9 Nov 2023 - Year-end Trip to Osaka/Kyoto (11 Days 10 nights Itinerary)

Once again, it's time for our year-end overseas trip.  And it's none other than Japan, one of the most popular destinations among Singaporean.  Out of 10 colleagues and friends whom I asked, at least 7-8 of them will tell me that they are going to Japan this school holiday.  Our last trip to Japan was about 13 years ago.  Ever since the Fukushima nuclear accident happened in 2011, we had never considered Japan as a potential holiday destination till now.  Anyway, we all had enough of scenic drive trip and this time round, we wanted to make it a fun trip with great food.  And Japan seems to match these criteria the best.  

After checking in our luggage, we proceeded to the Changi Recommends counter to collect our Wifi router, which allows us to have unlimited mobile data for the duration of our stay in Japan.  In addition, we also collected our Japanese yen from the counter via their foreign exchange service.  As usual, before entering the departure gate, we took some photos of the nice decorations that Changi Airport put up every year.

As our flight's departure time was 1:30am, we had a bit of time to look around and had some snacks & drinks.  We then visited the nearby Butterfly Gardens.  As it was pretty late at night, we did not see any butterfly flying around.  However, we did see a few butterflies and moths in a glass containment. 

The flight time from Changi Airport to Kansai International Airport is about 6 hours.  As Japan is 1 hour ahead of us, we landed at Kansai International Airport at about 8:30am.

After collecting our luggage, we walked towards the JR train terminal to catch a train ride to Kyoto.  As we had already purchased our tickets prior to this trip, we went straight to the self-service kiosk, which is located next to the gate entrance, to collect the physical tickets.  As there are many trains that go to Kyoto, we had to confirm with a station staff for the correct platform to wait for our train.

And this was the start of our 11 days 10 nights Osaka/Kyoto adventures.  Following is our itinerary.

Day 1: JR Haruka (Hello Kitty) Airport Express to Kyoto, Lunch at a local Japanese Restaurant, To-ji Temple, Kyoto's Best Old Streets, Kodai-ji Temple and Entokuin Temple, Kyoto's old streets by night, Check-In to BON Kyoto Station

Day 2: Traditional Kyoto Ramen Lunch, Kinkaku-ji Temple, Arashiyama main street and Togetsu-kyo Bridge, Arashiyama Monkey Park Iwatayama, Arashiyama street food and surprise fireworks, Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Return to Kyoto Station for dinner

Day 3: Nishiki Market, Okazaki-jinja (Rabbit Shrine), Kiyomizu-dera, Fushimi Inari Shrine, AEON Mall Kyoto

Day 4: Kyoto to Osaka (Bentencho), Check-In to Art Hotel Osaka Bay Tower, Solaniwa Onsen Osaka Bay Tower, Dinner and Night view from our room

Day 5: Universal Studio Japan (USJ), Super Nintendo World™ (USJ), The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ (USJ), Minion Park (USJ), WaterWorld Show (USJ), Jaws Ride (USJ), Hogwarts™ Castle by Night (USJ), USJ by Night, Dinner at Universal Citywalk Osaka

Day 6: Osaka Aquarium KAIYUKAN, Lunch at Tempozan Marketplace, Mermaid Statue and Tempozan Park, Tempozan Giant Ferris Wheel by Night, Soufflé Pancakes Dinner at Art Hotel

Day 7: Views from 51th Floor of Art Hotel, Bentencho to Namba, Shinsaibashi and Dotonbori, Mipig Cafe Osaka, Cinnamoroll Cafe Osaka, Namba area and Dinner, Check-In to GRIDS Premium Hotel Osaka

Day 8: Pokemon Center Osaka, Palace Ruins and Lunch at Restaurant @ Osaka Museum of History, Osaka Castle (Osakajo), Dinner at Pokemon Cafe Osaka

Day 9: Shitennoji Temple, Tennoji MIO, Umeda, Umeda Sky Building

Day 10: Namba Yasaka Shrine, Nipponbashi and Den Den Town, Hedgehog Themed Cafe "Harry Wood", Walk/See/Buy/Eat/Drink at Dotonbori, Shinsekai

Day 11: Namba City, Rinku Pleasure Town and Premium Outlet, Kansai Airport and Flight Home

9 Nov 2023 - Last paper for "O" Level

Jerlene sat for her last "O" Level examination paper today.  Whatever the results it will be, we told her not to think about it anymore and it's time to have a good break.  That's right, we will be flying off to Osaka/Kyoto tonight for a 10 days holidays.  Stay tune!

3 Nov 2023 - End of Year Academic Report

Year-end school holiday has started for secondary school students last Friday.  However, Javier got to return to school this morning to collect his report book.  Other than that, he also brought back a number of certificates for various Mathematics Competitions that he had participated in.  I am actually unaware of some of these competitions until I saw these certificates.

Other than seeing his talent in Mathematics, the school has invited him to join the Temasek Academy (Science), on top of his current Temasek Academy (Math).  He had rejected the invitation last year.  However, he seems interested in joining this time round as he seems to gain more confidence with Science now.  We left the decision to him and whatever he chose, we will provide our full support.

30 Oct 2023 - JJJwong is back with new Minecraft Map

It has been a while since Javier last created a Minecraft map for the community.  After his year-end exam earlier this month, he has been busy working on his personal project, in collaboration with one of his primary school friends.  The project is completed and he just published the new Minecraft Map to the community.  In addition to the Minecraft map, he also created a Trailer and Walkthrough on his YouTube channel.  In fact. we got to know about it through our friend who subscribes to JJJwong channel.  To be honest, I am quite impressed by Javier's trailer video.  I find it quite professionally done, with great animation, good use of music and sound effects.  Watch it below and let me know what you think?  :-)

If you have kids who play Minecraft, you may get them to try out the map, and it's called "The Infected Lab".  It is a puzzle game and the objective is to ESCAPE!  Just nice that he publishes it around this time, Happy Halloween!  :-)

29 Oct 2023 - Dinner @ Into the Woods Cafe

We decided to try out a new place for dinner this evening.  As the ladies want waffles, we did a search on the internet and found this nearby cafe that sells ice cream waffles and other great dishes.  It's called Into The Woods Cafe.  The interior is nicely decorated and very cozy.

Following were what we ordered.  Very delicious!

Great dinner, CHEERS!

17 Oct 2023 - Bronze Award for Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (SMO)

Javier participated in Singapore Mathematical Olympiad (SMO) competition organized by Singapore Mathematical Society earlier this year.  He managed to achieve the Bronze Award.  Congratulations, Javier!

16 Oct 2023 - Certificate of Appointment as Peer Support Leader

Javier received the Certificate of Appointment as a Peer Support Leader from the school today.  During the course of his duties this year, I had once received a call from his teacher who commended Javier's effort in helping his classmate who was feeling down at that time.  I believe he had learnt certain useful life skills outside of academic through his role as a Peer Support Leader.

14 Oct 2023 - Birthday Celebration at Boilers and Loft

Today is Tracy's birthday and she's craving for crabs and seafood.  As such, we went to none other than Boilers @ Howard Road for dinner.  The free lobster during birthday month is still available.

Javier, who is allergic to seafood, had to settle with pork ribs and fries.

And since today is Tracy's exact birthday, the waiter gave us a piece of complimentary birthday cake.

After dinner at Boilers, we were still not done.  We drove to Loft @ Hougang to have Ice Cream and Waffles for dessert.

10 Oct 2023 - Executive Health Screening @ Fullerton Novena

As part of staff benefits, I went for the Executive Health Screening at Fullerton Novena.  This is Fullerton Health Group’s (FHG) newest and largest Health Screening Centre that was officially launched by Health Minister Ong Ye Kung at an official opening ceremony held on 30 May 2023 at Novena Square.

After registration, I was led to a private health screening pod while waiting for the various procedures.  Don't you think it's like a business class seat on a SQ flight?

I had to fast 12 hours prior to this health screening.  So after I'm done with most of the procedures, I was served with some snacks and coffee.

The last station is the Eye Test at their modern Eye Care Centre.  This is definitely one of the best health screening centers I've visited so far.

7 Oct 2023 - Graduation and CCA Colours Award

Jerlene's secondary school education is about to come to an end.  She received her Graduation Certificate in school today.  There will be no more class starting today so that the students can focus on preparing for their "O" level examination.

Jerlene also received the CCA Colours Award (Team) based on their Modern Dance achievements (Distinction in SYF) and display of good characters.  Well done and congratulations, Jerlene!

5 Oct 2023 - Punggol Golf Driving Range

It has been quite a while since we last went to a Golf Course or Driving Range.  We went to Punggol Golf Driving Range this afternoon to hit some golf balls.  The driving range seems to have been renovated recently.  The green looks so new, unlike the last time we came here.

29 Sep 2023 - Dinner at Dan's Steaks @ Serangoon Garden

We decided to eat out this evening as Tracy had cravings for steaks.  Dan's Steaks at Serangoon Garden was our dinner venue.  We had the Tender Pan-Seared Octopus as our starters.  Very nice! 

The main course was none other than their most popular NZ River lands Black Angus Ribeye steak.

Great food and nice ambience!

16 Sep 2023 - F1 @ Marina Bay Street Circuit

This is our second time catching the Formula One actions "live" at Marina Bay Street Circuit.  Singapore GP is one of the few night races and considered one of the premier races in the F1 calendar.  

The last time we watched the race was at Padang Grandstand.  Today we watched it at the Stamford Grandstand, which seems a lot more crowded.

The check in process was a breeze and well organized.

Today was the Qualifying Race which started at 9pm sharp.

I never expect to see F1 Safety Car to be deployed during a qualifying race.  After the "crash" incident, the race was delayed for about 45 minutes, before the next round started.

Somehow, I felt that the race tonight was more exciting and the crowd was more energetic than the last time we were here.

5 Sep 2023 - NYP EAE application unsuccessful

Jerlene received an email from NYP that her EAE application was unsuccessful.  She was pretty disappointed, and I tried to convince her that it is not the end of the world.  She can still try to apply for her preferred course based on her actual "O" level results.  In other to do that, she will have to work harder to prepare for her "O" level examination, which is going to take place in a month's time.  Jia you, Jerlene!  Just work hard and you will achieve your goal.