day 1 - getting to tokyo

day 1 (fri /sat): changi airport --> narita --> shinjuku

i didn't realized it was so hard for me to get to tokyo! right after boarding, we were told that the aircraft's communication system had broken down and the plane was grounded. attempts to fix it failed and we had to re-board another plane, going through all the security checks again. and so 2 hours after our scheduled departure, we were still attempting to depart from changi airport to reach tokyo. all ana compensate us was just a bottle of mineral water!!!

5 years ago my attempt to go japan failed as ngee ann poly refused to fund the trip at the last minute even after winning the singapore robotics games despite getting all the paperwork and everything settled. 5 years later the plane broke down when i attempt to reach japan on a self-funded trip!!! angry!!

anyway soon we were flying off albeit 3 hours later. the plane is pretty standard. drinks are free-flow throughout the flight, service level excellent, and throughout the flight there were plenty of snacks going around. main course was excellent followed by yummy haagen-daas ice cream as dessert.

while landing at narita airport, we saw this interesting yet amusing sign:

cleared immigration around 10 20 and the local temperature is 16 degrees. stepped outside for a while and realized that tokyo was very windy. anyway, i like the idea of their airport - public transport centric. right outside the arrival halls are the different bus services, and further down the taxis.

right outside narita airport arrival hall

anyway we took the narita express to shinjuku. the fare costs around 3500 yen with a suica fare-card. then the narita express got delayed!!! in the end we took almost 90 minutes to get to our destination.

we exited via shinjuku southern terrace exit to get to hotel plaza sunroute shinjuku, and omg, it's windy! i feel like i'm in a place with a powerful gigantic air-conditioner with the fan turned on.

searching for the southern terrace exit

anyway it's still way too early for check-in and the hotel kindly kept our luggage for us while we went for lunch and some exploration around the area.

around the shinjuku area, the streets are damn clean, but where are all the dustbins? i had a hard time trying to discard some trash.

after checking-in, we visited takashimaya and tokyu hands, which is just nearby. i bought an expensive burberry black label polo tee there. my first impression of excellent service is japan is overwhelming. after i paid for my purchases, i was not allowed to hold them until i was escorted out of the shop, where the sales attendant would then hand over my purchases to me. after that, as i walked away, the attendant would yell a "arigato gozaimasu" ~~~

the windy walkway to takashimaya overseeing a clock tower

well, during the night the temperature plunged to a single digit or so i think. anyway, for the first day, i still find the atmosphere cool as i did not perspire at all. though i was a little sick, this is something refreshing.

had a great dinner katsu don dinner for around 1000 yen i think. their potato croquet is just great! best of all, green tea and cabbage are free flow. tried to use some japanese but ended up in a mess!

went back to hotel after that and tried to make sense of their interesting tv programs.

purchase of the day

getting my hands on japanese yen

after a month or so of monitoring the exchange rate between singapore dollar and the japanese yen, i finally managed to buy 1000 japanese yen for sgd14.85 @ the arcade yesterday. (in other words, sgd1=67.34 japanese yen)

march was interesting for the fact that for the first half of the month, the exchange rate stubbornly stays at 1000 japanese yen for sgd15.554 (sgd1=64.3 japanese yen), and even appreciated for a while. however as the end of the month approached, it started weakening slowly but steadily, right up to the rate mentioned in the first paragraph=). now as this post is being written, yen seems to be appreciating once more.

well, the exchange rate yesterday has allowed me to pocket a difference of at least 10k yen. now that the finances are more or less settled, i am now in holiday mood. die, no mood to work for the next few days.

surprisingly, my boss unhesitatingly passed me an almost 2000 yen worth of coins. it was so unexpected, though i embrace the idea of having 2000 yen worth of loose change, which can then subsidize part of my transportation expenses. also, recent string of events culminated in me being able to get some extra cash. finally my financial load seems to be lighter.

surviving this long march

i have not been meeting many of my friends on a regular basis. in fact i had "disappeared" for quite a while haha=). yesterday we had a great fellowship and catching-up. we had so much fun!

some new friends joined the group last night and it was till the end of the day that i realized one of them (who drives) stays in my hdb block!! talk about a small world haha. i realized that i am now not very receptive to new friends. i tend to be not as friendly and eager to make new friends as last time. well my boss said i had an "air of arrogance"??!!

well work-wise, the company is experiencing a high turnover, as expected since early this year. so my workload is piling up. sorta envy my colleagues who are going on a new career path, and i'm sure they will have a better future ahead. all the bonuses thing are just crap. they are never in time or conveniently dismissed.

going to japan in 2 weeks! i'm so excited, especially when i try to do more research on the logistics means and so on(which i had procastinated for a while). however i made a small mistake in my budget estimation so now i have to withdraw more cash from my savings =(. been saving very very hard. i hope the yen will drop further!

well, i can't seemed to conclude my ever-growing shopping list:

• a handful of t-shirts and collared tees
  
• at least a pair of jeans
• a few pair of nice shorts
  
• mittens, beanie and maybe muffler?
• melon-flavored kit-kats
  
• japanese snacks
  
• mushroom tea (recommended by a fren)
  
• souvenirs for parents and some friends
• facial masks from fancl
• accessories like belts, jackets etc.
• maybe a messenger bag
• a cable to connect my wii console to my monitor and perhaps some games?
• maybe a sony camera (for my cousin)
• burberry shirt (for trying out?)
• burberry blue label bags (if my colleague do place an order)

gosh. simply had no idea how much i should bring hahaha. anyway almost time for me to go for my movie outing.

my cny trip to brunei

flew to brunei by singapore airlines 2 days before the start of cny. the flight was pretty comfy, nothing eventful, except that many malaysians seemed to be on the flight to brunei. there were also a couple of japanese tourists.

bumped into a classmate i have not seen for years on both departing and return flights - talk about coincidence!

anyway didn't do much for cny. spent most of my time home, or accompanying my parents here and there, or driving my parents here and there once in a while. didn't get to see any of my frens or secondary school classmates. everyone seemed to have disappeared into their own busy lives =(.

cny eve was lively in my neighborhood. it was like a singapore national day fireworks all around my house the whole night. can't even hear my own voice while speaking!

went around town - kuala belait, and keep myself occupied with taking pictures. here are some shots of my childhood town. nothing's pretty much changed.

my secondary school

hsbc building (left); the only bus terminal in town (right)

town center (left); standard chartered bank (right)

petrol pump (left); petrol prices-$0.53/liter (right)

newly-built park, beside belait river

next, let's take a look at some houses at beverly hills (rich ppl area) haha. was there with my dad visiting his fren.

anyway my sis brought me to visit some "landmarks" - the billionth barrel monument and the shell complex. wow, i feel like a tourist in my own country haha.

entrance to the monument

nodding donkeys - brunei's lifeline

beaches behind the monument (there's an oil rig!)

picture of the setting sun

the shell complex at panaga

the sports & recreation facility by shell


house provided by shell for senior staff

btw we also hopped over to miri, malaysia. below are some photos from the trip.

on the way driving to brunei border


toll house for bridge crossing, brunei


brunei border control (left); malaysia immigration (right)


malaysia and her state flags


views of miri town


authentic sarawak kolo mee

on the last day we drove to the capital for breakfast before heading to the airport. gonna miss the char kway-teow over there.

the famous golden-domed mosque


local char kway-teow, non-oily version

and so february has concluded. march is gonna be a long agonizing month, with 4.5 working weeks and no public holidays =(. i shall only be looking forward to my intermediate japanese lessons then.

chinese new year 2010...

i just came back from chinatown after queuing for 4 hours in chinatown to buy 肉干 (barbecued pork slices). almost every previous years i managed to get someone to queue for me, except this year. luckily the weather was cloudy in the morning and there were also plenty of youngsters around my age queuing for the pork slices=).

as chinese new year draws closer, i can't help feeling excited yet apprehensive at the same time. as usual, every chinese new year i will be returning to brunei to spend the festival with my family.

for the benefit of those who doesn't know where brunei is located relative to singapore, i have attached a map below.


this chinese new year is a little different. it acts as a time-bridge between my current life and the start of a new lease of life of venturing out into new waters. at the same time, there are many rather exciting events to look forward to within this year.

will be flying off to brunei by sq tomorrow afternoon - finally a break from budget carriers! wish everyone a happy and prosperous chinese new year. also thanks to my colleagues for providing the red packets below =).

on brunei citizenship application process

recently i happen to revisit my old blog. saw some comments asking for information on brunei citizenship so i thought i might as well start a topic on it, for the benefit of those seeking the same information.

actually i have no idea where to start. maybe i shall start with my own experience of acquiring brunei citizenship.

having been born in brunei as a stateless chinese person, i was often frustrated that i was not issued a brunei passport, but instead a brunei international certificate of identity for travel. immigration officers from around the world would hound you for your purpose of requesting entry and all countries, except singapore, requires a pre-arrival visa. some countries don't even recognize the document. i was really tired of answering the question: "can you please show me your passport instead?" or being unnecessarily detained for further checks. fyi majority of the chinese people in brunei are stateless.

in order to be eligible to initiate the citizenship application process, the naturalization law requires all potential local-born applicants to have a continuous 15 years of residence in brunei or 20 years of residence in brunei for those born overseas.

fulfilling the above criteria, one must then present himself/herself in front of an immigration officer under the citizenship department in the district you are born. the officer will proceed to interview the applicant in pure malay, having satisfied that, hand the application form over, again in malay, to be completed on the spot. the completed form must be submitted with the necessary supporting documents.

once over, all the applicant can do is wait to be called for a naturalization exam. i waited for almost 2 years to be called. the scope of the 2-hour exam, in malay, can be summarized as followed:

• 1 composition, 1 short essay, 1 comprehension
• malay proverbs and classical literature (puisi, sajak, pantun etc)
• bahasa istana (formal language used in the palace or when referring to the sultan)
• bahasa brunei (local brunei dialects)
• general knowledge of the country (famous places, functioning government departments)
• name of the current ministers with full titles (trust me, they have really long names)
• local customs and traditions ( how is a malay wedding conducted etc)
• the brunei flag and crest, and ability to narrate the symbolic purpose of each part of the flag and crest

to pass this exam, one's malay would need to be of O-Level standard. due to more exposure to the malay language from school education these days, the younger chinese generation has a higher chance of passing. within the next 6 months, the applicant will be informed of the exam results.

once passed, please wait for another letter requesting the applicant to take up an oath to renounce all former nationalities as required by brunei nationality law. brunei currently does not permit multiple nationalities. the applicant have to wait again for another detailed letter to attend a citizenship presentation ceremony.

the ceremony was divided into two sessions: morning and afternoon. the morning session is essentially a taklimat, orientating us mostly on brunei nationality laws and some other civil departments, whereas the afternoon session saw the presenting of our citizen certificates, or sijil kerakyatan.

participants have to attend the ceremony in Brunei's national costume - baju cara melayu. pledges of allegiance to brunei were recited and the national anthem was played.

with the citizenship certificate, the new citizen can now applied for the yellow identity card and the brunei passport. the new brunei biometric passport currently enables the holder to perform visa-free travel to many countries in world, including the united states, china, japan, europe etc.

the citizenship does not entails much liabilities. anyway the benefits can be left for another post=). this post is too long in my opinion.

all the best and i hope this piece of information has been useful to those seeking it.

is 2010 a year of traveling?

first, mas announced the singapore dollar would be allowed to appreciate in value throughout this year. thereafter i have a pending trip to visit my parents in brunei during cny. come april, i'll be in japan. next my sis invited me to join her to visit perth, australia in the later part of this year!

nevertheless, the feedback i got was perth is a pretty boring place. i am trying to convince my sister to change plans and head over to hong kong and macau instead haha.

at the same time, there are probably plans to visit either the americas or europe, but none of these plans are concrete anyway, and will probably be chucked aside. fact is, my current earning capacity cannot sustain a traveling lifestyle.

anyway, now busy studying for my japanese exams tomorrow. a little anxious as it covers all the elementary contents, plus the fact that i am not very good with tenses, even in english! wish me luck =).

and so... i'm going for another trip again

seems like i will be flying every 2 months for leisure or holiday! i have just booked a ticket to tokyo by all nippon airways (ana), scheduled to depart early april.

i am somewhat excited yet apprehensive about this trip. till now, i have never flown to any places further than guangzhou, and moreover, this will be the first time i am traveling to a place when it's not summer!

however, i am mindful that tokyo is the most expensive city in the world, which means, $ is an important factor. this trip is challenging for me considering that i am currently paid peanuts and due to the complete absence of a full aws or any bonuses, i will have to keep saving a huge chunk of my monthly salary=(. it is perhaps time to reconsider some priorities in my current life.

anyway, pardon me for the rant. i have decided to stay at sunroute plaza shinjuku, after all the great reviews from tripadvisor. at the very least i believed the hotel is very reasonably priced for its location.

nothing concrete planned yet, but some of the places in mind would be:
- tsukiji fish market
- ginza, akihabara, harajuku, roppongi, ueno, shibuya crossing
- mount fuji and the fuji five lakes
- hakone and great boiling valley
- some museums
- the controversial yasukuni shrine
- imperial palace
- odaiba
- rainbow bridge / tokyo tower
- etc. etc.

really looking forward to this trip.