Archive for September 2014

West Coast Cycling (20th Sept)

Time to test out the new bike again – so we decided to go for a west coast cycle trip from Holland Village , through to Buona Vista MRT, to where the west part of the Parkway Connector Network (PCN) starts.  We joined the Ulu Pandan PC along the canal way, and we past along Jurong East, and the IMM shopping mall area until we reached the PIE.

A nice panoramic

A nice panoramic

The Ulu Pandan PC then split into two, and we joined Pandan Gardens PC, until it reached the West Coast PC – at which point we reached the West Coast Park – wow what a ride that was.,

Here’s the runkeeper report…5.87 miles in about 52 minutes – not too bad.

 

 

Health Screening 2014

Every 2 years, I am entitled to do perform a health screening, covered by my work. I didn’t do this in 2013, so as I wanted to be able to claim the new bike purchase which I purchased a couple of weeks ago, I had to ensure that I completed my health screening in 2014!

I booked it a few weeks ago, and luckily for me it was just down the road at Mount Novena Hospital – in the Parkway Novena centre – near to the Novena MRT station. They tell you not to eat for 8 hours beforehand, but allow you to drink water (no alcohol though). They also needed a urine and poop test too – nice…so I decided to perform that duty in the luxury of my own home, rather than going at their centre – peeing in a bottle is easy, but pooping is more challenging – so I had to collect it in a tissue first and scoop it in…nice, hey?

Annyway, the test took about 2 hours – with a general check-up, blood test, prodding and probing and lastly breakfast. Phew!

UPDATE > I received the report a couple of weeks later, and it seems that am in the green zone for every category – except two areas. The only two related to my Hep B antibodies – which are not present, so I need to get myself immunized to avoid me getting this disease. Also, my blood haematology (red & white cells and platelets) is normal, except a marginally low haemoglobin level – on this one, I just need to monitor in during my blood test next year.

Also, it was good to finally recap my blood group – it is AB Rh positive. This basically mean it’s a mean blood group, cos I can accept any blood, but can only give bloody to someone who is also AB positive. So very valuable blood. Whoops! Haha!

Crab in the Bag – Dan’s Birthday Dinner (13th Sept)

What a nice place to enjoy a dinner meal with a difference. I’ve heard of this place, but never been here before – so when I arrived at East Coast Parkway, at the Big Splash.

It was a great concept – it all starts with them preparing your table with a paper table cloth…but the twist is that they don’t provide any cutlery or plates. What you actually do is order Fish et Co in a Bucket…and they then serve it in the same bucket, and they then tip the contents (luckily, cooked!) onto the table top for you all to tuck in. Sauces and other sides are then delivered in little disposable cups.

Crab in Da Bag
Block D Unit #01-25
902 East Coast Parkway
Big Splash
Singapore, 449874
Tel: +65 6440 0083
URL: http://www.crabindabag.com

PQs and RQs Wedding (13th Sept)

Rong Quan (RQ) and Pearly had already had a long life-time together and we all knew it was only a matter of when, rather then if they will marry. After 10+ years of having a relation, it was great that the lovely couple decided to make the plunge and agree to marry.

The wedding ceremony was held at Capella in Sentosa – a delightful location away from the hustle and bustle of the Singapore life. It was calm and relaxed, and it was great to see so many people come to celebrate this delightful occasion. There were 3 Amex tables that were created – and it was also great to see some faces of ol’ (old Amex days, and old GNS days) appear…everyone looked so well, and I am glad that the post-Amex life are treating these folks very well indeed (yup, there is life after Amex!).

The ceremony was very scripted, and you can tell these types of ceremony are like a well-oiled machine…a bit too process drive to my liking – but the event was fun and enjoyable. It was a 6 course banquet, with various events held between the courses, the classic cutting of the traditional Chinese “yum seng” (drink to success), cutting of the [fake] wedding cake, the champagne flute fountain, the first dance, the toast from the best man and brides maid. It’s still quite interesting to observe having now attended 3 Chinese-style weddings and receptions. What was weird is that after the wedding most people made their own way home, there was no party/dancing or similar, there was no post-dinner celebrations / drinks etc – but that’s seems to be the custom here.  It was more of a lunch/dinner banquet and that was it.  Still find it strange that there was no wedding ceremony as such, but I guess that’s a private event for the family and close friends only.

Now the big question was around the Ang Pow – and to determine how much is appropriate for a wedding function here in Singapore. After asking around, most thought that $150-200 would be appropriate, so I did a bit of research and noticed that there was even a website dedicated to Wedding Ang Pow’s – it seemed to different between on the year and the location of the wedding function – so I located Capella’s rates, and that prescribed what was appropriate. It looked like a wedding table would cost around S$1588 here at Capella (about £800) and the weekend dinner Ang Pow was outlined to be $187 (about $90), so I gave precisely $188 (as 8 is an auspicious (lucky) number in Chinese).

Post-Function Drinks

Post-Function Drinks

After the drinks, I managed to find a location for some post-wedding drinks.  I went with a fun colleague to Boat Quay, and we decided to go for a few more drinks and chatted about the day.

The only challenge was that we were both still wearing our suits from the wedding – and it unbelievably hot and humid – totally uncomfortable, but luckily we had some beers to keep us cool 🙂

It was also good to chill post-wedding, and decide what to do for the rest of the day…ergh eat and drink more … that is!

Overall, it was a great occasion and I am glad to have been fortunate to spend it with the great couple and some great friends and colleagues, and toast to their success and many years of happiness together.

Capella Singapore
1 The Knolls
Sentosa Island
Singapore 098297
Tel: +65 6377 8888
URL: http://www.capellahotels.com

Parents Visits Singapore

Well this year, I spent a trip to the UK in March 2014, but as I wasn’t aiming to come back until 2015, my mum decided to visit as part of her holiday to visit her family in HK.

She arrived on 4th September, with the aim to return to the UK in mid-November. My dad is also planning to come out for 2 weeks in October – which will be great. I just hope it is not too hot and humid for them! Lets hope it is slightly cooler – although I know it will be the wet season, which will remind them of home 🙂

My mum aims to visit HK for a couple of weeks, and possibly 1-2 more side trips, but the rest of the time she will be with me in Singapore…

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