Hiya ! 大家好！こんにちは！

No Death Penalty in Singapore

2010-12-25T02:16:00.004+08:00

Many cases of Indonesian maids killed their employers in Singapore. None's got death sentence. Knew long ago that this recent case would be the same. Now they claim she is underage. Singaporeans already know too well of what the result will be. Continue to kill your bosses. Can always be justified that you are mentally ill or underage.

Nobel Peace Prize

2010-12-11T15:23:00.003+08:00

To counter Norway awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize to imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, I think China should award a Peace Prize to Wilileaks' Julian Assange.
Ask Sweden to release him to China to receive the award.

Mas Selamat's escape

2010-11-23T15:55:00.005+08:00

Fugitive terrorist Mas Selamat escaped from detetion was given shelter by his brother. Thousands of policemen were sent to search in Singapore jungles but never search his relatives or friends' homes nor have them under survillance. Yet the govt claimed it was not a security lapse but lack of resources to do so. As usual, our govt never admit mistake.

Caucasus Oct 2010

2010-11-01T22:54:00.014+08:00

Most Terrible Thing That May Happen

2010-09-13T21:14:00.003+08:00

The most terrible thing that may happen to you is not being held hostage by terrorists, but the Philippines police coming to rescue you.

Quran Burning

2010-09-12T06:51:00.004+08:00

On a Florida pastor planning to burn Quran on 911 of 2010, the UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki Moon said :
"Such action cannot be condoned by any religion. They contradict the efforts of the UN and many people around the world to promote tolerance, intercultural understanding and mutual respect between cultures and religions."
Then, what has the UN done ?
The American think their freedom of speech is more important than racial and religious harmony. They are protected by their Constitution to harm such harmony.
Why can't they amend their Constitution ?
The Danish Cartoonist who caricatured Prophet Muhammad has been awarded the M100 Media Prize 2010. In the ceremony, German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the Danish Cartoonist for his achievements on freedom of speech.
The westerners continue to think they are more superior to other races and religions.

Is Singapore a small country ?

2010-07-04T18:39:00.002+08:00

We keep saying Singapore is a small country, giving excuse why we can never do well in sport.

According to Wikipedia, Singapore is ranked 115 out of 223 countries in the World by population.

New Zealand (Ranked 123 with population of 4.3 Million)

Uruguay (131, 3.4 M)

Slovenia (144 of 2 M)

The three are all smaller than Singapore and were all qualified for World Cup Finals 2010.

By this time, Uruguay has even advanced into the semi finals.

Can we think of a better excuse than claiming we are just a small country ?

Marina Barrage

2010-06-29T20:48:00.002+08:00

Dear Mr Lam,

We refer to your feedback to the Prime Minister concerning facilities in parks, which was forwarded to the Ministry of National Development for follow up. We are evaluating your suggestions and will respond you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Trina Khoo

Head/Infrastructure Division

Ministry of National Development

From: Joon Hin Lam [mailto:lamjh123@yahoo.com]
Sent: Sunday, 27 June, 2010 8:46 PM
To: PMO Hsien Loong LEE (PMO)
Cc: PUB Gee Paw TAN (PUB)
Subject: Marina Barrage

Dear Prime Minister,

I went to Marina Barrage on a hot Sunday afternoon. I saw many families with children playing at the pool and fountain on the ground floor (quite a few Malay families). There are also families flying kites on the roof top (Mainly Chinese). It was a perfect scene of happy family outing. I feel good for what PUB has done.
Presently, most of our parks do not have ‘Play” element in there. I wonder if we can build more such water theme park in our existing parks and also provide open space without trees for kite flying.
If we can attrack more family outing in our parks, we promote better family bonds.
Provide facilities for those who cannot afford to go to Resort World Sentosa will also close up the gap between the rich and poor.
Thank you.

Lam Joon Hin
S0022085Z

Tipping towards good service

2010-02-16T13:37:00.013+08:00

I refer to the article today in the Straits Times.

I think the reporter should have done a research on when and why Singapore implemented Service Charge system.

The service Charge system was implemented to avoid problems from tipping system. And now Singapore want to bring back these problems.

I am not impressed of the service provided in the US. In my opinion after travelling more than 60 countries, I think the best service I have experienced was in Japan. And yet, in Japan, they don't have tipping system nor Service Charge system.

Good service is something that service provider must always provide, it should not be varied by tipping.

In Singapore, I tipped the waiters and bartenders at pubs and clubs well and received good service, but others who didn't tip them often not being attended to.

My conclusion - Tipping is Bribery.

(Sent to The ST today at 1.30pm).

(ST published it on 19 Feb).

Hospital Fee in Singapore

2010-02-08T13:10:00.007+08:00

On Saturday, 6 Feb 2010, The Straits Times reported a prominent surgeon in Singapore faced SMC (Singapore Medical Council) hearing related to amount she charged a patient which ran into millions.
Hospitalisation fee in Singapore is an open cheque, you can be charged any amount by the doctor or hospital without having you to agree to it first. You don’t have an idea of how much you would be charged before the treatment and you can’t say No.
In addition, doctors can prescribe any unnecessary medicines and send you for unnecessary scanings and tests. One of my late mum’s doctors commented that why every doctor also gave my late mum so many Vitamins ? My mum at that time was looked after by around 5 or 6 speicalits.
When my late mum first saw a specialist, she was recommended to see another specialist for another part of her body then another one and another one. She ended up with around 5 or 6 specialists. In addition, we were also asked to engage a GP to coordiante for these specialists.
I just feel that we need to have a more transparent medical system in Singapore, as a patient, we should have the right to know how much we would be charged.

I sent this comment to the Minister for Health, Mr Khaw Boon Wan at 1.27pm today and he replied immediately as shown below at 1.35pm but did not quite answer to my point raised. Yes all hospitals will provide financial counselling pre-admission, but they only tell you how much is the room charge and the basic fees, they can't tell you how much more your doctor will charge you.

Healthcare is inevitably complex as patients differ from one another. But there are useful tips, such as: - Have a family GP whom you trust and have built up many years of relationship and familiar with your and your family. He/she will help you determine if you need a specialist and if so whom; - if a specialist prescribes surgery, get a second opinion; - if you require hospitalisation, all hospitals will provide financial counselling pre-admission, giving an estimate of length of stay and likely bill sizes.

Changi General Hospital

2010-02-08T12:20:00.002+08:00

There is another complaint of Changi General Hospital (CGH) in The Straits Times Forum page today. Changi Hospital was named as New Changi Hospital (NCH). It has changed its name because NCH stands for Never Come Home. So they changed it to CGH, hoping that patients Can Go Home. However, CGH may also stand for Can Go Hell. So remember, don't go to Changi Hospital. It is rated as one of the worst hospital in Singapore.

Haiti Earthquake-Singapore Government's Aid

2010-01-15T11:30:00.013+08:00

SINGAPORE government is contributing US$50,000 to the International Community's Humanitarian Relief efforts for Haiti, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, 14 Jan 2010. Singapore, with a population of 5 millions is contributing 1 cent per person. I am embarrassed. Singapore Gov't may want to save money for their New Year Ang Pow ?

Perth and Fremantle 21-25 Dec 2009

2009-12-31T16:02:00.003+08:00

连蔡英文也“不懂”的ECFA

2009-12-29T10:47:00.003+08:00

读了今天联合早报言论版吴俊刚先生写的"连蔡英文也“不懂”的ECFA".

我对吴先生写道"台湾市场对大陆来说，毕竟只是“鼻屎”那么大"这话有点意见。

当陈唐山以“鼻屎”来形容新加坡时，他使新加坡人觉得难过又生气。

我想吴先生以“鼻屎”来形容台湾，也会使台湾人觉得难过又生气。

毕竟好多台湾人对陈唐山这样来形容新加坡都觉得厌恶，那我们为什么要使台湾人也厌恶吴俊刚，厌恶新加坡及新加坡人呢？

要对陈唐山报复，结果伤了其他台湾人的心，我觉得这是不应该的。

我希望吴先生今后写文章时要想到他的文章对其他人，对新加坡及新加坡人的影响。

谢谢！

蓝润兴

Sent to 联合早报言论版 zbyanlun@sph.com.sg at 10.46am on 29/12/09.

Lebanon Syria Jordan Nov 2009

2009-12-06T18:59:00.022+08:00

Lebanon and Syria are in war with Israel all the time. But surprisingly, we could see no sign of war at all in both countries when we were there.
Lebanon is a more open country than Syria. There are McDonald's, Hard Rock Cafe and Buddha Bar in Beirut. I didn't see McDonald's in Damascus.
It is easy to get wine and beer in both countries but more difficult in Jordan. Lebanese wine is quite good.
Both Lebanon and Syria don't like America but they love to accept US dollars. 不喜欢美国喜欢美金。
There are 28 of us in the tour group from Universal Travel. I followed and listened to the tour guides all the time but ended up had to wait for some members of the group taking their own sweet time at each and every site for 15 to 30 minutes. Tour guides kept asking them to hurry up but they just couldn't be bother. They didn't feel bad for us who waited for them at all, not a word of sorry. All 3 tour guides were so unhappy with our Singapore group.
At the National Museum in Damascus, I was paying the toilet caretaker after using the toilet, I saw a member of our tour group dashed out of the toilet and heard the toilet caretaker shouted at him "Money, Money!", the tour member just pretended he did not hear it. This is the behaviour of Singaporean, Xiasui. I think next time when people see Singaporean coming, they will quickly lock up all the toilets.

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Mediteranean sea, Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Beirut, Lebanon

Lebanon Cedar Tree

Baalbeck, Lebanon

Baalbeck, Lebanon

Baalbeck, Lebanon

Knight Castle of Crac Des Chevaliers, Syria

Knight Castle of Crac Des Chevaliers, Syria

Knight Castle of Crac Des Chevaliers, Syria

Al Waleed Mosque, Homs, Syria

Water Wheels Norias, Hama, Syria

Water Wheels Norias, Hama, Syria

Palmyra, Syria

A Roadside Cafe, Syria

National Museum, Damascus, Syria

Omeyyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

Omeyyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

Omeyyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria

Restaurant in Damascus, Syria

Azem Palace, Damascus, Syria.

Kid's selling Top at Old Town of Damascus, Syria

Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Petra, Jordan

Amman, Jordan

Amman Citadel, Jordan

From Father to Son, the Prime Ministers of Singapore

2009-11-09T14:32:00.009+08:00

Singapore
The Current and 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore since 12 August 2004, Mr Lee Hsien Loong is the eldest son of the 1st Prime Minister (from 1959 to 1990), Mr Lee Kuan Yew.
By influence or by merit ? people questioned.
And what about the followings :

USA
John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was the sixth President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829. He was the son of the second President John Adams.

Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833 – March 13, 1901) was the 23rd President of the United States. He was a grandson of the ninth President of the United States William Henry Harrison.

George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He is the eldest son of George H. W. Bush (the 41st President).

India
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of Independent India.

Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter, Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi nee Nehru (19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was the Prime Minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984, a total of fifteen years. She was India's first and, to date, only female Prime Minister.

Rajiv Ratna Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991), the elder son of Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi, was the 7th Prime Minister of India from his mother's death on 31 October 1984 until his resignation on 2 December 1989 following a general election defeat. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office (at the age of 40).

Japan
Morihiro Hosokawa (細川護煕 Hosokawa Morihiro, born January 14, 1938) was the 79th Prime Minister of Japan from August 9,1993 to april 28, 1994. He is the grandson of former Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe.

Malaysia
Dato Seri Mohd. Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (born July 23, 1953) is the sixth and current Prime Minister of Malaysia. He is the son of Malaysia's second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak.

Singapore - from 3rd world to 1st world to LOST world

2009-11-09T09:48:00.005+08:00

Someone forwarded the article below from one Mr Cheong of Vancouver to me :
Singapore - from 3rd world to 1st world to LOST world
It has been 50 years since Singapore has been governed by the PAP under the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. Is Singapore better off now than it was 50 years ago?

The answer from most baby boomers is that it is worse. Despite all the gains in materialism and wealth in the country, the majority of the aging population is feeling no better than five decades ago. Many are stressed out by the anxieties of the absence of a dignified retirement plan, the affordability of healthcare and the uncertain future for their children.

Fifty years ago, Singapore was a British Colony under British rule. The majority of the population neither liked nor disliked the British. They had no opinion and took it as part of life. During the colonial days, most of the population then were born to accept that the white people were superior. The population then were mostly poor working class, lost without direction and living from day to day.

Fast forward fifty years to present day Singapore and we find the majority of the aging population also neither like nor dislike the PAP and can't do anything about it. Most of them were born to accept that the "Men in White" are superior. The PAP has over the years designed policies and safe guards to ensure that the party remains in power indefinitely. The indiscriminate use of the ISD, rezoning of constituencies, formation of GRCs, monopoly of the mass media and liberal use of defamation lawsuits against opponents practically destroyed all oppositions. The aging population are generally poor, lost without direction and like the population fifty years ago, living from day to day, praying that their savings will be adequate for a decent retirement.

To PAP's credit, during the past fifty years,the old guards of the PAP and MM Lee manage to bring Singapore from an improvised third world country to the first world status.. I remembered I was then living in a small rented room in a Chinatown shop-house with only one kitchen, one make shift bathroom and one pull out bucket toilet. The shop-house was shared with 4 other families with a total of 22 occupants. Within fifteen years I was able to buy a 5 room HDB apartment and own a car. For that I was grateful to the PAP, especially the old guards.
Back then in the seventies, Singapore was bustling with economic activities brought about by Dr. Goh Keng Swee, then Deputy Prime Minister, who led the Singapore industrial revolution. For the next few decades, Singapore was hailed by the world as an economic miracle . A country without natural resources and yet able to propel itself from 3rd world status to 1st world status with one of the highest per capita in Asia. The country achieved so many "Number Ones", i.e. No 1 airport, No.1 container port, No.1 airline, etc, etc. that I lost count. We were proud as citizens of Singapore. We were proud of the PAP and we were proud of MM Lee. Many of us would have died for the country and him. MM Lee would have left a great legacy for generations to remember.

Ironically the past two decades had eroded that admiration. The addiction of absolute power has made MM Lee developed a deep craze to perpetuate his control of Singapore. It was no longer our country. Singapore has become his country, his personal property. Our pledge for justice and equality for all is only but an aspiration according to him. To MM Lee, only he and the PAP can effectively govern Singapore. All others outside of PAP with opposing views are treated as Public Enemies. Under the disguise of self renewal and recruiting new blood, the entire group of old guards were retired except for himself. He brought in young bureaucrats, technocrats, and scholars who will obey and above all fear him without questions.

This dream team and MM Lee initiated a series of social engineering. MM Lee's dream is to create a perfect society based on meritocracy. There will be no room for complacency. He wants Singaporeans to be the best of the best. In the process of social engineering, Singapore becomes a nanny state where the government dictates to its citizens what, how and when to do in every minute aspect of their lives. The ideal dreams of the ordinary citizens turned to nightmares. The citizens are hard pressed to perform to the government's requirements.

The education system was revamped time and again to filter and segregate the slow learners from the ordinary and the brightest students at a young age. The brightest students are given the best education, priorities and scholarships with promise of top government jobs and top salaries upon completion of their studies. These super students are primed to be future leaders of the country. The slow learners and the ordinary students are thrown to the lower rungs of the food chain.

The numerous new education policies cause panic amongst parents who do not want their children to be labeled as slow learners or mentally challenged. There is a huge surge for private tuition whereby children are forced to endure hours of extra studies to keep up or be one step ahead of the others in their pursuit of academic excellence. The joy and happiness of growing up as children was robbed. There was no time for children to be simply children. The segregation system is based on an unscientific assumption that if students do not perform well in examinations, they will not do well in all aspects of their lives.

Maids are hired by almost every household in order for parents and children to devote more time to studies. The repercussion of the overuse of maids results in a generation of children not knowing how to do simple chores like boiling water, washing dishes, cleaning, hanging a picture frame, change a tyre, etc. Few children learn or do anything outside of textbooks. The children are simply not street smart.

Perhaps the biggest mistake was the "STOP AT TWO" or "Two is Enough" campaign where citizens were encouraged to stop at only having two children by curtailing all medical benefits and educational privileges of the third child. The successful campaign resulted in a sharp drop in birth rate and a mass exodus of emigrants who have more than two children. Even more severe repercussions surfaced two decades later resulting in the present huge influx of more than one million "Foreign Talents", mainly from China and India.

Just when the local citizens thought that they have met the worst by working as janitors, food courts cleaners and other low paying jobs, they are now challenged by foreign talents from China and India who are prepared to work for less. This challenge now spread to include regular higher paying jobs like engineers, surveyors, healthcare workers, etc. which are traditionally held by local born Singaporeans. Companies are openly advertising and recruiting the new foreign talents in preference to the locals. The reason being that companies need to stay competitive and be more profitable. New immigrants or foreign talents are not burdened by national service and reservist duty which put additional cost to the companies. Furthermore, new immigrants are willing and able to work for less pay and longer hours since most of them come to Singapore by themselves and have no family obligations like the locals.

The entire working environment is working against the local born Singaporeans. All of a sudden they have become strangers in their own land. The country they have sworn to protect has betrayed them. In desperate times like this, when help and reassuring words from the government should be forth coming, instead the local Singaporeans receive advice telling them to lower their expectations. This only add insult to injury. What the dream team and high salaried ministers fail to understand is that the people cannot go lower than low. Just try to survive on a salary of $2,000 a month or less with a family, then maybe they may understand the plight of the average Singaporeans.

For those frustrated Singaporeans who wants to emigrate to other countries to escape their present hopeless predicament, they are walking into another brick wall.
Unknown to most of them, new emigrants to countries like Australia and Canada are also foreign talents who have recently obtained their Singapore citizenship. It must be heart breaking for locals to find out that even the last escape route from their desperate predicament is being challenged by foreign talents who use Singapore as a stepping stone.

There are potential problems looming on the horizon with this huge influx of foreign talents, permanent residents and newly minted Singaporeans. The total number is between 1.6 million to 2 million people under these categories. These people have no allegiance to the country. Their allegiance is to money. If they do not get employment, they will not get the money to send back to their countries to help their families. The local born Singaporeans are largely of the "kaisu and kaisi" non-violent type who only complain but continue to vote in the same government election after election. However, the new immigrants are more vocal and hostile. These people will not be easily intimidated and bullied by the authority. The threat of jail to them is like going to a holiday camp with free food and shelter. They have endured much harsher penalties and hardships in their own countries. They are battle hardened and not afraid of dying.

If these people do go on protest riots, it will be a security nightmare. Logistically, the police does not have enough manpower to cope with such numbers. Singapore has less than 10,000 regular policemen. Each policeman has to deal with 200 violent protesters. No matter how efficient the policemen are, it is an impossible task even if the reservist NS are called in to help. On the assumption that these people are contained, there are simply not enough jails to lock them in. Changi Prison will have to be increased at least one hundred times in size. The government has only one solution and that is to keep them constantly employed to maintain peace.

So when it comes to the question of whether Singapore is better now than it was 50 years ago, should we be surprised at the answer?

Cheong Wing Lee
North Vancouver, BCCanada.

My reply to Mr Cheong is as below :
In 1959, when Singapore gained self-governance, its GDP per capita was $400. In 2008, IMF report of GDP (nominal) per capita showed Singapore in 22nd position of $38,972, higher than Japan and Hong Kong. Mr Cheong Wing Lee's Canada is at 18th position of $45,085.

According to Mercer's Quality of Living global city rankings 2009, the best 25 cities to live in are cities of Europe, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Mr Cheong Wing Lee's Vancouver ranked 4th, Karin's Copenhagen 11th, and Singapore is 26th, top in Asia. The top US city is Honolulu in 29th position. 2nd best Asia city is Tokyo in 35th position and Ian's best UK city is London in 38th position.

Singapore top the City infrastructure ranking of the world. Copenhagen 3rd, Vancouver is 6th and London 8th. According to a global survey conducted by Gallup, Singapore has the highest PNMI (Potential Net Migration Index, number of people who wish to leave the country permanently subtracted from number of people who wish to immigrate to the country) in the world. Canada is 4th, Australia 5th, UK 10th and US 12th.
If you don't like to live in Singapore, many people will like to take your place.

Congratulations Mr Cheong Wing Lee, your Canada is in many ways a better country than Singapore. But Singapore is not bad at all and is much better than 50 years ago. How many Asian countries are better than Singapore other than those Ang Moh countries ?

Mr Cheong commented on Internal Security Act used in Singapore. Mind you, this is a British Act inherited by Singapore and it is also used by Malaysia. If you think ISA is bad, what about Guantamano Bay ? And what about Myanmar ?

I think the education system in Singapore is not bad. Otherwise, there won't be so many overseas students studying in Singapore. Some US schools have also started using Singapore text books too. As to the slow learners, many have been very successful in their own area of professions even though they are not good academically. Are there much more opportunities in other Asia countries for school dropout than Singapore ?

On foreign talents, I think they are great. They created competition to lazy Singaporeans. As the result of foreign talents, there are a lot more choices for Singaporeans. Example, many restaurants with different types of food are operated by these foreign talents, as the result I have more choices for food now.

Can someone forward my comment to Mr Cheong Wing Lee whose name is also linked with Lee ?

My friend Quah wrote :
Tony, the article you forwarded to me by one Cheong Wing Lee, who criticised the Singaporen government unashamedly, has received a response from a patriotic Singaporean which you can read below. The writer was unable to respond to Mr. Cheong directly and has requested that his reply be forwarded to Mr. Cheong. From his knowledge of Singapore, it seems to me that Mr. Cheong is a Singaporean emigrant in Canada. While this "civil war" of words is on the cards, where does that leave the rest of us Malaysians? The Patriotic Singaporean's response did not contain one iota of statistic to show that Malaysia is anywhere in the League of Comfort. But we know where our country stands as enough has been published everywhere in the blogosphere about the state of the Malaysian politics, economics and society. Perhaps Patriotic Singaporean has done us a favour by not mentioning anything about Malaysia. Even if he does there will be no defenders as there is nothing to defend.

Jiuzhaigou 九寨沟 1009

2009-11-05T14:12:00.013+08:00

黄山归来不看山，九寨归来不看水

英雄所见略同

Silk Road 0909

2009-10-08T13:09:00.025+08:00

Weather was good in September, train journey was comfortable, hotel rooms were also nice and spacious. No complains on food either.
As the Singapore travel agent has good connection with the Chinese authorities there, the CEOs of Tourist Boards of Turpan 吐鲁番 and Urumqi 乌鲁木齐 hosted dinners for us even.
Urumqi was a surprise to me, I thought it is quite underdeveloped, but actually it is a modern city much better than JB (apology to my Malaysian friends, but it is the fact).
Overall, it was a good trip.

成都金沙博物馆

成都金沙博物馆

成都金沙博物馆-太阳神鸟金饰

五星旗下的面包新语

中国 KFC 的嫩牛五方肉嫩多汁，好吃！中国 KFC 还有北京鸭，虾堡和虾球。

成都机场

西安机场

西安的酒吧一条街- 德福街

好高兴看到西安的东方大酒店张挂布条欢迎我们。岂知后来重复见到此布条好几回。原来是新加坡华运旅行社自己挂的。

西安大雁塔

杨贵妃出浴的华清宫

秦始皇兵马俑

秦始皇兵马俑

秦始皇兵马俑

西安钟楼

兰州拉面

兰州拉面

黄河真得是黄的。大桥就是黄河第一大桥。

黄河母亲塑像

长城西起嘉峪关东到上海关。这就是嘉峪关。

敦煌夜市。

兰州水车园

葡萄美酒夜光杯的夜光杯。

敦煌的鸣沙山

敦煌的月牙泉

敦煌的鸣沙山

敦煌的莫高窟

吐鲁番的火焰山

吐鲁番的葡萄

吐鲁番的葡萄

吐鲁番

吐鲁番餐馆

吐鲁番的交河故城

羊群- 导游说走路屁股上下摆动的是公的，屁股左右摆动的是母的。

现代化的乌鲁木齐市

乌鲁木齐旅游局

乌鲁木齐的酒吧一条街- 公园北路

乌鲁木齐南山牧场

天山天池

天山天池

Inagiku 29.8.09

2009-08-30T15:34:00.010+08:00

See the nude sushi girl behind ?
有没看到后面那寿司裸女？

Zoom in
放大

KL 0809 吉隆坡 0809

2009-08-25T14:42:00.011+08:00

Petronas Twin Towers
吉隆坡双峰塔

Club near KLCC
KLCC 附近的酒吧

KLCC

KLCC

Oh my God !

2009-08-24T10:27:00.015+08:00

Extracts from PM's National Day Rally speech :

One side insists: 'I'm doing God's work.' The other side says: 'I'm doing my God's work.' Both sides say: 'I cannot compromise. These are absolute imperatives.' The result will be a clash between different religious groups which will tear us apart.

Aggressive preaching - proselytisation. You push your own religion on others, you cause nuisance and offence. We hear, from time to time, complaints about groups trying to convert very ill patients in our hospitals, who don't want to be converted, and who don't want to have the private difficult moments in their lives intruded upon.

Intolerance is another problem - not respecting the beliefs of others or not accommodating others who belong to different religions.

Sometimes we have parents from traditional religions whose children have converted. The parents have asked to be buried according to traditional rites and their children stay away from the funeral or the wake. It's very sad. From a traditional point of view, it's the ultimate unfilial act but it does happen occasionally.

The way the Government looked at one recent issue, AWARE:
what worried us was that this was an attempt by a religiously motivated group who shared a strong religious fervour to enter civil space, take over an NGO it disapproved of, and impose their agenda. It was bound to provoke a push back from groups that held the opposite view, which indeed happened vociferously and stridently.

how I felt :
whenever you tried to push your religion onto me, I felt very disturbed. Many would feel the same as I did. So, please don't force.

Thanks to SPH

2009-07-27T10:40:00.006+08:00

NKF
There was feedback given to the relevant authorities but no action was taken until SPH revealed the unlawful practices of NKF. From there investigations showed more charitable organisations involved in malpractices of the public donated money including the recent modern monk's case. Thanks to SPH.

Brookes Business School
Relevant authority was informed 2 years ago of Brookes Business School giving out fake degree but it was lightly dealt with until The Straits Times reported the case recently. Thanks to SPH again.
It was also reported that Brookes did not purchase full insurance for their students and did not handout the policies to them.
I checked with my friend who is studying in a private school here. She too did not receive the policy from her school.
I wonder how many more private schools are doing this ? can the relevant authorities carry out a thorough check on our private schools like what it was done to the charitable organisations ?

Temasek Holdings' Unresolved Strategic Differences

2009-07-24T11:38:00.013+08:00

I wrote in February in my blog I was so glad to learn that our PM's wife, Ho Ching would leave Temasek Holdings from 1 Oct 2009 and Mr Goodyear would take over her place as the new CEO.
No reason was given for her intended departure but later I learned that she had lost S$58 billions of our money away. I wondered how much did she get in her bonus for making such a huge loss of our money ? I wrote to ask but got no reply.
Then 2 days ago Temasek Holdings gave a shocking announcement that Mr Goodyear would not take over Ms Ho Ching place and she would continue her CEO post after Oct 2009.
Reason given for Mr Goodyear's shock exit was 'Unresolved strategic differences'.
As the CEO-designate, I wounder who dared to have differences with him ? surely it has to be someone on par or above him, who can heshe be ?
So family business continues in Singapore. This is not nepotism but just that others outside the family are still not good enough.

Hokkaido n Tokyo - 28 June to 7 July 2009 北海道加东京 - 零九年七月

2009-07-13T21:01:00.051+08:00

Went with Chan Brothers to Hokkaido in a group of 30.
I had been to Hokkaido but it was in the winter during Sapporo Snow Festival in Feb 1995.
This time it was in the summer. Weather was good at max 28°C.
Though Lavender was still not fully blossomed yet, we managed to see its beauty.
Hotels were good especially those Japanese style ryokan provided good hot spring bath and good traditional Japanese meal.
I really enjoyed the food in this trip. Kobe beef, Hokkaido crab, Otoro, Sushi, Hokkaido Ramen and etc.
Not much to shop in Hokkaido but we did well in Tokyo.
We extended our trip in Tokyo for 4 days 3 nights. Stayed in Sunroute Shinjuku. It was just opposite the South Gate of Shinjuku JR station, very convenient.
We arrived in Tokyo on Saturday morning. Started shopping immediately upon arrival. Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya were packed with shoppers on Saturday and Sunday.
Also had a hair cut in Harajuku.
It was a great trip.

Arrival in Tokyo Narita Airport connecting flight to Hokkaido
东京成田机场乘内陆班机往北海道

Arrival in Sapporo, Hokkaido
抵达了北海道的札幌

Hokkaido Crab for Lunch
午餐北海道蟹

Plus Sushi
加寿司

After lunch, had a P with a good view of Sapporo
餐后尿尿间鸟览札幌

Sapporo TV Tower
札幌电视塔


Sapporo City
札幌市

Visit Hokkaido Temple
再到北海道神社拜拜

Temple girls
醉翁之意不在酒？

Lavender Garden
薰衣草花园

Sounkyo
层云峡

Hello Boss ! Apple please.
老板你好！请赏我个苹果。

Hot Spring Resort Town, Noboribetsu
温泉小镇-登别

Hell Valley Geyser
地狱谷間歇泉

Get Ready for Hot Spring Bath
准备好要去泡温泉澡了

Time for Japanese Sake
澡后最好来杯日本清酒

Place for Good Sake, Otokoyama Sake Brewery
借问酒家何处有，男山酒厂

And a Good Ramen ？
再来个拉面如何？

Shopping for Omiyage Presents.
买点手信回家。

Arrival in Shinjuku, Tokyo
抵达日本购物最棒的地方-东京新宿

Shibuya
涩谷

Shopping in Harajuku

原宿购物街

Green Tea or Wasabi Ice-Cream ?

绿茶或芥末冰淇淋？

LV Harajuku

原宿LV

Prada Harajuku

原宿Prada

Roppongi

六本木

A Little Edo Time of Ginza
一点点江户时期的银座

Bye Bye Tokyo - Narita Airport

拜拜东京-成田机场

Holland 0409 荷兰 0409

2009-05-01T19:46:00.013+08:00

Went with Five Stars. A big group of 50 pax.
Main attraction for this trip was Keukenhof, the World best place to see tulips.
Went to Kroller-Muller Museum half and hour b4 it closed. Managed to see some of Van Gogh's works. Regrettably, did not have time to visit Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
Also did not visit Rotterdam but just there for dinner.
The guide in Amsterdam was good. A Singaporean, very funny.

Traditional Dutch Windmill
传统荷兰风车

Mordern Windmill
摩登风车

Sea of Flowers
花海

Keukenhof Garden
库肯霍夫公园

Keukenhof Garden
库肯霍夫公园

Dutch Wooden Shoes
荷兰木鞋

Amsterdam
阿姆斯特丹

Rotterdam
鹿特丹

Kroller-Muller Museum with Van Gogh.
梵高与我Kroller-Muller 博物馆

Keukenhof Garden
库肯霍夫公园

Workum

沃卡姆

Sun Bathing-Workum

日光浴-沃卡姆

Keukenhof Garden
库肯霍夫公园

Atomium Brussels

布鲁塞尔原子塔

manneken pis-Brussels

布鲁塞尔撒尿小童

Amsterdam Piss
阿姆斯特丹撒尿老童

Posters Help Piss Fast n Accurate

海报助尿尿快而准

Shanghai 0309 上海0309

2009-05-01T19:45:00.021+08:00

Pudong
外滩眺浦东

World Financial Center in Pudong
浦东环球金融中心

Bund Tunnel
外滩隧道

Old n New
新与老

Yuyuan
豫园

Yuyuan
豫园

Yuyuan Night
豫园夜景

Gathering Place for Artists-Tian Zi Fang
艺术家集聚之地 - 田子坊


Very Delicious Ah Niang Noodle. Waited 40 min. Worth it.
阿娘面很好吃，排了40分钟，值得！

Shanghai Maglev- The world fastest public transport on road. Max Speed @430 km per hr. 世界最快陆路公共交通，上海磁浮最快车速每小时430公里。

Hansan Temple
月落乌啼霜满天，江枫渔火对愁眠，姑苏城外寒山寺

Hansan Temple
夜半钟声到客船

Suzhou
苏州

Suzhou Garden
苏州花园

Suzhou Boats
苏州过后无艇搭

Easternl Venice
东方威尼斯

Wuzhen
乌镇

WuzhenWater Village
水乡乌镇

Chinese Novelist Mao Dun's House
茅盾故居

Making Maltose
制作麦芽糖

West Lake
西湖

West Lake
西湖一角

Hangzhou Mei Jia Tea Garden
杭州梅家茶庄.

Nanjing Zhonghuaman
南京中华们古城堡

中
Nanjing Qin Huai River
南京秦淮河畔

Wuxi
无锡

Three Kingdoms Park
三国城

Three Kingdoms Park
三国城

Wuxi
无锡

Wuxi
无锡

Wuxi
无锡

Temasek holdings lost $39 billions last year

2009-02-10T20:34:00.006+08:00

Just read the news in CNN, and in CNN it's got to be US$ instead of S$. I was just in my earlier post said that Temasek has more than US $100 billions asset, and in one year it lost $39 billions. Nepotism kills. Who should be responsible ? Ho Ching and those who appointed her as CEO of Temasek?
No wonder she is running away !
I wonder how much bonuses did Temasek give out last year for the good job done for the lost of US$39 billion?

Ho Ching to Leave Temasek Holdings

2009-02-07T16:31:00.009+08:00

What a great news this is !

There were allegations of nepotism since she took over the job in 2002. If she was not married to our PM Mr Lee Hsien Loong, would she be appointed for the job as the CEO of Temasek Holdings which has an asset of over US$100 billions and is owned by the Singapore government ?

Already in 2007 Mr Lee Hsien Yang, our PM's brother had stepped down from Singtel which is majority owned by Temasek Holdings and now Ms Ho Ching is stepping down from Temasek Holdings from 1 Oct 2009, it makes Singapore a more democratic society.

What's next ? when is our PM Mr Lee Hsien Loong, son of Singapore's first PM Mr Lee Kuan Yew going to step down, so that the allegation of nepotism could be totally eliminated ?

Although it takes time, I hope to see Singapore becomes a more open and democratic country.

Morocco 摩洛哥 23 Jan - 1 Feb 2009

2009-02-04T16:33:00.018+08:00

Morocco is a good place to visit. A lot of things to see and people are generally friendly. You don't get harassed like in Egypt.

Though it is a Muslim country, it is quite open, can get wine and beer easier than the US. Morocco actually produces wine and beer. A bottle of Moroccan red wine may cost as little as S$5 in supermarket.

Food is fine but when you eat the same thing everyday, you get sick of it.

Weather was still a little cold at around 4ºC in Jan.

Dubal Airport

Casablanca 卡萨布兰卡

Rabat 拉巴特

Meknes 梅克内斯

Moulay Idriss City 穆莱伊德里斯市

Roman City of Volubilis

Fez

Marrakech

Findland 芬兰 1208

2009-01-07T13:20:00.017+08:00

X'Mas in Finland, cold but not so bad, it was not less than -5ºC through out our trip.

Just like the weather, my impression of the Finnish People is that they are also very cold.

Just when people told me that the pictures I took in my last 2 trips to Canadian Rockies and Bhutan were very nice, the pictures I took in this trip to Finland were a disappointment, blamed it on the cold weather.

This is not the only disappointment, the optional tour for Ice Breaker Cruise was cancelled and also no Northern Lights seen, again, blamed it on the weather.

The tour to Tallinn, capital of Estonia was also cancelled, this time blamed it to not enough time.

Anyway, not all were negative, I crossed the Artice Circle, rode a snow mobile, a reindeer sledge & a dog sledge, drank in an Ice bar, all of these were my first time.

X'Mas scene in Porvoo town, 50km east of Helsinki.

Every house was decorated for X'Mas.

Beautiful scene of wooden houses by the river of Provoo.

Central Station of Helsinki

2 men carry lanterns standing by the entrance of Helsinki Central Station.

Shopping Centre in the city of Helsinki.

Igoo (snow house) in Saariselka.

Snowmobile

Snow scene of Lappland from a window.

Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi.

Santa Claus Office in the building behind me. His job is too take photo with tourists at 25 euro per photo. The blue line hanging in the air marks the boundary line of Artic Circle.

Just to indicate how far it is from here to Singapore, 9394km.

Helsinki Cathedral in Senate Square.

Esplanade Park of Helsinki.

X'Mas eve in Turku, the oldest city in Finland.

Bhutan 不丹, Darjeeling 大吉岭, Sikkim 锡金, Kolkata 加尔各答 (Calcutta), 1-16 Oct 2008

2008-10-17T09:51:00.042+08:00

Bhutan 不丹


Tiger's Nest

Thimphu Tshechu Festival

Monks at Gaming Table

Folk Heritage Museum

Some of the 108 Stupas at Dochu La Mountain Pass

View from Dochu La Mountain Pass

Wangdue Dzong

Punakha Dzong

All of us made it to Tiger's Nest

Our Lunch wrapped with colourful cloths

Town Centre of Paro

Darjeeling 大吉岭

SpiceJet arriving in Bagdogra

Darjeeling Tea Ladies

Sikkim 锡金

View of Himalayas snow peaks

Tsongo Lake

Gangtok

Zero Point

Kolkata 加尔各答

They seem to like the colonial days very much, they just stopped there and not moving forward.

他们好像很怀念殖民地时代，停留在那个时代到现在都没多大改变。

DrukAir of Bhutan Arriving in Kolkata

Where they live

Transport

Waste Management

Water

Entertainment

Seen such charcoal iron before ?

Ganges River

New Market

Letter Boxes

Children

Indian Museum

Shopping Centre

Mother Teresa's Tomb

Mother Teresa's Children Home

Our driver told us that in order to be admitted to Mother Teresa's Homes, one needs to convert from Hinduism to Catholic.

我们的司机说，要进入德雷莎修女的收容所，必须放弃兴都教改信天主教。

Chinese Restaurent in China Town

Alaska 阿拉斯加

2008-09-29T13:44:00.017+08:00

1st time-Whale Watch, Juneau.

1st time taking a seaplane- for bear watch at Neets Bay of Ketchikan.

Salmon swimming upstream.
Salmons swim back to their original stream to breed and lay their eggs. After spawning they generally die within a week, fertilizing the stream and creating a nutrient-rich environment for the new infant salmon that are about to hatch.

Dolly's House Museum, Ketchikan
The pale green house was Ketchikan’s most infamous brothels in its day. Operated by Madam Dolly Arthur. “Big Dolly” plied her trade in Ketchikan for more than 30 years. The government closed down the bawdy houses in 1953. Dolly lived in Ketchikan until her death in 1975. Today, Dolly’s House looks much like it did, complete with fixtures, furnishings and an “Employment Application” posted in the window.

Our ship-Island Princess docked at Juneau.

The Atrium Plaza of Island Princess.

My Branch on the tables of my cabin

My Balcony

1st time-Glacier Trek in Juneau

Downtown Juneau, capital of Alaska.

White Pass & Yukon Route rail road, Skagway

Scene from the train

Scene from the train

Liarsville Gold Rush Trail Camp

Gold Rush Brothel-Red Onion, Skagway

Red Onion, Skagway

Skagway Town

Old Train Model for White Pass, Skagway.

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay

College Fjold

Road from Whittier to Anchorage

On the way from Whittier to Anchorage

Road from Whittier to Anchorage

Native Heritage Centre-Anchorage

Native Heritage Centre-Anchorage

Anchorage Town

Vancouver and Canandian Rokies 温哥华和加拿大硌矶山脉

2008-09-28T17:06:00.013+08:00

Sulphur Mountain, Banff

Last Spike, Kamploops

Columbia Icefield

Ride on Ice Explorer to Glacier

Banff Town

Sulphur Mountain, Banff

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

Sulphur Mountain

View of Lake Louise from Fairmont Hotel

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

View from Fairmont at Lake Louise

View from Fairmont at Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Lake Louise

Fruit Orchard in Kelowna

Fruit Orchard in Kelowna

Vineyard at Okanagan

Kelowna

Richmond

Vancouver China Town

Vancouver

谁来制裁美国？

2008-08-20T09:18:00.007+08:00

蔡良乾（联合早报 2008-08-18 ）

　　美国两次攻打和占领伊拉克，油价月前被炒到每桶将近150美元，没有油藏和储蓄，又不会理财的少数贫困国家接下来可能发生经济危机和动乱。
　　一年来，美国的次级房屋贷款风暴吹遍全球各大银行，英美的排队挤提和银根吃紧至今已挤倒了至少四家英美资银行，德国和丹麦个倒了一家。美国有些借贷过多而卖不出房屋的屋业发展商和资金周转不灵的建筑公司已经倒闭，金融业的展望和经济前景悲观，世界陷入经济大萧条并非不可能。
　　美国政府领导人已经公认这是30年代大萧条以来最严重的经济危机。新加坡大华银行行长黄祖耀说他从事银行业半个世纪以来，从没有看过这么严重的情况。世界各大银行至今到底已经输了到多少钱，总数到现在也还算不出来。
…………………………………………………………………………………………

自从90年代初，柏林围墙被推倒和前苏维埃社会主义共和国联盟（苏联）解体后，全球已经失去东西方互相制衡的局面，美国在全球越来越横行霸道。在金融市场也是一样胡作非为，投资银行家把次级房贷包装成一篮篮的鸡蛋，推销到亚洲和欧洲的金融界。
　　发生事情后，这些银行打开这些外观美丽的鸡蛋篮后，才发现里面多是臭鸡蛋。这些臭鸡蛋被包装成对冲基金或各种名堂的投资工具，害惨了很多亚欧的银行和小户投资者，导致人心惶惶，纷纷要求换为现金，或抛售银行股票和排队挤提存款。
…………………………………………………………………………………………
　　
总之，这笔糊涂账到什么时候才能理清，至今还是个未知数。后果会严重到什么地步也不容易说清楚，但是，油价和其他原产品涨价所带动的物价飞涨，已经造成通货膨胀加剧，民生会越来越困难。
　　美国最会制裁别人，今天打了伊拉克，明天又要制裁伊朗和朝鲜，等一下又要对付缅甸……但是，美国难道没有做错事吗？美国做错事就不必受到制裁吗？不过，今天在美国独霸天下的局面下，谁来制裁美国？美资银行留下的这个烂摊子，谁来负责收拾？
　　在这种不稳定的局面下投资股市和汇市，或任何基金，都要十分小心。千万不能拿退休的老本去当赌注。在经济展望难以预测的情况下，我们惟有独善其身，才能自保。
　　
·作者为退休新闻工作者

Olympic Medals 奥运奖牌

2008-08-19T13:15:00.016+08:00

PM said population of China (1.31billions) is 300 times larger than Singapore (4.49millions), so when they get 300 Olympic medals we then have a chance to get one.

But what about Jamaica and New Zealand ?

Jamaica with only 2.76 million people have already won 2 gold and 2 silver medals, including the titles of the fastest man and woman in the world, and expecting to get more. (Eventually they won 11 medals with 6 gold)

New Zealand with 4.08 million people (less than singapore) have won 6 medals, 2 Gold 1 Silver and 3 Bronze. (Eventually they won 9 medals with 3 gold)

Someone said our swimmer Tao Li did not get a medal because she is physically small as compare to other White Swimmers.
But what about Japanese swimmer Kosuke Kitajima ? he is so much smaller than other white swimmers but he has won 4 golds medals in 2 Olympics.

Anymore excuse ?

李总理说中国人口（十三亿）比新加坡人口（四百四十九万）多了300倍，所以当他们拿了300面奥运奖牌，我们才有机会拿一面奖牌。

但牙买加只有两百七十六万人口却拿了两面金牌两面银牌,包括世界上跑的最快的男女荣衔。相信他们还会赢得更多奖牌。 (他们最终赢得11面奖牌，其中6面是金牌)

而新西兰只有四百零八万人口（比新加坡少）却已赢得了六面奖牌，二金一银和三铜。 (他们最终赢得9面奖牌，其中3面是金牌)

有人说我们的女泳手陶李没得奖牌是因为她的个子比其他欧美选手小。
看看日本男泳手北島康介,他的个子比其他欧美选手小了许多但他却在两届奥运那了四面金牌。

还有什么籍口？

西藏游的一件不愉快的事

2008-08-06T10:44:00.013+08:00

我把在西藏游经历的一件不愉快的事投稿新加坡联合早报。内容如下：

吃了牛肉还要人赔钱
联合早报交流站2008年8月6日

7月中旬随本地旅行社到西藏一游。由于我们是在314事件之后到达西藏的第一批外国旅行团之一，在那里受到非常好的接待。但是有一天中午，在吃午餐时却发生了一件不愉快的事。

在游完布达拉宫之后，我们在拉萨市的一间餐馆用午餐。由于有些团员是信佛教不吃牛肉的，领队向餐馆交代说不要上牛肉。但不知怎么的，餐馆却给每桌上了一盘干炒牛河。

和我同桌有一位60来岁的新加坡团员也是一位不吃牛肉的佛教徒。可他连牛肉是怎么样的都看不出来，大口大口的吞食。当有人和他说是那是牛肉之后，他马上把盘里的牛河往桌上一倒，然后大发雷霆，要求餐馆赔偿。

餐馆的服务员和经理出来道歉都无济于事，后来这位新加坡人说：“我吃了三块牛肉，一块赔我一百人民币，三块赔三百。”没办法，女服务员流着眼泪自己拿了三百块赔给他，在大家的注视下，他也心安理得的把钱放进袋里。然后还说，“幸好我没吃五块，不然你就要赔五百了。”

同桌一位女士对他说，把钱拿来捐作慈善也好。他回答说这是他应得的，为什么要捐出来？

我就坐在他旁边，我在想，拿了三百块，吃了牛肉就没事了吗？我很想拿三百块给那位服务员，但又担心这位仁兄会发更大脾气而没这么做。

领队是中国人，他在他的部落格（博客）写道：“我接触新加坡人近十年了，这是我见到最令人恶心的人了。”

在这里我想请教读者朋友们，如果你碰上这样的情况，你会怎么做呢？怎样能使这些人不丢新加坡的脸呢？

交流站站长的话：

不小心违反教规吃了牛肉固然不幸，但怎能向无辜的餐馆女服务员索取300元人民币“赔款”呢？难道这样做就符合教规吗？相信读者们读了蓝俊显君的来函所讲的这则真人真事，必定会为那位“丑陋”的同胞感到羞愧不已。他确实丢尽了新加坡游客的脸。对于这样的国人，同行者其实应该见义勇为，出面苛责或主持公道才对。

就在今早十一点多的时候，新加坡的一个中文电台，丽的呼声也把此故事说给他的听众听了。

这样的同胞令人汗颜

联合早报（2008-08-08）
翁益华

　　读了《吃了牛肉还要人赔钱》一文，对文中所提那位60来岁不吃牛肉的佛教徒，因吃了干炒牛河，而要女服务员流着眼泪拿了三百块赔给他，在大家的注视下，他也心安理得的把钱放进袋里。然后还说，“幸好我没吃五块，不然你就要赔五百了。”如此行为，令人怀疑他是个虔诚的佛教徒？

　　我想，一般佛教徒大概都不会做出如此有悖常理的举动，吃三块牛肉要人家赔三百，占了便宜还卖乖，简直不可理喻。令人遗憾的是，竟然没有人能见义勇为出来加以指责，让新加坡人丢脸丢到外国去。还让中国的领队在他的博客中写道：“我接触新加坡人近十年了，这是我见到最令人恶心的人了。”

　　我为这样的同胞感到汗颜。

Tibet 0708 西藏

2008-07-29T21:17:00.025+08:00

We are one of the first batches of foreign tour groups to Tibet after the 314 riot. Weather was fine other than a little rain but most importantly it was not crowded. We could take our time to visit all sites.
We received special welcome party at the airport by tour company, dinner hosted by the Mayor of Lhasa and interviewed by CCTV.
On the way to our dinner one day, along Beijing Dong Lu, we saw many buildings that were burned during the 314 incident. We were not allowed to take pictures. Our Tibetan tour guide commented that a true buddhist would not do this sort of thing.
我们是自314事件后最先到达拉萨的外国旅行团之一。除了点小雨之外，天气还算不错。由于游客不多，我们可以从容的游览个名胜.
我们也得到当地旅游公司在机场的特别接待，献哈达和献花。拉萨市长为我们设了个晚宴，中国中央电视台也访问了我们的领队和团员。
有一晚，在去餐馆的路上，在北京东路，我们看到了314事件中被烧毁的许多屋子，我们都不准拍照。我们的藏族导游感慨的说，真正的佛教徒是不会做出这种事的。

Beijing Airport 北京机场

Chengdu airport 成都机场

Lhasa airport 拉萨机场

Welcome party 欢迎队

Tibetan style building 藏式建筑

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Potala Palace 布达拉宫

Member being interviewed by CCTV 中国中央电视访问团员

Statue of Yak 牦牛塑像

Jokhang Temple 大昭寺

Jokhang Temple 大昭寺

Jokhang Temple 大昭寺

Jokhang Temple 大昭寺

Jokhang Temple 大昭寺

Barkhor Street 八廓街

Tibetan people in Barkhor Street 八廓街

Tibetan prayer in Barkhor Street 八廓街

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

Yangzhuoyong Lake 羊卓雍措

If the card pull Glacier 卡若拉冰川

Yarlung Zangbo River 雅鲁藏布江

Yarlung Zangbo River 雅鲁藏布江

Gyangze (Jiangzi ) Baiju Temple 江孜白居寺

Gyangze (Jiangzi ) Baiju Temple 江孜白居寺

Gyangze (Jiangzi ) Baiju Temple 江孜白居寺

Gyangze (Jiangzi ) Baiju Temple 100,000 pagoda 江孜白居寺十万佛塔

Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺

Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺

Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺

Tashilhunpo Monastery 扎什伦布寺

Tibetan butter 藏式酥油

Na Mucuo 纳木措

5190m above sea level 海拔5190米

View from train 冰山

Xi Ning airport 西宁机场

Tibetan children 藏族儿童

Yellow flowers of rape 油菜花

Labour Market in Xi Ning 西宁外劳市场

Xi Ning 西宁

Beijing Olympic Lane 北京奧林匹克专用道

"Nest" 鸟巢

CCTV Building 中国中央电视台

Beijing Xiushui Street Market 北京秀水街市场

Blurred Beijing Airport 朦朦的北京机场

Quiet Beijing Airport 静静的北京机场

Human Rights 人权

2008-07-12T12:14:00.001+08:00

Wikipedia defines human rights as the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled."
So what are the basic rights and freedoms ?
To me the basic rights and freedoms should be subjected to condition that they will not adversely affect other people. eg. one cannot walk in a crowded area swinging his arms freely as he will hit others.
So, should we allow people to have freedom to speech that will result in racial unrest ? Just saw a YouTube video titled "Buddhism is stupid and evil." You may think this guy has his right to express his view but in Singapore, we are a multi-racial, multi-religious society, we have gone through racial unrest and we do not think we should allow people such a right.
In the name of Human Rights, other countries should not impose upon Singapore to do things their way. Let us have our right to decide.
It is not just the government policy, it is the majority Singaporeans' agreement.

Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states :
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Sounds good, but why America attacked her brother Iraq ?

The Us detain prisoners captured in Afghanistan and currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba without giving them the right to be trial in court, you call this Human rights ?

If you go to the US, the way you are treated by the immigration and the custom, you will wonder how could these people criticise others on Human Rights ?

成语猜谜

2008-07-10T12:33:00.000+08:00

胡锦涛在八国峰会上说话 - 胡说八道。

Bangkok 0708 曼谷

2008-07-08T13:12:00.002+08:00

Went to Bangkok with Ken and friends on 30 June 2008. They were there attending a 2 days hair dressing course.
We stayed at Amari Watergate Hotel, nice 4* hotel and well located in busy and noisy downtown. At night we went drinking at RCA, Bed Supper Club, Hyatt Hotel and a local club Songsalueng at Thonglor 21, Sukhumvit 55. Bed was nice but need to produce passport. For guys covert charge is 600 bahts, ladies are free.
Ken and friends went to Pattaya after the course and I moved into Metropolitan Hotel next to Banyan Tree. It is a nice and quiet hotel located at business district. The room is very big and the service is excellent.
Went for a one day trip to Tiger Temple which was amazing to see so many tigers in such a close proximity. So glad to be able to take photos with the tigers.
Tried to book for a dinner at Sky Bar on 64 storey of State Tower but it was fully booked from Thursday till Sunday. So settled with Breeze on 52 storey of the same building. We sat at the open area of the restaurant. In my opinion, it is more beautiful than Sky Bar and it serves Asian food too. After dinner we moved up to Distil Bar on 64 storey to drink.
I think it is a better option to dine at Breeze and drink at Distil Bar later than dinning and drinking at Sky Bar.
On the whole it was a great trip.

Very nice Chicken Rice stall at Petchburi Road opposite Pratunam Complex. Open from 11am. Must try. Saw people carrying guide books there.
在Pratunam 带有古早味的鸡饭。生意很好。好多人拿着旅行指南找到那儿去。一定要去，十一点开门。

Highly recommended Zanotti Italian Restaurant at Sala Daeng Rd turned out to be a so so place in my opinion. It is cramped, my steak was disappointing. I will rate it at 6 out of 10.
在Sala Daeng出名的Zanotti 義大利餐馆。结果有点失望。

A simple local restaurant which is nice and cheap but have to queue.
便宜好吃的小食店。要排队哦！

Near Somtam restaurant. Another good restaurant with nice Thai food.
Siam Square 不错的泰国餐馆。

Reclining Buddha
好命佛-睡佛。

At Metropolitan Hotel. I like the idea of projecting a clock onto the wall
在我住的Metropolitan Hotel，把鐘投影在墙上，这idea不错。

Floating Market
水上人家

River Kwai Bridge
桂河桥

Hellfire Pass is the name of a railway cutting on the Death Railway in Thailand. It was built by the POWs of the Australian, British, Dutch and Indians. Majority of the railway had been destroyed by the Royal Air force during the war.
泰缅死亡铁路记念馆


Tiger Temple 虎虎大睡

虎光山色

Tiger Temple.
不入虎穴焉得虎子

Four Faces Buddha
东张西望，瞻前顾后的四面佛

When in Bangkok, must go to State Tower at night. might go Breeze on 52 storey for dinner then drink at Distil Bar or Sky Bar on On 64 storey. Night view of Bangkok is fantastic.
在曼谷，一定要去State Tower 看夜景。先去52楼的Breeze 吃饭，再去64楼的Sky Bar 喝酒看夜景。

The Palace
皇宫

I was not allowed to get into the Palace as I was in shorts. Forced to buy a pair of paints at 100 bahts (S$4) to get in. And I like the paints,
穿短裤不能进皇宫，结果买了条新币４块的裤子来穿。

The Palace 皇宫

New Suvarnabhumi Airport of Bangkok.　
曼谷新机场

Wong Can't Sink

2008-06-24T16:23:00.000+08:00

First, Mas Selamat's escape;
then, Escape bid by 2 detainees from the sub-court;
and now, Dad flies off using son's passport
He said : I have been reminding officers of the need for vigilance repeatedly after each lapse of human error. Obviously the message is not sinking in deep enough to the last man.
Too bad, Wong Can't Sink his message deep.
and do you believe Mas Selamat is still in Singapore ?
Guys, whatever you do, don't be the last man.

Read an email asking why when your maid run away, you are responsible and you will be fined $5,000. But when Mas Selamat ran away, the Minister got away with it ? Well ...

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, June 2008 南非，津巴布韋，博茨瓦納，

2008-06-23T15:37:00.002+08:00

South Africa :
South Africa is a beautiful place but with high crime rate. UN ranked South Africa second for assault and murder per capita and first for rapes per capita in the World. The unemployment rate is 40%, the housing loan interest rate is 15%. Companies are moving to other countries leaving many buildings in the city of Johannesburg empty. We are warmed not to step onto the street of Johannesburg city as it is not safe. Viewing the city from the coach, we saw no other race walking in the street of downtown Johannesburg but only the blacks.
Is it better now for the black people in current situation or then under apartheid rules ?

Zimbabwe :
Victoria Falls is very beautiful, it is a place not to be missed. However, Zimbabwe is another country in trouble. Do you know the exchange rate ?
1US Dollars=7 billion Zimbabwe dollars this morning and it is 8 billion now at night.

Botswana :
We did not see much of Botswana. Only at the boarder near Zimbabwe for game drive at Chobe National Park. However, according to Wikipedia, Since independence Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country with a per capita GDP of $16,450 in 2007.

Arrival at small Cape Town airport on 2nd June 2008. It was under extension work preparing for World Cup 2010.
为迎接2008年世界杯正在扩建開普敦机场

Beautiful place with slum
美丽云端下的貧民窟

Table Mountain. D place u must go when u visit Cape Town. D building is cable car station.
浮游云中的桌山索道站

View from Table Mountain.
曾经沧海难为水，除却桌山不是云

Proud Ostrich turned its head away when taking photo
鸟样

Victoria and Alfred Waterfront

Pub in Long Street

Harbour cruise

Another Slum

Spier Winery

Paid to visit this Cheetah but it pretended to be sleeping.

At least this eagle did not pretend to sleep

This is Seal Island but we saw Sea lions instead. Check Internet and found :
"earless seals (true seals, without ear flaps) and eared seals (sea lions, with ear flaps)"

Want to buy a house here ?

Penguin Island

Learned about this place since I was in primary school, Cape of Good Hope。

好望角。

Did you see it ? if not, click the photos. The signboard of this light house at Cape of Good Hope indicated that from this point to Singapore is 9667 KM.
好望角灯塔下的告板显示距离新加坡9667公里。

Lesedi Cultural Village

Bikini anyone ?

Lesedi Cultural Village

City of Johannesburg

Downtown Johannesburg. Did not see one other race but only Black.

D'oreale Grande Hotel at Johannesburg where we stayed.

See the menu ? click the photo. Zebra, Giraffe or Warthog ? did not try warthog but the other two, zebra was OK, giraffe was not very nice.

Game meat dinner

野餐，要斑馬肉还是長頸鹿肉?

Vic Falls Airport at Zimbabwe. Plane stopped right in front of the building and we just walked in.

Kingdom Hotel Zimbabwe

Kingdom Hotel Casino Zimbabwe

Rainbows and Victoria Falls

Victoria Falls

Hippo in Sunset

Arriving at Botswana, click the pic.

Impala (Antelope) in Chobe National Park of Botswana

Chobe National Park in Botswana

Chobe National Park in Botswana

Chobe National Park in Botswana

Kudu (Antelope) in Chobe National Park of Botswana

Chobe National Park in Botswana

Chobe National Park in Botswana

Sundown Ranch Lion Park

Sashimi beef dinner

The King in Lion Park, click the pic
唯我独尊

Entrance of The Lost City Palace Hotel

The Lost City Palace Hotel

View from the tower of Palace Hotel

Palace Hotel

The Lost City

Rhino in Pilanesberg National Park

Zebra in Pilanesberg National Park

Night Safari at Pilanesberg National Park

Sri Lanka 0508 斯里兰卡

2008-05-27T11:50:00.002+08:00

Arrival at the airport

Beach behind the hotel

Vesak day Decoration

Elephant Orphanage

Spa

Botanic Garden

Botanic Garden

A temple

Vesak Day Decoration at Hotel

Roadside Museum

This building purposely built like this ?

Tea Plantation

Building

Tea Factory Hotel which is built like a Tea Factory

Grand Hotel

Plucking Tea leaves

Niagara Falls of Sri Lanka

Independent Monument

Parliament House

夕阳无限好，只是近黄昏。

Vesak Day Ceremony

Departure

Corruption and Democracy Ranking 贪污及民主指数排名

2008-05-10T09:29:00.001+08:00

The 2007 corruption rankings and World Democracy Audit are listed below.

Country, Corruption Rank, Democracy Rank, GDP (Nominal) Per Capita Rank
Finland 1, 1 , 9
Denmark 1, 2, 7
New Zealand 1, 4, 26
Singapore 4, 74, 21
Sweden 4, 3, 8
Switzerland 6, 5, 6
Netherlands 6, 6, 10
Norway 8, 7, 2
Canada 8, 8, 14
Australia 10, 9, 15
United Kingdom 11, 9
Austria 12, 12, 12
Germany 13, 11, 13
Japan 14, 31, 22
Ireland 14, 14, 5
France 16, 16, 18
United States 17,15, 11

Korea, South 32, 32, 34
Malaysia 32, 82, 63
Taiwan26, 38, ?
China 57, 121, 105
India 57, 47, 131
Thailand 67, 88, 89
Indonesia 115, 71, 115

塑胶袋, Plastic Bags

2008-05-09T11:13:00.000+08:00

很久以前，没有塑胶袋。上巴杀要拿个大篮子。菜和肉都用报纸来包。买汤类熟食的话，还要自己带容器去装。好麻烦。
自从有了塑胶袋之后，塑胶袋又轻又耐，冷的热的，干的湿的都能够装，给生活带来了许多方便。
可是现在政府说要环保，要大家少用塑胶袋。好些商店都不发塑胶袋了。这使到生活又回到了古早时期。
环境局说塑胶袋是用石油做的，少用塑胶袋就等于减少石油的耗费。还有当塑胶袋被丢弃成为垃圾时，燃烧垃圾所产生的碳气又会破坏大气层。
但生产塑胶袋所用的石油会多吗？会的话塑胶袋就不可能那么便宜了。
要减少石油的耗费的话，为什么新加坡车辆的数量每年都在增加呢？
为什么中央快速公路的塞车问题不赶快解决，而让汽车堵在那里一直在烧掉燃油，排出碳气？
我不支持少用塑胶袋运动的原因有二，一是对象问题，二是效率问题。
上巴杀的多数是婆婆妈妈。为什么我们要给婆婆妈妈辛苦？而有钱人就可以驾大车？为什么不减少车辆的数量？为什么不鼓励大车换小车？
少用塑胶袋和减少车辆的数量，那一个比较省油？
为什么政策总是从低层做起，让上巴杀的婆婆妈妈辛苦，让有车阶级族享受？

In the old days, when there was no plastic bag, people needed to bring along a basket to buy things at market. Vegetables and meat were wrapped in newspaper. Buying soup needed to bring along your own container, troublesome.
After the invention of plastic bag, it brought along a lot of convenient. Plastic bag is light and durable. it could contain cold and hot, dry and wet goods.
But now government wants us to use less plastic bags, some shops do not give out free plastic bags anymore. It brings us back to the old days again?
Environment Ministry says that plastic bag is made of fuel, if we could reduce the use of plastic bag it could help to save fuel. Moreover when plastic bag becomes trash, burning of trash will create carbon and will damage the atmosphere.
Will producing plastic bags consume a lot of fuel ? if so, plastic bags cannot be so cheap.
To reduce the use of fuel, why Singapore keeps increasing its car population every year ? why don't they solve the traffic jam problem at Central Expressway ? instead of allowing cars jammed at the expressway burning away fuel and emitting carbon.
I do not support the campaign to use less plastic bags for 2 reasons.
First is the target group. Second is the effectiveness.
Majority of the people who go to markets are housewives and elderly. Why create inconvenient to them ? But allow the rich to drive big cars ?
Why don't we reduce the car population ? why don't we set a policy to discourage use of big cars ?
Why target group of government campaign is always the weak lower group of people ? but allowing the rich car owners to continue enjoying themselves?

Singapore's GDP per capita 平均每人國內生產總值

2008-05-08T14:54:00.002+08:00

When Singapore became independent in 1965, our GDP (nominal) per capita was US$512. In 2007, it grew to US$35,163.

Singapore is ranked number 21 by IMF , 22 by World Bank and 25 by CIA of highest GDP(nominal) per capita country in the world in 2007.

Singapore is ranked number 4 by World Bank and ranked number 6 by IMF and CIA of highest GDP(PPP) per capita country in the world in 2007. On top of US, Switzerland and UK.

GDP(PPP) means Gross Domestic Product at Purchasing Power Parity.

言论自由 Freedom of Speech

2008-05-05T14:26:00.000+08:00

好多人说新加坡没有言论自由。

新加坡是个多元种族，多元宗教的社会。我们要各种族各宗教和平相处，就必须要互相了解，互相尊重。我们不能像西方社会那样，以言论自由为籍口而随便侮辱别人的宗教，别人的行为。

但话又说回来，在其他非种族和非宗教的议题上，我觉得政府还有很多空间给于人民更多的言论自由。

Singapore has been criticised for lack of freedom of speech.

Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-religious society. We need to have mutual understandings and respects by different races and religions in order to live peacefully and harmoniously together. We can't act like the western countries, using freedom of speech as an excuse to insult others' religions and behaviours.

On the other hand, on matters which do not concern religious or racial, I feel our government could let us have more space and more freedom of speech.

自由 Freedom

2008-05-04T20:14:00.000+08:00

美国人说新加坡不自由，不能吃他们生产的口香糖。
我在美国的大街上不能喝酒，那就有自由吗？
在美国，有好多州在大街上喝酒是违法的。
喝酒不能驾车，我了解。喝酒不能走路, 神经病！

美国人说新加坡没有自由，但我们的女孩，可以半夜安全的在街上走。
而在美国好多地方，连男人在大白天都不能安全的在街上走。

谁比谁自由？

Americans criticise Singapore of not having freedom. People can't chew gums produced by them.
But in America, I was not able to drink a can of beer in the street as in America, most states ban drinking alcoholic beverages in public.
And you call this a free country ?
I can understand one should not drink and drive, but I can't understand why one can't drink and walk ? Mad !

Americans criticise Singapore of not having freedom. But our girls can walk in the street freely and safely at night.
However in America, even man can't walk freely in some streets during daytime.

Who has got more freedom than who ?

新加坡人的民主 Singapore's Democracy

2008-05-04T19:44:00.000+08:00

好多人认为新加坡一党专政，没有民主。

虽然没有强大的反对党，但新加坡政府是由新加坡人民所选出来的，这也就是民主。是新加坡人民的选择是新加坡人的民主。

如果有一天，执政党做的不好，人民是会选出更多的反对党议员的，甚致选出新的执政党来成立政府。但那不是我们所希望的, 我们希望的是拥有一个好的政府，继续为新加坡人民带来更好的生活。

不一定要跟西方一样的民主才是民主。

Many people think Singapore ruled mainly by one party and has no democracy.

Al thought Singapore does not have strong opposition parties, the government is elected by the people, this is democracy. This is Singapore people's choice, Singapore people's democracy.

If one day the ruling party continues to do badly, the people of Singapore will elect more opposition MPs into the parliament, or even to form a new government. But this is not what Singapore people hope for, what we hope for is to have a good government continues to do well and continue to bring us a better life.

Not necessary need to follow what the western world is doing, we can have our own democracy.

India 0408 - Kashmir 印度-喀什米尔

2008-04-28T16:27:00.002+08:00

Arrival at Kashmir Srinagar Airport. Luckily no rain.

Houseboat that I stayed on Dal Lake, Srinagar

Dal Lake

Dal Lake

Security in Kashmir is very tight. Soldiers are everywhere.

Gulmarg

Market place in Srinagar

Fishing on Houseboat

Garden of Nishat

Shalimar Garden

Houseboats

Colourful Lorry

City Bus

Wonder where do they get the parts for these cars

Auto-rickshaws

India 0408 - Delhi 印度-德里

2008-04-28T16:26:00.008+08:00

Very humble Delhi International Airport

Qutub Minar

Qutub Minar

Qutub Complex

Qutub Complex

Presidential Palace

Parliament House

India Gate

Janpath Bazaar

India 0408 - Jaipur (Pink City) 印度-斋浦尔

2008-04-28T16:26:00.007+08:00

One of the Jaipur Gates

Hawa Mahal (Palace of Winds)

Amer Fort

Kama Sutra on the wall of Amer Fort

Water Palace

Jantar Mantar (Royal Observatory)

Street just outside the Observatory

From the shadow of a structure, it shows the time accurately

City Palace

This pot was used to contain water from Ganges River for the king to drink

Guns

Palace Cafe

Crowded street

Public Toilet

India 0408 - Agra 印度-阿格拉

2008-04-28T16:26:00.006+08:00

Taj Mahal

Agra Fort

People lying everywhere on the floor in Agra Fort

Prostitute village

Singlish

2008-04-28T16:10:00.000+08:00

We were at the ice cream stall in Little Mermaid Park of Copenhagen.
After taking the orders, a lady queued up to buy ice creams for us. When she got to the front of the queue, the ice cream man asked "are you guys from Singapore ?". Surprised ! we asked "how do you know ?"
He replied "I heard you guys speaking in Singlish".
Wow, Singlish has gone international. So why bother to try to speak like an English ?
Continue to speak Singlish. The world has accepted it.

谋杀70岁老妇印尼女佣逃过死刑

2008-04-18T12:19:00.000+08:00

联合早报四月十八日：
谋杀70岁老妇印尼女佣逃过死刑枕头成杀人武器，原本被控在中峇鲁谋杀70岁老妇的印尼女佣，罪名减轻为误杀，逃过死刑判决。

又一启印尼女佣杀人案。同样的逃过死刑。记忆中就从来没有一启印尼女佣杀人案被判死刑。
为什么？新加坡是否在告诉他们，
你们继续杀吧!反正又不会被判死刑？

Macau, Dongguan, ShenZhen April 2008 澳门，东莞，深圳

2008-04-16T10:34:00.001+08:00

Budget airline terminal in Hong Kong airport where we took a bus to board a ferry to Macau.

Ferry to Macau

Macau 澳门

Fisherman's Wharf

The Statue of Guan Yin 观音

Bridge joining Macau and Taipa

Venetian Hotel Lobby

Fisherman's Wharf

Empty street in Fisherman's Wharf

Centro

St. Dominic Church Macau

Ruins of St Paul's

Civil Administration Office of Macau

Grand Lisboa Casino and Hotel

Grand Lisboa

Old Lisboa Casino

Party at Fisherman's Wharf

My room in Venetian

Venetian Hotel shopping mall

Man Utd shop at Venetian Hotel shopping mall

ShenZhen 深圳

A very good spa centre. Recommended for ladies and guys.

Restaurant where we took traditional Chinese double boiled soups. A very good restaurant just opposite Queen Spa.

Crowded Walking Street at Dong Men 东门

Crowded overhead bridge we decided not to use

Taxi waiting at Hong Kong airport

Kerby and Rebecca's Wedding 22 March 2008

2008-04-02T21:42:00.001+08:00

Went up to Kuala Lumpur from 20 March 2008 to 25 March 2008
Attended Kerby and Rebecca's wedding on 22 March 2008

The wedding couple

Met up with all the long lost friends in KL.

Bicycle

2008-03-13T11:36:00.000+08:00

Presently, cyclists are using the roads but we don’t seem to have any control over the use of bicycle on roads. Cyclists do not need to know traffic signs and rules, no minimum age requirement and maximum age limit, no ‘when you drink, don’t cycle’ rule and etc. I think this is not right. I think we should formulate some rules and control over the use of bicycle.

In Tokyo people cycle often. People cycle to train station to take a train to work. People in Tokyo cycle on footpath and pedestrian walks. It was annoying at first but later I got used to it. As compare to Singapore, the cyclists in Tokyo are better protected from road accidents.

I think there is a case for Singapore to consider. We need to see what we can do to help protecting the cyclists from road accidents. As I understand, we are unable to build bicycle lanes as we have limited land in Singapore and maybe the cost too is a factor. In this case, can we allow cyclist to use the footpaths and pedestrian walks? It might be inconvenient for the pedestrians, but won't it be better then lives being killed ?

Can't Singapore do something about it ?

MM blames complacency for JI leader's escape

2008-03-08T16:09:00.000+08:00

In today's Straits Times first page headline, it says :

MM blames complacency for JI leader's escape

It is similar to what I have posted on my blog on 28/2/2008.

富裕的老人坐公车吗？

2008-03-07T16:11:00.000+08:00

增加年长者乘车优惠？林双吉：援助不是根据年龄
联合早报今天的报导：
交通部长林双吉说，提供援助的原则应是针对有需要的对象，而不是根据年龄。他解释，这是因为年长者当中，有富裕的、有贫困的，同时也有贫困的年轻人。而政府的目标明确，即帮助真正需要援助的人。

我说：
为什么给年长者乘车优惠？那不只是因为大多数年长者都没有工作做，也是对他们为国家所做的贡献给以小小的回馈。这个世界上除了逻辑之外我们还需要多一些情多一些爱。关怀老人多一点也是应该的。再说，富裕的老人需要坐公车吗？

www.com.sg

2008-02-29T11:39:00.000+08:00

What Went Wrong . Complacent. Singapore?

First, F1 ticket chaos

Then, Traffic and crowd problem of Singapore air show 2008

And now, Escape of JI leader

West Side Story

2008-02-27T13:12:00.000+08:00

The Straits Times report today "Hotel rates up, as visitor arrivals hit record".

The take up rate for HDB flats in the west is low. People do not like to stay at the west because there are many factories, people believe that the air quality there is not too good.

Since Singaporeans do not want to stay at the west, can we not create a hotel zone there and move the middle class hotels, budget hotels to the west and let the tourists of package tours stay there ? These tourists are taken by tourist buses for sightseeing and only come back to hotel to sleep at night. They do not need to stay in expensive city area.

By doing so it may help to slow down the increase of hotel room rate and may also ease the congestion in the city and China Town areas.

仁慈医院财务问题有感

2008-02-24T19:41:00.000+08:00

“身是菩提树，心如明镜台，时时勤拂拭，勿使惹尘埃“。
身非菩提，心无明镜，不勤拂拭，终惹尘埃？

Lucky Plaza, Singapore

2008-02-23T21:47:00.000+08:00

Went to a shop in Lucky Plaza to buy a LCD screen protective film for my camera. Last time I bought it in a shop here was $13. I went back to the same shop but they had run out of stock. So I went to a neighbouring shop to buy. This guy took out the same thing that I bought before. The price tag showed $39. I shook my head and wanted to leave. He asked me why. I told him it was too expensive. He then said "ok I sell you $30". I told him that I bought it from neighbouring shop at $13. And he said "ok, loh!".
Guys, do not go to Lucky Plaza if you do not know the price.

Youth Olympic Games 2010

2008-02-22T13:52:00.000+08:00

Congratulations Singapore, for winning the bid to host the First Summer Youth Olympic Games 2010. We are proud of Singapore, proud of being a member of Singapore.
Many young participants of the games may not know Singapore well and many may have misconception of Singapore. This is an opportunity for us to show it to them and show it to the world of the true Singapore.
We should not just do well in organising the games; we should also take this opportunity to take Singapore to higher levels in all aspects like what Beijing is doing.
One area that I like to see improvement is our social behaviors. We don’t stand on the left when using escalator, we rush in before people could get out of MRT train, we sit at staircase, we walk in one horizontal line and therefore causing obstruction, we do not have the habit of saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank you’.

Wrote to PM Lee one Saturday afternoon. He replied within 20 minutes and said :

"I agree completely with you that we should use this opportunity to take Singapore to higher levels, especially in our social behaviours. We intend to learn from what Beijing is doing, and get the Small Kindness Movement to participate in this effort"

Japan 日本

2008-02-20T21:20:00.001+08:00

Stayed in Tokyo for a year from 2004 to 2005.

English

I do not know why most Japanese do not speak English well. They studied English in school and there is at least one English language school nearby most train stations.

I have a funny thought. Maybe the government does not want to encourage people to know English too well ?? Easier to control the people when they read only Japanese newspapers, Japanese books, watch only NHK TV, surf only on Japanese websites ??? But why so many English language schools ? For show, so that you can't blame the government for not encouraging people to learn English ???

Met many Asian friends, from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam and etc. They too, do not speak English well. I found Singaporean having advantages over our Asian friends in many areas because we know English. I also met young Singaporeans traveled on their own in different parts of the world. They can do it because they speak English (and of course they can afford too). Japanese need to go in group.

I went to Chinese schools. I was quite upset with the government when I saw Chinese schools being replaced by English schools in the old days. But now, I think it was the right decision.

Household Appliances and Cars

In Singapore we import a lot of Japanese products, we watch 40 inches TV, use big refrigerator, drive big Japanese car. But in Tokyo, the Japanese watch small TV, use small fridge, drive small car because their houses are small, car parks are small, roads are narrow.

Women

Japanese women prepare breakfast for husband to eat and lunch for husband to bring to work. After work, they do housework and look after children. They have no foreign maid. When go dating, Japanese girls will take their own train ride there, pay their share of bill.

As compare to them, Singapore women, girls are so lucky.

Bicycles

Other than crowded city centre, people cycle in Tokyo. Women with high heel shoes cycle with a child in the front basket and another one in the rear basket. The working class cycle from their apartment to train station to take a train to work.

People cycle at footpath. It was annoying at first but later I got used to it.

As compare to Singapore, the cyclists in Japan are better protected from road accidents. How many cyclists were killed on Singapore roads ? Shall we not change our policy to protect them ?

Food

Used to love Japanese food before my stay in Tokyo because Japanese food here in Singapore is very expensive and going to Japanese restaurant is such a high class enjoyment. But after eating Japanese food everyday in Tokyo, I started to have a funny thought. I doubted the Japanese really know how to cook. That is why they eat raw food most of the time.

Jordan Israel Feb 2008 约旦，以色列

2008-02-20T21:12:00.008+08:00

Went for a trip to Jordan & Israel from 6 Feb 2008 to 14 Feb 2008.
Preta was great, a must go.
Israel too was very interesting and educational. Lots of feeling on why different religions killing one another.
孟子曰：‘春秋无义战。’

Jordan

Petra

Petra

Jordan Israel border

Israel
Getting into Israel from Jordan border took us a couple of hours. I do not know why they need to take so long.
到过了以色列，对基督教有了另一种看法。

Sea of Galilee. It is just a lake and nothing much.

Capemaum, the centre of Jusus's Ministry

Church of Tabgha where Jesus performed the miracle of the Loves and Fishes

A church next to Capemaum

Port of Acre

Old Jafa Port

Tel Aviv

Spot where Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Bahai Gardens, Haifa of Israel.
I was impressed and wrote to relavant authoritirs in Singapore asking if we could do up our Mount Faber like this too ?

Jerusalem

From the days of Roman Emperor Constantine until the Arab conquest in 638, Jews were banned from Jerusalem but were allowed back into the city by Muslim rulers.
In 1099, Jerusalem was besieged by the first Crusaders, who killed most of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants - Wikipedia.

由于耶路撒冷是三大宗教圣地，为了争夺圣地，自古以来，在这里不知发生过多少次残酷的征战。耶路撒冷先后１８次被夷为平地，但每次之后都得到复兴 - 新华网.

View from Mount of Olives at Jerusalem

Western Wall (Wailing Wall)
Solomon's Temple was built atop the Temple Mount in the 10th century BCE and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. The Second Temple was built in 516 BCE. In around 19 BCE Herod the Great began a massive expansion project on the Temple Mount. He artificially expanded the area which resulted in an enlarged platform. Today's Western Wall formed part of the retaining perimeter wall of this platform.
Herod's Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire, along with the rest of Jerusalem in 70 CE during the First Jewish*Roman war. However, the Western Wall was spared.
Jews around the world turn their eyes to the Western Wall, also know as the Wailing Wall, which is the closest location to the place where the temple used to stand where Jews can pray. The wall we know today was a part of the temple's western wall, hence its name. Believers leave notes in the cracks between the wall's stones.
Today, the Wailing Wall is a part of the wall surrounding the Muslim Mosques on Temple Mount.

哭墙
公元前１千年犹太大卫王的儿子所罗门兴建了一座华丽的圣殿，这就是著名的耶路撒冷第一圣殿。公元前５８６年，巴比伦军队攻占耶路撒冷，第一圣殿被毁，后来犹太人两度重修圣殿，但又在罗马占领时期两次被毁坏殆尽。当年圣殿留下的一堵西墙，犹太人认为是唯一最神圣的祈祷地方。许多世纪以来，犹太教徒都到这里来面壁祈祷，每当追忆历史上圣殿被毁情景，便不禁嚎啕大哭一场，“哭墙”因此而得名。
圣殿的原址现是一座清真寺。

Hall for The Last Supper

Museum of the Holocaust Yad Vashem
Bought a book at the museum, it says " The Hatred (of Jews) nutured by ancient Christian concepts regardded the Jews as the people of Israel and the people of Messiah, but also as the people who had rejected its redeemer Jusus, and thus ....."

Masada

Masada

Dead sea

Tunisia Dec 2007 突尼西亞

2008-02-20T21:12:00.007+08:00

Tunisia is in North Africa. It was ruled by the Roman, Span, Turk & French before. Other than Arabic, the people speak french too. The tour attrcted me because I wanted to have a feel of Sahara desert. This tour has a bit of everything. Roman colosseum, Fortress, salt lake, train ride, canyon, cavehouses, beaches, and etc.

We arrived in Tunisia at around 12.30pm. This photo is taken when leaving the airport at 3.45pm. They took a long time to issue visa to us.

La Kasbah is our hotel at Kairouan. It was conveted from a fortress.

Street hawker

Coffee shop where there is no women

Beautiful Tunisian door

Tunisian Carpets

Tozeur

Tunis train

This is not the Great Canyon but Mides canyon in Sahara Desert of Tunisia

Mides, Algerian border

Chebika

Nefta - Star Wars site

Nice roadside toilets

Salt Lake of Chott El Jerid

Douz

Camel ride

Our hotel at Matmata

Market in Djerba

El Jem Colosseum

Butcher in Sousse

Poultry seller in Sousse

Cat woman

El kantaoui

The aqueduct bringing water to the Roman town

Sidi Bou Said, an interesting town with only blue and white buildings.