Freedom

Good Bye 2011

2011-12-29T10:31:00.000-08:00

One last post and one last picture to sum up the year 2011 for me.
Taken from my last overseas trip of the year to Penang on 11th Dec 2011.

Time waits for no man, this year for me was like travelling at the speed of sound. I can't even remember what I did a few days ago.

See you in the year 2012!

Shanghai, China 7th Nov 2011

2011-11-29T02:34:00.000-08:00

My write ups are getting shorter nowadays, too busy and impatient to note down all the details plus a failing memory is not a good sign, it means life is getting more stressful. This Blog which was created to record travels and to release stress is getting stressful to update now! Hahaha!

Lots of flying around the world and drive ups to Malaysia this year, this most recent trip was to Shanghai, China.

I had heard a lot about Shanghai in the recent years, it's old world charm and history was widely publicised and well documented. Shanghai people were described as proud and business minded.
I arrived at 6:00am in the morning, didn't get a good sleep on the flight. We managed to check into the hotel after an hour long Metro ride from Pu dong International airport. It was during the peak morning working hours. I will just describe it as "cosy" in the train, lots of squeezing.

First impressions on the Bund, their most famous riverside front where all the movies and documentary were always showing, was not impressive. It looked too much like our Singapore river and City Hall colonial buildings. Not impressed.
The less developed parts of the city were the more interesting parts but unfortunately I did not have the luxury of time on this trip. I did manage to visit one of this place called Tian Zhi Fang for dinner. It was an approximately 200m long old housing area converted to retail space with the original tenants still living in the upstairs houses! Really unique!! It was very authentic and real and the idea was fantastic, the shops there were tiny little 3x2m spaces. Artists, craftsman, Designers, young entrepreneurs were all there having their own little space and the quality of the crafts and Designs were of high standards. How I wish our so called "Chinatown" had such a vibe.

That and the weather was the only salvation of my impression on Shanghai. If I get a chance to visit again, I will spend more time to tour the real side of Shanghai.

One thing that I remember strongly was the food there, it was very oily and salty. I never though I'd miss Singapore food overseas but it actually happened! The taste there was just too strong for me.

Anyway, I had only skimp a tiny surface of Shanghai, next target is Beijing, hopefully.

Kedah-Penang-KL, 6-10 September 2011

2011-09-28T20:47:00.000-07:00

Went down to Kedah state recently for a business trip. Kedah was pretty laid back compared to the other states that were not controlled by the opposition. It was not very developed but at least the roads are not too bad(in terms of Malaysian roads that is). Lots of padi fields around, looked a bit like Thailand's landscape. I didn't take much pictures of scenery this time, maybe due to the nature of the trip. Instead, most of the pictures are of food!! Every factory I visited was followed by an eating session! Plus we went on an eating spree on our own after meetings! Hahaha!! Pig!!

The places we had meals were very nostalgic to me because we use to have similar eating places in Singapore not too long ago. Which is why, even when some of the dishes didn't taste that great but mentally it was to me, 5 star Michelin quality!!

Looking at all the food picture is making me hungry again!!!!

Pulau Sibu, Malaysia, 9th-11th July 2011

2011-07-29T04:32:00.000-07:00

Went to Pulau SIbu recently. The last time I was there was like 20 odd years ago.

We drove to Tanjung Lehman jetty in the morning, reached there at around 9:30am.

Waited a short while for other passengers but they didn't show up so the boatman signal us to go.

The boat ride normally will take 30mins by slow boat but as we were on a high speed boat we took 15mins on a bumpy ride.

The old wooden jetty has made way for a new concrete one but the remaining chalets look the same as before.

It was a full board trip so all meals were provided. The cost for 3 days 2 nights were around S$160.

The water was not particularly clear this time of the year due to the proximity to the mainland and moreover the side I was staying was not facing South China Sea which had less pollution.

Anyway, less talk and more pictures, enjoy.

GuangZhou, China 5-15th June 2011

2011-07-01T11:35:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been 5 long months since my last update. It really has been hectic the last five months. I have been travelling more often this year compared to last year. In the last five months I have been to China, Italy, Malaysia, USA and back to China again. This Sunday I was supposed to go China again but my company decided last minute to cancel the trip. It was a relief actually, as when you travel for work often, you will realise that the whole momentum of your work, private life and bio-clock is thrown into chaos. Luckily, I've trained myself over the years to be less worrying or maybe it's just getting old. Otherwise, I'll be very frustrated.

Just got back from Guangzhou last week and the toll of travelling has caught up with me. I was on medical leave from Thursday to Saturday. The weather did not help either. China was really blazing hot, I really had a hard time going around places with my T-shirt totally drenched in my own sweat!This was my toughest China trip to date as previously it was all done in much friendly climatic seasons. My next China trip is in August, so I hope it's cooler at least in the evenings by then.

I hope to have time to do more updates, I need to learn to work more efficiently.

Bali Trip 6th-10th Feb 2011

2011-02-21T10:24:00.000-08:00

I was in Bali for this years company trip. We left for Denpasar on the 6th Feb, which was the fourth day of the Chinese New Year. The flight was shorter than I expected, it took about 2hours and 10mins.

I had never been to Bali before but I've heard so much about it. I was actually planning a trip there years ago before the Bali Bombings happened but it didn't work out.

I've seen so many beautiful pictures of Bali before. Heard so much of its beautiful beaches and surfs, the Hindu culture and its people. As you know, Bali is 80% Hindu, so you get lots of pork dishes but surprisingly you get lots of Beef dishes too! Weird!

Anyway, upon touch down, we were guided by our tour guide to the bus. Everything was smooth so far and weather was hot as usual being a tropical country. No sight of the nice beaches so far.
As the bus moved off from the airport, we went through the streets of Bali, at this point, the guide started the usual introduction to Bali, he told a few cold jokes which were pretty bad in my opinion. That did not distract me from the sights I was looking at through the windows. To be honest, it was not a nice sight, the first thought that ran through my mind was, is this Jakarta or Bali? The streets looked exactly like Jakarta, apparently there was a storm the previous day and the roads were flooded. So what they did was opened up the drain covers and dug all the silt and mud out onto the roads and pavement. And left it there. Nasty.
So far Bali as a paradise island has been totally wiped out of my memory.

As it turned out, I learnt over the days spent in Bali that all the beautiful beaches that I saw in Tour brochures and online were extremely far away from where we stayed and Bali was like 4-5 times bigger than Singapore. The cost of staying at those private beach front resorts were like $700-$1500 per night!! Ouch!!

We stayed in Dama Beach Resort, it was a nice little resort, fully landscaped in the authentic Bali styled natural decor. It really made my stay there felt like a holiday with all that greenery and rustic kampung feel. The rooms were big and well decorated unfortunately the air-condition was quite weak and in Bali, you really need cool air as the whole stay there was extremely humid.

We had a fully laid out itinerary for the 5 days there.
We did 4x4 land rover rides for the whole of the second day and had a great time. The rovers went through Padi plantations on the hills and we had lunch at a beach side hut, the sand on the beach was really black and was shimmering under the afternoon sun. We did however had a little incident on our rover as we got lost from the main group. We ended the day riding the rovers on the beach! It was a quite exciting as I thought these kind of things only happened on TV!

Third day was hiking, which surprisingly, was quite uneventful. Still it was a great workout for me. Rest of the day was spent shopping and foot massaging.

Fourth day was Rafting in the rapids!! And I have one word to sum it up! Shiok!! I had never did river rapid rafting and I must say it could have been more faster to increase the excitement but of course safety concern is the main issue here as we wouldn't want to be pulling dead bodies up from the river! After the rafting, we had to climb this ridiculous high staircase up the cliffs to our lunch and tour bus. On the bus ride back, everyone was knocked out due to fatigue.

Fifth and last day was a 1 hour foot massage followed by a drive to the airport.

Overall, a few things to note. Bali is a huge island, getting from place to place takes time and the traffic jams don't help one bit. You can only do one activity per day as travelling takes up 3 hours to and from. Road conditions are like Jakarta or similar. Narrow one way and two way roads. Individual shops decor is quite interesting to me, some are quite creative and up to date surprisingly. Nothing much for guys though other than the usual knock-off surf shorts and Bintang singlets. Clubbing is a must for those that like it, lots of cool clubs. Lots of chill out places too.
One thing that you will notice is that the local folks are really nice and friendly. Well I guess they have to be, as the whole island is dependent on tourism as the main industry.
Food? for me, surprise, surprise, not fantastic. I suspect a lack of research before the trip was the main cause. It was not a case of "any" stall would taste good. There was one or two outstanding ones. Still, do your research before you go.

Would I revisit? Very unlikely, as I've done most of the main activities available.
I would return to Pulau Tioman in Malaysia anyday if given a choice between the two.
I getting old I guess. Quiet, uncrowded places are my choices of relaxing resorts nowadays.
And of course, the sand there is white and the water is blue, plus it's 2 hours away by bus from Singapore and cheaper!

Last trip of 2010, Dec 18-21

2011-01-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

My first blog of the year is a late report of my last road trip in 2010 December.
The trip started from Singapore to Cameron Highlands to Penang to Kuala Lumpur and back to Singapore.

It took us about 7hours drive from the causeway to reach Brinchang town on Cameron Highlands. The last time I was here was early last year. I never get tired of Cameron Highlands, its cooling, food is good, air is extremely fresh, the air even smells good!! something you don't notice when you are breathing in Singapore because our air is polluted!

We only stayed a night due to the tight schedule. We bought some of the fantastic fresh corn which is to be eaten raw, some plants, fruits, jam and wild honey and made our way down to Penang. It was the weekend and school holidays so we were stuck in a jam all the way down.
When we reach Penang, there was no hotel rooms available so we panicked a little. After half an hour and many phone calls away, we managed to find a suite in Bayview hotel and squeezed all 6 of us into it.
The next day, we headed for the FOOD!! Chendol, Fried Kway Tiao, Lor Bah, Ice Kachang and all the sinful stuff!! Woohoo!!

We left Penang for KL after having our stomachs filled with all the junk food and the feeling of bliss from savouring all the famous dishes.

I visited Hobby HQ while I was in KL, they had moved a few times since I last visited them few years back. The showroom had many impressive models on display but the range of kits was a let down. The shop looked like it was barely hanging on, the remote location of the shop did not help much to improve it. However I enjoyed looking at all the finished work and I'm sure others will as well.

By the last day, I had already caught the flu bug from one of my friends travelling together and I just could'nt wait to go home. I fell sick for the next two weeks and was really suffering as the flu developed into Sinusitis and I couldn't eat without getting a sharp pain from my jaw.

Nevertheless, another Malaysia road trip in the bag and hope that theres many more to come!!

Real Product Design

2010-11-24T10:43:00.000-08:00

I've been in the Furniture Design business for a good 12years now. After day in day out, year after year exposing myself to the "latest" Design trends from Milan, New York, London.....Blah blah blah, I'm now so sick of "Design". It takes quite a lot to get me excited about design now. No matter how innovative a piece can be or how beautiful the lines are, I run through them without blinking.

Nowadays, I am more attracted to things that are unintentionally designed. Or as Naoto Fukasawa and Jasper Morrison put it, "Super Ordinary" objects.

So it is by chance that I came across this "Product" two days ago.

This object was discovered at a Foreign labour "hostel". "Designed" from a purely functional point of view for a single purpose. It is a barbel with cement as weight. Probably made by either a vain or fitness conscious Bangladeshi using whatever he can scrap after a days work at the construction site. The cement was cast with a pail as evident from the shape of the weights. The barbel is simply a piece of metal plunged into the cement before it set.

Simple but it works.

There was some evidence that this was a second set made judging from the pile of rubble infront of the weights. Perhaps the initial set's cement were not mixed properly and it crumbled when dropped. Evidence of product improvement on the second set. Evolution of thought process already in progress.

It reminds me of my Design History lessons as a student. At the turn of the 20th century during the industrial revolution where Design came into importance. The first designs were mostly mass produced everyday items like pots and pans stamped out of sheet metal powered by a steam engine. Design was used as a tool or skill to serve the mass population and not the elitist snobbish crap that it is today.

Seeing that piece of object with the accompanying home made bench which was also scrap together with "parts" has energised my design thought. It made me wanna go back to my roots as a designer and design with a purpose, a real purpose. The Modern masters were right as always, as Le Corbusier put it plainly, Less is more.

Colonial Country

2010-10-14T03:55:00.000-07:00

Been back from London for about 2 weeks now, jet lag was pretty bad because of the previous Scandinavian trip barely 2 weeks before. We took the Airbus A380 but I must say that the difference is not much from any other aircraft. I'd say the comfort level was maybe just 5-8% more than an upgraded B-777. Service was not fantastic either considering its SIA. All in all the flight was pretty average to me.

We reached London in the evening, weather was cooling, no rain. First impressions, narrow roads, lots of cabs, dirty sidewalks, lots of old buildings, lots of Indians and Indian restaurants.

Our hotel room was really small, seems to be the case in all developed cities visited so far. There was no WiFi as usual, TV programs were limited as well but the room felt clean though.
Dropped our luggage and went for dinner. We chose a cheap middle eastern ran Grilled/Fried chicken fast food joint. I went for the half Grilled chicken meal at 3.99 pounds with drink. Pretty decent meal though and filling.

The next day was pretty hot, around 25 degrees and I sweated a bit, that was the last day I saw the Sun. From then on the remaining 8 days was either cloudy, drizzling, raining or miserable or all combined. It got colder towards the end of the trip and by the time we left it was 10 degrees.

We spent the first 5 days on the job, going through the fairs, meeting retailers, architects, publishers. Visiting iconic stores collecting information. On Sunday I was finally free and done with work, unfortunately all the museums were closed and the stores closed early too! Crap!

I only managed to visit Modelzone and got some Revell kits and a couple of Vallejo paints. Price of the kits were almost the same or maybe S$1-S$2 cheaper than Singapore.

The typical tourist sites were as usual, packed with tourist! The Tower Bridge, commonly mistaken as the London bridge was fantastic, the draw bridge operated without any external cables and we were lucky to have witness a boat crossing it!

I find the bridge architecture impressive and did not notice that it actually has colour from pictures I have seen. The steel was painted in this light blue colour which I seldom see in Europe as all bridges appear dull and purely utilitarian.
Its quite refreshing!

HMS Belfast was parked just further down but as we reached there late, it was closing in 5 minutes so I did not get a chance to go on board.

The Clock Tower was next, or as it's commonly known as "Big Ben". The actual clock tower itself was heavily decorated with intricate motifs and design, elements of gold and stone made up most of it. Just further opposite of the river was the London eye, I didn't know it was smaller than the Singapore Flyer.

Buckingham Palace was boring, It looked more like parliamentary house than a palace. Nevertheless, I took some pictures there. The guards marching inside look like they were tired, in fact they were quite sloppy.

One of the evenings I took a walk to Kensington Park. Its like Central Park in New York. Very nice and quiet with nature all around you, the water fowls were being fed by park visitors, the trees and flowers were all in their final stages of bloom. Of course, the cool weather really help in the enjoyment of the park. It was a great escape from the urban landscape of the city, wish Singapore had one right smack in the middle of Shenton Way.

On Sunday, I went to the weekend markets, first was Colombia Rd where they were selling plants and flowers. It was packed with locals and the plant and flower range was fantastic! Stall holders were shouting out prices similar to our local durian sellers and the customers were responding humorously, the atmosphere was fantastic! I really enjoyed Colombia Rd market!

Then I went to Camden market and was really let down by the Thailand style pasar malam atmosphere. The place was just full of immigrant Chinese and Indians selling Chatuchak style T-shirts at 3-4 times Chatuchak price! Every other stall was selling the same shit. I took a quick bite there and left disappointed, the rain didn't help either.

On Monday 27th Sept, I woke up late and was cursing myself because that meant I have less time as I was going to the RAF Museum. When I finally found my way there, I was awe struck!! Its was an absolutely amazing museum!! some of the aircraft inside were in flying condition!! I have never seen such a well kept aircraft museum! so much pride in their machines of war and how they won the war against the Nazis. Security in the museum was tight, I was caught several times crossing the line trying to get up close to the aircraft for pictures.

The most agonising part for me was my camera batteries running out of power!! I didn't make a count but I estimated no less than 50 aircraft were on display!! Lots of Spitfires and Hurricanes! The Battle of Britain hall was filled with German aircraft!! Me-109, Bf-110, He-111......etc. Some of the halls was under renovation so you can hardly see those aircraft except maybe for a tail or wingtip. Sadly the WW1 hanger was totally closed for upgrading and I didn't get to see the Se-5A. I had to be chased out of the museum as I didn't want to leave those magnificent looking aircraft but at last I had to leave.

The Imperial war museum was less impressive, most of the exhibits were repainted and looked new, there were tanks, aircraft, guns, mini submarines...etc.

There was a WW1 hall which was impressive though. They even made a stretch of trench with mannequins sound/light effects and the smell was horrible but realistic!! Quite eerie though as it was very dark.

Next up, Natural History Museum. I can't even begin to describe it. It was absolutely amazing. It saddens me to see such a magnificent museum knowing that most of the children of other parts of the world including Singapore will never get to enjoy the benefits of such a museum. It was literally filled with History, Real fossils, Dinosaur bones, specimens(This is the sad part though). Some of the collections were privately own till the museum bought them over after their owners deceased. I saw the extinct Dodo bird specimen which I had read about so much since I was little. Saw exotic birds and animals specimens which otherwise I will never get up close in nature. Basically, British explorers pilferaged the forest of the world in the 18th-19th century and put them all in this museum. Educational but sad.

I didn't get to enjoy good food while I was there, most of the time I went in Tesco and got my 2pound quick meal which consists of 2 sandwiches, a bag of crisp and Juice or coke. It was the cheapest/fastest way of filling my stomach. I had steak, fish and chips, burgers, nothing fantastic.

I also visited Hannants which was just next door to RAF Museum, they had excellent displays of finished works there but the store itself was a let down as it was not well stocked.

The Underground(or the Tube as its more commonly called) was easy to navigate compared to Paris and Tokyo, of course being in English help too.

It was an enjoyable trip for me overall, most of the enjoyment being in the RAF Museum. As I left London, it was entering early stages of Autumn and I can see hints of it in the trees. There's a bit of nostalgia when you sense the change of seasons, we don't get that often in Singapore. It's a nice feeling.

Scandinavia Trip 25th Aug to 5th Sept 2010

2010-09-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from my 6th overseas trip this year, this time its Scandinavia. The whole trip brought me to three countries in total. First stop was Denmark followed by Sweden and ending with Finland. I was in a delegation consisting of people from various furniture disciplines representing Singapore.

It was quite an interesting trip for me as I have discovered. The Scandinavian companies that we visited were very closed off to Asia, especially China. They seem to have a lot of apprehension against Asia and especially about expanding their businesses there.

The trip was filled with visits to factories, retailers, mueums, institutions, fairs....etc. which was why its was so tiring. Good thing was the weather had been almost been perfect throughout except for a day or two. For me at least it was perfect as the cool weather suited me best. Some of the delegates find it cold, especially the women.

Denmark, was our first stop and the most expensive city of the three. Copenhagen is a nice clean city, there were many cyclist commuting to work and they have special lanes dedicated to them. I even got a chance to ride around when I discovered an unlocked hotel bike lying around. Food was really expensive there and our first dinner cost S$50 for a slab of ribs.

Sweden, the second stop was slightly cheaper in terms of living standards and we stayed in two really nice hotel and lodge. Stockholm was a really nice modern city littered with old and newbuildings and waterways. The Swedish meatballs were really fantastic!! So were the girls!!

Finland, Helsinki our final stop was a real surprise to me, all my previous thoughts of it was totally wrong. There were many older buildings compared to the others and was less clean, Naturally that translated to a lower standard of living. They use the Euro dollar though, so it's still expensive to us. The best thing that happened was finding a few hobby shops by accident. I bought some Zvezda airliners and vallejo paints and was extremely happy as I had bought nothing till that point and it was my last day before leaving for Singapore.

Overall, a very interesting trip filled with lots of moving around, extremely great but expensive meals, great weather, great people, great hobby stores. If I had to choose one to go back to, it would be Finland.

Enjoy the Photos.....

Erasing History

2010-08-05T11:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, I was waiting for the bus at the bus stop just outside of the old kallang Airport main gate at Geylang Lor 1. For some reason, I couldn't stop myself from drawing out my camera from my bag and started walking towards the Gate of the Airport.

I have been living around Geylang and Kallang area for a good thirty odd years and I'm very familiar with the Architecture and landscape of this area. So what I saw at the entrance of the gate was a sad sight.

What was once a regal symbol of High end travel in the 1930's to the 50's has been relegated to a skeletal structure and is barely recognisable as the former main gate of the airport.

Standing alone, all the buildings and walls that use to connect to the gate was gone. The guard room for the gate, the wall to the right side and even the mosque behind the guard room was totally demolished. Pieces of history erased permanently from our land.

The Art Deco Design style popular in the 1920's to 30's was the chosen style for the Airport and what was left of the gate showed off that style unmistakably. Battered by rain, dirt and dust kicked up by cars passing it over the years, its once majestic white surface reduced to a ruin like appearance. Sad.

I don't want to sound like an old man but it seems that I'm finding the country I'm living in, more and more alien. I don't feel at "home" anymore, like I don't belong here. All my childhood landscapes are disappearing, replaced by soul-less badly designed Architecture and landscapes. Signs of getting old I guess.

So if you have time or happened to pass by Kallang next time, drop by the Gates of the Old Kallang Airport and reminisce about the good old times of the glamourous early air travel age before it's gone forever.

Damn!! Germany lost to Spain

2010-07-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Damn! Just when you thought the World Cup was predictable again, BAMM!!!! its slams you in the face again!!

I had decided to go against the Lucky Octopus prediction and placed a bet on Germany to win over Spain, unfortunately, that F***ING little eight legged piece of Jelly was right again!! KNN!!!

Now I have only two more matches to recoup my ever deepening losses$$$!!!

As they say, the ball is round!!!!

New York, May 2010

2010-06-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

I have been back from New York for two weeks now.

The day that I came back, I went straight to bed from 3pm to 6am on the following day.

I was extremely tired from the 20 plus hour flight back and the 13 hour flight delay did not help one bit.

The weather in May in New York is great. Cooling and dry.

I was quite suprise upon reaching New York, it was different from what I envisioned. It was completely bustling with life and vigor.

Shopping malls close late and eating places were overly abundant.

The streets were so organised as they have been using a grid system for the last 100years.

Navigation was simply moving from street to street in a numerical order.

Times Square was magnificent day or night and its packed with locals and tourist every minute.

You can't help but feel alive standing in the middle of Times square.

The neon signs that are flashing 24hours a day 365 days a year were not exactly energy friendly though.

One of my most memorable experience was looking down from The Empire State building.

The view was fantastic and was simply breath taking. The 1 hour queue to go up was not though.

There were many little parks littered all over downtown New York and they provided a little solace and relief for the working class and tourist as well. Singapore should have little pockets of these similar parks, it's like an oasis in the middle of all the concrete jungle.

It was a combination of good shopping, food and attractions that gave me a pretty good experience there. The Big Apple really lived up to its name.

I look forward to going back next year!

Milan, Italy 12th April 2010

2010-04-26T00:38:00.000-07:00

My second trip to Europe this year was a mix of excitement and chaos. The destination this time round was Milan, Italy. My company was taking part in the Salone Internazionale del Mobile. The fashion capital of the world truly lives up to its name. The trip started of with a gruelling 18 hour flight via Singapore-Colombo-Dubai-Milan. It was really taxing mentally as well as comfort wise. I really hate these long flights to Europe, luckily the food served on Emirates was pretty good and they had big touch screens with great movie selections.

Milan weather was pretty good with occasional showers. Unfortunately, the day after we landed, Iceland had an enormous volcanic eruption, which screwed up everybodies flight itinerary going back and to other countries. I was lucky, I had to go Croatia to meet a customer and that flight was not affected. So by the time I left Croatia, all my flight schedules had resumed. Some of my colleagues were not so fortunate, they had to stay an extra 3-4 days in Milan.

I did'nt get much time to shop this trip nor get to see a lot of sights. The exhibition consumed most of our time and we did'nt even get to enjoy much Italian gourmet either. I did get to go to Duomo, the famous shopping district for a while though. The Louis Vuitton shops were filled with cash rich Chinese buying lots of bags!! Typical!!

I have to say, Milan is a very expensive city to live in. It was about 15-20% more expensive compared to Cologne which I went in January. Everything that I wanted to buy was expensive, even in the supermarket where the normal folks shop, cost quite a bit.

Due to the fair, almost every part of the city was alive with product launches and open house. The whole city was vibrant and the design culture there was fantastic! Designers will show their work in department stores and shop windows and graphics was prominent on street walls, lamp posts, cars....etc. The whole city was ALIVE!!

The Metro for Milan was easy to navigate compared to Paris, most of the travelling was done on that and they had a fixed price ticket of EUR$1 for any length of trip. I also managed to visit a model kit shop but unfortunately was disappointed as it was very small and lacked range.

The service you get at the retail stores is really horrible. They don't like serving Asian customers and I lost count the number of times I got snubbed when asking for stock availability. In general, I find that Milan is filled with racist Italians, from the fast food joints to retail shops to even the garbage man!! And I thought Paris was bad!!! No wonder the Italians lost the war and changed sides, they are fucked up people!!

If not for the Fair, I don't think I will ever return for another visit.

Finger Boarding

2010-03-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Bought this when I was in Bangkok last month.

Its a mini toy skateboard. Apparentlly there is a whole group of people playing this around the world, just look it up in youtube and you will be amazed!!

I must say its very addictive!!

Hours of great fun learning tricks without getting hurt like in real skateboarding.

Bangkok 17th Feb 2010

2010-02-24T09:45:00.000-08:00

Just came back from Bangkok on Sunday. It was our company trip and the everyone was in high spirits as its only the Third day of the Chinese New Year.

I did'nt take much pictures as I've lost count of how many times I've been there, so priority went to filling the stomach and feeding my eyes.

Visited a fixie shop but could'nt find what I want, Jerry and Chris wanted to buy bikes but hesitated. They went back the next day but the owner was not there, so they ended up buying nothing.

I extended my stay with some of the guys but ended up getting food poisoning instead. I went to the toilet about every 40mins for the whole day. This is the first time I have gotten food poisoning in Bangkok. I have been there more than 8-10 times and never gotten sick. I really believe that my immune systems is going downhill as I have been sick on almost every single trip I've made overseas recently. Looks like I really need to exercise more.

Anyway, as usual, I bought a lot of T-shirts and bermudas back again and managed to lace up a pair of cheap road wheels there. Also got my spectacles made and bought some fruit treelings for Fourth Uncle to plant infront of his house as I promised him earlier.

Even though I'm back to S'pore now but I still feel like going to Bangkok again sometime later this year. Its just so cheap and delicious and fun there, I never get tired of the place.

Paris, France, 25th Jan 2010

2010-01-28T21:14:00.000-08:00

We left for Paris on Monday for the Maison fair. We saw endless fields of snow enroute to Paris. Paris was not as cold as Cologne but still cold by any standards. Other than the visiting the trade fair, I visited the tourist attractions as well.

Its my second time in Paris, not much has changed, the subways are still packed as before and full of impatient French people.

I went to the Champs-Elysees this time as I missed it previously.
Its the end point of the infamous gruelling Tour De France and I wanted to stand infront of it ever since reading it in the papers during my secondary school days.
And it was fantastic!!

What is a trip to Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower!!!

I never get tired of it, its magnificent!!! My colleagues had to drag me to leave!!

Its just amazing how big it is. I feel dwarfed standing below it, I was there at night and the cold and the lights just somehow made it more magical, I feel like I'm in some fairy tale in a different world.

Cologne (Koln) Germany 22 Jan 2010

2010-01-22T07:13:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Koln, Germany again. Its been a while now since the last time I was here. My company is taking part in the IMM Koln Fair 2010. We arrived in Frankfurt at around 8pm German time and took the train to Koln. It was freezing cold.

This time round it was much colder than before, the first day was minus 5 degrees!!! It was so cold I had a hard time finding my dick when I want to pee because it has shrunken!!!! KNN!!

Anyway, set up for our booth was fairly quick, this time round there was already heating inside the hall, not like previously when the door was open!!!

1 more week to go before returning to Singapore.

Last Trip of 2009 : Part 3 Had Yai

2010-01-08T09:11:00.000-08:00

After we left Penang, we headed towards the Malaysia-Thailand border at Bukit Kayu Hitam in the state of Kedah. We parked the car at the Malaysia border, paid the private carpark attendant and hope that my friend's brand new STI will be there when we come back. Below are the photos of our Had Yai trip(Lots of pictures). Enjoy.

Last Trip of 2009 : Part 2, Penang

2010-01-04T09:34:00.000-08:00

Penang. I have fond memories of this place. I came to this little island several times during my childhood. I think thats why I like the place so much, its like travelling back in time for me. Travelling back to a time of innocence and peace. A time when I had no worries, no money, no bills to pay, no burden.

My aunts house is located just at the foothills of the Kek Lok Si Temple. Its like living outside the gates of Haw Par Villa in Singapore. I guess thats why I always felt that my aunts neighbourhood is somewhat magical. Its surrounded by shops leading up to the temple and the temple architecture is a mix of Siamese and Chinese style. Come to think of it, I've never seen a similar styled pagoda in Thailand, Vietnam or China.

As a kid running around here, it felt like a gigantic magical playground, where I can disappear into my own world of mystique and fantasies. Crap, that sounds like escapism.

My Aunts neighbourhood has remained relatively unchanged for the last Thirty years. The same houses are still next door and the same people are still next door, meaning there are no young chicks to check out, zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

My aunt has aged a lot in recent years, its funny, when I look at her, I still see her in her 80's face, still young and motherly pretty, I don't know why. She is a really nice person and always asking to forgive her for not bringing me out for a meal when, I, was the one that always springs the surprise visit on her. Infact, my last two trips were both unannounced and lasted less than an hour, this time round was no different, I passed her some snacks and photographs that my mom had prepared the day before I left, then I took some pictures of the house and said goodbye yet again. Before I left, I told her that I will visit her again this year with my Mom, so I look forward to that trip.

It was getting late, so we made our way to our next destination, Hatyai, Thailand. Along the way out from my Aunts house, I took pictures of old houses and shops of a bygone era. Not too long ago Singapore had such architecture too but due to rapid urbanisation all the history and familiar sights of a whole generation has been lost and now can only be found in Malaysia, which itself is going through rapid modernising as well.

I can't help but feel alienated in my own country and that I need to seek a familiar solace in my neighbouring towns.

Next stop, Thailand.

Last Trip of 2009 : Part 1

2010-01-04T00:29:00.000-08:00

Well, its a brand new year and a brand new day! Looking forward to more pain and suffering this year! Woohoo!! Masochist!

I will begin this year's blog by reviewing my last trip of 2009.

As you should know by know that I am a frequent visitor to Malaysia, so it should be fitting that I end the year with yet another trip up North. I was just in Penang two weeks ago before this trip and now I am going back to the same place!!

We were planning for a road trip for quite some time now, we were supposed to leave on the 23rd of Dec but in the end due to work commitments we left on Christmas day afternoon instead. We were travelling on Chaidir's brand new Subaru STI, Yes! the man has finally decided to dump the Alfa Romeo badge and go for the 350 horse power, twin turbo, All wheel drive monster!! This beast eats Malayan North-South highways for breakfast!!!!
We took only 7.5hours to reach Penang!! It would have been faster if not for the fuel guzzling stops to top up gas!! You might think that a sports car like this will sacrifice comfort for performance but no, the ride to Penang was very comfortable and it felt safe with the overwhelminglly boxed up cockpit.
Even the back seat passenger was dozing off happily!!

It was a pain in the ass looking for rooms available in Penang as it was the festive weekend. After running a few hotels we finally found one little cosy boutique hotel. The Vistanna. RM$180 per night. It was clean and they have their own carpark.

After check in, we went for supper behind the hotel. You'd be hungry too if you sat in a speeding car for 7 hours!!

Penang-KL 11-14 Dec 2009

2009-12-22T10:37:00.000-08:00

My last trip to Penang was about 5 years ago. This time I was passing by for a factory visit. We took an 8hour drive to reach Penang. The GPS took the guess work out of our minds and worked great.

Its funny, when we reached, I had no memory of the roads, having been to Penang a number of times it was an unusual feeling. I came to a conclusion later on that it was because there had been many changes to the roads and Architecture. There are now Big Jusco malls and many high rise condominiums everywhere. Penang is rapidly modernising.

The old town feel was somewhat lost, it was only when I reached the inner recesses of the island that everything I was so familiar with came reeling back.

I dropped by my distant auntie's place for a visit, even her place has changed. The roads outside were packed with cars and was jammed. Apparently, the Kek Lok Si temple was having its unveiling of the new Guan Yin rooftop. We took a short climb to view the temple which always look majestic to me no matter how many times I've seen it. We left quickly as it was getting hot and crowded. I said good bye to my aunt and we left to find the Chendol!!

We had Cha kway tiao, Chendol, lor bak, nutmeg, tau sa pia....etc on our list. We reached Penang Rd and found the infamous roadside chendol, the place was really crowded. The chendol too seems to have lost its usual flavour from my memory. Well, thats what happens when you get well known, you lose quality. Still it was better than most Chendol in Singapore.

Next was Cha kway tiao, unfortunately it was sold out and it was only 1pm!!! Luckily the Lor Bak was available, the retro looking coffee shop helped made the food taste better!!

Then we grab some pickled Nutmeg and Tau Sa Pia and left Penang. We had to reach KL by evening if we are hoping to grab some more great food.

KL was the same as usual, we went to Petaling St and booked the Malayan hotel which was quite old, later on while walking around I found better hotels at lower prices, next time maybe.

After checking in I went straight to the food!! Glutton!!

First stop, corner of Chinatown black Hokkien Mee, what can I say, it tastes amazing. I was on a mission.
Next Zainal's satay just round the corner, I've had Jakarta's famous satay and Singapore's best satay, but KL Zainal's satay is the best 3pieces of meat I have ever put into my mouth.
By now, 2 large drinks, 1 Medium Hokkien Mee and 12sticks of satay later, my stomach was going to explode. I headed back to the hotel after walking it off a bit at the Pasar malam.

We checked out the next day morning and Mike used the GPS to locate a friends recommendation of Roast Duck and Pork. It was at a street selling power tools, I guess roast pork and hard labour go hand in hand. It did'nt fail to disappoint, the roast pork was really crunchy and crispy and the aroma was to die for!!

We filled our stomachs and left for Kluang.

It was a very rushed trip but we managed to squeezed in lots of eating in between. Not a good thing these days due to my way overweight mass. Still, whats a trip up North without great food.

Mutton soup at Kitchener road

2009-11-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

28 Nov '09

Today Eddie, Jimmy, Boon Chong and I went for a makan session at Kitchener road juction coffee shop(opposite scissors cut rice). The main draw was the mutton soup. Which I find delicious!! The soup tastes so good but I can't help wondering how much salt and msg was in it! I will definietly come back for the mutton soup.

We had cha kway tiao too but that was very disappointing and I would not recommend it. The fried oyster pancake was much better but because its deep fried in oil that I don't know when was the last time its changed, I would not recommend to weight watchers and health conscious foodies.

I took some shots of the coffee shop and it looks like we are having a meal in a Malaysian coffee shop!! Its one of the last remaining old school coffee shops around and I have the feeling its not going to stay like that for long. Sad.

So if you feel light having mutton soup with the atmosphere of the seventies, please try this place before it disappears!

Project Single Speed : Part 2

2009-11-28T10:35:00.000-08:00

I have completed my single speed build and its now displayed in the showroom.
It looks alright I guess, I will be putting the decals on it next week.

Rare Owl Sighting : 27 Nov '09

2009-11-28T10:28:00.000-08:00

Last night while walking to a bus stop, I spotted an Owl perched on a high fence. The bird of prey was probably out hunting as there was an open field infront of the fence.

It was very dark but thanks to the backlight of some road lamps some distance away, I managed to see a silhuotte on the fence. I managed to creep below it slowly and just before it spotted me I snapped a picture of it. Its not clear at all as my mobile phone camera was practically useless at such low light. I managed to set it at night scene mode before shooting and that helped sightly. Even at such low light and the grainy cast of the picture, you can see the signature big eyes of the owl's distinct look. It was beautiful and probably the closest I ever got to an owl outside a cage. I estimate it to be about 50cm in size from where I was standing.

The last time I sghted an owl was many years back at Kallang river park, and it swooped down to catch something I did'nt noticed at all.

I am glad that such a magnificent Bird of Prey still exist in our urban landscape. If only more trees are planted and more bird santuaries are planned in little pockets of our ever "urbanising" country.

Give nature a chance.

Project Single Speed : Part 1

2009-11-24T03:22:00.000-08:00

Started my project to rebuild my 27" single speed to look like a fixie.
Its to be displayed in my showroom.

I selected RJ London spray paints Cerulean Blue as the basic frame colour. The rest of the parts are going to be matt black.

Just finished spraying the frame, so far so good.

Next will be the parts, so far the rust removing has been a pain in the ass!

To be continued......

Achtung! Japan Hobby Saga : Final Chapter

2009-11-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Its official, Achtung! Japan Hobby store is finally closed.

I went down to take a few pictures on Monday night, it was a sad sight.......

Without all the junk, the shop was actually quite big. If the shop was well taken care of when it was still operating it could have been more organised. Now, whats left is an empty shell and echos of what it could have been if the owner had put heart into it.

My friends and I have spent many happy times here. We've made lots of friends and memories, good and bad. I've spent a large part of my early 30's hanging around here. I will never forget what this place was like before it went downhill.

Its another closed chapter for me in a year filled with tumultuos events and the year is not even over yet!

I will miss the times spent there and what could have been more hobby acquantances.

Thanks for the memories Achtung! Japan Hobby!! Aufedersein!

Xu Jia Ying LaLa in town

2009-10-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

Went down to bugis to see Xu Jia Ying aka LaLa perform. I hardly listen to any chinese music but she really caught my attention with her performances on the Taiwan Million Star variety show.

She writes most of her own songs and their melodies sounds so good to me 'Live'. But unfortunately her CD album did not managed to capture the sounds of her raw vocals and folk guitars she did during the 'live' shows of the contest. Most unfortunate for her. This is probably due to the producer producing her album. Many times I have attended concerts where the Artist sounds so much better 'live' than the CD. We call it over designed in my field.

Anyway it was great to be able to hear and see her 'live', such a charismatic girl, no wonder she is such a good composer.

F1 Rocks Singapore!!!!

2009-10-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

F1 night race Sept 25-27th Sept 2009.
I love the atmosphere F1 brings to our island, its like the whole city suddenly comes alive!!

The weather was hot and hazy and by the second day I was really burnt out. High decibels, fumes, babes, $10 hot dogs, Aston Martins, Porsches, Formula BMW, what more can you ask?

Hamilton won and Alonso managed a third. Looks like Jenson Button is going to take the championship this year(Boring).

Alonso has been confirm with Ferrari for the next three years, Alright!!!!, I am not a fan of his but he is the most deserving driver from my view to take the Ferrari seat, he is the best driver out there anyday. Raikkonen should just go back to Finland and do farming. . Looks like we are going to be getting lots of win by Ferrari next year, watch out the rest!!!!

F1 Fernando Alonso in town

2009-10-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Fernando Alonso was in town for the F1 night race. I was invited to the STILE launching of their Alonso inspired Silestone range of products.

Fernando arrived late and sporting a bad mood, apparently he had just woken up as his body was still running Euro clock. It has been a week filled with rumours and accusations of his move to Ferrari next year and the Renault crash inccident at last years night race.

He was not very tall, I think approx. 1.65m. Quite surprised.

The place was packed with people and it was obvious that most of the people there were not invited as they were fans.

They hogged the double F1 world champion and I had to throw my cap given at the door to let him sign. It never came back. Crap!!

Before I left I saw the staff at Builder's shop carrying like 20 caps away to hide!!! WTF!!! Very disappointed with the organising and staff involved. I left feeling cheated!!

Mountain Biking Bukit Timah 19 Sept 2009

2009-10-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, after riding most of the mountain bike tracks in Singapore for the past few weeks, we will be riding Bukit Timah Trail(BT). Its my favourite bike trail here on our island as I find it to be the best balance of fun and agonising pain.

Randy, small V, Foong & I had arranged to meet at 10:30am at BT carpark. Foong picked me up at around 9am and we had breakfast first. Upon reaching the BT carpark it started to rain heavily. It was really pouring and Randy & Small V was nowhere in sight. After a telephone conversation with Randy, we decided to "hang out" at Beauty World Plaza while waiting for Randy & Small V to arrive and wait for the rain to subside. By the time they arrived it was already noon time and the rain had just stopped. We made our way to BT quickly for fear that it might rain again.

After gearing up and some photo taking, we started the trail. From the first spin of the cranks, we know that its going to be a wet and dirty ride. I had borrowed a friends K2 bike for this ride as mine was dead. It climbed very well as it was a cross country full susser but going downhill on a wet and slippery BT was pretty hairy!!

It was Small V's first time at BT and he was cursing at all the climbs although I know he secretly enjoyed it!! I rode behind Randy on some of the trail and I notice him struggling with his SPDs and negotiating the downhill sections. BT's more suited for platform pedals as the terrain is very unpredictable and theres zero trail maintenance.

It seems like my stamina has built up from the last few rides as we finished BT in shorter time compared to my previous ride there. We went straight home after the ride as we were dirty and tired.

Pulau Ubin Mountain Biking 15th Sept 2009

2009-09-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Randy, Small V and me had planned for this trip for a week before finally actually doing it.

It got off to a bad start in the morning when Foong did'nt pick up my repeated calls despite sounding enthusiatic the night before. Later on he called me when I had already began biking on Ubin that he had over slept!!!!

Small V had to make a detour and pick me up instead. We manage to squeeze 3 bikes and people into his Honda Fit and left for Changi. We met up with Andrew and Eddie at the hawker, they had already finished breakfast so I suggested that they go first. After breakfast, small V needed some gear from the bike shop and had his rear and front deraileur adjusted.

We purchased the tickets at the jetty, $2.50 per person and $2 for each bike. We took the boat with a few expats who were going cycling too. It was a short ride to Ubin and we made our way to the Bike park from the jetty in very short time.

The bike park was about 10-15mins ride from the jetty. The leading road in turned from tar to granite gravel so I was begining to grumble as I thought it was going to be like Tampines all the way. WRONG!!!!!

The start was a long climb up a grassy hill overlooking the mainland and it was quite a sight. Unfortunately we were too shacked out to enjoy the scenery. Next we were deciding which route to take and Randy suggested back to the jetty!! Hahahaha!!!! I strongly suggested the double black diamond trail and was met with some resistant. We just rolled forward and the next thing we knew was we had already entered the nightmare start of the "Xiong" trail.

At first I was delighted as it was dirt trails instead of gravel but it reminded me of Kent Ridge park so much. It was all technical climbs and hairpin turns. It took us lots of pushing and cursing to clear the knoll. Just when I thought I could enjoy some downhill it all came to an ubrupt end with an endless series of short sharp climbs followed by sharp drops. It was very agonizing as we were not familiar with the trail. We managed to stop for a breather and chatted with some fellow bikers.

At this point, my chain was starting to show signs of wear as it keeps skipping the casette. Three quarters through, it could'nt take anymore abuse and broke. Just when I took out my chain tool it started to rain!!!! Great!

I struggled through the chain connection but with Randy's third hand tool I finally managed to fix it. By then all of us were drenched and the trail was really hazardous, any miscalculation meant a painful fall on the rocks and wet mud!

Small V did'nt disappoint the rain gods and took a tumble at a steep hairpin corner going downhill. Luckily he was'nt hurt bad and we managed to make it out of the trail.

We took a short refuge at the chalet and then made our way to the town. We chose the most traditional looking coffee shop and ordered lunch. Randy had sambal fried rice, Small V had bee hoon and I ordered salted fish fried rice. We also shared sambal kang kong $8, deepfried oatmeal prawn $18 and fried calamari $10. I must say the food was pretty good and I will definitel eat there again.

After the overeating, we went for a ride along the roads of Ubin, passing some really cool kampung houses in their original state. It really reminded me of my grandmas house which I really enjoyed the best times of my childhood.

We finished the ride with a drink at the first coffee shop that was beside the jetty. It was run by an

old malay couple in their 70s or 80s. A plaque on the wall says that they have provided free electrical power to the Ubin jetty for 14years for the safety of boatman and passengers. Thats really hard to find on the mainland nowadays. Most people are preoccupied with hoarding materail gains rather than giving. I took some goofy shots of Randy and we left the island.

It was a pretty long day spent on Ubin and we were really burnt out so we headed home. I will try Ubin again but with a better bike and fitness.

East Coast Ride 16th August 2009

2009-08-21T08:49:00.000-07:00

Went for a ride on Sunday at East Coast in the morning 8am. Was supposed to meet Foong there but when he reached, his car tyre had come off the wheel!! He end up drving supre slow to the car repair and I went riding alone. It was a good work out though, I have not been riding for a week so I felt better after the ride. Weather was perfect and the Army marathon was on at the same time, lucky for me that they had finished by the time I started riding.

MindCafe

2009-08-21T08:42:00.000-07:00

Randy, Shi Qiang and I had a game of RISK on Saturday night at the MindCafe. Their charges were pretty good, for $12.50 you get 2hours of game time, finger food and free flow of drinks. The subsequent hours are charged $3.50 per hour. We went to the Purvis street branch and it was not as crowded as their other outlets. It was a good way of spending the weekend with friends and we had a good time amidst some competitive spirit!

Another round this coming Saturday!!

KL trip 12th August 2009

2009-08-21T08:35:00.000-07:00

Went to KL for a meeting with customer on Wednesday. I was worried that the haze was going to be bad but was relieved when we reached. It was'nt so bad after all and with the afternoon shower, it actually cleared the haze. My last trip to KL was about 2-3 years back.

It seems different now, it seems more happening than Singapore, the retail stores have a much stronger character and the quality of goods are much better.

Singapore is fast losing its appeal as a shopping paradise, at least in my opinion. Ridiculous high rents have driven creative shops owners up the wall and we are left with uncharismatic big companies that are able to pay the rent. Thats why all the malls are looking the same as they are just carbon copies of each other.

I get a bit of that too in KL but I still see lots of other stores that are unique and special. Some are very daring, with decorations you would expect to see for example in Japan instead.

As usual, I over ate when I was there. The food was simply irresistable! The great sale was on too! I had a session of foot massage at Mid Valley and the price was half of Singapore after the conversion! Shiok!

Planning another trip there soon!

Movie: District 9

2009-08-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I watched the movie District 9 twice within three days. Yes, it was that good to me. Produced by Peter Jackson of The Frighteners & Lord of the Rings fame, Directed by Rookie Neill Blomkamp, a 30 year old South African, it was touted as one of the most original Alien movies in a long while.
There was not much publicity done for the movie, I suppose it being directed by a rookie with an unknown cast must have been the reason for its low profile. Nevertheless, I have been noticing it for a month or two now before it aired. I first caught the trailer on Youtube and was impressed by the machines inside. I read the prologue and it sounded pretty interesting to me.
Perhaps what impressed me most about the movie is the acting on hindsight. Without the usual Hollywood stars, you tend to focus on the story and the actors.
The production design signifies another milestone for me. The weapons and Mechas used by the aliens were without a doubt inspired by Japanese anime. You notice elements of Macross, Patlabor and Evangelion everywhere. It seems like the trend is moving towards Japanese anime influence in Hollywood productions. This is good news for me as I grew up watching anime and could relate to it. Gone are the days of Americana designs, those crude bare metal, muscle and stars and stripes. This is the age of Asia and we will be seeing lots of anime inspired movies.

I hope there is a part two in the near future. I look forward to even better designs and effects.

Cycling Lower/Upper Pierce 2nd August 2009

2009-08-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

Went on another cycling trip to Lower and Upper Pierce by PCN again with the usual suspects. Started off at 7:30am from Kallang Bahru by the Potong Pasir PCN all the way to Bishan Park. The track was full of people exercising, running, cycling, walking, stretching....

It was my first time there on my road bike. Surprisingly it was not as tough as I thought it would be on the hill sections. There was a lot of traffic on the road going into Upper Pierce which kind of spoilt the fun during the downhill part as we had to watch out for them.

Malacca 11th-12th July 2009

2009-07-27T08:23:00.000-07:00

Went on another trip to Malacca on the weekend. This time with Eddie and Shi Qiang. It was Eddie's first trip to Malacca, Shi Qiang had been there before many moons ago. For me it was the fourth trip to this historical city. My last trip was just about a month ago in June during the school holidays. I noticed a change in the atmosphere, it was a lot more quite. There were still many tourist, but just not so noisy. It felt quiet and comfortable but the weather was still hot as hell.

We stayed at the Seri Costa hotel resort booked by Shi Qiang, the cost was about S$32 per person. The room was pretty big and cosy. I will stay there again if I go back as its near Jonker walk. Places we went were Jalan Hang Jebat, which had a pasa malam at night, Makhota Parade shopping, Bandai shop at new shoppping mall, Oleh Sayang for authentic nonya fare, and lots and lots of other street food.

Enjoy the pictures!

The Achtung Hobby Japan saga continues

2009-07-06T10:25:00.000-07:00

4th of July 2009, this date I will never forget unless I kena alzeimers. Nope, I did not celebrate America's Independence day, nor did I get laid by Miss Universe 2009. It was the day(actually the next day la) I lost respect and hope for my good friend Mr. Kazuya Nakamoto.
It was a usual Thursday, I got a call from Randy at 5:12pm asking whether I want to join him for dinner with small Vincent at Novena Square. I said yes althought I hated the place as thats where I wasted 2 years of my life with my first retail shop unit.
I was the last to arrive, after grabbing the latest Spin bike magazine, which by the way has increased in price to $3 this month, we headed to Fish & Co. for dinner. In which I was surprised by Randy and Small V that they had actually asked me out to discuss about a possible partnership to take over Achtung Japan hobby shop totally. So we proceeded with the discussion. Randy, noting my more than 10years experience in retail businessess, asked for advise on running and start up costs among other things. We discussed many issues and all seems positive that the chances for survival is high with Nakamoto's contact and the community of modelers available.

Topics of our conversation include the way we would run the shop, eg. Frequency of new stocks, what kind of kits to bring in, lesson plans, marketing...etc...

Unfortunately, we keep running into more questions about the number figures of the costs. This is when I suggested going straight to Nakamoto's home to ask him personally all the questions before we make a decision. He will be the one that can fill in all the gaps of our questions and will give us a better picture of the whole idea of running a hobby shop. So I rang him up and he said he was available after 9pm. We finished our dinner and left for his house at around 8:45pm.

When we reached his house, Nakamoto was already outside attending to his plants. We admired some of his fishes and Crypto and quickly settled down along the staircase beside his house for discussion.

We started by declaring that we were there only for a discussion and we were not in anyway concrete in our plans. We wanted to clear some of our questions so we started asking him about running costs, rentals, contacts, survivability...etc......
He answered our questions one by one with the expertise of an experienced shopowner. For costs, he gave us the numbers for rental, costs of goods, electricity...etc. For contacts, he agreed to be the middle man, to order the kits, airbrushes and paints through him and he mark up by 10% and sell us. The discussion was pretty much in full swing now and the picture was getting clearer for us.

Next, came the questions that was later going to erupt into a sms fistfight. We needed a sales staff to run the store daily and we asked Nakamoto San whether Adam was a suitable candidate. To which came the reply "Hopeless" and "need to Kick him out". Small Vince was surprised by that answer and reminded him that he had been tending the shop for so long, its not so nice to not offer him the post. To which Nakamoto replied " this is business what". We suggested Chong and got a similar reaction. Although Nakamoto did mentioned that Chong was an honest guy but was addicted to the shop. He used the word "hopeless" on him as well. Nakamoto even suggested that he could help us tend the shop during the day and we take turns to come down after work. He changed his mind later saying he can't sit still in the shop anymore.

We then asked what happened to the deal he had with Nick and why he did not fully transfer the shop to him. He repeated an earlier story about Nick's money being stuck together in a joint account with his wife and that's why he could'nt pay him as agreed for the rest of the duration. We did not probe further.

We next asked a question that we had wanted to ask for so long. "Why don't you transfer the shop to Adam?" In which he replied " he got no money what". We did not probe further either.

Throughout the whole meeting, Nakamoto San urge us to take over with effect from the next day. We were wondering why the desperation to handover. We keep reminding him that we were just discussing and nothing was concrete. Still, we can sense the desperation. We were wondering why later, as he said his Crypto business was raking in $2000 plus just this month alone. Although the questions of running the shop were answered, we now had new questions regarding the truthfulness of the whole process. If his Crypto business was so good, he could have easily carried out the payment to the shop rental and won't be so desperate to clear it.

It was getting quite late by then and we had to work the following day, so we decided to end the discussion. Again, Nakamoto ask to take over the shop the following day, that's when Randy told him that we were just discussing with him and had to go back and do our own calculations before we could give him an answer. He asked when? and we told him that we will let him know in one week time. He then pressured us by saying he is meeting Nick tomorrow and if Nick say can continue paying him then how? So we said if that's the case give it to Nick then. 1st come 1st serve. In return he say ok, la you'all go decide and let me know in a week. We said goodbye and I even ask when is the next trip to go Malaysia for Crypto collection and to let me know.

The following day, 5th of july, at around evening time, I received an sms and call from Randy. He told me that he had exchanged a few sms with Nakamoto earlier and that the last sms was that to tell the three of us Randy, small Vincent and Me to not visit his shop anymore, we were banned from his shop.

The first reaction I had when I received the sms was laughter! I was giggling to myself. The actual sms read something like; Hi Adam, last nite Randy, smallV and BigV came my house say want to take over my shop and want to kick you and Chong out, so are they friends?
Randy did'nt have to do much explaining about what happened as I could already guess knowing Nakamoto so well.

The sms fist fight went something like this:
Nakamoto had earlier sms Randy that he was; going to meet Nick in JB now, Japan contact you want?
Randy replied that he; go ahead and meet Nick and contact is useless without Nakamoto.
Nakamoto replied; Ya la, Nick also know that and that he got no money to continue paying him.
Nakamoto also replied that ; Nick is best and honest person he encountered in last 10years.
Randy replied; then he should support Nick then as Honest person deserve best.
Nakamoto replied; Ya, not like you, you don't come to my shop anymore.
Randy replied; Ok
Nakamoto replied; and your culture gang too.
That was the last entry.

The next sms from Nakamoto later was the Hi Adam, last nite Randy, SmallV & BigV....... sent to Adam and CC to Randy and Randy to me and small V.

Wow, what a drastic change overnight. Just last night we were discussing about a possible take over of the shop and now, suddenly we were banned from going to his shop. With the addition of a knife stab on each of our backs.

I must confess, I have not met a more horrible Japanese national from my experience. Such a volatile personality, how on earth did he manage his life, marriage, kids and work for so long without exploding is beyond my comprehension. And so EVIL. Just because he can't force an answer from us to his favour, he had to flank us and create chaos by accusing us of back stabbing Adam and Chong. He was probably afraid of us telling Adam and Chong what he had said to us about "kicking him out".

The way he handled negotiation with us was so unprofessional, he devulge what went on between us and him as a business proposal that was'nt finalise to others that were not aware of his fatal character flaws. This had made me realise that the stories that he told me earlier on about Nick and Mr Ang were all made up to sound like he was on the losing end side, that he was the victim. What a load of farcicle bullshit, atypical of traditional Japanese dominant male pride. The very type that made millions suffer the cruel actions and humiliation of the second world war. Bullocks!!!!

This event was so blown out of proportion, even people who were not invloved were receiving sms and questions and speculations were flying around everywhere. We end up having to meet up with Adam to explain what really went on and advise him not to fall into the trap of Nakamoto which was using him to do the dirty job of pressuring us into taking over the shop and brewing the bad blood between us.

Its been about three weeks now since I started the draft of this article. This event has now completely disintegrated as I have expected. No word or sms from Nakamoto anymore, he probably conveniently "forgotten" about the whole incident and went back to his Crypto collecting fever. I will not be surprised if one of these days he will call me up and pretend nothing has happened and ask whether I want to follow him to Malaysia to fish hunt and collect crypto. Again, I am still puzzled by his actions in this event.

I guess its true when people say that you can't say you know a person until you have seen their best and worst sides. The bad side is really ugly I tell you. Thanks to my hardcore training with dealing with difficult customers in my job that I was able to laugh this event off.
But I must say that the Evil Level on this one is ranked on my top 10 list. On hindsight, I was initially correct on not wanting to get involved with the various ideas from various groups on the continuation of the shop.

As this event draws to a close now, I have gained another experience and have grown wiser. I hope to grow wiser as age comes along and that I will not be anywhere like Nakamoto's eratic volatile personality.
Its sad as I treated him like a father and even admired his daring and often times spontaneous way of doing things, his positive outlook of everything at even the worst situation, basically no fear. I will miss his antics and our many trips to Malaysia.

Like Buddha said, nothing last forever.

Peace.

Documenting recent events

2009-07-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

20th June, Aeronautical cup 2009(Airfixcup)
20th June Saturday was the prize presentation for the annual Airfix cup.
This third Airfix competition has seen more entries than before.The master class had more entries than the senior category. The standards have also been raised and its getting to be a more challenging competition year on year. Which is good news. This year it was held in Ngee Ann Polytechnic which I must say was much more professional compared to the two previous held at Singapore Airforce museum. I have two entries which did not win any prizes. Will try to build something bigger for next years event. Overall, the turn out of aircraft was fantastic, the event was won by an A-6 Prowler by Kee Wee(winner of the first Inaugral Airfix cup). I believe next year will be better.

Announcement of Actung Japan Hobby closing
The official announcement of closing the shop by sms from Nakamoto himself just 1 week before the Airfix cup. Was followed by panic and uncontrolled hoarding of kits from the shop for the last time. Various factions of the Clan members have come up with plans of taking over or co-ownership with Nakamoto till lease expires. Future fate of the shop remains unknown at this time of documentation.

Old school Roadie
Managed to aquire an entire old school Road bike with full Shimano 105 parts to start my retro build. Seems to be of Olmo origin judging from logo on fork. Can't wait to get started on rebuilding it with my new bought Pink Suntour Superbee frame!

Near Death Experience-Kota Tinggi Pelepah Fall

2009-06-11T23:48:00.000-07:00

What drives a person? Goals? Ambition? Money? Fame?

According to my Jap friend, Nakamoto San its a "Coffin". He explains, what a person at the end of his/her life should leave behind is a "coffin".

Not money, not property, not gold or valubles for the next generation but a "coffin". Not your average solid teak wood or mahogany, gold plated handle wooden coffin but a piece of "knowledge".

Thats what he meant by coffin. Something that we can pass on to the next generation to share with everyone so that they can perhaps gain some insight on our history or their future.

In his case, to pass on the knowledge of his findings about butterflies, fish and plants. As some of these might be extinct in the future. That might sound like a noble cause to some but I can't help the skeptic in me thinking that its all just an effort to live forever, just living through a different media thats all.

I had a taste of that power or should I say that desire to live forever last weekend.

It was another usual weekend trip with Nakamoto to Kota Tinggi for Crypto collection. He showed me an sms from Wang that a friend of his had seen Crypto like leaves in the streams of the Pelepah falls at Kota Tinggi. We had been to this location once before. We did not go all the way up previously as we were not well equiped and had come to a conclusion that there was no crypto growing in this habitat type. But because of this sms, Nakamoto was sure that there is a possibility of it occuring there. Now nothing could turn him back. The picture of him discovering a new species with the waterfall as background was just too over-powering for his weak body to fight.

We reach Kota Tinggi entrance at close to 11am. Armed with only a bottle of 500ml mineral water, my net and camera I set off with Naka into the valley between Gunung Muntahak and Gunung Panti. Unknown to me at that point in time was that this was not going to be an "ordinary" day of Crypto collecting and a big mistake.

As we reached the last point that we had previously turned back, we saw that there was another path on the side leading up. Nakamoto was sure thats the way. So we went straight for it. It was a 45 degree slope up and it was slippery. About 10mins into the climb, Nakamoto started complaining about tiredness and wants to rest so we took a breather. At this point, we had been treking for about 40mins. Peanuts for us as we've been through worse.

The sound of the waterfall was getting further from us as we ascended the edge of the hill to which point that I suggested to Nakamoto for us to turn back as the likelihood of Crypto in this habitat was unlikely. After a few exchange of words about sense and confidence we pushed on. Now we were about an hour and 10mins into the hike. The hill was getting steeper. At some parts we were on all fours to ascend. Nakamoto was taking a lot more breaks and really look horrible by now. He was asking about my age at this point, wondering why I did'nt seem tired at all. I gave him a lecture on not exercising since he is so free nowadays at home. He rebuted with an excuse that people his age don't need exercising. He will eat those word later on in the day.

After an extremely difficult climb, we reached a clearing. The sound of the waterfall was near once again. We bash through to reach it downhill and was welcome with a magnificent view. The water was cooling and the sound was refreshing. A group of hikers had reach the same point by a different route, Nakamoto ask them about the route up and they gave him some pointers. We followed them up albeit slower because of Nakmoto's condition. In my mind, I was thinking, hey this is not too bad, it seems my weekly cycling stint has paid off, I did'nt feel tired at all. What a mistake.

As we reach the summit, it was surreal. There was a white pile of fine grain beach sand on top! how did it get there I have no idea but it was quite a sight. There were streams flowing on top too! Weird. Later we found the source that it came from, it was a natural spring and its amazing that such a small pool of water became such a big waterfall! We took a long rest at a clearing and the group of hikers offered Nakamoto and me hot coffee. They explained that they had just returned from Mount Tahan, Malaysia's highest peak on the west Peninsula. No wonder they could move so fast. Best part is, they are Singaporeans!! We chatted for about 40mins and decided to descend. It was about 1pm now, hungry and with no food we made our way down following the hikers. What I thought was just 1hour of collecting plants is now beginning to take longer. Unknown to us, going up was the easy part, getting down was a real challenge.

As we begin our descend, it is becoming more and more clear to us that this is not going to be easy. We are taking 2 to 3 feet drops and some of the steps have ropes on the sides to help hikers descend. These were not many in numbers. Only 10mins into the descend, Nakamoto was beggining to show signs of stress. 20mins into it and he is really exhausted now. By sheer perseverance and hard headedness he managed to drag himslef through down the steep slopes, constantly stopping to rest and hydrate himself. He was not his usual self of confidence and proudness. The age in him is now very obviously showing like a neon sign glowing in Tsim Sa Tsui,HongKong. Problem was it was a bloodless, glowless pale white face with sweat pouring down greying hair and very short breaths. I was beginning to worry that he might not make it. We pushed on.

At about two thirds down the climb, I stop to take some pictures of the waterfall and its surrounding. Nakamoto was infront of me ahead. I took about 2-3mins, max. I put my camera back into my pocket and continued. I reached Nakamoto in just a few steps, he was again sitting down, shacked out. I noticed the rest of the group had disappeared so I ask Nakamoto which direction they headed. He pointed down a drop, I asked again and he confirmed that they headed down. At this point, I know that he had already lost it totally, as my experience in the army had taught me that, that was definitely not the choice of pathway for descending. I followed suit to satisfy thinking we could get back up if it was wrong. I regreted that thinking immediately when we dropped into that ledge. Worse thing was, Nakamoto threw his net down to facilitate ease of dropping down and the net flew all the way down to the falls because of his bad judgement in distance! Two of us was standing at a ledge no bigger than a bicycle laid down flat. There was no way down as we look over, it was a clear rockface all the way down to the falls. The only way was back up. We could'nt get back up as we dropped down from the top from about 8-9ft. With only one tree behind me I signaled to Nakamoto that I will push him up with my leg against the tree. If the tree fall, that will be the end of us right there. With a heavy heave, I managed to shove Nakamoto up while he gropped for roots to pull up. He managed and was up on the path again. Now it was my turn. I looked up and there was no one there, Nakamoto had left me there alone as he made his way up. I called out, no answer. I was thinking that I probably would be spending the night here now, on this little ledge or slip and fall to my death. With such negatitive thoughts, I will myself to grab whatever roots that was available and pull myself up. The first attempt failed and I almost swing backwards. Lucky for that only tree that stop my rearward movement. After struggling for about 2-3mins I managed to dig my hands and feet into the soil and pull myself up. It would have help if I was'nt so heavy. I reached the top and found Nakamoto sitting down again. I wanted to ask why he left me there but his face shows it all. Lost and pale. I noticed a track upwards a few steps beside where he was sitting. This time I insisted that, that was the correct path and we move forward again. We reached a break in the waterfalls and the group of Singaporeans was there waiting for us.

After some rest we moved again. Knowing that we were somewhere halfway down, we moved slightly faster. Reaching a deep valley part of the falls with very tricky terrain. This is where Nakamoto almost died. We were at point where there was a steep slope behind a Big fallen tree trunk. Only one person could stand at the ledge for descending and there was a rope on the side to aid. Nakamoto was infront of me as I was busy taking pictures again. I waited behind the tree trunk while he went over first. As he went down using the rope I was taking a video of him and the surrounding. I turn behind for a shot and as I turned back, Nakamoto had wrong footed and tumbled down!!! From the video playback you can't see the 10meter drop below of that slope. I shouted and saw him coming up from behind the bushes after a long while. Thank god! I thought he was a goner this time! He is really really lucky to have survive that!

Thank goodness that, that was the last incident of the descent. With a lot more resting here and there, we manage to reach the foot of the hill unscathed. After cooling of at the foot of the falls we made our way back to the car, changed and headed for Kota Tinggi town for dinner. It was already 6:30pm. We had trekked more than 6 hours up and down the hill. I only had a bottle of 500ml water with no food, unprepared and with no fitness. Nakamoto commented that at least now he did'nt have to come back again as there's no Crypto here. He wants to climb the mountain beside, Gunung Panti. After today, I told him he could go ahead but I will definitely not be around when he does that!

I have learn from this trip that sometimes when we are so focused on our own desires that we neglect what the reality of our actions are.

It enforces the Buddhist line of thought that the Middle path is how everything should be done. In other words Balance. As age catches up with me, the more I appreciate this universal truth. I see it in all things material or immaterial. It amazes me how the Buddha realise this so many thousands of years ago in a time that is so much more less complicated than ours.

I hope that I will be able to choose a life of balance in the next few years of my life and continue to understand myself and others better.

Malacca 30th May 2009

2009-06-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

Went to Malacca on a whim last weekend. My last trip there was about 8 years ago. Took the 8:30am Bus from Kallang depot opposite Singapore Casket. It was the first day of the school holidays, so there were many people there.
I reach Malacca central bus station at around 1:30pm as the wait at the customs was quite long and the bus was going slow. I bought my return ticket immediately upon reaching. The latest bus back was at 6pm so I had no other choices. After securing my ticket back I took the local bus to the town city area to look for a hotel.

It did'nt help that the weather was hot when I was looking around for a hotel. I was looking for the hotel that I saw on the net, it was also recommended by a friend who stayed there before. It was located at a very convenient location, just opposite the biggest mall in Malacca!! yet it was on a quiet street full of rows of shop houses! The name of the hotel was Fenix Hotel. Its a nice little hotel, the interior was very new, simple and clean looking. I managed to get a room which was a twin room as all the single rooms were booked. I was glad that I got a room as walking around looking for a hotel in the heat would definitely spoil my day.

The first thing I noticed in my room were these little small cockroache nymps. I squashed two of them hanging around my sandals and bed. I was starting to question the recommendation of this hotel and its seemingly "clean" appearance. Luckily no other occurance of the cockroaches happened again. I dumped the things from my bag onto the bed, washed my face and was out exploring. Malacca was a unique town with its own signature town planning. As it was occupied by 3 different colonial masters, the roads and buildings were quite chaotic. Its was also recently named as a UNESCO site, which explains its very touristy outlook. I got this huge map at the bus station which was very informative and in a very unusually "unMalaysian" logical and nicely done graphic layout way! Hahaha, being declared a UNESCO site sure brings in lots of cash and good graphic designers!

I navigated by the map and found all the tourist spots. I went through the usual A'Formosa fortress and St. Paul church which I last visited about 8 years ago. As it was a Saturday, it was packed! There was this big group of kids from Singapore on an educational tour there and I thought I can escape Singaporeans there! Cheh!

There was this big ass plane on display at the foot of the St.Paul hill. Just my type of quirky looking type.

There was also a TLDM museum with an actual Perkasa Patrol boat parked right beside!! Woohoo!! I have a chiong kit version of this craft!! Now I can take detail pictures of it!!

You have to purchase tickets for the museum which was a measly 3 ringgit only. With the ticket you get to go into the Wooden replica Portugese warship and the TLDM museum. There was a British made Wasp helicopter that their Navy use on display in the museum. I had seen one of these examples in a Pahang museum a few years back.

By the time I finish touring the museum it was around 7pm, they close at 9pm. It was dinner time and I had already completed half of Malacca's tourist spots. So I went to a nearby hawker which was called Newton hawker center. I think its a copy of our local newton circle hawker but with Malaysian fair. I ordered Cha kway tiao, satay and a local Nonya you cha kway wrap. Sad to say, this must be the few times where Malaysian food did not live up to its standard. All three dishes I tasted failed my expectations and I have been going Malaysia almost everyweek now for the last 2 months. I was disappointed as this was Malacca which was touted as a food paradise.

After the disappointing dinner I needed something to recover from the lost. SHOPPING!!!! yeehaa!!!!! Chiong ah!!!

All I can say is Shiok!!! Cheap and good!! I bought like 7 polo-T from the Factory outlet store! 1 for each day! That more than made up for the crappy dinner. It was around 10:30 after that so I went back to the hotel to shower. The shower room had the same water heater as my house with almost the same shower head, weird, I had the feeling I was showering at home!! but yet I was in Malacca!! hahaha!!!! After the rejuvenating shower I was ready for somemore exploring. I went out the room at around 11:30pm, as the street I was staying was full of cafes and massage palours, I decided to try one of the massages. I checked out a decent one and went in. They were very professional I must say, none of the hanky panky stuff here, after all its a UNESCO site!! I fell asleep quarter of the way as I was so tired. It was almost 2am after the massage so I went back to the hotel. I turned on the TV and it was Pirates of the Caribbeans 3, so I watched. There was some pretty bad acting in the show and Chow Yun Fatt was overcompensating for his bad role. Crap. I was dosing on and off throughout the show and finally gave up as the show was drawing to a close. I switched off and was knocked out within 5mins.

Next day, I woke up at 11:30am, crap, half day gone and I had to check out at 12pm! I turbo-ed brushing teeth and packing and was out the door at 12:15pm. Brunch time. This time I chose carefully for about half an hour for a decent makan joint and finally settled on a shop with lots of newspaper cuttings of recommendations. It was a good choice as the chicken rice was delicious, so was the Nonya sotong and petai and egg!!

A cute little boy took my order and I can see they were pretty busy as more people were coming in, looks like I had picked a famous joint to eat.

After the satisfying lunch, I went to the famous Jonker street. The weather was even more burning than yesterday and I was sweating like mad.

Jonker street was very packed and super touristy, not my kind of place. The only thing I like about it was the architecture and cafes. But the weather was too hot for me to enjoy it slowly, so I took a few photos and split after an hour. I went to buy a pair of Bata shoes as my sandals were hurting my legs. After that I went back to the hotel as I left my bag there and had them book me a taxi at 5:15pm while I go across the street to get a foot massage.

I left malacca at around 6:10pm from the Bus station and reach Singapore at around 10:45pm. Pretty fast.

It was a nice little trip for me, tired but fun. There was almost no "hang" time in between, so I felt that the time was fully utilised. My next trip there, will definitely be more switch off, more hang time to laze around their many cafes. Planning another trip there soon!

Star Trek : The Future Begins

2009-05-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

Caught the new Star Trek movie over the weekend. I must say that I was totally caught offguard by how good it turned out.
The movie started right off in the thick of the action(as with all movies these days). The awesome Romulan battle cruiser was fantastic looking. It was menacing and the size was just absolutely ridiculous.

The pace of the show was good and had character developement. The action was thick and the cinematography was absolutely on the money. This movie to me signifies the coming of age for Director J.J. Abrams. I have been telling people that he is the new Spielberg and this movie has his spirit all over it. In Fact, I think Abrams will be better than Spielberg in time to come.

It seems that they have selected the right group of actors for the roles and the design of the costumes were spot on. You can see the homage paid to the original designs, even the angle and composition of the scenes were of a bygone era in space movies. And that retro beeping sound that comes up every now and then, man, Abram your the MAN!!!!!

Definitely going to watch it a second time, Yes its that good!!!!
"Live long and prosper!!"

Cameron Highlands Again

2009-04-29T21:47:00.000-07:00

Went on a trip to Cameron Highlands again. This is my third trip to the Highlands within two months!! Man, I must really love the place. Who would'nt? at 15 degrees on the night that I was there it sure beats the 32 degrees at home!

I finally got to see the pasa malam this time round as its a weekend. The sweet corn as usual was excellent!!

Unfortunately we only stayed one night at the Rainbow hotel as it was fully booked. The next day we moved to a hotel across the road which was smaller and noisy at night. The facilities was horrible too. Luckily it was only for a night. I brought Hakim and Chaidir to the BOH tea plantation and Gunung Brinchang Peak and they were very impressed

with the view.

Did'nt get to enjoy the excellent Chinese restaurant this time round as Hakim and Chaidir had to dine at Halal joints. Next time round would probably go with my mother to visit my old neighbours farm.

My Urata Folding bike 20th April

2009-04-20T02:28:00.000-07:00

Finally got my Urata folding bike last Tuesday. The lady who backed out on the deal last minute last time round finally willing to let go of the bike.I paid $200 for it.

The parts are pretty run of the mill at this price point($320 for a New bike).

The frame is aluminium with a rear elevated chainstay swingarm. Suspension is provided by a 2" thick elastomer. As the bike has been riden by previous owner for about a year, the elastomer has already soften a lot and when I went for my test ride, it was bobbing like mad!

Definitely have to find a replacement for the elastomer. Maybe a hard coil spring or stiffer elastomer. Drivetrain is low end. Rear D is a super low end Shimano make that needs upgrading. 6 speed cogset, brandless V-brakes and levers, Short black brandless headstem(mountain bike compatible), seat post is a crude maxbonded post on post fixture. Steel crankset with plastic chainguard. Lorc 20" Aluminium rims with steel spokes and rusty nipples. Seat, don't even bother just look at the picture.

Looking forward to upgrading the parts as I think this frame got potential.

The ride was very laid back due to the slack angles, its definitely design to be more of a cruiser for slower relaxing rides than what I am going to turn it into. The tires were these pair of ugly China brand rubber, they were quite soft and tracked ok for PCN riding but they won't be staying for long.

I think i am going to enjoy moding this frame, as I write, its already got new handle bars and a Truvativ road crankset, hehe.