The Odyssey began in the holding room at Changi Airport for departing passengers. Seated in the room were passengers bound for Xiamen (Amoy), over half of which were elderly Singaporeans making to their ancestral villages in Southern China, underpinning the close cultural and people-to-people ties between Singapore and Xiamen. A large majority of the overseas Chinese that migrated to Southeast Asia during the l9th and early 20th centuries came from Fujian (of which Xiamen is a part) and nearby Guandong. Fujian being a very mountainous province with poor land infrastucture back then, it was easier for its residents to hop on a boat to seek opportunities in Nanyang then to relocate by land to other parts of China.
Touching down in Amoy, Jeremiah was pleasantly surprised by how efficient the airport was. Within 10 minutes of landing, he had cleared immigration and customs, and was waiting in line for a taxi. The taxi queue was long but moved fast. Another 20 minutes later, Jeremiah was at the nice CDL-owned Millenium Harbourview Hotel. The roads were largely empty as residents had cleared out of town for the 3-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday while tourists avoided Xiamen because of Typhoon Fanapi which struck Fujian earlier in the week and was currently wrecking havoc in the adjacent province of Guandong.
A good start to the vacation for Jeremiah abhorred crowds.
Taxi queue at the Xiamen airport...yes, people waited in line
View from Jeremiah's hotel room
Chinese tea set in the hotel room. The Iron Buddha tea was actually very very good. Beats the Iron Buddha tea in Singapore hands down.
Xiamen is the city closest to Taiwan and one of the first four Special Economic Zones in China. Xiamen Island is actually very developed and is a much more livable and developed city than many cities in Southeast Asia.
Those who know Jeremiah well would know of his inherent dislike of consultants and analysts. If they are really that good, why don't they be their own bosses?
This truncated piece below published in Business Times last week show how out of touch with reality some of their work are. The article makes the case for investing in Singapore REITs. While discussing the Suntec REIT, our dear author said that F1 augurs well for retailers at Suntec. Open your eyes, dude.
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Home ground advantage
Business Times, 24 Sep 2010
DEREK TAN explains why investors should focus on Singapore Reits with exposure in retail and hospitality.
. . .
We therefore expect a boost in retail spending from the Formula One race, which is returning for its third year. With recent media reports indicating a strong take-up of hospitality offerings during race week, we believe the leasing and rental outlook will become increasingly buoyant and that present occupancy levels will be sustained for retail landlords. Hence, among the pure-play retail Reits, our pick is Suntec Reit, which stands out as direct exposure to the strong pedestrian traffic flow for Suntec City in the coming months. Also, its prime location in the Marina Bay area and proximity to the F1 race track augurs well for its retail tenants.
. . .
The writer is an equity analyst for the property sector at DBS Vickers Securities
Jeremiah is officially suffering from the writer's block and would be eternally grateful for suggestions on how to get out of it. Maybe it is time to open that bottle of Aberfeldy Single Malt Scotch Whisky lying in the corner of his room ... hic
Those were simple chill-out places that Jeremiah checked out last night -- Barks Cafe situated at Upper Changi Road and Simpang Bedok. Yet the emotions they evoked were anything but simple. While it was Jeremiah's first time at those two places, he felt a very strange sense of familiarity. The sights of fellow youngsters hanging out over a beer at Barks, the dint of football spectators following EPL over roti prata, they were all a welcome relief. Strangely, Jeremiah had never felt this way before despite having been away from home for prolonged periods in the past. It wss as if his senses are teling him that this is home surely. Could this be the onset of the quarter life crisis?
One thing was for sure though. Jeremiah has had an awesome time and now have two more favourite hangout places. Thanks, M. You rock!
Came across this beautiful made music video featuring Singapore's latest singing sensation Tay Kewei. A word of caution: watch this too many times will make you very tempted to fall in love. Perhaps SDN should make this their theme song of the year.
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Please Be Careful With My Heart
Music: Jose Marie Chan
Lyrics: 鄭可為/唐宏達/Jose Marie Chan
脆弱的心 交給了你
請對我小心翼翼
你我之間 跨越界限
哪怕距離多遙遠
不管地动山移 改变不了我的坚定
And 'til life is through 我始终跟隨你
不管歲月來襲 相信永恒的美丽
From the very start 答應我永不分離
I love you and you know I do
There'll be no one else for me
Promise I'll be always true
For the world and all to see
Love has heard some lies softly spoken
And I have had my heart badly broken
I've been burned
And I've been hurt before
So I know just how you feel (和你一起)
Trust my love it's real for you (愛你需要勇氣)
I'll be gentle with your heart
I'll caress it like the morning dew
I'll be right beside you forever
I won't let our love fall apart
From the very start
I'll be careful with your heart
不管地动山移 (地动山移)
改变不了我的坚定 (我們的坚定)
That 'til life is through, I'll still be loving you
不管歲月來襲 (歲月來襲)
相信永恒的美丽 (永恒的美丽)
From the very start (From the very start)
From the very start
From the very start 答應我永不分離
答應我永不...分離
Over the past two weeks, anti-Malaysia sentiments in Indonesia, triggered by Malaysia's detention of three Indonesian fishery officers in contested waters near Bintan, heated up. Faeces were hurled at the Malaysia Embassy in Jakarta, protests were held in various locations in Indonesia, and an Indonesian group even threatened to shave any Malaysians found in the streets of Jakarta.
Against this backdrop, Jeremiah had, the other day, an interesting discussion with his lecturers on the differences between Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia, with particular focus on Melayu terms that Indonesians consider hilarious. Here are few:
Hospital Korban Lelaki (literally means "hospital for casualties of males", i.e. maternity hospital)
Laskar Angin-Angin (literally means "wind troops", i.e. air force)
Tandas (in Melayu this means "toilet" but means "demolished" in Bahasa Indonesia. One wonders what gets demolished there)
Panggung Wayang (i.e. cinema, but literally means "stage for wayang plays")
Hantu Lompak-Lompak (i.e. vampire, but literally means "jumping ghost")
Laskar Tak Berguna (i.e. retired soldier, but literally means "useless troops")
Jeremiah's favourite? Dokter gila wins hands down. It means psychiatrist but literally translates to "mad doctor".
