Pictorial update

I've been missing for a while. Partly because I've been busy travelling cos of work (Amsterdam, Orange County, Chicago, Singapore and back to Orange County) but also partly because I just wanted some time by myself. I only met up with a couple of people outside of family when I was in Singapore. For those who have been trying to get hold of me, my sincere apologies.


THE NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam is full of canals and the houses or building by the canals have a very dinstinctive architecture. The front wall or facade of the building is slanted forward. I am not sure if that's visible from the picture but this was by design to facilitate cargo that could be hoisted up to the attic for storage from the boats on the canal.

The second picture shows part of the building of my training center. The original building is about 200 years old but the rest of the training center is brand new with state of the art facilities. The center was located about 1 hr south of Amsterdam.

Amsterdam had other interesting sights. For example, there were people stoned and lying down everywhere (my friend took that picture, btw.) There were also "public" toilets on the street. Besides such sore sights, I have re-iterate that it is a beautiful city with beautiful architecture.
















CHICAGO

I would highly recommend to stay at the James hotel if you visit the windy city. It is a boutique hotel right in downtown area. The bathroom has tasteful designer faucets. The main room has very comfortable bed, nice furnitures, and flat screen TV. It also came equiped with a decent bar in each room.

SINGAPORE

I was in Singapore cos of work and had a week of vacation at the tail end. Any true Singaporean will know Kickapoo joy juice. I remember drinking this home made soda when growing up. It has a tangy kick to it; almost like mountain dew.

Back at home, my mom cooked up a feast for deepavali and I took a picture to remind myself what I am missing now. Serangoon road or Little India was bustling with busy sales and beautiful lighting for the festive occasion.

The colonial looking building is the Fullerton Hotel. It used to be the old Singapore Post headquarters or something and is now converted to a luxurious hotel. I will recommend staying there even though I have never actually experienced staying there. I was there for the wedding of an old college friend from the 13th floor (Joule will know this person).

Mamee and KAKA are also momentos from the 80s. These two snacks were my favorite growing up in Singapore. KAKA used to have plastic cheap toys enclosed with each packet to help market the toxic MSG enriched snack but I did'nt find any this time. They must have gotten rid of it to save cost and probably do mother earth a favor as the toys will probably end up in the trash anyway.

SINGAPORE

I was in Singapore cos of work and had a week of vacation at the tail end. Any true Singaporean will know Kickapoo joy juice. I remember drinking this home made soda when growing up. It has a tangy kick to it; almost like mountain dew.
Back at home, my mom cooked up a feast for deepavali and I took a picture to remind myself what I am missing now. Serangoon road or Little India was bustling with busy sales and beautiful lighting for the festive occasion.
These two pictures are also nostalgic to me; two little school boys playing soccer underneath the apt building aka void deck. I didn't really play soccer that much growing up; I played hantum bolla instead (dodge ball). The last one is a picture of the Singapore Kuching; the famous singapore cat. They are everywhere. These are the stray cats of Singapore.