Public washroom at Cenang Beach Langkawi

The spot marked with an "X" is the location of the toilet/public washroom at Cenang beach. 

 

The Underwater World Langkawi is pinned in the map.

How to bargain or learn

In Malaysia, fortunately there is very few Malay with the perception that Chinese vendors will give more discount to Chinese customers. This is totally unhealthy and should be removed and replaced with what really happened, i.e. the complainant was a bad negotiator (or bargain hunter) and he/she failed to get a good price for the purchases (full STOP).

Furthermore, why would a Chinese vendor/salesperson want to give discount if in Malaysia, the Chinese is generally perceived as wealthy (another misperception)? Shouldn’t they be charged even more (since they are loaded and probably wouldn’t mind)?

I read with disgust about a Facebook user (Zaff Zuhairi) who claimed that when they (a Malay and Chinese brother in-laws) went to a same vendor (described as Chinese owned) and asked for a price quote for an item, the price would normally be low to the so called Chinese friend whereas higher for the Malay friend. What does this really prove!?

Fig. The FB post was about an unhelpful customer service. The person who posted it had requested that this incident should not be seen as a race matter. Alas, I am sad to see what Suzila Mustaffa and Zaff Zuhairi had written afterwards. It was totally unrelated! BUT I am happy that majority of Malaysians are smarter!

 

Let me tell you something…

If two Chinese friends go to the same vendor at different time (or same time but different salesperson) and made the same request for a price quote, the price would still be different (unless there is strictly no bargaining in the shop, e.g. in TESCO)!

How you bargained or talked to the vendor/salesperson helps to bring the quoted price down. If a person fails to get good price, he/she always has the option to leave, or pretend to leave the shop (in order to get a revision of the quoted price). That’s tactical manoeuvre of a good bargain hunter!

There is no secret to getting a good price (and it doesn’t involve skin colour). I will share those that I am aware of.

• For a good price, talk to the boss. This will only be possible if the boss is readily accessible to customers. The reason is that the boss will be able to reduce price much more as compared to a salesperson because salespersons are given guidelines on pricing (any revision would require a nod from the boss).
• Most salesperson earn through sale by commission. If a customer “clicks” (friendly) with the salesperson and make the sale enjoyable, the salesperson would be more than happy to cut a portion of his/her commission to give the friendly customer better discounts (thus earning less from the said commission).
• Quoted price is usually highest (where bargaining is permitted). It is up to customer to ask for a price reduction and also to PERSUADE the salesperson/boss to further reduce the price. Those who get lowest price are lucky and good negotiators!
• Cash or credit card? Usually credit card costs more to the vendor/business entity because there is a transaction cost for each sale by credit card. If a customer said, “I am willing to give cash if you can provide a little discount for me?”, there is a chance that the boss/salesperson will think about giving discount seriously.
• Buy when the price is right. As a customer, when you failed to get a bargain (esp. after you did your homework about the reasonable price), you have the option to try other shops. Don’t jump into a sale at the first visit! That’s not smart. Also, don’t get pressurized into paying when you need time to consider (take a break and revisit the shop once you are sure to buy from them).
• Price survey. Similar to the previous advice, an organized way to get good bargain would be to do a price survey. Go to different shops and get a list of prices. Then revisit the shop that gave the best customer service and pricing. Sometimes, customer service is as important as pricing. This is especially important if you want to claim warranty or return faulty items!
• Freebies. If you can’t get a reduction in price for the item. Ask for whatever freebies that they can provide you. Sometimes, the boss set a very strict guideline for price reduction. Fortunately, salesperson can give you some freebies (if available) if they can’t reduce the item’s price further.
• Country of origin. If you want a cheaper alternative to electronic items, China made ones are a lot cheaper and they last as long as items made from country of origin. Sometimes, the quality is not as good as those made from the country of origin, but my experience tells me they are comparable in most times. If you really want “PERFECT” items, then don’t complain about higher price of these items! For example, Canon cameras made from Japan is ~1.5 to 3 times more expensive than the same camera model made from China. Do note that for made-in-China cameras, some parts are manufactured in Japan (and shipped to China) while other non-essential parts are manufactured and assembled in China. However, the warranty period for both types of cameras are identical, meaning that if the made-in-China cameras are broken, they are replaced in identical fashion as made-in-Japan models. Furthermore, Canon (and other major brands) has strict quality control for made-in-China items that carried its brand name.
• Learn how to talk to people. Being a customer doesn’t mean that you have to go into a shop and act all defensive and demanding. If you treat a salesperson as another person or better, as a friend, then a big chance would be that the salesperson (or boss) will give you juicy discount (by earning less from their commission or profit). That is part of being a good negotiator/bargain hunter.
• Don’t be easily affected by sweet talks. Some salesperson would say something like this, “Okay, since you are from the same village (or Kampung) as me, I will give you further discount”, or “Are you Hokkien? Well, I’m Hokkein too, since we speak the same language, I will give you better discount”. All the above sweet-talk examples and the said “discounts” are normally within the EXPECTED price range of what they need to sell to customers to earn profit. Shops normally have a very comfortable range of profit margin and giving off 10% “extra” discount is not going to affect their profit. As a good bargain hunter, we need to push (pleasantly) for a maximally acceptable price reduction. If the price is not right, both seller and buyer can say “no deal”. Don’t be easily deterred by such failure to reach amicable price!
• There are plenty of other tips which I can’t think of right now BUT what is important is to learn all the above and many more by talking to friends who are into sales. I learnt the above from being a salesperson myself and also by interacting with other salesperson when I am on bargain hunting.

FYI, it hurts me to read about idiots who, when they failed to get good bargains from sales, they readily blamed other people BUT themselves. Worst is when they brought RACE into the picture. If we blame other people BUT ourselves, we will never learn to be a good bargain hunter or negotiator. I chose to learn. That is why I am able to get better pricing for my purchases. I am prudent and objective. I am not subjective and emotional. I hope my readers think the same way.

I am happy that Malaysians are generally smarter than the few ones being highlighted in the news these days.

Happy bargain hunting.

National Day Parade (NDP) Singapore 2015 on 1 Aug (Preview) and 9 Aug (Actual)

NDP 2015 ballot is out. For those who wants to go to the event, it is time to apply for ballot here at NDP.ORG.

-
It is open to Singaporeans and Permanent Residents but higher balloting chance for Singaporeans, then PRs and last, to previous NDP attendees.
-
Baby or toddler (regardless of age) needs ticket. For a family of four, e.g. couple and their 3 yo and 3 months old babies, they will need four tickets.
-
Ballot for tickets can be made in either 2 tickets, 4 and 6 tickets selections. The higher the number of tickets applied, the less likely you will secure one.
-
There are two places to attend to NDP celebration, e.g. The Padang and Marina floating platform.
-

NDP 2015 will be held at The Padang or Marina Floating platform.

 -
Application for the ballot can be done at NDP website,  AXS/SAM machines, or via SMS. For SMS mode, refer to NDP site instruction. Each NRIC holder will be able to apply once. To increase the chance, I guess you can ask other family members to apply too. I don't think our family members will be so lucky to get tickets simultaneously. If that happens, I guess you can NDP Hotline: 1800 637 2015 to return the excess tickets so that other family units can have them instead.
-
We are so sad that we will not be able to attend this year's NDP to mark also SG50. I was planning for a family of four with our daughter and son but the latter will only be 7 months and it will be difficult to have him there.
-
I wonder if any families are planning to bring their infants there? I need to learn from them how to cope.
-
This year, we will be seated in our cozy living room watching NDP live from TV and hearing the audible booming and crackling of fireworks later.
-
Hopefully in near future we will be able to publish photos of NDP of our own :)

For bloggers who aren’t familiar with “linked comment signatures”

Linked comment signatures are just website links placed by the commentators so that interested readers can click on them to see where the links bring them. In my blog, I have linked signatures by commentators. Some are served as adverts, while some might be to highlight similar posts/blogs of related contents. I only allow those links that I deem NOT INAPPROPRIATE after personally visiting those links so that my readers are not exposed to any harm/inappropriate contents. However, it will be difficult to really ascertain that those links will still maintain the status quo content after some time (especially considering that it’s impractical for me to visit those sites intermittently). The best solution would be for Blogger.com to disable such feature in the comment/feedback field. Having none of the block, then readers have use use self-discretion to visit such links.

-

For avid bloggers, you can read more about linked signature here, “Hyperlink signature for the A-Z Blogging Challenge” by AtoZchallenge. There is a tip of how to hyperlink your signature.

Reason for hyperlink signature

• Hope the person whom you gave feedback will visit your site
• Ease for other readers to visit your site
• Advert

Just to share.

How I rubbed a nettle with my thumb and finger in Germany

For a gullible visitor to Germany like me, nettle (I didn't even know what the plant was called) looked like a mint. I am from the tropic and had never seen a nettle before. Here are two photos of a mint and one of a nettle for comparison.

Mint (wikipedia)

This is a korean mint (aka Agastache rugosa) www.wellgrowhorti.com

Nettle

When I visited the botanical garden in Singapore, and while I was there at the herbs garden (also available at Science Center and other parks), I would try to rub the leafy herb softly before savouring the aroma. The Korean mint is very aromatic, and several types of leafy herbs give out different aromas.

What a SURPRISE when I tried to rub a nettle with my thumb and finger. It was excruciatingly painful at first. My first thought was that a spider must had hidden under the leaf and sensing impending danger, it stung me multiple times. I retracted my fingers lightning quick and tried to suck out any poison. It was still painful and beginning to get numb. I thought I was poisoned. Still in pain, I tried to spot the spider up close (because it would be informative to doctors if I can describe the appearance of what stung me). I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw fine "needle-lets" (transparent needles/spikes as fine as hair) sticking out from the leaves of a plant I thought was a herb. Not just the leaves, but the stem and flowerlet (floret) are also covered by the needles! "What kind of a sick plant was this?", was my first thought. A plant that doesn't want to be eaten should warn predators by exhibiting large warning signs (e.g. thorns) instead of insidious and transparent needles! I was worried that I might be poisoned.

Transparent needles are everywhere on the nettle! What a crazy plant (or rather, crazy person trying to rub it).

I tried keying in many different key words to search on Google what was the plant that stung me. Using Google Image, I managed to pin point the culprit. NETTLE. I tried to search for the toxicology aspect of this plant and fortunately, I will only get a numbing and painful experience for a couple of days before I can hold on to a paper or book without the discomfort. FYI, nettle has been used as medicine to boost up immunity and other ailments (herbwisdom).

I only recovered after a week's time.

How to set up your Canon Selphy CP900 wireless printing

Introduction
First, it's a bummer that Selphy Photo Print can only work with USB connection.

Second, Selphy CP900 is Wifi capable (good news), but I have no clue as how to set up a Wifi connection to print photos over Wifi to Selphy.

I tried to search for resources in Canon official sites, but to no avail. What is not cool is that the help page has no user input to grade and give comment about these help pages (thus prevent Canon from ever improving their help content). For that, I commend Microsoft for being better in that sense.

I switched to Google search for contribution by others about Selphy Wifi setup. I tried and fumbled with no luck until I tried the following steps.

Content

1. It seemed that Selphy only allowed installation of either USB connection OR Wifi connection. Canon doesn't allow installation of both USB and Wifi connections!
2. When I uninstalled my previous USB connected Selphy and reinstalled the Selphy Photo Print and its driver, it only allowed choosing either Wifi or USB. Reluctantly I chose Wifi and forsake USB connection.
3. One problem though, if I lose my internet connection (or communication with my router due to radio interference), will I be able to print or would I have to wait until I gain access to internet (or router) again?

Other matter

1. I wanted to find out if there is any other software besides Selphy Photo Print and I came upon Easy PhotoPrint Ex. It is like Selphy Photo Print but with more options. However, I can only use it to print on my other Canon printers BUT not Selphy.
2. The link for download of Easy Photo Print Ex is available here.
3. Selphy Wifi Ad hoc function seems to be useless with PCs and notebook running on earlier than Windows 8. I guess the ad hoc function is good for wifi cameras, camera phones and tablets?
4. Privacy. If you are as curious as me, you would have dismantled the ink cartridge after it is over. To my surprise, there is no ink but a roll of coloured films (e.g. blue, yellow, red, and white sections) inside the cartridge. Close examination of these coloured films over a light source revealed "printed photographs" still visible on the "ink" film (which is regarded as waste)! Well, I tried to salvage it to make art.
5. Laminated version. It would be great if next version of Selphy will incorporate lamination (matted) to the printed photograph. There is a requirement for matted passport photos and I couldn't use Selphy for printing. Wow, matted printing papers are expensive!

 All in all, I like Selphy and it will be very useful during travel (if the weight is not an issue and I can't wait to print photos of myself on vacation and mailing them to close relative and friends like postcards.

My favourite picnic food

Going to picnic or "berkelah" (in Malay) is a fun thing to do with family. In addition to the scenes and the activities, we get to enjoy home-made tasty food. Here is a list of my favourite food, fruits and drinks.

• Fried chicken or nuggets. For the ease of preparation, fried chicken and nuggets can be prepared by getting the ready to fry type at grocery shops. For home-made type in which you want to tweak the spices (like KFC), you can follow an example from "Triple Dipped Fried chicken" by AllRecipes.
• Char bee hoon (or fried rice vermicelli). There is a recipe for this dish, "Char bee hoon" by TheBondingTool. Sometimes, having a Maggie mee goreng (or fried Maggir noodle) is desired. A recipe for that can be found in "Maggi mee goreng (15 min, 5 ingredients)" by JewelPie.
• Egg and ham sandwich. It is considered tasty and yet easy to prepare. The easiest would be to mash boiled eggs and mix it with butter, mayoinnaise (with a little seasoning), and cucumber slices. There is a recipe for "delicious egg salad for sandwiches" by AllRecipes.
• Meat balls. I love fish balls and other meat balls. The way to prepare them is to deep fry them.

Different types of meat balls, e.g. shrimp, beef, pork, fish, mushroom-with-meat, and many other variety of preparation are available. Pics taken from www.best-food.com.tw. 

• Finger food, e.g. fried tofu, siew mai, char siew (either packed or home-cooked by RasaMalaysia), popiah (popiah recipe by RasaMalaysia), and other spicy fried food.
• Fruits. If weight is not a problem, then watermelon is the best fruit to bring along!
• Junk food and chips.
• Drinks such as isotonic drinks (e.g. 100plus or H-Two-O), plain water, lemonade (less sweetened to match the hot weather here), and ice block/chunks with ice picks.
  

Normally I wouldn't want to bring along anything that is too sweet such as cakes, puddings, etc. because of the hot weather and ants. The hot weather induces a stronger taste for spicy food rather than sweet (my own opinion). Also, normally I will have to compete with ants to the food (unless the picnic is on the beach).

Activities that we normally do while having a picnic would be to fish, fly a kite, catching grasshoppers or butterflies, look at water-strider, feed the birds bread, catch small fries with net, blow bubbles so that our kids can chase after them, take pics, dig for clams or small crabs (when on a beach), collect seashells, play with sand, build sand castle, etc.

If we do get to stay overnight on a beach, having a BBQ would be wonderful. In Singapore, it is easy to prepare the food (by ordering from suppliers, e.g. search "BBQ food Singapore delivery" in Google). In addition to the food supplied, adding a sweet corn and potatoes will be super.

Looking forward to our next picnic.

How to get to Johor Premium outlet

Introduction
I have been to Johor Premium outlet (JPO) only once and it was few years back (2012). I bought my Puma sport shoe at a reasonable price (in comparison to what I would get in Singapore). I got a few tees and shorts.

A little information about Johor Premium outlet by Wikipedia, where the grand opening was on 11 Dec 2011. The outlet official site (Johor Premium outlet) and for a list of stores available there.


How to get there

Johor Premium Outlets®
Jalan Premium Outlets
Indahpura
81000 Kulaijaya
Johor Darul Takzim
Tel: +607 661 8888
Fax: +607 661 8810

Direction to get there from Singapore is available in the official site.

From Singapore (by bus)

1. Take the MRT to Kranji station. 
2. Then board bus number 160/170 traveling to Singapore ICA.
3. Board the same bus number 160/170 to Johor Sultan Iskandar's Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) Complex.
4. At the Johor CIQ, once cleared the immigration counter, walk toward Johor Bahru Central (or JB Sentral) bus interchange (next to Jalan Jim Quee) by referring to the signage inside the building.
5. Once at the JB Sentral bus interchange, look for Causeway link bus number JPO1.

Causeway link bus no JPO1 route from JB Sentral to JPO

 The bus frequency is long at 2 hours intervals. The earliest bus is at 9 am (from JB Sentral) and the last one at 10.30 (from JPO). For full schedule, refer below.

Source from http://causewaylink.com.my

From JB Sentral or Johor Bahru City Square (by taxi)
You can also take the taxi to JPO. It will be charged by meter (most likely). However, there is no usual taxi from JPO to JB Sentral/City Square. You will have to take JPO premium and exclusive taxi back to where you came from.

It will be expensive to travel out from JPO by taxi. Visitors can't call cabs to JPO and also flag one down there.It's like the premium and exclusive taxi at some airports. I'm not sure if that is still the status quo or not.

From Singapore (by car)
If you don't have a car in Singapore, fret not. You can rent a car at as low as sgd 60 per day. Refer to the different car rental companies in Singapore (my favourite is DriveSg).

Public transportation (via rail)
There is a proposed rail service to Senai (near Senai Airport and JPO), but I can't seem to find the official site. I have no idea where JB Sentral 2 will be located too. Probably all this is still proposals.

Sourced from http://www.iskandarmalaysia.com.my/

 Here is the map and the relative location of Senai Intl airport and JPO.

Rail service in Johor, highlighted red region is the JPO, JB Sentral II station at Senai, and Senai Intl Airport. Source: http://www.iskandarmalaysia.com.my/

I'm hoping to visit JPO again this year 2015.

Pasar Malam (night market) good food in Malaysia and Singapore

Pasar Malam (or Night market) in Malaysia is a place to get cheap stuff and most important of all, good food at great price. The list of food that I love to get in Pasar Malam are

• Ramly burger. The burger is sandwiched with Ramly patty enveloped with fried egg, spread of shredded cabbage, BBQ and sweet chili sauce, and the burger bun is normally spread with margarine or butter and fried to aromatic. Other variety are Roti John (longer version).
• Skewered meat balls, sausages, fried squid, and others.
• Apam balik or "Dai Gao Min". Taste sort of like waffle with chunky peanut bits, aromatic melted butter and sweet sugar and sometimes with corn kernels. There are two versions, the soft ones and the crunchy ones.
• Fruit rojak with crunchy Chinese breadstick (or Youtiao). The gravy is made of thick soy sauce mixed with shrimp paste, chili, and sugar. The fruit mix comprises unripe mango slices, jicima, pineapple cubes. Additional ingredients include taupok (puffy, deep-fried tofu) and youtiao for texture. Crushed peanut and sesame seeds are added to the mix. For more information, refer to Rojak by Wikipedia.
• Bread and many types of buns. I love to get the sausage buns and others with different types of fillings, e.g. curry chicken, char siew, bean pastes, etc.
• Char Kway Teow. Sometimes, the Char Kway Teow in pasar malam is very good because the flame used for cooking is set to maximum giving the dish an extra "char" to noodle.
• Dim sum. I like to order the Big Pau, Char Siew Pau, Lo Mai Kai (glutinous rice chicken), Siew Mai, Har gow, and others.
• Kacang putih. For a visual description of this delicacy, refer to Ipoh Kacang Putih Original.

"Kacang putih" is a collection of product such as Murruku, peas and nuts.

• Dim sum. In Ipoh, the pasar malam there has dim sum with big pau, char siew pau, siew mai, and glutinous rice chicken (lor mai kai).
• Fruits. Sometimes I will just get some if the price is right, or the season is ripe for cheap durian.
• Cakes. There was a time when cheese tarts were sought-after and many patrons like me food-hunted for them.
• Prickled and dried fruits. I loved to get dried sour plums and many other types of preserved fruits.
• Junk food and sweets. Sometimes, can get peanut candy and other types of traditional sweets.
• Biscuits and cookies. In Ipoh, I remembered a stall used to sell biscuits and cookies in large tins. Customers buy them in smaller portions at a price per 100g. I used to like the sandwich cookies with different types of fillings. Another favourite is the salty Graham crackers type of biscuit.
• Assorted ice-cream.
• Luk-luk. Skewered meat balls, meat, octopus, bird eggs, tofu, stuff veggies, etc. that are cooked by immersing them in boiling gravy, e.g. satay gravy. They are eaten on the spot when cooked. We pay by the amount of sticks consumed.
• Chung or Bak Chang. A stall that sells Nyonya kueh (including Angku kueh) and different types of Chang (rice dumplings).
• Popiah. I prefer the traditional type of popiah instead of the ones that are over-stuffed with unnecessary ingredients (in order to blow up the price per popiah). The traditional ones have the popiah, sweet and spicy sauce, followed by a leaf of lettuce, then the wok-fried jicama, grated carrot, with dried mushroom, shrimps, and seasoning to taste. Sometimes, there is a little fried egg shreds. That is the most delicious combination. I don't like those with bean sprouts, peanuts, and other ingredients that make the final popiah with soggy texture.
• Kebab. Middle eastern "burger".

What I wish I could get from pasar malam.

• Skewered or fried seafood. For example, fried squid on stick, fried oyster omelet (or "Oh Chien"), battered and fried mantis shrimps, pan-fried chili blood cockle, and many more. For DIY Oh Chien recipe is available from Peng's Kitchen.

 

Fried oyster omelet recipe by Peng's kitchen.

• Satay. I would love to have satay.
• Roti canai (or prata). There is one pasar malam at Kajang that had a stall selling roti canai. The seller would prepare fresh roti and then shred it into smaller pieces with two saucers and place them in a plastic bag. He would then add a little gravy (Dal or split peas) into the bag. It was delicious!

My main reason to visit Pasar Malam (or Night markets) would be to find the best food available there. In Malaysia, pasar malam can be an exciting place to visit because there will be stalls with creative food preparation or product to entice patrons. However, in recent time, the night markets have lacked such surprises.

What are your food wishlist for pasar malam in Malaysia and Singapore?

My favourite food in Ipoh Perak

Ipoh is a capital city of Perak state in Malaysia. There are a lot of food to try there and several of my favourite dishes are

• Wonton noodles.
• Chee Cheong Fun. The one I loved is accompanied by sesame seed, long bean, pig skin, sweet and sour gravy, and curry gravy.
• Ipoh Hor Fun.
• Ipoh Nga Choi Kai (or bean-sprout and chicken)
• Ipoh Dim Sum. My favourite hangout if I can wake up very early for dim sum breakfast would be at Foh San Dim Sum restaurant.
• Liew (Yong Liew, Sar-Kok/jicama Liew, Char or fried Liew, Fu Chuk, Vegetable stuff with meat, etc.) and noodle. This dish comes in a clear soup noodle (I like curry noodle) and accompanying Liew (such as Yong Liew, Sar Kok Liew, and fried Liew).

Different types of Liew for accompanying soup-based or dry noodle. Picture from blog entry by nasilemaklover.

• Ipoh popiah. I can't remember where I tasted the best popiah in town.
• Ipoh Luk-luk. There are several that I loved, one was in Jalan Foo Yet Kai beside The Store (previously the Ocean shopping mall). Another place is at Ipoh Garden South.
• Ipoh old town white coffee and toast.
• Ipoh rojak and cendol. Some said Malacca cendol is the best.
• Char Kway Teow, Prawn noodle, and laksa are available in Ipoh and they taste good.
• Ipoh (Bercham) claypot chicken rice with salty fish, mushroom, Chinese sausage, etc. is savoury and should be on the list of must-try.
• Gunung Rapat Heong Peng and Ipoh sesame peanut candy are my favourite snack.

All in all, whatever type of noodles and preparation, you should give them a try. Also, mamak food such as nasi kandar rice, briyani  rice and roti canai (or prata in Singapore) are my favourite too. Nasi lemak, satay, lemang, different types of pulut/lemang and curry gravy, putumayam, seafood dishes, restaurant prepared dishes, vegetarian dishes, and many more which I will not mention here are also my favourite.

It is too bad that I have no photos to show them here in this blog. If I do get to try all the above dishes again when I'm in Ipoh, I will populate these photos here with the dish's name.

Just to share.

Type of cameras that is most useful during travel

I am not referring to those DSLR type of camera for semi- and professional series from Canon, Nikon, Sony, etc. I am referring to the basic compact, point and shoot type.

After trying out many types and brands of compact cameras, I have come to realize that there are several criteria to a good camera (in my opinion).

• Battery type. I have seen compact cameras that uses AAA- or AA- type batteries and I used to scoff at these cameras because they are rather "bulky" as compared to cameras with their own OEM rechargeable batteries, which looked sleeker. However, I have come to love "generic battery"- type of cameras. The reasons are (1) replacement batteries are easy to find, (2) rechargeable AA- and AAA- batteries are readily available now, (3) if the rechargeable batteries are flat, just get the single-use batteries at convenient stores. In contrast, for the specific OEM type of batteries, buying spare will be more costly than AA-type batteries. In addition, the shelf-life of OEM batteries is less than 5 years and after which, getting a replacement battery from the manufacturer will be impossible. By then, the only place to get replacement OEM batteries would be from eBay (but not the authentic ones). That was the case for two of my compact cameras which I have retired them from service because I couldn't get the replacement batteries anymore. Read the review of "Top 10 best AA battery powered cameras" by ePhotoZine.
• Faster camera startup and shorter latency time (for image processing). I don't really like cameras that startup slowly because by the time the camera is primed to take picture, the momentous event has already passed! Read this article to appreciate the need for faster camera startup and shorter latency of image processing by DigiCamGuide.
• Better and energy efficient LCD screen that doesn't drain away most of the camera's battery hour. Most of the time, compact cameras are flat because the LCD screen drained most of the battery hours away. I wished that it is possible to use a built-in viewfinder to point-and-shoot the subject, rather than rely on the LCD monitor (which can sometimes be difficult to see especially during daytime under intense sun). An example of compact camera, in which you can switch off the LCD to save battery life while relying on the in-built viewfinder can be found in Canon Powershot G16 as reviewed by Imaging-Resource.
• Longer battery hour. I don't really go for those cameras with extra image-rendering functions that will drain away battery hours because most times I would be downloading the images into my notebook to do the image rendering (or "Photoshop it"). Just give me enough battery hour to shoot more pics and populate my 64 Gb (or more) high capacity SD cards.
• Better lens and high quality CMOS image sensor to acquire good quality pictures.
• Rein in auto-exposure problem by spot metering function. Tired of ending up as a silhouette in front of bright background? Well, to have a spot metering function (or exposure lock function etc.) on the camera will help to give you more control to correct auto-exposure weakness. Refer to "Fixing exposure problems – What to do if your photos are too bright or too dark" by discoverdigitalphotography.

There was a news article reporting that compact cameras will become obsolete due to the prevalence of camera phones in the market. In my opinion, compact cameras are still a necessity because camera function on phones tend to drain the phone battery faster and it wouldn't be wise to drain your phone when you might need to make or receive urgent calls (unless power outlets or external batteries are readily available wherever you travel). I would still prefer to use cameras for travels and camera phones for daily routines.

Just to share.


Other tips

• How to opt for Digi super long life plan. This is a prepaid plan and you can increase the validity duration by opting for Digi super long life plan (to 365 days) at a cost of RM 30.
• Get a small rice cooker on the go for family during trips. Having rice cooker helps during long trips.
• List of important things to take while traveling oversea.

List of important things to take while traveling oversea

When you are traveling as a family with children and babies, there are important things that you must remember to bring along during travel. That is because, sometimes it's very difficult to shop for the things that are readily available in Singapore.

Example, while I was in Heidelberg Germany, the formula milk for our baby ran out due to frequent feeding. I tried to look for the formula in Grocery shop, Supermarket, convenient store, and even pharmacies, but ended with no formula. The closest I could get was pasteurized fresh milk.

So, the list of things that I must remember to get while staying oversea are

• Formula milk (more than enough).
• Activated charcoal tablets (for treating drug overdose or poisoning). For more information regarding activated charcoal (WebMD).
• Lomotil pill for treating diarrhea, which is important especially when we get food poisoned while traveling long distance where public toilet is not readily available. How lomotil helps alleviate diarrhea can be found in WebMD site.
• Panadol or paracetamol tablets for sudden fever or infection. If possible, bring along children's paracetamol syrup (but normally the medication has to be stored in proper condition).
• Baby biscuits and food that they are familiar with (just in case kids got food shock).
• Anti-histamine pills just in case an allergic reaction strikes at unexpected time when hunting for the pill in a foreign land is improbable.
• Universal travel adapters. A list is available at Courts Singapore.

For the less crucial items, more like a luxury

• Medicated oil (My favourite is Axe brand). Important for bites, headache, and masking smells (some for aromatherapy).
• External battery. I'm not sure about availability of power outlets oversea but in Singapore, it's difficult to find an outlet sometimes. I know McD, library, Starbuck, and cafeteria have power outlets for patrons.
• Favourite instant coffee. I like Old Town white coffee and to have a supply during travel oversea will be great.
• Baby lightweight pram (aka stroller). To carry our baby weighing more than 10 kg is not easy. To have an easily foldable and lightweight stroller (at less than 10 kg) would be a great help. Alternatively, to have a good back-support baby carrier would be good. My favourite light-weight stroller is the Seebaby brand available in Singapore Tom & Stefanie shops (I can't find their official site!).

My favourite lightweight baby stroller for travels (Seebaby stroller)

Seebaby stroller at SGD 56 at Tom & Stephanie store Singapore

• Chilies (cili padi) or chili sauce. I think most places will have spicy chili or Jalapenos nowadays, so this item is not so crucial. Furthermore, Tabasco sauce is readily available in most places I've been to. Note that material with seeds such as chilies are prohibited from entering certain countries.
• Small travel size rice cooker would be great to have, especially if I want to cook something homey.
• Kettle for boiling water and preparing warm formula milk for baby would be useful. Some hotels do provide kettles for guests.

What are your crucial items to bring along while being oversea?


Other tips

• How to opt for Digi super long life plan. This is a prepaid plan and you can increase the validity duration by opting for Digi super long life plan (to 365 days) at a cost of RM 30.
• Get a small rice cooker on the go for family during trips. Having rice cooker helps during long trips.
• Type of cameras that is most useful during travel.

Renting cars in Singapore

To own a car in Singapore is expensive nowadays, considering how high the COE (certificate of entitlement) price is. The latest COE pricing can be referred here in Oneshift. For families with children, it is sometimes convenient to drive a car, especially if you plan a trip to remote places in Singapore (or to Malaysia).

For me, I love DriveSg because I can get a decent car for as low as sgd 60 per day. For a family of four, that translate to sgd 15 per head. A premium for convenience. The booking system is very convenient. The search return produces list of cars from different pickup and return locations and finding one near my place is easy. For added cost, I can drive the car to Malaysia. Sometimes, DriveSg will give discounts and promotions that are tantalizing.

E.g. Searching for any car from 16th (Mon) to 17th (Tue) Feb 2015 returns a list of available cars from sgd 51 onwards (Drive.Sg). From there, I can select the type of cars I would prefer.

There are some cars that allow entry to Malaysia as indicated by the red circle. You have to add-on extra cost for that.

The usual rate for entry to Malaysia varies, the lowest I have seen is sgd 15 per day. The rate is sgd 15 onwards.

The payment method is via Credit card (Visa or Mastercard etc.) and direct bank transfer (DBS etc.). DriveSg is a platform for car rental companies to provide competitive and attractive packages for car rental. As consumers, we have a nice platform to search for the most attractive price (or attractive add-on) from different companies (or private entities) that car-for-rent service.


In addition to DriveSg, there are other online car rental services

• Avis Singapore. However the average car I normally see in the search is above sgd 100, which is too costly for me. For example, a compact during week day's drive is sgd 140 per day.

 

• Smart Car Rental Pte Ltd. The search engine is sub-optimal because I can't search for any car. It's a hassle to select car type for each search. Most of my tries return a notification, "sorry, your choice of car is unavailable". The search is just to unintuitive.

Difficult to find a car with Smart Car Rental search engine. Most of the hits I got is the "choice of car is unavailable". It turns users off.

• AceDrive. AceDrive has no search engine to browse for available cars and rental rates.You will need to email or contact them to get a quote or for promotional items. I prefer to look at the price onscreen rather than wait for a reply.

 

• Budget car rental. The search engine is good. The price list is more costly, in which average above sgd 100 per day and not inclusive of taxes and surcharges, e.g. for Toyota Vios from 3 Feb 2015 to 4 Feb 2015, it would cost me sgd 158.40 per day plus sgd 11.09 taxes/surcharges (total sgd 169.49). Furthermore, the pickup and return location is around Changi area, which will be inconvenient for most people.

 

• SgCarMart. This site provides a list of car rental companies in Singapore. Refer to the list of car rental companies listed in SgCarMart. Similar to Drive.Sg, SgCarMart is a platform to look for the best bargain for available cars.

 

• Hertz car rental. Price is around sgd 100 per day exclusive of GST (for Toyota Vios type). There are three pickup and return locations in Singapore. I have not tried Hertz because the pickup and return locations are not convenient to me.

 

• MyCarForum also provides searches for car rental or leasing. I have not tried looking for a car there.

 

There are many other car rental services in Singapore and you can search for them via Google.

Self notes

• To drive one big round in Singapore only takes 90 km (circumference). For companies that offer unlimited mileage in Singapore would mean that the mileage would be less than 90 km for me. Normally, I'd be driving in Sg for shopping, outdoor activities such as going to the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, or hunting for favourite local food.

Singapore zoo

We traveled to Singapore zoo last year. It was a Saturday and we stopped at Woodland MRT station. We walked to the Woodland bus interchange (which is nearby) and searched for bus number 926. To our surprise, 926 bus was not operational, except on Sunday and Public holiday.

We had to proceed to nearest taxi stand. There were several people waited there. Few taxi stopped at the stand and most of them were selective with the destination offered. Some didn't want to go to the zoo (most probably due to the close distance from Woodland to the zoo?). At last, we got one that drove us to the zoo.

At the zoo, there were plenty of people. Singapore zoo seems to be a lively place to be and many families with young children were there. Admission fee for adults is sgd 32.00, children above 3 yo is sgd 21.00, children below 3 yo are admitted free, and for senior citizens it is sgd 14.00. Tickets can be bought online. NTUC members get to enjoy a 20% discounts, and sometimes, certain credit card holders get to enjoy discounts too.

The first thing we did before entering the zoo was to take lots of pictures. It's nearly impossible to get a picture taken without people in the background, haha... Next, we went to get the map to the zoo and followed some of the events taking place at specific times. We stopped by the Elephant show (i.e. "Elephant at work and play show") at 11.30 am and 3.30 pm. There was no place to sit because the whole place was packed with people. In the end, we just walked through. For the map to the zoo, you can get it from this link (in pdf).

Places we visited with our 2 yo child.

• Treetop trail with a wooden bridge and at the bottom awaiting us are big crocodiles. The place is beautiful and we took several pics.
• Via Tiger trek, we reached the confinement for the white tiger. Instead of seeing many, I was sad to see only one tiger and it was moving back and forth repeatedly indicating a level of stress (my opinion). I later found out that another female tiger had to be euthanized due to terminal illness (cancer). I hope there will be other tigers soon to keep the animal company.
• When we reached Elephant of Asia for the "Elephant at work and play show", we were surprised to see that all the available seats were gone and many people were standing to see this show. It was a hit and the elephants were superb. We couldn't stay for too long.
• Next, we reached Forest lodge and sat in Ah Meng restaurant to get lunch.
• After lunch, we visited the Frozen tundra. There was one polar bear. His name was Inuka and he was 23 yo, born and raised in Singapore. Similar to the white tiger, Inuka is alone. Fortunately, I am guessing he is close to the caretakers especially considering that he must have met them since very early in life. We loved the Frozen Tundra because the place was so cooling.
•  Next we took the tram to Rainforest Kidzworld. For sgd 5.00 per person, we get to unlimited ride around the zoo with ease. At the Kidzworld, there was a water park. Our kid loved the place and had fun playing with the water. However, the water there was rather murky. Our kid got ill with fever and mouth ulcers few days after the visit.
• Elephant rides were sold out. To prevent unduly exhaustion to animal, elephant rides are capped at certain numbers only.
• Orang utans near Ah Meng restaurant. During feeding time, caregivers will pass a long pole full of leaves to the orang utans on the trees.
• Fragile forest with mouse-deer, birds and insects.

There are many places that we did not visit and hope to do so next time.

Next visit, we will be bringing (or doing)

• Plenty of bottled water. There isn't drinking fountain in the zoo.
• Sun block. The weather is very hot and there is only few places with canopy to block the intense ray.
• Umbrella. If the weather forecast suggest rain, it will be a good idea to get an umbrella. However, as momento (or keepsake), we can get a raincoat with from the store.
• Consult the Singapore weather forecast with 3 hour to 3 days forecast (NEA).
• Take the direct bus (#927) from CCK MRT to the zoo.

The trek we took that day (highlighted violet) and the two places we hung out the longest (red circles; Frozen tundra and the Kidzworld)

 Loved our zoo.