Fighting horse ...

· In primary school, another game we played was "fighting horse" where the bigger boys would carry (piggyback) smaller boys (jockeys) and the jockeys would try to wrestle the others off their "horses”
· And the favourite time was the last day of school when each would bring something and games would be played and food would be shared in class with all.
· And the cheeky/notorious bunch would go to Keok Road coffee shop (upstairs) to have their food and beer, piss into "Kickaboo" drink bottles, seal them back; for them to be sold to unwary customers!!
· Favourite food then was "satay hum" also at Keok Road.

Beach Mansion...

· One of the best times I can remember was during the Summer holidays (June) when we would be invited to the Beach Mansion belonging to the Lai Family at Tanah Merah (way before the Country Club or even the ECP was born...!).
· We had to climb down a rocky path to get to the beach, as the house was way up high. The sea was great then and so was the company... Edwin Lee (who is a good friend now and still calls me "The Green-Eyed Monster during one of his moods), a Japanese boy by the name of Kim (where is he???), a girl from school called Kim Hoalim, Pauline Fong (Eddie Fong's sister), Marianne Wee (Christohper Wee's sister) and myself, not to mention Joan Lai who's house it belonged to.. What fun we had. Then we had to grow up!
· Of course one never forgets the water fights we used to have at the Island Club swimming pool. The pool seemed so big in those days. Now it's so small and abandoned. So sad!

smell of rubber...

· the smell of rubber from the warehouses and the murky water of Singapore River filled with tongkang as one crosses from Eu Tong Sen St to Hill St on the way to school

Personal memories of Singapore and Penang....

Singapore
· Ayer Batu Kachang, (With Kebongs), at Koek Road - price 10 cents for a decent sized bowl
· "Bum Boat" trips to the Outer Eastern Roadstead used to cost S$1.00 before midnight and S$2.00 after midnight
· The 2nd. best cream puffs in the world used to be sold in a little cafe in "The Arcade".


Penang
· The best cream puffs in the world used to be sold at "Tip Tops" in Burmah Road.
· The entire school holidays used to be spent camping in make-shift tents at "Lover's Bay" Batu Ferringhi - Soap & Toothpaste were listed as optional supplies.

Ku char mata ...

• Often heard among locals, " Ku char mata chengh tuay kor." ("Last time police wore shorts.")


• When I was a National Serviceman at Paya Lebar Police Station, my corporals and sergeants, those who wore chuli-ayam khaki shorts and over-sized batons swore that Abdullah 37 was one the best. She reputedly was the one who smoked Abdullah 37 with the other lips.

Silicon Gulch Cohort enroute to Reunion

Choon Yong and I were travelling on the same flight and our discussion at SFO airport came to the following conclusion:We were lucky to get tickets on to this flight for $1095 US in May having booked the flight in May when looking for fares. Most travel agents as well as the search engines were quoting higher prices on Singapore and other airlines, and their quotes did not appear to include fuel surcharge and taxes. This low fare was actually found on the Singapore Airlines website. This was a pleasant surprise since we noted that usualy SIA fares commanded a premium.

A bonus was that the trip is on SQ1 leaving SFO after midnight and arriving in Singapore before noon. All round, this is a very convenient flight for departing and arriving. Since it is a direct flight, though not non-stop, there is no change of plane, and less handling of bags and risk of luggage loss or misrouting. The best price offered on the web was $1300 US, and did not appear to include tax. Since SIA did not appear on the fares quotes, it did not appear to be a good viable option. In was in May that Choon Yong found this flight and asked me if there were better flights elsewhere, and since at the time there was nothing that appeared more competitive, even with additional stops, we made reservations on this flight.

The lesson to be learnt - if you are travelling to or through Singapore, check out the SingaporeAir website in addition to all the other travel websites and travel agents you hear or know about. SIA agrees to match any lower price for the same class of travel with same terms and conditions if you get in touch with SIA by 12 midnight Pacific Time of the day on which you paid for the SIA ticket by credit card. Also, SIA seems to be one of the few airlines that has SFO-SIN as a direct flight on the same plane. (Too many times, I have encountered occasions when the flight number is the same but there is a plane change with the corresponding inconvenience of going through immigration and security checks).

See the next post - the flight experience itself