Laingan.com

My colleagues and I left the hotel at around 5pm on the last day of our 5-day training trip in Thailand. The sky was dark and started to rain when we boarded a taxi to head towards Suvarnabhumi Airport.

It was raining so heavily shortly after our taxi was driving for less than 5 minutes. We saw long and white lightnings were drawing across the sky almost everywhere. Suddenly, we saw the lightning was striking those high cable posts located near the roadside.

We also saw white sparks were falling off from the cable post and landed on the road just 10-20m in front of our taxi. The taxi driver was stunned and we were shocked to see what was happening before our eyes!!

Fortunately, the taxi driver was driving slow enough in the rain. I wouldn’t know what would happen if our taxi was driving faster by 10 seconds. Phews……..it was a narrow escape! What a thrilling experience, huh?

Finally, we managed to reach Suvarnabhumi Airport safe and sound. We checked in our baggages immediately and entered the departure hall. I took some photos of the Thailand legacy displaying in the departure terminal while I was waiting for the flight.

Churning the Ocean of Milk – centerpiece in the departure terminal :

Shopping Alley in Departure Terminal of Suvarnabhumi Airport :

Later, we found out that all flights were delayed due to the heavy rain and ours was delayed for more than an hour. This means that we would touch down Singapore past midnight. Oh no! What a tiring and sleepy return trip that we have had 🙁

My Favourites :

Knowing that the internet speed would be extremely slow after 7:30pm (Thai time), I got to make some adjustment by pushing back my dinner time and check emails earlier to avoid the heavy traffic online.

After the daily reporting was done, I would go to the night street food stalls to have my dinner at around 9pm.  There was a whole stretch of street food stalls lining up side by side along the designated pavement. You can find fruits, raw food, cooked food, desserts, soya bean drinks and many strange foods selling over there at the Thailand night street market.

I went to the nearest noodle stall which was located just outside the hotel to take my dinner. I had patronised this noodle stall for 3 consecutive nights because I like the delicious Wanton noodle served there as compared with some other noodle stalls.

The main road over there was busy at night and I was sitting at the table facing the fast moving cars. Suddenly, something caught my eyes while I was enjoying my Wanton noodle. I saw an elephant was walking along the roadside and there was a man riding on top of it 🙂

I was stunned and could not believe my eyes. Why was there an elephant walking along the roadside of a busy road? Strange, huh? Then, suddenly a Thai man was approaching me and requesting me to buy a packet of sugar canes from him for 20 bahts to feed the elephant.

Thai Man Riding On An Elephant :

Back View of Elephant Walking Away Along Thailand Roadside :

Well, I just gave him the money and let him feed the poor elephant even though I didn’t know what was happening at that moment because of the language barrier.

The next day, I told my colleagues who went to Thailand with me for the oversea training about what I had encountered that night. Then, I came to know that it is quite a common scene in Thailand for seeing a man riding on the elephant along the roadside. Anyway, being a foreigner, I find it strange and amusing 😛

My Favourites :

My family and I went to MacRitchie Reservoir this afternoon as we wanted to try out the walk at the HSBC TreeTop.

We reached there at the Venus Drive open car park at around 4:15pm and we were told that the gate would be locked by 5:00pm. So, we hurried ourselves so that we could be in time for the TreeTop visit.

Fortunately, we managed to reach the TreeTop two minutes before the Ranger locked the gate. Lucky Boy! Phews….

MacRitchie TreeTop Walk – Pic1 :

This is a free-standing suspension bridge that connects the two highest points (Bukit Peirce and Bukit Kalang) in MacRitchie and offers a bird’s eye view of the community of plants and animals that live in the forest canopy.

MacRitchie TreeTop Walk – Pic2 :

The total length of the walkway is about 250m and its height from the forest floor varies, with the highest point at 25m. The walkway only allows for one-direction traffic. The entrance to the bridge is from Ranger Station via Peirce track.

We saw many monkeys hanging on the poles as well as along the roadside.

MacRitchie TreeTop Walk – Monkeys :

I snapped a picture of this tree that doesn’t have any leaf.

MacRitchie TreeTop Walk – Leafless Tree :

Although the weather was not too hot today, we still perspired profusely after walking for close to 3 hours at the MacRitchie Reservoir.

Anyway, it was indeed a fun walk hunting for the MacRitchie TreeTop today.

My Favourites :

I went to Jurong Point Mall recently after it had completed its mall extension in August 2008.

There is a newly-opened Japanese food street which is inspired by that of the Osaka in Japan. It is called the Shokutsu-10 Osaka food street which is located at the newly-extended basement of Jurong Point in Singapore.

Shokutsu-10 Osaka Food Street :

This is the entrance to the Shokutsu-10 Osaka food street. Look at the big red crab hanging above the entrance. It looks so attractive and prominent especially seeing it from far. 

The Shokutsu-10 Osaka food street is a Japanese food street with 10 eateries that tempt you with Osaka’s popular dishes such as takoyaki, ramen, sushi and buffets.

It doesn’t matter whether you like Japanese food or not. I guess you will be curious to find out what types of Japanese food that the Shokutsu-10 Osaka food street is selling. 

The big crab really helps to draw the attention of the crowd and leading curious people to enter the Shokutsu-10 Osaka food street. Visit the Japanese food street at Jurong Point Mall if you have the chance.

My Favourites :

I don’t have to send my nephew to his tuition class this Saturday and next Saturday. Thanks to the December school holidays and Christmas. This means that I would have more time either staying at home or going out to shop around during the weekends.

My sister still got a few Singapore Flyer coupons that she had bought with a discount. These coupons must be consumed within this year so we had decided to bring our niece and nephews to take the Singapore Flyer ride this afternoon. 

I think it would be a good experience for the children to know more about the Singapore Flyer by taking the ride personally rather than to base on what is reported in the newspapers or magazines to know that the Singapore Flyer is 165m tall.

Singapore Flyer :

Singapore Flyer – Capsules Moving Up :

Singapore Flyer – Bottom View of Capsule :

Each capsule takes 30 minutes to complete one cycle. After taking the ride, we went to the man-made pond to feed the Koi over at the Singapore Flyer garden. 

Koi Swimming in the Man-Made Pond :

A Little Man-Made Waterfall :

After spending a few hours at the Singapore Flyer, we moved on to our next program, ie. shopping at the nearby shopping centres. That was how I spent my Saturday today. 

My Favourites :

A fly-over bridge across rivers for cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and so on to past by is very common nowadays. What about a water bridge across the rivers? I guess most of us have never seen or even heard of such water bridge existing in this world. 

I never knew there was a water bidge existing until I received an email from my friend, the GFF, who had forwarded the picture showing the magnificent engineering project of the water bridge in Germany. It is definitely an eye-opener for me to see and realise that it is possible to do wonders if one really has the heart to do something and to make it happen.

Here is a picture of the water bridge in Germany taken on the day of inauguration :

The water bridge is in fact a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. 

The water bridge of Germany across the rivers costs around half a billion euros and it took six years to build. This massive project connects Berlin’s inland harbour with the ports along the Rhine river. At the centre of the project is Europe’s longest water bridge measuring at 918 metres. The huge tub to transport ships over the Elbe took 24,000 metric tons of steel and 68,000 cubic meters of concrete to build.

The water bridge of Germany is a gigantic engineering project of mankind. If you do appreciate engineering projects, here is a little puzzle for you as well as for the armchair engineers and physicists.

PUZZLE :
Did that bridge have to be designed to withstand the additional weight of ship and barge traffic, or just the weight of the water?  

ANSWER :
It only needs to be designed to withstand the weight of the water!  Why?  A ship always displaces an amount of water that weighs the same as the ship, regardless of how heavily a ship may be loaded.

My Favourites :

The Queens Day or Koninginnedag of Netherlands falls on 30 April. Orange is the colour of their Royal family. You can see that the Amsterdam’s streets, roads, parks and canals come alive in a sea of Orange. It is preferable if not mandatory to wear orange during this national event of the Amsterdam Orange Festival. 

The whole city comes alive with the bright orange colour that you can see everywhere. It should be very fun to visit Netherlands during the Orange Festival.

I

It is amazing to see that oranges can be used to build windmills, castle, houses and so on. This shows that everything is possible to happen with creative minds and ideas.

P.S. : I get inpsired by the Orange Festival in Netherlands and /or the Citrus Festival or Festival Citrusov in the South of France. So, I had decided to use orange colour as the theme colour when I was designing my new website design. 

My website is called LogoVale.com and let me know if you like my design work 🙂

My Favourites :

I have got a free coupon to the Singapore Flyer. Thanks to my sister, sister-in-law and niece who had participated in the National Day Parade on 09 Aug 2008. This year is Singapore’s 43rd birthday and all NDP08 participants were given a booklet of coupons in appreciation for their effort in participating the national event.

One of the coupons is “Fly For Free” for August Birthday Treat at the Singapore Flyer, meaning to say anybody whose birthday is in August is entitled to have a free ride. My birthday falls on the first week of August so I’m entitled to get a free ride. The original coupon has to be presented at the ticketing counter in exchange for a complimentary Singapore Flight ticket which normally costs $29.50 SGD for adult, $20.65 for child and $23.60 for senior citizen.

This is how the Singapore Flyer free coupon looks like :

The Singapore Flyer is the world’s largest giant observation wheel and it is standing at 165 metres or the height of a 42-storey building. The top of the Singapore Flyer is the breath-taking view of the Singapore Skyline. The Singapore Flyer ride helps you to view the Singapore Skyline in 360 degrees.

I managed to take a picture of the Singapore Flyer :

The Singapore Flyer was built in such a way that its waterfront attraction sits among a hotbed of some upcoming exciting developments in Marina Bay. The view in the capsule is not obstructed by all directions. You can view the Singapore landscape and even parts of Malaysia and Indonesia in different perspectives.

Each capsule can accommodate up to 28 people :

Duration of one ride is about 30 minutes :

I took the Singapore Flyer ride with my sisters and nephews. Here is a picture of my playful nephew :

Well, I enjoyed the free ride at the Singapore Flyer. I hope you enjoy it too if you have a chance to take the ride.

My Favourites :