My first Piper flight!

Today was incredibly remarkable, to have embarked on my first ever Piper Warrior joyride from Seletar Airport to Senai Airport in Johor!

All thanks to Caleb for arranging a meet-up with his pilot friend Justin, I not only made a new friend, but experienced what it was like to take to the skies on a small Piper Warrior! Despite Caleb, Denise (and another friend) having gone on the already-full Saturday flight to Melaka, Justin was obliging enough to cater for a separate flight today just for me, which saw a last minute addition of Kim joining in to make up 3 "souls on board" (exactly the words he used when reporting our departure and arrival status to the tower).

Without explaining too much, our intent to fly to Johor and complete a couple of circuits went as follows:-

1) Arrive at the Seletar Airport Departure "hall" to scan our passport, and go through the usual security screening...


2) Find the aircraft Justin rented from his friend/owner and remove the cover...and call for re-fuelling (avgas at about $2.30 per litre)


3) Get into the co-pilot's seat.


4) Assist the pilot with the pre-start checklist.


5) Line up the aircraft on the runway after the ATC gives clearance...and take off!


6) In less than 20minutes, look out for Senai Airport in Johor and seek clearance to perform two "touch and go" in the circuits before coming in to land after the 3rd circuit.


7) Walk out and stretch our legs, breathe in Malaysian air, without having to clear immigration unless we stepped out of the ramp.


8) Finally, take off from Senai and return to Seletar Airport, passing over Yishun Country Club and landing back at Seletar.


If only I had the financial means, I would consider getting a PPL too.

KL Audit: 20-22 Feb 2008

Travelling on a 40minute SQ flight from Singapore to KL isn't exactly fun. In fact, for a seasoned traveller, it's too short! After take-off, the crew comes round with coffee/tea/juice, thereafter they begin collecting back the cups. Almost immediately, the captain makes the announcement to prepare everyone for landing. What the...

Arriving at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, we had to take the aerotrain from the satellite terminal to the main building. My boss and myself began the audit all morning and afternoon before travelling an hour into town to check-in to our hotel.

My boss and myself were originally booked into the "Executive" Concorde Hotel rooms for RM260 per room per night, but were given a free upgrade to the "Premier" rooms with no extra charge due to the unavailability of the former. I must admit the space (and fantastic 19th floor view) was too much for one person to imagine...

After checking-in, we headed out for dinner, somewhere behind the back alley streets near Sungei Wang/Lot 10.




On Thurs morning, when entering The Melting Pot restaurant for breakfast, I realised there was a radio station/DJ right within the hotel, and above the restaurant!

Day 3 and work's over. Saw our plane come in at 4.05pm, ready to depart at the scheduled 4.55pm for Singapore. And it surprises me to know how fully booked all six-daily SQ flights to/from KL can be.

Black Knights' Preview

Even if I may not be able to attend the Singapore Airshow 2008 due to work commitments, the past two days gave us a sneak peak at the aerial display from our majestic RSAF Black Knights. Fortunately our office location faces the direction of the Changi Exhibition Centre.

is just another day. Why, were you expecting anything different?

Rock On

It must have been more than 3 years since I last rock-climbed, the last being that with SPeng and BQ at some indoor rock wall downtown. So when Daf's fren YC initiated a session on the 3rd day of Chinese New Year, and with no prior tennis appointments in schedule, I more than agreed to renew my affinity with the wall, or so I thought.

Other than making two new friends (that adds on to the civil-servant-scholars count), I think effort was also made in working off the CNY cookies and bak kwas. As it is, I expect tomorrow to be a very aching day after torturing all the muscles in every limb.

From Bellini to Movida

Once a while, it's always refreshing to groove to Movida after all that jazz. Anyway, we already finished 2 sets (one each by Jeasse Thyidor and Darius Mendoza) in Bellini, before the rest seemed ready to groove to something a little more upbeat. Lucky for us, Jeasse Thyidor joined in the La Ranura band in covering this Kat DeLuna number, "Whine It Up", some where into their final set.

Chinese New Year 2008 - Chu Yi

To begin with, I'd never thought of "jamming" with the festive crowd in a sardine-like environment. In fact, our family merely wanted to drive by the River Hongbao festivities at the Esplanade park and drive right home. But plans change, and because we were about an hour away from when the fireworks were to be lit at 9.30pm, my dad said we should just park and take a look "since we're already here".

So, from the cheapest parking lots at Marina Square, we walked over to the Esplanade to find the crowd staking out their favourite spots by the waterfront already (see right picture). With another 30 minutes before the fireworks would go off, we thought of checking out the River Hongbao opposite the padang, but when we walked under the Esplanade Drive bridge towards the Esplanade Park, we realised the police weren't letting people through in the opposite way. Being the pragmatics and not wanting to get caught in the mad crowd, we turned back. And waited. Just like everybody else.

What we got was merely a 5-minute spectacle that started with a bang, literally, catching most people by surprise (despite people already anticipating the 9.30pm lit-up). However, due to the small-scale event and proximity of the crowd (to the Esplanade Drive bridge), these low-level fireworks weren't as impressive as I had wished for. Nonetheless, the last 50-odd seconds you see in my video below were way faster and more furious that the first 150-seconds I captured.

Needless to say, post-fireworks was a nightmare, with the crowd inching their way out of whatever breathing space they had (bottom right picture). I think I'll stick to the great view of the NDP fireworks from the TV next time.

The Police

I hope you didn't think that was the Singapore Police Force I'm referring to (because that's what you get when you google "The Police in Singapore", hoping you'll find some videos concert-goers might have uploaded on youtube).

Although critically acclaimed as "one of the most memorable events of the year" and drawing a full capacity crowd of more than 10,000 people (even the South seats behind the stage/band were released for sale), I found their concert at the Singapore Indoor Stadium so-so. There had been better concerts if you ask me, but stepping outside the subject of relativity would render The Police a remarkable band that was synonymous with thousands of fans who came to witness a legend in their only Asia stop after twenty years. It wasn't any wonder 90% of the crowd were non-Singaporeans.

In 1977, The Police stormed the music scene by blending reggae, punk, jazz and rock. Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers created an unmistakably nuanced sound filled with evocative melodies, infectious lyrics and rock & roll swagger. Combining controlled energy and evocative melodies, the trio played with the improvisational instincts of a jazz trio and the raw energy of a punk-rock band - a blend that made them one of the definitive rock groups of the '70s and '80s. The band manifested an understated virtuosity, applying their chops within reggae grooves and intricate arrangements. Between Summers' trenchant and ground breaking guitar work, Copeland's deceptively complex poly-rhythms and Sting's loping bass and soaring vocals, They were indisputably the most adventurous ambassadors of the new wave genre then known spawning instantly recognizable hits such as “Roxanne”, “So Lonely”, “Message in a Bottle”, “Walking on the Moon”, “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” and “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic”.

The Police dominated the top of the charts and radio airwaves worldwide with five #1 albums and a succession of top 10 hit singles. In the six years they were together, The Police became one of the world's most famous bands, earning six Grammy Awards, selling over 50 million albums and winning countless fans around the globe.

To the uninitiated, perhaps the only song we know oh-so-well is this below, to which Sting rocked the house, garnering total crowd support, sing-a-longs, and definitely euphoria.

Sway

Either it was simply Friday, or the Bellini crowd was fantastic.