JB & RTS

 Been going into JB a lot this year.

Something’s drawn me there that I will be going in a little more out of necessity.

What excites me is firstly the latest RTS development, and secondly the SEZ between SG and MY.

I see a lot of potential in these developments that the north of SG will be a lot more integrated with JB.

Hopefully it really gets better and becomes a realistic opening up of more businesses, lower prices and better interconnectivity for us all.

To cheaper purchases!

To retirement in JB!

R&F Princess Cove Phase 3

 Lately been looking at Phase 3 for f this development as it has been launched on sale for quite some time now.

Generally for less than SGD200K, I can now get a 500+sqft high floor 1bed1bath. That is huge!

I will not talk about the benefits as I don’t want to bother with the hype, a lot of it is all over the internet, specifically with the RTS completion and SEZ incoming.

Four key issues with this property compared to the rest I’ve been looking at.

1) R&F the China developer is facing financial difficulties. There is real insolvency risk. What if Phase 3 cannot be completed if the developer goes bankrupt?

Having been onsite, most Phase 3 towers are more than 30 floors built now. So there is high probability that construction will be completed. Both Phase 1 (2018) and Phase 2 (2024) have been completed and were buzzing the numerous I’ve been there. That said I have to acknowledge that there are still implications if R&F goes bankrupt.

2) If R&F goes bankrupt AFTER completion, the township will still be impacted, Phase 4 and Phase 5 will not even start and the property might be abandoned?

Again my assessment is that this is highly unlikely. It is the face of Johor as you enter Malaysia via the Woodlands Causeway. There is no way the Johor government will let such a prominent project suffer unlike what has happened to Forest City.

3) The unit I’ve been looking at suffers from overcrowding density. 10 units a floor, 49 floors, and only three lifts to service everyone?! 

This is a risk I am willing to accept. It is prevalent in China and many other countries facing such congestion and they can find ways to make it work.

4) SGDMYR FX Risk is real. Currently at around 3.15, if MYR continues to weaken to let’s say 3.50 or even 4! A SGD200K property even at same MYR value might be worth SGD150K to a Singaporean owner thereafter!

Again this is a risk I have to accept. The reverse could also happen, who knows?

Anyway these are the risks of buying overseas properties and there are many others so it’s just good to document the considerations before I make any actual plunge.

Huat ah!

Bali, Indonesia 2026

 Brought the family to Bali this June holidays.

Stayed at Seminyak this time, so the kids could do more teenage to adult activities.

We stayed at The Seminyak Suites Private Villas and had a whole villa to ourselves. It was one of the highlights for the wifey and kids who’ve never stayed in an exclusive villa with pool before in Bali. Our villa had a pool in the middle between two large rooms, each with its own en-suite toilet and huge bath tub. We also had daily breakfast and it was more like a concierge service except instead of hotel concierge, it was villa concierge. Very luxurious.

We didn’t do much the day we landed, just got acquainted with the villa, watched the Bali sunset on Kuta beach. After dinner we played Scrabble till late in the night.

The second day we also spent time in the villa pool. Then after lunch we went to try one of Bali’s best Escape Rooms. This place was called Pandora Experience. The room we did was El Dorado themed and in my opinion had better props and rooms than any we’ve tried in SG or JB! We were very impressed! Also we managed to get out of the room in 65mins, well within the allotted two hours. After that we went to one of Bali’s large malls to shop and ended up buying some clothes. In the evening I brought the family to eat HK porridge at Warung Laota, a favourite haunt during my Saxo party trips to Bali.

On the third day we had a packed itinerary. We had a 90min drive to the gathering area for the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) tour in the morning. We took the tandem package which meant I took one ATV with Xin while the wifey took one with Wei. It was fun but a little too long for my liking. 90mins of ATV riding was a little tough. Then we had lunch at the gathering point, followed by white water rafting! This was the most fun activity of the whole trip! We took a raft just four of us and a guide, and rafted down Agung River. it was so fun the kids loved the experience so much. For dinner I brought the family to have Naughty Nuri’s. Sure we had to wait half an hour due to the long queues but trust me it was well worth it. The ribs, bbq prawns and crispy pork knuckles were so good!

Fourth day we did surfing lessons! Again the teens loved it AND they were better at it than me and the wifey were. While the three of them took beginner instructors, I went for the intermediate instructor who immediately took me out to the furthest point to catch the third waves. The beginners had to do half an hour lesson on land before they could enter the sea. That said, I was terrible this time around, struggling to stand at all and was constantly wiping out from the huge waves of Kuta Beach. For some reason, I still found all that wiping out pretty fun even though I could hardly stand for more than a few seconds and my body is absolutely hurting. We then continued the afternoon playing in our villa pool. Dinner was at Shima Teppanyaki. It was not bad, but I’ve had better.

Finally on the last day we went for Pandora Experience one more time! This time we tried the Alcatraz themed room. And it was even better than the El Dorado themed room! Mind blowing how they could create such elaborate props! Then we went to another mall in Seminyak and then finally headed to the airport for home.

What a short but fun trip!

JB Property

 Been travelling up to JB quite a bit.

Looking at the property there.

R&F Princess.

Coronade Twins.

Exsim Causewayz (wtf?)

Thinking of sinking a small bit into another hard asset.

Might get stuck for the long haul though.

Goodbye Uncle Joe

 A sad day.

Today we got news of Uncle Joe’s passing.

He was 78.

His lungs had hived and he had difficulty breathing through his dying days.

We actually made a trip up to KL last weekend.

Mum, sis, Xin and I.

Got to see all my Malaysian side of the family.

Got to see Uncle Joe too.

I guess it was a blessing that we saw him and spent time with him in his final moments.

I recall giving him a brief of the world today as we saw it from Singapore, we talked politics and economics as I sat by his bedside. His mind was still so sharp, he could still understand the implications of today’s world was moving towards.

Mum spent time reminding him of how they met, how her sister brought him home to meet with her parents. How he bonded with my dad.

My daughter paired with her cousin Adriana to sing to him sweet lullabies by his bedside, strumming on the ukulele.

God bless you Uncle Joe.

祝你一路好走。

Things I Have Hardly Done In A While

 Haven’t played my first game of golf in 2026. In fact I didn’t play a single game in 2025 even!

Haven’t cycled in a really really long time as well.

Haven’t travelled at all other than a couple of day trips to JB, in all of 2026. Sad.

Haven’t played basketball with kids in almost a month. Sad.

Haven’t had a proper run in a week, due to the rains.

Wifey bought new paddles for paddle ball, so that’s something new.

Doing more gym, static, home workouts for muscle strengthening.

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

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.