Osaka Day 3, Japan 2022

 Its our 3rd day and we have another busy day ahead. First off, we had buffet breakfast in the hotel again.

But what's this? Oh no, its raining!

Luckily my working time in Japan taught me to go straight to 7-11 to purchase and umbrella and that's what we did. 

Once we had the umbrellas, we were good to go.

The first stop was the famous Osaka Castle. What a beautiful castle with an inner moat AND an outer moat! How much more fortified could it be?! We enjoyed reading about the storied history surrounding the castle and its park. Even views from the top of the castle were breathtaking. 

Then we had a lunch stop at a tonkatsu restaurant. It was really delicious. 

Next stop was the Tannoji Zoo. This was unfortunately quite underwhelming. The zoo was quite old and the animals looked quite sad. Also it rained the heaviest while we were in the midst of touring the zoo. Sad. 

Finally, it was dinner at Yoshinoya before heading back to the hotel. Yoshinoya standard in Japan really is different from what we get in Singapore!

Here's Day 3 photo dump.

Osaka Day 2, Japan 2022

 It is Day 2 and we start out trip exploring Osaka city over the next two days. Weather is awesome today (it will rain on Day 3 unfortunately).

We bought the Osaka City Pass, which allowed us unlimited rides on trains, and free entry to some of the biggest attractions in Osaka. So we headed to Umeda Sky Building to get a birds-eye view of the city. It was beautiful.

We tried to find some famous place for lunch, but ended up getting a little lost. In the end, we found something even better. Quality fast food in Japan in the form of Sukiya, and its famous beef steamboat and beef bowls.

Then we headed to the famous Dotonburi district to take the ferry ride, see the famous Don Don Donki store, rode the front-facing ferris wheel, tried a lot of the street food around the area, and then some. Oh yes and we saw the famous Glico man signage. Funnily enough, we then chose to have Mos Burger for dinner, which was quite nice.

Anyway, here's the photo dump :)

Osaka Day 1, Japan 2022

 Quite possibly my bestest trip ever.

I got to travel alone with the kids in end November through early December and I chose to bring them to Osaka, Japan for a fabulous trip to Universal Studios Japan!

Have detailed most of it earlier so you can read about it here.

Here're Day 1 pictures, were we took a noon flight and arrived around 10pm. 

The queue to clear airport immigration and Covid checks were relatively easy, but we still needed to catch the late train from Kansai airport into Osaka city. Luckily we managed it and then we had to navigate walking from the station to our hotel, Courtyard by Marriott.

Finally after arriving at our hotel and checking in, we went to the neighbouring 7-11 store (funny that Osaka had more 7-11s vs Lawson/Family Mart in Tokyo) to stock up on our beloved Japanese snacks, AND of course, having cup noodles!

Here's the photo dump.

2022 Concerts Galore

 There were concerts galore at the end of last year. The Singapore National Stadium is such a fantastic venue to hosts these concerts, even if the tickets are so expensive!

There was JJ Lin, Guns & Roses, and then Jay Chou.

Guns & Roses was the biggest highlight for me. Managed to bring the kids to enjoy their music and the kids absolutely loved it. Even now they still play their music at home. 

Hopefully we will get to see more concerts in 2023!

Bali, Indonesia 2022

 Back in October last year, we made a 6D5N to Bali, Indonesia. 

The main itinerary was:

1) Water Bom Bali

2) White Water Rafting

3) Climb Mt Batur

Unfortunately, the monsoon rain caused our plans for white water rafting to be cancelled, which was quite a bummer. However, we managed to achieve the other two, the hike up Mt Batur being the biggest highlight. Bali, being Bali, always never fails to help relax the mind and soul.

So Day 1 was generally getting there, checking in and then getting familiar with the resort. We stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club resort in Nusa Dua. Although it wasn't beachfront, it has an hourly van taking guests to the beachfront with its own dedicated beach by Marriott, so it wasn't so bad. In fact we went there quite a few times and lounged the morning and afternoons away. We also got a really nice room in the resort, with our own masterbed room, a separate room for the kids, and a dining room with cooking and drying facilities.

On Day 2 we did Water Bom. We'd come here before when the kids were much younger, but now at their age, they could enjoy the thrills a lot more. The kids really enjoyed it, even with the drizzle. It was a water park after all and one of the best ones in Asia at that. The boy actually did the two highest drop rides which required you to get into a capsule and the floor would collapse under you. Such a daredevil. For me though, it was aches and pains when I went through those slides as age is clearly catching up.

Day 3 was the water rafting plans that were scuppered, so we whiled the day away at the Marriott Beach Club down in the furthest south of Nusa Dua. It was beautiful and so relaxing.

Day 4 we had to wake at 130am for our ride to the foothills of Mt Batur for our epic hike through the darkness, to try and catch the sunrise on the peak of Mt Batur. Starting around 3am, we trekked with torches for 3 whole hours. It was tiring and we were sweaty and tired, with the kids threatening to give up. Yet at the top it was so cold and we needed our jackets and with the sunrise view, it became all worth it. It was definitely the highlight of our trip, even if coming down was a total bitch for my knees. In the evening, we went back to the Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant in The Westin Nusa Dua that we came to back in 2015! It was still lovely. 

Day 5 was another relaxing day at the Marriott Beach Club once again relaxing the day away. We had to relax because we were nursing the aches and pains from that Mt Batur climb haha.

Day 6 was our afternoon flight home. Such a whirlwind trip.

Here are some pictures.

Happy Chinese New Year!

 It’s the year of the water rabbit.

Hopefully it brings me good luck, good wealth and good health.

Of course lots of happiness as well.

 HUAT AH!

Resolutions 2023

 Another year gone by, another year of resolutions achieved or not achieved.

Was thinking about what I wanted to accomplish this year, and hopefully what I am determined to try to achieve.

Definitely more motivated about this than I was last year.

Who would’ve thought in 2023 we’d open up and live with Covid and things would go back to our hectic normal lives once more?

How’re we going to adjust to the kids going to different schools now and the new routine demands of a secondary school-going young man?

Am I going to achieve our family travel goals this year? Already a very ambitious Taiwan (March), Melbourne (June), and Hokkaido (December). This might be the first time we had planned so far in advance.

Here’s the recap from last year’s resolutions.

This year’s resolutions are all about the BHAG (a 2020 business term haha), which means Big Hairy Audacious Goal.

And once again in no particular order or priority, here it is.

1) Achieve One Milestone That I Have Not Done/Experienced Before

2022’s reopening and travels allowed me to achieve this easily. It is always easy to go some place I’ve never been before. Yet in 2020 and 2021, this task was really hard to achieve. I want to do that again and hopefully this milestone will be bigger, more memorable, and more impactful.

2) Make One Large Purchase That Has A Positive Impact In My Life

This can be similar to (1) but I will like to aim for both goals to be uniquely different. Hopefully I can achieve this, but again, there are many ways to go about achieving it, so as long as there is no lockdown and repeats of 2020/21, I’m pretty sure I will find the bandwidth (and hopefully funds) to make a significant impact.

3) Increase My Networth By $200K

This will be really difficult even by my lofty calculations. 200K is really not easy without some form of lucky payout from some lucky investment or gamble. But again as with all BHAG intentions, I will do my best to achieve this, in spite of agreeing to already pay for all three of this year’s holiday ($35k budget).

4) Exercise At Least Half Hour Three Times A Week

This is one of the toughest goals with reopening and WFO lifestyle. It is nary impossible to find the time and discipline to do so. However, my health is deteriorating and this is becoming more of a necessity than a want. Again another BHAG target which I am more motivated than ever to accomplish 

5) Eat Less Carbohydrates 

This is difficult to measurable or make tangible, but it is something new that I would like to try. Probably less cai fan or noodles and more salads or even meats (protein). Again there is strong links to my own health to want to do this, so motivation is quite key to achieving this. At the turn of year I weigh 85kg. Hopefully I can bring this down to 82kg before the year ends. Mind you, in 2021 I actually achieved 79kg on the back of regular exercise thanks to WFH and wifey’s home cooked nutritions, but the moment things opened up and we went back to office, I gained so fast. That all has to stop, with exercise and a healthier diet.

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And there lies my five resolutions for 2023!

Hopefully I will achieve them all!

Now time to head down for some exercise!

HUAT AH!

Hello 2023, Goodbye 2022!

 And just like that, another year gone by.

But wow what a year 2022 has been, from the dormancy of the Covid years, 2022 sprang to life as we went back to normalcy. Pre-Covid type of normalcy.

Travel came back and boy did it come back.

It started off with that missed Germany trip which thankfully we diverted to Switzerland, what an absolutely memorable trip that was as we brought kids to see the charm of Zurich, the beauty of Interlaken and Grindelwald, the mountaintops in Jungfraujoch and Zermatt. Seeing them experience snow for the first time, in pristine beautiful locations still untouched by post-Covid tourists.

Then to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, for golf, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for work, Tokyo, Japan, for work, Bali, Indonesia, for leisure, and finally Osaka, Japan, for leisure. So many things we saw and did. Really loving and appreciating every moment with the kids.

I had a memorable birthday celebration on a yacht with my colleagues. The wifey also gave me a birthday treat, taking me wakeboarding for the first time in 20 years!

Concerts came back with a bang, as we attended concerts from JJ Lin, Guns&Roses, and Jay Chou.

Work was a little tougher to get used to as we went back to WFO. Moved into a new, really nice office. Less WFH and that is still taking quite some getting used to.

Got Covid in Feb. 

The boy had his PSLE year wow that was so epic too especially how he worked so hard to prepare for it only to get Covid on exam week, then still manage to perform well enough to enter the school of his choice,

Both kids have grown so much in just one year and it brings me so much joy and pride each day I spend with them. Family life was really good. Travelling makes everyone happier.

On the investment front things were poor. Particularly after what happened on the final trading day of the year. PSNY also disappointed severely. Have to dial down on risk and save and invest more for retirement and holidays.

Health was generally ok even with another gout episode earlier in the year. Taking more pills now helps to manage all the different health ailments that are appearing more frequently.

The world is shaping up to be a volatile one in 2023. The Ukraine war which began last February is still ongoing. I hope Ukraine can chase those Russians away this year! Global interest rate environment is rising, right now at >4% and expected to peak at 5% in the first half of the year, and then what? Not sure if recession is coming but there is much uncertainty to navigate through with inflation still so high. Everything if getting more expensive.

Just hoping things will turn out fine for me and my loved ones.

So as with tradition, here’s last year’s review as a good reminder.

And here were my 2022 resolutions.

And here are my 2022 resolutions review.

1) Exercise three times a week on average FAIL

This was bad. With WFO becoming the norm, I’ve had to go back to the office full time. This meant no time to exercise at all. Some weeks I don’t even jog anymore. Which is really bad truth be told. I will need to be more disciplined in 2023.

2) Earn More Than 50k In My Saxo Account FAIL

This was just as bad, not only did I lose a bucketload on USDJPY bets (I took too large bets), the Polestar SPAC listing played out at the worst time when the market was tanking. This left me with huge losses. Need to rejigger this resolution if I’m to achieve anything positive in the year ahead.

3) Achieve A Milestone That I Have Not Done/Experienced Before PASS

At least this one I can say I achieved with an A grade, with several in the bag. The most significant, in a year a many significant things I could’ve mentioned, are visiting the Swiss Alps, climbing Mt Batur with the kids, enjoying Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, and introducing skiing to the kids. Really fantastic memories and achievements IMHO.

4) Eat Healthier Than Before FAIL

I am definitely eating better and more expensive food, but is it really healthier? I do not think so. Also with WFO, most of the time I’m not eating out, unlike 2020/21 where eating in really helped me in the health department.

5) Make One Big Purchase That Improved My Life PASS

This is similar to item (3). There wasn’t much of a significant physical purchase (we did buy an 80” TV which is terrific!), the main purchases were flight tickets to some of the most significant places we’ve been to in the last few years. Being able to bring the wifey and kids so much joy through travelling really did make me happy.

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So all in all yet another 2/5 performance which is rather under par. Hopefully next year will be better for me. Will try to come up with 2023 resolutions in the coming days and try my best to achieve them!

HUAT AH!