Ho Gai Siao

Attempted to fry something a while ago on a metallic ordinary looking but apparently very expensive German brand frying pan (Vxx brand) and ended up staining the pan big time cos the food will just stick to it the moment it hits the pan's surface.. Had to put real lots of oil to prevent the stick and needless to say, everytime you try to flip the foodstuff, you'll risk 'dismembering' it cos some parts will stick to the pan..
That's not all though, the washing was a real pain, cos the stains are so hard... i mean unremovable.

So having had enough of this sticky issue, Dear and me went in search of the infamous non stick pans..
Surprised to see NTUC hypermart selling Tefal in their store. (Thought Tefal very atas and expensive) and it cost about $30 per pan.
Really glad we bought it.. this brand really 'bo hao siao', really really non stick. With almost a non existent amount of oil, i can literally slide an omellete off the pan without using my spatula.
So if you're facing the same problems as us, feel free to try Tefal :)

Controversial

Was at a teaching today and the topic of abortion was brought up.. The question goes: maid came for routine work permit renewal and was noted to be urine pregnancy test positive. Will you refer her for abortion if she request for it?
Well, most of us agree that she has the right to be referred.
However, 1 colleague said "For me, I'll definitely not refer.. Because of my religion.."
So it sparked a refute:"The maid is a human and should have the freedom to choose, so i feel the decision shouldn't be affected by the doctor's religion." I always thought conscious objectors to abortion will just not perform it, they could refer to somebody else if patient requests..

But anyway, my focus was his answer.. He said he didn't want it because his religion doesn't support/allow it. I guess if his answer was:"I don't support abortion because it's killing a life to me", I might see him in another light.

Religions are a good guide for the way we live, it makes us better persons, it gives us support whenever we need it as we'll always believe there's someone up there looking out for us when we're down. Most religions offer a desired end point when we follow the teachings: Nirvana in Buddhism, being a sage in Taoism etc. We however haven't seen someone reach the endpoint in recent years...

I wonder if it could be that we're now working backwards instead of understanding the essence in the religions/teachings We'll follow rules/commandments like not killing, not eating a particular food, not doing certain acts.. Most of the time, we do it because 'the religion says so'. Even if we manage to understand the rationale, are we able to internalise it?
That's why when he said:"My religion doesn't allow it" It seems he's following the teaching, probably not understanding it and more likely not internalising it. But who am i to judge?

I feel that the founder of the particular religion/teaching worked it out the reverse direction. i.e. there's a principle he has already understood in the beginning and has internalised it (The Tao/The way to enlightenment) and henceforth, he acts in ways in accordance to the basic principle. Over years, in a bid to get people to understand (Lao Zi said so: he can't describe this thing called Tao), these ways become like rules/methods that may lead to the ultimate destination. Maybe that's why so little people are successful in attaining the target? Cos now everyone will be working backwards

Well, i'm not a religious person, somehow just interested in them.. Will most probably be someone who can't see the light :)

Seeing the light?

Noob Kia

Started playing DOTA some time ago.. I was wondering how people were so attracted to the game (that was quite some years ago) and now am beginning to understand why..
It's just like a team sport.. gather 10 people and it's 5v5. Team work is needed to score goals (pawn heads in this instance) The sensation of owning the game is undescribable and gives you great stress relieve when you are able to take it out on creeps and enemy heroes.
Inevitably, the beginning is difficult.. You dunno where the dangers are, you dunno which heroes are more dangerous and you often get ambush and pawned.. Then you'll be feeding the opposition with hoardes of gold and your team mate will curse you and shout "you noob la!!" or "stop feeding la you noob!!"
Alas, some time spent on playing will yield some experience and you know which hero you are more comfortable with and which one is more 'gay' i.e. able to stun the enemy and hit them while they are stuck in the position..

I sort of thought of the time when i started playing soccer in university with my classmates. I love soccer since primary school but was never good at it... But i still loved it... So because some one asked if i wanted to play, i agreed, thinking that it was like my secondary school days when everyone played for fun..
Little did i know that they used to be schoolteam players and you guessed it.. I was the noob kia again.
Kicking grounders when i should clear the ball far.. Missing tackles.. Rounded by strikers.. Ballooning the ball right in front of the goal line..

Fortunately, despite the screamings i got from the team mates, everyone was a friend after the games, they will tell me how to play better, that they dun mind me playing with them still..
Must say that without their patience and teachings.. I honestly wouldn't improve in the game.. will still be a kampong street soccer kid :)

Somehow, this leads me to think of job satisfaction.. I guess there are many things that makes a job satisfying.. My first thought is pay, but even if one is paid 10k and gets scolded at everyday, doesn't get any recognition etc.. is the job still satisfying?
Recently was in a ward with a consultant who gets agitated easily.. even a nurse knocking on the door to the MO room will get him into a fit (if he's doing some teaching). So naturally when there's one or two points about a patient you're not sure about, he'll show some agitation. So even though the ward has like less than 10 patients, and there's little to do, there wasn't satisfaction at the end of the day. You're just living in constant fear...

I'm now in a busier ward, but the consultants are nicer.. They appreciate what you know and what you do, instead of irking at what you don't know and what you didn't do.. So even if you're busy the whole day, ending the day later and having short lunches.. you'll still feel that the day has gone well and feel real satisfied at the end of it..
Can understand why dear's so lack of motivation to work with her BIG BOSS :P

Long time liao...

So long no entry.. Even forgot how to log in..
Wonder if i'll ever be locked out of my own account in future when i cannot retrieve password or something...

Anyway, just came back from a trip to Cairns, dived in the Great Barrier Reef.. Name is Great, and probably the reason it is called Great Barrier is because the reef forms like a barrier over the north-eastern coast of Australia. The diving though... is not that Great, spend half the money to go to Southeast Asian sites like Sipadan and you may get to see almost the same or better stuff.

It was a liveaboard trip (5 days, 4 nights) and fortunately we managed to get some motion sickness pills before boarding. The ride was ROUGH. We went off all the way to Osprey reef from Cairns (Osprey is way up north on the map). Crossing the inner reefs to the outer ones will mean a real wild ride over the ocean waves and we were rocking left to right, up and down on our cabin bunks and we could hear the DVD player in the cabin sliding back and forth with the waves as well. Not our idea of some good rest before a hectic day of diving...

I always thought diving was like cycling.. You'll never forget how to do it.. Unfortunately, i somehow forgot that taking out your regulator underwater will mean water will get into your mouth...
I was a little sick (motion sickness) on the first dive and was about to puke. So i happily removed my regulator and attempted to puke but nothing came out and fortunately the nausea went down with the 'vomiting action'. So naturally after the attempt, i had to breathe. Happily i opened my mouth and inhaled and in went salty, cold, ocean water..
Had to cough several times under water, underwent a period of panic of not being able to breathe and needing to ascend.. then underwent a period of wondering if i would drown.. Somehow remembered that diving got oxygen tank and regulator one, so quickly replaced my regulator and purge whatever water is in the regulator before sucking in precious air.
Can't imagine doing an emergency ascend just 15mins into the first dive.
Water was also chilly though the gauges showed that it was 24 degrees, it felt like 16 everytime i dived in.. Was shivering in every single dive. Think next time must be more prepared with dry suits inside or something..

Well, reef life was abundant and it would have impressed us if we hadn't been to Sipadan.
Here, we had to dive like more than 10 times before seeing a single turtle and a ray. I almost couldn't believe my eyes and ears when a fellow diver jumped with joy after seeing 1 turtle... Maciam they are rare like manta rays..
But highlights of the dive were the potato cod feed and the shark feeds. They managed to organise some bait into the water and attract the more unique fishes to feast on them right infront of us.
However, besides these highlights.. have to admit that it is not that kind of MUST GO places to dive. Sites in our neighbouring countries would probably offer the same if not better sights.

Well at least it was a real good break from work and civilisation (100 miles from land, no other boats in sight... only water water everywhere)

Map of the Great Barrier Reef. Osprey reef was way up north on the map.

Interestingly, reefs occasionally 'pop' out right in the middle of the ocean like this..

Our dive group. From all over the world: China, Europe, US, Africa..
Spoke to some of them and they agree that GBR was probably not the best place they've dived in.

Potato cod feed.. These cods are huge compared to other fish.

Shark feed: In the initial moments, it was really a frenzy, the chain which hung the bin full of bait and tuna heads was shaking like crazy with all the feeding frenzy from the sharks and other fishes joining in the fun.

The Hike

This was really the hike of our lives.
It starts from Scynige platte to First and it will take 6 hours. The hike starts from 2km above sea level, peaking at 2680m then coming back down to 2180m.
It's a great hike as it goes along a plateau that enables you to see both sides and enjoy the scenery on both sides of the mountain.
It was also a hike that we did twice (the second time was squeezed during our last day) as the first hike was blurred with a thick fog and we couldn't see much.

The start of the hike was already bustling with bells and 'moos'. We chanced upon a shepard herding his cows with a shepard dog. The cows have this habit of taking up the whole width of the path and we sometimes have to manoveure around them and at the same time avoid their dung.. Quite fun, but because this was out first time encountering cows without a barrier, we don't know whether they'll kick or ram us. But we managed to cross them safely :)

Keeping my safe distance

Like a scene from the movies. Peaceful shepard with his dog, just going about his daily life

The fog didn't quite set in at first and we managed to get some shots like these on the way up the peak.

Then the weather started getting colder as we gained altitude and we started to see ice form on the upper areas. We were so excited that we took shots of the ice.. Maciam never see before.. Actually really never see before this 'half-half' kind of look on the mountain.

Ice forming on the upper half

So we went on and somehow felt colder as we trudged on. Someone seem to say 'You want ice? I'll give it to you guys!!'
There you have it: Ice all around us and to make it better, the fog came to join in..

Ice all over with little visibility

Can only see the sign when you're near it. Otherwise will be lost in the fog. Dear was standing like only 10m away.. We could see no views on the plateau, only ice and the path which fortunately was not covered totally.

Cold was the main theme of the hike and it got to our hair.

We reached First after hours of walking in the ice and fog and wondering what's so good about this hike.. Atop First is a hotel cum restaurant which didn't have much business with this kind of weather. Fortunately they still served hot and good food. We took their Rosti (fried potato) and had some warm drinks to go along. Good for thawing our hair...

There's still something to smile about with this weather. (The owner is smiling at least)

We continued the hike after lunch and it was all descending after we came down from the restaurant. The walk was much easier as the ice eased away and fortunately we could still get snapshots like the one below when the fog lost some of its power.

But when it came back, all we could see was mist and we almost even ran into a moving truck (had it not been its engine noise that got to us first)
Being disappointed the first round. We decided to do it again the second time on our last day (went back here after visiting Lucern) View was much better and again we ate the same Rosti up on the peak. The owner there was so touched that we went there again she rewarded us with a First sticker. Well better than nothing...

Thinking back, it was a dangerous thing to do on the first run since there was actually no proper map. i.e. nothing with contours drawn or little tracks on the map to mark which direction we should follow. So if the tracks got covered with ice totally, we would have had it and been lost.. Dunno how to walk, dunno if got energy to move around to maintain heat. But fortunately the paths were really demarcated well after so long so the chance of them being totally buried is quite slim.

But that aside, the hikes here in Interlaken are really a class above the hike in Singapore. not only the views are spectacular, the weather there is also ideal since it is cool and less humid. You won't get sticky/sweaty/moody after walking 6 hours!

Jungfraujoch

Touted as the "Top of Europe" at 3454m above sea level. Actually the title meant that it is the highest peak where people can have easy access to. Other mountains are definitely taller than this but you gotta hike/climb your way up.

Well in any case, it was something we haven't experienced before.. Whole mountain peak covered with glacier. Like a desert.
So because it was something we haven't experienced before, we didn't bring one of the essentials for going atop a glacier.... Sunglasses.
The glare was overwhelming. While we were walking on the peak (the trail just appeared to be about 1km long), we were both panting due to the low O2 level and also taking breaks to shut our eyes so that we could rest from the glare.
We thought about the shades but somehow didn't seriously went about buying it. So kind of suffered for a while.

But enduring through the whole ordeal of panting and straining our eyes was well worth it. View was astounding and the walk was really once in a lifetime..

Signboard at the visitor's center

1 cup of spicy Korean noodles before setting off to the ice. (Cheapest food at the cafe)

Vast plains of glacier. Abundance of ice.

Top of the world

Can't see the end of the trail from here, but it's supposedly quite short. But walking it is tough.. On the lungs and our eyes

'Ahh kena stuck!!' (Posed picture)

Huskies were for show. This Kor Lian Dai had to eat ice, most probably for rehydration.. Dunno how many days never feed/give him proper water. (Business too lousy?)

Thanks to this snow machine, they managed to compact ice to form paths that was walkable with normal shoes. Otherwise everyone will need snow boots. (Reminds me of the harvester from Dune)

Interlaken: Tummel falls/Lauterbrunnen

On recommendation from Lili who's been to Switzerland during winter, we took a glass covered train (goldenpass line) from Montreux to Interlaken. It's a scenic route and the glass roof/windows etc were meant to enhance viewing pleasure. The cabin also had posh seats and well carpeted flooring.
The train's booking system appeared strange to me as they charge a booking fee when you choose seats online but if you hold a railpass, the trip is free (meaning only pay booking fee, don't need to pay for the trip itself). So we could just book seats at about 10 dollars each and show them the railpass when we board.
We booked this train twice unintentionally, due to some strange decision from the travel agency in Singapore who sold us the tickets... We are booking a scenic train ride and he had to put us on the aisle and not the window seat (when the train wasn't fully booked yet!!) So we had to do it ourselves online again but fortunately the booking fee they charged was not substantial.
So we happily went up the train to our window seats and realised that the aisle seats the 'friendly travel agent in Singapore' booked for us were marked 'reserved' as well.
As more people were streaming in (most without seat bookings) and had no seats, we nicely told the conductor that the aisle seats were reserved by us too but we'll forgo them. And the conductor had to reply 'Oh you've to sit at your reserved area!' Dunno had to spend how long explaining to her our whole story but she still didn't understand. Anyway, we still sat at our window seats and after some time, the passengers realised that the 'reserved' seats were empty and decided they could sit there. Really can't imagine what will happen if some prankster book the whole cabin then don't turn up..

Nice cabin, scenery. But book it yourself to avoid disappointment

We arrived at Interlaken and this started the best part of the trip :)

Our first stop was the Tummelfalls. A unique waterfall that transients within a cave. Engineers had skilfully crafted outlooks within the cave so that we can enjoy looking at this hidden waterfall which otherwise can only be seen when it exits.

This mine-cart like lift took us to the middle of the mountain from which we could continue ascend on foot to get to the lookout posts

Walk within the caves and you'll chance upon views like those below...

Honestly, the tummelfalls visit was shortlived (the walk was short) and wasn't that spectacular. It was just unique. So since we still had time, we decided to go for an easy trail in preparation for our planned 6-hour hike 2 days later. The trail goes from Murren to Lauterbrunnen. So the planned route is a cable car up to Murren which is about 2km above sea level and then going by foot downwards to Lauterbrunnen. Easy right? Walking downhilll for 1 hour...

The town of Murren was someplace i'll want to spend my retirement if given a chance. The village was quiet but well built up. Houses were lined with meticulously planted flowers and all the residents seem to have super green fingers here. Everybody's flowers were in full bloom.

Wonder how many crows it successfully managed to scare off...

From the town of Murren, we exited to a jungle path that kept going downhill for the whole hour of the trail. Halfway into the trail, we regretted choosing it as our 'suspension' (knees) began to falter with every step. We had to take breaks not because we were out of breath but because out legs were shaking from the repetitive impact.

Some sites along the jungle path. Good for admiring and resting the knees..

Finally seeing the endpoint.

We reached Lauterbrunnen at about 7pm and night was falling. We also just missed a train that goes back to Interlaken West and had to wait for about an hour. Fortunately, there was a small cafe near the station that provided cheap dinner. Forgot the price, but we were really thankful it was there to provide some warmth and economical but palatable pastas while we were waiting for the train.

Thank this cafe for its food and shelter amidst the darkening skies

Our first dinner in Interlaken