The Past Few Days

Over the past few days, i have been absolutely busy ...

- trying to secure a few tickets on Silk Air to Singapore from Kota Kinabalu in the next few weeks as most flights are already sold out due to the school holidays

- searching for a cheap but decent apartment in Singapore

- preparing all documents needed to open a bank account in Singapore

- making request to my credit card issuer bank to give me a temporary 100% increase of my credit card limit

- exploring the vast choices of broadband and fibre optic broadband packages offered by various telecommunication companies in Singapore

- looking up for informations on TV licensing fee in Singapore

- checking out for Singapore VISA extension requirements for extended family members

- digging up informations about Dr. KK Ong

- searching for informations on CABG and the mortality rate etc.

Ah Lai Losing His Virginity

First of all, i am not talking about that virginity. I am talking about Ah Lai going to the casino for the very first time in his whole life. Yes, that's the virginity that i am talking about. Your mind strays to "that" when you first read the title of this particular post because you have a very corrupted mind.

So, i was in Singapore for 4 days last week and Singapore is still as great as it always has been. I only met Lai on my second day in Singapore. There was something important last Friday and he simply couldn't skip school. We didn't do much that day and we only met around 4.30pm and he had to leave for his school play at somewhere in Buona Vista an hour later. We then had a supper at ION Orchard Food Opera when he came back around 10.30pm. I was with Law Lee Hui the entire morning/afternoon that day, by the way.

Lai stayed with me on my second and third day in Singapore. For some reason which i do not know, Lai wanted to go to a temple in Bugis first before hitting the casino. Initially, our plan was just to check out what a casino actually looks like since neither of us have been to one. We didn't stick to our plan much longer though.

Marina Bay Sands is absolutely fantastic. The hotel is awesome and the design is one of a kind. Plenty of natural lights and we did what most guys do. We talked about what a magnificent piece of architecture it is and the cost of it blah blah blah ... The shopping mall is not as big as i pictured it though. Anyway, we went straight to the casino located on the ground floor. Had our passport checked before we were allowed to enter the casino premise.

Our first impression of the casino was wow ! Just as what we saw on the TV Series Las Vegas. However, there weren't many people that day. We only played the slot machine at Marina Bay Sands. I won S$16 from the slot machine initially with just S$2 initial bet. It didn't last long though. I kept losing then and i decided to cash out at S$10.05. After that, i continued to try my luck at other slot machines and i lost pretty much all the money i won earlier. At the end of the day, i made a profit of S$0.05 only ...

Lai was much luckier at first. He won more than S$25 with just S$2 initial bet. But then he lost all the money he won earlier and another S$7. He was very upset then and we decided to leave.

We had our lunch at Food Republic in VivoCity before going to the other casino, Resorts World Sentosa. I've been here the day before with Law Lee Hui but we did not go into the casino. It is kind of different here at Resorts World Sentosa. There were definitely more people in the casino here compared to Marina Bay Sands. Resorts World Sentosa has a different wow factor compared to Marina Bay Sands but either way, we are very impressed.

Ah Lai wanted to try his luck here again. The minimum initial bet for the slot machine at Resorts World Sentosa is much higher at S$10. This however, did not stop Lai from playing. And guess what ? He lost everything here too in less then 5 minutes.

Ah Lai was so upset and speechless. He was determined to recover his losses. People with gambling addiction problem always have this kind of thought in their minds haha ... He then tried his luck at the Blackjack table. Well, that day was his lucky day after all i guess. He even struck Blackjack four times. The minimum bet for each game is S$25, by the way. At the end of the day, he made a net profit of more than S$100. Not bad for a virgin haha ...

I will write more about my brief Singapore trip in the next few days. Pictures will also be posted then. Stay tuned !

The Huge Explosion

When the news came in this morning around 11.45am (GMT +8) from Indonesia, all major news channels such as CNN, BBC, CNBC Asia, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Sky News and even Reuters reported that the Aussie plane carrying 459 people has crashed over the Batam Island, Indonesia which is located in the south of Singapore. But of course, this is not true.

The aircraft involved is the European made Airbus A380-800 which has 2 floors and this Qantas whalejet is powered by 4 Rolls-Royce engines. All 6 Airbus A380-800 including the one involved in this incident has been grounded indefinitely.

This plane originated from London-Heathrow and it stopped in Singapore for more than 1 hour for refueling before continuing its last leg of flight for the day to Sydney.

Part of the number 2 engine is gone

Part of the wing is damaged as well. Picture was taken by a fellow passenger as soon the the plane landed safely at Changi, Singapore.

A closer look at the damage on the left wing

Debris found in Indonesia

Pictures taken right after landing just now ...

This is the plane that involved in this incident

This is where the plane was when the explosion happened

Student Hostel Inside Singapore Nanyang Technological University

I'll be in Singapore next week between 11th November 2010 (Thursday) - 15th November 2010 (Monday). Bought the ticket just about two weeks ago for RM620 round-trip in Economy Class on Silk Air. All this while, i have been thinking where to stay in Singapore and Ah Lai was generous enough to offer me to stay at his place inside his hostel at NTU. Anyway, below are the pictures he sent to me to convince me his place is clean and comfortable and absolutely nothing like the student hotel in local universities.

It does look pretty comfortable eh ? And the toilet looks surprisingly clean as well. His room is shared with a Singaporean and i was told that he will be around on Thursday and Sunday nights. Now that is a problem. It is very troublesome for me to move twice and i have finally decided that it is the best to just stay outside somewhere near the city centre.

As some of you already know, hotel accommodation in Singapore is expensive and it is even more expensive than hotels in London and Hong Kong. I can find a 4-star hotel in the bustling Causeway Bay Hong Kong for a mere RM250/night but this is impossible in Singapore. The cheapest 4-star hotel is sold for RM500/night in Orchard Road (our equivalent of Bukit Bintang). Can you believe it ? Argh !!!

Anyway, i'll be staying at Concorde Hotel which is located near the end of Orchard Road on the first day and the three remaining days at Mandarin Orchard Hotel which is located in the centre of Orchard Road (yahoo !!!). I have stayed at both hotels before and both are decent hotels. Will post the pictures up here after i return from my trip. I will also check out the casino at both Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa. Stay tuned !