Sunday, January 11, 2026

Hello 2026, Goodbye 2025

 Wow 2025, what a fantastic year you’ve been.

It didn’t look it at the start but boy did we end with a power upshot, with further momentum to come going into 2026!

Here’s a quick look back on 2025 for me.

January was off the back of a wonderful and affordable Korea trip. It made me fall in love with Kore finally. Attended the girl’s orientation in secondary school, absolutely proud of her stellar achievement, felt like she scored full marks for her PSLE tbh. She’s quite set for life, is my hope. Actually had a short trip to KL for work, but any travel is good for me.

Feb was CNY, nothing super significant. Joker Xue concert at the National Stadium. Oh, financially we paid off our mortgage. Now that was fucking significant. 46yr old with no housing loan. What a baller!

March I visited Copenhagen for work. Was fun and I always love travelling out of Asia.

April 7th was a day of infamy at work, when we had a mega P1 incident, caused by Trump’s tariff announcement. There was the JPM Corporate Challenge. Then I brought the kids to Penang, it was so much fun!

May we went day camping on Sentosa Island. Then two amazing nights of Lady Gage concert for me. Also brought the kids to catch The Phantom Of The Opera.

June we went to Perth. It was so fun. Great break from the challenges and business at work. We also bought our new BYD Atto 3. Was due for delivery only in September because it was the hottest selling car.

July we celebrated many birthdays. Did a staycation at W Hotel on Sentosa Island. It was the best durian season too. I ran the Railway Corridor which was slightly more than a half marathon, on my birthday!

There wasn’t much going on in August. A DHS reunion. Some key changes at work, new org chains etc. oh we did a 3D2N getaway to JB right across the causeway.

September we took delivery of the new car. It’s a great drive. Nothing much else. Lots of work.

October was the busiest month for work I suppose, because nothing much else happened,

Nov it started getting better. Started with a Copenhagen trip again where we dipped in 10°C sea pool. Had a colleague’s son who was a finalist on Masterchef Denmark cook dinner for us. Then partied the night away in Denmark’s J Day, the launch of Christmas beer. Also I caught Singapore beating HK to qualify for the Asian Cup first time ever on merit!

Dec was a trip to HCM with the son to experience more about the Vietnam War. Then the legendary Paris, Tromso, Rovaniemi mega holiday where we were so lucky we saw the northern lights multiple times. Also stayed in a $4K/night Finnish igloo glass cabin for two nights. Some of the most magical moments happened in the middle of the frozen lake at -20°C.

Health was relatively good all year. Have made a conscious decision to cut down my alcohol intake. Could’ve exercised more though.

Family relationships were great. Again need to spend more time with my aging parents. Kids are getting more independent now, can talk back some more.

Personal finances weren’t the best at the start and then April Trump fucked me over for a bit, but by golly the stars seem to be aligning around mid Q4 and it looks to be even better into the new year.

Work was great. Very busy but I spent the whole year in a role that I was in my element. The foundations are set and this year is the year I get to outperform. Cautiously super optimistic about job satisfaction, target outperformance and earnings at work in 2026.

As with traditional, here were last year’s reviews.

And here were my 2025 resolutions.

Below are my 2025 resolutions review.

1) Average 10K Step Per Day Whole Year FAIL

I actually managed to average >10K steps per day for the month of December. Alas this was quite difficult to achieve. Maybe I shall attempt it against this year. In all I achieved an average of 8,387 steps a day in 2025.

2) Lose 3kg (from 85kg) FAIL

I start 2026 at 87kg. Nuff said.

3) Earn 100K From Investments PASS

‘‘Twas a great year for me on the investing front. Down from paying off the mortgage, some key bets took me back to a level as though I still had that mortgage money. Kudos to DRO, EOS and UNH. Two of which I carry into the new year.

4) Buy An EV PASS

You know the initial resolution was to ‘buy a Tesla’? Then Silly Elon Musk did things that didn’t align with my own thoughts so why should I give him my money? He’s already too rich as is. We ended up getting a BYD Atto 3 and I cannot be happier with it. It’s been a great and proud experience so far.

5) Drink Less Alcohol (max 5 pints per week) FAIL

I feel like I’m coming closer and closer to this goal every year. Could 2026 be the year that I finally go sober?

———

Ok so another year with 2/5 Passes.

Some were close, and I would get closer based on my resolve this year. Others might be unattainable so I have to tweak a little.

Here’s to an even stronger 2026 let’s go!

HUAT AH!!!



Sunday, January 04, 2026

Venezuela

 Wow.

The US has bombed Venezuela and captured its now deposed leader onto a ship bound for New York!

The US is now basically saying ‘we can do whatever we want, wherever we want, whenever we want.’

Still haven’t made up my mind what the longer term impact of what happened today will be, I do not think there will be a large scaled war.

This appears to be a #杀一儆百 exercise by the US.

Interesting to see how the rest of the world reacts to this.

What a way to start 2026!

#venezuela

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Paris, France + Tromso, Norway + Rovaniemi, Finland 2025

Here was our itinerary for the mega trip of the year!

Travel Insurance For Whole Trip

FWD


December 12 Friday

00:15 Departure T3 SQ 336

07:15 Arrival CDG T1 

Check in to accommodation in Paris

INNSiDe Paris CDG Airport

Visit Saxo Banque office

Musée d’Orsay

Scenic walk + transit


December 13 Saturday 

Fly to Stockholm

12:40 Departure T2B SAS SK574 CDG (Paris)

15:10 Arrival T5 ARN (Stockholm)

Fly to Tromso 

16:35 Departure T5 SAS SK1492 ARN (Stockholm)

18:35 Arrival TOS (Tromso)

Check in to accommodation in Tromso

Tromso Lodge & Camping


December 14 Sunday

Tromso Lodge & Camping

City Tour

McDonald’s 

Museum 

Dinner at Bardus 


December 15 Monday

Tromso Lodge & Camping

Best Arctic Husky Safari

(Meet at 11:00 at the reception of Tromsø Lodge & Camping)


December 16 Tuesday

Tromso Lodge & Camping

Arctic Whale Tours

(Meet at 8:00 at Tromso Harbour)

Pack lunch before boarding


December 17 Wednesday

Tromso Lodge & Camping

Fejllheisen Cable Car via GetYourGuide

Aurora hunting


December 18 Thursday

Tromso Lodge & Camping

Check out of accommodation

Fly to Rovaniemi

10:25 Departure TOS Finnair AY542 (Tromso)

12:35 Arrival RVN (Rovaniemi)

Check in to accommodation in Rovaniemi 

Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi 

City tour

Lordi Square

Koskikatu Street

Kemijoki Riverside


December 19 Friday 

Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi 

09:00 Santa Claus Village

12:00 Snowman World

13:00 Reindeer Sleigh Ride

DIY aurora spotting

Walk to Kemijoki riverside

Dinner at Restaurant Nest


December 20 Saturday 

Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi 

Karouma Canyon Frozen Waterfalls

9am at WildAboutLapland Office


December 21 Sunday

Nordica Design Residence Rovaniemi 

Check out of accommodation 

Check in to second accommodation 

Silver Birch Resort Lapland


December 22 Monday

Silver Birch Resort Lapland

Hike to Samosen Kirkko

Ice fishing

Dinner and Northern Lights Tour (6pm at cabin)


December 23 Tuesday

Silver Birch Resort Lapland

Check out of accommodation 

Fly to Copenhagen 

13:10 Departure SAS SK1977 RVN (Rovaniemi)

14:35 Arrival T3 CPH (Copenhagen)

Fly to Paris

17:25 Departure SAS SK559 T3 CPH (Copenhagen)

19:25 Arrival T2B CDG (Paris)

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel


December 24 Wednesday

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel

10:00 Louvre Priority Access!

15:00 Seine River Cruise

20:30 Christmas dinner reservation at 

Le Grand Cafe Capucines


December 25 Thursday

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel

09:00 Walk around Île de la Cité & Latin Quarter

  • Notre-Dame Cathedral exterior

– Restoration still ongoing, but Christmas decor + façade views are lovely

  • Pont de l’Archevêché viewpoints

– Calm area, great family photos


All walkable from Notre Dame area.

14:00 Head to Trocadero

(Time: 20 mins taxi/Uber)

  • Eiffel Tower

– Trocadero viewpoint

– Walk down Champ de Mars

– Under-tower photos

16:00 Short break

Nearby cafe or crepe stands

16:30 Head to Arc de Triomphe 

  • Arc de Triomphe 

– Consider going up, buy tickets on the spot

  • Walk Champs-Elysees

18:30 Dinner

Since it’s Christmas Day, keep dinner simple and  or near hotel.

Chez André


December 26 Friday

Paris Marriott Opera Ambassador Hotel

Disneyland Paris

Recommended route

1. Walk 5–8 minutes to Auber (RER A)

2. Take RER A → Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy

3. Travel time: ~40 minutes, direct

4. You arrive right at the Disney gates


December 27 Saturday 

10:40 Departure CDG T1 SQ 335

06:15 (Dec 28 Sunday) Arrival T1

The Five Bingo Scrabble Game

 My kids love playing Scrabble over at my mum’s place together with my mum and brother almost every weekend.

On this weekend my mum sat out so I replaced her seat.

We ended up getting five bingos in the game with some record scores!




Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam 2025

 Went with my son to HCM in late November.

This was a war nerd trip where we tried to consume as much content and history of the Vietnam War as possible, from the museums to the significant locations.

It was a great trip with the boy and super good bonding.

Here’re some highlights.




















Sunday, November 16, 2025

Fruits Friday Bar

 For once we had fruits for Friday Bar.

Can’t get more healthy than that really.




Singapore Fintech Festival 2025

 This year Saxo chose not to have a booth at SFF.

Instead we spent that budget elsewhere which IMHO was definitely more prudent and well spent.

Instead we bought delegate passes and a few of us went done to continue networking and all.

The event was still attracting a lot of people so that is good I suppose.

The first night’s networking event really blew me away tbh. The whole Boat Quay was booked out and everyone from the industry was there.

This robot really impressed me.