Lazy Weekend

August 22, 2010 Leave a comment

3 fat men, 3 matriarchs and 2 little monsters lazing on Shek O Beach this afternoon. The sun, the beach, the sea breeze and the sexy babes in bikinis plus our favorite snacks and cold drinks. Everything seemed perfect until our beach-goers neighbors returned with frantic looks on their faces. Their barang-barang were gone! Apparently – while the adults were relaxing on the beach chairs, the 2 little boys went around digging holes and burying other people’s belongings. In the end, poor mothers and dads had to help the poor strangers to dig out their stuffs. (Of course, looking at the boys’ expression, they have zero idea that it is a crime! In fact, Elkan did told Felicia that he has buried some "treasures" in the sand moments before. And Felicia took it as his imaginative jokes.) It was such a comical moment and I tried my best not to laugh. Okay, no more digging for our boys!

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

In Love with Singapore. Again.

August 21, 2010 Leave a comment


I have been away from home for almost 9 months. Thanks to a recent business trip to Indonesia last week, I am able to transit in Singapore for a short while to see my family and friends back home. Goodness, Singapore has changed so much in the last 9 months! And it is good enough for me to fall in love with her once more. 

The first difference I noticed is the large casino billboard on the wall at the airport arrival immigration hall. This is so different from the usual clean, good-city image that Singapore has been portraying for decades. I can feel the city is transforming.

Out at the taxi stand, there are so many types of taxi. Taxi now comes in all shapes and colours. They all look new, sparkling clean, sporty, spacious and comfortable. My cab driver was chatty throughout the trip. He actually mistook me as a Taiwanese as he said my Mandarin accent doesn’t sound local. (Haaa…wait till some one hears my son speaking Mandarin – Elkan struggled his Mandarin like an Ang Moh.)

On the way to my hotel, it was such an eye-opening journey. At the top of Singapore’s longest bridge “Benjamin Sheares Bridge”, it offers one a spectacular panoramic view of our city. You see some of our world record breakers here – the World’s largest outdoor swimming pool at the new Marina Sands Sky Park, the World’s largest Ferris Wheel – Singapore Flyer, and the World’s first double-helix bridge. I also saw the YOG Flame at the new Marina Reservoir Water Stadium (where Singapore is now hosting the 1st Youth Olympic Games). Not to mention the preparation works for our 3rd Night F1 Racing that will take place in September.

Kalinda and Meijie were my tour guide for the weekend. Without them, I will be lost for sure. Orchard has changed so much since my last visit. I feel it is finally back on the chart to re-reign its status of one of Asia Pacific’s best shopping districts! Other than the 2 infamous floods and sandbags, the quality of shopping, dining, entertainment are world class! Certainly, the pretty girls of Orchard are back too! (And there are so many Apple shops now!)

Despite the short weekend stay, I managed to revisit some of my favorite haunts – Parkway Parade, Tampines Mall and Katong. Thanks to Karen and Charlie, they brought me to Jalan Kayu (the famous roti-prata street) on my last night!

Well, it is an exciting home trip. I felt like a tourist! Maybe I should skip my Dubai or Cairo visit this year and bring the family home to Singapore for our Christmas holidays! We certainly need at least 5 good days to orientate ourselves back home!

Filed under Jo's Thoughts, Life in Singapore

Happy Happy Happy Birthday!

August 21, 2010 Leave a comment



Thanks to the birthday trio – It has been a long long time since we have such a large Wahbiang gathering! It is so good to reconnect with some of my best 2-decade longtime buddies from my old school and working days. The old boys were talking about their fat and the new gadgets (cars, iPad, iPhone), the girls were chatting about their kids and work. This is one clan of people I love so so much!

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Coke Walk?

August 8, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Causeway Bay, Hong Kong – Coke Walk at 33-degree??? Who in the right mind would suggest such a thing??? It must be darn hot inside! Poor walkers, they can’t see properly and many were swaying. What a torturing gimmick! They should put the Coke Marketing Manager inside these vending machines! There are many simpler (and cooler) ways to delight the audience. Next time, just send a troop of Coke Models in Red. With big smiles and free bottles of coke to give away! That will do just fine.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Pocket Companions

August 8, 2010 Leave a comment



Since the 80s, consumers crave for these gadgets. There is something magical about them. Students, working class, celebrities and even housewives gone bananas over them! (Remember the infamous "Tamogotchi Fever", the brickgame phenomenon and now the exorbitant iPAD water-goods prices!) These icons come and go – You see them everywhere – on the MRT, in the cafe, in the schools, in the office and even in the loos. They transform human behaviors. Students vying for coolness in schools,
adults socializing through them and commuters go "zombie-ing". Big brands ballooned overnight. Think Nintendo, Sony, Bandai and now Apple. All of them have 1 thing in common – Thanks to the invention of batteries – Without it, these personal hand-held entertainment devices won’t exist today.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts

Pizza Boy

August 8, 2010 Leave a comment

It is school holidays and Elkan is attending summer classes (drawing, swimming and cooking!) Yesterday, he baked us his first pizza! Surprisingly yummy! More cooking classes, please.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Our 1st Hong Kong BBQ

August 1, 2010 Leave a comment

It has been almost 2 years since my last BBQ gathering. Felicia and I decided to organise a BBQ party for the clan in Hong Kong this weekend.

I was expecting the old fun of BBQ (like the ones at the East Coast Beach) – setting up the charcoal, getting the hands dirty, skewing the raw cold chicken wings and fanning the fire. Well, the pit at our club house comes with the gas-powered BBQ stove. There is no need for the traditional black charcoal. Just press a button to get the fire going. With a constant fire, it was so easy to get our food cooked. The club house also supply marinated food and BBQ utensils. We had our BBQ in a big cozy semi-outdoor garden with a 8-seater garden table. There is also a sink (with soap) and air-con toilets nearby. Everything is just so convenient here.

Somehow, I prefer BBQ outdoor in the wild – by the seaside. The elements of Mother Nature (like the wind / the rain / the sand / the bugs) were missing here. Hah Hah…I am not complaining…but this is a little bit too clean and "concrete" for me.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Sports Day (Before the Big BBQ Feast)

August 1, 2010 4 Comments

(Photo Taken: Sports Day @ Club House – Elkan was playing bowling on the iPhone while the rest of the adults were sweating it out. It’s Sports Day today at Joe’s club. Cousin Mike thrashed everyone in table tennis – with a very big winning gap. Sportsman of the Day goes to Hong Fei. He is the only one who did all 3 sports – swimming with Ethan and table tennis + bowling with the rest of us. So healthy for this old Ah Pek.)

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Flooding At Robin Close

July 31, 2010 Leave a comment

(Photo Taken: Robin Close, Singapore – Photos shared by my Auntie Amy. Cousin Leon, it is probably safer to stay put & "dryer" in your Xiamen nest for the time being. Wonder if our Ministers’ landed properties flooded too? Good to have the "void deck" concept in all our HDB flats.)

Filed under Family

Love 200th

July 25, 2010 3 Comments

Felicia was in shock and very surprised when she saw me holding a bouquet of white lilies at the door. You can almost see the "big question" mark on her face. I gave her the flowers and a hug. She was petrified and not sure what was going on. Haaa…I bet in her head, she was scanning millions of data for answers. Well, it is neither her birthday nor our wedding anniversary. It was just another "24th" day of the month.

Felicia and I began our fateful journey on 24th Nov 1993. In those days of puppy loves, we have absolutely no idea how long we are going to last. From the very beginning, we were counting and marking our togetherness by months. I have made a promise to myself that I will walk this journey with her as long as we can. On our 1st "Bobojojo" day, I made her a hand-drawn cartoon card. Since then, we have been wishing each other love on every 24th of the month. We were married on our 100th month in Singapore. That day was 24th March 2002.

For the next 99 months, we entered another new phase of our life. Life was very exciting and blissful. I am getting fatter and Felicia is getting prettier. In 2004, Elkan was born and he changed our lives drastically. Felicia and I were also separated for almost 1 year when I moved to work in Shanghai in 2006. By mid 2007, Elkan and her moved and joined me in China. Since then, we have been living abroad – moving from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

This May, I realised our 200th month will take place on 24th July 2010. Over the last 199 months, Felicia has been sending me sweet note (on every 24th day of the month). I want to give her a sweet surprise this time. Finding a right present for Felicia is extremely difficult. Over the years, I have given her the same old boring list of gifts – watches, bags and jewelry. I wanted to plan another "surprise holiday" for her but my workload is extremely heavy this period. Tracy suggested that I cook for her. Well, after my last kitchen disaster in Shanghai, I have told myself not to enter that place again.

Lately, I have seen Felicia playing on her iPhone. Every night, she spends hours surfing FACEBOOK or reading articles / recipes on that little small screen. I have decided to give her an iPAD. Problem is: It is not officially launched in Hong Kong. (The water goods cost 50% more!) Lady Luck was shining on me! Last Monday, Apple announced the launch date of iPAD in Hong Kong on 23rd July! By sheer luck, I managed to get 1 for her yesterday!

When Felicia finally read the message in the card and saw the gift, she smiled at me and whispered. "I was really surprised. I didn’t know you were counting…Dear…I don’t need such expensive gift. I prefer your cooking."

It was a sweet and lovely moment. And then, my expression changed and I gave her that prankster Joe-Look – "Okay… Now, where is my surprise present?" No present, she said and left. And then, Elkan pestered "Huh? You mean today is Mummy’s birthday? No? Then why she has an iPAD gift? What about me leh? Hmmp! Not fair!"

Heee…Life is back to normal again.

Filed under Jo's Thoughts

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