pulai springs golf & country club


i paid rm$40 000 (s$26 800) for my pulai springs membership and that was supposed to be a special price. one of the former directors was my colleague's husband and that's how i ended up buying it. it seemed he owned part of the land - an oil palm estate. there were some durian trees within the estate and they were kept in tact.

now every month i am paying rm$185 subscription to help them maintain the grass and the place. i have only played once on the course. we have also stayed once at the small hotel within the resort. when my daughters were younger, we would take them to the club for a swim. we have had dinner at the qing palace restaurant a few times.

the project would have been abandoned if the singapore registered company psc had not injected funds into the project. many of the pioneer members were so worried at one stage that they sought legal advice in an effort to recover their investment. i got a singapore friend, who is a lawyer, to get a malaysian law firm to check on the company. they advised me to hold on to my membership.

i am stuck with this membership. there is little point in selling the membership as the transfer fee is as much as the selling price. i have decided to keep it and to play golf on a regular basis when i retire.

white cockatoo in singapore?

the other day while i was walking along sixth avenue towards holland road i spied a white cockatoo perched high on the branch of a tree. cannot remember what kind of tree it was; could be a cassia or a flame of the forest, it was quite a tall tree. i had my camera with me and thought of snapping its picture. decided against it as it was too high up on the tree.

later when i walked along the same road, but in the other direction, i noticed that it was not there anymore.

i was wondering if it was an escaped bird. could it be a native here? the cockatoo is a threatened species in its native habitat in sulawesi and eastern indonesia but has been known to breed here in singapore. it is believed that these birds first took up residence here as escapees from the bird trade.

the white cockatoo is a very clever bird and a wonderful mimic - a white cockatoo can even learn to mimic your voice!. i had a neighbour who had one of these talking birds. it had quite a good vocabulary and it was a good entertainer.

some april fool's day pranks

these days, april fool's day comes and goes without anyone realising it, without any incident. we hardly have time to come up with a practical joke to play on our friends or colleagues.

i remember one i played on my monk's hill colleague. this teacher received a note purportedly from the office to submit a set of books for the principal to check. those days, we did not have a schedule for book checking; anytime, the principal could ask to see your books. the teacher dutifully collected the books from her pupils, bundled them and carried the stack to the office. i had to waylay the teacher to prevent the books from reaching the principal's office.

this other prank i played on my colleague at balestier hill secondary. i relayed to him a message: "from this year onwards, in addition to taking the height and weight of pupils, we have to take their chest measurement." the next day, from the staff room we watched him passing the cloth tape around the chests of each boy and girl in his pe class.

by the way, april 1 is on saturday.

entering malaysia without paying the toll charges



the other day i visited my ex-colleague seow teow seng and was reminded of an incident that happened nearly ten years ago. we had invited his family to join us on a driving trip to malacca. there were three cars; two had passengers who were regular visitors to malaysia. for seow, it was his first time driving into malaysia. in his car were his wife and his two daughters.

we had met at woodlands macdonalds before proceeding to the causeway. my friend soon was driving ahead, seow's car was in the middle and i took up the rear. there was a slight jam at the causeway but we cleared customs without any incident.

when we made a rest stop at pagoh, i asked seow why the lady at the causeway had come out of her cubicle to wave to him. it was then that we came to know that he had not stopped to pay the rm$1.20 charge. he was blissfully unaware of such a payment.

my honest-to-goodness friend, a church elder, told us that he would pay them on his way back from malacca. and he did. he stopped his car by the side and went to explain to an officer why he had driven through without paying.

flooding during the north-east monsoon season



i like sharing my experiences from the past so as to give the younger generation a glimpse of how life was like in the 60s.

floods visited us a few times every year during the north-east monsoon season, when we were living in a kampong more than 30 years ago. when it rained heavily and for sometime, we would be prepared for the milk-tea colour flood water entering our homes. the drains would overflow first and when the water level rose above the threshold, water would get into the house.

from experience, we would make no attempt to stop the water from flooding the inside of our homes. it would be an exercise in futility. because there was no way we could seal all the gaps and points of entry. we would just wait for the rain to stop and the water to subside. then we would get out our scoops and pails to bail out the water.

when flooding was severe, a lot of things would be carried away. the wooden planks that we had placed across the drain and things that were not anchored would be swept 'downstream'. even the heavy buckets with human excreta would float away.

and creatures whose homes had been disturbed would make their appearances. cockcroaches and centipedes could be seen on the walls and in areas not covered by water.

after the rain, children would be out of their homes to wade in the flood water. it was, however, a dangerous time to move around. no, not because of the creatures. the drains would be covered by the flood water and you would not know where the edges of the drains were. some could slip into the drain. once i had to drag to safety a smaller boy who had fallen into the swollen drain.

moe new campsite at changi coast road

went to recce the campsite today (24 mar). the pupil campers will be sleeping in the 8 'long house' lodges while the teachers will sleep on double-decker beds in the rooms above the dining hall. the p4 camp will be held on 31 may, 1 june & 2 june at this new campsite. the facilities include the high elements and low elements (for team-building games) and canoeing.

you don't need to ask the mirror to find out who the vainest of them all is.

bollywood poison ivy @ lim chu kang

poison ivy kranji aka bollywood veggies is located at 100 neo tiew road. poison ivy is closed on mondays and tuesdays. on the other days it is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. this bistro is run by mrs ivy singh-lim and her husband, former ceo of ntuc fairprice lim ho seng. they chose to forego the lure of big city life to retire to 10 acres of farmland in kranji.

poison ivy is certainly different from most f&b outlets in squeaky-clean singapore. it is surrounded by fruit trees and vegetable plots, and its interior can best be described as singapore rustic, with comfortable wooden furniture, picture windows, painted steel beams and concrete floors and, of course, bright colours in all directions. mr lim hand painted a lot of signs himself. these signs are painted on recycled materials.

if you are into the sports scene, you will certainly have heard of mrs ivy singh. she was president of netball singapore. she is a person who speaks her mind and she does not mince her words. her remarks are usually direct and can be caustic. but at the farm, you will find a very friendly person who enjoys sharing her views with others.

she gave me some ideas on what i could do after teaching. she mentioned that there were people who came to work on her farm so as to get some fresh air and a chance of scenery. when i told her that i was a teacher, she suggested that teachers could make quite good tourist guides.

i have been trying to persuade my friend victor, a retired teacher, to visit the place with me but he is put off by the prices of things sold there. i feel that it is reasonable to pay a bit more for the pleasant ambience.

3 day 2 night sports retreat @ holiday inn batam

boarded the ferry from harbour front at 9.20 a.m. was in batam before 9.30 a.m. (batam's time). had tea with snacks before we went into the seminar room for a session on golf theory. after that it was buffet lunch before we boarded the buses (2) for the 18-min ride to the indah puri golf country club for the practical sessions.

there were about 100 participants including 3 principals. at about 5.15 p.m. we headed back for the resort. bbq dinner was held by the poolside. after dinner, i went to the karaoke room. was joined later by three young men from the group. stayed at the music box room till about 10.30 p.m.

at breakfast the next day, i was among the earliest. the morning programme was a session on video analysis by assoc prof michael koh from spe. quite a fruitful session. lunch was always buffet style. in fact, all the meals at the resort were buffet type.

in the afternoon, there were sharing by 3 groups. they covered topics like assessment for pe excellence and mass participation in sports. dinner that night was japanese food and it included teppanyaki, sashimi, tempura and miso soup.

night time was free and easy time. some made their own way to nagoya town while the majority stayed in the resort either to enjoy the live music, to drink beer and other liquor or to play in the games room. a sizeable group left for home on the 6.30p.m. ferry.

the last day was spent sitting around, waiting for lunch and after that, waiting to catch the 1.30 p.m. ferry for the trip back to singapore. together with bimaljit's husband, i got a lift from thurairaja of fuchun sec.

pics of 3 day 2 night north zone sports retreat at batam

wwii tunnel at mt faber


like the tunnels at labrador park and fort canning, i remember there is or used to be one at mt faber. i have been trying to locate the tunnel since my last visit ot it about 15 years ago.

i was first taken to the tunnel by a colleague from balestier hill secondary some 30 years ago. 15 years ago, together with a rover leader, i led my scouts through the tunnel. to make it more exciting for the scouts, we did the tunnel exploration in the night. we approached mt faber from depot road.

armed with torch lights, we made our way through the dark and wet tunnel. it was wet because of the rain that had fallen a few days earlier. the floor of the tunnel was covered with water at certain places. i can vaguely remember it was not a very long tunnel. in fact, we emerged from the tunnel in less than 10 minutes.

it was a tunnel built during the 2nd world war and i think it served as an escape route. it could not have been an ammunition store or dump.

colbar @ whitchurch road

this 58-year old restaurant is unique. tucked away in some quiet corner of singapore, at portsdown road, this non-air-conditioned milk bar has been an all-time favourite of locals and expatriates.

it was replicated after the former premises had to make way for the aye extension. its present and new location is on whitchurch road. for generations, the colbar--allegedly short for "colonial bar"--was on jalan hang jebat, a small street in a part of singapore that once housed british soldiers.

the colbar was threatened with closure because of a planned highway extension that would overrun this sleepy street. thankfully, colbar regulars petitioned the powers that be and not only was a new home found for this quaint eatery, but the building that housed it was declared historically important, taken down and completely rebuilt on its new premises, just 5 minutes from its old home on jalan hang jebat.

nearby is the tanglin trust school and the temasek club. must mention something about tanglin trust school which is not evident in our national schools. they take the terrorist threat very seriously. the security of the place is maintained by armed gurkhas from the singapore police force.

colbar is closed on mondays. on those other days, it is open from 11 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. the two very popular dishes are the chicken curry and the pork chops. i will not consider the place as inexpensive; the last time, eleven of us shared pork chops, egg omelette and chicken curry and the bill came up to more than $150.

spca @ 31 mt vernon road



the society for the prevention of cruelty to animals is the only animal welfare charity in singapore that takes in unlimited numbers of unwanted pet and stray animals. each month spca receive almost 1,000 cats, dogs, rabbits and other small animals. that's over 12,000 animals each year.

for those of you who love to keep a pet, instead of buying one, why not adopt one from spca. you can check out the animals you may want to adopt at the spca premises at mt vernon. the adoption area is open every day except thursday unless it is a public holiday. it is normally open from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., even on a sunday.

many of the animals there are abandoned or given up by their owners because they have no time to look after them. for every spca animal that gets adopted, another unwanted pet can take its place and find a home as well.

although adoption is free, you have to pay for the compulsory medical expenses. for a dog, it may come up to $130, a cat, $65, a rabbit, $10, a hamster, $10 and a chinchilla, $100.

some of the animals are already trained, so you save time and money on the training. usually those that are put up for adoption are of good temperament. i think they are quite selective about the animals that are offered for adoption.

i took my daughters there when they were younger but we did not take home any cat or dog from spca. i think ivy signed up as a member and ida visited the place with her friends a couple of times.

little thailand at golden mile complex

i was quite perplexed when some of my colleagues refer to the basement of sembawang shopping complex as 'little thai'. one food stall does not a little country make. this title is more suited to the golden mile complex. the moment you get near to the complex, your nostrils will be assailed by the pungent smell of thai food.

it is the gathering point for thai workers all over singapore. the buses from thailand terminate outside this complex along beach road. for many thais, this is their first point of reference in singapore. there are more thai signboards in the building than anywhere else in singapore. everywhere you turn to in the building, you see signs of thailand.

the thai people are very much at home here. they sit on the floor to eat their food, communal style, and you see bottles of thai beer (singha) and thai whisky lying around.

there is a thai supermarket and a thai karaoke lounge among other things. you do not need to be at the lounge to listen to thai music. the shops that sell thai cds, dvds and tapes all play thai music. all kinds of thai foodstuff can be got from this place. if you had visited thailand and did not get enough tit-bits for your friends and relatives, you would know where to go to get them in singapore.

if you are looking forward to eating thai food at this place, i will recommend that you eat at diandin leluk thai restaurant. it serves quite authentic thai stuff. the food is decent and the prices reasonable.

in a tight spot @ wrest point casino, tasmania






while in hobart we stayed at the regent apartments on regent street. after dinner, we decided to drive to the wrest point casino. we were with the soons - boon eng, millie and paul. there were seven of us in the twelve-seater.

we did not have a problem finding a parking space when we went into the casino's car park. after a short tour of the place, we decided to leave. as we drove towards the exit, we came to a point where the ceiling was lower; it seemed to be touching the roof of the mini bus. we figured that the height left just enough space for us to squeeze through, so we drove on.

then we heard a scrapping sound. we stopped the vehicle immediately fearing more damage to the bus. we tried reversing but it would not budge. we could not abandon the vehicle. so we decided to get help. we approached 3 burly locals and asked if they could add weight in an attempt to bring the height down. it did not help. they tried jumping up and down and it did not work too. it was quite comical, three grown ups behaving like monkeys in a bus.

finally, in order to get out of this tight spot, we decided to lower the height of the bus by deflating the tyres. each time after having released some air, we tried to move the bus. we had to release air three or four times before we finally got the bus moving ahead.

once we were out of the casino car park, we started looking for a petrol station. fortunately for us, we found one nearby. but, it was closing time and the attendant had kept the reel of hose. when we explained to him the situation, he set up the thing for us to use and waited about fifteen minutes while we inflated all the four tyres.

singapore terry fox run for cancer research - marathon of hope

i first took part in the terry fox run for cancer research in 1993, its 2nd year in singapore. subsequently, i would sign up for the run every year. the run is normally held in september. when i first joined the run, the gathering point was the car park behind hilton hotel.

the assembly point was later changed to the stadium at the former school of physical education at evans road. the run would take us through the botanic gardens. those days there were quite a number of 'gate crashers' - people who joined in the run without having signed up for it. at the end of the run, there was some free food, drinks and loud music for everyone.

in the last few years, the venue of the run has been sentosa. your donation or entry fee for the run entitles you to free admission to sentosa but if you drive, you have to pay $2. i always go for the 4 or 5 km route . the finish point is at siloso beach. this year, because of the rain, they scrapped the 8km run, so everybody did the shorter run.

the terry fox run is an international event. it is held in major cities all over the world. in some countries, like china, it is held in more than ten sites. not all countries hold it in september or october. some hold it early in the year, as early as february.

i have great admiration for the courage, determination and grit of this young man who died at the age of 23, with the unfinished mission of running across the whole of canada. another reason for my taking part in the run is doing it in memory of all my friends and relatives who have succumbed to cancer.

for two or three years, i managed to get my family members to ran together with me. these days i am a lone participant. i do get to meet one or two friends who are also supporters of this run.

best chilli crab in singapore




it is never easy to agree on which stall or restaurant in singapore sells the best chilli crab. because it all boils down to taste and preference. i have eaten at the no sign board at oasis and also when it was at race course lane. i have also tried the crab at macpherson kopitiam. my friend and former vice principal swears by the one at joo chiat. some people say the jumbo in east coast is top.

for me, my best chilli crab eating experience was at the mattar road barbeque seafood stall, not at mattar road but at the old airport road food centre, which is at the moment undergoing upgrading. the stall is closed two days a week, on tuesday and wednesday. it is open from 3.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. you have to be there early because the crabs are sold out very fast.

the last time i took some friends there was after we had made a tour of the red light district at geylang. you could tell that the chilli crab was superb because everyone was saying that he would be bringing his spouse/friend to eat at that place.

the strong and rich flavour of the crab dish is made up of fresh tomato-and-chilli sauce that leaves you gasping for more. the husband and wife team spend the two off days preparing the sauce for the crab dish.

although the upgrading of the food centre will go on till next year, the mattar road bbq seafood stall is operating out of a temporary building nearby.

singapore's dragon's kiln


singapore's only dragon's kiln is located at lorong tawas, off jalan bahar. it is the turning on your left, just before ntu. the road leading to it is like a kampong road, partly paved. it is about a kilometre from the turn to the kiln.

soo chin was the one who told me about this place. she had gone there to buy flower pots soon after she moved into her new place at castle green and she needed big porcelain pots for her many plants.

i drove there on my own and managed to locate the place following the directions that she had given me.

i learnt that there used to be a village in that locality some twenty over years ago. children used to play hide and seek in the kiln, when it was not used for firing the clay pots.

this place is also called the jungle pottery. this is a great place buy blue and white chinese pottery at about half the price charged at holland village and orchard road. there is also a wide range of other colours and styles, big selection of lamps, rosewood display stands and interesting knick knacks from china, vietnam and thailand.

explore the dragon kiln. they do allow children to have a go at the potter's wheel. there are warehouses on your right, showrooms on your left, 2 of them airconditioned. there is also a pond and garden nearby.

the only thing that makes your visit to this place not so pleasant is the presence of mosquitoes. avoid the darker areas in the warehouses.

tel: 6268 6121/ 6265 5808
open 9 am to 5 pm daily

pulau redang for snorkelling & scuba diving





among the few places - tioman, redang, the great barrier reef and the southern islands of singapore - where i have snorkelled, i will rank redang as the best. not so much in terms of beauty or variety but more in terms of accessibility and convenience. imagine, you walk into the sea from your chalet and you can start snorkelling right away.

redang island is located 45 km offshore of terengganu. the sea around redang abounds with marine fish, turtles and coral reefs, ensuring a great snorkelling and scuba-diving experience. redang island is approximately 7km in length and 6km in width.

there are 500 species of live corals, more than a thousand species of invertebrates and almost 3000 species of fish which include manta rays, stingrays, sharks and whale sharks, all living in harmony in the reefs fringing the islands.

redang waters also contains two historic shipwrecks. the h.m.s prince of wales and h.m.s. repulse were sunk here during the wwii, setting the stage for the japanese occupation of malaya.

when we drive, we take the north-south highway and exit at yong peng. from yong peng, we will head for the segamat highway which leads us to kuantan. we usually break journey in kuantan. spend the night in kuantan or just outside it and then get up early the next morning to get to merang.

you can take a coach from singapore to kuala terengganu. the journey takes nearly ten hours. if you want to go by air, you have to go to senai airport in johor to take the flight.

whichever approach you take, you need to go to the merang jetty to catch the ferry for the 45- minute ride to redang. there is provision for parking near the jetty; the charge is M$5 per night.

there is no jetty, so you have to be prepared to get wet. you definitely have to take off your shoes before you disembark from the ferry.

st kilda - another place you should visit in melbourne




st kilda is a remarkable place. it is situated on one of the most picturesque points of the bay a short distance from the city. it has safe sandy beaches, and yet for decades was shunned by melbournites because it was the haunt of prostitutes and druggies.

it was not always like that. back in the first half of the century, st kilda was one of the most fashionable suburbs of melbourne with grand homes and grand people. today, it is enjoying a resurgence. the prostitutes and druggies have largely been pushed out by rapidly rising real estate prices and st kilda is fast returning to its heydays.

this bayside suburb is now one of the main tourist destinations and is renowned for its picturesque bayside setting, close proximity to the city, beaches, music venues, restaurants
and cafe lifestyle.

you hear of singaporeans saying that in australia there is no life after 11 p.m. obviously, these people have not been to st kilda.

on sundays, between 10.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m., there is an art and craft market at st kilda. the st kilda esplanade a & c market consists of close to 200 stalls offering a wide and often unusual variety of original art and handcrafts.

as this is an art and craft market, it does not allow the sale of clothing, food or plants. the market is a "makers market". the stall holders design and produce the goods for sale. the jewelry on sale at this market is of quite a high standard.

the last time we visited the market, ivy bought a hat and a leather bag. ida could not make up her mind to buy anything. lay bee bought some knick knacks for the home.

a soka wedding

this afternoon i attended a soka wedding at tampines. it was an invitation from my former colleague from ghim moh secondary, who is in her 40s. the invitation stated that the ceremony would be held between 1.30 p.m. and 2.00 p.m. i reached tampines soka centre at 1.25 p.m.

it was just like any wedding. the bride was dressed in a white bridal gown and the groom was in coat and tie. we signed the well wishers book before we were ushered into the hall.

there was an altar right in the middle and two candles were lit. there were two trays of fruit, apples and oranges, i think. there must have been a gong and some other paraphernalia. i did not really take a close look.

at 1.45 p.m. the doors to the hall were reopened and, to the tune of the wedding march and applause, the couple walked in. they sat down in front of a table facing the altar. the leader who would be leading in the chanting sat across the table.

two glove-wearing assistants walked up to the altar, one of them used a key to open the doors. the doors opened to reveal some script; there was no idol or image of the buddha. the gong was struck and the chanting of the lotus sutra began.

as the gong was struck, some people, mostly women, in the hall took out their rosaries and small hymn books. they chanted along with the leader. sounded different from the chants i used to hear in a buddhist temple.

when the chanting was over, there was an exchange of ring ceremony and the leader spoke some words of encouragement and advice for the wedded couple. the two assistants closed and locked the doors of the altar.

when the ceremony was over, the more than 200 guests and friends adjourned to the tampines safra club house where the reception was held. it was a buffet lunch catered by the resident caterer of the safra restaurant, sakura.

stitch, the chinchilla






stitch, the chinchilla, was given to me by my former monk's hill colleague, soo chin. she started with two, one male and one female, and the number grew to more than ten. not many people keep chinchillas because they are not the cheapest among pets. if i had bought stitch from a pet shop, it would have cost me about $150.

chinchillas make charming pets, largely because each chinchilla has its own distinctive personality, but they are naturally skittish and are not considered to be good pets for small children as they have delicate bones and generally do not like to be held, although some are very amenable to being held. however, some enjoy snoozing in laps and posing for pictures as well as being held, petted and gently scratched.

as with most creatures, temperament depends largely on upbringing. intelligent creatures, chinchillas may be taught tricks (rolling over, sitting up, etc.) with enough patience, using clearly spoken verbal cues over time in a quiet room.

in captivity, chinchillas live past twenty years, and grow to about one foot in length, but they usually do not live for more than ten years in countries with a climate to which they are not adapted.

chinchillas clean their fur by rolling in a dust bath. fine dust cleans most effectively, but specially processed sand made from pumice avoids the problems of fine dust. the fur of a chinchilla should never be allowed to get wet. there are not enough guard hairs to shed water, and the underfur can retain water, creating a warm moist environment for growth of the fungus ringworm, (known as athelete's foot). a wet chinchilla should be dried with a towel, or a hair blow dryer with no heat added.

chinchillas cannot sweat, and therefore are prone to overheating, even death. an overly warm chinchilla is characterized by veins prominently visible in the ears, warm feet, and lethargy. heat stroke can lead to death. chinchillas should be kept in an air conditioned space which should always have ample air circulation.

chinchillas should be kept in a large cage, about 24" x 24" x 18" minimum per animal. if there is any possibility of a pregnancy, a sufficiently fine mesh should be used as small chinchillas are good climbers and can easily squeeze through small holes. cages should also avoid walking surfaces made of metal fencing as chinchillas can catch a limb under the metal.

animals of the same sex live peacefully together in a single cage with sufficient space, and a male can usually be kept with one or more females. male chinchillas will fight each other for a mate and therefore no more than one male should be kept with a female. if living space is too small, chinchillas will become extremely territorial.

however, chinchillas will mate with members of their own family, so male babies cannot be left for too long in the same cage as their mother.

chinchillas have quite delicate digestive system and so have special dietary requirements. it is usually easiest to feed them specially formulated chinchilla food. rabbit food does not meet the nutritional needs of chinchillas and frequently makes them fat, as does too much rusk or raisin. hay is an essential part of their diet. it is preferable that they have a water bottle, as water in a dish or bowl will be quickly soiled.

they enjoy leaping from furniture and running around. they must be watched at all times, as they can escape from even a well-prepared room. if provided with nothing else, they will chew on wood, wire (electrical or otherwise), and anything else they can find. to prevent this, items such as paper towel tubes or wooden chew toys should be provided both during the exercise time and in the cage.

prone to excited sounds, chinchillas will also emit chirps and calls according to their mood. over time an owner will hear a multitude of these orations - all indicating the animal's personal state. a soft cooing might indicate playfulness and comfort. a very quiet chirping can be heard while the chinchilla is exploring a new place. some sounds will originate from the grinding of teeth, which they will sometimes do after eating. they do sneeze audibly, sometimes from the fine dust in their bath. if a chinchilla feels threatened, a high and loud bark will be heard, much like a squirrel can bark. a last resort will involve the chinchilla standing on hind legs and emitting both a bark and a stream of urine.

malata karaoke set from shanghai

my wife's colleague, on a tour with the school children to shanghai, carted back 5 pieces of this karaoke set. each set cost more than S$450.

the karaoke dvd set comes with two microphones, a remote control and 2 volumes of listing of 20 000 songs. these include english, mandarin, hokkien, vietnamese, french, spanish, thai and filipino songs.

the set comes equipped with a number of unique functions. it rates your performance by giving a score. if your score falls below 50, it actually prompts you to "add oil" to improve your singing. it can also record your singing. it can keep track of the songs that you like to sing and store this in its memory. like the better quality sets, you can also adjust the key to suit your singing.

the only setback for me is that all the instructions and the labels on the control are in mandarin. so, i learn through guessing and after prolonged usage.

the croaking helps me to de-stress but i am not sure if it has the same beneficial effect on my neighbours.

my favourite fruit - the mango, the harum manis

considered one of the best loved fruit in the tropics for its golden flesh that comes with a pleasing, firm texture, mangifera indica or mango is a delight to the tastebuds. for taste, the nectarine, peach and apricot fall far behind the mango.

the mango is believed to be a native of the east indies and malaysia, and belongs to the same family anacardiaceae as the jamaica plum and cashew nut.

it comes in a variety of shapes - oval, oblong, round; colours - golden yellow, green, red and sizes. because it comes in a rainbow of red, yellow, orange and green, colour is not the best way to determine ripeness. sniff for a fragrant fruity odor at the stem end, or squeeze very gently to detect a firm yet yielding feel under your fingers. mangos ripen best at room temperature. to accelerate ripening, you may place the fruit in a paper bag overnight.

i find the harum manis the sweetest among mangos. the skin is dark greenish when ripe and the meat is tender. in malaysia, perlis is acclaimed as the producer of the best mango, the harum manis. but those i buy are mostly from indonesia.

it is not easy to tell when a harum manis is ripe because of the colour. i used to wrap them in old newspapers and refigerate them. just found out after reading about mangos that you should not leave mangos in the fridge as it will kill the fragrance.

pakistani mangos are also quite popular with singaporeans. the following varieties are sold here: chaunsa, sindhri, fajri and the alphonso. pakistanis like to eat their mango chilled. what most people do not know is that india is the world's largest producer of mangos.

however, the huge australian mangos are not very popular with singaporeans. i have a friend who has mango farms near brisbane. he was a singaporean who migrated to australia many years ago.

here we label the durian 'the king of the fruit' but this title should rightfully go to the mango because it is favoured by more people all over the world.