Marina Del Rey, LA

Beautiful day ... Blue skies, sunny and calm.

Marina Del Rey - seaside town west of LA, 5 minutes by cab from LAX. Comes across as a quiet place with limited shopping.

Marina Del Rey

Going to Cafe del Rey later. If it is good, I will tell you all about it! =)

Keep an open mind

Made this card at someecards.com. Inspiration from my boss.

Till my next blog entry, stay open-minded! =)

Supreme ambitions ...

Slogan of a tuition center in Bangkok says; "We make your spending for the supreme outcomes". Tell your parents that the tuition fee will make you the head of North Korea .... =)


Till my next blog post, stay ambitious! =)

Afternoon at Shimotakaido

Having visited Tokyo a couple of times before and covered most of the ‘touristy’ places in the city, my friend and I chose to hang out at a local neighbourhood one recent afternoon. We picked Shimotakaido since it is recommended on CNNGo and a short ride on the train from the Keio line at Shinjuku. We were not keen taking another long train ride.

Sunset at the walking street of Shimotakaido

Train crossing

There is a walking street at the Shimotakaido station. The walking street has many small shops selling vegetables and fruits that extend out to the street. I reckon that if I stay here, I can do without a fridge at home and buy my dinner ingredients on the way home from work. =)

Big tomatoes ...

We walked into a Wal-mart (unfortunately, I can't remember its local name) supermarket and on the top floor, I noticed that only 25% of their diaper shelf space is for Merries baby diapers and diaper pants. The remaining 75% is devoted to adult diapers. This must be a sure sign of their aging population! Or maybe this is a senior citizen neighborhood? I wonder if we will see this in Singapore someday? =(

Bicycles parked outside 'Wal-mart'

A few other things stood out for me ....

• A small store selling wafer fish with red bean (azuki). I LOVE these snacks, so even though there is a queue, I must get one to devour. The fish was yummy. They served it with a crispy crust and red bean filling of the right sweetness for me. Y120 each.

Yummy wafer fish with red bean!

• A small store selling cute stuff for moms and babies. For sale are things ranging from bibs for babies to cool reading glasses for moms. I bought a small bag and an organizer bag from here. =)

• Apartment block with double-deck parking for bicycles. I have seen these parking for cars but bicycles … it is my first-time. =)

Interesting time spent at Shimotakaido.

Till my next blog entry, have fun! =)

Real airline food

I saw an article a couple of days ago on asiaone.com on airlines with the best meals. I went through the list and SQ is #2. Not bad. But most of the pictures of the food featured in that article are so UNREAL!


Let me show you the reality of economy class food. =)  I usually opt for Asian meals with rice or noodles to satisfy my hunger on board.

SQ brunch meal on Bangkok-Singapore flight. Noodles with roast pork. Portion size is usually above average. Their main meal is OK but I don't like their dessert .. usually some mousse-like stuff or ice-cream.

Bangkok to Narita on ANA. Pancakes with syrup and broccoli for breakfast. Sweet and savoury ... not exactly my preferred combination.

Narita to Bangkok on ANA. Japanese dinner. Fish with rice, miso soup, soba with dipping sauce, sweet egg, beancurd rice, red bean pancake, etc. Quite a variety of knick-knacks to fill me up.

Before boarding the ANA flight from Narita to Bangkok, I had this bowl of udon at the ANA Lounge.

Red-eye flight from Bangkok to Incheon on Asiana. Shrimp congee for supper. Easy on the mouth and stomach.

Instant noodles, chips and green tea at the Asiana Lounge at Incheon before my flight back to Bangkok.

And on really short flights, I get really bad food ...

For a short flight (slightly more than an hour) from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, Thai International gives your a box meal. Cold, spicy noodles, some custard-like dessert and a packet of orange juice.

Another box meal. Domestic flight on Vietnam Airlines from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City.  Nuts, fruits and a horrible sandwich.

The inside of the horrible sandwich. =(
My advice to you is: eat before your board the plane.

Till my next blog entry, stay sane! =)