Sunday, November 25, 2007
Cabs vs Cabs
If you have been reading the papers, there have been quite a number of articles about Singapore’s public transportation systems, especially on cabs. In particularly, why aren’t there enough cabs and the ways to solve this “old” problem.
Many people have also compared Singapore’s cabbing experience with Hong Kong, indicating why Hong Kong, despite being twice as crowded, do not have the cab shortage problem.
Since I just came back from Hong Kong earlier this month, I just wana share my cabbing experience.
I remembered how I always laughed at those Hong Kong drama serials, showing actresses somehow ALWAYS being able to get cabs on the roads by just flagging their arms and “POOF”, a cab will arrive.
THAT IS TRUE IN HONG KONG.
I have tried and tested that a few times. In fact, all I need is to stand vaguely still near the side of the road and cabs will somehow miraculously appear and by the time I raise my arm, POOF: the cab is in front of me! Even in the peak hours (ie: morning at 8 plus), there are still empty cabs around, NOT that many but the ratio definitely seems higher than Singapore’s.
Cabs in Hong Kong are definitely very, very affordable. So the suggestion of raising the taxi charges to solve the demand and supply issue of Singapore cabs is totally bullshit. Secondly, there isn’t midnight surcharge. In fact, there isn’t any bloody surcharges EXCEPT for an additional HK$5 for every luggage in the boot. No airport surcharge, no public holiday surcharge, no peak hour surcharge.
Personally, I do not have any constructive suggestions but all I know is that Hong Kong can do it. Tai Pei can do it but why can’t Singapore do it without increasing the fares, despite being one of the countries with one of the highest number of cabs per capita??? Maybe if we have better public bus services, like private companies to give premium services, or a wider coverage of our rail network, or cabbies get to own their cabs instead of renting from our govt-linked companies, like Comfort (which net profit grows at 10+% annually?!?!) We might solve the problem?
If you have been reading the papers, there have been quite a number of articles about Singapore’s public transportation systems, especially on cabs. In particularly, why aren’t there enough cabs and the ways to solve this “old” problem.
Many people have also compared Singapore’s cabbing experience with Hong Kong, indicating why Hong Kong, despite being twice as crowded, do not have the cab shortage problem.
Since I just came back from Hong Kong earlier this month, I just wana share my cabbing experience.
I remembered how I always laughed at those Hong Kong drama serials, showing actresses somehow ALWAYS being able to get cabs on the roads by just flagging their arms and “POOF”, a cab will arrive.
THAT IS TRUE IN HONG KONG.
I have tried and tested that a few times. In fact, all I need is to stand vaguely still near the side of the road and cabs will somehow miraculously appear and by the time I raise my arm, POOF: the cab is in front of me! Even in the peak hours (ie: morning at 8 plus), there are still empty cabs around, NOT that many but the ratio definitely seems higher than Singapore’s.
Cabs in Hong Kong are definitely very, very affordable. So the suggestion of raising the taxi charges to solve the demand and supply issue of Singapore cabs is totally bullshit. Secondly, there isn’t midnight surcharge. In fact, there isn’t any bloody surcharges EXCEPT for an additional HK$5 for every luggage in the boot. No airport surcharge, no public holiday surcharge, no peak hour surcharge.
Personally, I do not have any constructive suggestions but all I know is that Hong Kong can do it. Tai Pei can do it but why can’t Singapore do it without increasing the fares, despite being one of the countries with one of the highest number of cabs per capita??? Maybe if we have better public bus services, like private companies to give premium services, or a wider coverage of our rail network, or cabbies get to own their cabs instead of renting from our govt-linked companies, like Comfort (which net profit grows at 10+% annually?!?!) We might solve the problem?
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Can I recover in time?
Last week was easily the worst week this year. Even beat the week that I removed my wisdom tooth!
Started feeling under the weather on last Tuesdy, 13 Nov, after Linkin Park’s concert. Thought that maybe I got the bug from S, so I popped 3 tablets of my trusted “ Ying Qiao” and went to bed.
The next day, still felt kinda lousy, but not lousy enough to slack at home. So, I went to work although the headache and itchy throat was bugging me.
15 Nov. Felt kinda ill. Surprised that the Ying Qiao didn’t work. Ying Qiao always works for me. Went out with the boys for dinner and a short drink despite the pounding heacdache, body-ache and sore throat.
16 Nov. Had to crawl to office to settle some IPO matters. Finally saw the company’s doc. Took the usual pack of flu medication without any antibiotics for the bad throat. I usually do not eat antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I thought I can still hang in there.
WHAM. I had high fever that very same night. The body-ache hit me full force the next day. It was so bad and painful that my body felt as if it had worked out continuously for 3 days or something. I could barely walk to the kitchen to take my medication. Thinking that I can sleep off the pain, I just took tons of painkillers and stayed unconscious for almost the whole day until evening.
Then I noticed that I have this red rash on my thighs that looked strangely familiar. I had that almost 10 yrs ago when I was admitted to the hospital for Dengue Fever. Swearing… I told BF that this shit might be Dengue and I ought to go for a blood test.
So, we headed for a near-by hospital. Did a blood test that would show the platelet count, as well as any indication of a viral infection or bacteria infection (ie: NOT dengue). The result was rather inconclusive. My platelet count was 179 (normal range: 150-400) not low enough for Dengue Fever yet the result was also negative for viral or bacteria infection.
Basically, the doctor didn’t know what was wrong with me and said that most probably a mild case of Dengue or Dengue-in-its-early-stage. So, I went home and scheduled for another blood test two days later.
Rolled around in bed for the whole of Sunday. Did another blood test on Monday. Platelet count was 157. Barely scratch past the “normal” range. But thankfully, there wasn’t any fever thus, no need to be hospitalized.
Crawled back home again. Trying hard not to faint along the way. Rested for another 3 days and … Phew. I felt better.
Now, I am back in office and thinking of going for a short run later at the gym. I’m just praying that I can recover in time for my half-marathon next Sunday, 2 Dec.
I’ve been training hard for this run and really want to clock a decent timing.
*pray*
Last week was easily the worst week this year. Even beat the week that I removed my wisdom tooth!
Started feeling under the weather on last Tuesdy, 13 Nov, after Linkin Park’s concert. Thought that maybe I got the bug from S, so I popped 3 tablets of my trusted “ Ying Qiao” and went to bed.
The next day, still felt kinda lousy, but not lousy enough to slack at home. So, I went to work although the headache and itchy throat was bugging me.
15 Nov. Felt kinda ill. Surprised that the Ying Qiao didn’t work. Ying Qiao always works for me. Went out with the boys for dinner and a short drink despite the pounding heacdache, body-ache and sore throat.
16 Nov. Had to crawl to office to settle some IPO matters. Finally saw the company’s doc. Took the usual pack of flu medication without any antibiotics for the bad throat. I usually do not eat antibiotics unless absolutely necessary. I thought I can still hang in there.
WHAM. I had high fever that very same night. The body-ache hit me full force the next day. It was so bad and painful that my body felt as if it had worked out continuously for 3 days or something. I could barely walk to the kitchen to take my medication. Thinking that I can sleep off the pain, I just took tons of painkillers and stayed unconscious for almost the whole day until evening.
Then I noticed that I have this red rash on my thighs that looked strangely familiar. I had that almost 10 yrs ago when I was admitted to the hospital for Dengue Fever. Swearing… I told BF that this shit might be Dengue and I ought to go for a blood test.
So, we headed for a near-by hospital. Did a blood test that would show the platelet count, as well as any indication of a viral infection or bacteria infection (ie: NOT dengue). The result was rather inconclusive. My platelet count was 179 (normal range: 150-400) not low enough for Dengue Fever yet the result was also negative for viral or bacteria infection.
Basically, the doctor didn’t know what was wrong with me and said that most probably a mild case of Dengue or Dengue-in-its-early-stage. So, I went home and scheduled for another blood test two days later.
Rolled around in bed for the whole of Sunday. Did another blood test on Monday. Platelet count was 157. Barely scratch past the “normal” range. But thankfully, there wasn’t any fever thus, no need to be hospitalized.
Crawled back home again. Trying hard not to faint along the way. Rested for another 3 days and … Phew. I felt better.
Now, I am back in office and thinking of going for a short run later at the gym. I’m just praying that I can recover in time for my half-marathon next Sunday, 2 Dec.
I’ve been training hard for this run and really want to clock a decent timing.
*pray*
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Linkin Park Concert 13Nov07
I went to my very first concert in Singapore EVER… Linkin Park 13 Nov07. So suaku right? I’m also embarrass to let people that it took me almost 28 years to watch a concert in Singapore leh.
Anyway, the concert ROCKS. Linkin Park definitely rocks. The lead singer, Chester has so much stage presence and energy that he is unbelievable. And he is so BAD BOY cute… the piercings, the tattoos and the I-wana-f*ck-you attitude is just so cool. I’m behaving almost like I’m 16 again and drooling over a rock star.
What caught me by surprise, was the diversity of the crowd. I saw kids who are like what, EIGHT years old, and then I saw this old couple who has have been at least 65 yrs old. And the coolest thing was that the old couple was standing and jiggling for the most part of the concert! *respect*
If Linkin Park ever decides to throw another concert in Singapore, I’ll definitely wana catch them again. But, gotta do some “tutorials” as I do not know most of Linkin Park’s songs. Nonetheless, the energy of the band totally got to me and I was jumping and jumping for most part of the concert too!
However, there were a few booboos that kinda screwed up the concert. Firstly, the concert started ONE hour late. It started at 9 pm instead of 8 (that was actually fine since we were half hour late ourselves). Secondly, there weren’t any warm-up bands, so the crowd was getting restless after waiting for 45 mins or so. Thirdly, the concert lasted 1.5 hrs only, should give us at least 2 hours lah… piangs.
Nonetheless, I still had fun and was quite blown away by Chester’s voice and presence.
Below is a spoof of Linkin Park. What really cracks me up is that “asian” guy in the spoof band. Wah Lau…
I went to my very first concert in Singapore EVER… Linkin Park 13 Nov07. So suaku right? I’m also embarrass to let people that it took me almost 28 years to watch a concert in Singapore leh.
Anyway, the concert ROCKS. Linkin Park definitely rocks. The lead singer, Chester has so much stage presence and energy that he is unbelievable. And he is so BAD BOY cute… the piercings, the tattoos and the I-wana-f*ck-you attitude is just so cool. I’m behaving almost like I’m 16 again and drooling over a rock star.
What caught me by surprise, was the diversity of the crowd. I saw kids who are like what, EIGHT years old, and then I saw this old couple who has have been at least 65 yrs old. And the coolest thing was that the old couple was standing and jiggling for the most part of the concert! *respect*
If Linkin Park ever decides to throw another concert in Singapore, I’ll definitely wana catch them again. But, gotta do some “tutorials” as I do not know most of Linkin Park’s songs. Nonetheless, the energy of the band totally got to me and I was jumping and jumping for most part of the concert too!
However, there were a few booboos that kinda screwed up the concert. Firstly, the concert started ONE hour late. It started at 9 pm instead of 8 (that was actually fine since we were half hour late ourselves). Secondly, there weren’t any warm-up bands, so the crowd was getting restless after waiting for 45 mins or so. Thirdly, the concert lasted 1.5 hrs only, should give us at least 2 hours lah… piangs.
Nonetheless, I still had fun and was quite blown away by Chester’s voice and presence.
Below is a spoof of Linkin Park. What really cracks me up is that “asian” guy in the spoof band. Wah Lau…
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Hong Kong Trip 31 Oct – 7 Nov 2007
Almost wanted to post an entry to end it all. Something like “That’s it folks, I’m not going to blog anymore. I’ll like to thank every single one of you, who has been reading my crap.”
But… I can’t bring myself to do it. So, here I am again. Sorry folks, you still have to endure my crap.
I just came back from Hong Kong, the Mecca of shopperholics and guess what, I didn’t buy ANYTHING except for a silly scarf from Zara. In fact, BF had to convince me to buy that scarf, as I am against the idea of buying anything from shops that I can find in Singapore. So, I was disappointed with my shopping experience in Hong Kong.
As for food, I am sensitive to MSG and unfortunately, almost everything that I ate was laden with MSG and I would feel sick half-way through each meal. And to be frank, I am not a big fan of Cantonese cuisine to start with. So sadly, my eating experience sucked too.
Thankfully, we made two short trips to Shen Zhen and Macau, and they were rather fun and I enjoyed my stay at the new Venetian Macau. Having won some money helped as well!
Had a spa session in Shen Zhen’s swankiest spa for 6 hours and that only cost me S$100!!! I had pedicure and foot reflexology, massage for 90 mins, lazed around in my chair with my own tv for only a 100 bucks. Talk about value-for-money manz.
Oh, and the best part, BF and I actually missed our return flight to Singapore! We happily went to the airport and wanted to check in and to our horror, we realised that our flight was YESTERDAY.
Almost wanted to post an entry to end it all. Something like “That’s it folks, I’m not going to blog anymore. I’ll like to thank every single one of you, who has been reading my crap.”
But… I can’t bring myself to do it. So, here I am again. Sorry folks, you still have to endure my crap.
I just came back from Hong Kong, the Mecca of shopperholics and guess what, I didn’t buy ANYTHING except for a silly scarf from Zara. In fact, BF had to convince me to buy that scarf, as I am against the idea of buying anything from shops that I can find in Singapore. So, I was disappointed with my shopping experience in Hong Kong.
As for food, I am sensitive to MSG and unfortunately, almost everything that I ate was laden with MSG and I would feel sick half-way through each meal. And to be frank, I am not a big fan of Cantonese cuisine to start with. So sadly, my eating experience sucked too.
Thankfully, we made two short trips to Shen Zhen and Macau, and they were rather fun and I enjoyed my stay at the new Venetian Macau. Having won some money helped as well!
Had a spa session in Shen Zhen’s swankiest spa for 6 hours and that only cost me S$100!!! I had pedicure and foot reflexology, massage for 90 mins, lazed around in my chair with my own tv for only a 100 bucks. Talk about value-for-money manz.
Oh, and the best part, BF and I actually missed our return flight to Singapore! We happily went to the airport and wanted to check in and to our horror, we realised that our flight was YESTERDAY.
Thankfully the plane wasn’t full and we were able to buy tickets on the spot. Geez…
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