My Golden Years

In the beginning

2011-06-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm an ordinary worker. I worked throughout my life till I opted for an slightly earlier retirement. Looking back and comparing my life with many of my friends and colleages, I believe I have made it in life.

It is not easy and smooth but working life is more stable and receive less "hiccups" encounters !

God blessed me to have a wonderful wife and 2 lovely daughters, a stable working life and to build up a simple peaceful family life. Indeed, my working life was quite a smooth sail. I only served in two companies in my 34 years' of working. Like many others, inorder to enjoy the fruits of my labour, I also upgraded my home once. Having stay in the city areas for 26 years, for a change, I made a switch to rural area with bigger space of accomodation. I lived simply and comfortably and enjoy my retirement to the umost .

I have no regret . What more in life would I want to ask for ?!

Birthday / Father's day celebrations in 2011 ! WOW

2011-06-28T06:57:00.000-07:00

I'm 64 years' old in June , 2011 !

I really had a wonderful birthday month and Father's day falls in June, too ! My wife and my good friend are also having their birthdays in June, too !

Imagine 9 celebrations altogether .... LOL

1) My wife and I had lunch at A Yat restaurant,Turf City for the abalone set on Tuesday 14/6 ;
2) My wife , younger daughter and I had dinner at Zhou restaurant, Anchor Point on Wednesday 15/6;
3) My wife, Reggi and wife and I had dinner in Zing Long restaurant , Bedok North on Friday 17/6 ;
4) My wife ,my two daughters and I had lunch in Zing Yie resturant, Liang Court on Saturday 18/6;
5) Barberque with neighbours (dinner) at Segar on Saturday 18/6
6) With Woon Oon and wife at Farjar for lunch on 22/6
7) Barbeque with church wardens (dinner) in Saint Teresa Church on 25/6
8) With wife and younger daughter have lunch at Wishbone restaurant, Bukit Timah Plaza on 27/6
9) With good friend (Mr Ong) have lunch (chicken mee) at China town Point area on 25/6

WOW !!!

Revisit to Bangkok, capital city of Thailand 4-8 May 2011

2011-05-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

My elder daughter bought us (my wife and I) 2 returned Singapore Bangkok tickets and 4 days' stay at Four Points By Sheraton. My younger daughter bought us insurance and provided us pocket money to spend in Bangkok on 4 - 8 May 2011.

4Th May 2011 (Wednesday)

Tiger Airway flight was at 6.40 am. We woke up at 4.30 am and left home at 5 am by taxi to Budget Terminal ,Changi Airport. Everything was OK. The flight was in schedule and we reached Bangkok airport at 8 a.m. We were too early for hotel check in time and we lingered around the airport to have some snacks and drinks. Our elder daughter SMS us that the hotel room had already been checked in by her and we could collect our room key from the front desk anytime we wished. We took taxi ( 45 minutes 380 bahts) to hotel. We left our simple lungages in the room and planned our next day's trip (Ayutthaya : Day tour arranged by the hotel front desk @ 1200 Bahts per person) .

It was 10 am and we took taxi to Mall next to SAM YAN MRT station. Upon arrival, we had our lunch at SOMBOON restaurant. Signature shelless crab meat, flat fried fish, vegetable, oyster dishes and lemon glass tea. After lunch , we strolled around the mall to do some shopping.
We returned to hotel for a nap at 3 pm. by MRT .

5 pm , we had our 2 hours Thai massage at Heart Land Spa near hotel. (10 minutes'walk from hotel ). 7.30 pm at Robinson Departmental store to buy some bread. Being too tired and too full, we direct back to hotel to rest.

5 May 2011 ( Thursday)

Ayutthaya Trip :

A quick breakfast at 6.o0 am at our hotel. we have to join day tour (travelled by van). It took one and a half hours to reach Ayutthaya. After an hour drive, we reached Wat Phu Khao Thong (temple) . The place looks like an deserted kampong with lots of strayed dogs running around. There were few huts around and the place were full of flies. The weather was very warm and we did not manage and border to climb up the steps to see the pagoda. We stayed for 20 minutes and then on our way to the second capital city of Thailand. We visited many Wats and The Royal Palace at Bang Pa.

Night : Central Square - Sabu Sabu dish (1000 bahts for 2)

6th May 2011 ( Friday)

Full breakfast at hotel. We travelled by skytrain to Chilom and walked around Siam Paragon where we had Thai lunch. We then visited Siam Discovery , Siam Centre and walked to MBK for some shopping.

We took from National Stadium MRT and Skytrain back to Heart Land for our 2nd time 2 hours' Thai massage.

Dinner at foodcourt in Robinson.

7th May 2011 (Saturday)

Full breakfast at hotel. At 10 am we went to Chat To Cha market. The weather was warm. We went back hotel at 3 pm. We were surprised to see both our daughters at the hotel!

We had Mothers' day dinner in Grand Hyatt.

8th May 2011 (Sunday)

Full Breakfast at hotel. We went to Chinatown wet market and enjoyed a bowl of birdnest each. Later, we went to Le Meridien Hotel for a look.

Back home from Bangkok @ 1.30 pm jetstars flight. 4 pm reached home.

Jakarta/Bandung Trip 19 - 25 August 2010

2010-09-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

My daughter bought Value Air tickets months ago for the family to visit the Indonesian capital - JAKARTA ! Each ticket costs $28. and the hotel charge per day is $ 75.

19 Aug 2010

Left home exactly at 6 am.

The flight VF501 took off at 7.40 am. from terminal 1 Changi airport. After 15 minutes of the flight journey , Captain announced that there was a technical fault in the air pressure measurement equipment . To be on the safe side , the plane would be returned back to it original place - changi airport. Captain assured all passengers that it was just a safety measure and there was nothing to be worried about. This was our first encounter that plane had to be landed because of emergency ! However, everyone on the plane seemed to be acted normal. The only thing I noticed was the aircon system not function well.

We have to change plane and at 10 am we left Changi airport for Jakarta.

We went straight to IBIS Arcadia hotel.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT !

2010-07-05T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have massage occasionally. There are many types of massages. Most claimed that theirs are authentic. I tried on many types of massages.

Of all massages, Thai traditional massage is the most effective and relaxing.

Before I retired , I had "thorn in the bone" . I felt sharp thorn on the back heel of my leg. I suffered from this agony for a number of years. Iwent to Bangkok for holidays and was introduced to 2 hours Thai traditional massage. After a single session, the pain was completely cured !

I had both shoulder back pain for a couple of years. I felt "pain" when I raise my hands and had difficulty in changing T-shirts. I went for a 2 hours traditional Thai massage at Odyssey in Terbau City. After a single session, the pain was no more there anymore !

Johor Bahru -REVISIT 20/06/2010

2010-06-21T03:09:00.000-07:00

We left home at 10.30 Am and it was a smooth drive to Woodland. The causeway was JAMMED. It took us 1 and a half hours to clear the Singapore and Malaysia immigrations. Thereafter, we were on our way to Bamboo House restaurant for lunch ! We had durian for desserts. We then drove to have our car washed.

We went to Jusco. It was very crowded. The ladies went shopping. I strolled around the mall and enjoyed water crest drink at Macau restaurant on the 3rd floor. At 5 pm we had body massage at Thai Odysiss ( it was really good !) and then ate at Nando’s restaurant. It was spicy chicken meal! . We bought some provisions from Jusco . Its time to go home after the shopping spree at 8.30 pm. !

Reached home at 10 pm.

PENANG REVISIT

2010-06-15T00:31:00.000-07:00

PENANG TRIP – REVISIT ON 3 – 5 MAR 2010

3 Mar 2010 , Wednesday

We left home for Changi budget airport terminal in a taxi at 2.30 pm.. The airfare only costs us $36 ($12 @)) and taxi fare is $22.50. We were early and had snacks at Macdonald. At 6.15am scheduled flight sent us direct to Penang. We reached Penang at 7.15 am. We took a taxi (RM 42) to Sunway hotel at George Town. Night time, we had seafood dinner at De Happy Restaurant near the hotel.

4 Mar 2010, Thursday

We had breakfast at the hotel. We went to Ferringi, Komtar, and Gurney for sight seeing and shopping.

We came back to hotel for rest and change and proceed to E & O Hotel for Chong’s birthday dinner.

5 May 2010, Friday

After breakfast at the hotel, we went around the city to buy Bata shoes, cookies. We went to Komtar Centre and had body massage .

Back to Singapore by evening flight !

China, USA, Canada holiday trip

2010-06-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Shanghai, US & Canada Trips–8 May to 6 June 2010 (Back on 0500 7 Jun 2010)

Saturday, 8 May (Shanghai)

It was a fine sunny day and the start of our one month long journey.

At 7.30 am we took taxi ($22) to Terminal 3 Changi Airport. At 10 am, we were on our way by China Eastern Airlines to Shanghai. It was a 5 hours flight. At 3.15 pm we arrived at Terminal 1, Pu Tong Airport. We took a taxi (Y160) to hotel at 4 pm.

We were informed that our room was being taken by other customers. The hotel needed to upgrade our room. However, the hotel rates have been increased but hotel was willing to provide senior card to reduce our rare. We said that we were not informed of the rate change. Anyway, eventually we got our old rate charge with senior’s discount. AND an upgraded room, too.

At night, it was cold and wet (raining). We didn’t go far. We just strolled around the streets near our hotel and had dinner.

Sunday, 9 May

It was raining the whole day. We went to Nang Gin road walking street and we shopped and ate non-stop!

Monday 10 May

The weather was fine. We decided to go to the Expo. We walked to Peoples' Square and took MRT to EXPO.
It was very crowded. We toured around the area. It was hugh. The weather was kind to us. We had a wonderful day here.
Tuesday, 11 May

In the morning and afternoon we went to Sian Yuan and in the evening, we went to The Bund. We had wonderful tim sum . Besides shopping , we stroll around to capture the local atmosphere.
We went to the Bund in the evening. It was a lovely tour. We had photos taken.

Wednesday, 12 May (Shanghai – New York)

8.30 am left Hotel for the 12 noon flight from Shanghai. We reached New York at 3 pm (local) . We filled the wrong forms and forgot our children's address. It took us an hour to clear the immigration and custom. Our children Hui and Chong picked us up at JFK airport by car. We drove back to Philadelphia. We traveled through New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania states. We reached Hui’s apartment at 9 pm.

At night, we went to Trader’s Jones to buy provisions.

Thursday, May 13 (ALANTA)

Hui got a lot of personal matters to handle.

So we went to ALANTA by air at 8 am and reached our destination at 11 am. From airport, we took MRT (MARTA) to the nearest station and enquired from the local to direct us to hotel: Fairfield Marriot. (By walking)
We had Tunch at nearby restaurant and went to Mall (opposite) till 8 pm.

It was a tired day. We took FREE TAXI back to hotel.

Friday, May 14

We had breakfast at hotel. We went to World of Coca Cola. We took MRT (MARTA) Yellow and Blue lines. Blue line landed us in a strange unfamiliar place . We met a nice lady who directed us back to the central areas.

We went to a South American food restaurant for lunch at Ninth Avenue.
We took free shutter bus to ?? @ 2 pm to shopping mall.

We went back to hotel with no dinner.

15 May, Saturday

Checked out hotel @ 11am Straight to airport PIA checked in @ 3.30 pm …5pm boarding. 5.40 pm flight. Reached and arrived Philadelphia 8 pm. Train ($7@) and back to Hui’s apartment.

16 May, Sunday (philidelphia)

Hui’s Graduation Day Breakfast at home. We met Chin Tiong. The graduation ceremonies ended @ 3 pm. We went to eat at nearby food court.

Celebration dinner at “Prime Rib”.

17 May, Monday

Mum & sis went to school. When they came back , we went to factory outlet till 8 pm (dinner)
Reached home @ 11 pm

18 May, Tuesday

Return the rented car (cold wet weather) .
We stayed home all day. and had meals at home.

Packing!

19 May, Wednesday

Chong went back to New York (go home) Lunch at GRACIA.
Hui sent her back.

Pa and Mum stayed at apartment. In the afternoon, we went to Traders’ Jones.

20 May, Thursday

We went to Reading Terminal Market. Do Packing.

Jac came back from New York.

21 May, Friday (Washington DC)

Washington D C trip … 8 am – 9.30 pm

22 May Saturday (Philadelphia)

Hui settled personal matters. We enjoy a day tour ourselves in the city. Liberty Bell Independence Hall 3 pm had lunch at China town. We took taxi home.

23 May, Sunday Alantic City

Drove 2 hours. Casino … Vietnamese food

24 May, Monday (New York)

Move out of apartment. @ 10 am, we drove to New York (2 ½ hours).

Brunch at Philadelphia and refill petrol and arrived at Hui’s friend’s place at Manhattan at 1.30 pm. We arrived at hotel at 2 pm. Hui went back to Phil and we went out to Time Squares and Grand City on our own. Back home at 8.30 pm

25 May, Tuesday (BOSTON)

Valera hotel breakfast at hotel and went to Flushing Mail (China town) for dumplings by Metro

11.30 am straight to bus stop to proceed to Boston. We arrived in Boston @ 8.30 pm.

Too tired (YWCA) bought some groceries and back to YWCA for rest.

26 May, Wednesday

We had breakfast in YWCA. At 10 am, we went to MIT and Harvard. Quincy market and had seafood (lobster) in Legal Seafood Restaurant. We walked and had Italian Ice cream and pastries. We took local bus around and stopped at factory outlets wholesales stores. We bought shirts and dress etc and had dinner at Quincy market.

Back to YWCA at 8.30 pm

27 May, Thursday (New York)

Check out Boston by coach and back to New York 9.30 am – 1.30 pm

Strolled around Central Park and had steak at Sarabeth. Planned for lucky draw for “wicked” at 7 Ave and 51st street but failed.

We went to M&M, HERSHY instead.

Stay at Quality hotel.

28 May, Friday (Montreal)

8.15 am We took Train #69 to Montreal.to Pinn Stn 43 street and MRT to our destination. .

We had dinner at Thai restaurant. We reached B&B at 8 pm ….sleep.

29 May, Saturday

We went to old town, Montreal. See Norte Dame church. We had breakfast at Esspectation. We walked along old town having Fun Fair. STEAK (closed) and we had smoked beef …We took buses and MRT to nowhere.

30 May, Sunday

We had brunch (beacon & eggs) at downtown area. We went to little Italy and Marche Market.
We went to old town to have STEAK as dinner at the KEG. Back home enjoy chocolates at local store near MRT

We changed plan of going to Quebac as it took 3 hours to go there . On a day trip , we only had few hours there to see the city !

31 May, Monday (Montreal – Toronto)

7 am bus to Toronto. We took 6 hours by coach and arrived at 2.30 pm. We checked in Primrose hotel at downtown 111 carlton Street. . We walked on Yongze street, China town, we had duck noodle soup and shopping at harbourfront.

1 Jun , Tuesday ( Toronto – Niagara Falls)

Morning we still sightseeing in Toronto. We took Safeway coach to Niagara falls. 180 km – 2 hours coach. At 12.40 pm, we reached our destination and we stayed at Shareton Four points hotel at 2.30 pm. We arranged for application of card members at the casino and started playing. We had buffer dinner at the casino. All was well.

2 Jun , Wednesday (Niagara Falls)

We had buffer breakfast for $6.99. We went for tour(1 /2 day) to Niagara falls till 6 pm. Went to casino till 8 pm and had dinner at TGI Friday (Burgers) Back hotel to rest !

3 Jun Thursday

10.45 am we took coach back to Toronto (2 1/2 hours) and walked around Toronto China Town Cultural Centre till 7 pm to New York.

We reached New York @ 7 am 4/Jun

4 June, Friday

We reached New York safely. Mum and Hui went to buy T-shirt and I stayed at Starbuck coffee beans.

We Walked around New York town till 12 pm and checked in hotel.

We visited Statue of Liberty on a ship (FOC) which sailed around it !

5 Jun, Saturday

Back to Singapore through Shanghai and reached home at 5 am 7 Jun 2010.

KATONG : East Coast Road ...walked down the memory lane

2009-11-07T01:04:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I visited Katong !

My daughter wanted to see "KATONG RED HOUSE : confectionary " . At 1.30 pm from home we drove to Katong for a visit. We saw Katong shopping Centre and parked at the nearby lane : Marshall Road .

We walked along East Coast Road and viewed a lot of shops and eateries. We had Laksa at 328 ! There are 3 sizes : large $5.50, medium $4.50 and small $3.50. We ordered small ones with O-tah as side dishes. We had lime juice and coconut drinks, too. Laksa at 328 was delicious and its gravy was thick but not oily.

We walked down the memory lane but found out that the RED HOUSE was closed for business.
We went to the last store next to the traffic light (Mary's Tau Kwa Pao) for snacks. Yes , the place and the food were still the same as 40 years ago I visited it !

We next walked further and ended at Chin Mei Chen coffee shop for local coffee and toast !

We bought some authentic NONYA cakes at DONA MANIS cake shop at Katong shopping centre .

Yes, it was a indeed a nice peaceful afternoon trip that I will never forget !

JAKARTA 4 DAYS THREE NIGHTS TRIP

2009-10-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

DAY 1 : 24 OCT 2009 (SATURDAY)

Left work at 1.15 pm and straight for Changi Airport to Jakarta by taxi with wife and daughter. We arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 @ 2 pm. It was a quick check-in and we had a wonderful rest time at SIA Lounge. Using Citibank's Priority Pass card, we took a rest and had some snacks. The place was quite cosy and quiet. The snacks were plentiful and yummy. We enjoyed for nearly an hour as we needed to be at the departure counter at 3. 10 pm.

The flight left at 4.15 pm(after a slight delay) instead of 3.50 pm and arrived in Jakarta @5.30 pm. (1 hour saving) We arranged for taxi services (Blue Bird Group) at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta Airport to CBD. Various charges for taking a taxi (different types : luxurious, premier, ordinary) at the airport. The charges vary from 150K , 200K and 300K. Of course, we took the cheapest one. Mind you, the taxi fare could be double if you choose limousine !

Reached hotel IBIS ARCADIA at 6.30 pm. This hotel belongs to IBIS international chain of hotels. It is a small hotel in CBD and their services are OK. The rate is US$63 per night for a double room (with buffet breakfast for 2) . The room was quite spacious and comfortable. For the price we paid, it was slightly on the high side.

We went nearby for a stroll. The lane were full of roadside makan stalls. Because of hygiene consideration, we were afraid to try these food. Finally we had our meals at a posh Restaurant named GARUDA.

When we sat down, the waiter brought about 30 or more dishes out and placed them on the table. We were told to eat what we like and once we touched the food at a particular dish, it was considered sold. We chose what we like and 3 of us spent (300k) for the dinner.

We walked down the lane and stopped at American Gill for coffee ! American Grill is like sizzler in Singapore. It displayed salad bar, ice cream, soup, coffee and fruits, too.

We slept at 10 pm. local time

DAY 2 : 25 OCT 2009 (SUNDAY)

We had buffet breakfast in the hotel. The buffet breakfast was not that fantastics but it had quite a few varieties to suit different customers' tastes.

As it was Sunday and there was a grand bicycles' competition and roadblocks were placed at most of the major roads. We took local bus services. The bus fare was cheap (3K) and the bus drove along the main road with many stopovers. At one junction, we had to tranfer to a smaller van (with 8 to 10 passengers) to further our journey to our final destination : Mangga Dua shopping centre.

Mangga Dua is a gigantic shopping centre (with 4- 5 Singapore Peoples' Park area). There are many different types of shops selling clothings, handbags, shoes , VCD etc. You could bargain to half price and still the sales girls were willing to sell the merchandise to you !

The ladies had manicure and peticure and I had done my first FACIAL !

We spent the whole day there and it was a one-stop happy shopping day for the ladies. We took a taxi ( 60K) back to hotel at 6 pm.

In the evening , we walked out of the hotel and there are many restaurants and eating places along the street. We dined at AYAM GORENG SUHARTI. It served authentic Indonesia food. We have a very posh dinner for 3.( 238K)

DAY 3 : 26 OCT 2009 (MONDAY)

We went to SARINAH AND JAVE DEPARMENT STORES. We shopped at the basement for SOTO related products, local biscuits, etc . We had lunch and dinner at this shopping centre. We went (opposite street) to JAVA department store and I bought 4 Batik Shirts ( 3 short and 1 long) for 358K only.

DAY 4 : 27 OCT 2009 (TUESDAY)

We had our last minutes" shopping in nearby hotel areas. I had a wonderful 1 hour foot massage for only 75 K . The ladies had their hair wash plus body back massage, too.

On the way back , using priority card , we had our tea break and local snacks at Muriati Lounge at Jakarta international airport departure hall.

Reached Singapore airport at 8 pm and Home at 9 pm.

RETIREMENT

2009-09-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

(AN EXTRACTED ARTICLE)
How To Retire - must read. Golfers included

4 Pre-Conditions for Retirement

I retired in year 2000 at age 52. I am now 61, thus I can claim that I got more experience at retirement than most! I thought I should share my experience with mariners because I have seen too many friends and neighbours who became so bored that they have become a nuisance to their spouse and children and to others! A few of them have solved the problem by going back to work. They were able to do so because they have a skill/expertise that is still in demand. The rest (and many are my neighbours) live aimlessly or are waiting to die - a very sad situation, indeed.

You can retire only when you fulfill these 4 pre-conditions:

1.Your children are financially independent (e.g. they got jobs)
2.You have zero liability (all your borrowings are paid up)
3.You have enough savings to support your lifestyle for the rest of your life, AND most importantly,
4.You know what you would be doing during your retirement.

DO NOT retire till you meet ALL 4 Pre-Conditions. And of course you should not retire if you enjoy working and are getting paid for it!

The problem cases I know of are those who failed to meet Pre-Condition #4.

When asked, "What would you be doing during your retirement?" Some replied, "I will travel/cruise and see the World". They did that, some for 3 months and then ran out of ideas.

The golfers replied, "I can golf every day." Most could not because they are no longer fit to play well enough to enjoy the game. Those who could, need to overcome another hurdle - they need to the find the "kakis" to play with them.
It's the same with mahjong, bridge, badminton, trekking and karaoke - you need "kakis"! Most could not find others who share their favourite game and playing/singing alone is no fun. AND when they do find them, a few of them found that they are NOT welcomed like my obnoxious neighbour whom everyone avoids..

Thus if you are into group sports or games, you must form your groups BEFORE you retire. You need to identify your "kakis", play with them and discover whether they "click" with you.

The less sporty "can read all the books bought over the years".

I know of one guy who fell asleep after a few pages and ended up napping most of the time! He discovered that he did not like to read after all.

We do change and we may not enjoy the hobbies we had.. Routine Activities to Fill Your Week For most people, your routine work activities are planned for you or dictated by others and circumstances. When you retire, you wake up to a new routine - one that you yourself have to establish as nobody else would do it for you! The routine to establish should keep your body, mind and spirit "sharpened".

A good routine would comprise:

a) One weekly physical sport - you need to keep fit to enjoy your retirement. If you are the non-sporty type, you should fire your maid and clean your home without mechanical aids. Dancing and baby-sitting are good alternatives.

b) One weekly mind stimulating activity - e.g. writing, studying for a degree, acquiring a new skill, solving problems or puzzles, learn or teach something. You need to stimulate your mind to stay alive because the day you stop using your brain is the day you start to die.

c) One weekly social activity - choose one involving lots of friends/neighbours. Get yourself accepted as a member to at least 3 interests groups. Unless you prefer to be alone, you do need friends more than ever as you get older and less fit to pursue your sport.

d) One weekly community service activity - you need to give to appreciate what you have taken in this life. It's good to leave some kind of legacy.

With 4 weekly activities, you got 4 days out of 7 covered. The remaining 3 days should be devoted to family related activities. In this way, you maintain a balance between amusing yourself and your family members.

Any spare time should remain "spare" so that you can capitalise on opportunities that come your way like responding to an unexpected request to do a job or to take advantage of cheap fares to see places or to visit an exhibition.

Mind stimulating activities

Most judges live to a ripe old age. They use their brains a lot to decide on cases. I am sure MM Lee's brain works overtime. He's 80+ and still going strong.

In "Today" you would have read of 2 inspiring oldies. One is a granny who learned to play the guitar at age 60 to entertain his grandchildren. She's 70+ today and those grandchildren have grown to play with her. Another is an Indian radiologist who on retirement, qualified as an acupuncturist. He's age 77 and still offers his services (by appointment only) including free ones to those who have no income. I guarantee you that they are happy people who discovered a "2nd wind" to take them to the sunset with a smile on their faces.

Mind stimulating activities are hard to identify. They require your will to do something useful with the rest of your life, a mindset change and the discipline to carry it through.

Your Bucket List Despite your busy routine, you will at times be bored. Then it's time to turn to your Bucket List.

Your bucket list contains a list of things to do before you kick the bucket. They are not routine and are usually one off activities. You need them to have something to look forward to. These include anniversaries, trips (and pilgrimages), visits to friends and relations abroad, re-doing your home, tending conferences (related to your hobbies), acquiring a new set of expertise.

4 such activities that are spaced our quarterly would be ideal.

Retirement Is a Serious Business

If you can afford to retire and want to, do prepare to live to your fullest. You need to be fit to enjoy it - therefore get into shape now. You do not want to get up on a Monday and wonder what to do each week, therefore identify your set of weekly routine activities now and try them out to confirm that they are the activities that you will be looking forward to doing each week, week after week. You bucket list of "rewards" or "projects" or” challenges" is needed to help you break away from the routine thereby make live worth living. Start listing what you fancy and refine it as you chug along in your retirement. You will have so much fun; you would wish you were retired since your turned 21!

JUSCO,JOHOR: SHOPPING TRIP

2009-09-01T02:56:00.001-07:00

31 AUG 2009 Monday

We left home at 1.30 pm and it was a smooth drive to Woodland. The causeway was pretty quiet. It took us 15 minutes to clear the Singapore immigration. We drove along a long curvy stretch of road for 1 kilometer. Arriving at Malaysian immigration, it took us another 10 minutes to clear. Thereafter, we were on our way to JUSCO!

It took us around 30 minutes to reach JUSCO. It was very crowded as today was Malaysia National Day. We were very hungry and ate at Nando’s restaurant. It was spicy chicken meal! We strolled around the 3 levels building for an hour or so and thereafter enjoy the Macau’s milk custard on the 3rd floor. We bought moon cakes and other stuff.

Its time to go home after the shopping spree at 5 pm. !

We reached home at 6.00 pm.

TRIP TO HO CHI MINH CITY (SAIGON) - VIETNAM

2009-08-31T19:30:00.000-07:00

My wife and I had a wonderful trip to Ho Chi Minh city 02/April - 09/April 2008.

02 APRIL

We touched down the airport at 12.20 pm and went straight to our hotel ( situated infront of Ben Thahn Market). We took a taxi to TM brothers cafe to book a local tour to Mekong Delta (3 days 2 nights). We then toured Ben Thahn Market for the whole evening and tried our very first Vietnamese's dishes that night.

3/April- 5/April (MEKONG DELTA RIVER)

Left Saigon for southern areas ( My Tho , Chau Tho and as far as to Pnorm Penh ) . We toured floating fishing market. We sat on different types of boats ( 20 persons', 8 persons' and 4 persons' capacities). We visited Bees' farm , paper rice and noddles factories, incense making etc. We bought honey sweets, wine, fruits along this fascinating journey. At night we enjoyed local delicacies for dinner at the hotel.

5/April

Reached Saigon at 6 pm.

6/April

We went city tour ourselves. We visited Nordes Damn Catheral, Reunitfication Palace, central Post Office, War meuseum etc. We had a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant. We took an afternoon nap. In the evening, we went to a posh vietnamese restaurant for dinner!

7/April

We joined a cooking class in Vietnam teaching us how to make authentic vietnamese's food.

* Vietnamese Spring Roll
* Caramel Pork in Clay Pot
* Steamed Rice with Pandan Leave
* Saute Banana in Coconut Milk
* Tomato Soup with Egg
* Fish Sauce...
We had a wonderful time !

8/April

Spent the whole day shopping !!

9/April

Packing... have a last minutes' shopping ...and back home by 2 pm flight.

WHAT A TYPICAL RETIREE DOES

2009-08-29T20:15:00.000-07:00

MAIN ACTIVITIES

* eBay Business
* Share Watch / Gentings
* Reading & Writing
* Attend free seminars or talks

RECREATIONAL

* Stretching / walking
* Tai Chi
* Karaoke
* Chinese Calligraphy
* Soduku

VOLUNTEERING

* Church Warden
* High School (Facebook)

SIGHTSEEING

* Travelling
* Food Critic

OTHERS

* Houseworks
* Pets ( fishes ...etc)

BATAM TRIP

2009-08-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

BATAM – 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP

22 AUG 2009 Saturday

We left home after work at 1.30 pm and straight to Habour Front to catch ferry to Batam at 3.15 pm. The journey took us one hour. We took a taxi (rp 40,000) from Harbour Bay to I hotel. Ihotel is a 3-4 stars hotel. It is still new and everything looks posh and comfortable. The hotel charge was US $75 per day. I like the location of the hotel. Next to it is the famous Nagoya Hill Shopping centre. We strolled around the area and had our afternoon coffee at Coffee Town at the shopping centre. The shopping centre is the biggest and newest in Batam which the locals are very proud of. Most of the ‘IN” things are happening here!

Coming to Batam for a quick and short rest is most enjoyable! Besides eating and shopping, the next most wonderful thing would be “MASSAGE”. Prices here are very cheap and services are great as compared with hometown.

At 6.30 pm in the evening, we took a taxi (rp30, 000) from Nagoya Hill shopping centre to FAJAR 888 restaurant (recommended by the locals) for our dinner. We had fresh fish, prawns, toufu , eggs and sotong dishes. All in all, we spent only rp 200,000 (dinner for 4) which is equivalent of S$ 30.

23 AUG 2009

9 am. We woke up and enjoyed our “buffer” breakfast in the hotel. After that we had 2 hours aromatic massage at ISABELLE (opposite Nagoya Hill shopping centre). The cost of 2 hours massage was around rp 170,000! That’s S$25 only.

2.45 pm we took ferry from Harbour Bay to Singapore.

We reached home at 7.58 pm.

A FAMILY TRIP TO BALI

2009-08-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

16 APRIL ... Left home at 7.15 am. We had breakfast in Changi airport Terminal 1. Our flight was delayed by 1 hour due to down time of check in counter computer system. We flew at 11am and arrived at Bali airport at 2.30 pm. 3 pm reached Hotel Mercure (taxi fare Rp 50,000). We asked for hotel upgrade successfully but had to wait till 4.30 pm to check in. We used the waiting time to walk around Poppies Lane 1 and had our late lunch at TJ's restaurant. We then went back to hotel for wash up and rest. We had food court seafood for dinner around Hotel area. Being to tired the first day, slept at 11.00 pm (watched TV)!

17 April ....We woke up at 10 am. We walked south and walked around Kuta Centre area. We walked a lot through the lanes (sightseeing & shopping). Surprisingly we were able to walk back to hotel for a short break after a 3 hours long walk under the sun! In the afternoon, we went to Poppies lane 2. We watched the monument (Bali’s bomb victims list) in Legion road and had our 2 hors massage (RP 320000 for 3) there. Not a bad deal! At night, we enjoyed our dinner at high class Ketupat restaurant (Rp 800,000). Though the price was very exorbitant for the locals, I found it was quite OK for us. (Around S$100) . The dishes were authentic and delicious and they are home-cook, too. Too tired to walk, we took horse cart back to hotel.

18 April... We went to Matahari shopping mall (shopping and change $$), Back to hotel. We swam at the swimming pool in the hotel. In the afternoon we went across the road to the sea side. Te waves were very strong and high and we saw a lot of people surfing. At 4.30 pm we took a taxi to JIMBARAN for seafood, sunset view and we watched Bali dances, too. The dinner was great (RP 600,000). We went back at 8.30pm. and still ordered pizza for night snack! J

19 April ...Woke up and walked to nearby restaurant for europeon breakfast. (Rp 200,000 for 3) We walked around the area (last chance shoppingJ). Two hours later, we went back hotel to pack and depart hotel to airport for Singapore. 5 PM reached home!

All in all, it was a wonderful and memorial (4 days 3 nights free and easy trip). We got away to feel the different tempo of life in Bali. The locals were nice though there was a scam going on (by asking you to participate in a game and telling you won a prize so as to lure you to a hotel for talk)! You must try the local dishes in Bali. (You can find many restaurants along the roads!). SPA and massage were extremely cheap and you can bargain for package to suit your requirement.

TAIPEI TRIP

2009-08-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

TAIPEI – 8 DAYS 7 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP

05 AUG 2009

We left home at 6 am for Changi Airport. It was a smooth 30 minutes’ drive all the way to Terminal One. The Tiger Airways KL flight was at 9.00 am. There was a slight delay, and we reached Kuala Lumpur at 10.30 am. We have to check in Kuala Lumpur, confirmed our Air Asia tickets to Taipei and check out from Kuala Lumpur, all within one and a half hours. It was such a rush! We successfully managed and were on our way to Taipei.

At 3.30 pm. We reached Taipei CKS international airport.

We took Taipei air express bus to Grand Formosa Hotel and found our way to 105 Sec 3 Xinyi Road apartment. It was already 6 pm. After putting our belongings in our room, we walked along Xinyi road. We had our dinner at the famous Yong Kang Street where lots of Taiwanese delicacies are sold. We have authentic specialized Taipei Food that night.

Yong Kang Street is the famous street where many locals visited. Local food from southern and northern parts of Taiwan are sold here. You could select to taste a little of each. You can walk around the place where there are many eateries stores for you to view.

After dinner, we intended to go to Shihda night market but we have had a tired day and it was already past 10 pm.

We called it a day and went back to sleep.

06 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast (Yong Jiang Yu Tiau) near Da-An MRT. The food was perfect for the morning. We had eggs, YU TIAU and Doa Chiang .

We took MRT to city area for sightseeing and searching for more Taiwanese food. We tried a lot of variety of food which we could not find in Singapore. The place was around the tuition centre for Taipei secondary and tertiary students. Food portions were big and prices were reasonably cheap. We walked around MRT underground shopping centres. There are many shops selling different types of merchandises.

At night , we took MRT and wandered around Dingxi area.

07 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast (Ding Thai Fong) near Yong Kang Street . We walked along Da- An district and Renai Road again searching for Taiwanese food. We ate from store to store till we are full.

As typhoon would be landed in Taipei to night, wind and rain became stronger and unbearable.

3 pm we bought some food and went back to apartment for Karaoke, WII TV game and ping pong game. We stayed indoor and watched TV programs till late.
.

08 AUG 2009

9.30 am We took a bus to Tien Mu. Most expatriates stay here. We walked around the area. Again, we ate and ate as we walked. We went to SOGO at Zhishan area for afternoon tea. We took MRT to Zhong Shan MRT to wait for the arrival of my wife and younger daughter. ( they stayed at KL for one night due to cancellation of Taipei flight.

They finally arrived at 5 pm at Grand Formosa. We went back to apartment for wash up and put down their belongings.

At night, we went to Liaoning Street night market for dinner. We consumed a lot of Taiwanese food. Finally we had our full meal at one of the local authentic Japanese restaurants.

09 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We enjoyed our breakfast at (Yong Jiang Yu Tiau) near Da-An MRT. After that, we went to northern part of Taipei: DAN SHUEI. We strolled along “old street” and again eat and eat. All the time , it was wet weather and strong wind . We went to SOGO departmental store for an hour.
At night we went to Shinlin night market. Not contented and the night was still young, we went to Shihda night market , too.

10 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We woke up and went straight to Taipei 101.

We went to Beitou . We had SPA and enjoyed the afternoon tea.

At night , we went to Ximending .

11 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We walked to nearby area in search of food. Both persons were sick and returned to apartment.

At 3 pm we took bus for a tour and finally reached SongShan railway station. We went to Wufengpu fashion district. We took train to KeeLong and had dinner at the “temple door”.

At 10 pm we returned back to apartment by express bus.

12 AUG 2009

9.30 am. We walked to nearby area in search of food. We had lu Rou Rice for breakfast. We changed back our e-link cards. .

At 12 pm we returned the keys to the owner. We took a taxi (NT 888) back to airport. We flew back to Kuala Lumpur and thereafter connecting flight from KL to Singapore.

At 1.30 am of 13 Aug 2009 we returned home.

To Malacca with the Family

2009-08-18T02:38:00.000-07:00

MELAKA (or MALACCA) – 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT FREE AND EASY TRIP

14 May 2009

We left home at 10 am. Both Singapore and Johor causeways were not jammed. It was a smooth two hours’ drive all the way to Melaka. At 2 pm. we found our way to Jalan Tan Cheng Lock where our hotel ( Heeren , : 6 bed-room small hotel) was located. We paid RM 260 (family suite) for one night stay. After putting our belongings in our room, we walked along the streets. We had our late lunch at Restoran Nancy’s Kitchen at Jln Hang Lekit. It was an authentic specialized nyonya Peranakan Food. We had Chendol, too. After lunch, we walked along Jonker Street. We had special ice cold coffee and tit-bits at “Third Grand Uncle’s shop” at the end of the street. We went back to hotel to play UNO and thereafter rest for awhile and wash up.

At 6.30 am in the evening, we drove to Melaka Sentral. We went shopping at TESCO, one of the biggest chained local departmental stores in Melaka. (similar to Giant in Singapore) We had our dinner at Kluang Stations (famous for its local dishes and coffee) , TESCO. We strolled around Tesco till 10 pm. (It closed at 11 pm) and went back to hotel to watch DVD (The mummy).

15 May 2010

9 am. We woke up and enjoyed our breakfast in the hotel. We had our lunch: famous chicken rice ball and Laksa. At 11.30 am we drove to MAKOTA PLAZA, another downtown chained high class departmental store (Similar to TAKA, Singapore). We bought a lot of food stuff. It was a warm weather and we stayed in-door and had donuts, tea and coffee. We stayed there till 2.30 pm and then decided to drive back home. Approaching Johor, it was raining cats and dogs. We went to JUSCO, Johor for our dinner (Nando’s chicken). Next to Johor, we saw another new big shopping centre (TESCO, JOHOR)!

We reached home at 11 pm.