Weekday

Replenished my sleep for the past few days by waking up at around 2 pm today. Met up with Ks to go for Zhangyi's mini concert at Esplanade. We had dinner at Alexandria hawker centre before going there.

We arrived just in time and Zy was the next to perform.


Zy on stage at the Concourse in Esplanade

The piece was around 5 mins long and it was composed by Zy as well. A commendable effort as it is quite an original and creative composition.



We chatted for some time before going back to Suntec for some shopping.

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Tired

I'm deprived of sleep coz of the world cup matches. Watched Brazil vs Ghana, Italy vs Australia, Germany vs Sweden matches the past 3 days.

My entertainment hub

After work today, i got a shock when i saw a wheel clamp on my lorry. There was a form stuck onto my wiper stating that i have to pay $50 for illegal parking. The Normanton Park security guards had my wheel clamped and i spoke with them at the entrance. Luckily, i was able to settle the dispute without me paying any money.


The dreaded letter on my windscreen wiper

Anyway, it was my last day at InCall Systems this week as the project some of us are handling have ended. I should be going back to work next monday if everything goes to plan. It is the perfect time to catch movies before the Taiwan trip. Gotta watch The Road to Guantanamo, Superman Begins, maybe 4:30 and U-Carmen.

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Weekend

Went out with Ks, Kr and Ly on sat to kbox in the afternoon for Ks's 22nd birthday celebration. There is a birthday promo at all kbox outlets for the birthday boy/girl that waive the charge of 1 person. In additon, there is a sparkling juice and cake provided.



Kr left a short while after we cut the cake as he was going to play soccer with his friends. The rest of us ate the delicious and thick chocolate cream cake, the tidbits that can be refilled and drank more than 2 glasses of beverages. We sang until 6 pm and went to Borders for a short while before grabbing a bite at Mos burger.

I met up with my jc friends later as Meibin had arranged for us to meet up with her friend, Lz, who will be joining us for the Taiwan trip. The 5 of us spent some time at Mac having dinner and discussing the itinerary for the Taiwan trip on 4 July.

Next, we all headed to my house for the soccer match between Germany and Sweden. Derrick, Terence and Py joined us as well.


On my bed (Meibin's face got covered by Edwin)

There was more discussing of the Taiwan trip after the match as there might be changes to the hotel in Taipei. They then left for home at around 2.30 am.

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Sports

Sunday 18 Jun

Woke up late for a basketball session in the morning with Fuli, Weiming, David and Isa. By the time i arrived, they were already chilling out at Weiming's house (i was late for almost 4 hours). Slept at 4 am the previous day due to the soccer match my jc friends and i watched.

We had lunch at AMK next and walked around for a while before heading back to Wm's house. We just played some PS2 games and read some magazines there before heading back home in the evening.

Mon 19 Jun

Got a call from my supervisor asking me if i was free to return to work. So, i'm back to being employed again. Went out for supper at night with my jc gang at night.

Tue 20 Jun

Watched the free telecast soccer match of Germany vs Ecuador on the Starhub preview channel. I think i'm beginning to like soccer.

Wed 21 Jun

Going to watch the match of Portugal vs Mexico later.

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New Zealand Day 11

Day 11 Rotorua to Hamilton to Auckland

The white water rafting guys called us today and told us that the Waitangi River was open for rafting. They picked up us at our motel in the morning and we set off on our adventure.

We arrived at a large shack and there were changing rooms for us to change into the wet suits. The cost of water rafting is NZ$65 per pax.

After changing into the wet suits, we locked our bags in the chest and headed back onto the minibus to get to the start of the river.

Upon reaching, we were assigned different seatings according to our height and weight. The lighter ones sat in the centre of the raft so that the weight is evenly distributed.

Next, we were taught the correct body position while sitting on the raft, the rowing techniques, the commands and what we are supposed to do, the proper duck position when approaching rapids and waterfalls, the correct technique to hold the oar and the correct oar grasp when we are ducking.

Also, we all chanted a Mauri prayer for our safety before descending onto the icy cold river. The water was flowing quite fast and the tide was rather high. We practised the rowing techniques and the execution of commands first before going down any rapids or waterfalls.


Our first rapid

The instructors were very fit and they knew how to manuever the rafts around. We went through a series of rapids before reaching the feared 7 m high waterfall. The raft is about 5 metres in length and we will be racing down the river.


-------------------The 7 m waterfall-----------------------Submerged in the water------------


--------Emerging from underneath the water--------------Cheers to our bravery--------------

Unfortunately, i breathe in some water and got choked when the whole raft was submerged in the water. Was coughing out some water from my windpipe when we emerged from underneath the water.


Waving to the cameraman (3rd guy from the top left row)

There were a series of rapids before we concluded the adventure of white water rafting. We spent a total of around 45 minutes in the water. Rather fun but not as exciting as i expected. It was more tiring than i expected as we rowed quite a lot and carried the raft some distance to the car after we finished the water rafting.

We sat on the minibus that took us back to the large shack and we changed back into our clothes. There are no shower facilities in the shack and we just wiped ourselves with the towels. We bought 1 cd-r containing the photos that the cameraman took which costs $40. That translates to $10 extra per person.

They brought us back to the motel and we drove to QE Spa again for our mineral bath. It was another refreshing and rejuvenating experience.

Our late lunch was at Fat Dog and we headed to The Luge next. Only Jr and i went for the luge, a go-cart-like activity that is racing down a hill. Jh and Jm went to the glass blowing shop nearby for a look.

The Luge costs only $25 and it entails us to 2 cable car rides (up and down the hill), 2 luges (down the hill 2 times) and 2 chair lifts (up the hill 2 times).


Rotorua Skyline Cable Car

It was drizzling and we went for the luge anyway. The controls on the luge (go-cart) is simple; pull to brake and release tension to accelerate. We were racing down the hill in no time and the speed of the luge can reach up to 50 km per hour! However, we cannot go so fast at the bends or we will roll down the grassy slope. There are no barriers to protect people from falling over and we have to take care of our own safety.

There were certain parts with sharp turns, some parts with narrow road and some parts with steep slope to make the ride more exciting. It was definitely much more fun and energy efficient compared to go-cart as it relies on just gravity to power the luge and the speed is faster.


The Chair Lift to go back up the hill

There are again not much safety features on the chair lift other than portions of net below us and a movable bar in front of our chests. Our feet were dangling over the steep slopes and any loose footwear will be gone forever if the wind gets strong. Not that i mind the lax in safety features though, as we will be more nervous and the activity gets more exciting with more danger involved.

The next round of luge was more exciting as Jr was chasing me from the top to the bottom of the hill. He was so close to my luge that he nearly bumped into me when i braked at a bend. We negotiated the bends at quite a high speed and our luges near flipped. There was one point when my luge was dangerously near the side of the road facing steep slopes. An exhilarating ride indeed. We then sat on the chair lift again back up the hill.


Scenery of Rotorua with the cable car

Next, we sat on the cable car back down to the bottom of the hill where Jh and Jm were waiting for the 2 of us. We then continued on our road trip back to Auckland.

Jm had arranged to meet up with her friend staying in Hamilton as we will be passing through the city on our way back to Auckland.

Jr and i went for a night shopping trip at the city centre while the rest of them were catching up at Starbucks. Got another t-shirt at a shopping mall.


Shopping mall

We went to her friend's house for a short while before heading back to Auckland.

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Soccer Frenzy

Went out with Ks in the morning for a ktv session at cineleisure. Went back home in the afternoon and helped my mum prepare some food as my jc gang is coming my house for a supposed mahjong session.

Mb, Terence, Edwin, Gs and Yh arrived in the evening and we had our home-cooked dinner. After a few rounds of pool, we set up the internet soccer channels on gs's laptop and started watching the match between Portugal and Iran. I brought my lcd monitor down to the living room for an extra screen.

Although i don't watch soccer, watching soccer with many people is quite fun. Mb, Edwin and Yh had spent $10 betting for 3 goals but the result was just 2 goals. The match towards the end was exciting as everyone was rooting for one last goal. We were cheering for the very last goal but it was annulled due to offside.

Derrick joined us after the match and we all decided to bet again for the upcoming Czech Republic vs Ghana match. Edwin, Terence, Mb and Yh headed to Bukit Batok Central Singapore Pools which is open until 12 midnight to buy $10 for 2 goals.

All of us were expecting Czech Rebublic to win but the Ghana goal in the 2nd minute stunned us. We were lucky not to have bought a Czech Rebublic win. The match towards the end was exciting as well coz we were worried that there will be another goal scored by either teams. There had already been 2 goals scored by Ghana in the 80th minute and the last 13 minutes were us wailing at any balls which came near any of the 2 goal posts.

Soon the match was over and we won a total of $37 with an overall profit of $27 for that bet. They left for home at around 2.30 am.

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New Zealand Day 10

Day 10 Rotorua

The water rafting company called us and told us the water levels are above the safety limit and there is no water rafting for today. So we planned for other activities in Rotorua, famous for its thermal activities.

Our first stop is at Tehokowhitu-A-Tu, a Mauri tribe open for tourists as there are many hot springs and geysers within the vicinity. The entrance fee is NZ$20 and a tour guide was bringing us around the tribe.


At the entrance


Water vapour enveloped the tribe and it was like we were in the clouds


Hot geysers in the background

After our tour around the tribe full of thermal activity, we were brought to a small hall as there would be a Mauri tribal performance. There were 7 performers and they sang, danced and performed several tricks like tossing of sticks and twirling of the soft white balls. They also taught the audience some Mauri dance steps after the performance.


Mauri Tribe performance


The show lasted around 30 minutes and we took photos with 2 of the performers after that.

We then visited the souvenir shops and i bought a jar of thermal mud. After a short walk around the tribe, we left promptly as we will be having a farm tour at Agrodome at 1.30 pm. We had lunch at Burger King before going over.



We sat on a large transport tractor vehicle that can bring many people around the large farm.


Feeding ostriches!

Did you notice a puddle near the ostriches? When they heard the cow make a noise, some of them got scared and ran off a short distance, splashing the muddy water at us! I got hit by a glob of mud on my pants. Suay!


Feeding donkeys!

All of us fed many other animals like llamas, sheep and cows. An unlucky caucasian woman accidentally slipped on the slippery grass/mud and her bum landed on some animal shit. Oops! Also, be careful if you are feeding sheep coz some of their shit gets caught in their wool near their backside and if you are surrounded by sheep, chances are that at least one of them rubs their bum on you. Jr was unlucky as he did not 'siam' the sheep backside fast enough and there were some stains on his jeans. He accidentally stepped on some poo as well. Oops x 2!

After our interesting and eventfully dirty farm tour, we cleaned our shoes at the washing area before going to the famous sheep show.


We can see many different types of sheep on the labels and the host was shearing wool from a sheep. There were many koreans (around 200) in the Agrodome and i was even mistaken for a Korean when the Korean tour guide spoke to me in Korean language.

When the host asked for volunteers to milk a cow, Jr and Jm went on stage as there were only a few people who volunteered. Next when the host asked for volunteers to feed baby sheep, Jh and i went up onstage.


Baby sheep are really cute!

After the sheep show, we took photos with the sheep and dogs which are responsible for herding the sheep.

Sheep galore

After the farm tour and sheep show, Jh and Jm dropped Jr and i off at The Zorb while they went to the Redwood Forest to get some souvenirs for their friends. A zorb is a large plastic ball where a person is put inside the ball and rolled down a hill. The ride costs NZ$45 for a classic or zig zag ride. The classic ride is just rolling straight down the hill while the zig zag ride follows a zig zag path down the hill.

I decided not to go for it due to budget concerns and i feel that the ride is too short. The roll down the hill takes less than a minute. Anyway, Jr went for it and i took care of his belongings and helped him take several pictures.


At The Zorb


Jr after his zig zag ride down the hill.

While waiting for Jh and Jm to pick us up, we watched other zorbonauts roll down the hill as well as take photos of the surrounding scenery.


Panaromic mode of the scenery outside The Zorb (Everywhere is so beautiful in New Zealand)

After they picked us up, we went back to the motel to clean ourselves up and to wash our dirty clothes. Then i realized one thing, i didn't bring extra pants or jeans but extra bermudas.

So we decided to make our own dinner at the comfortable motel. Jh and Jm went to the supermarket to buy stuff back to cook while Jr and i handled the washing of our dirty clothes. We screwed up a little during the washing as we thought the dryer is the washing machine. Haha... The dryer looked exactly like a washing machine though.

Jh and Jm brought back spaghetti and seafood and our dear chef Junming whipped up really yummy spaghetti. I can still remember the taste.


Seafood spaghetti in tomato sauce.


A close-up shot of the huge mussel. The seafood there is really fresh and the mussel has so much meat. Each of us had 2 servings of spaghetti and our stomachs were satisfied. Mahjong session next....

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Back to slacker lifestyle

Thursday, 3.30 pm InCall Systems
My dear supervisor informed around 7 of my colleagues including me that we can rest for tomorrow.

Mon to Thursday, a total of $222 earned. Still far from my target of $900 that i can roughly earn in the short 3 weeks before my Taiwan trip on 4 July.

Anyway, life is full of uncertainties and i wasn't really shocked or surprised of the company's decision. Anyway i got 'shot' last year after 2 weeks of data entry in the same company.

Went out with my dad and sister to Seletar Country Club at night for a driving range session.


Driving Range


People playing golf


My dad and I

For people who have never played golf before, golf is as not relaxing or simple as it seems. There is so much more to the swing of the golf club as the body posture, the straightening of the left arm, the arch of the wrist, the flow of the swing motion, the grasp of the golf club, the distance away from the golf ball, the twist of the waist, the aiming of the golf ball, the strength of the swing are calculated and specific.

My sis and i received some training from dad and we trained by aiming at the rubber protusion that is used for supporting golf balls. We missed the golf balls quite a lot of times even after our training.

My sis and i were sweating profusely after more than 1 hour in the driving range although it was night time. Golf requires intense concentration and perfect composure of the body. A different form of physical exertion although we were just swinging clubs. I finally hit near the 50 m mark when we were about to leave at 10.30 pm.

Next we waited for my mum to finish her mahjong session at the tv room and arcade room before heading to Yishun for supper.

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Working

I've been working since this monday at InCall Systems as a telemarketer. We don't really sell products over the phone but it is mostly dialling companies to do surveys or informing them of events and seminars.

Had supper at Bukit Timah with my jc gang on mon night and watched Cars with them today at The Cathay after work. It was my first time watching movie there and the theatre we went was The Grand Cathay. The name was apt as it was indeed very big and grand.

Pixar has once again done an absolutely amazing job as Cars is an entertaining, funny and heartfelt animation. The story is about a cocky racing car who got lost along the way to the Piston Cup finals. He wound up in Radiator Springs and got to know many good friends who influenced his life for the better. It is definitely an interesting concept to have the entire movie full of talking and moving cars. A great family movie as it teaches humility and the importance of family and friends. Life is not just about winning and what is more important is whether we learnt anything in the process and whether we have led our lives well. Fabulous computer animation from start to end. 4/5

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New Zealand Day 9

Day 9 Taupo To Rotorua

It was our last day at Taupo and we started the day going for Huka Jet. I had squandered away all of my money and i decided not to go for the jet-ski-like adventure which costs NZ$75 and lasts for an hour.

Going for Huka Jet near Huka Falls


Jr, Jm and Jh on the Huka Jet

I was going to help them take photos from Huka Falls and i drove the vehicle alone on New Zealand roads for around 4 km. The feeling of driving alone in a foreign country is quite shiok and liberating.


Huka Jet near Huka Falls

I spent around 15 minutes on top of the bridge taking photos and capturing shots of the Huka Jet. I headed back soon after and stopped at a honey centre for a while as i had 10 mins to spare.


Solo trip to Honey Centre

The 3 of them were waiting for me when i went back to the adventure centre and we headed back to Taupo City Centre for lunch.

Geyser/Hot springs/Thermal activity


Beautiful autumn tree overlooking Lake Taupo. By the way, Lake Taupo is bigger than the size of Singapore and it looks just like the sea.


Feeding ducks and sparrows near Lake Taupo

After our lunch, we drove to Rotorua, Mauri translation for 2nd found largest body of water, which is around 150 km away.

We checked ourselved into Geneva Motor Lodge at a discounted price as it was getting dark soon (the sun sets at 5 pm). The moment we got out of the vehicle, there was the smell of sulfur everywhere (the smell of rotten eggs). The smell is due to the city's thermal activity and there are many geysers and hot springs. We then headed to the famous Polynesian Spa and found out that the private pool is closed. After flipping through some brochures, we decided to go to Queen Elizabeth (QE) Spa. The location is actually at a hospital and the price for a session of spa is only $5 per person.

Dinner at Fat dog was next as the spa was fully booked.

After changing into our swim suits, we stepped into the spa and my legs lept out from the pool immediately. It seemed very hot as the temperature difference with the weather is rather large. I slowly got into the hot tub and my body got accustomed to the high temperature of the water. The water is extracted from some hot spring and the minerals in the water is very good for the skin.


Rachel Pool at QE Spa

It is not recommended that we stay longer than 10 mins in the spa and were out in less than 15 mins. Refreshing and invigorating indeed.

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New Zealand Day 8

Day 8 Taupo

We woke up rather late due to the late mahjong session yesterday and we headed to Mount Ruapehu after breakfast. It was around 250 km away from Taupo and we spent around 2 hours in the vehicle.

The grass is different at lower temperatures and higher altitudes.


Mount Ruapehu from afar


Sheeps!

We finally reached the peak of Mount Ruapehu and the wind was very strong. The moment we got out of the car, the cold wind and dizzle instantly froze us and we only spent a little time outside the car.


Near the peak of Mount Ruapehu (freezing cold!)


Rainbows are abundant in New Zealand

We headed down to Okahune for petrol after the trip to the ice-capped mountain. Next was the 2 hour ride back to Taupo before having our late lunch.

Taupo Bungee was next! Actually, i did not intend to do bungee jumping but after seeing Jingru jump down into the scenic landscape, i couldn't help myself but try the bungee jumping experience. (NZ$99 for the bungee jump, NZ$50 for the video and the photos)


Before my bungy jump! The scenery is awesome! Check out the dingy in the lake below, there are people in the dingy to unlatch the bungee jumper.


My bungee jump!

The preparation before the bungee jump is really simple. Just clear all your pockets of anything that can drop out and the personnel just hook your ankles to the bungee attachment. The moment i look down from the dizzying height, intense fear gripped my mind. It was like i was going to commit suicide. It was 10 times scarier than sky diving in my opinion.

Why bungee jumping is one of the scariest thing i've done so far
1st) We can see where we will be dropping, unlike sky diving.
2nd) There is no one pushing you down, unlike tandem sky diving where the sky diver pushes you out from behind.
3rd) Your body keeps accelerating due to the short distance drop unlike sky diving where the body reaches terminal velocity and there is more air resistance.

Bungee jump is really an incredible adrenalin rush. Highly recommended for people with no prior head tramas. Jr got 'G-measles' (gravity induced small red spots) on the face after the jump due to fine capillaries bursting from the sudden rush of blood to the head. Nothing serious actually as it disappears completely after 2 days. For me, I didn't get any G-measles but felt a bit of weird feeling in the head the moment i bent my head down up to 2 days after the bungee jump. Nothing serious but people too mindful of their health might reconsider trying bungee jumping.

We headed back for a rest before going back to Jolly Good Fellows for dinner. They have awesome staff, service and food.


The 4 musketeers plus restaurant cum bar owner and bartender.

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