Places to visit in Taipei City

Places to visit in Taipei City 

After checking out jiufen area, we will be back in taipei city.....so what have i planned for the remaining 5 (Day 3 to Day 7 of trip) days leh  ????

Day 3: late afternoon onwards 

as we are living in the ximending area and knowing that  my energy level will be low from the yehliu geopark and hot spring in the morning and afternoon, we will only be exploring nearby attractions for the rest of the day.... =D

(1)  Longsanshi (龍山寺)

- http://www.photoblog.com/Iriss/2010/08/31/

- http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei_Shih/Taipei-1074413/Things_To_Do-Taipei-Longshan_Temple-BR-1.html

(2) Chiang kai shek memorial hall (国立中正纪念堂)

- http://www.cksmh.gov.tw/eng/index.php?code=list&ids=32

- http://ccyee.wordpress.com/2011/08/20/taiwan-taipei-free-and-easy-trip-day-2/

(3) Shida night market (師大路夜市)

- http://mykafkeasquelife.blogspot.com/2011/03/shida-night-market-taipei.html

- http://thefoodchapter.blogspot.com/2012/01/shida-night-market-eats.html



Day 4 :
(4)  Maokong Gondola (貓空纜車)

when i first saw the word 'gondola', i thought it was the same kind as those in venice and knowing that fee to tourist attractions in taipei is freaking cheap, i was thrilled....but it turned out to be a cable car ride....a little disappointed but we are still going to check it out.... cos some of the cable cars has a see through glass base oh.... still exciting enough for me.....

- http://gondola.trtc.com.tw/eng/index.htm
- http://raintravels.blogspot.com/2011/09/high-on-maokong-gondola.html


(5) Taipei Zoo ( 台北動物園)

visiting the zoo just because it's really cheap at NT$60 (S$2.60) and that it's at one of the Maokong Gondola station.... =) ...and every trip on the internal shuttle train is only S$0.20

- http://english.zoo.taipei.gov.tw/content.asp?Cuitem=1126771&mp=104032
- http://chrisdisdero.com/adventures/taipei-zoo


(6) Sun yat sun memorial hall (國立國父紀念館)
-  http://mykafkeasquelife.blogspot.com/2010/03/sun-yat-sen-memorial-hall-taipei.html


(7) Wufenpu & Raohe night market (五分埔 & 饒河街觀光夜市)
- http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/11/wufenpu-raohe-street-night-market-taiwan/
- http://jy-s.com/2009/07/30/wufenpu-raohe-street-night-market-%E4%BA%94%E5%88%86%E5%9F%94-%E9%A5%92%E6%B2%B3%E8%A1%97%E8%A7%80%E5%85%89%E5%A4%9C%E5%B8%82/


Day 5 :

(8) Yangmingshan (陽明山)
- http://www.ymsnp.gov.tw/HTML/ENG/INDEX.ASP
- http://chantc.blogspot.com/2011/01/yang-ming-shan.html


(9) Xin Beitou (新北投)

as we gotten a good hotspring deal at the herbgarden on Day 3, we wun be trying the hotspring here although this place is famous for its hotspring ....then why still visit leh?????cos the trains from Beitou to Xin Beitou are very pretty.... =P ....

- http://www.aniceholiday.com/ihavebeenthere/alientyc/rest-relax-and-enjoy-the-hot-spring-at-xin-beitou-in-taipei-%E6%96%B0%E5%8C%97%E6%8A%95-%E6%B8%A9%E6%B3%89%E4%B9%8B%E6%97%85/
- http://al02.blogspot.com/2011/07/taipei-beitou-hot-springs.html


(10)  Danshui + Fisherman Wharf + Lover's Bridge (淡水 + 渔人码头 + 情人桥)
- http://www.frannywanny.com/2011/05/visiting-danshui-in-taipei-taiwan.html
- http://cg-travelling.blogspot.com/2011/06/lovers-bridge-in-danshui.html



(11) Lava Club

woohoo.....yes, we are going clubbing in taipei....heard lots and watched lots of happening stories and videos about the clubbing scenes in taipei....lots of chiobus and lots of laji and definitely lots of hooking ups...oopx..... it will be so fun to see all these in action lo.....wahahahha..... after some research, we decided to check out lava club...=)

- http://www.ahbing.com/taipei-night-club-experience/
- http://www.darrensim.com/2012/01/17/introducing-club-lava-of-taipei-city/


Day 6 :

(12) Taipei 101
- http://www.taipei-101.com.tw/en/OB/index_ob.asp
- http://www.frannywanny.com/2011/05/climbing-up-taipei-101.html



(13) Taipei underground mall
- http://www.shootfirsteatlater.com/2010/07/taipei-underground-market.html


(14) ximending (西門町)
- http://travelswithsandy.wordpress.com/category/taiwan/ximending/
- http://www.frannywanny.com/2011/05/ximending-night-market-in-taipei-taiwan.html


(15) shilin night market (士林夜市)
- http://coveredinstardust.blogspot.com/2011/11/taipei-day-2-shilin-night-market.html


Day 7 :

last minute shopping before leaving for the airport at 12nn.... flight will be at 2.35pm..... i know i m so going to miss this place....  so many places to visit during this 7days 6 nights trip...really hope that we can cover everything as planned....=)

Awesome places just outside Taipei city

Awesome places just outside Taipei City

will be sharing links of blogs, photos, forums and write-ups which i had read up on to plan my itinery...=) ....will create my own write up with lots and lots of photos when we return from the trip...=)



(1) Jiufen （九份）

• http://www.groseman.com/?p=85
• http://taiwan-photography-blog.com/2010/04/15/must-see-taiwan-jiufen-jeoufen/
• http://j-travel.blogspot.com/2011/08/jiufen-small-town-at-taiwan.html

 (2) Keelung Miaokou Night Market （基隆廟口夜市）

• http://mykafkaesquelife.blogspot.com/2010/05/miaokou-night-market-keelung.html
• http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/11/miao-kou-night-markat-%E5%BA%99%E5%8F%A3%E5%A4%9C%E5%B8%82-keelung-taiwan
• http://www.isaactan.net/2012/02/keelung-miao-kou-night-market-taiwan.html

it's all about seafood here.....mr ang is gonna be so so so happy... =) 


(3) Gold Ecological Park (黄金博物院区)

• http://www.gep-en.tpc.gov.tw/econtent/about/about.asp
• http://jy-s.com/2009/09/02/jinguashi-%E9%87%91%E7%93%9C%E7%9F%B3/
• http://alvinology.com/2009/02/08/visiting-jinguashi-in-taipei/

(4) Pingxi + Jingtong + Shifen (平溪 &  菁桐 & 十分)

• http://kampungboycitygal.com/2009/08/taiwan-best-trip-riding-the-pingxi-branch-rail-line/
• http://www.epicurioustravels.com/2011/04/taiwan-pingxi-sky-lanterns.html
• http://lobsterpaints.blogspot.com/2012/02/travelogue-taiwan-day-3-part-22-shifen.html

(5) Yehliu Geopark (野柳地质公园)

• http://www.ylgeopark.org.tw/ENG/landscape/Sight_en.aspx
• http://jasssharing.wordpress.com/2010/01/12/sightseeing-yehliu-geopark-and-jiufen/
• http://www.backpackboy.com/2009/06/yehliu-geopark.html

(6) Hotspring @ herbgarden (金山洗溫泉~香草花園)

• http://www.herbgarden.com.tw/18.htm
• http://blog.yam.com/iristim/article/24413956

All these will take up day 1, day 2 and the first half of day 3 of our taiwan trip......afterwhich, we will be enjoying ourselves in taipei city till day 7..... =D.....

A Peek into our Taipei Trip in June

yes, the trip is only gonna happen for us in June this year but im just that eager to share about the awesome deals that i got for our 民宿 and cabby so that you can also make use of the info if you are planning a trip to taipei anytime soon oh....


Flight:
we will be flying by tigerair....let's hope it wun be grounded during that period of time.... due to the long hours of flight (4 hours 45 minutes), we decided to pay $25 extra for each person each way so that we get to sit at row 12 which is where the emergency exit is.... the seats here have bigger leg room.... on top of that we paid $17 to check in one luggage ( i hope it's enough for both of us) of up to 20 kg for both way.... and with the convenience fee (http://www.tigerairways.com/hk/en/conv-fees.php) and taxes, it cost us $430.60 each to fly to and from taipei...



Accommodation:
we will be staying 2 nights at 市下巷 (http://www.travel-jiufen.com/en/en_room.htm), a 民宿 in 九份 (jiufen).... one night in their mediterranean room and one night in the japanese zen room.... (provided PIL is willing to change room with me after one night).... oopx....the rooms are so so so pretty....likey much much....and they are only gonna charge me NT$2000 (S$87.30) per room per night... they gave me a discount of NT$500 (S$21.80) for the mediterranean room .... =).... we have to pay S$100 deposit into a DBS saving plus account (yes, they have a singapore account) and the remaining in taiwan dollar upon arrival....


and they managed to help me find transport from taipei airport to jiufen for NT$2000 (S$87.30) when other cab drivers quoted me NT$2200 and NT$2500.... and why would catty me be willing to spend on cab leh???? cos, the alternative to taking a cab would require 3 change of bus and train.....


we have to
1) take bus from taipei airport to taipei city - NT$140 (1 hour)
2) take train from taipei city to keelung - NT$66 (45 minutes)
3) take bus from keelung to jiufen - NT$42 (40 minutes)


and since we are going in group of 4 this round, each of us only has to pay an extra of NT$250 (S$11) to make our trip from taipei to jiufen so much easier..... we really dun wanna lug a luggage up and down the bus and the train, spend time searching for the train platform and bus stops and having to have exact change for the buses....


anyway, after finding out my arrival time and the places that i would like to visit in their area, they even send me their proposed itinery with added activities which are popular among tourists...... so nice of them lo....really good service wor.....


after jiufen, we will be staying 4 nights in Taipeiyork (http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/taipeiyork/archive?l=f&id=10), a service apartment in taipei 西門町.... booked room 3 and 9... they are charging us an average of NT$1530 (S$66.80) per room per night.... why average leh??? cos they charge different prices for weekdays (sun - thurs) and weekends (fri - sat) .....


initially i wanted to change room within the same service apartment after 2 nights de....wanted to stay in their room 1 and 2 (mediterranean themed) too but they say we can only change room if we stay 10 nights and above..... so irritating lo..... so i thought that if i use my name to book for the first two nights, then get mr ang to book for the next 2 nights can liao... =P....they replied saying that booking for 2 nights stay will only be made available in may....they are only accepting 4 days and above booking now...... also dun know if they are lying lo....but i m also scare no more rooms by may.....=(

their rooms are really nice and within the price range that we are willing to pay so no choice lo...they win....we book two rooms..... internal swop with PIL after 2 days then..... then why room 3 and 9 and not 1 and 2 leh???? cos we will get to stay in the mediterranean themed room in jiufen liao mah....=)



Transport:
we needed another cab transport to bring us and our luggage from jiufen to taipei and along the way stop us at yehliu geopark for 2 hours of sightseeing and hotspring at herb garden (recommendation from jiufen minsu) for 3 hours .....asked for quotation from a few cabbies that i gotten from the tripadvisor forum and the cheapest one we gotten is at NT$3300 (S$144.10) for 12 hours of service by Meeky Yang (contact number: 886~921~915~586, email: meeky589@yahoo.com.tw) ....other cabbies quoted us NT$4000 and NT$5000.... by the way, taiwan cabby always doubles as tourguide too de oh...



will share the awesome places that we will be visiting in our next post.... =D

A is for Art 2012 - Preview

A is for Art 2012 - Preview

has always love attending art courses...beside being able to skip school for the day, the content and hands-on activity at art courses always make them so much more engaging and they always spark off some interesting ideas for me to implement in school... =)

Saw the following on STAR-POST and signed up for it....

"A is for Art is back! Enjoyed learning about teaching of art through the use of museum objects? Join us again for another year of wonderful learning and art making! Look forward to fresh activities, ideas and learning opportunities! Find out more at the A is for Art 2012 Preview! You will also get to visit the special exhibition, Patterns of Trade, with us and draw inspiration from Indian textiles that once clothed the world."

assuming that the course is aimed at giving art teachers ideas on how to plan a museum trip for art pupils, i happily signed up for it.... hoping that i can plan a art learning journey for the pupils and teachers to the museum starting this year if budget allows, if not next year also okay ah....=)

at acm, we will given an entrance sticker

 to attach to our clothing so as to gain access to the galleries and was also given a trail booklet

(front)

(back)

all the teachers had so much fun filling it up during the 30 minutes of free roaming in the Patterns of Trade gallery... =)

my works.... =)

it's interesting how 'boring' fabrics designs from the 1400 - 1900 can be made so much more enjoyable with these trail booklets.... they got me, someone who dun like and cant draw for nuts, to really look at the fabrics so as to complete the activities....

is there a way that we can do something like this so that pupils will want to do more english, math and science too???

anyway, there are up to 70 pieces of the 300 pieces of these fabrics acquired currently displayed at acm till june 2012... more info at (http://www.acm.org.sg/exhibitions/eventdetail.asp?eventID=750)

all moe teachers and pupils can enter acm for free....so bring along your cs card or student pass for verification... =) ...do remember to ask for the trail booklet on your visit too...

at the end of the trail, we will given the following riddle:

found in the South East Asian Gallery

it is made of stone

it is for the noble

it's a composite figure of 2 animals

we are to look for an artefact that fulfill the conditions of the riddle and write the answer on the piece of paper provided...

and this is what we thought (knew) could be the answer...

~osa osa~

5 fun facts about the osa osa 

•The osa osa is carved in the form of a mythical creature with a dragon-like head and a bird-like tail.
•It is said to have protective role and reinforce power of the nobility on the Nias Island.
•The stone osa osa seat is used by men or women of high honour.
•The stone carving is well known for the impressive quality.
•An osa osa is only carried once during a special feast.
 

the first 3 lucky participants who got the answer correct get to receive a gift....i was lucky to be among the 3 and i received this beautiful notebook... =)

i thought that's the end of the workshop liao.... but boy, i was so wrong... i really dun know what i had signed up for lo...

this workshop is actually only part 1 of 4.....the whole thing is actually something very big scale de....

Part 2 will be a 2 day art camp in march where we have to complete both the (a) and (b) below...

(a)



(b)

Part 3 will be the school implementation of the program to the pupils and school visit by the organising committee to observe if what we carried out in school is what they want....

Part 4 will be exhibition and presentation of certificate to participating schools and also the award ceremony... 

i really dig my own grave this time liao....=P... and i decided to dragged ain in with me...wahahha.... cos this program needs 2 teachers per school.... 

Of Earth Hour & Earth Day

Of Earth Hour & Earth Day

Earth Hour 2012 is on 31 March, Saturday at 830pm. And there's an event going on at Orchard Road on that day. Info from (http://earthhour.wwf.sg/event.php)


CELEBRATE EARTH HOUR 2012 @ORCHARD

Date: Saturday, 31 March 2012
Time: 6.30pm – 10.00 pm
Venue: Orchard Road (Nearest MRT: Orchard and Somerset)

Head down to Orchard Road on Saturday, 31 March 2012 with your friends and family to celebrate Earth Hour with the rest of the global community. Join in the festivities with a live concert and eco-carnival, witness the first 60+ SINGAPORE human formation and count down to the lights-off event at 8.30pm.

Be an Earth Hour Ambassador! As an Earth Hour Ambassador, you’ll become an advocate for the world’s largest environmental movement and play a part in Earth Hour 2012 that’s happening on Orchard Road. To help empower you and the people around you to take action for our planet, you’ll receive an Ambassador Kit that includes:


•a useful and informative guide on eco-friendly living
•a special edition Earth Hour 2012 t-shirt and cap made from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles
•eco-friendly products and merchandise

You’ll also be among the first to create the 60+ SINGAPORE human formation, which will put Singapore on the Earth Hour global map. To participate, simply wear your Earth Hour t-shirt with pride and join in the investiture ceremony at 7.00pm on 31 March 2012 (report at 6.30pm at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza). What’s more, you’ll even be awarded with a personalised e-certificate after the event to mark your participation.

Sign-up before 18 March to be an Earth Hour Ambassador. Your participation comes with a joining fee of $35.00 per person. For group registration of 20 or more people, each person will pay $30.00.

I believe there will be even more companies and restaurants joining in the light-less, fan-less and aircon-less activity this year during the Earth hour...so do dress appropriately if you are heading out...=P

Alot of people do know about Earth Hour as they might be 'involved' in the light-less, fan-less and aircon-less activity just by being customers at participating restaurants. I was 'involved' too 4 years ago when i had dinner with the RSS gang at Walas....luckly, i was appropriately dressed (in a tube + berms)... =)

But alot of people does not know about Earth day (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day).... as activities are mainly not as ra-ra and 'fun' as those of Earth Hour and are mainly green activities lead by various volunteer groups.... (http://www.ecowalkthetalk.com/blog/2011/04/12/earth-day-singapore-2011/)

So just to create more awareness and ra-ra for Earth Day, I had decided to spearhead a flash mob on to create more awareness about EARTH DAY through facebook event with the following details ... =).....

EVENT NAME: Flash Mob Agents needed for EARTH DAY, 22 April 2012

"To create awareness for EARTH Day with a Flash Mob that anyone and everyone can take part in any part of Singapore....


What do you have to do?
1) read up about Earth Day - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Day)

2) participate in any Earth Day activity - more updates in later feeds

3) be in GREEN on that day (22 April 2012 - Sunday)... You can be spotting a green shirt, green skirt, green dress, green shorts, green pants or wearing green shoes, green socks or even green accessories such as green hairband, green earrings, green bag, green belt.... the list goes on....=)

4) share this event and get all your friends and relatives to join in on this Green Green Earth Day... =)

Let's Make Singapore an even GREENER city on EARTH DAY... =)

I hope this will be successful..... Let's go GREEN and let's be in GREEN... =)  

Flash mob

Flash mob

always been fascinated by flash mob since i know what is it about.... online definition of flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then disperse, often for the purpose of entertainment, satire and artistic expression (def from wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob ) 


these few below are my favourite:













i cant find the one that has many people talking to each other in silence.... =( 




flash mob in singapore... =) 

when i saw this, i so so so wanted to join lo.....hahahahhaha...... so fun isnt it????





this one is the one with the election made famous YAM AH MEE (the one in strip polo tee) oh.... =) 


then these few weeks, flash mob became more common.....saw on facebook that many people are using flash mob for proposals and at weddings.... 


while on the cab, a thought suddenly came to mind and i am thinking of creating my own flash mob and see how it goes..... heee..... more info in later post.... =) ....gonna be something so simple that everyone can do (just whether u want to do it anot)....and with the help of social media...let's see how far it can go..... 

My Unique Pups

since november 2011, my snowy has never been the same again....first she suffered from depression.....

the depressed patient...look at her sad sad eyes.... =(

thinking that we had abandoned her with the groomer, she would sulk herself at one corner of the cage the whole day (for many many days) and refused to come out to play......and would shiver when we carried her out of the cage.... 

went online to do some research and found out that most depressed dogs will walk out of their depression within 6 months and even if we had brought her to the vet immediately, the vet would not be able to do anything (they would not prescribe any medication too) until 6 months later.... =S

then a few days after she returned from the groomer, i found a few small small scabs around her neck, behind her ears and on her body.... =(.... initially i thought they were wounds from the grooming and since they had dried up, i decided to overlook it....

then during bath time a week later, i found new wounds....so not the groomer's fault..... then i suspected that brownie must be bullying snowy and had caused all those wounds during their rough play... so i observed how the 2 pups play and concluded tat it was not brownie....

got very very worried and immediately took her to the vet....and oh boy.... a visit to the vet really burnt a large hole in my pocket... bought antibiotic, medicated shampoo and conditioner, did a heartworm test and bought heartworm prevention tablets.... total damage> $241...

vet said that the wounds are due to allergies.... but need alot of trial and error to determine what snowy is allergic to.... could be flea bite that she gotten at the groomer's place...could be the dog snacks that we have been feeding her...or even the dog food.... and dogs with skin problem (allergy) will have them throughout their life time.... =S.....

putting this allergy issue aside, her eating habit is killing me and bringing my tolerance level to a new high lo..... she has to be fed...sometimes by spoon....sometimes by hand....and sometimes laid out on the floor bit by bit....it all depends on her MOOD on how she wants to be fed..... 

 she will take her own sweet time to inspect her food.... 东看看, 西看看, 东闻闻, 西闻闻...walk abit here, walk abit there....can take up to 20 minutes to finish her 3 scoops of dog biscuits lo..... and if i get annoyed and raised my voice a little (just a little), she will 'act' panic and jump back into her cage to hide in one corner......then i will feel guilty.....argh.....我真的是宰在这只小不点的手上..... 做主人做到这样也真是可怜阿.... =(

on the other hand, brownie is super easy to look after...no skin allergy, has super fluffy fur that makes her look super round and cute and cuddly....and would gobble up her food every single time.... and she is so 乖 that she wun snatch snowy's food although she is very 'gian'....

she will wait patiently for snowy to drop a few biscuits out of the bowl every now and then and dash to gobble them up but will never eat them from snowy's bowl.... heee..... and when i "erm-hum"....she wun even dare to eat those that were dropped out of the bowl lo.... and she's the one who will pop by the sofa where i 趴趴 to ask for a pat or a hug so often when she's let out to play.... heeee....

cutie pie Brownie

2 dogs.....siblings......but totally different characteristics..... one more 麻烦 than the other one but we still luv them both..... Mr Ang luvs brownie more cos of her joviness so i have to luv snowy more for her princessness bah.....must be fair cos i m a libra.... heee.....

北京 2008

been the school art coordinator for the last 3 years .... been churning up art scheme of work for all levels ... been learning a lot about art education... read somewhere that there's always a story behind every artwork but so far, i have not been really convinced until Li Jing posted the story behind the artwork, titled <<北京 2008>> on facebook

if i chanced upon this artwork in a gallery, i would just glanced at it and think that the artist is very boliao... why drew half and fully naked women playing mahjong...and people dun play mahjong lying down one lo....

anyway, did more readings about this artwork from the net.... the interpretation seems to come from people who studies art in detail but not from the artist itself.... and these interpretations are better explained on chinese websites than the english one which are very very vague... there are numerous similar interpretation and the one that i'm going to share is my favourite...cos it's the most gossipy version....hahahahaha....

< 北京 2008 >

Artist - 刘溢

the man featured in the portrait on the left is said to have the beard of Sun Yat Sen, the bald head of Chiang Kai-skek and the facial features of Mao Zedong.... basically, it's a combination of 3 very important people that shaped how China is today...so the picture symbolises the history of the last 100 or so years of China.

the players of the game include US (the one sitting facing the front and with her top on), China (the one with 2 pony tails and with a phoenix tattoo on her back), Japan (the one on the left) and Russia (the one who is lying down)...

China had 'pong' the 东风.. this could mean that China is the rising (崛起) star or the host (做东) ...

Russia is secretly exchanging tiles with China yet at the same time 有一腿-ing with US... this could mean the underground relationship between Russia, China and US...

Japan, on the other hand, is the only one that is fully naked... indicating that she's the biggest loser of this game (assuming that this is strip mahjong).... she is only focused on her tiles and seems to be very pleased with what she has ..... this could mean that Japan is involved in the confusing global relationship between the other 3 countries ...but being overly focused on what is directly in front of her, she failed to see the complexity of the situations around her....so Japan will lose out totally...

based on the fruits on the plate, the girl in the 肚兜, holding the plate of fruits and a knife is Taiwan... standing at the sideline, she could see the whole situation very clearly, but as she's not involved in the 'game', she is in no position to say anything....

US is looking at taiwan, concerned yet helpless at what to do.... just like how US is helpless towards taiwan with its china issue....

overall, it's an interesting experience for me to realise that there's so much thought behind an artwork.... =).....

Staying Unplugged

i think i m one of the last few people that i know who still does not subscribe to a data plan .... mab was telling me that i'm gonna be obsolete soon if i insist on being stuck in the mud... hahahaha.... actually, i think that i m weird too...

initially i tot that maybe it's the price that's putting me off... my current monthly bill is only abt $20.... but when i recontracted last sept, i was informed that i could get a data plan package at only $28 per month.... which is not too far off .... but i just dun have the desire to have data plan leh....

i just dun like the feeling of staying connected even on the go.... my eyes are already alway on the screen while in the staffroom and at home.... i m already on facebook and email while at work and at home....and i really do enjoy people watching or just resting my eyes on the bus or train....

the down side of not having data plan is that i do have friends who commented that contacting me is very troublesome cos i dun have what's apps.... and i do get left out in certain planning and info due to not having what's app....nowadays, even communication between collegues in school has turned to what's app.... is that efficiency or sadness leh??? hmmm....

so i was very happy when i came across this article in the Home section of thesundaytimes yesterday... =) ... according to the article, experts say the desire to disconnect - ostensibly to return to simpler, less-wired times - is a common theme in urban life.... and there's even a National Day of Unplugging - a creative project started by Canadian entrepreneur, Mr Dan Rollman. The project is held annually on a Friday in March aims at slowing down lives in an increasing hectic world by simply avoiding technology. It is becoming popular in the states and also in other countries (but not yet in singapore... maybe i should start one...hahahha)....

am glad that i m not an odd ball.... i m just being myself....so peeps, stop saying that i m a dinosaur...=P 

a video i watched which i think was the main reason why i do not have a dataplan....

Employing a maid in Singapore

Employing a maid in Singapore

since i was rather free during the dec holiday, i went with mummy and maid to the maid agency to renew her passport and to transfer her ownership from him to me.... was shock to hear that the renewal of the maid's passport will cost the maid (not the employer) $300+ and it will only last for 2 more years.... 

why is it so expensive???? even in Singapore, the cost of making a passport is only $70 for 5 years lo.... the employee there told us that the fee includes administrative charges...and if i want to save $$$ on behalf of the maid, i can actually bring the maid to the indonesia embassy and do it on my own at a reduced price. 


so i told mummy that since she's not working this dec, why dun she just bring the maid down to do it....and guess what's the price.... it's only $35 and valid for another 5 years....


check out the link: 
http://www.kbrisingapura.com/maid_renewal.php?lang=eng


these maid's agencies really is 'kill people put fire' one lo.... they really have the heart the earn the maid's one month salary just to help them renew passport... =S...somemore valid for less than half the actual number of years lo... $300 for 2 years vs $35 for 5 years....so employers, do your maid a favour, just bring them direct to the Indonesian embassy if there's a need to renew the maid's passport...DON'T DO IT THRU THE MAID'S AGENCIES...... 

forum on renewing maid's passport at the embassy itself:
http://singaporemaid.blogspot.com/2008/02/renewing-maids-work-permit-and-passport.html 



then, i went online and found out that actually i can do the transfer of maid's ownership by myself without having to go through the agency also.... =)....  


as i m a first time employer, i have to sign up for an online Employers' Orientation Program at $30 with Singapore Polytechnic. Quite simple and brainless, just some powerpoint slides + videos and a 10 questions test at the end of the so called program.... took less than an hour to clear... 


then have to login to WP online (web portal linked under Ministry of Manpower) with singpass to apply for the transfer / renewal of the work permit at $20


then have to get the security bond and insurance for the maid. The security bond is a $5000 deposit with Ministry of Manpower which will be confiscated if employers did not do what is required as stated in
http://www.mom.gov.sg/foreign-manpower/passes-visas/work-permit-fw/before-you-apply/Pages/security-bond.aspx


but then, there's a 'cheaper' way out of this $5000 is to buy an insurance that covers the security bond and the maid's insurance for 26 months at http://www.anda.com.sg/prg/PackPrem.asp... cost me $321 inclusive of GST


the issue of the work permit cost another $20... so for less than $400, i cleared the transfer.... which a maid agency would have charged me $70 (for the $40 i paid for application and issuing of permit permit) and at the same time, charge the maid 2-3 months of her salary...basically, they are just out to earn the maids' money la.. =S