LOAC Day 2

Day 2

Woken up early to the sound of an alarm clock that was inadvertently set at the wrong time. So went for an early morning run at 0630hrs. It was light however at a much later time than I expected. The streets were empty and the air chilly. The terrain made the run more challenging than it should have, however, it was a good healthy start to the morning.

In the afternoon, we made an excursion to the town of Kandersteg. This was a small mountain ski resort a little more than half hour out of Spiez by train. The round trip costs 33 francs per person. The scenic route runs out of Spiez, making a total of 4 stops and there were 2 sections of tunnels, which on exiting, allowed us a view of the magnificent mountains of the Bernese Oberland. We did not have much time there however in the 3 over hours we had there, we took the Oeschinensee cable car. The cable car ride was short and costs 15 francs one way. We decided to walk the return leg of the journey. From the Berg station, it was another 20 minute hike along through meadows, alpine forests and all the way accompanied by views of the mountains and the sounds of the roaring river.

We were rewarded at the end of the hike when the end of the trail opened to the Oeschinensee surrounded by mountains and cliffs.  The Oeschinensee is a spectacular deep, blue water mountain lake. The sky was blue and numerous waterfalls accentuated the already magnificent and rugged landscape. The water was cold and crisp and it stung your face even in the bright afternoon sun.

For the return journey to Kandersteg, we decided to walk down the road along the river through the Oeschiwald. The return walk took about an hour, along steep mountain gravel mountain trails with bridges criss crossing the roaring mountain stream a couple of times.

See this link for a detailed look at the route.

*work in progress*

LOAC @ Spiez, Switzerland

Day 1

Met my traveling partner Austia at Changi Airport terminal 3. We were on the flight SQ 346 direct to Zurich on an Airbus A380-800 aircraft. We managed to get a seat on the upper deck row 81D which as right at the end of the upper deck.

Inflight entertainment was reasonable. Watched the following movies
1. Ironman 2
2. Shrek: Happily Ever After
3. Clash of the Titans
4. Sprinkling of other documentaries

Total flight time was 12 hours and we arrived at 0730 hrs at Zurich airport. Customs clearance was fuss free and in typical swiss efficient fashion. we collected our baggage was out of the terminal in half and hour. The temperature was a chilly 15 degrees when we stepped out of the terminal building looking for the train station.

Our connecting train ride to Spiez was scheduled for 1100 hrs but we found out that the ticket we got online was from Zurich HB which was the main train station in Zurich city. We paid another 4 francs for the connecting ticket from the airport station to Zurich Hauptbahnhof (HB). We then browsed around the terminal looking for good data SIM card deals. A prepaid SIM card form Swisscom costs an initial 20 francs. Data charges were 1 franc per MB capped at 5 francs per day. I opted not to buy the SIM card initially as I have yet to check out the internet arrangements and options at the accommodation. But seeing Austia happily surfing away on his iPad is making me reconsider my decision.

It stuck me that the cost of living here is extremely high with a McDonald breakfast costing me 11.10 francs for a Filet o Fish meal. My conservative budget of 20 francs per day has just been busted…but a lot.

We waited on platform 4, section C/D looking out for any signs of where seats 175 and 176 would be as the train pulled into the station. The train arrive right on schedule, really on the dot and they stay at the station for 3 minutes flat. They are extremely quiet and clean. Seating is assigned and there is a designated area at the end of each cabin for luggage.

In typical swiss fashion, our ride was waiting for us after we disembarked from the train at Spiez. We were brought to the Ausbildungszentrum or ABZ for short. This was a short 5 minute drive from the train station. We took as short walk to down to the water's edge of Lake Thun and round trip on steep slopes round to the train station and then back to the hotel was a pleasant 2 hour walk, including a couple of stops at the supermarket for groceries.

This brings the first day to a close. Eventful but tiring as I am still coping with the jet lag

Solar Power

Just had the most unexpected conversation yesterday about the use of solar power in Singapore, with the most unlikely of all persons. The owner of the battery shop decided he wanted to chat with me about solar panels and the works when all I intended to do was to buy a battery charger for the car.

It turned out to be a rather interesting chat and it has piqued my interest in the possibility of experimenting with this 'green' technology.

Instead of investing huge sums of money, the rough idea is to experiment first to discover the possibilities and practicalities before moving on and investing more heavily in it. I am not quite sure how much it will translate to in cost savings, however, one must realised that this is a mindset and commitment to go 'green' rather than to achieve monetary rewards.

The whole idea is still at the planning stage. So we will see how this pans out.

In the meantime, a site to tell you more about hooking your place to the sun

http://www.freesunpower.com/

Cameron Highlands 11-16 June 2010: Facts and Figures

For those with a fetish for statistics (namely me)

Start: 11 June 2010 0530 hrs
End: 16 June 2010 2345 hrs

Total distance: 1288km

Accomodation:
Cameron Highlands: Casa del la Rosa
3 nights, Room 308, 2nd floor
265 RM / night, total 768 RM

KL: One World Hotel
2 nights, Room 2111
total 690 RM

Diesel
1.7 RM/L
Total diesel cost: 268 RM
Total diesel: 158L

Touch N Go
Cost of Card: 10 RM
Total Top up: 220RM

Cameron Road Trip 11-16 June 2010

This started off as a simple idea. Landies with kids will make better travel mates. And so we rounded up Tim/Yvette and Jack/Eng Chin for a short easy trip to Cameron. This is with the assumption that we will all be more understanding of needs like: diaper change, feedings stops, toilet breaks etc.


We meet up at Tuas Drive West at 0530 hrs, just outside the entrance to Raffles Marina. Crossing over via the lorry lane was hassle free this time and soon we were on our way after an obligatory last minute stop at the Gelang Patah.

One new encounter was the need to purchase a Touch 'n' Go card from the first toll booth. While I did not like the idea of a stored value card, not knowing when it will be replaced or expire, it turned out to be quite a useful item as it did smooth out the journey, cutting down on the time wasted at toll booths.

The drive up was generally uneventful. The only real excitement occurred during our run up Cameron via the old road from Tapah. At one bend, before reaching the Lata Iskandar waterfall, we caught a glimpse of a while pick up tip over the end of the cliff and disappear from sight. We stopped to assist only to find the pick up at least 20m down a steep ravine. However, the 2 passengers were fortunately uninjured.

We stayed at the Casa del la Rosa, someway between Tanah Rata and Brinchang. Rooms were clean and adequate with a nice but small garden at the rear for a nice morning stroll the next day.

The 2 days were spent exploring the myriad of sights available on Cameron. However, due to the weekend and school holidays, we spent some time on the roads fighting traffic, usually against our favour. However, the best 2 activities was the visit to the Sungai Palas Tea Centre where we spent a lazy afternoon sipping tea and allowing the kids to play together. The views of the surrounding slopes of the tea garden was gorgeous.

We also had the fortune of visiting Jack's uncle's farm. This was a non-tourist visit to a farm, involving a short route of travel of narrow steep tracks to a couple of vegetable plots high above the main tourist route. We were thrilled by the off-road experience and also pleasantly surprised with the opportunity to pick and eat ripe tomatoes and strawberries right off the vine. It was an unforgettable experience especially for the kids. I am glad we shared the same philosophy that our singaporean children need to be exposed to the outdoors and other experiences far from the urban landscape. The drizzle made the experience so much more surreal. Jack's uncle was very generous and offered us vegetables from his plot. With the landies loaded with vegetables and pots of plants, we headed down the wet slippery slopes back to Brinchang.

Will follow on with another post on trip facts and figures

Touched from the Past

It never ceases to amaze me about how events in your life, sometimes do not appear as mere coincidences. Rather everything does happen for a reason.

Something special happened yesterday. Someone left a comment on my post "Holy Darkness" which was posted in 2007. Follow the link to see the comment left for that post. I am glad my decision to share this particular piece of music has just made a slight difference to the people who have heard it on my blog.

I only pray that what I do, may continue to positively influence or affect the people around me. I pray. Pray with me.

Taken the Plunge

I must be crazy.

But then again, I know I always have been... but my blog title says otherwise.

Its official. I will be attempting 84 km at the Adidas Sundown Marathon 2010 scheduled for 29 May 2010.

Will I succeed. I do not know but I will sure try to ensure I do not fail at this task. Check out details at the site below.

www.sundownmarathon.com

Now... should I run for a cause...

Test blog entry

From the iPhone app


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

All Saints Mass 2009

There was a line in mass that struck me yesterday. It got me thinking for a while. It goes roughly like this,

" The first, early Christians had to give up their lives for the faith. For us, in this day and age where we do not have to die,the best thing we can do is LIVE the faith! "

Two different times. Our situations are so different. Out forefathers had to endure persecution and risk of death, and indeed they paid the price for the faith with their lives. They did!

Yet for us, in our cushy world where we are not persecuted and enjoy the freedom to practise our faith, we often fail to live up to the example set for us by our early fathers. We had not been asked to die. We are best able to minister to others by simply living our lives according to the faith, as revealed by God.

So as we celebrate the All Saints' and All Souls', may the lives of those who have come and gone before us, inspire and remind us of the lives we are called to lead. May we ask the Saints above to pray for us and likewise pray for those souls who have gone before us.

Test

Warmest Regards
Adrian Tan

Sent from my iPhone

Little Red Dot

Singapore was once called a little red dot.

I hereby present THE little red dot. Try it. Its irritatingly addictive!



Put The Big Red Button on your site

O God, You Search Me - Psalm 139

Another beautiful song


O God, you search me and you know me
All my thoughts lie open to your gaze
When I walk or lie down you are before me
Ever the maker and keeper of my days

you know my resting and my rising
You discern my purpose from afar
And with love everlasting you besiege me
In every moment of life or death you are

Before a word is on my tongue, Lord
YOu have known its meaning through and through
You are with me beyond my understanding
God of my present, my past and future too

Although your Spirit is upon me
Still I search for shelter from you light
There is nowhere on earth I can escape you
Even the darkness is radiant in your sight

For you created me and shaped me
Gave me life within my mother's womb
For the wonder of who I am I praise you
Safe in your hands all creation is made new

Open My Eyes

OPEN MY EYES
(Jesse Manibusan)

Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see your face.
Open my eyes, Lord. Help me to see.

Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear your voice.
Open my ears, Lord. Help me to hear.

Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love like you.
Open my heart, Lord. Help me to love.

I live within you. Deep in your heart, O Love.
I live within you. Rest now in me



Here is another version by Vanessa Morissey


Very simple song...but a wonderful prayer to do. Let us start today.

Mouth Brooders

I have read about it. I have dreamt about it. Now I am living the dream.

I have a tank with at least 7 female cichlids with either eggs or emerging fry in their mouths.

To an unfamiliar eye, one will not be able to tell if a female is hiding a surprise in their oral cavity, however, once you know where to look, it is actually surprisingly easy to spot

Now I can't wait for the fry to emerge.

Cichlid Heaven!

My fish tank is alive once again.

After a period of recovery from a not so successful planted tank, I had enough of an empty fish tank in the middle of my living room. And after the fiasco of having plants in my tank, I have gone back to the first fish I kept when I started the hobby.

The decision to go back to keeping cichlids was quite simple.

Firstly, they are one of the most colourful species of freshwater fish you will be able to find, rivaling the colour of a marine tank.

Secondly, keeping them entails creating specialised water and tank conditions that will allow the fish to thrive. The tank I did up, recreates the rocky waters of Lake Malawi in the african rift valley. Hard, alkaline water with a rocky habitat are what these fish call home.

Thirdly, these fish really have got character. Fierce, independant and displaying behaviour beyond any other species of fish this size.

The list goes on...

Words don't mean much so take a look





More pictures at my Cichlid Photos

If you want a guided tour to the biotope of Lake Malawi in a living room, give me a buzz and drop by.

Litany of Saints

I have been looking for this for such a long time.

It is a beautiful rendition of the Litany of Saints. This solemn prayer and invocation brings to mind the multitude of holy people that have come and gone before us. They show us a way to our God and that a life of holiness is not unachievable.

And as we recall each and everyone of these men and women of God, we pray that they will help us in our own pilgrimage.

Listen to the Litany of Saints and tell me what you think.

Elijah's Baptism

Welcome to the family!

Elijah Michael Tan has been officially baptised into the Christian family today at the Church of the Holy Cross, among the company of family, friends and all who are dear.

That makes us a whole catholic family, does it?

Photos of the event will follow, so look out here for a record of this wonderful event!

Stokke Xplory

Our Stokke is here!!!

And though it has a funny look, it sure is fun to use.









Read more about the details here

Our package finally arrived from the US after some fiasco with delivery over in the US. We liked the fact that it has an adjustable height allowing a young child to have a ride height that is above the level of an adults knees. This is after observing our niece having to endure the view of the table bottom during family dinners.

In addition, it has rave reviews from celebrity users. See their reviews

So if you see a red stokke pram. honk and wave

First Trip to the Zoo

We had to go out for some fresh air and sunshine. It was also an opportunity to test out our new pram which came over the weekend. And so we thought the area outside the zoo and night safari would have been a nice place to walk.

So Elijah has already been to the zoo and the tender age of 12 days :). And in anticipation of future trips to the zoo, we excitedly got ourselves signed up as Friends of the Zoo. This will allow us unlimited access to the zoo itself and other discounts e.g carpark, F&B ... The cost of it was SGD 150 but with a 10% discount with the ikea friends card. Since an adult admission to the zoo is about 16 bucks, 5 trips to the zoo for fran, myself and rlijah would more than make up for the membership to the zoo.

This will require a little re-think about the way we plan zoo trips. No more of those entire day, see the whole zoo type of trips. Rather, we should plan short, a couple of hours type trips to see specific exhibits or shows.

This was really quite a fun day.

(will follow with photos)

Did You Know?

Did you know that...


Shit from a one week old baby can: Fly through the air, more than 30cm, in stream and really soil you... if you are not careful.

That is exactly what happened during yesterday's diaper change and it had to happen past midnight. Not exactly a bargain just before going to bed.

One really had to see the humour in the situation and it still brings a smile to my face even when I think about it now.