My 1st Overseas Training: Stockholm(26th Jan to 2nd Feb)

Well well well, after one year of uncertainty, dilemna and consideration, I finally decided to take the plunge and go for my overseas course. You may ask what is the fuss about... reason being I will be bonded to the company for 2 years if I do go for the course. So here I am, inside my hotel room at Stockholm city.

The flight to Stockholm is really something I want to forget. I need to take a flight to Bangkok for 2 hrs for a transfer. Wait for another 2 hr at the airport and then take another 12 hrs flight from BKK to Stockholm. And the worst thing is that on this flight, there is no individual inflight entertainment system. What they have is a centralise screen in the middel of the plane....nearly die of boreness and frustration...haha! Therefore, avoid Thai Airway if you are flying long distance.

It is freezing cold in Stockholm and the temp varies from -5 to 5 degree. Too bad it is not snowing cos I still miss the snow in Hokkaido and I hope to see it again in Stockholm. The buildings are beautiful, full of scandinavian taste and layout. The food here... hmmmm.... still prefer asian delicacies. Day time is very short here, about 4 pm and you will notice the sky is slowy turning dark. I keep thinking it is very late yet when I see my watch I realised it is only 6 pm in the evening. Lost touch of time everytime....

Can't wait to finish my course and go back to Singapore.... haha! Cheers!

Our Honeymoon: Japan!

OHAIYO!! Wow Japan! Why such a big reaction? Simply because both me and Jenny thoroughly enjoyed our honeymoon in Japan and really don feel like going home! Haha! Our trip started at Hokkaido, and the temperature there is from 0 degree to lowest -10 degree! Freezing cold! And for a man of 31yrs old and the very 1st time I saw the snow, I must say I am really thrilled to the bone. We stopped at one of the rest point on the highway for a toilet break and it was snowing snow flakes at that time. Seeing the snow falling from the sky really really melt my heart! And the food there.... SHIOK! You can feel the chef's effort and dedication to food every bite you take. We had raw and cold Hokkaido crabs, sashimi, seafood buffet, japanese ramen and lots of scallops! Even a small and simple red bean pancake can make us go nuts! And the fun escalated when we were at the Skiing ground! A mountain full of snows and the sky raining snow flakes... almost the entire tour group joined in to throw snow balls at each other and everyone enjoying the moments thoroughly.

After 4 days, we arrived at Tokyo. This city is bustling with life and everyone of them are very trendy and modern. And everyone looks so beautiful and handsome! So difficult to find ugly people in Tokyo...haha! To be frank, Tokyo is a heaven for ladies and errr, nightmare for the guys as it is a shopping paradise. You see shopping malls everywhere. Just imagine almost all the ladies in our group turn Tokyo city upside down in order to fulfil their urge of getting a Burberry Blue Label handbag. During our 2 days of free & easy, we went to Harajuku for shopping and it's the gathering point for all the gothics dressing youngsters, Shinjuku where all the big shopping malls are, and also Shibuya where all the youngsters gather and have fun.

Standard of living is considered very high in Japan, and that is very obvious from their Train system. A short trip easily cost 130yen (of just 1 stop) to 290 yen! Which is about SGD$3.80. And we heard that the taxi fare can easily hit SGD$100 for a short distance. Therefore, the best and most economical form of transport is still the train.

And I must salute the Japanese service industry, from shopping malls, food restaurants, train service to even toilet! They are forever so polite and thoughtful, irregardless whether you are buying or not, whether you are Whites or Yellow skins, they treat you the same way throughout. Even a small item which cost few dollars they put in their heart to wrap it up nicely.

This trip left us good memories & experience. We will definitely visit Japan again! Yeah!