting it, thinking living near parents can increase our chances. However, results were out a few days ago, we did not get it. Wonder how do they determine the successful applicants and if i'm not wrong, i think the balloting part was done by Hoi Hup since we applied from their website.

However, I'm not really disappointed of not getting it cause as time goes by and with all the sad and bad news on inflation, the sub prime woes and the stock market, we started to have mixed feelings on getting a $720k HDB flat.

A lot of people were saying that it is not worth to pay so much for a HDB flat. Yup, i do admit that it is expensive, but i also remember 3-4 yrs ago people was complaining that The Pinnacle @ Duxton was expensive and small, but today, they are having the last laugh.

I was thinking since HDB at centralised location has make a record sale of $600k to near $900k, i strongly believe one day HDB may become a million dollars due to the inflation or at the next economic boom.

With all the scary news at the US side, the possibility of bubble burst in China, increased price in wheat, oil, soya, rice and now veges and the ever increasing ERP gates, I thought maybe we should not commit so much in property or not at this moment since prices now are on the high side.

It seems so tough to get a house now. We did not manage to get the BTO at Telok Blangah, City View, and our Q number for the Queenstown was like 2000+ out of 10000 applicants for over like 200 units? The horrible part was when we applied for the 'new flats' in mature estate recently, we saw over 2000+ application on its first day of applying only over 200 units. Scary...

Scholl Canyon

Our last golf game on our California trip. Quite a fun course and you will find yourself teeing off higher and higher off the ground.

Laguna Seca Golf Ranch - Monterey, CA

This was my first game that i have completed 18 holes.

When i first saw the buggy, i was shocked.. No shelter?? It was so hot and sunny, i was wondering why can't they provide us a proper buggy with shelter! Heh, then did i realise that those buggy are for bringing us to the driving range only.. thank goodness.

We especially love the surrounding views of the driving range, so spacious, so well maintained, how i wish we can have this kind of driving range in Singapore.

Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links

Looking at the numbers of pictures uploaded here, you can guess that this is one of my favourite course and at such a great bargain compare to the courses nearby. Since I'm only a novice, I do not want to spend too much on a game or it be just such a waste with my skills, perhaps when I'm better, or much better, then i may reward myself to Mission Hill or Pebble Beach.

It offers spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, and it puts you really at ease where you can heard the waves splashing against the coast and the sea birds flying across us.

It was recently ranked by Zagat Survey as one of America's Best Golf Courses. The 18-hole golf course features a restaurant as well as a golf pro shop.