The 1st Birthday of 2009

January 7, 2009 1 Comment

This is Felicia’s 1st birthday celebration in Hong Kong. Looking back at my blog last Jan, it was quite a big difference (in terms of crowd – we had Echo, Francis and their parents!) Nevertheless, her afternoon was filled with excitement. 3 rings on the door – 2 real gifts and 1 wrong house call. Felicia still managed to charm "her secret admirers’ gifts" from Singapore – from the great and lovely Meijie, Kalinda, Juliana and the "Special Talented Unique People in Demand" one. (er… that one cannot mention name). Those were great gifts – cake and a very beautiful CRABTREE & EVELYN gift basket!

For Felicia, Tracy and Elkan – it was another "first experience" for them. (I dined at Jumbo 2 years ago). Tonight, I decided to ferry them over to the real, original Jumbo Seafood (at Aberdeen). Mmm.. I re-touched the Singapore Jumbo Seafood logo 2 years ago.. and now I am finally sitting on this look-alike icon. What irony! The experience onboard is good but the food (my first time) is quite disappointing. Certainly, I can see why it has been rotten to its current state now – other than its rich heritage, great service and symbolic icon, the food cannot be compared with our own Singapore Jumbo. Maybe a change of chef would be the answer.

Felicia got her favourite gift tonight – the bag that she wanted so badly in Seoul. She didn’t get the bag cos’ the bargain wasn’t going anywhere. Tracy went back to the shop and secretly bought it for her (of course, making the shop-keeper so happy!). Felicia’s eyes sparkled when she saw the bag – it is like finding back a longlost lover. My gift? A Mighty Mouse for her! (Finally, she can get rid of that dirty old rat!)

Of course, Elkan hasn’t been a good boy tonight. He was thinking someone would have bought Felicia "toy cars or games" that she can share with him. Haaa.. fat hope! It is Felicia… not Joe Chua.. My son, wrong target audience to whine for sharing. Come to daddy lah.

Still, he was a good boy today. I gave him $20 this morning in school, telling him to bring mummy to the cake shop (when she picks him up later) and buy her her favourite egg-tarts. He remembered that and he brought Felicia to the shop as instructed by me. A surprised Felica wondered how he managed to do that "so manly" – leading her to the shop and bought the tarts all by himself. Of course, she suspected I could be that MasterMind.

No big Wahbiang Gathering like before.. but you guys at home did make your presence felt. Life’s so unfair.. I have no house-calls during my birthday. Instead, I have 2 flown-in intruders in my house instead! Haaaaa…. Thanks for all the effort and fun! Love you guys so much!

Filed under Wahbiang

Sunday Lunch with TP Friends!

January 4, 2009 Leave a comment

 

April and Dorothy (our 32nd and 33rd visitors) are in town and Danielle organised a mini TP-Gathering (in fact, we met twice) in Hong Kong. Elkan got the best of the world – he, as usual, terrorised the "pretty girls" and kept them occupied for hours! And yes, he made Eric happy first before holding Dorothy’s hand.

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Recovery

January 2, 2009 2 Comments

After 2 days of attempting "self-heal", I gave up and headed for the doctor (after much nagging from the people in the house). It was a lousy feeling. I thought I could overcome this "normal fever" (er…..until it hit a constant 39 today) by drinking lots of water and fruits and taking regular Panadol. I never like taking anti-biotic, that is why I refused to see the doctor. But it was so bad this afternoon that I have to leave work early for home to seek help. (Just in time, my Admin Manager passed me the 2009 AIA Clinical Card this morning!)

The bad fever or bodyache isn’t due to birdflu or the common cold (and it got nothing to do with the Korean Trip too!). It is "Tonsillitis" – an old enemy since teenage days. Consistently, this enemy will knock on my doors every Feb, May and Sept. But since the last 3 years, he hasn’t come back to haunt me this much. To seriously get rid of him is to go for surgery to remove him for good. But then, I need him too – cos the tonsils act as part of the immune system to help protect against infection. In particular, they are believed to be involved in helping fight off pharyngeal and upper respiratory tract infections. (Okay, I plucked the last line from the net…haaa)

I should be well again over the weekend…since I am not doing "self-heal". Darn, I should have done that 2 days ago (when it was still a good 37s)!

Filed under Jo's Thoughts

An United Collage for 2009 (Updated)

January 1, 2009 1 Comment


TALK ABOUT LOVE – There is never a better way to start the 1st blog of 2009. It is indeed a great way celebraing 2009, having all my friends’ wishes here. It was a simple idea and calls were made across the globe – to Shanghai, Beijing, Jakarta, Venice and Singapore. Took me only 20 minutes to verbalise the idea to all of you. Best of all, you guys were just so sporting! Thanks for your efforts, creativity and time to do this for me! Great new year spirit and I do enjoy this togetherness and unity! As promised, this is what you want for 2009! May your dreams come true! Enjoy the pixs! (For those who want to send me "your want", please email your pix to my hotmail! More wishes to come in the next days).

p/s (Man, I am down with a lousy fever and bodyache for 2 days liao.. .hope it is not some birdflu)

Filed under Wahbiang

The Last Blog of 2008 – “A Vintage Year”

December 31, 2008 Leave a comment

(Above Photo – A handmade Christmas Gift from Kalinda)

2008 has been an eventful and lousy year for many. It is the year when many unprecedented events took place – The Biggest Snow Storm in Southern China, The Worst Hurricane of Myanmar, The Massive EarthQuake of Sichuan, The Chinese Olympic, The Mumbai Bombing, The Financial Tsunami, The Elected Black President of USA, The Tibet Riot, The Chinese Milk Scare and The Fall of Asian Leaders (Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, Thailand and Taiwan).  It is also the year when we witnessed a weakest USA and a strongest China. A year when we have to constantly remind ourselves that lives are indeed fragile – and we were helpless at nature’s worst moments. It is also the year when we should wake up and remind ourselves about those dubious donation scandals of many churches, temples and foundations. It is also the year when we learnt the hard lesson how investment can go surprisingly wrong – when you least expected.

For me, it has been a "Vintage Year" – it is the year when I saw change took place. From Shanghai to Hong Kong, I bid farewell to a good team of friends in China and started my new life in Hong Kong. It has been a dramatic year in my career. With a positive mind and the help of my Shanghai team, I bridged the business seamlessly over. Over in HK, I was truly blessed with a new team of capable "angels", we achieved the impossibilities within a short span of 6 months. It is something I am very proud of. We achieved a couple of "world firsts" in the world of Duty Free. And for the first time in the agency’s history, our relationships with our clients and performance reached a new peak!

Despite the first half (transisition) of 2008, many painful changes were actually for the better. Alicia is happily married and is now enjoying a fantastic career. Clare has a great home, great career and blissfully married. Lisa just got engaged! And my old pal, Calvin Mao – he is now a happy father! Not to forget my favourite Rebecca, she is now a successful manager in her new job – and I heard good words about her – even in Hong Kong. For Tracy, she scored a couple of "excellent ratings" for her works in GTR.

In Hong Kong, I enjoyed a dynamic second half. My family is happily settled. Elkan is enjoying school and looking forward to go school! Except for the small cozy house, we are overly happy with our new home (yes…looking for a bigger unit next year). Lots of visitors in Hong Kong (double of Shanghai’s) and we were indeed thrilled with their presence. Our friends and family members are also doing very well – Echo and Francis added a new kid in their house, Johnny (& Ming) is a father too, Scott is finally attached with beautiful Yiyi, Joanne is running Caffine well, Juliana and Duuk are to-be-parents, Yixi, Gareth and Hovman got their ideal jobs, Yei is getting hitched with Summer finally and my family had their first rare group tour to Taiwan and Hong Kong! (Mmm..same as my in-laws too!)

2008 has been a difficult year but overall, I became a stronger and better man after all the uncertainties and big changes. It takes a lot of courage to face change. Indeed, chao filters losers and winners. And I am happy that we have been very successful winners in this chaotic times.
 

Filed under Jo's Thoughts

TP Gathering in HK on New Year Eve

December 31, 2008 Leave a comment

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Wahbiang Xmas Party 2008!

December 31, 2008 Leave a comment

The Wahbiang Christmas Party has always been a very important and significant gathering for my clan of very very good friends. It has been a tradition started back in 1993 and we have  been meeting faithfully for the past 15 years. Since we started to have our own houses, we took turns to host this event. It is an annual event which I always look forward to and one I solely missed so much. For this is the one event that brings deep joys and connections to all of us.

Over the years, there have been big changes in all our lives. People come and go – that is a nature progression of things. Some bonds were strengthen and others waiting for a chance to be reconnected. I was pretty worried that this tradition of hosting the annual Christmas gathering will cease after I left for China two years ago. But I am so happy that my good friends (from Dunman, DCS, Temasek) stick togther and organised it so well.

Gone are our tradition to bring good cause to the poor and sickly (that is my only regret). Over the years, BoTian Home for the Aged has became such a big organised home with good funding. Back then, we were only struggling students – we don’t have the kind of money we had today – we decided not to spend good money on clubs and dinners during Christmas and used this "dinner money" for the poor – that is the reason we have been having humble Christmas gathering at home. It was indeed a good begining to our noble gesture. We should retain this goodwill of "giving" in our daily lives – not just for Christmas. It makes the counting down to Christmas Day more meaningful to all.

This year, Joanne hosted the Christmas and we had our 1st ever afternoon gathering. Kalinda took up the heavy role to organise the whole party. Trust me, it is a heavy role when you have to "round up" all the busy friends. I was guilty for not being around – as I took my wife, kid and Tracy up to Korea. Sam and family were in Italy. And I wonder where’s Jimmy too. Yeah… we should be there.. no matter what. Perhaps, that is the least effort I should put in in my coming years to come.

Friends are the most important asset – second to family. They are the one who see me through all main stages of my lives – from my graduation day to my wedding night and to the moment when I became a father. Some friends were with me during my times of career…following and supporting throughout my days in VOXmedia, Caffeine and now Ogilvy. And some friends I miss so much are now away in Beijing and Shanghai.

I hope it is not too late to wish all of my friends a good festive season! Merry Christmas to all my Wahbiang Clan.
And to all who read my blog so faithfully. 

Filed under Wahbiang

Soul of Asia Part 2 – Going Home

December 28, 2008 Leave a comment


Finally, after a good long 7D6N holiday in South Korea – we are now packing our bags heading back home (to Hong Kong). This has been a fantastic journey – and I have only good words about Korea – it is certainly a city worth-visiting! And it offers more than what I can ever imagined! The "Visit Korea 2009 TVC" says it all "My camera can only captured so much. For the rest of Seoul, I put in my heart." It is just so true!

Korea, coined as the "Soul of Asia", is a great shopping and food paradise. Seoul City is a very clean, systematic and modern place. Most importantly, Seoul didn’t lost her Korean identity like most big cities out there (due to modernisation and over-cloning of international brands). The city retains a big portion of her own identity – in food, designs, fashions, handicrafts, architecture and her People. Korea is a pretty affordable travel destination (living standard is about somewhere inbetween Shanghai and Hong Kong). And don’t worry, you can’t go wrong if you decide to visit Korea the free and easy way – most of the the locals don’t speak English (quite a number speak good mandarin instead!) but you should be able to overcome that easily. Simply use hand and body language – you can make almost 80% of what they are trying to communicate. And yes, keep a good faith, big smile and open mind.

Certainly, we (including Tracy, Elkan, Feli and myself) love Korea so so so much! (For my Elkan, it must be the "snow" or "cold white sands" which he was so crazy about.) Felicia loves the things here so much that she is asking me for a bigger house so she can buy back those things to put at home. Tracy is gaga over those local Korean men.. Half the time, she is eyeing those men (instead of watching for the traffic!) For me… food and sex come in a package…the food is great! (Darn, even Tracy can find food to eat – we thought there is nothing for her except Korean BBQ!) But for sex… sigh, I never get any chance to check out the infamous love motels or any pretty sexy Korean babes yet. For most of us, Korea is a little Taiwan-Australia-Shanghai-Singapore mix. It is so comfortable and beautiful that we really wish we can extend our stay here for another month.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

Enough said, here are our "Top Must Visit Places" in Seoul:

NUMBER 1 – INSADONG STREET
Certainly my favourite streets – lots of cultural, designers stuffs here. Lots to see and many small back alleys to explore!


NUMBER 2 – LOTTE WORLD
For small kids and those who don’t want to grow up – The Lotte World is an eye-opener! The indoor park is far more impressive than the outdoor one (which is pretty similar to the Disneyland). One of our best rides is the "Hot Air Balloon" – a suspended ride that brings you up to the ceiling of the big hall and you "float" around. The only bad thing about this place is the long slow queue. Be patient…some rides can take you more than 90 minutes to queue!

NUMBER 3 – NAMDAEMUN MARKET
The "SiangYang" of Seoul – A big wholesale market that offers lots of goods (toys, handicrafts, bags, shoes, clothings, food and more!) Easy to bargain – no need Korean – just press the numbers on the calculator. Try not to discuss the pricing with each other in Mandarin as some of them speak fluent Mandarin. I say – best stick to your own dialects.

NUMBER 4 – CHANGDEOKGUNG
There are 5 Royal Palaces in Seoul – and this one is on the United Nations World Heritage List. Not as big as the forbidden city of Beijing, you can only visit the Changdeokgung Palace with a guide. So, make sure you get your timing right (3 slots per day) for the English-speaking guide.

NUMBER 5 – CHEONGGYE STREAM
Sitting right beside the Cityhall, this stream or "canal-looking" is a great place to stroll. It is like back to my old Kampong days when me and my friends walk on the "banks of our Katong Logang". Haaa… seriously, it is a very beautiful place… If only our Boat Quay or Singapore River offer walks like this.

NUMBER 6 – SEOUL TOWER
Be prepared to take a bumpy and crowded bus ride and then, walk up the 45-degree steep slope up! For those who never been to a tower, this is quite a good recommendation. Check out the "lover locks fence" (thousands of pad-locks with wishes and love messages hanging by the wire-fence). For Teddy Bear lovers, do visit the "Teddy Bear Museum". Best time to go is around 5-7pm – The sunset view from the top (at 380m high) is enchanting!

NUMBER 7 – MYUNGDONG STREETS
Big brands. Big showrooms. Unlike those small congested shops you see in shopping mall, this street is filled with "blocks of brands" – each brand having their own individual space. Lots of space for unique display of their products. A great space for product browsing and shopping!

Wow! This is quite a long blog! Hope you find these pixs and recommendations attractive! For a minute, I want to apply a "tourism-journalist" job – cos I love taking photos, eating, sight-seeing, playing, shopping and… reporting!

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Soul of Asia Part 1 – Our White Christmas

December 26, 2008 Leave a comment

This is one of those rare moments when I can take out my Macbook and blog during transit. It is another 3-hour ride from YongPyong to Seoul city.

Today is Christmas Day (and our 3rd day in Korea). Now, I am tying this blog in a bus, seating beside Elkan (yah…he is busy with his PSP game). Felicia and Tracy are seating behind us, dozing away.

With another 4 more days to go, this trip has been one of the best holidays we had in a long long time. Christmas has never been so white for me. For all of us, it is our first White Christmas – Lucky Elkan, he is only 4 and I have to wait 34 years to enjoy this.

It was a long way from Hong Kong. We took more than 12 hours in transit from our house to the hotel in YongPyong (3-hour ride from the Seoul). The 1st day was challenging and confusing for us. The Koreans don’t speak much English and they seem to understand our questions. There is no tour guide or pre-booked transfer – we have to make our way from Inchon Airport to the ski resort. Thanks goodness, we bumped into a Singapore family (in one of the subway) who was also traveling to snow mountains. That concludes a fact – Singaporeans are everywhere!

Prior to this trip, we spent a bomb on our winter clothing and this investment is worthwhile. At minus 5-6 degrees, we don’t feel a thing! I was hoping the cold will “lesser” Elkan’s hyperness – instead, the snow triggered the monster inside him! For the last 48 hours, he was an unstoppable bug! It was a joy to see him so happy and hyper. But it was also a bigger pain to endure his endless whining and complains.

Yesterday was eventful. We took a 20-minute cable-car ride up to the “Dragon Peak” (1050m high) – There was a snowstorm brewing, strong wind and lots of snow. Visibility was only about 80-100m. Tracy, Elkan and Felicia were possessed – they ran out into the storm and played snow! I slipped and had a nasty bump and my butt still aches now. The view from the top is beautiful!



Later in the evening – we decided to go for our Olympic style snow skiing. I took snowboarding and Tracy went for the ski. Of course we did well! Tracy took the “slightly advance” slope and she took a bad impact.



Christmas Eve was a quiet affair up the mountain. No countdown or fireworks. Just a bunch of youngsters selling Christmas cakes at our hotel. We spent the last hour of Christmas Eve visiting the “Winter Sonata” museum. The snow came just minutes before Christmas – so powdery and fine – now I know what snowflakes mean… it is just so beautiful.

Haaa… Elkan just dozed off, still holding the PSP in his hand. Guess it is time for me to catch a short nap. Next stop – Good decent shopping and eating! (No more snow and ski! Yeah!)

Merry Christmas!

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

Ogilvy Belated 60th Anniversary Party

December 19, 2008 Leave a comment

Filed under Life in Hong Kong

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