Today is Ying's 18th birthday!!!

wah really can't believe the baby of my family is turning 18 liao...haha...from the time when i used to sing to her "lullabies" taken from my ACJS songbook in the small baby yaolan...from the time she was crawling around me with her mini mickey designed bolster and sucking her luminous bright blue pacifier...from the time i saw her in an oversized green poker dot st margaret's uniform carrying an equally oversized school bag...from the time i saw her doing her ten year series preparing for her "O" Levels...from the time i saw her in her SAJC uniform for the very 1st time...and now she is already preparing for her "A" Levels...getting ready to join me in University next year...i really can't help it but feel old man when i think my baby sister is already joining me in Uni next year...haha...

went to River City Restaurant at Hotel Excelsior (next to Penisula Plaza) to celebrate Ying's birthday...the same venue for my farewell dinner to USA 3 months ago and also the same venue for Pa's 5oth birthday last year...haha we are like becoming their regular customers...in fact mum has already applied and got the VIP card since the last time we came here...i muz admit the Eat-all-you-can ala carte chinese buffet the restaurant offer is really attracting my family like bees to honey...and somemore it is at a reasonable price of $20 per pax...and the food they offer is also not say sub standard one...got shark fin's (limited to a bowl each)...their chao pai cold dish...crabs in black pepper or chilli...prawns in butter, steamed or fried...tilapia, seabass or red grouper...sea cucumbers, scallops, chicken wrapped in paper (zi bao chi), duck, beef (gotta try their black pepper beef for sure!!)...etc etc and i tink about 40 dishes in all for ur picking...and of coz not forgetting mango pudding or sago for dessert...whatever it is...it's juz simply all kinds of chinese cuisine u can ask for lah bascially...haha...i tink from now on any big or small event will come this restaurant to eat liao...heh

i tink in total we ordered like 20 over dishes...including 3 plates of prawns...all the fishes...cold dish, shark fins, 3 plates of zi bao chi...scallops and sea cucumbers, kailan...and total over 2o dishes in all...in fact we were the first group to arrive at 7 and last to leave at ard 10plus...3 full hours of buffet marathon...i muz say me and ZX were the main attackers of our group...haha...and of coz sang birthday song and cut cake for Ying at the end of it all...lucky is my fav chocolate cake...if not i really dunno how to find space in my stomach to even swallow it man...

"ting ting...fight!!!"Round 1...3 more rounds to go

my parents debating over the menu

the star today!! fiddling with the watch i bought for her from US

can't believe it really...the baby of the household turning 18...haha

i really don't understand how come is always the elder brother's responsibility to light up the candles

Make a wish quick!! aahhh i wish for 4 As for my A Levels...haha

the sisters act...Hong & Ying

the birthday gal and our parents

my family photo

outside the restaurant...with ZX this time

Happy Birthday Ying!! The sweetest sister i can find...hahaha touched anot?? Good Luck for your A Levels ahh...all the way!!

Woooooohaaaaahhhhhh!!

Phewwwwwaahhhhhhh!!

Hosehhhhhhaaahhhhh!!

Finally completed my work and travel "memoir"...lately have been slowly appreciating my masterpiece which took me like close to 4 months to complete...an epic really...a remarkable feat!! deserve a pat on ur shoulders boy! heh

have kindda enjoyed the whole process of blogging about my everyday during the whole work and travel experience...to be honest i wudden really have expected to finish the travelouge from the start...initially i juz like those "play play" attitude and curiosity to find out like what is like to have ur very own blog...thought my fire of passion for blogging will prob burn out by the 3rd week or so...haha who knows it actually lasted all the way...can't believe i really blog about every single day of the whole thingy...and there are some points i really feel like giving up about blogging totally...like when u spent close to 2 hours uploading pictures and the whole laptop juz hang on u and all ur efforts are washed down the drain...and esp so after the accident...i really wanna juz gave up right after the accident...juz totally lost the mood to write at all...but i am really glad and relieved that i finally decide to juz blog again...after getting so many positive feedback from friends and from even people i do not know...and of coz ken always monitoring my blog progress daily in wildwood...haha

it's been a really good platform to maintain the links with my close friens and family thru this blog...update them about my life in US and post some photos here and there to tell my worrisome mum that i am taking care of myself and so on...and also a very solid outlet to express my feelings about the day...the super exhilaration of watching Phantom of Opera or the "simply can't use words to describe" feeling watching the sunset at Grand Canyon...the pent-up fustrations of being disturbed by ang moh punks at the waterpark...the heartwarming "thank yous" u hear from small little kids while pushing them down the sky ponds or after the sea dragon ride...and of coz not forgetting the I95 drama which can't help but cloud the whole experience for me...blogging really helps to get matters off ur chest and i muz admit in some entries i do use some very "flowery" vulgar language...apologies for that...it's juz when i blog...i really don't have any bars-hold...juz wanna really express how esctatic, exhilarated, pissed or disappointed i feel at some stage...and these "flowery" terms really help to deliver the message across albeit in a crude manner...haha

have been contemplating lately whether with the end of this work and travel programme i should also officially end my blog...seems like there is nothing much to blog about after i come back...lecture, tutorial, assignments, lab reports, projects, essays will pretty much set the tone for at least the whole semester and there is really nothing much to write about except something like this...

"Today is a bright and sunny Monday...as usual i take the train from Little India NEL to Clementi enroute Outram Park station...got transport lecture from 9 to 11am...then went for lunch with ken and genie at arts canteen...eat katsu curry dory from the Jap food stall...den go back for geotech lecture from 12-2pm...after lecture sit xiaohong to go clementi for ah balling...den took train back with ken to go home...den surf net, read newspaper and do some weights...before i know it is dinner...watch tv...pretend to look at lecture notes den fall asleep...next morning same old thing take mrt..."

hahaha...sounds so loserish or no life...but accept it school life is juz like that at least for me lah...not scaling Grand Canyon one minute and having hot springs in Taipei the next...life will be a far cry from all those events...so what to blog u tell me?? haha...budden in the end i thought...if u really think life is so boring...den it will really be rite...surely there are interesting things to blog about...like how the Dily's auntie overcharge my teh for $500 (that's what she always say xiao di wu bai kuai) during lecture break...and the occasional over friendly attention we get when we are in xiaohong...haha...so i decided...there's still life after work and travel!! i still need to maintain my contacts with friens also...and life simply and don't allow me to stop blogging...heh...10000kmaway.blogspot lives for another day!! Hurray!! (pardon me for my beh hiao bai)

3 weeks since i came back...it's been quite a hard period to suddenly get used to life initially...juz imagine the feeling of hitting back to solid earth after the highs of exploring the galaxies...playing on the moon and frolicking with the stars...reality bites!! but on the other hand...juz glad to be back home again...ahhh man...really miss my mum's cooking...now i know how bad mine really is in wildwood...haha...also glad my family like the gifts i bought for them generally...nothing beats seeing the smiles on ur loved ones' faces...all the effort in buying and bringing back the stuff from US and Taipei is well worth it...esp mum she seem to like the handbag a lot...straight away change out of her old black one when i gave to her...haha

caught up with almost all my close friends also...cat high khakis like gab and leong, JC pals ken tai and TR...army buddies Jared, Clement and Chee...gave out all the t-shirts that i bought with 1 or 2 keychains left...i really enjoy the company of catching up with old friens and juz update one another about our lives and reminisce the good old days...haha...

as for school work...it is gonna be i predict in one word "SLACK" for this semester...only 2 cores transport and geotechnical engineering...and took 2 GEMs Great Ideas in Contemporary Physics and Introduction to Political Science...my 1st love really...in fact i was considering to even major in Political Science when i was in JC...juz have a penchant for reading up current and political affairs since my cat high days...Yeah!! now realising my longtime dream of taking up this module...and not forgetting another module General Biology...timetable is too shiok already...Monday no school and Thursday and Friday 2-3 hours each...only 4 exams and 4 labs...as compared to the crazy semester last sem with 7 modules...6 papers and one equally taxing sentosa 3101 project...haha no wonder this sem so slack can afford to relac...a well deserved break semester...and my 1st 4-day week in 5 semesters!! wah kaoz...shiok ah...but also worrying me if too slack end up become lazy and end up results like shit...haha sometimes i really tink i am the sort to need pressure den can get things done...aiyah tink nvm lah...work hard for 2 years...den now relac a bit...got time to blog also, go for jogs, gyms, tennis, badminton and swim...heh...good time to recuperate also after the "highs" of the summer holidays...

ok that's it for now...will be back for more updates...meantime take care my dear friens wherever u are...esp Don in Australia, Gab in US and YJ in Sweden...wah kaoz how come like my good friens all over the world...haha...ok catch up again!! going for my slow run now...IPPT looming again...hee

Day 95 (Thurs) *This is Home truly...*

This is home truly

Where I know I must be

Where my dreams wait for me

Where that river always flows

Clearly still in NDP mood 4.5 hours of flight away...surely the song to sum up the mood of Ken, JK, Kerrine and me...my all time fav NDP song...how apt this song is gonna be...going home today after exactly 3 months and 3 days...95 days in total...residing in the South Jersey outback...revelling in the boutiques of Atlantic city...dwelling in the historical districts of Philadephia...calling on the monuments of Washington DC...cruising down the streets of New York City...glimmering in the bright lights of Las Vegas...prowling in the wilderness of Arizona...sashaying along the boulevards of LA City...and of coz last but not least...galivanting across the all-too familiar Taipei city...it's been one BIG, CRAZY, but simply AWESOME and UNFORGETTABLE ride of a lifetime...time to go back to where u belong my dear buddy...

the only thing on our minds when we woke up this morning...nothing but home sweet home my dear pal...

the traces of the nearing typhoon seems to become more evident this morning...a huge storm was already brewing the moment we left our hostel at ard 6.45am...not before waking up 1 hour beforehand to prepare, bathe and do some final packing...last nite was the best nite i have slept in Taipei so far...how ironic for it to be the last nite...haha...finally going home my dear friend...

the rain seems no sign of abating in any short time...and we decided to juz bash thru the rain with our luggages...coz if we missed the 7am express bus to the CKS airport...we are confirm bound to be late for checking in...the last thing we really wanna to happen is to get stranded here in Taipei with another missed flight not to mention our experience at JFK...haha...so no matter how hard the rain was falling...the determination to get home today in the arms of our families again juz shows...nothing is gonna to stop us frm sleeping on our beds tonite...not even if hailstones are falling for that matter my dear amigo...

manage to get to the bus stand still in a relatively good shape and the bus was on time...before we knew it we are on our way to the airport in the comfortable coach...a minor hiccup did happen at the airport though...it was nothing but chaos at the china airlines counter...they were checking in 2 flights at the same damn counter...and we don't know where to queue...or which counter to queue coz there was no number of our plane...it was juz chaotic for that moment luckily as things start to sort out by themselves slowly...manage to check our bags in...went thru the customs smoothly and proceeded straight to our departure gate...ok no time to waste my dear mate...

finally time to board the plane...on our way back to singapore...starving for some decent breakfast or lunch on the plane...on the flight back read the asian wall street journal for the 1st half hour...watched MI3...a movie i badly wanted to watch at wildwood but no company sadly...haha doesn't matter contented with juz watching it on the screen...turns out not to be as exciting as the 1st 2 series...i guess the movie concept has probably run out of mill and the plot seems so predictable at time that i can't help feeling as though like i was part of the scriptwritting team...cleverly predicting the outcome on a few scenes at times...haha...it's getting closer my dear fella...

couldn't sleep at all thru the flight...really can't wait to get home asap...before i knew it lunch was served and a voice came over the intercom saying that the plane will touch down in another 1.5 hours...ahhhh...trickles of emotion juz ran down my whole body upon hearing that...relieved is probably the biggest word to sum it all up...relieve to juz be back in the arms of my parents and sisters again...how i have missed them for the past 3 months...and the feeling seem to be building up as the minute tickles by agonizingly slow...cool it my dear chap...

One hour later...juz as i was staring blankly at the outside view from my window seat...a all-t00 familiar sight appeared out of nowhere on this bright and sunny thursday afternoon...Pulau Tekong BMTC...haha...to think the first thing to greet me is BMTC...the plane was even close enough to see the pull-up bars and the dreary fastcrafts with the ominous PENGUIN sign...time to fasten up the seatbelts as the plane prepared to land...this is it my dear partner...

as the plane touched down and taxi to the arrival gate...i feel as though even the tarmac stones on the runways seem to be saying a collective "Welcome Back...alive"...and the angsana trees that lined along the airport seem as though they are ready to embrace me the moment i walk out from the plane...haha...feels great to be seeing familiar scenes again my dear companion...

told Pa and mummy not to pick me up coz tot sharing cab with ken back...budden ken's parents were already at the airport...haha muz be can't wait to see their beloved son...got a lift from ken's dad home...not without dropping by East Coast for some decent local fare...Ken's parents gave me a treat of chicken noodles at the East Coast food court...the best i had for months...nothing beats home cooked food my dear brother...

called mummy that i will be at the "lobang" in 15 minutes aft we got back to the car...she and ying were waiting for me when we arrived at the "lobang"...really dunno how to explain my feelings in words when i saw my mother and sister for the 1st time in 3 months...esp after the terrible I-95 ordeal...i am juz happy...simply juz contented even though mummy kept nagging how skinny and dark i have became...for once her nagging sounds like melody to my ears...how i missed it...haha...juz simply overwhelmed to see them again after so long my father, mother, Hong and Ying...relief is the word to describe how i feel after putting down my backpack in the comforts of my sofa...really feels good to be home again my dear son...

This is home surely

As my senses tell me

This is where I won't be alone

For this is where I know it's home

Day 94 (Wed) *Taipei Day 5*

woke up feeling a little head heavy and throat itchy...muz be the heavy rain yesterday i thought to myself...popped 2 panadols before going out...hoping a good lunch will help to ease the lethargy and chase the sick blues away...

had our lunch at the same eatery where we ate on the 1st day...this time we ordered the la mians...not too bad at least something soupy for me...certainly felt much more revitalised after lunch...really don't wanna waste my last day in taipei in the hostel...anyway plan for today is to visit all the memorials...ken won't be joining us as usual and will head to his fav taipei hangout ximengding for the 3rd day in a row...haha...more like a Taiwan educational cum historical tour today...how ironic to be learning about other people country's history on our very own National Day...ha...oh today is National Day!! Happy Birthday Singapore!! woah 1st time celebrating National Day away from home...ahhh anyway it's juz the fireworks that's the exciting part issn't it...

our first stop: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall or Guo Fu Ji Nian Guang...loosely translated to be the founding father's Memorial Hall...very grand and large the whole compound...i wonder whether they hold their national day parade here coz certainly they have the space to do that...toured the facility learning more abt the founding father of modern china...the one bit of history that both China and Taiwan has a common consensus...learned a lot about Sun Yat Sen since those primary chinese textbook days...and even went for field trips to the place where he stayed during his stay in Singapore...i tink somewhere near Balestier there and called Wan Qing Yuan if i not wrong...haha i know quite a bit abt all these history stuff k...

Our 1st pic of the day...juz reached the Memorial Hall

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall...with Taipei 101 overlooking it...a juxtaposition of modernistic skyscrapper and historical monument

the main hall which house the Gigantic Bronze statue of Sun Yat Sen

posing with this Giant in modern chinese history

the Millitary Police guarding at both ends of the statues...

damn kang kor...cannot move one inch and can only bat their eyelids at certain timings...time to time someone muz help to wipe their sweat

the life history of Sun Yat Sen

busy chopping away with the FREE memento stamps

witnesses a damn chio change of guard ceremony at the Memorial Hall

their drill is super precise and steady

a final salute to Sun Yat Sen "Li Zhen!!"

Sun Yat Sen's legacy can be found all over the world

with the mini statue at the memorial garden outside

Taipei 101 from SYS Memorial Hall

At the memorial lake...as i said...the whole place is freakin huge

calling it a day at SYS Memorial Hall

next we made our way to the nearby CTS television station to take a look...hoping if we are lucky can see some "ming xing"...too bad timing wrong again spotted no stars...then we took the MRT to our next destination...Chiang Kai Shiek Memorial Hall...Chiang Kai Shiek...the successor to Sun Yat Sen...and the man who led his army to Taiwan and founded the Republic of China during the civil war...woah today really history lesson ah...

the CTS television station...where's Jacky Wu??

the National Theatre of Taiwan

the National Concert Hall...waah as though like some sort of ancient Chinese summer palace

Sediiiaaa!! Mari Kita Rakyat...

one sign that the typhoon is coming...could not hold my little white umbrella in place

Parading with our "arms" on this National Day

ready to "fire" at intruders

the CKS Memorial Hall...reminds me uncannily of Lincoln Memorial Hall

the bronzed statue of Chiang Kai Shiek

the roof with a giant ROC emblem

one group shot at the Chiang Kai Shiek Memorial Hall

the view up from the CKS Memorial Hall quite grand and majestic

unlike SYS Memorial Hall...there is nothing like a museum or library depicting CKS's life history at the memorial hall...and besides it is also non-air conditioned...really pity the guards standing there...heh...we stayed for quite a short while and decided to pay the presidential palace a visit...despite taiwan being in the news lately for political strife and crisis...there is really nothing much on the road or at the presidential palace to suggest that except a few anti-bian flags around...maybe haven't really build up yet or should i say lucky haven't build up yet...don't wanna get arrested or get punched for nothing by the anti-bian protestors...

this is known as the East Gate of Taipei's financial district

the furoe of anti-president flags on the pavement on our way to the presidential palace

the "protestors"...only a few here and there...

ROC's Presidential Palace

a quick shot before those irritating guards come over

Taipei's equivalent of RGS...juz right across the Presidential Palace

Taiwan's Justice Department

afterwhich we took a slow walk to ximengding where we were supposed to meet up with Ken for our final celebratory dinner at Taiwan...the proper MaLa steamboat!! turns out to be quite a disappointment though...the Ma La got a somehwhat bitter taste and the seafood like not very fresh also compared to the other time...no wonder nobody at all except us...yah very funny at the heart of ximengding...there's no one at all except us throughout the night...quizzed the boss and he said people nowadays prefer high class one...haha...

decided to leave the group at ximengding and go hunt for mum's bag at the nearby department store...doubt can find any of her kind at the trendy and young stores at ximengding anyway...lucky got there still got like 15 minutes to shop...after much recommendation from the saleslady and a very friendly auntie...saw one that i tink mum will like and bought it straight away...after that took the MRT back to the hostel...not before taking one last look at the night buzz of ximengding...the whole taipei leg has been a great success...did all the stuff which we plan to do and plan to go...with a very good mix of the nature, the rustic, the modern and the history...furthermore with ample time to juz hang ard and enjoy the views, sights, food and shopping...the pace is also juz nice...definitely a good pace to juz slowly relax and recuperate before going back...i would almost certainly wanna come again if got chance in the next few years...haha...Zai Jian Taipei for now...

ahhhh...after a long day of historical tours...time to settle down for some good food

the famous Taiwan MaLa Huo Kuo

much cheaper than what we had previously...obviously explain the drop in standard

Happy National Day...from Taipei!!

got this handbag for mum...will know tomorrow whether she likes it anot...waah finally going home